Time – Page 3 – Grandpa Bob Encouraging Leadership

Balancing Attention

Attention is the currency we use for spending time…

I’ve read countless articles and blog posts about work/life balance. They generally focus on the rigors of managing a business in a 24-hour-a-day cycle. Some are from the manager’s perspective, and others are from the worker’s point-of-view.

Most articles mention sacrifices. How families, spouses, kids, friends, and even our own health and welfare, are forced into the back seat while our hero focuses on the challenges of his/her career path. There’s usually some kernel of wisdom…justification for the decisions being made by all involved.

Achievement rarely happens without hard work, focus, determination, sacrifice, and making the (hopefully) right choices. What are the right choices? That varies for each person.

One thing that doesn’t vary for each person is the value of their time. Time is the most precious and fleeting commodity in our lives. We can’t control time. We only control how we spend it.

Attention is the currency we use for spending time. Like time, our attention is limited. Unlike time, we control our attention. We decide what deserves it, and what doesn’t.

Work/life balance isn’t really about the demands of the job. It’s not about the oppressive boss who demands our continuous availability, or employees who need input and direction at all hours. It’s definitely not about checking our email or social feed every fifteen minutes.

Regardless of its details, if there is such a thing as work/life balance, it comes down to two things:

Realizing that we decide where to focus our attention.
Whether we decide consciously or not, our actions make our attention decisions a reality.

Photo credit: Diane Anderson (my wonderful mother-in-law), who focuses (pun intended) a lot of her attention on making beautiful art with her camera.

Everyday is a Surprise

It all started with an earache…

“Bobby (what anyone who knew me before I was about 13 calls me), it all started with an earache. The doctor gave me some ear drops. The pain didn’t stop and seemed to get worse, so he gave me stronger drops. That still didn’t work. He ran some tests and told me it’s cancer, and I’m gonna die. It was an earache, and then I was dying. He says that I will probably just die in my sleep, so each time I wake up, it’s a surprise.”

In Pete’s case, it took about four months for the cancer specialists to identify the type of cancer that is killing him. He told me the name, and said it is very rare, untreatable, and fast moving. I made a mental note to look up the cancer and learn more about it. As I type this post, I have forgotten its name.

The fact that each of us will die is no surprise. The timing is the surprising part. That, and the name of the thing that ultimately causes our death. There’s always a name.

I remember a conversation I had with Grandpa Clyde (my wife’s grandfather) at least ten years ago. He was in his late-80’s at the time, showing me how to cook ribs properly on a barbeque. I asked him what it was like to have lived as long as he had. I will never forget his response. “If you live long enough, you say goodbye to a lot of friends and family. Most of the people I grew up with are dead and gone. I stopped going to funerals a long time ago. I spend my time making new friends, and enjoying this time I’ve been given with my family.”

Growing up, Pete was one of my role models for a life worth living. A firefighter, motorcycle tuner, racer, helmet painter, wheelie king, runner, water skier, speeding ticket magnet, traveler, and a Bluegrass fan. Although I never actually saw it, he used to say that he also jumped rope, attended three world fairs, and a few other things that are probably better left unmentioned. Pete never stopped making new friends, or appreciating his old friends. He grabbed all that life has to offer, and then some.

Pete wears a patch over his right eye now. The tumor has grown and prevents that eye from blinking. He is in a lot of pain, and the pain medications cloud the passage of time. This hasn’t stopped Pete from grabbing what life has left for him. He is living each remaining day as a surprise.

In truth, each day is a surprise for all of us. An opportunity to appreciate our family and friends. An opportunity to make new friends, and enjoy what little time we’ve been given.

Sea Turtles, Conversion Ratios, and Time

The only thing you get to do with your time is…

I was in Kona last week. I could write paragraph after paragraph about how awesome the Big Island is. How the island has nearly every climactic zone on the planet represented. The stark beauty of its huge lava flows, the serenity of its beaches, the fun I had boogie-boarding for the first time in 30 years. Maybe in another post…

For me, the most memorable part of our visit was snorkeling with sea turtles. Their fins are like wings in the water. Sea turtles don’t just swim. They soar and glide. Every movement is graceful. Effortless. Each movement has a purpose. Theirs is a plan that unfolds in slow motion before your eyes.

Did I mention that they’re holding their breath? In yet another almost effortless motion, they pop their heads above water for about three seconds to take a new gulp of air. With only three seconds of air, sea turtles can stay underwater a long time…3-4 hours.

Three seconds of air providing hours of underwater time. How’s that for a conversion ratio? Consider the value sea turtles extract from such a limited supply of air.

Think about your resources. What are they? How much value are you extracting from them?

I submit that time is our most precious resource. It marches on, relentlessly. You can’t speed it up, or slow it down…and you can’t buy more of it.

One can’t talk about time without a few quotes on the subject:

“The bad news is time flies. The good news is you’re the pilot.” Michael Altshule

“Time is really the only capital that any human being has, and the only thing he can’t afford to lose.” Thomas Edison

“Don’t say you don’t have enough time. You have exactly the same number of hours per day that were given to Helen Keller, Pasteur, Michaelangelo, Mother Teresa, Leonardo da Vinci, Thomas Jefferson, and Albert Einstein.” H. Jackson Brown

The only thing you get to do with your time is choose what you do with it. Choose wisely, and be sure to spend some of it snorkeling with sea turtles.

Photo Credit: http://www.wallsave.com