We've Got More TIME Until We Don't!

The second TIME I got COVID, I missed out on a few things with my family.? I missed a district basketball game with my son, and missed going to a concert with my wife.? She had already purchased the tickets to go with her cousin and her husband.? The concert was for Tanya Tucker at Dickies Arena.? You may say Tanya, who?? ?That’s right, Tanya Tucker, the artist who sang, “Two Sparrows in a Hurricane, and Texas When I Die.” We wanted to go to her new “return of Tanya Tucker” tour where she was rebranded with new songs.? Although her voice has changed over the years, she still brings a powerful song with powerful messages.? In one of her newer songs, “Bring My Flowers Now,” she is talking about looking back with her back against the wind and thinking of things she would have done differently in her past.? One line she is talking about taking action and the lyrics say, “We all think we’ve got the TIME until we don’t.”? How many TIMEs have you thought that?? Every TIME I hear this song (it’s on my wife’s play list, so she plays it a lot) this line jumps out of the radio at me.? Does it make you think about what you can do?? It is about TIME…

Take??????????????????????????????????

Take two!? This “return” tour was an attempt to get back in the industry after she had stepped away from it for a period of TIME.? It took Brandi Carlile to believe in her and challenging her to get back in the studio.? It was not easy, and in the Netflix documentary (yes we watched it), she had to be pushed and coerced. She had to be handled with care and Tanya had to believe in herself.? It may seem easy to some, however you need to ask yourself, ?is it TIME for you to “take two?”? What are you waiting for or waiting on?? Now is the TIME!? Do you have anyone to push you, or do you have anyone to believe in you?? If you don’t, it has to be you.? You have to take the step to get back in it.? It is TIME!

Immerse??????????????????????????

Immerse yourself!? You know what you are passionate about and you know what you need to do to start again.? What is it you are passionate about?? Would others say you are passionate about it to the point where they challenge you to get back in the studio?? You don’t have to get back in the “studio” to sing, just to begin again.? Tanya sings about challenges and how she wishes she had done things differently, however she immersed herself in her new album and her new tour because she loves entertaining and feeling the love of the crowd.? What is motivating you and how can you immerse yourself in what you want to do?? Is it immersing yourself in studying for school?? A study group for a certification?? Time spent drafting and writing a book?? If it is important, you will begin making TIME.?

Make???????????????????????????????

Make the best of what you have.? You don’t have to invest thousands of dollars to start.? You just have to start.? Make the TIME to start. You don’t have to spend 40 hours a week, you just have to start.? Start with the TIME you can block out on your calendar, or on your next weekend.? When can you start?? What do you need to do first?? How can you start with what you have to gain momentum?? Lao TZU is quoted as saying, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”? A thousand miles might seem like a lot, just like your dream and passion goals seem like a lot, however how hard is it to take one step?? How about another?? Over TIME, you will be able to see that you are farther from where you started, way more than you thought.? I would venture to say that your effort starts at one, then grows from there.?

Earn??????????????????????????????????

Earning respect isn’t easy!? Let me say that again.? It ain’t easy. ?It also takes TIME.? Earn is a verb and a meaning of it is, “a gain deservedly in return for one’s behavior.”? Our behavior determines our outcome, just like our habits and how consistent we are with our behaviors.? What does your behavior show?? Is it earning respect? ?What do your behaviors say about you?? Would others say you are earning respect based on what you do or what you don’t do?? In “Bring My Flowers Now” Tanya talked about bringing her flowers while she is living.? She sings about her behaviors towards her father, mother, and sister.? Thinks how she mostly did good.? Over TIME, her family and fans have learned to appreciate her and her music, earning their respect with sold out concerts on her tour.? How can you earn respect in the area you are pursuing??

The rebranding or second TIME around, Tanya had to overcome some physical challenges of her past, and challenges in her mind.? What are you overcoming?? Notice I did not say trying to overcome?? What ARE you overcoming.? Cherish the little things along the way.? TIME is the same for all of us.? Some of us use it better than others, and some of us think we need more TIME.? We don’t need more TIME, we need to use our TIME better.? The days may be long, but if you are not careful, you will have more days behind you than you realized.? That is ok.? It’s not too late to take two!? Find the TIME to begin to immerse yourself in your passions.? Don’t wait for the perfect TIME and make the best of what you have, in order to start.? It is hard earning respect, however it is not impossible.? Don’t compare yourself to your younger self, or the decisions of the past.? Focus on what TIME you have now and before you, because we all think we’ve got the TIME until we don’t.

T - Take two!

I – Immerse yourself.

M – Make the best of what you have.

E – Earning respect isn’t easy.

Stay safe and stay well!