Dealing with Time - the story of the French Professor
One day, an old professor of the French National School of Administration was asked to give a lecture on sensible schedule for a group of about 15 heads of large North American companies. This course was one of five stations of their one-day course. The professor therefore had to convey only an hour his knowledge. First, the professor looked unhurriedly one after another of these elite troops, they were prepared everything the expert wanted to teach them diligently to record.
Then announced the Professor: We will conduct a little experiment.
He drew a large glass pitcher from under his desk and placed it carefully in front of him. Then he took out about a dozen pebbles, about the size of tennis balls, and laid them carefully one by one in the large jar. When the pitcher was full to the brim and no other pebble longer had in place, he looked up slowly and asked his students: "Is the jar full?"
And all answered: "YES!"
He waited a few seconds and asked his students: "Really?"
Then he disappeared again under the table and pulled out a container filled with gravel cup out. He carefully spread the gravel over the large pebbles and then stirred it slightly. The gravel was spread between the large pebbles to the bottom of the pitcher.
The professor looked at again and asked his audience: "Is this jar full?"
This time his clever students began to understand his or her performance.
One of them replied: "Probably not."
"Good.", Replied the professor. He disappeared under his desk and this time he got a bucket of sand produced. He carefully poured the sand into the jar. The sand filled the spaces between the large pebbles and gravel.
Again he asked, "Is the jar full now?"
This time his students responded without hesitation in chorus: "No!"
Good, said the professor. And as if his wonderful students serviced it, he took the water jug, which was under his desk, and filled the jug to the brim.
Then he looked up and asked: "What can we learn from this important experiment?"
The boldest among his disciples - not stupid - thought about the topic of the lecture and answered: "From this we learn that even if we think that our schedule already to the brim is full, if we really want it, still an appointment or may push other things. "
"No," replied the professor, "it's not about what we can really learn from this experiment is as follows: ... If you are not the first places the large pebbles into the jar, they will later never fit at all."
There was a moment of silence. Each was aware of how much the professor was right. Then he asked: "What are in your life, the large pebbles: your health, your family, your friends, the realization of your dreams, do what makes you fun, to learn, to defend one thing, relax, take your time or something another.
Is really important that you set the large pebbles in his life in the first place. If not, you run the risk not to master, your life. When you first of all take care of little things, the gravel, the sand, you spend your life with little things and does not have enough time for the important things. Therefore, do not forget to ask yourself the question - What are the big pebbles in my life? Then these places first in the jar."
With a friendly nod goodbye the old professor of his audience and slowly left the room.