Let’s suppose that you have been hard at work on developing a strong philosophy. You know exactly what you want to accomplish in life. You know that you want to get a good education, have a successful career, make some profitable investments, raise a family, and have your children turn out well. You may even know how you want to go about achieving these objectives. You may have it all planned out in great detail.
All that is very important. All that is very good. But is it enough? I (Jim Rohn) am afraid not.
Let’s also suppose that there’s a vast, hugely powerful force that nobody can withstand, and this immense force is always active and in furious motion. It never rests. It’s like a slowly flowing river that can eventually carve the Grand Canyon out of solid rock. But that comparison doesn’t really do it justice. The force I’m talking about is much more formidable than any river, ocean, glacier, or other natural phenomenon.
In trying to achieve your life’s goals, would you prefer to fight against this great force that has the odds overwhelmingly in its favor, or would you rather enlist this great power for your cause and make the inevitable work for you instead of against you?
Take your time before answering. Think it over.
By the way, the great power I’m talking about is time. Time is the mightiest force in the world–even the universe!
Of course, the answer to the question I posed is very obvious. Why would you ever choose to fight time when you could have time on your side? Who wouldn’t want to harness the great river of time that flows through all of life? Why wouldn’t you want to use the power of time to generate power in every area of your existence, to turn the turbines of your hopes and dreams, to charge your every aspiration with lightning bolts of electricity?
There is only one way make time work for you, not against you: patience.
There’s a type of person who undertakes every activity out of the desire to achieve a goal. He prepares food to eat it, not just for the fun of being in the kitchen. He starts a business to make money. He exercises to get in shape. I’m sure that some of these people are very successful, and they are certainly highly organized. But a person with a truly refined philosophy sees success as an adventure, not as a point with an estimated time of arrival. The latter approach is impatient thinking.
Impatient thinking can lead a person into some very big mistakes. When you are always looking somewhere else–whether it’s down the road, up toward the top of the mountain, or off toward the left field fence where you’re hoping to hit that grand slam home run–you often miss what’s under your very own nose.
You never know when you’re going to come across a book or article that will provide a piece of information that can transform your life. One thing is certain, however: the book you don’t read isn’t going to help. And it’s the same with meeting people. You never know who is going to be able to teach you exactly what you need to know. Even if you don’t need to know it now, you might need to know it at some point in the future. That might not be for fifteen years… but it just might be in fifteen minutes, too.
* Source: Leading an Inspired Life by Jim Rohn