What time is it... NOW!
Most people spend a large part of their waking hours gainfully employed, exchanging time for money.
Most people are driven to provide for their families. We should all desire to be great providers. We also need to ask ourselves, providers of what? We all have plans to "SOMEDAY" do so many things with and for our families and friends. We all exchange our time for money…it is called a job. If you were to figure out how much time we are either at- or traveling to and from work - you would see we spend a majority of our time in this mode. We are constantly working to accumulate things and money. This is important to do because we need and want things. We do need the house, car, food, clothing…we do have to work to provide for our families.
Also, as we discuss in our training, no matter what we do we are called to be the best at what we do. So many people work not only to provide for the family, but also to be the best at what they do. They work overtime to buy the nice car and the nice house. They sometimes work a second job or work on their days off to accumulate all those things that will make their family and their house happy… Sometimes we can get so focused on the destination that we can forget to enjoy the journey. We can be so focused on the future that we can forget to live in the NOW… THEN soon becomes NOW, and NOW soon becomes THEN.
The truth is that there is no better time than now to be happy.
We convince ourselves that life will be better when we are married, have a baby, then another. Then we are frustrated that the kids aren’t old enough and we will be more content when they are. After that, we’re frustrated that we have teenagers to deal with. We will certainly be happy when they are out of that stage. We tell ourselves that our life will be complete when our spouse gets his or her act together, when we get a nicer car, are able to go on a nice vacation, when we retire. The truth is that there is no better time than now to be happy. There is no better time to live in the now…than NOW. The Time is… Now! If not Now, when? Our life will always be filled with challenges. It’s best to admit this to ourselves and decide to be happy. Each day we wakeup…it is a Great day to be Alive!
Some people work hard to accumulate different accounts in banks for our retirement, for our vacation, for a college fund, a swimming pool…. For all those really important things right? What if we could find a bank that only allowed us to save our money for the one thing that is truly priceless, for that one thing that can’t be replaced…. Imagine there is a bank that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day. Every evening it deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. What would you do?… Draw out every cent, of course!!!!
Each day she says good bye to her daughter she realizes it could be the last time she sees her. She cherishes each kiss and each laugh and each hug, like it could be the last.
Each of us has such a bank. Its name is TIME. Every morning, it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balance. It allows no overdraft. Each day it opens a new account for you. Each night it burns the remains of the day. If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against "tomorrow." You must live in the present, on today’s deposits. Invest it to get from it the utmost in health, happiness, and success! The clock is running. THE TIME IS NOW! I was watching the news in the gym the other morning, the morning after the Littleton Colorado School shooting. The mother of one of the victims from an earlier Arkansas school disaster was being interviewed, she had lost one of her daughters in the attack. She said that she would never take her other daughter for granted. Each day she says good bye to her daughter she realizes it could be the last time she sees her. She cherishes each kiss and each laugh and each hug, like it could be the last. It is a shame that tragedy like this has to happen for us to feel like this. We are all guilty, to some degree, of doing this. Our kids want a hug, a friend needs someone to talk with, the church needs a volunteer, our parents need a favor…an employee needs someone to talk with…we look at our watch wondering what time is it? We are busy and this is not a good time…
Stop, Look and Listen! The Time is Now!
BEING THE LEADERS THAT WE ARE, LET’S MAKE THE MOST OF TODAY. Since we are Under Construction, Let’s look at the value of time…
- To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade.
- To realize the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a pre-mature baby.
- To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly newspaper.
- To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the lovers who are waiting to meet.
- To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed the train.
- To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an accident.
- To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person whom won a silver medal, instead of a gold medal, in the Olympics. We must treasure every moment we have!
And treasure it more because we shared it with someone special enough to spend our time.
And remember that Time waits for no one…
Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is a mystery.
Today is a gift.
That’s why it’s called the present.
So treat it like the gift that it is… LIVE IT WITH PASSION - HEART, BODY & SOUL!
So, stop waiting until you finish school,
Until you go back to school,
Until you lose ten pounds,
Until you have kids,
Until your kids leave your house,
Until you start work,
Until you retire,
Until you get married,
Until Friday night,
Until Sunday morning,
Until you get a new car or home,
Until your new car or home is paid off,
Until fall,
Until winter,
Until summer,
Until you are off welfare,
Until the first or the fifteenth,
Until your song comes on,
Until you die,
Until you are born again… to decide…There is no better time than right now to be happy.
Happiness is enjoying the journey, not just getting to a destination.
Work like you don’t need the money…
Love like you’ve never been hurt…
And dance like no one is watching… THE TIME IS NOW!
Sometimes a leader needs to pull back and reflect. The Masters program at Northwestern University requires first year students to keep a thoughts and feelings jounal. As I was journaling last week, the happenings in Colorado, Kosovo and the world caused me to reflect on our society and our world that we have created. There are a lot of good things going on... there are also a lot of bad things going on. It is up to leaders like us to live our lives with a purpose... like it really matters. I apologize, in advance, for the philosophical artical - I listened to my heart and wrote from that place of passion. My desire is this article touches - in you - the same positive emotion that it was written from - in me.
If we are going to learn, it is best learn from those whohave been where we are going. Erma Bombeck, who lost her fight with cancer, penned these words as she was on her deathbed. Read these words of wisdom and remember... the time is now!
I would have talked less and listened more. I would have invited friends over to dinner even if the carpet was stained and the sofa faded. I would have eaten the popcorn in the ‘good’ living room and worried much less about the dirt when someone wanted to light a fire in the fireplace. I would have taken the time to listen to my grandfather ramble about his youth.
I would never have insisted the car windows be rolled up on a summer day, because my hair had just been teased and sprayed. I would have burned the pink candle sculpted like a rose before it melted in storage. I would have sat on the lawn with my children and not worried about grass stains. I would have cried and laughed less while watching television – and more while watching life.
I would have shared more of the responsibility carried by my husband.I would have gone to bed when I was sick instead of pretending the earth would go into a holding pattern if I weren’t there for the day. I would never have bought anything just because it was practical, wouldn’t show soil, or was guaranteed to last a lifetime.
Instead of wishing away nine months of pregnancy, I’d have cherished every moment and realized that the wonderment growing inside me was the only chance in life to assist God in a miracle.
When my kids kissed me impetuously, I would never have said, "Later, now go get washed up for dinner." There would have been more "I love yous"...more "I’m sorrys"…but mostly, given another shot at life, I would seize every minute…really see it…live it…and never give it back...
Erma Bombeck
"If I Had My LIfe to Live Over Again"
The Time is Now!… Live it with Passion- Heart, Body & Soul.
I remain...
Enthusiastically yours,
Scott V. Black
The Empower U Leadership Team
May 1999
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