Getting back to basics - our 2 most important resources

Big picture view here, so bear with me...

Its quite generally accepted that there are two very important resources we have to manage to create a 'successful' [however you define that] business:

1. Time; and
2. Money

Most people understand the concepts of money management and time management. Funny thing is, we tend to approach these totally differently.

I'd just like to suggest that maybe, as different as they are, there is one big similarity we need to consider:

Just quickly on money, it comes down to whether you are spending the money or investing it... [the tree and the fruit... I'll get into this at some stage too as its a wonderful thing to think about] - where spending money is short-term in nature and while it is often necessary, unnecessary spending is not the best use of it. Similarly, investing is for the long-term and with money invested, although you don't see the benefits now, they come along later.

So, I propose that we look at our time in the same way. We each only have 24 hours a day, and we have to use it wisely.

Right,

• 'Spending' time - there are things we need to do daily to keep going, which are not necessarily valuable in the long run but are important.


• 'Investing' time - we have time to use each day to build for the future - we may not see any 'value' for it today, but using the time this way can change our future.

The main question I want to ask is - Are you just spending your time on daily matters, or are you consciously investing some of your time in the future too. If you neglect the second one, you will survive on a day-to-day basis, but things will never seem to get better.

When investing time - choose wisely in whom, in what and where you invest! Like with money, poor investments will not mean anything. But good investments can bring more than you ever dreamed!

So if I can leave you with a thought [call it daily practice for the big game of business], its this - next time you're out and come across a lonely face over the counter at Woolworths, how can you really 'INVEST TIME IN THAT PERSON' rather than just 'spending time paying for your groceries' - both of them take about 3 minutes, but each can have incredibly different results.

And I know there are at least two earth-shatterers in-the-making out there who realise the importance of how time is invested - here are two mind-shifting posts to have a look at:

• Time to rethink what I'm doing here
• The value of time