Time Is Money! Nah! Time Is Life

Thought Leadership for reflection: I feel whoever said “Time is money”, did not understand the true value of time. People attribute this thought to Benjamin Franklin. However, I trust Benjamin Franklin’s wisdom, having read his works and books, and do not think that Good Ol’ Ben would ever say something like this which is mindless to me.

Think about it. Can all the money in the world bring back the time which you lost in all the mundane matters and wasteful, excessive activities. Imagine people waste hours and days watching excessive cricket, reality shows and soap operas or window shopping online and playing candy crush/ angry birds kind of games endlessly at the workplace. It’s a crushing thought.

Most of us are so disconnected from understanding our mortality that we never realise that we came in one day and soon one day, we will go away and in between we have those few moments in the journey of life. If we think about this, we may realise how important it is to value every little moment of life. We take our moments, minutes and hours so casually and never truly understand the importance of time.

Have you ever thought what one Nano second could mean to Usain Bolt? I remember my brief dinner time conversation with him in 2014 when he came for the Bangalore Marathon. He said to me, “Jerry one day I will be beaten by someone maybe. But even then, I will never stop competing and thinking about how can I reduce one Nano second more in my running time.” You see this is how champions think. Champions and leaders are never competing with anyone, but themselves. They take time seriously and are always pushing their potential to use every moment of their time for continuous improvement.

Ever wondered what would happen if our heart stopped for five minutes? No. Well we would have multiple organ failure, be brain dead and die or end up as a vegetable. I remember my oldest and best buddy, Savio Desa, who was my pal, philosopher, poet and guide, whose heart stopped for seven minutes on 16th September 2013 and then began pumping again but alas, he could not be brought back to life after all his organs failed due to his heart stopping for seven minutes. Two days later he was gone.

Ideas for Action: Can we for a moment pause and ponder the value of one Nano second or seven minutes for us in our lives now? It’s a lot! Right? So, let’s not misuse, waste or spend it. Let us invest our time well, to get the best returns in our life. I am sure it has dawned on you now that Time is not money, Time is Life. Money can be earned again but time can never be earned again. A moment gone is gone and will never be lived again. Our time is very limited, so let us not waste it living someone else’s life. We need to create and live our own lives. Let us not be trapped by limiting dogma — by living other people’s limited beliefs.

Let not the cacophony of herd mentality and their limiting views drown out our own inner power and infinite potential. Let us have the courage to follow our heart and pursue our passion to be more and do more. Let us learn to enjoy every moment of our life as our own and our last. Let us be mindful and happy in the NOW.