Published: November 28, 2008 10:29 pm      

Life is based on how you spend your time

As a much younger man, I chose to serve the nation first in the Army and then in the Marine Corps.

I started with the idea that I would serve three years, and that somehow turned into 22 years.

It seems that time flies when you’re having fun or serving the nation. Since I enjoyed serving the nation, time really flew for me.

The Army and Marine Corps are two very different organizations, but I can say from experience that in one aspect they are very similar: At the end of the day when we were not in the field training, my buddies and I would decide to “Go out to town to have a few.”

This usually involved more than a few, and there were times when my head was not very happy with me the next day. Ah, the days of being young, dumb, single and thinking I had all the time in the world.

After a while, it occurred to me that I was not using my time wisely. So I decided to go to night school and pursue a college degree.

I took a lot of ribbing from the guys about going to class at night, staying in the barracks studying, reading books and writing essays.

It took almost 10 years, but I finally achieved the degree I sought. I missed quite a few nights out with the guys, but I chose to use my time differently in order to achieve a goal. Looking back on that part of my life, I think I used my time wisely.

The funny thing about time is that it cannot be changed, saved, held back, extended, or repeated no matter how much money you make, where you live, or what race, creed, color, or religion you happen to be.

Everyone on this earth is given the same amount of time every day – 24 hours. Time is the great equalizer of people because no matter who you are or what your circumstances happen to be, nobody gets more time. Even the richest person in the world cannot buy one more minute of time.

Because time is the great equalizer, it is the choices we make when deciding what to do with our time that make the difference.

I did a little math and figured out that each year has 8,760 hours. I subtracted eight hours for sleep, eight hours for work, accounted for weekends, the standard holidays Americans enjoy and took time out for vacation.

I figured 4,832 hours a year are dedicated either to sleeping or working.

This means that 3,928 hours a year are not dedicated to anything; I call this spare or discretionary time. I was surprised to see how much time is not dedicated to a particular activity. Taking this one step further, I figured that in a 40-year period there are 157,120 hours of discretionary time that you control. This is a lot of time.

We are all given 24 hours each day, no more and no less, unless it is your end of time.

However, your time is the one thing you have absolute control over, and you decide what you will do with your time.

If we are in control of our discretionary time, it stands to reason that we are the only ones who can steal time from ourselves based on the choices we make. Remember, from age 25 to 65 you have 157,120 hours of discretionary time that you control.

So what you achieve in life is based on what you decide to do with your time. It is that simple.

A person’s discontent with his life can be represented as the distance between what he has and what he wants. We Americans are interesting because as soon as we achieve a goal, we want more; I call this drive “American Discontent.”

It is this drive that has helped our country achieve the standard of living we enjoy, because as a nation we know we can achieve more than what we’ve accomplished so far. Our economy is not driven by some person on Wall Street sweating over some arbitrary numbers on a board that changes every time someone hiccups.

The American drive to achieve more than what we have and to become more than what we are has driven our nation since the Colonial period.

American Discontent is what drove our doctrine of manifest destiny, and this was long before the stock market supposedly meant anything.

Americans are not now and never have been lazy, and our American Discontent is the real economic driver of our nation.

American Discontent will drive our future.

I suggest the following formula to address your American Discontent: First, look objectively at where you find yourself and then look at where you want to be. Second, formulate a plan to close the gap to achieve your goal. And last, dedicate your discretionary time to achieve your goal.

This very basic approach puts thinking and creative activity into your living. It puts you in charge of your life and, more importantly, your time.

It also ensures that your goals are achieved by your individual effort since you are the only one in control of your time. What you do with your time decides what you do with your life.

You determine your life – not the government, not the lottery, not your family or friends, and certainly not some overly nervous, highly caffeinated suit on Wall Street.

At the end of your time on earth, only you are responsible for what you have achieved based on what you did with your time.

I know that one day I will be out of time, and then it seems I will have a lot of time to think about what I did with that time.

What are you doing with your time?



Steve Ettien lives in Richland Township. He is the owner of Diamondback Technology Solutions Inc. (www.dbackinc.com).