Zig Ziglar has a quote that says something like, “Is two minutes a long time? Well, that depends on what side of the bathroom door you are on when you need to go.”
Just this weekend I had a moment that reoriented me regarding time. While cleaning out my filing cabinet I came across a nametag from the first onsite visit I had for a client that just last week gave me the verbal agreement to do business with me. The nametag was from six years ago. What is wild is that is not even the longest sales cycle I’ve had, my record to date is nine years.
Growing up I never imagined living past twenty-two years old, it was a real shock when I made it that long. Perhaps it was the folly of youth or growing up in a culture that did not have the wisdom to consider our future self regardless it took years for me to adjust my thinking. Now I regularly think about death, legacy and what my actions will mean five, ten and fifty years from now.
Some people take up gardening to expand their thinking in this area. For me, cooking has been a huge help. Meals take time, careful planning and slow cooked meat is just more rich and lovely than anything hurried. What are the practices in your life that help expands your perspective of time?
“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.
“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
― The Fellowship of the Ring
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