Time

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 the bank deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day. 

 

What would you do? Draw out every cent, of course! 

 

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 the "tomorrow." 

 

You must live in the present on today's deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness, and success! The clock is running. Make the most of today. 

 

- 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 premature 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. 

 

Treasure every moment that you have! Remember that time waits for no one. 

 

Cheers!

The Idle Fisherman – A Pleasant Life

A corporate executive, on holiday in a small, Greek sea-coast village, was strolling by the docks and taking in the local colour. He complimented one fisherman on the quality of his catch.

“How long did it take you to get all those fish?” he asked.

“Not very long,” answered the Greek. “An hour or two.”

“Then why didn’t you stay out longer to catch more?”

Shrugging, the Greek explained that his catch was sufficient to meet his needs, and those of his family.

The executive asked, “But what do you do with the rest of your time?”

I sleep late, fish a little, play with my children, and take a nap with my wife. In the evening, I go to the village to see my friends, dance a little, play the bouzouki, and sing songs. I have a full life.” 

The executive said, “Well I have an MBA from Harvard and I’m sure I can help you. You should start by fishing longer every day. You’ll catch extra fish that you can sell. With the revenue, you can buy a bigger boat. With the extra money the larger boat will bring you, you can buy a second boat and a third one, and so on, until you have an entire fleet of trawlers. Instead of selling your fish to a middleman, you can then negotiate directly with the processing plants and maybe even open your own plant. You can ship fish to markets all around the world. In time, you can then move to New York City to direct your huge enterprise.”

“How long would that take?” asked the Greek.

“Twenty, perhaps twenty-five years,” replied the executive.

“And after that?”

“When your business gets really big, you can sell stock and make millions!” exclaimed the executive with zeal.

“Millions? Really? And after that?”

“After that you’ll be able to retire, live in a small village near the coast, sleep late, play with your grandchildren, catch a few fish, take a nap with your wife, and spend your evenings singing, dancing, and playing the bouzouki with your friends.”

A good life-balance means taking the time to appreciate what we’re doing now. Try thinking again about what you’re doing and what you hope to achieve. Being satisfied with what you’ve got can be a liberating experience. Knowing when enough is enough could transform your perception of success. Keep your guard against narrow definitions of success.  Try to stop and smell the flowers!

Cheers!