When you think about what has the greatest value to you, it’s likely that time is way up there on the list. Or, you may say you value life most, but isn’t it the same thing? After all, life is time, right? Life is just moments here on earth; one moment followed by another and another eventually creates a lifetime. So, if you respect life, shouldn’t you respect every moment of time, both yours and others’? If you value time, does the way you spend it reflect this?

How many hours in a week do you spend wondering why that person to whom you sent a proposal hasn’t returned your call or worrying about things that haven’t even happened yet?

How much of your business day do you while away talking to people with whom you know you’ll never do business? Could you politely tell them you’re not interested and not waste their time and yours?

“Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.”

~Carl Sandburg

Do you respect others’ time?

Consider the amount of time people spend wondering why you haven’t returned their call. Whose time are you wasting? What else could they be doing with that time they’re wasting wondering why you haven’t called? Could they be doing charity work or inventing a new product or helping the world in some other way? Take it a step further: how many people will not receive the benefit of that person’s charity work or wonderful creation?

Are you chronically late?

If so, think about this. You probably wouldn’t reach into other people’s pockets and take their money and spend it for them, so why do you feel okay about taking their time and spending it for them? If you’re paying people for their time and you keep them waiting, you’re essentially wasting your money on their time, but at least you’re paying them for their time.

“As if you could kill time without injuring eternity.”

~ Henry David Thoreau

Do you spend hours driving across time to save a few dollars or haggling or trying to get things for free? Could that time be better used working, producing more products and services, or developing new ways to promote yourself or your business in new ways?

Respect for time is respect for life.