Time is a commodity. It has incredible value. Most individuals do not understand how to "invest" time, and rather "spend" it. Sometimes spending it foolishly without even knowing the consequence.

One of my Mentors asked one day "Do you cut your grass?" I said "Yes, every Saturday". Thus began the lesson. I was saving $ 5.00 an hour, by doing the work myself. When I could be using that time, for making money, improving my knowledge, or more productive activities. Every time we spend time, there is a cost. An opportunity cost. We could be doing more productive behavior. Trading a less valuable activity for a more valuable activity.

As you become more and more valuable. As your time become more valuable. You will find it is the things you stop doing, will give you more time. One of my mentors stopped driven. Why? Because the hour in the back of the limo, with someone else driving was more productive, than the hour he would drive himself. Can you imagine Bill Gates, making his own flight arrangements, cleaning the house, cutting the grass? What a waste of his time. And YOURS!

For example, if you do these activities, you may be wasting (spending time):

• Cut your grass. What could you do with that 3 hours?
• Listen to music or news in the car, while going to work. Listen to motivation or education. Improve your mind in the car!
• Driving. Get a driver. Work during that time.
• Laundry. Get someone else to do it. Would not you rather be playing tennis?
• Watch TV. Ouch. The real dream stealer.
• Sleep. Very over rated.
• Cleaning. Employee some folks.
• Lounging. OK. I get the rest thing. But napping on a Saturday afternoon, or blowing away 3 hours on a Sunday morning doing nothing? No wonder you are not living your dreams.
• Facebook. Once and awhile. Not all day long.
• Answering the phone and text. Who is in control? You or the phone?

Now some of you are going "NO WAY". I have to answer the phone. I have to do the laundry. Really? If someone else did the laundry, could you use that time to look at real estate? To build a web site? To spend an hour with a loved one and build your relationships? All time has opportunity costs. Most Americans waste on average 3 hours a day on very un-productive activities.

Now many folks will say, well I can not afford to pay someone else to do those "necessary" activities. That is the challenge. You have to change your behavior before, the result or the money comes. Not after. Making your time more valuable first. Adopting the behaviors of success and wealth before you actually see the results. Becoming more value with each minute. Investing each minute in success and wealth behavior …. First.

You must take control. Take control of the interruptions to wealth, health, and happiness. Even the phone controls behaviors. It rings, or a text happens, and immediately we stop doing what we are doing, and get distracted. Working someone else's agenda not ours. Now I am not saying becoming a monk. But I am saying, do not be a slave to the phone. Be the master. Sometimes block time. For example. I do not check my phone first thing in the morning. If I do, I would be working the phones agenda, not mine. Usually, I block the am for me. To be productive. To schedule phone meetings. To write. To prospect. To make money. At 11am I check my phone, and respond. Therefore I have gotten a few hours of uninterrupted time done, before the phone takes control. Between 11-1pm, phone calls and text. Then back to BLOCK time, form 1-3: 30pm or so. Then answer emails and text again. So I do respond, but on my time. I know I am going to get 4-6 hours of productive behavior. BLOCK time is a key to success.

In the average home there are 2 major dream suckers. The TV and couch. Both steal dreams. Limit time in front of the TV. Dedicated some of that time for learning or learning. The couch, is another matter. Go there after a hard day of work, and you can be there all night. Here are a couple of suggestions to destroy the dream kills (TV and Couch):

• Limit the amount of TV per day to 2 hours.
• Select the programs you want to watch vs the ones you just watch (flipping through stations).
• Put the remote away from the couch. Out of reach, across the room.
• Do not go to the couch or lounge chair directly when you get home, instead go; work out, listen to motivational audios, read, work on the Internet for an hour. Schedule a positive activity.
• Put the sleep time on the TV. 90 minutes it goes off. Makes you think about whether you need to watch more.
• Do not go home. Drop by Starbucks (or some someplace else), and work for an hour on an Internet web site (before you go home). Drive a neighborhood looking at homes (if you are interested in real estate investing) before dinner.
• When you look at the couch, think about how much it looks like a coffin. It has the same shape and dimensions. Would you crawl into the coffin?

Learn to invest time wisely and profits, success, and happiness, are sure to be yours in just a few minutes.

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Source by Jim J Francis