10% of Everything You Do Should Be for You.


Jelanie Payne

 
10% of Everything You Do Should Be for You Jelani Payne While driving home today I remembered the quote, statement and concept of "A part of all you earn is yours to keep. It should not be less than a tenth no matter how little you earn." Its from a book titled The Richest Man In Babylon by George S. Clason. Truthfully, there are a few books in the literary world which echo the same points and sentiments. However, in remembering this quote I also thought about many of the activities, actions, experiments, projects and reading among other things that I have been doing for myself. Sure, some of the aforementioned are in service to others but they still have a deep resounding purpose only for me. For example, I love to read and as an author (Survive, Thrive & Stay Alive In College: A Matter of Perspective) it is necessary for me to stay current and be prepared for any questions readers may have regards to my book, its subject matter or content and regards to books, publishing and writing in general. So, sure I read to be of service to those who have questions and want me to share some knowledge and perspective. But...I also read for myself because I also want to know more (usually everything actually) about the subject matter or content within my book, I want to know more about books, writing and publishing. Me, myself and I personally want to know. Its important that I know because I feel smarter, stronger and more confident when I gain and acquire new knowledge or reinforce knowledge I already have with new perspective gained. I feel better about myself and my life after I have spent some time reading and learning for myself and for no one else. In fact, when work isn't going quite so well, life has me stressed or I feel like my time belongs to others and not to me, I feel so much better after doing some reading or some work on an activity, experiment or project just for myself. Just because I feel happy to spend time on that particular thing at that current moment. Why do I feel better? Because i'm not doing it for any company I work with, or for anyone else (at that moment). For the moment there is no adverse consequence related to whether I do it or don't do it. It reminds me that my life and my time is truly my own and not really run by a company I work with or by anyone else. The only reason I need to do it is usually because I want to know more. Its purpose is pure and clean and only for me. This is why on the drive home today I decided to push the boundaries of the quote I mentioned in the beginning of this article so it becomes... "A part of everything you do should be in service to yourself only. It should not be less than a tenth of your output service no matter how little you time you have (or think you have)." To break my revised quote down fully, it means as much as you do for others or give to others (i.e. your company, employees, church, family and friends) you need to give back some time and service to yourself and engage in some activity for yourself only. Yes, absolutely we all currently do things for ourselves every day, week, month or year. See some examples below. Go out to dinner Sleep in late on days of no work (or days we want to skip work) Spend time with our significant others and friends But that's not what I mean. Those activities are fleeting except maybe in memory. Instead, my newly revised quote requires you to do partake in more lasting and fulfilling activities such as Discovering your deep interests and passions in life Carrying out your own experiments into your passions Developing and completing projects related to your passions and your experiments Doing research regards to your interests and passions Such activities are more than hobbies. They represent freedom and escape from the harsh realities of life which sometimes occur. They aid in deep thought about your life regards to where your are, where you wish to go and how to get there. They can also be the cause of significant increases in knowledge and elevation in status within the social atmosphere. They can of course also help you to build wealth. So I encourage you, while you're driving or traveling home or just in a quiet space having a quiet moment. Think on my quote and ask yourself... "What can I do for just me today to remind myself that my life and consequently my time is truly my own ?"