Time (Redux)

Word count for this week's article:  388

Approximate time to read:  About 1.6 minutes



The business philosopher Jim Rohn called time the great equalizer. What he meant is that while we are all not equal in many respects, the one area in which we are all equal is time. Not that we all have the same amount of time remaining, but that we all have 24 hours each day. 

You and I have the same amount of time in our day as Elon Musk has in his. If he seems to be getting more done, perhaps it is because he is utilizing his time more efficiently. Regardless of how efficiently he utilizes his time, it won’t guarantee him any more of it.

Steve Jobs’ billions couldn’t buy him any more time. His money may have made his final days, weeks, and months more comfortable, but the fact of the matter is he died at the relatively young age of 56 and there wasn’t anything he could have done to substantially prolong his life.

Most of us have been told since we were young that our time is finite, but when we’re young, we have a feeling of immortality. Young people are, in essence, time billionaires. It usually isn’t until we reach middle age (whatever that is) that we start to become acutely aware that the time we have left (at least the time we think we have left) is rapidly dwindling.

Few of us arise in the morning thinking this could be our last day, but that is the case for thousands of people. The alarm clock is set for each of us and we don’t know what time it will go off. It is this uncertainty that is precisely the reason that life insurance exists.

As I’ve written before, the chances are excellent that most of us will live into our 70s, 80s and maybe even beyond. But of course that’s not guaranteed. And while living to 75 may sound fine to a 20-year-old, it doesn’t sound nearly as good to someone who is 70.

This is a long-winded way of saying that it makes sense to occasionally reflect on our blessings; our family, friends, health, and time. The last two can be fleeting, so protecting the first one with life insurance can provide us with peace of mind as well as providing them with financial stability should the unlikely happen.