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Hi team,

Today I would like to introduce a bit of a random topic that is being discussed in a lot of blogs and podcasts lately, 
"the value of time". This topic has sparked my interest for several reasons but mainly because, with Maryanne and Maggie being away for an extended period of time, I have been weighing up and reassessing how I spent my time?

I also have a birthday coming up and in two weeks, when I will be turning 58! Not a particularly significant age or milestone; but I recently come across some thought-provoking statistics. The average life expectancy in the western world, including males and females, is 82 years. This equals 30000 days! So, at 58 I only have 9000 days left, and that is a very sobering realization. This statistic has been playing on my mind and making me think seriously about exactly how I want to spend these 9000 days??

"The bad news is that time flies. The good news is that you're the pilot", Michale Althsuler.

This then prompts the question "how do you value time?"  Which is an extremely subjective question and the answer will vary for every person. Most people tend to value money more than they value time. But if you think about this it makes no sense, because you can always make more money, but you can never make more time! Also, without time money is meaningless. 

If you think about this question long enough (as i have done!) you will ultimately come up with the only real answer, which is; how you value your time is determined by how you value yourself. "Until you value yourself you won't value time." This concept is best summarized by Seneca, an ancient Roman philosopher, in the following paragraph that I came across in a blog by Shane parish.

"If we see someone throwing money away, we call that person crazy. This bothers us, in part, because money has value. Wasting it seems nuts. And yet we see others—and ourselves—throw away something far more valuable every day: Time. Unlike the predictable reaction we have to someone throwing away money (they’re crazy), we often fail to think of the person who wastes time as crazy. And yet time is a truly finite, expendable resource: The amount we get is uncertain but surely limited. It’s even more insane to waste than money — we can’t make any more when it runs out."

So my conclusion is that time is a resource and it is the most valuable resource there is. Time is also a priceless gift that is yours to give away to others.

"The greatest gift you can give someone is your time. When you give your time, you are giving a portion of your life”, Unknown.

Thanks for reading,
David.