Are Money and Time equal?
We often here the phrase used that “time is money,” (Is this true?)
Many of us work jobs or have worked jobs where we were paid for the time we put in. We clocked hours and were paid, no matter how much or how little we did. So most of us have at least traded our time for money; but does that mean our time is equal to money? Are they the same thing?
Can you use this to buy more time?
What is money?
Money is a tool or store of value that we use to exchange for goods, services, or gifts. Money can be made of a rare and valuable asset, such as gold or silver coins. It can also be backed by those valuable assets. Until 1971 you could trade your U.S. Dollars for a fixed amount of gold and/or silver.
Most money today, has very little intrinsic value. It is called fiat money meaning it has value because of a decree by the issuing nation.
Attributes of Money:
- Can be traded for a good or service we desire
- No intrinsic value (in most cases today)
- It is easy to create more
- It can be accumulated for future use
- Infinite possibility
What is time?
Time is a unit of measure that scientists struggle to understand. We all know it exists, and yet we don’t understand why or how. If you want to learn more here is a complex article and blog about the topic (click here)
Attributes of Time:
Do you know what happened to your 168 hours last week?
- Can be traded for money, goods, or services
- Its individual determines how much they value their own time
- Each of us has a limited time of existence on earth
- We cannot store time (once it passes it can never be used again). We can only use a moment in the moment. Once that moment has passed we can never use it again.
- While time may be infinite, we only have a finite amount
Can we trade money for time?
We can trade our time for money, but no matter how much money you have you can’t buy more time (with the exception of healthcare treatments that can prolong your life). You can’t use your money to redo a past time in your life. Once you have spent time, that expenditure is permanent. No refunds, no exchanges!!!
With No Refunds, No Exchanges, what are you doing to spend your time wisely?
What is more valuable to you? Money or Time?
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3 methods to Giving Critical Feedback (without Destroying the Relationship)
When I was 19 years old I was madly in lust with this sexy 17 year old high school dropout. She was my first real girlfriend and I thought I was in love. After a few weeks I bought an engagement ring and was ready to propose.
Excitedly I called one of my best friends to tell him the “good news.” He was a friend whom I trusted and respected a great deal. When I asked him his thoughts, he wisely responded with a question “Are you moving a little to fast?”
Ask a Question
That simple question saved me from making a tremendous mistake. I was not ready, I was not in love, and getting married would have been awful for both of us. The same friend would end being the best man in my wedding 10 years later.
He could have said a lot of things. Told me I was an idiot, crazy, jumping off a cliff with nothing but rocks below, however he chose to ask a question. Asking a question is one method to giving critical feedback without destroying your relationship.
In the bible there is a story about King David after he had committed adultery and murdered the woman’s husband to cover up his sin. The prophet Nathan came to bring correction; to a man whom with a word could have Nathan killed.
So Nathan tells David a story of a rich man and a poor man. The rich man had many sheep and cows, but the poor man had one lamb that he loved very much. A visitor came to the rich man and the rich man took the poor man’s lamb and fed it to his visitor.
Tell a story
Then Nathan asked a question of David, “what should happen to this rich man?” David indignantly replied “As the Lord liveth this man should die.” Nathan replied to David “you are the man!” Read the entire story here
Here we notice that Nathan used a story to seriously judge King David’s actions. His story opened the King’s eyes to the complete wickedness of his actions. Storytelling is the second method of correction.
Sandwich the critique with Praise
The third method is the sandwich method. In this method you sandwich the criticism with praise. You praise something that your friend did (this allows them to put their guard down). Then you give them the Criticism. Lastly you leave on a positive note by praising something else they did.
No matter which of these three methods you use, you must genuinely care about the person to have a chance of success. Here are three attributes that are vital:
- Share with the right attitude
- You must have relationship and affirm that relationship
- Criticize actions not people
So next time you go to give criticism remember the three attributes and use one of the three methods (Asking a question, telling a story, or sandwich). As you implement these I believe it will help your friendships and relationship to grow to deeper levels and lead to greater success for all involved.
Would you like your friends to give you more feedback? Read “Faithful are the wounds of a friend”.
Do you have people in your life that will give you feedback? Who are they? Can you increase that number?
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Faithful are the Wounds of a Friend
This ancient Hebrew proverb can have profound impact on the success of your life. Good friends have the ability to see things in our life that need correction. Often we are unable to see these things ourselves. Good friends who care about you are will to point these out.
A real friend corrects you not to hurt you, but to help you be more successful
Picture a house with only one door to get in the house. Now you are standing behind the home and can’t see that door. You need in the house, so you start to go in through a window. Your friend can see the front of the home and encourages you to use the door. Immaturity will reply to that friend, “there is no door.” We all see things from one perspective. Your friend can show you options to achieve your goal that you may not see. Friend can point out pitfalls we may not see.
Friends help us see things from a different point of view.
3 Keys to receiving faithful wounds from friends!
1. Develop real Friendships
To receive faithful criticism, we first need close friendships. Zig Ziglar would often say “If you go out looking for friends, you’re going to find they are very scarce. If you go out to be a friend, you’ll find them everywhere.” If you put Zig’s quote into practice you will find friends. Once you have friends invest in those relationships.
2. Give them permission!
Give your good friends permission to give you honest feedback about your life. Not every person should be given this permission, as some will abuse you out of their own pain or insecurity. Your friends who should be given this permission often won’t speak up unless you ask for their feedback. So it is vital that you give them permission.
3. Gratitude
Thank your friends for caring and sharing their thoughts. Even if you disagree, thank them. Your friends will not always be correct. However, if you show gratitude it will encourage them to give you more feedback in the future.
In the end your friends can’t live your life for you so the final decision is your responsibility. If we want to achieve high levels of success in our life, critical feedback is vital. We need relationships with others. People who see things from a different view point. This allows us to have a more complete picture. A more complete picture allows us to make better decisions.
Also read 3 Methods to giving critical feedback!!!
Has criticism from a friend kept you from a bad decision (Tell us about it below)?
Have you ignored the advice of a friend and regretted that decision (tell us about it below)?
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The incident of the spilled coffee
Is Spilled coffee a big deal?
Several years ago I worked with a man who had some slight handicaps. He had been a severe car accident in his teens and was in a coma for several weeks. He functioned quite well, however he had some slight coordination, memory, and speech issues.
One day we both arrived and clocked in right around the same time. I was ready to get to work and rushed toward the long walk to our work stations not waiting for him to join me.
He wanted to walk with me and began trying to run toward me with the cup of coffee he had purchased on his way to work. As he ran in his slightly uncoordinated way, his brand new cup of coffee fell out of his hand seeped into the gravel driveway. He quickly picked up his now empty cup with a twinge of disappointment and continued hurried toward me.
Immediately a crashing wave of guilt attempted to drown me, as I realized that if I would have waited 20 seconds his coffee wouldn’t be all over the ground.This may seem inconsequential, however I was a manager in the organization with a desire to be a leader and I was so focused on starting a task, I had missed an opportunity to strengthen a relationship. 20 seconds…. And I would have had a constructive 2 minute walk with someone who respected and was inspired by my work. 20 seconds…. And I could have encouraged him and found out how things were going in his life.
Tasks are an opportunity to have a shared experience of accomplishing a goal together.
As a leader few tasks are more important than our relationships and encouraging those around us. (This is not an excuse to spend the first 15 minutes of your day talking about the gossip from the previous night’s reality show.) It is having an awareness of those around us and emphasizing relationships as we accomplish our goals.
Here are some ways building those relationships can increase productivity:
- Creativity that improves company processes or products
- More motivated (cause the leader cares)
- Aware of personal problems that could effect productivity (leader then can provide resources to help them through the situation)
- Team members become more loyal
- Team members enjoy coming to work
What other ways do strong relationships help a business?
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Keeping your Siding Egg Free!
I’m around 8 years old and a new neighbor moves in next door. I don’t remember ever talking to her personally but I do recall my parents talking to me about her. Their statements were the echoes of her complaints about our going into her back yard to retrieve our balls. Her fence was the home run fence.
I vaguely remember knocking on the door and receiving a dour response, it just seemed I was always in trouble. I do recall her trying to keep one of our precious balls and it was a few weeks later she complained to my parents about some yellowish substance on her siding. While I cannot with certainty disclose what substance it was, I can give you some keys to avoid having your siding covered in egg.
My friends and I weren’t mean or nasty kids, we just liked to play as most 8 year old boys do. I am thoroughly convinced the mean old lady next door could have avoided much of her annoyance and definitely decreased the risk of egg ending up on her siding by doing a handful of things:
- Smile, it will disarm people and give them a warm impression of you
- Offer a small gift, something as simple as a homemade cookie or piece of pie. Your generosity will open the door for reciprocity
- Initiate interaction, simple acknowledgment of their existence via a wave, or a short greeting will often give them a positive view of you
I am sure that these three steps would not only have kept the egg off her siding but could have produced other benefits. Around that same age, I helped a different neighbor rake their leaves (just because he talked to me when I rode my bike by his house).
Possible benefits
- Groceries brought in for her.
- Her backyard not used as the home run fence.
- Weeds pulled from her flower beds
- And many more
Your kindness or lack thereof will oft be reciprocated. This is especially true when dealing with immature people (such as children). Your kindness could even keep egg from randomly finding its way onto your siding.
How have you ever experienced kindness bring reciprocity in your life?
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48 days book
