For what is your life? It is even a vapor, that appears for a little time, and then vanishes away. -James 4:14

I was having dinner with a successful business man a few days ago. It was great! I asked him a lot of questions about finance and investing, he gave me a lot of great insight, but one thing he said really made me think.

He said, “You know what’s your most important investment?” “What?” I responded. “Your time. You get 2,080 work hours a week (if you work 8 hours a day/5 days a week/52 weeks a year) to invest. How you invest that time determines everything.”

He said the best question I can continue to ask myself is, “Am I getting the most value I can out of the 2,080 hours I have this year?” That question will determine my success, the amount of money I earn, and how far I go in life.

As a result that conversation, I am going to laminate a card and carry it around in my pocket that says, “What am I doing with my 2,080 hours?” I want to maximize my time, potential, earnings, and my life. The only way to do that is to use the time we’ve been given with wisdom. More specifically the wisdom of God.

I’m going to be seeking God’s wisdom on the best use of my time. I suggest you do the same! He knows what the best use of our time will be!

What are you going to do with your 2,080 hours?

This is one of those books that can almost seem too good to be true. I mean, come on, a 4 hour work week? Is that realistic? Well, if your goal is to work 4 hours and relax the rest of the week, absolutely not. This book is for driven people. People who are willing to work hard, but work hard on things that make a difference and maximize profits.

This is one of the most practical books I’ve ever read. My favorite parts are the challenges that are at the end of each chapter and the tools and tricks section which provides tons of resources to help make your life easier!

If you don’t want to work a 9-5 for the rest of your life in a cube and are only working to provide an income for a descent retirement, this is a must read book for you. Tim Ferriss is brilliant. This book will help you live the life you dream about while still being productive, making a difference, and making a great living.

Here are some highlights:

• At least three times per day at scheduled times, he had to ask himself the following question: Am I being productive or just active?
• Parkinson’s Law dictates that a task will swell in (perceived) importance and complexity in relation to the time allotted for its completion.
• Slow down and remember this: Most things make no difference. Being busy is a form of laziness—lazy thinking and indiscriminate action.
• Doing something unimportant well does not make it important.
• Effectiveness is doing the things that get you closer to your goals. Efficiency is performing a given task (whether important or not) in the most economical manner possible. Being efficient without regard to effectiveness is the default mode of the universe.
• What would you do, day to day, if you had $100 million in the bank?
• If you are insecure, guess what? The rest of the world is, too. Do not overestimate the competition and underestimate yourself. You are better than you think.
• What we fear doing most is usually what we most need to do. As I have heard said, a person’s success in life can usually be measured by the number of uncomfortable conversations he or she is willing to have. Resolve to do one thing every day that you fear.
• Retirement planning is like life insurance. It should be viewed as nothing more than a hedge against the absolute worst-case scenario:
• I can’t give you a surefire formula for success, but I can give you a formula for failure: try to please everybody all the time. —HERBERT BAYARD SWOPE, American editor and journalist; first recipient of the Pulitzer Prize
• Once you say you’re going to settle for second, that’s what happens to you in life. —JOHN F. KENNEDY
• The goal is fun and profit.
• Anyone who lives within their means suffers from a lack of imagination. —OSCAR WILDE, Irish dramatist and novelist

God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.⁷ If your gift is serving others, serve them well. If you are a teacher, teach well. ⁸ If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. If it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously.   -Romans 12:6-8

I read a book called The Element by Ken Robinson (the speaker in the video below).  The subtitle of the book is: “How Finding Your Passion Changes Everything”. I’d highly recommend reading it.  It’s about people who are extremely successful because they chose to do what they love to do. I know a lot of  people who never pursue what they love for a whole slew of reasons:

Fear of not making enough money, fear of what people will think if you go after it, fear of failure. Fear of _____. (You fill in the blank.)

Take the time to watch this 20 minute TED talk by Ken Robinson:

My question to you is: Why aren’t you doing what you love?

If you’re not pursuing the passions, gifts, and purposes God’s put in your heart, you’re robbing the world of something wonderful.

You could be the next best selling author, the next Joel Osteen, Donald Trump, the next President of the United States, the next Mother Theresa, the next . . . you name it.

I don’t know what you love and what you’re good at, but I know the world could benefit from it greatly. I know that it can make an incredible impact in people’s lives. I know the pursuit of it would change your life forever.

Stop letting fear hold you back from doing what God’s put in your heart to do.

Why not start doing what you love today? Start blogging, start writing, start speaking, start recording, start applying for the job of your dreams. Don’t look back. Life is to short to not do what you love.

“You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough” -Fred Allen

Thoughts?

Here is another TED talk by Ken Robinson – I promise you it’s worth the time to watch it.