What does it all mean for universities as research institutions when the external funding acquired by their academics, already stretched intellectually and time poor, is going to those who simply do not have the time to carry out the proposed research, i.e. to the academics themselves? That is, how can a full-time teaching and research academic carry out more research if they are successful in accruing more grant money? The author, a postdoctoral fellow in linguistics at the University of New England, New South Wales, contends they cannot; at least they cannot do so successfully. Those who get the research loot generally have little time to use the loot, and those who do not get the loot do have the time to use it. This article describes the challenges that research academics face, such as applying for research funding, going through the process of grant writing, and competing with more experienced researchers who seem to be consistent recipients of grant funding. The author states that it is the creativity in research which counts, not the number of articles, citations, and publications in highly ranked journals. In the end, the only question one must ask oneself as a researcher is: How do I want to live my life? Or as applied to research: How do I want to conduct my research?