This week…take the time to think about what big contribution you have made in any part of your life recently.This week . . . take the time to think about what big contribution you have made in any part of your life recently . . . and ask yourself, what are your current plans for achieving something that is really important that will make a big difference in some way in your life . . . whether it be with your family, your fellow employees, your customers, or yes, even just for YOU.
It is never too late to start doing the right things.
Don’t say you don’t have time because we all have the exact same amount of time, which is 168 hours, 10,080 minutes, and 604,800 seconds a week to get done what we want to get done. We have this every single week over . . . and over . . . and over again . . . and you know what? YOU have to spend every bit of it every week, actually every minute. YOU can’t save any of it and use it later. If you don’t use it wisely, you cannot get it back.
Why did you break it down into seconds, Lee, you might ask? I broke it down into seconds because that is the problem with a lot of people. They start wasting seconds by not being organized and not being able to find the phone number or address or piece of paper they want—and before long that turns into wasted minutes . . . and YOU know the rest of the story!
If YOU waste just 30 minutes a day, that adds up to just over 182 hours a year . . . which adds up to 4½, forty-hour weeks . . . which equals one work month out of twelve. That is why seconds count!
What would you do with an additional 4½ weeks a year at work? YOU could spend more time with your employees, YOU could spend more time with your customers, YOU could get your work done and have time to go exercise. If you only waste 10 minutes a day, that is still 3,650 minutes a year, which is a little more than 60 hours . . . which is still 1½, forty-hour workweeks. Wow, time does fly, doesn’t it?
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Think about having 10,080 minutes every Monday morning that you have to spend before next Monday rolls around. This is not money. This is time.
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What about spending say, 300 of those minutes exercising a week. This is a very good investment like a good stock. It will pay off later.
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How about spending 300 to 500 of those minutes with your family and friends making them feel special and treating them as individuals.
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How about spending 120 to 180 minutes a week taking that special person out for a movie, dinner, or just a walk in the park.
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How about spending 150 minutes a week on your own personal development so you can get that next position.
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How about spending 150 minutes a week coaching and counseling your employees who report to you.
Block out 3,360 minutes a week to sleep. Block out on your calendar 75 minutes a week to plan your days and to think about what you should be working on now that will help you later in your life.
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Exercise is an investment in the future.
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Financial planning is an investment in the future.
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Spending quality time with your family and friends is an investment in the future.
It is so true that many things that we spend time on now don’t pay off for years to come; but if we don’t invest our time right—right now—the future will not turn out the way that we can make it turn out if we spend our time wisely.
Have a healthy respect for time, and have a healthy respect for your ability to control your future to some extent! Now take 300 seconds and think about this, and write down what you plan to do about it!
Remember to schedule right into your calendar . . . the priorities in your life.
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You cannot wish that things get better.
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You cannot hope that things will get better.
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You can pray that things will get better, but . . .
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The best way to make things better is for YOU always to control the events in your life and to take charge of your life . . . and to make things happen!
. . . Lee