Tag Archives: Investment

What is the cost of not managing your time?

January 9, 2022 By in Leadership Tags: , , , Leave a comment

“People are frugal in guarding their personal property; but as soon as it comes to squandering time, they are most wasteful of the one thing it is right to be stingy.”

Seneca

I recently did an exercise where I kept a time journal and recorded every task or moment I spent in a given day. I thought I was pretty disciplined with my use of time, but I was still amazed at how much margin I was letting slip through the cracks without really understanding the impact, or lack thereof, for every moment spent in a day. I conservatively estimated I could get one hour back each day by eliminating several non-value added activities or dispensations of time. So what is the value of this hour? Well, it depends, of course. 

What is the value of the book that you might not otherwise have read? What is the value of the extra time shared with a family member that comes from being fully present at the moment? What is the impact of intentionally choosing to spend your time in an impactful versus wasteful manner? 

You will never know the answers to these questions until you audit your time and then make a choice to spend it more wisely. There are 168 hours in the week ahead; how will you invest them?

Are you aware of the opportunity cost of wasted time?

December 31, 2021 By in Leadership Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

“It is not that we have a short time to live, but that we waste a lot of it.”

Seneca

December 31st is one of my favorite days of the year. I love setting aside time to reflect on the year that is almost over, assess what I want to improve upon or achieve in the coming year and pause to appreciate all the good things that have happened over the previous 364 days.

If I am being honest, one of the things I typically review with some regret is how much time was “wasted” over the year. I remember the moments that created a positive memory for myself or others with joy and fondness. The time I spent doing things that didn’t add value to the lives of those I care about and serve never makes my list because it is GONE and has zero return on the investment. 

Truthfully, wasted time has a negative return on investment; it is a lost asset that can’t be retrieved in any possible way. So there is an opportunity cost for the wasted time that, unfortunately, is far too easy to ignore or rationalize away. But it is always there.  

So my challenge for this new year is to be even more intentional in spending my time and waste less. I will be focused on improving the daily, weekly, and monthly investments of precious time so that next December 31st, I have even more to be grateful for during my reflection period. 

2022 is going to be a fantastic year; 2021 certainly was.

Your energy is precious. Where are you going to invest it?

February 13, 2021 By in Leadership Tags: , , Leave a comment

“Focus on your strengths, not your weaknesses. Focus on your character, not your reputation. Focus on your blessings, not your misfortunes.”

Roy T. Bennett

I once saw John Maxwell speak on the topic of maximizing strengths. He said, “most people try to shore up their weaknesses because the world says this is where you need to focus. But let’s face it, this is an investment of effort with limited return. Why would you put all your effort into improving an area where you score a “4” to become at best a “6”. Instead, why don’t you invest the same amount of effort to turn a “7” into a “9” or an “8” into a “10.”

We only have so much energy to invest; shouldn’t we find a way to invest in the most impactful manner possible? 

Invest in your strengths.  

Invest in your character.  

Invest in your blessings.  

Everything else will fall into place.  

Time spent worrying is a waste of energy.

December 4, 2020 By in Leadership Tags: , , , Leave a comment

“If you can’t sleep, then get up and do something instead of lying there worrying. It’s the worry that gets you, not the lack of sleep.”

Dale Carnegie

There is almost nothing worse than waking up in the middle of the night with your mind racing and not being able to shut it down. Well, that’s not true. Lying there, worrying about something is much, much worse. I am guilty of this far too often, and only in recent years have I begun to manage this more effectively.  

Worrying is a 100% negative investment. Every single bit of energy spent on apprehension and anxiety is negative energy expenditure. Choose to spend your finite life positively; do something, even if it is wrong. You can always do something different if it doesn’t work out.

How are you spending your most precious gift?

November 30, 2020 By in Leadership Tags: , , Leave a comment

“All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”

J.R.R. Tolkien

Our time is a gift. It is a gift that we are given without charge and without instructions on how to use it. However, much like a gift that you receive and don’t appreciate because you didn’t earn it, so much of our lives are spent wasting the precious and limited time we have. 

Strip away everything that isn’t a valuable investment of your finite life. Spend your time like it is the most precious thing you possess; because it is.

What is your treasure?

August 28, 2020 By in Leadership Tags: , , Leave a comment

 “The key is in not spending time, but in investing it.”

Stephen R. Covey

How much of life do we spend in the pursuit of some thing without regard for the time that is exchanged in the chase? Do we view how we spend our time with the same alacrity as we do the pursuit of wealth?

Time is a much tougher investment to manage than money. There is never enough, and for many, the realization of the importance, or lack thereof, of one over the other comes too late in life to rectify.

As I think about the importance of intentionally managing time this verse from the book of Proverbs comes to mind. “The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty.” Proverbs 21:5 Specifically, what comes to mind here is the definition of “profit.” How do you define “profit” as it comes to the investment of your time? Is this profit a conversion into wealth, or is it something else? Something more?

Take a moment to play with the slider on the picture below. Move the slider left or right to show highlight which picture is more important to you. “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21

Then take some time to reflect on your answer, the one that is truly important to you. How are you going to invest your time to make your dreams come true? What is it that you treasure? Where is your heart?

silver and gold coinspeople s feet near mugs

Was it worth it?

July 20, 2020 By in Leadership Tags: , , Leave a comment

“Judge your success by what you had to give up in order to get it.”

The Dalai Lama

At every stage in life we make choices to do, and to give up, certain things. When you look back over your life what are the choices you regret? Did you make those choices in the pursuit of some success that was important to you at the time but in retrospect the success wasn’t worth the cost? Given what you now know would you make different choices today?

How can you apply these lessons in your future? How can you ensure your next success pursuit is worth the cost? Perhaps even more importantly how should you define success to ensure the investment you are making is aligned with what you want to achieve and who you want to become?

I would strongly argue that if you choose to put more emphasis on the “Whats” of life, (i.e., what you get, what you have, what you do) than on the “Who” and the “How” you are building a life that will be filled with disappointment and regret at some point in the future. A life spent in pursuit of success measured in a “what” is one where you have a chosen something that won’t last. So, was it worth it?

What’s your score?

August 26, 2019 By in Leadership Tags: , , , , Leave a comment

“The average person puts only 25% of his energy and ability into his work. The world takes off its hat to those who put in more than 50% of their capacity, and stands on its head for those few and far between souls who devote 100%.”

Andrew Carnegie

Where do you fall on this scale of energy and ability investment into your work? Are you “average?” Of course no one wants to be average so I assume that everyone would score themselves higher than 25%. But are you able to honestly say that you regularly put in more than 50% of your capacity?

If the answer is “no,” then why not? Not every day is going to be a 100% effort, or even a 50% effort kind of day. But the days where you invest over 50% should outnumber those that don’t. If that isn’t happening then perhaps there is something else going on.

If you are doing work that just doesn’t inspire and motivate you then let’s be honest, sometimes giving 25% can feel like 100%. It can feel like trying to fill a bucket that has tons of holes in it. No matter how much water you pour in, it simply won’t fill up.

There are two key components that are critical for you to score high on the work investment scale. One is the work itself, do you find it motivating and rewarding? The second is deeply understanding your “why.” Do you have a burning “why” that pushes you forward regardless of the work you are doing at the time?

Either the work will have to motivate you, or the “why” should. When you find both, that is when the magic happens. That’s how you score 100%.

Giving more is an investment…

April 30, 2019 By in Leadership Tags: , , , Leave a comment

 “My father taught me to always do more than you get paid for as an investment in your future.”

Jim Rohn

My Dad had a very similar life lesson that he preached to my brother and myself. His lesson was “do whatever it takes to get the job done, no matter what, and then do a little more.” That has been a principle I have followed my entire life. No matter what it takes, get the job done, and do a little bit more.

I really like how this quote frames out very specifically that you should always do more than you are paid, because you are making an investment. Investments have returns and if you keep making them those returns will continue to grow. It isn’t just a money thing either, this wisdom could apply to life and how you treat others, how you serve others and how you spend your time. Always give more than expected…

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