Thursday; October 11

The other day I did something I had been afraid I was going to do for a while.  On the weekends I tend to carry my phone in the front pocket of my shorts – which is also where I carry my cash.  I try to carry them in different pockets, but every so often they will end up in the same one and that can lead me to inadvertently pulling out my cash when I take out my phone.  On previous occasions I have saved a loss by finding my cash laying on the ground or in my chair, but last week I was not so fortunate.  Somehow, somewhere I lost some money.  I don’t know exactly what happened, but I would imagine it was lost when I pulled my phone out of my pocket.  As you might imagine, I was a bit irritated at losing the money and moped around for a while.  As I processed my loss I got thinking that it was about an hour’s worth of pay and that seemed to ease my mind a bit.  I still felt foolish, but it wasn’t the first time I have wasted an hour’s wage. 
As I thought about this rationalization, I was struck by another realization – how many times have a wasted an hour?  No, not an hour’s wage, but an hour!  I can probably get an hour’s wage back, but the scary thought is that I’ll never be able to get back any hours I waste.  I might be able to work overtime, borrow the money from someone or get a second job to replace any financial loses, but when it comes to wasting time it is irreplaceable – it is gone forever!
Are we as protective of our time as we are we are with our money?  It is great if we are frugal with the financial blessings we have and it makes good sense to be prudent in our spending and investments, but let’s make sure we protect our time.  Just like our money, our time is a gift from God; but the difference is that we can never recoup our lost hours.
Think About It!

Popular posts from this blog

Tuesday; November 29

The biblical story of the Good Samaritan has changed our world. Notice I didn’t say that it had change religion or even Christianity, it has influenced the world. There are very few people who don’t know the moral of Jesus’ parable about the Good Samaritan. In fact, the phrase has become a common description of everyday people doing good to their neighbors. While Jesus’ parable from Luke 10 shares several spiritual lessons, one of the most practical is that good can be done by anyone. You don’t have to be a church official to do good, it is not only possible for each one of us to help, it is required of all of us. If a Samaritan can be good, so can we! After presenting the parable, Jesus asked the man who had originally asked the question about being a good neighbor which character in the story was a good neighbor, “… he said, ‘The one who showed mercy toward him.’” at which point, the discussion from theoretical to personal, “Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do the same.’” (Luke
Read more

Thursday; January 12

The other day I was watching a television show that used a rather common term applied to overcoming challenges. When organizations experience unexpected setbacks – especially when they lose key people – they rely upon the concept of “Next Man Up”. In essence, when our starters (or stars) go down, effective organizations rely upon their next levels to step into the vacancy. While this is an effective response, have we given much thought as to how we prepare to be the “next people up”? First, we must know our job. Even when we aren’t the primary players, we need to be preparing ourselves to be ready when we get the opportunity to shine. Second, we must do our best when we get the chance. Knowledge is important but what turns potential into talent is effort. Yet, maybe the most underappreciated aspect of this concept is a willingness avoid excuse-making and whining about the unfairness of our situation. When we complain about the circumstances that caused the need for replacements
Read more

Monday; September 25

When I was a youngster, I remember hearing about this thing called the Generation Gap. I was a little bit too young to be active in the social movements of the 1960s, but I do remember listening to the challenges the generations were experiencing way back then. Interestingly, now that I have been on both sides of the aging process, I have to admit that the Gap of the 1960s was nothing new. With the development of each generation comes conflict. The young people don’t feel like the older people understand them and the older folks tend to believe their input is being underappreciated. Too often trust is the casualty when two generations collide. The sad thing is that it doesn’t have to be this way. When we can capture the innovation and energy of the younger folks and harness the wisdom of those who have been around for a while we can develop a winning combination. No, we won’t always see things eye-to-eye nor will we necessarily speak the same emotional language, but when we app
Read more