Carpe Diem
"The only difference between a rich person and poor person is how they use their time" ~Robert Kiyosaki
"The most life-destroying word of all is the word tomorrow" ~ Robert Kiyosaki
There are many things in the Rich Dad philosophy that are inspiring and edifying. Understanding how to make your money work for you, learning about cash flow, and the Cashflow Quadrant are just a few topics that have opened up a new world to the individuals that have taken the time to read Robert Kiyosaki's writings. In reading and learning about the numerous ways to maximize wealth potential, one area that often gets overlooked by the casual reader is the constant emphasis that Mr. Kiyosaki puts on maximizing your time; specifically, maximizing your time today.
When you combine the two quotes above, a very clear image is painted on the manner one should pursue their dreams. First, maximizing your time is a clear principle that separates the successful from those that fall short of achieving their dreams. Second, in managing your time, those things you put off to tomorrow have the potential to undermine everything you are attempting to do. In combining the essence of these two quotes, we receive a carpe diem, seize the day, sort of message. If this message is applied, productivity and success will soon follow.
How well do you use your time? What do you do with the first few and last few hours of each day? What do you do when you have a break between events? If an individual has not previously devoted some time to action, then he or she is probably unaware at just how much time slips through the cracks in a given day. Take a minute right now to write down on a 3x5 card, sticky note, or something you can carry with you the quote: "The only difference between a rich person and poor person is how they use their time." In the coming week, write down how you use your time during the course of each day. If you are like most people, you will find that there are large chunks of time in which you accomplish very little. Attempt to find the cause of the lack of production during these time periods. Is it an organization or motivation problem? Are your habits and hobbies taking more time than you realized? There are numerous ways this exercise can help you, but self honesty is critical to making the exercise meaningful.
Time management and maximizing one's time are important to productivity and success, but the choices we make in what we spend our productive time on are even more critical. For two months, I was the graveyard clerk at a gas station. I always kept a balanced till, cleaned the store, stocked the shelves, and even was able to study in my downtime. At the end of the day however, no matter how good of a job I did, I was capped in what I could earn. I could have been the most organized, most productive individual on the planet and never let a second go to waste but I still, unfortunately, would be poor. When you work for others that have businesses that require extensive time for minimal reward, you face a situation where you are capped in your financial potential because of the choices you make in how you spend their your time.
Indeed, there are many of us that are not doing what we want for a career, and it is far too common for us to think about the distant day in the future when we will be doing what we want, and basking in riches. This thought process, without the concrete action behind it, is what makes the word tomorrow the most life-destroying word of all. This doesn't mean go out and tell your boss to shove it, but it does mean you should be doing everything you possibly can today to allow for that day to come as quickly as possible. You should go to bed exhausted but satisfied each night because you put the time, energy, and studying into actualizing the next step in your life. Rome may not have been built in a day, but they were working on the buildings each day!
When you put off the work necessary to fulfill you dreams until tomorrow, you are committing a heinous crime against yourself. You are denying yourself the possibility of reaching your potential, achieving wealth and true security, and probably even happiness and health. Let's say someone dreams of owning numerous cash-generating properties that pave the way to wealth and freedom through real estate. Naturally, this cannot be all done in a single day as it comprises numerous steps, some of which are tedious, in order to even get the first property done. Because of this, far too many say they will make on offer on a property tomorrow, this weekend, or next week when the time exists today to do just that. If this was simply an isolated incident, it would not be so bad, but it is usually compounded with putting off the next and the next and the next thing. The unfortunate ending to this tale is someone who simply failed to achieve what they could and, more importantly, what they wanted to do in life.
Each morning when you wake up, ask yourself three questions. First, what is the thing on my actual or mental checklist that I have put off the longest? Second, what is the least favorite thing I need to do today? Finally, what is the most important thing I need to do today to allow me to achieve my dreams? If the first three things you do today are these three things, then you will have a special day. Your day will be free of worry, and you will make strides early in the day that can build momentum throughout your day. Success breeds success; failure breeds failure. Make the conscious choice each day which path you want to head down.
Go out and start building your Rome today.