There are 24 hours in every day. No matter how hard we try, no matter how rich or how poor, we cannot increase that number. We are all given the same amount to work with. How we choose to spend, save or invest it is up to each of us.
Some people require less sleep (they are the fortunate ones). Some of us simply get by on less sleep because we feel sleep is a luxury we cannot always afford. Of course, that view can backfire on us, too. At times we pay for that lost sleep with a lack of energy or mental clarity. But the fact remains: we have exactly 24 hours in a day.
I am a business man, and I am frugal by nature. I have historically mowed my own lawn, washed my own car and cleaned my own home. Why? Because I can. As an able-bodied man, I figured it didn’t make sense to pay someone to do what I can do myself. I prided myself in not being an elitist; I didn’t mind getting my hands dirty. But then I had a conversation with a multi-millionaire that altered my perspective.
This man said, “I could mow my own lawn, sure. But I can have more impact in that hour if I spend it doing something else.” More impact. It’s not about what we can do with our time; it’s about what we should do with our time. It’s about where we get the most impact for our investment of time. So I hired a guy to mow my lawn. I’m helping him grow his business, and he is helping me focus more on mine.
I quickly found myself back in the same situation, though. That hour or two a week that I used to spend mowing my lawn vaporized, as if it had never been available to me in the first place. I came home from work and saw my lawn mowed and thought, “When did I ever have time to do that?” Like fish, we grow to the size of our tanks.
So now I’ve hired someone to clean my house. I function better in a home that’s clean; if my home is organized, my life feels more organized. A friend referred me to a good house cleaner. I am helping her grow her business, and she is helping me focus more on mine.
Making these decisions costs me money, yes, but it allows me to spend my finite amount of time on something that will yield a greater return. The areas where I am spending this found time – building my business and expanding my speaking engagements – are areas where I alone am in a unique position to provide the greatest impact. I cannot hire someone to do these things; they are roles that I alone can fill. And allowing someone else to fill other roles in my life (roles that perhaps they fill better than I did anyway) frees me to focus my time on areas of greater return for me.
So, in essence, I am doing the impossible: I am buying time. Now it is my responsibility to ensure that I am not just spending… but investing for a greater return down the road.
re-S.H.A.P.E. your perspective.TM
Clifford Bailey