What Is Your Time Really Worth?

From Cory Boatright, Mindsetologist…

Steve Jobs once said:

“My favorite things in life don’t cost money. It’s really clear that the most precious resource we all have is time.”

Have you ever considered that time is 100% not recyclable?

The time you are given is linear and finite. It passes before you like clockwork (lol, quite literally), and no matter how hard you try, you can never reclaim or reuse a single moment of it.

Poof! …and this moment’s gone….

Poof! …there goes another one…

The cold, harsh truth is that tomorrow is not a given, it's a gift. But judging by the way most of us tend to spend our time, it's clear that we have a problem with really remembering this.

Today I’d like to help you really grasp this at a gut level. It’s going to get real and personal because it involves my real life, and it might even jar you a little. I hope it does.

Me vs. Father Time

Time has a wonderful way of showing us what really matters, doesn't it?

My father died when was a baby, so I grew up without a Dad and went through a lot of hardship as a child. I've also been through a heart-wrenching divorce, endured dear friends of mine passing away quickly…

None of these things are unique to me alone, and I believe in letting your past make you better, not bitter. But the events of my life have been very shaping to say the least, and this idea of how valuable time really is, has been a major recurring theme of my life. But nothing has made it more tangible than one event in particular…

Autumn was rapidly drawing to a close, and on a whim my buddy and I decided to skip out on winter and go to Maui instead. We met in Vegas to kick-off what was supposed to be the adventure of a lifetime…

During our celebratory dinner, my buddy suddenly said, “Hey man, what’s up with that lump on your throat?” I had no idea what he was talking about, I assumed my throat was simply irritated or maybe I cut myself shaving or something…

But once I checked it out myself, I was actually a bit concerned.

When we arrived in Maui, the first thing I did was go to a doctor, who promptly diagnosed me with “a no biggie” and sent me on my way with some meds. But a few weeks later, the bump was still there… and to me it even seemed bigger. Yikes! So then I went to an endocrinologist, and they took blood and tissue samples.

A few days later they called with my results. I had cancer. Only 13%-14% of thyroid growths are cancerous, and I was part of the unlucky percentile.

The fear was paralyzing. And quite suddenly, everything changed in my world.

Let me ask you: If you were told that you have cancer, how would you live your life differently? What changes would you make?

Dead in 7 Days

Three my good friends, Kent Clothier, Jason Medley and John Cochran recently spent some time together candidly discussing this idea of how valuable your time really is.

One of the exercises we went through was imagining that you just got the worst news in your entire life. Imagine you were told that in 7 days your life will end, and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it. 7 days, then lights out, you're done.

Now imagine I came to you after you got the news and said,

“Hey, I know you just got this tragic news about only having seven days left to live. Real bummer, man. But listen -- I really need a couple hours of your time please. How much will it cost me?”

You probably don’t have to think hard about this one, do you? It's simply priceless. There's no value you can put on it. Why? Because the true value of your time has now been put into perspective, hasn't it?

Here’s another one we came up with…

The average person lives to be about 75 years old.
There's 365 days in a year.
So take your 75 years (statistically) and subtract out how old you are right now.
Then multiple that number times 365 days.
That's roughly how many days you have left on the earth, statistically speaking.

So if you’re 40 years old, 75-40 = 35 years left… X 365 days = 12,775 days you have left before you kick the proverbial bucket. And that’s if you don’t kick it early…and we all know many of us do.

I’m no math doctor, but that can be a little jarring when you really think about it.

You know what's even more powerful than that?

Whatever number you came up with?... Tomorrow it's one day less…

And the next day, one less again…

And again….And again…

“When you are in the final days of your life, what will you want? Will you hug that college degree in the walnut frame? Will you ask to be carried to the garage so you can sit in your car? Will you find comfort in reading your financial statement? Of course not. What will matter then will be people. If relationships will matter most then, shouldn't they matter most now?” ~Max Lucado

Tick Tock, Tick Tock…

I did beat the cancer… In fact you can hear the whole story here if you want to.

But it wasn't easy and it taught me some powerful lessons I’d like to share with you. Do me a favor and don’t breeze through these – they’re rich. In fact, reach each of them 2 or 3 times. I dare you.

Lesson 1: Life is made up of moments that are flying right by you. Good ones, bad ones, but they're all worth living. Make sure you’re not just noticing these moments, but living them intentionally and in a way that’s congruent with your vision, your purpose and who you want to be.

Lesson 2: Your worst day is someone else’s best day ever. What you take for granted, someone else is praying for… remind yourself of that often.

Lesson 3: Go pursue your dreams. Make them happen. Make something happen. Decide what you want, then take action. Implement and go all in, 100%. Do, or do not…there is no try. (yep, Yoda)

Lesson 4: Realize fully that the time you have is the time you have. As each moment is spent, it can never be recycled. Today is a gift. Tomorrow is not guaranteed. Don’t take your days here for granted.

Lesson 5: And whatever the heck you do, MAKE IT MATTER.

I really hope you take these things to heart.

If you knew you only had 7 days to live, and a salesman told you he wanted to buy 2 hours of your time… what would you charge for those 2 hours?

Do you realize that your time is truly and absolutely priceless?

I sure do…

I think the real question you should ask yourself is: