Time is NOT a Commodity


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"I can't wait."

When I hear that phrase, my comeback is:

"And yet….you must."

We wait to checkout at the store.  We wait for dinner.  We wait for the elevator.  

I want it NOW!  

We even SING about our impatience!  I searched the phrase, "I want it now" in lyrics.  

• Song "I Want It Now" from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
• Lyric from Queen's song, I Want it All (1989)
• Lyric from East 17's song, I Want It, (1992)
• Lyric from Black-Eyed Peas song, Now Generation (2009)

We've 'wanted it now' for over 4 decades!

Waiting runs afoul with one of my most sacred values:

Time

When I delivered Strategic Selling training to Sellers all over the world, I usually asked what resource they considered MOST valuable.  They all concur:

Their Time

They don't like travel time.  They draft Call Plans for their most important customer meetings. I call these Intentional Interaction Plans.  I spoke to Pharmaceutical Sales Reps who meticulously scripted the 38 second walk from doctor's car in the parking lot to the front desk of their office! 

Yes, Time is Precious! 

How are you with time?  

Easy going?  Impatient?  Counting the minutes to the next stop on your road trip?  Settling into a slice of quiet in your "Alone Time?"  Looking forward to next year's vacation?

However you spend your time, PLEASE treat every minute with respect.

Dive into your hobbies with playfulness.  Dive into your work with purpose.  Dive into your relationships with passion.

Time

I have a concern about our humanity related to time.  Let me share a statistic with you.  This is actual data so it's confirmed and real.  These are FACTS.

When my Dad was born in the late 1920's, life expectancy on the planet was about 36 years.  In 2017, global life expectancy exploded to 72 years!  Of course, there's local statistics and differing geographic normal curves, but the fact is when my Dad was born, a person was expected to live HALF as long as we are today.

Our parents and grandparents and all past generations before them gave us something better than money, an inheritance, knick-knacks or even amazing memories.  They worked hard and contributed to the advancement of humanity.  

They gave us the most precious gift of all …. MORE TIME!

They didn't waste time.  I'm AMAZED at my maternal Grandfather's life timeline.  He migrated from Cardiff, Wales in the early 1900's, seeking a better life.  When WWI broke out, he went to Canada to enlist and serve his mother country.  He fought in the trenches of France.  Was gassed.  Survived.  Came home to the 1918 Spanish Flu when he observed 685,000 people die.  That's 6.6 people for every 1000 people.  

Do you know 1000 people?  See their faces in your mind's eye and relish each one!

Then my grandfather struggled about putting food on the table for his family of five as he weathered The Great Depression … for ten years.  

Are you enjoying a full hot meal today?  Taste every delightful morsel.

The Depression ceased when he saw his son join the Navy and sent to the Pacific Theater of WWII.  My grandfather desperately hoped he would see his son again.  

Look into your loved ones eyes.  And feel their warmth as they gaze back at you.

When I think of his story, I feel BLESSED!

What I remember most about my maternal grandfather was him picking the song Oh Susanna on his banjo as he leaned forward on his maroon easy chair.

He made GREAT sacrifices in his lifetime.  I am grateful for this abundant life I get to live.  I want to bask in every minute of it.

With double the life expectancy of our parents, how are we going to use all that extra time?  What's your plan?

You see, I'm afraid we are commoditizing our time.  When something is so ample, we tend to devalue it.

And time is pretty ample these days.

Here are some phrases we use to prove we're slipping into "Time as a Commodity"

• "I'll get to it tomorrow"
• "Let's wait out this storm"
• "When we get back to status quo…"
• "Can't wait til we get back to normal."

Ever say any of those?  Hmm

Here's my plan to squeeze every bit of life out of every minute of each day.

• Gather, store and share my stories in my Wisdom 4 Humanity blog posts (thank you for reading!)
• Support people in their Life Missions with my Significant Impact Monthly program
• Take people to sacred places all over the world on my Wisdom Councils
• Bottle ancient wisdoms in my Wisdom Archetypes book

What will YOU give to future generations?  What is your legacy?  How are YOU changing the way people work and live in your family and community?  

How are you preserving the gifts given to you by past generations so that future generations bask in the beauty of this thing called LIFE?

Let's give future generations the Time of their Life!