What Would You Do With $86,400?

Once, a man walked out of the bank with $86,400 in cash. He was thrilled, of course. Not everyone walks away with that kind of money.

Then a problem hit as he left the bank. When he reached his car he tripped, fell, and the bag split open. Luckily the bills were still held by small bands, yet some still flew into the street.

A man saw what happened and ran to grab the flying bills while the owner, still on the ground, shouted for him to give back what was his.

The thief took off running. The man with the bag chased him. Before he lost him for good he managed to snap a photo of the man who had stolen about $600 from him with his cell phone.

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He decided to get even. He went to the newspaper and published the photo under a WANTED sign with a $1,000 reward. Then he went to the TV station and asked them to run an ad every 15 minutes asking “HAVE YOU SEEN THIS MAN,” and he set up a hotline so people could call in tips about the thief.

The man was furious, truly furious. As the day went on he hired private investigators, mercenaries, the police, and anyone else he could find to track down the person who had dared to rob him.

By the end of the day he never found his thief. And he was running out of cash. Only a few hundred dollars remained in his bag. It was getting late and soon he would have to go home, sleep, and wake up the next day with almost nothing left.

Here is the fact: there are 86,400 seconds in a day. And we cannot get them back. Would you spend 85,800 of those seconds fixating on 600 bad ones? This is about your mindset. You need to accept that things will not always go your way. Things will not always be fine, but no matter what happens: time is the only currency you cannot earn more of, and everything you do with it decides the quality of your life, where you stand, and where you are headed. Do not spend time replaying the past. Do not waste time on other people’s mistakes. Do not waste time on your own. You only live so long. Spend your time wisely. Sit with positivity and happiness. Success in life (and I am not talking about money necessarily; we all define success differently) only comes to those who can get the most out of any situation. Work on your emotional intelligence, on your ability to grow and help the world, on your ability to make other people smile, and you will feel more complete than any amount of money could ever make you feel.