You have to evaluate everything you do in a given day. They also look for ways to spend their time and money on things that provide more value to them or to others than whatever it is they’re currently doing. Successful people attempt to minimize the time and money they spend on things that do not provide genuine value to them or to others. Success Comes From Being Alert and Minimizing the Waste For me, writing falls into this category. Skateboarders would pay well for that type of skill.Ī wonderful ideal is finding a way to do something that falls into both groups: it provides value to you and to others. I keep thinking of that young man finishing that skateboard. If others value what you’re doing (and are willing to compensate you in some way for it), then it’s not a waste of time. I’m referring to work here, but also to volunteerism and to helping friends. Second, things that provide genuine value to others are not a waste of time or money. We are all different, with different skills and talents and different interests and different personal values. The difference is in what provides genuine value to me, not to you. Others might find board games boring and a pretty poor avenue for socializing and thus they might view it as a waste of time. Playing board games forces me to think deeply and it also provides a powerful avenue for socializing – those things provide genuine personal value to me. On the flip side of that coin, what things aren’t a waste of time or money? I identify two groups of things that are not a waste of time or money.įirst, things that provide genuine personal value to you are not a waste a time or money. Because, in the end, that’s all a “waste of time” is: time spent doing something that you don’t really value. Some people might say, “Well, that’s a waste of time.” When I hear that, I simply recognize that the person is saying that an afternoon of playing games with friends is not something that they value. Not only is it a great social encounter for us, we find the games themselves very compelling and often play games against each other in the evenings. Roughly every other weekend, my wife and I invite several friends over around noon and we play board games (and card games) well into the night. One of my favorite hobbies is playing board games.
Given the type of craftsmanship I saw on that skateboard, I would have strongly encouraged my son to keep it up rather than berating him for “wasting his time.” From there, I began to wonder what exactly a waste of time – or a waste of money – really is. I tried not to stare and just listened as I walked away from them. Just as I neared the house, I saw an older man (who I’d assume was the boy’s father or stepfather) come out of the house and yell at the boy, “Are you still wasting time on that stupid skateboard?” The boy seemed to ignore him, but the man walked over and kicked the skateboard as I was walking past and continued to yell at the boy for wasting his time with skateboards. It looked really good, and I was impressed. He was sandpapering it vigorously as I approached and kept touching the finish.
As I walked down the block, I saw the boy (about fourteen years old or so) in front of the house, doing some finishing work on a skateboard. A few days ago, I overheard an interesting scene between a father and a son.
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