Time Thieves by Jim Stovall

Photo by Morgan Housel on Unsplash

Throughout my 40-year business career, there has been a proliferation of books, videos, and training courses on the subject of time management. Any number of experts will take your attention, effort, and money to fulfill the mission of helping you to manage your time. Managing time is as absurd a concept as managing the weather. You can’t control the weather. At best, you can prepare by equipping yourself with an umbrella, a warm coat, or rain gear. Whether you prepare or not, the weather will do what it’s going to do, and whether or not you and I are organized or productive, there will always be 60 minutes in an hour, 24 hours in a day, and seven days each week. 

Once we understand that we can’t control time, we face the ongoing challenge of controlling ourselves. Controlling how we utilize time is difficult because we are forever confronted with time thieves. These are the people, activities, and distractions that gobble up our minutes, hours, and days. 

It’s important to realize that you cannot judge what is an appropriate utilization of your time unless you have a specific objective and a definite goal. A goal is a dream with a time limit and an action plan. Without a deadline and a plan to reach your objective, you don’t have a goal; you simply have a wish. Once you’ve established a firm goal, you can then begin to control yourself and your efforts within the context of your daily schedule. Even after you’ve established a firm goal and an action plan of how to achieve it, the time thieves will not leave you alone. In fact, they may increase their efforts to distract you.  

“A goal is a dream with a time limit and an action plan.” —Jim Stovall 

As you go through your day today, set your goals, control your activities, and time will reward you. 

Today’s the day! 

Jim Stovall is the president of Narrative Television Network as well as a published author of many books. He is also a columnist and motivational speaker. Follow him on Twitter (@stovallauthor) or Facebook (@jimstovallauthor). His latest book, coauthored with Greg S. Reid, is Passport to Success: Experience Next Level Living, now available wherever books are sold.

A Cup of Retirement by Jim Stovall

Photo by Senior Living from StockSnap

There are many factors in 21st-century life that we must plan for. We should have car insurance to cover us while we’re on the road as well as homeowners or renters insurance to cover our possessions at home. Everyone should have a will whether they are wealthy or not. Many people who do not have significant assets believe there is no need for them to have a will. However, if you have children and die without a will, your state government is going to decide who raises your children. If you’re incapacitated, the state government will decide who handles your money and health care needs. While each of these eventualities can be covered, and may or may not occur, all of us will eventually retire if we live long enough.  

When most pensions, retirement plans, and Social Security were established here in America, the average retiree only lived a few months past age 65. Today, the average worker reaching retirement age can look forward to 18 years of life in retirement. This is an amazing change and a wonderful development as it offers people many years to enjoy the fruits of their labor. However, we must all be prepared.    

To paraphrase one of my heroes, Charles Dickens, retirement will either be the best of times or the worst of times based upon our planning and persistence. Our parents and grandparents could depend on company retirement plans or pensions, but we are going to have to do it ourselves. If you plan ahead, you will have a much more luxurious retirement than any of your ancestors. But if you don’t plan ahead, it can be devastating without the pension or corporate retirement plan safety net.  

As I review the current statistics regarding retirement balances, it seems to be a tale of two scenarios including the best of times and the worst of times. Some Americans started saving early and have remained consistent. They have invested in prudent growth funds and can look forward to living as literal multi-millionaires in their golden years. On the other hand, many Americans have no savings and no retirement. Their golden years are sadly going to be made of fool’s gold.  

Fully one-third of Americans spend more money on coffee than they put into their retirement savings. These are not poor people but, instead, are people who have poorly managed their assets. It’s easy to put it off to some unspecified time in the future, but all you need to do to receive an abrupt wake-up call is realize that, for most people, a 40-year work-life is what they can expect. If you’ve been working 20 years, you should be halfway to your retirement goals. This should either make you feel satisfied and relaxed as you look at your retirement balance or should give you a wake-up call jolt like a very large cup of strong coffee.  

As you go through your day today, realize that a little planning and preparation now will make a huge difference later. 

Today’s the day!  

Jim Stovall is the president of Narrative Television Network as well as a published author of many books, including The Millionaire Map: The Ultimate Guide to Creating, Enjoying and Sharing Wealth. He is also a columnist and motivational speaker. Follow him on Twitter (@stovallauthor) or Facebook (@jimstovallauthor).