Time and Money–The Vicious Circle

When I have more time, I’ll make more money. When I make more money, I’ll have more time.

That's a vicious (not virtuous) circle.

Time and money scarcity are among the most pernicious beliefs that afflict?leaders today.?Having worked with scores of nonprofit leaders (and their teams) over the past several years I can share without hesitation that most (if not all) tend to get caught up in the limiting belief that there is not enough time and money for everything in life.

Let's start with time.

You'll hear people frequently say, “there are only 24 hours in a day.” Really?

The 24hr “clock” was created by convention and agreement. Even so, we don’t all agree how to use it. In America, we divide the 24hr span into two, 12 hour periods (called am and pm). In Europe (and elsewhere), folks count from 1 to 24. So, what we call 3pm in America may be called 15:00 somewhere else (let’s not even start with “time-zones” or “daylight savings time”).

I wonder what on earth Confucius, Moses, Mohammad, Jesus, and the Buddha did without a wrist watch?

In reality, life unfolds moment to moment. The past is a memory trace. The future has not happened yet. There is only the present. This moment. You are reading this blog post–now.

As Eckhart Tolle put it well (paraphrase): “We may use clock-time for practical purposes, but there is no future and no past.”

While it is certainly helpful to use a planner or digital calendar to schedule commitments using clock time, that technique has its limitations and often leads to frustration and anxiety?when we hold the schedule too tightly.?What I find more workable is to use a digital calendar to schedule meetings, phone calls, and action items each day, while also being flexible as the inevitable vicissitudes of life show up.

By the way, one of the implications of Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity is that time moves relative to the observer. An object in motion experiences time dilation, meaning that when an object is moving very fast it experiences time more slowly than when it is at rest.

Another implication of Einstein's General Theory of Relativity is that time slows down near a black hole due to the extremely strong gravitational field of the black hole.

Hmmm....

Are you triggered yet? No? Ok, then let’s shift away from time to money, and we’ll see if I can stir something up.

Money–what is it? The root of all evil? No. Images of a bunch of funny looking men and women printed on colorful paper? Closer. Something made up by convention and agreement among people so that they may exchange goods and services. A bit closer.

One possible way of defining money is as an expression of appreciation. When we earn it, someone else is expressing appreciation for our product or service. When we spend it, we are expressing appreciation for the product or service we receive. When we save/invest it, we say that our money “appreciates”. That is, those who use it pay us interest or dividends.

In the nonprofit world donors may have multiple motives for giving money. And, we might even say that the fundamental reason that donors give money to a nonprofit organization is because of the appreciation that they have for the organization they care about.

Incidentally, they also give because they appreciate the relationship that they have with their fundraiser.

Now that I may have activated some of your saboteurs around money (those are the voices that are saying: “he’s crazy”, “that’s not it”, “it’s way more complicated than that”, and so on, and so on…), I encourage you to play a little game. It’s called “Money Madness,” and was first outlined by Julia Cameron in her book?The Artists Way.

Quickly (don’t think), fill in the blanks below and then reflect on your beliefs around money:

I’d have more money if______________

My father thought money was________

My mother thought money was_______

If I had more money, I’d______________

If I could afford it, I’d ________________

Money is__________________________

Money makes______________________

Having money is not_________________

To have more money I need to ________

When I have money I usually__________

People think money is_______________

If I weren’t so cheap, I’d______________

Margaret Katz Cann and I recently recorded a mini podcast around what we call a "scarcity saboteur" that affects how we think about time and money and the sage power of generosity that neutralizes that saboteur. Private message me if you'd like to listen to the episode, and I'll send you the link.

David Langiulli is an Executive Coach and Trusted Advisor to Senior Nonprofit Leaders. Among other things, he helps professionals in the nonprofit world confront their saboteurs and embrace their sage powers .