If we are honest to ourselves, we would confess that deep within, we all feel life itself is a bit unfair. Take for instance, we don't choose the family we are born into, neither did we choose by ourselves the ethnicity. Also, while some are born with a silver spoon, some are born without a roof. Some may not need to work all their life, while others may have to toil everyday to have something to eat.
The whole basis of nature is "balance", and nature has a way of balancing itself. It is true, that we have the factors mentioned above in an unfair ratio, and being born in a wealthy and a good family may give you an edge in life over others, but there is something we all have in an equal amount, and that is TIME.
In life, everyone has the same proportion of time allocated to them per day. Whether rich or poor, high or low, royalty or not, we all have 60 secs in a minute, 60 minutes in an hour and 24 hours in a day. The peculiar thing about this time allotment is that each of these seconds or minutes of the day is not defined. It comes to us blank, and it's left for us to decide what to make of it.
Now, what you make of the time allocated to you is what defines who you become. Also, it is how you use this time that will determine the opportunities you will enjoy tomorrow. It is no surprise that Opportunity is defined as a result of an effective use of time.
Just like a meal ticket, once time is used, it is gone and it cannot be gotten back.
Also, unlike a meal ticket, time doesn't wait for you to use it before it is spent. Time counts all the time, both when you sleep and when you are awake. As time ticks and passes by never to be recovered, same goes the opportunities that accompany it.
Knowing all these, and all that it entails, we must learn how to maximize time, so as to take advantage of all the opportunities that come with it.
In other to effectively make use of our time, we must realise that there the best time to start any project is now. Lots of people persons make the mistake of waiting for the right time. During those periods of waiting, they do nothing but wait, forgetting that the "right time" is "now". When the supposed right time finally comes they discover that it either wasn't the right time or that they have wasted their time being unprepared.
The effects of how we use our time is not only directly proportional to what our future holds, it is also cumulative. A time not well spent today, may cost you years of your life in the future. I once read a story that illustrates how important time management is to everyone.
A single poor mother gave birth to twin on a cold night. Both were male and identical. She had complications during child bearing which lead to loss of blood and sadly to her death. Since these kids had no one to take care of them, they were put up for adoption.
One of the kids was adopted by a wealthy family, while his twin brother was adopted by an old woman, a petty trader.
The kid who was adopted by the wealthy family had the best things in life. He had the best toys, the best foods, and he went to the best school in the state. His brother on the other hand only went to a government owned school in his rural area and close to his mother's shop. After school, he goes directly to the shop to help his mother in her business.
Time went by; both sat for entrance exams and got admitted into the same University. One went ahead to study Mechanical engineering, the other one, who was raised by the old woman studied Paediatrics.
When Paul, the one raised by the wealthy got into University, he met other kids from wealthy home like his, and they began to live a riotous life. With constant money flowing from home, he had the best "University days" based on his standards. But something unexpected happened on his 3rd year in the University. His father's company went bankrupt. A year later, his father died due to depression.
Joel, the one raised by the poor woman didn't find University so easy. He barely had enough to feed and pay his fees, he still had to work to support himself. Once a month he goes back home to help out his mother. He wasn't well dressed, but he was neat enough. He also took his studies seriously, like his life depended on it.
Finally they both graduated from the University and moved into the labor market. With no connections, both of them began to look for opportunities. Due to the fact Joel obtained a summa cum laude, he received lots of offers from several paediatric hospitals; also his school offered him a position as a professor. He finally settled to become a pediatrician, as that's what he loves doing. He was loved in the ward by both his co-workers and the kids he treats.
Paul on the other hand wasn't finding it so easy. He managed to get an opportunity to work in a manufacturing company due to his dad's past business relationship. In the firm, he was given an opportunity as a maintenance engineer, and place incharge of repairing all the spoilt manufacturing machine. They pay was huge, but since he knew nothing about maintenance and repairs, instead of repairing them, he further damaged it. This did cost him his job and he was offered no more opportunities, as none of his father's friend after hearing what happened to him was willing to help him anymore.
From these twin's stories, you can see that although they were born on the same time and they had equal opportunity to succeed, only one of them took the time he had to develop and create enough value in himself. His values made him make the best use of the opportunities that came his way. While the other may soon turn to begging, the one who made good use of his time has just began to eat the first fruit of his success.
Always remember, make great use of your time. Make every single moment of your time to count. Read books, go on trainings and seminars. Keep developing yourself. We all have equal time, but what will make you earn more and become wealthy in that same allotted time, is the value you have built over time.
Read, Ponder, Love.
