Your Only Real Commodity
My friend Gabe and I have been developing a business plan for some martial arts gyms. As a by-product we’ve been talking about business in general.
Gabe mentioned that when people are paying you for lessons, they’re actually paying you twice. They’re giving you money to teach them, but they’re also giving you time in which to teach them.
That’s had me thinking about my writing/blogging.
In times past I’ve figured that I needed to write out very long articles and make sure they were very complete.
But with that sentiment in mind, you guys are spending your time reading what I write. I’m thinking that rather than waste your time by rambling on and on thinking I know everything you’ll want to know about about something, I’ll just try to make the articles short and sweet to respect your time.
If you stop and think about it, your only real commodity in this world is your time. Many people exchange their time for money (a job). Bob Proctor pointed out, that is the worst way to make money.
You’ll find people in this world that will “spend” their time with you, both of you will be better for the experience. But there are also people who will “waste” your time (and possibly theirs), they may be better for the experience or both of you may not get anything from the experience.
Pay attention to where your time is going.
If you consciously put it toward things that will enrich your life, it’s my belief and experience that it will be much more fulfilling.
When you’re doing things, simply stop and ask yourself if there’s something else you’d rather be doing. If you’re at work and would rather be doing something else, there’s a good chance that it can’t be helped. However after work if you come home and find yourself mindlessly watching TV for more than half an hour or so (decompressing after work is often necessary, so you can actually enjoy things) you’ll probably want to stop and ask yourself what you’d rather be doing.
Another thing that helps is to pay attention to why you’re doing something. If you’re decompressing from work for instance, letting your brain relax while you vegetate for a bit is an effective use of time (sharpen the saw as it were). But if for instance you’re playing a video game to get some relaxation and enjoyment and you find after playing for a while that it’s become “just get to the next level.” Then it’s probably time to turn it off and switch activities.
Pay attention to what you’re doing and you’ll find things more enjoyable and you’ll probably find that you get more done as well.