We know when we were born, but since we don’t know when we’ll die, the time we have to work with is a mystery. This unknown factor is what should cause all of us to hold every moment close and enjoy life every day, no matter where we are in our journey. Too often people [...]
This story about Ben Franklin applies even today. One day, Ben Franklin was busy preparing his newspapers for printing when a customer stopped in his store and spent an hour browsing over the various books for sale. Finally, he took one in his hand and asked the shop assistant the cost. The assistant answered, “One [...]
What do you do when you are caught in a traffic jam? Noel Coward didn’t fuss and fume; he took out a piece of paper and wrote his popular song, “I’ll See You Again.”
Dale Carnegie told the story of two men who were out chopping wood. One man worked hard all day, took no breaks, and only stopped briefly for lunch. The other chopper took several breaks during the day and a short nap at lunch. At the end of the day, the woodman who had taken no [...]
Ivy Lee, a management consultant, was called in by Charles Schwab, chairman of Bethlehem Steel Company, to give him advice on how to better manage his time. Lee told him to write down every evening the six most important things he had to do the next day and to list them in the order of [...]
In 1939, Frank Whittle and Hans von Obain were both working on the idea of the jet engine. Von Obain was in Germany and Whittle was in England. Both were in different geographic and political arenas but were separately working toward the same goal. No matter how original our ideas may seem to us, someone [...]
The old storekeeper, who also was the community’s postmaster, was a real go-getter. He had no helper, and when he had to leave his store to meet the mail train, he was tormented by thoughts of tourists stopping for gas and soft drinks, and finding him gone and his store closed. Finally he hit upon [...]
Benjamin Franklin said, “If we take care of the minutes, the years will take care of themselves.” One minute. It doesn’t seem like much. However, never underestimate the cumulative effect of each minute we live. Let’s suppose, for example, a minute is worth one penny. You see a penny lying on the street but pass [...]
Only you can waste your time. Years ago, while serving in the U.S. Navy, I was stationed aboard an aircraft carrier. I was faced with the prospect of wasting two years of my life floating around on the Pacific Ocean. It was during these two years that I learned a valuable time-management tool. After complaining [...]
The present life of men on earth, O king, as compared with the whole length of time which is unknowable to us, seems to me to be like this: as if, when you are sitting at dinner with your chiefs and ministers in wintertime, …one of the sparrows from outside flew very quickly through the [...]
