“There is always a best way of doing everything.” -Ralph Waldo Emerson
If there is indeed always a best way of doing everything, how do we go about discovering the “best” way? We may not initially know the best way, but with so many resources available at our disposal today, we can evaluate several different options and then try our best to choose the best one available to us at that moment in time.
The Scientific Method is a procedure known to the natural sciences since at least the 17th century. It consists of a series of systematic observations, experiments, measurements, calculations, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses. It is viewed as an empirical method of acquiring information and knowledge through careful observation and rigorous skepticism. It takes into account the understanding for potential bias and therefore relies on objective observation balanced by a healthy dose of skepticism.
Trial and error is a less formal and much less rigorous process characterized by multiple repeated varied attempts to reach a desired outcome. Failure is a natural part of the process of both trial and error and the scientific method and failure is embraced as part of the natural process of moving in the direction of the desired result.
How was Thomas Edison able to discover the best way to create an incandescent light bulb? The simple answer is he found thousands of ways that were not the best way. If we are willing to try different approaches and keep our minds open to all available options, eventually we will discover the best way for the task at hand in those circumstances. The best way is ever evolving, constantly improving, making room for the next best way. We are still figuring out the best way, all these years later, to create the best lighting solution possible. Sometimes the best way is only slightly different than what the best way was the day before.
Writing is a lot like this. When I first started writing, many of my messages were rudimentary. As I practiced my craft, I learned different ways of expressing my ideas and gained a better command of language, expression, and description. I also developed my style. The more I practiced, the better I got. And the more I practice, the better I will get. Excellence eventually becomes a habit.
Excellence is the evolution of ideas and the understanding that our world is in perpetual motion, movement, and advancement, which allows us to individually do our best in any given situation or circumstance. Our willingness and openness to evaluate new information and ideas is what gives us the opportunity to do our best work. Collectively, we rely on one another and on the sharing of ideas and information to discover the next best way of doing things.
When we move from believing that we as individuals have the best opportunity of creating the best solutions to instead, crowdsourcing the collective wisdom of our communities and companies, we then gain access to the collective consciousness and collective wisdom of the group.
The best practices of today only provide a bridge to the best practices of tomorrow. The cycle repeats itself with each new day and once again gives us the opportunity to do our best because our individual best is the “best” way of doing everything. That is, unless we can come together in a group and work collectively to solve whatever challenges we are facing and then the “best” way will have been decided by each of the “best” minds working together to create an even better “collective best” mind or more simply, the crowdsourced “best of the best!”
My name is Bobby. I am The Inspirationalist!
I inspire people to pursue their gifts!
If my words somehow inspired you to pursue your gift, then I succeeded…
By the way, if you enjoyed this article, I believe you will thoroughly enjoy my next book, Advance Confidently. I look forward to sharing it with you on the 4th of July.
Keep Pedaling, Keep Going, Keep Growing!
Advance Confidently!
If you enjoyed and found value in this article, please share it.
In Gratitude,
Bobby Kountz, Author, Speaker, Sobriety Scholar, Inspirationalist!
PS. You can find out more about me here. You can find my book on Amazon.
“Mindfulness is the practice, silence is the tool, equanimity is the gift.” ~Karen Hand
I was introduced to The Miracle Morning on Clubhouse by my friend and mentor Michael O’Brien.
The introduction came in a roundabout way. Michael introduced our peloton (a group of like-minded individuals moving together in the direction of awareness) to a book by Brianna Greenspan. The Miracle Morning Art of Affirmations: A Positive Coloring Book for Adults and Kids is not your normal book of the month kind of a book.
Why? Because it’s not a traditional self-help or personal development book. No, it’s so much more!
Disguised as a coloring book, it teaches the core foundational principles of Hal Elrod’s Miracle Morning Philosophy, which over the last several years has become a global movement. And now, the community is available to anyone with a mobile device 7 days a week on Clubhouse in The Miracle Morning Room.
The room begins at 7:00 AM Central, 7 days a week and is hosted and moderated by the co-founder of the room, Brianna Greenspan.
The Mission of The Miracle Morning® movement is to elevate the consciousness of humanity one person and one morning at a time.
The “movement” is based on a morning routine built around 6 key practices known as “LIFE S.A.V.E.R.S” — Silence, Affirmations, Visualization, Exercise, Reading, and Scribing — can help you get more done and live your best life.
Brianna is a connector of people, projects, and products that elevate consciousness and uplift the planet. She is a lifelong learner of many modalities. Unified Mindfulness, Appreciative Facilitation (Xchange approach), Reiki master, Jewish Energy Healing, Permaculture Certified, etc…
Brianna is also a Cheerleader of GOODNESS. She is a Chronic Illness patient, advocate, coordinator, and researcher. Her illness to wellness journey is featured in The Miracle Morning Documentary. She is an Advocate/Advisor to The Miracle Morning Movement.
Mindfulness is a set of three attention skills. Concentration, Clarity, and Equanimity all working together. You can learn more at: UnifiedMindfulness.com/core
Brianna is #zebrastrong and believes in: “Doing all the good you can, in all the ways you can, at all the times you can, for all the beings you can, as often as you can.”
“A candle loses nothing by lighting another candle.” ~James Keller
Every day in The Miracle Morning Room on Clubhouse we are crowdsourcing the collective consciousness and wisdom of the co-moderators and the audience that shows up to participate in the room. A topic of discussion is provided by Brianna and we all collectively do our best to inspire and lift each other up with our authentic truth and experience with facing and embracing the events of life and the subsequent adversity that often accompanies life as we know it.
Through the collective practice of the room, we learn from each other taking some of the best strategies and applying them to our lives in an experimental fashion to see what works, what needs to be refined or adapted, and what’s available by showing up with a curious rather than judgmental mindset.
“Be curious, not judgmental.” ~Walt Whitman
Using the S.A.V.E.R.S to keep us grounded with a strong foundation, we explore the many different ways the community is using these foundational principles to make the planet a little bit better, one person, and one morning at a time.
Below, in quotes, is an example of the way I was able to describe a current situation to someone who was feeling taken advantage of due to their kind nature (all names have been removed to protect their identity). I don’t believe I would have been able to clearly articulate what I was thinking without the clarity I have received as a benefit of regularly showing up for myself as a Miracle Morning Practitioner.
You may or may not find my example useful or helpful. If it doesn’t serve you and your beliefs, then go within to discover your own answers to whatever challenges you are facing.
“Hidden within each of us is everything we need to achieve anything we can imagine.” ~Bobby Kountz
“Hello Beautiful Soul…
The Universe has its own rhythm, and I am doing my best to honor it. I used to push so hard and along the way forgot that my best work always comes when I surrender.
Today, I have surrendered.
I am honored to have met you behind the scenes here on the platform. I have an immense appreciation for your gift, for your art, for your words, and more importantly, your inner beauty.
Being a conduit, or a vessel is no easy task and is certainly not for the faint of heart. Unfortunately, there will always be those who see our kindness as weakness, and they will attempt to exploit it. I used to try to figure this stuff out and now I simply realize it’s just part of the fabric of society. I believe it takes the darkness for us to see the light. It takes greed for us to understand generosity. It takes meanness for us to understand kindness.
The Tao is my teacher in these matters, and I respect the wisdom captured there.
It helps me to understand my place in the world and that if I remain humble, if I remain low like the ocean, then the river of humanity can pour into me. The ocean is so vast it even seems to tolerate all the ugliness that’s poured into it. There are literally floating islands of plastic in the ocean and even still it stays low, it remains low and continues to receive everything that’s poured into it. And even still, I see the beauty in it. The ugliness can be found on the coral reef where a discarded plastic bag drifted over the top of a piece of coral and caused its untimely death. It also shows us that we must each do our own part and how we both get to and must choose how we show up in the world.
My only hope is that both you and your partners will understand that when you make yourself a vessel of The Universe, particularly a vessel as big as the ocean, people might pour things into you that you don’t necessarily want to receive.
I believe the lesson is that those things don’t define you. The ocean continues to remain an abundant blessing for all of us even when there’s a massive oil spill or slick that washes ashore and causes great pain, havoc, and destruction.
The beauty of the ocean remains and on the other side of the world, away from wherever the disaster happened, away from wherever all the oil spilled into the ocean, you will find people sitting on a tranquil beach enjoying the sounds of the waves.
I choose to see the world as an ocean. I choose to hear the tranquil sound of the waves coming in and going out. It reminds me of my own breath and when I’m present with my breath, I feel everything will be ok…
In loving kindness,
Bobby-“
My name is Bobby. I am The Inspirationalist!
I inspire people to pursue their gifts!
If my words somehow inspired you to pursue your gift, then I succeeded…
By the way, if you enjoyed this article, I believe you will thoroughly enjoy my next book, Advance Confidently. I look forward to sharing it with you on the 4th of July.
Keep Pedaling, Keep Going, Keep Growing!
Advance Confidently!
If you enjoyed and found value in this article, please share it.
In Gratitude,
Bobby Kountz, Author, Speaker, Sobriety Scholar, Inspirationalist!
PS. You can find out more about me here. You can find my book on Amazon.
“All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake up in the day to find it was vanity, but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible. This I did.” ~T. E. Lawrence, Seven Pillars of Wisdom
A-ttitude
C-larity
T-ime
I-nspiration
O-pportunity
N-eed
Sitting at the end of this acronym is one more letter. The letter is “S.” It stands for SUCCESS. Success is the natural result of commitment. It is the natural result of taking action. It may not be the ultimate success we’re looking for, but it will be a step in the process moving toward whatever it is we choose to be, become, or create.
Attitude.
Much has been written about this word. Rather than trying to recreate the wheel, sometimes it’s best to just capture the essence of someone who said something really well as it relates to whatever it is we’re hoping to discuss. As it relates to attitude, I believe the following may be the best I’ve ever come across.
Attitude– The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, then education, then money, then circumstances, then failures, then successes, then what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness, or skill. It will make or break a company… A church… a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past… We cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string what we have, and that is our attitude… I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you… We are in charge of our attitudes. ~Charles Swindoll
Enough said!
Clarity- Why clarity? The reason I selected clarity is because clarity leads to confidence. The clearer we are about the outcome we desire, the better the chance we have of bringing about the results we seek. If we are unsure about what we want or about the result we’re seeking, then we are liable to get a result different than the one we desire. However, when we’re clear, when we are sure, when we know exactly what it is we we’re after, then we will be prepared to take the necessary steps required, to put in the effort, to do the work of bringing into reality whatever it is we have visualized for ourselves.
Time- the reason time is important is because what gets scheduled is what gets done. If we don’t take the time to schedule what’s important to us, then whatever happens to interrupt our day will take precedence over whatever it is that we are not defending. We must defend our time. We must draw a line in the sand and create blocks of time for ourselves to accomplish whatever it is that’s important to us. If we don’t map out our day, if we don’t run our day, then as Jim Rohn used to say, our day will run us.
There are so many demands on each of us in this fast-paced world we now find ourselves living in. If we don’t defend the most precious resource, the most precious asset we have, then we will find ourselves at the end of the day wondering what happened to it. We will find ourselves asking where the day went. At the end of the day, we can do one of two things, we can either celebrate, or we can wonder. We can wonder what happened to the day, or we can celebrate everything we accomplished. As it relates to time, it is important to schedule in breaks for ourselves as well. We function better when we step off our hamster wheel. Schedule 5-minute breaks or 10-minute breaks in between your blocks of time so that you can refresh your mind and begin the next task with a renewed sense of vitality and energy.
In other words, Pause, Breathe, Reflect…
Inspiration- When we become curious, we will find all the inspiration we need to accomplish whatever is important to us. Inspiration is everywhere and in everything if we have our eyes open and if we’re looking for it. The quote at the beginning of this article is a perfect representation of the difference between dreaming with our eyes closed and dreaming with our eyes open. When we dream with our eyes open, we stand a chance of discovering whatever we need or whatever is required to bring that dream to life. When we act upon our dream with open eyes, we will be in the process of bringing it into existence, of bringing it into the physical realm. Dreams may begin in our mind, but for them to become a reality, we must bring them into the physical world and our dreams are brought into the physical world with A.C.T.I.O.N.
Opportunity- Who knows what an opportunity is? It has been suggested that success is what happens when opportunity and preparation meet each other. When opportunity and preparation meet, during the time allowed to bring ideas to life, there’s a great chance that with some form of action, the opportunity will be turned into something. An opportunity that presents itself but isn’t acted upon will be simply that, an opportunity, nothing more, nothing less.
The opportunity only becomes something tangible when acted upon with effort and an idea. It is wonderful that as human beings we have the capacity to come up with new ideas. However, it must be clearly understood that an idea without action behind it is just an idea. An idea, written down on a napkin, and then acted upon when taken back to the office the next day becomes something much more than an idea. It has been said that entire businesses have been created from an idea written on a napkin. That is only half the truth. It was actually the action taken on the idea that turned it into something in the physical realm. Otherwise, it would have simply remained words on a napkin…
Need- The word need is here as a reminder for us to ask better questions. For some unknown reason we tend to ask how. I believe how is a poor question. I believe there are two better questions that could replace how. The first question is who. Who do I need to become to accomplish whatever it is I want to accomplish? The second question is what. What skills will be required for me to achieve or accomplish whatever it is I’ve decided is important to me? Asking the two questions, who do I need to become and what skills will be required, sets us up for potential success.
If we’re attempting something that we’ve never done before and we’re asking how, it can be an exercise in frustration. However, when we shift the conversation from how, to who and what, we give ourselves a chance to identify whatever is in the gap between where we currently find ourselves and the desired result we choose to bring into the world. When we examine where we are compared to where we want to be, in the examination of those two points we will identify a space and asking the questions who and what gives us the opportunity to fill in that gap with what we need to grow into, and the skills required to achieve or accomplish whatever we desire. All skills are learnable.
If we identify in the process of inquiry the skills we are not interested in learning, then this is just merely an indication about what portion of the project needs to be outsourced. Sometimes, this is the most important piece of the puzzle. When we come to the realization that we don’t need to do everything ourselves, we only need to be able to identify what needs to be done, what actions need to be taken, then we can either, insource, outsource, or manage around whatever it is we don’t want to do ourselves.
When someone says they don’t have enough time, what they’re really saying is they don’t have enough team. TEAM Is what makes all the difference. We each have the ability to assemble a team around us. Who are the people better at whatever it is you really aren’t even interested in doing and how might you get them to cooperate with you on whatever project you’re interested in bringing to fruition?
Here’s an example:
A writer, who up until whatever time they decide they’re interested in writing a book might only need themselves and a second set of eyes to look at their work before they publish their articles. When the writer decides to become an author instead, then they will most likely need the help of some other people to help them bring their idea to life.
For me, I needed the assistance of several people to help me bring my first book to life. I needed the assistance of a content editor. I needed the assistance of a line editor. I needed the assistance of a formatter. I needed the assistance of a graphic designer to help create a compelling cover for my book. My first book is far from ideal, but what I have come to learn, know, and understand, is that version one is 10 times better than version none. I learned so much in the process and as I prepare to bring my next book to market, I am sure I will be learning many more additional lessons as I get closer and closer to my publication date of July 4th.
The one thing I know for sure, the one thing I am absolutely crystal clear about is that the only way my book will make its way into the physical realm is with A.C.T.I.O.N.
My name is Bobby. I am The Inspirationalist!
I inspire people to pursue their gifts!
If my words somehow inspired you to pursue your gift, then I succeeded…
By the way, if you enjoyed this article, I believe you will thoroughly enjoy my next book, Advance Confidently. I look forward to sharing it with you on the 4th of July.
Keep Pedaling, Keep Going, Keep Growing!
Advance Confidently!
If you enjoyed and found value in this article, please share it.
In Gratitude,
Bobby Kountz, Author, Speaker, Sobriety Scholar, Inspirationalist!
PS. You can find out more about me here. You can find my book on Amazon.
“I have come to accept the feeling of not knowing where I am going. And I have trained myself to love it. Because it is only when we are suspended in mid-air with no landing in sight, that we force our wings to unravel and alas begin our flight. And as we fly, we still may not know where we are going to. But the miracle is in the unfolding of the wings. You may not know where you’re going, but you know that so long as you spread your wings, the winds will carry you.” ~C. JoyBell C.
In his wonderfully inspiring book, The Boy, the mole, the fox and the Horse, Charlie Mackesy has the character of “The Horse” reveal something to the boy. Here’s how the conversation unfolds:
“There’s something I haven’t told you.” Said the horse.
“What’s that?” Said the boy.
“I can fly. But I stopped because it made the other horses jealous.”
“Well we love you whether you can fly or not.”
To their amazement, the next thing the boy and the mole realize, they are watching the horse’s wings unfurl…
In the next scene, the boy and the mole are seen crawling up the horses outstretched leg to take their place upon his back. The boy and the mole are seated on the horses back. With wings outstretched, the majesty of the horse is undeniable. The word “Ok” sits in quotes at the top of the page.
On the next page, we witness flight…
The next two pages provide for a powerful transition…
“Is your glass half empty or half full?” asked the mole.
“I think I’m grateful to have a glass.” Said the boy.
“We don’t know about tomorrow.” Said the horse. “All we need to know is that we love each other.”
The book goes on in this magical way and once again I offer my highest praise and strongest recommendation that you purchase a copy for yourself. It is a stable resource in my day to day, one day at a time, approach to life.
Why do we mute ourselves? Why do we hide our shine? What are we afraid of?
Why would our ability to fly make other horses or other people jealous?
Why would our response be to hide our wings?
Which fear is rearing its ugly head when we hide our shine or fold our wings back so no one can see them?
Each of us comes to this world with a special gift that only we can give to humanity. If we do not find the courage to give it, then as Martha Graham says, something wonderful will be lost.
Here is the good news:
“We always may be what we might have been.” ~Adelaide Anne Procter
In the Miracle Morning Room on Clubhouse today, we talked about self-confidence. We asked each other how the Miracle Morning and the SAVERS practice helps us to discover or further develop self-confidence. The array of answers is what the Leader of this incredible experience refers to as crowdsourcing wisdom.
Brianna Greenspan is the Co-Author of The Miracle Morning Art of Affirmations: A Positive Coloring Book for Adults and Kids and the Co-founder, Host, and Moderator of The Miracle Morning Clubhouse Room. Every morning, the wisdom of the room is crowdsourced to make the Universe just a little bit better for my grandchildren. (No, this is not the stated purpose of the room, but it’s “my personal why” for being a part of it).
Photo from Authors Collection
What I just described is the natural consequence of creating a safe container for people to come together with a likeminded purpose of growth.
Everyday, we “get to” witness the magic of the Miracle Morning. It’s as if we can hear the following if we are willing to listen:
I am the miracle. I am the morning.
“The Miracle Morning is elevating the consciousness of humanity, one morning at a time.” ~Hal Elrod
I am the miracle. I am the morning.
It repeats itself in every share and every affirmation of whatever is openly shared as a response to an intentional question, a vulnerable and authentic disclosure, or a deep reflection.
Not only is wisdom being crowdsourced, but so is courage, confidence, appreciation, humility, dignity, respect, self-love, self-confidence, self-esteem, self-reflection, gratitude, and ultimately, Joy and yes, sometimes, dare I say, even bliss…
When we show up with purpose and intention, grounded in community, we can do, be, or become, whatever we choose. We can do this because we are no longer trying to do it on our own or in an unsupported or unnatural way. We do it by showing up and putting into practice, to the best of our ability, the SAVERS.
Don’t make it harder than it is. One of our regular contributors who is all about doing it her way simply says this: You can start with 6 minutes if that’s all you have to contribute right now and then just show up for yourself every day. The cumulative effect of your one day at a time approach to honoring yourself will give you results you only once imagined were possible, but with the help of the community, you will see that they are possible for you as well.
If you are not interested in Clubhouse or not an iOS user, you can find the Miracle Morning and the SAVERS at MiracleMorning.com or you can find them on multiple social media platforms, in bookstores, on Amazon, or wherever you go to get your daily podcast download.
In other words, The Miracle Morning is everywhere. It is as is expressed by one of my favorite unique words, ubiquitous, which simply means in scientific terms, everywhere.
For those wondering, the SAVERS stand for:
Silence
Affirmations
Visualization
Exercise
Reading
Scribing (just a cool way of capturing what journaling is).
The SAVERS are not only the backbone of the Miracle Morning Movement, but they are also “the six most powerful, effective, and time-tested personal development practices known to man … known as the Life S.A.V.E.R.S.” and I assure you, if implemented into your daily practice, your life will be almost unrecognizable in the shortest amount of time possible.
If your life is already magical and magnificent, then someone might just ask you when you decided to let your wings show. They might ask you if you know your wings are showing?
Your reply will be humble, just like the horse, and you will invite them to join you on your journey of curiosity and together you will fly into the uncharted territory of self-discovery. You will not go alone, but instead, supported on your path of learning about all you are capable of, not all at once, but “one day at a time” in a community ready to support you on your quest to become whoever YOU choose to BE!
Together WE can!
I am the miracle. I am the morning.
If you enjoyed today’s article, watch for the next one where I will explain for those of you who have little ones, how to modify this practice for your kids. When the SAVERS become CHARMS, magic happens!
By the way, if you enjoyed this article, I believe you will thoroughly enjoy my next book, Advance Confidently. I look forward to sharing it with you on the 4th of July.
Keep Pedaling, Keep Going, Keep Growing!
Advance Confidently!
If you enjoyed and found value in this article, please share it.
In Gratitude,
Bobby Kountz, Author, Speaker, Sobriety Scholar, Inspirationalist!
PS. You can find out more about me here. You can find my book on Amazon.
Author’s Note: I completed my 30-Day Spring into 2021 writing challenge!
“Your biggest break can come from never quitting. Being at the right place at the right time can only happen when you keep moving toward the next opportunity.“ -Arthur Pine
A search of Arthur Pine revealed the following:
One Door Closes, Another Door Opens: Turning Your Setbacks Into Comebacks by Arthur Pine and Julie Houston
Using personal stories of failure and rejection from celebrities such as Michael Jordan, Robert Merrill, Elton John, Ed Asner, Carol Burnett, Katarina Witt, Walter Cronkite, and others, this encouraging book illustrates how painful experiences can change lives for the better — how setbacks can open the door to new opportunities.
Prior to discovering the quote above, I was not familiar with this author although I am quite familiar with this genre of work. One of the most well-known books in this genre is not just a book, but an entire series of books; The Chicken Soup for the Soul series by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen gave rise to an entire “Chicken Soup for the Soul” Brand.
One of the interesting details that many people don’t know about the first book is the number of rejections it received from publishers. Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen saw every single “no” not as a no, but as an OPPORTUNITY for the next publisher to review their manuscript. They knew that eventually the right publisher would say “yes.”
What they didn’t know though, was that it would take 144 rejections before that “YES” finally came. And even when the YES finally came, the publisher had an extremely limited vision for the potential of the book and didn’t offer much in the way of support to the authors.
Jack Canfield said: “Chicken Soup for the Soul” was rejected by 144 publishers. If we had given up after 100 publishers, I likely would not be where I am now. I encourage you to reject rejection. If someone says no, just say NEXT! (Jack Canfield Facebook post dated November 18, 2015 at 11:27 PM).
The book was a runaway success story and held a spot on the New York Times Bestseller list from 1994–1998. The rest is history! The brand was eventually sold and now has over 250 publications and other product lines as well. Simon & Schuster is the current distributor of the Chicken Soup For The Soul LLC Brand.
Opportunity is often just on the other side of rejection or hiding behind an obstacle!
Keep Pedaling, Keep Going, Keep Growing!
Advance Confidently!
If you enjoyed and found value in this article, please share it.
In Gratitude,
Bobby Kountz, Author, Speaker, Sobriety Scholar, Inspirationalist!
PS. You can find out more about me here. You can find my book on Amazon.
“Time is a fixed income and, as with any income, the real problem facing most of us is how to live successfully within our daily allotment.”~Margaret B. Johnstone
Time truly is a fixed income.
Each of us receives the exact same amount every single day. There is no
hierarchy of time. There is no aristocracy of time. Wealth won’t buy you one
second more than the poorest of the poor. Intelligence provides no advantage
here either. The most intelligent person on the planet receives the exact same
allotment of this precious commodity as does the person who struggles to think.
Wisdom however, now that’s a
different discussion. Wisdom is the gift that allows for the full utilization
of our very precious 86,400 seconds of income. Wisdom helps us determine how to
best invest this precious resource. Wisdom is often mistakenly referred to as the accumulation of knowledge.
Wisdom is not the accumulation of knowledge, it’s the application of knowledge.
“Time is the inexplicable raw material of everything. With it, all is possible, without it nothing. The supply of time is truly a daily miracle, an affair genuinely astonishing when one examines it.” ~Arnold Bennett
Time can never be managed. It
can only be invested into the activities of our choosing. Time management is a
catchy phrase that made a complex issue seem simple. What we manage, if we are
disciplined enough to see the importance of it, is activity. Time is simply a
receptacle for activity management.
As it relates to time, we don’t
even get paid for our time even though many of us are paid by the hour. What we
get paid for is the activity we put into the time allotted for the activity.
Some would argue this is semantics, but if we truly got paid for our time we
could just simply stay home and eat bon bons all day. No, if we work for a
company or for ourselves, either way, whatever we are paid, it will be for what
we produce, for the activity we put into the time allotted.
As human beings we have free
will, which also means we have free choice. We choose how we invest and spend
our time. We choose our work, our vocation, our creative outlet, our leisure
activities, what we read or don’t, what we watch, or don’t, what we listen to,
or don’t. The allocation of our time is one of the most important decisions we
make on any given day.
A common phrase we often hear
is, “If I only had more time.” The hard truth was expressed over a hundred
years ago by the author Arnold Bennett and was captured for all eternity in the
following quote.
“We never shall have any more time. We have, and we have always had, all the time there is.”
When determining how to best
invest your income, consider what you really want and then strategically
allocate specific blocks of your daily commodity into that activity.
Most of us procrastinate to
avoid the discomfort associated with a specific task or activity. We fool
ourselves into believing we can do it tomorrow, or the next day, or the day
after that, or even worse, someday…
As a recovering
procrastinator, I am all too well versed in the many ways of avoidance.
Creativity is NOT a superpower for procrastinators! But let’s be honest, we all
do it at least every now and again. As a matter of fact, we are prone to it and
without discipline and vigilance it’s easy to have a day slip away never to be
regained.
Fortunately, tomorrow is kept
for us, no way to get into debt, impossible to borrow from the future. Now, now
is all we have. We talk about our twenty-four hours because of the system we
use to measure time, but the truth is all we have is this moment and then it’s gone,
and we are onto the next moment. Therefore, it’s so important to structure the
proper use of this ever-precious commodity.
Another note on time. We tend
to overestimate what we can accomplish in a day and to drastically underestimate
what we can accomplish in a decade. Here’s a rudimentary example that might
shift your thinking based on what I refer to as the cumulative effect. One hour
per day invested into the endeavor of your choice is 365 hours per year which
equals approximately 45 workdays. Multiply the 45 days by 10 and you have 450
days or 1.25 years. When we think about all the things we could accomplish in
this amount of time, it’s absolutely amazing. All because we suddenly
understood the value of an hour consistently invested into the activity of our
choosing. No, it won’t happen overnight, but think how much smarter you’ll be a
decade from now.
Ponder this one-hour rule and
think of all the different experiments you could conduct in your own life by
applying this rule every day. Oh, and as it relates to habits, think of how
many productive habits you could develop and apply to your future with this one
simple change in focus. This is an example of what I call the cumulative effect
and what Darren Hardy calls “The Compound Effect” in his bestselling book.
“Decide what you want, decide what you are willing to exchange for it. Establish your priorities and go to work.” ~H. L. Hunt
Be “WISE”, don’t
leave this task to chance, for if you do, you will find this gift slipping away
just as the sand slips from one side of the hourglass to the other…
For a truly interesting read,
check out the work of Larry G. Maguire.
