As a boy, my grandfather once wanted to impress upon me the astronomical nature (or so it seemed at such a young age) of large numbers (especially in reference to government budgets).

At first, I couldn't believe it when he told me that if I spent $1/second, I'd blow through $1M in just under 12 days (11.5 to be more precise, with rounding).

But it was when he told me that spending through $1B at the same rate would take me nearly 32 years that I realized that was a ridiculously large sum of money.

I've never forgotten that lesson. I also walked away deviously thinking the best goal I could shoot for in life was to figure out how to earn $1/second.