The wealthy individual and homeless person have at least one thing in common: Each is given 1,440 minutes of time every day. Needless to say, they use that time in vastly different ways. As a result, they get vastly different results.
Proper time management is a must for every person who aspires to be successful. Time is our most important, certainly our most consistent, commodity, with the same amount coming each day. When you let those moments and hours slip away, they do not return. They're gone forever. The question then is how do you effectively use more of your time?
I encourage you to take a week and record what you do each day. Break it into thirty-minute segments and note what you did during those thirty minutes. In most cases you will be astounded to see sometimes an hour or two hours each day when little of value is accomplished. Going through this process will make you aware of the incredible amount of time which slips through your fingers.
The first step in developing a more effective work habit is to set some realistic goals. Next, you need to take advantage of the time you have. Herbert Hoover wrote a book in the time he spent waiting in railroad stations. Noel Coward wrote his popular song, "I'll See You Again," while caught in a traffic jam. Each one of us has just as much time available as Tolstoy did when he wrote "War and Peace." We each have just as much time as Edison had when he invented the light bulb.
Finally, don't waste your time. A popular magazine recently conducted a time study of eighteen executives in fourteen companies. They found that these executives spent an average of five and a half hours a day in conversation. The conclusion was that executives have enough time to accomplish their goals - they just don't use it.
Each day is important and the way we use it determines just how important it will be to those who follow in our wake. So, set a good example. Use your time wisely and not only will I SEE YOU AT THE TOP, I'll also see those you've taken with you AT THE TOP!
Zig Ziglar is known as America’s Motivator. He authored 33 books and produced numerous life-changing programs. He will be remembered as a man who lived out his faith daily.