Let's Get This Show on the Road!

Ok. We’re two weeks into the new year and I happened across a brilliant snippet of thinking shared nearly two thousand years ago by the celebrated philosopher, Seneca. (If you’re unfamiliar with the man...Lucius Annaeus Seneca was a prominent and respected political leader and philosopher born in Spain around 5 BC. He rose to notability in Rome until the emperor Claudius banished him to the Mediterranean island of Corsica for eight years. Summoned back in AD 49, he was appointed tutor to the young lad who, in AD 54, became the emperor Nero.)

Here are his words that captured my attention as we launch into this year of AD 2017 (the parenthetical italicized words below are my own editorial additions):

“Most human beings, Paulinus, (Paulinus was a friend of Seneca’s) complain about the meanness of nature, because we are born for a brief span of life, and because this spell of time that has been given to us rushes by so swiftly and rapidly that with very few exceptions life ceases for the rest of us just when we are getting ready for it. Nor is it just the man in the street and the unthinking mass of people who groan over this - as they see it - universal evil: the same feeling lies behind complaints from even distinguished men. Hence the dictum of the greatest of doctors: (here, he’s referring to Hippocrates) 'Life is short, art is long.' Hence too the grievance, most improper to a wise man, which Aristotle expressed when he was taking nature to task for indulging animals with such long existences that they can live through five or ten human lifetimes, while a far shorter limit is set for men who are born to a great and extensive destiny. It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it. Life is long enough, and a sufficiently generous amount has been given to us for the highest achievements if it were all well invested.”

Living one day at a time and planning for the future do not have to be mutually exclusive goals. Finding your purpose and living life to the fullest is often elusive. We’re only on this earth for a limited time. Making the most of our time should be our goal every day. Each of us has been given just enough time to accomplish all of the purposes for which God created us, and God has not given any of us more than enough time.

One of the most difficult things in life when it comes to maximizing the use of our time is making the conscious choice to do the important things instead of the urgent things. There’s no such thing as spare time. The time you get is all the time you’ve got.

So, come on now! Let’s get this show on the road!

(By the way… If you’re interested in Seneca’s way of thinking, a great translation (by C. D. N. Costa) of some of his best work can be found in the book entitled, On the Shortness of Life: Life Is Long if You Know How to Use It. Here’s a link to it on Amazon: http://a.co/6yqPF9C)

Kirk Buchanan has worked for over 30 years to structure effective pension, 401(k), 403(b), and 457 plans for corporate, governmental, and tax-exempt organizations. He is motivated by one core focus: to help save people from living in poverty during their golden years by helping them plan for their futures today. He is a noted author and publisher of 9 best-selling books available at Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Barnes & Noble, and many independent booksellers throughout the US, UK, and Europe.