United States and It's Fabulous 50

Some of us remember our childhood tips to the 5 & Dime Store. Where I grew up, they were called TG & Y stores, in eastern Oklahoma. We would spend time looking through aisles of merchandise, trying to find the few special items we could afford. At Christmas each of us five kids would get $10 each to buy gifts. It was tough, but we managed, some of the gifts that were given were homemade.

At the time, we were growing up in times where money was in short supply and the future was uncertain. Repairing our shoes and mending our pants was not out the ordinary; it was just what was done, and the youngest child was definitely the last in line. The last kid in line happens to be me, and I always got my sister's hand-me downs. Going out for dinner was only for special occasions and the movies were a treat we would look forward to.

I can remember at the beginning of a school year, my parents would purchase (2) packages of 500 sheets of notebook paper, they would ration it out to each of us kids. And yes, it was forbidden to waste on writing silly notes to our friends. Today our kids, grand kids don't even think twice about wasting paper, or using the backside of a sheet of paper!

That was more than 45 years ago. Since that time we have experienced unprecedented economic growth. For most of us, our standard of living increased, and we grew up in a culture of excess, not having to wait for anything. Instead of buying on lay-away, we used a credit card. Instead of buying used, we bought new. Instead of growing into the expensive house, we would leverage the purchase and have what we wanted, now.

The generations over the last 45 years have only had one experience, only one economy, and one life-style. It was all very good, but not realistic, and when anything is done to excess, corrections are inevitable. Today we find ourselves in the middle of a recession, something most of us have never experienced. Many of the houses that were over-leveraged are being foreclosed. Credit cards have been maxed out and bank lines of credit have been terminated. Financial situations became out of balance, and we are now in the adjustment period. Today we shop at the dollar store, looking for bargains. The car we were going to trade in will have to last a few more years. We eat at home more often and we go out for special occasions. Outside entertainment is a special treat.

This chapter in our lives with the recession has began to bond and recreate our relationships, it is forcing us to communicateagain, spend time with family and friends! Barbequing and backyard entertainment is at an all time high

Perhaps we can now understand a little better what our parents experienced. They weathered the storm, just as we will. After the dust settles, we will have a deeper appreciation and a sense of gratitude for what we have. It's all part of the balance.We can tell the future generations what we went through, but they won't understand.

Some things we just have to experience for ourselves to completely understand.

by Denis Waitley

By re-energizing and renewing yourself frequently, you will avoid burnout and become much more motivated and productive. Don’t keep your nose to the grindstone for years and wait for retirement to travel. Balance and consistency are the keys. Enjoy the process, not just the result. Don’t fight the passing of time. Don’t fear it, squander it, or try to hide from it under a superficial cosmetic veil of fads and indulgences. Life and time go together. Do enjoy each phase of life. Do make the most of each day, and draw maximum joy from each moment.

Many people today are concerned with quality time – time generally defined in part as that spent on recreation, personal pursuits, time with children, spouses and friends. While I certainly believe quality time is important, I believe two other aspects of time are equally important.

First, one must also spend quantity time. The average father spends less than 30 minutes each week in direct one-on-one communication with each of his children. How can we possibly expect good family relationships with so little communication?

Second, one must spend regular time. Many supervisors and company presidents go for weeks, even months, without seeing many of their employees. There’s no substitute for regular meetings and open forums in which managers and team members can share ideas.

Time has a dual structure. On one hand, we live our daily routines meeting present contingencies as they arise. On the other hand, our most ambitious goals and desires need time so that they can be assembled and cemented. A long-term goal connects pieces of time into one block. These blocks can be imagined and projected into the future as we do when we set goals for ourselves. Or, these blocks of time can be created in retrospect as we do when we look back at what we’ve accomplished.

It’s not in the image of our big dreams that we run the risk of losing our focus and motivation. It’s the drudgery and routine of our daily lives that present the greatest danger to our hopes for achievement. Good time management means that you maximize the daily return on the energy and mental effort you expend.

Ways to maximize your time productivity:

• Write down in one place all the important contacts you have and all of your goals and priorities. Make a back up copy, preferably on CD, DVD or Zip disc. Write down every commitment you make at the time you make it.

• Stop wasting the first hour of your workday. Having the chat and first cup of coffee, reading the paper, and socializing are the three costliest opening exercises that lower productivity.

• Do one thing well at a time. It takes time to start and stop work on each activity. Stay with a task until it is completed.

• Don’t open unimportant mail. More than a fourth of the mail you receive can be tossed before you open or read it, and that includes e-mail.

• Handle each piece of paper only once and never more than twice. Don’t set aside anything without taking action. Carry work, reading material, audiotapes and your laptop computer with you everywhere you go. Convert down time into uplink time.

• Spend twenty minutes at the beginning of each week and ten minutes at the beginning of each day planning your to do list.

• Set aside personal relaxation time during the day. Don’t work during lunch. It’s neither noble nor nutritional to skip important energy input and stress-relieving time. Throughout the day, ask yourself, “What’s the best use of my time right now?” As the day grows short, focus on projects you can least afford to leave undone.

• And as we said at the beginning of this message, take vacations often, mini-vacations of two or three days, and leave your work at home. The harder you work, the more you need to balance your exercise and leisure time.

Action Idea: Plan a relaxing 3-day vacation within the next three months without taking any business work with you. Reserve it on your calendar this week.

-- Denis Waitley