Have you heard of InspireMeToday.com? I love that site!
The most influential personal development leaders have been featured in it, all answering the prompt:
“If today were my last day on Earth and I could share 500 words of brilliance with the world, here are the important things I’d want to pass along to others…”
Well, guess what?... I’m being featured tomorrow! Yay me! Woo hoo!
I know you’ll visit InspireMeToday tomorrow to read my brilliance, but here’s a short powerful story I found a long long time ago that really touched my heart and serves as a hint of my topic:
A man came home from work late again, tired and irritated, to find his 8-year-old son waiting for him at the door.
—“Daddy, may I ask you a question?”
—“Yeah, sure, what is it?” replied the man.
—“Daddy, how much money do you make an hour?
—“That’s none of your business! What makes you ask such a thing?” the man said angrily.
—“I just want to know. Please tell me, how much do you make an hour?” pleaded the little boy.
—“If you must know, I make $20.00 an hour.”
—“Oh,” the little boy replied, head bowed. Looking up, he said,
—“Daddy, may I borrow $10.00 please?”
The father was furious.
—“If the only reason you wanted to know how much money I make is just so you can borrow some to buy a silly toy or some other nonsense, then you march yourself straight to your room and go to bed. I work long, hard hours every day and don’t have time for such childish games.”
The little boy quietly went to his room and shut the door. The man sat down and started to get even madder about the little boy’s questioning. How dare he ask such questions only to get some money?
After an hour or so, the man had calmed down and started to think he may have been a little hard on his son. Maybe there was something he really needed to buy with that $10.00, and he really didn’t ask for money very often. The man went to the door of the little boy’s room and opened the door.
—“Are you asleep son?” he asked.
—“No daddy, I’m awake,” replied the boy.
—“I’ve been thinking, maybe I was too hard on you earlier,” said the man.
—“It’s been a long day and I took my aggravation out on you. Here’s that $10.00 you asked for.”
The little boy sat straight up, beaming.
—“Oh, thank you daddy!” he yelled.
Then, reaching under his pillow, he pulled out some more crumpled-up bills. The man, seeing that the boy already had money, started to get angry again. The little boy slowly counted out his money, then looked up at the man.
—“Why did you want more money if you already had some?” the father grumbled.
—“Because I didn’t have enough, but now I do,” the little boy replied.
—“Daddy, I have $20.00 now. Can I buy an hour of your time?”
Did that hit you hard?
I cry every single time I read it.
It’s absolutely true: Our children, our loved ones, would trade ANYTHING to spend quality and quantity TIME with us.
“The greatest gift you can give to someone is your time, because when you give your time, you are giving a portion of your life that you will never get back!”.
I am so anxious and excited for you to read my brilliance at InspireMeToday.com and to read your amazing comments. How are you spending the time of your life?
Founder of the Positive MOM® and creator of the S.T.O.R.Y. System: a blueprint to craft and share powerful stories that will transform your results and help others do the same. Dr. Elayna Fernández is a single mom of 4, an award-winning Storyteller, Story Strategist, and Student of Pain. She’s a bestselling author, internationally acclaimed keynote speaker, and 5x TEDx speaker. She has spoken at the United Nations, received the President’s Volunteer Lifetime Achievement Award, and was selected as one of the Top Impactful Leaders and a Woman of Influence by SUCCESS Magazine. Connect with Elayna at thepositivemom.com/ef and follow @thepositivemom. To receive a gift from Elayna, click HERE.
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