86,400

Why should this number be important to you? It’s the number of seconds each of us is given every day! We must spend every second of every day because today’s seconds don’t carry over to tomorrow. Think of it like a daily deposit we get into our time account. How do you spend your deposit? There are many things that divide our time. Most of us have jobs we spend a portion of our time. We all have a family that we use some of our deposit on. Then there is sleep that takes up more of our seconds. What do we spend the rest of the seconds, minutes, and hours of the day? When we get to the end of our lives, what do we want to show for this valuable resource we are given every day?

In my own life, I believe in making my seconds count for something. First thing in the morning, I spend a quiet time where I pray and meditate, journal about my dreams, and plan out my day. I make sure that I take time to go to the gym and nourish my body so that I can do the things I envision in my life. I read books that inspire and motivate me to be more than I ever imagined. The TV is rarely on in my house…with the exception of a good movie occasionally. Whether I am at home or on the road traveling, this is how I structure the time I am given every day. Not every day is exactly the same, but I am always conscious of how I spend my time.

We all think time is a commodity we have plenty of… but do we? Harvey MacKay said it best, “Time is free, but it is priceless…you can’t own it, but you can use it…you can’t keep it, but you can spend it.” Once time is gone, we can’t get it back. When we were kids, time seemed to pass very slowly…things took forever! We couldn’t wait to be 16, then 18, and then 21. However, when we turned 40 or 50, we wanted to turn back the clock to the days of our youth because we felt time was passing too quickly.

Each of us is unique in that we are not all given the same amount of days. We don’t know what that number is so it is important to remember to live today with purpose because yesterday’s seconds are gone…and always be hopeful for a new deposit tomorrow.

Take a few minutes and click on the link below. Read the powerful words of a 24 year old who is sadly running out of time. I hope you will come to the same realization as he did that “life isn’t about how long you live, it’s about what you do while you are living.”