Imagine with me that tomorrow morning when you awaken, you have exactly 24 hours left on this earth. You are now Jack Bauer of “24″, only you are not saving the world, you are setting things in motion for the time remaining for those you leave behind. Is your day going to be as stressful as Jack’s? Can you handle this load?
I just saw a question from Stedman Graham that asks, “What are you going to do with the next 24 hours?” Great question.
Let’s examine it:
1) How important is my past at this point? Do I need to go back and redo anything? I only have 24 hours remaining and counting down. It could be a great time to ask for forgiveness from everyone I may have hurt, or to ask God to take care of it for me and ask him to forgive me. It is what it is.
2) Focus, time is running out! What do I want to take care of in this moment? Is it me, is it my family, is it my career? The ones I leave behind are the ones I need to take care of right now. What am I going to do?
3) How important is my rate of return on my investments in these remaining 20 hours? Am I going to take risks into the future knowing where we are in this economy today? Wait…my investments have tanked the last several months. Sorry can’t stop time….still ticking. No time to go to Vegas! What good is this Monte Carlo Asset Allocation Crap now?
4) How much life insurance do I have? Do I have what I need, or do I have what I qualify for? What if I qualify for 20 times my current income…that just dropped by 30% in the last few months. Do I need less now? Hey wait just a minute, this life insurance is not for me is it? It is for all of those I leave behind. Can’t hold up time. What kind should I have? Well if I’m guaranteed to know when my day is up…24 hours I need the kind that pays off when I’m gone. What if I bought the kind that expires in 24 hours, but I lived 26 hours……OUCH!! I just hurt everyone I left behind.
5) What memories am I creating in these last 15 hours? Come on we still have to eat, sleep, text, talk on the phone, check those last few emails right? What is most important to you RIGHT NOW???!!
You know what, I am feeling this pressure right now, but nothing that I thought was important before appears to be right now in this moment. So hear is the real question..
What are you going to do with the next 24 hours that you may be blessed with, because it does affect the lives of everyone you are spending time on, or not spending time on that you should be, for the rest of their lives. WHAT CAN YOU DO RIGHT NOW TO RELIEVE THE PRESSURES OF THE NEXT 24 HOURS OF YOUR LIFE THAT WILL BE A MAJOR IMPACT ON THE LIVES YOU LOVE TODAY? Selfish answers don’t really work here.
You better take an inventory, read those questions again. Time is running out whether its 24 hours left or not. Don’t take them for granted, you are not promised tomorrow.
This as OUR Economic Crisis!
This ongoing economic crisis is tough for everyone. Many folks are losing their jobs and homes. Our retirement accounts are being hammered. Many of us in small businesses can’t lose our jobs, but we’ve lost much of our business over that past 2 years. Unfortunately, our collective reaction to this crisis has been to consume the bad news, complain about how awful it is, stop spending and wait for the government to solve OUR problem.
Where is our American Spirit? The economic recovery will come from the actions of the people NOT the money of our government. Each of us needs to get up every day and creatively act to make a difference. Can you imagine the collective power from the positive actions of the 303,824,640 people in the USA?
Don’t wait for the media to tell you the crisis is over. Make a personal commitment to contribute to solving this economic crisis now. If you stopped going out, make an effort to take your friends and family out once a week. Go ahead and buy that new Spring outfit. You deserve it. Buy a new car or get the old one fixed. Plant a Spring garden. It will lift your spirit. If you got laid off, do some volunteer work in the community while you circulate your resume and look for a new job. Heck, the volunteer next to you may be your next boss.
I believe Americans have the fortitude, creativity, compassion and energy to whip this problem in 2009. No matter how bad it is for you, someone else has it worse. Take the time to listen to their story. Then, figure out what you can collectively do to help. Be a hero of this crisis. I pray that the people of this great country will break out of our rut and make a personal commitment to solve OUR Economic Crisis! Only we, the people can beat this problem.
Lets Roll!
Paul Gruenther, Jacksonville, FL
Paul: Great post. Lets get the GOYB formula working for us all to be stronger and to take responsibility for our own economy. GOYB = Get off your Booty. Thanks for your post. Very wise and inspiring.
Great article Trent. Really makes one think about their personal situation and ask themselves pertinent questions. If the “24hr event” occurred in my life I would hope that I would have previously prepared for such an event, knowing that it could occur. Much like if my home were to burn down, of course I would want the value of the home to be replaced. In this case I can prepare for the event by ensuring that I have homeowner’s insurance to provide fire protection. This allows me to enjoy the home instead of worrying about a potential fire everytime the candles are lit on my kids birthday cakes.
If the event could occur, why wouldn’t I plan for it before it occured? If I had done my best to prepare for the worst of circumstances, it would allow me to enjoy the most important things in life.