The problem is not with time

The problem is not with time.  It’s not a lack of time.  The problem is with our choices.

The problem is not that we don’t have enough time.  The problem is we don’t use it wisely. We make poor choices. And poor choices become the source of stress and strain in our lives.  We are not at the mercy of our circumstances, or what is being thrown at us.   We have the freedom to choose.

We all have the exact same amount of time.  You and I and everybody around us have 168 hours a week.  So the people who are more effective than you, the people who are more successful, the people who get more done than you, what’s the difference?  Do they have more time?  No. They just make better choices.

And that’s your choice. The power of choice is in your hands. 

Making the Most of Your Time on Earth

by D. Kirk Buchanan

Available at Amazon.com

Learn from your Competition

Rivalry is often a form of envy: Your competitor has a trait or skill you (sometimes grudgingly) admire. If you find something incredibly irritating about him, think about whether it’s because you lack the very competency you’re criticizing.

Professional rivalries can be a powerful vehicle for self-discovery — if you step back and think analytically about them. Learning where you're weak, what values you cherish, and how to think big are important advantages.

Consider the ant!

You ever notice how ants always seem busy?  But did you know they also sleep up to seven hours a day?  They work when it’s time to work and rest when it’s time to rest!  What a novel idea!

 “Go to the ant, you sluggard. Consider her ways, and be wise; which having no chief, overseer, or ruler, provides her bread in the summer, and gathers her food in the harvest.  How long will you sleep, sluggard? When will you arise out of your sleep?  A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: so your poverty will come as a robber, and your scarcity as an armed man.” (Proverbs 6:6-11)

We all have to fight the urge to be lazy sometimes, but there’s a big difference between being lazy and resting.  There’s a time for rest and a reason for rest.  Resting at the proper time will make you more productive at the proper time.

The enjoyment of leisure would be nothing if we had only leisure. It is the satisfaction of work well done that enables us to enjoy rest, just as it is the experiences of hunger and thirst that make food and drink such pleasures.

There’s delicate balance between hard work and rejuvenation.  Take your holidays!  Take your vacation!  That’s not being lazy.  That’s sharpening your axe.  When you return, work diligently.

Working hard is commendable.  Working smart is smart.  Sacrificing everything for work is foolish. Working hard and smart…that should be our goal.

Making the Most of Your Time on Earth

(now available)

Wordiness is everywhere

Many people skim and scan more than they actually read.  Readers are busy. Unnecessary words slow them down. Every word should matter.

"Value First" beats "Value-Add" any day!

For years I've been hearing the term “Value Added.” 

To me, it means that when a product or service becomes a commodity, just add a little extra value, which really means just add another service.

I have come to the conclusion that to truly differentiate ourselves, we must “Give Value First.” Given our competitive environment this may seem like a strange concept, but think of it this way: When we “Give Value First,” we are taking control of the situation, not reacting to it. 

It goes along with doing the right thing, no matter what the outcome may be. 

Why are you here?

New Year's Day was a month ago.  Now it's February already!  So let me ask again... Why are you here? Do you want this to be another year that flies by, half-hearted, arid, rootless, barely remembered, dull with dim glimpses of what might have been? Or do you want this to be a year that you savor, for the rest of your surprisingly short time on Earth, as the year you started, finally, irreversibly, uncompromisingly, to explosively unfurl a life that is fully worth living?

The choice is yours. And it always has been.

Making the Most of Your Time on Earth

(click here to order)