“Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent.”

“Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent.”

– Carl Sandburg

This quote originally appeared as #5 in The Quotable Coach series (https://www.thequotablecoach.com/time/time-is-the-coin-of-life). It has been so popular over the past year and a half that I wanted to share with you my father Marvin’s reflection on it. – Barry

When I was a young man and physically fit, I felt somewhat indestructible. Then at the age of 30, I decided to undergo surgery for my duodenal ulcer which was troubling me. Unfortunately in those days, surgery involved losing 80% of my stomach. I recovered nicely and my stomach grew so that I could eat a full meal, but not overeat.

At the age of 40, while driving to a counselors’ convention in Hershey, Pennsylvania, I suddenly got a severe pain in my head. God was with me while I pulled off the road and hailed the first car that I saw: the driver stopped. Soon after I found myself in the Hershey Hospital. I had suffered a stroke.

Now, at the age of 87, I find that each day is precious. I’m looking forward to warmer weather and my condo in Florida. I need to regain some of my strength, endurance, balance and flexibility by swimming regularly. I still have some quarters in the jar!

Exercise:

How many quarters are in your jar – and how will you be spending them over the next few weeks?

What would you do differently if you treated each day as precious?