For a world that is built on the notion of non-stop action, with the apparent pursuit of wealth and happiness as its golden goal - wealth alone has rarely given the satisfaction it has promised. Is the aim to really to be gainfully working towards a worthy goal? Does that act of pursuit provide you with the peace and joy you seek? Is the measure of a man really the sum total of all he has achieved? Or does it stem from the content of his or her character? Or does joy emerge from a place of leisure - completely disconnected (or out of phase) from actions?

It is clear that in order to simply survive, human beings have to act. Action creates the security we seek from the wild, from hunger, from the weather, from sickness, and alas, from each other. However, once these basic needs are provided for, the human being is free to pursue other, more joyful activities such as art & culture, sports and entertainment, science and research. Over the years however, the human being chose not to stop at his work at all - but instead kept creating new, artificial goals to pursue - with the reward being that the maddening extra work fetched a valuable unit of a commodity, something we refer to as money or wealth. Without doubt, this extra work created more prosperity - but it came at a very high price - no leisure.

But why is leisure important?

Leisure time lets you reconnect with your whole self. You meet your happy, funny and sporty side. Your mind relaxes and your muscles and your heart rest - and freshness returns. This creates a gap in the incessant stream of thought created by constant work - and from this gap, emerges peace and joy. Many yogis and meditation masters seek to further expand this gap to the point where they become one with the peace and joy that is our natural state. In that happy state, actions occur spontaneously, and the course of your life follows a gentle and benign trajectory. Events which would bother an ordinary person cease to make a significant impact on you.

However, you do not have to be a meditation expert to simply enjoy life more - you simply need to slow down, and give yourself plenty of space and time to relax. The concept of "Work Hard, Play Hard" implies a lot of doing - when all that you need in your leisure hours is a lot of being. This is why the notion of Quality Time over Quantity Time failed - because your family needs your presence and attention, they need to experience your "beingness", which can only happen with time.

So will this impact your ability to build wealth, have a satisfying business or career and developing a high net-worth?

Hard work is not to be belittled - but hard work, combined with smart work eventually leads you to a position where minimum input is required to get maximum results. At this point, leisure must return into your life to balance the high throughput you are required to deliver on at your work times. This balance increases job satisfaction as well as overall level of happiness in life. Look for leisure and give it the same place that you give to high net-worth.