Dr. JJ's Rule #12: The Wise Use of Time & Money

Your use of time & money
determines your CHARACTER

In a previous article, Dr. JJ's 13 Rules for Living were shared.

Click HERE to access JJ's 13 Rules.

This week's blog post addresses Dr. JJ's RULE #12, which states:

Spend all my TIME and MONEY on things that will either directly or indirectly contribute to the acquisition of wisdom and Existential Growth, the accumulation of worthy experiences, memories and relationships, and the proactive pursuit of meaningful service to others.  

Wisdom is the intelligent application of knowledge

Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.  

—Proverbs 4:7

In the Good Book, it reads: "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Another way to posture this principle is: "Where your treasure is, there will your time (and expenditures) be also."

The way you spend and/or save money speaks volumes about what and who is most important to YOU. It also says a lot about the value you place on the short-run versus the long-run of your life and career.  

You cannot save time. It is always on the move
You must constantly choose how you will spend it.

The same can be said about how you spend your TIME.  

Time is arguably the most valuable commodity to which any of us has access in this life. Time is also a great equalizer in the sense that each of us is allotted the exact same amount of time each day—24 hours—not a second more and not a second less. It doesn't matter who you are (or aren't), how much money you have (or don't have), or what other privileges you are blessed with (or not), EVERYONE gets the same amount of time to spend each day.

The question is not whether you have time; we all do. The question is: how are you choosing to spend your time?

America's first great time management expert—Benjamin Franklin—famously wrote: "Dost thou love life? Then do not squander time; for that's the stuff life is made of."

Benjamin Franklin—and Founding Father—of the United States
had many wise things to say about how to spend both time & money.

"Dost thou love life? 

Then do not squander time; for that's the stuff life is made of." 

—Benjamin Franklin

To illustrate and illuminate the power and value of time, consider the following...

Everyone who has ever lived in this world has accomplished what they did and became who they were because of the way in which they chose to use their time. And while time expenditure alone is not the only variable impacting the results we obtain in life, it is, without any doubt or question, a key component and driving impetus for all RESULTS. Moreover, an argument can be made that it is, without any doubt or question, the most important variable in the sense that it is the only variable over which we have direct, significant, and lasting control.  

The use of time is akin to the use of money. The ways in which you choose to spend and invest money will determine the proliferation or atrophy of your financial portfolio over time. Similarly, the ways in which you choose to spend and invest your time will determine the proliferation or atrophy of your personal and professional happiness, peace, success, and growth over time. 

Consequently, self-action leaders are as careful and conscientious with their time as they are with their money—if not more so. They further recognize that their allotments of time in this life and world are finite—and that unlike money or other material possessions, lost (wasted) time can never be retrieved. As such, each moment really is precious.

Rule #12 is designed to serve as a personal cue to use my own time wisely. It further serves as a reminder of what matters most to me in my life, namely: the continual nurturance of positive interpersonal relationship and the never-ending quest after personal knowledge, wisdom, capacity, growth, and inner peace. Staying laser-focused on these life objectives empowers me to go where I want to go and become who and what I most desire in the long run.

Life and Career Management begin with Time Management

I invite you to read the following questions and then thoughtfully reflect on the answers as they relate to your own life and career.  

• How are you currently spending your time (and money)?

• Are your present expenditures of time (and money) consistently aligned with your deepest-held values and goals?

• In what ways is your current use of time (and money) contributing to future growth and happiness?

• In what ways is your current use of time (and money) contributing to preventable illness, calamity, and pain down the road?

• How is your current use of time (and money) helping your relationships?

• How is your current use of time (and money) hindering your relationships?

• In what ways do you waste time (and money)?

• What could you do beginning TODAY to start using your precious allotment of time (and money) more wisely?

NOTE: This article is the 14th in a series of 22 articles on the subject of LIFE RULES.

Click HERE to access quick links to the other 21 articles.   

—Dr. JJ

December 29, 2021

Palm Beach Gardens, Florida, USA

Author's Note: This is the 245thBlog Post Published by Freedom Focused LLC since November 2013. 

Click HERE for a compete listing of the other 244 FF Blog Articles.  

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