Don't waste time! Every second of every day is valuable
As the end of my career at this newspaper approaches, I find myself looking through the mountain of files I have accumulated through the years.
I save almost everything, so mountain is a very apt description of what's surrounding me in my desk area at the Daily Herald.
Eventually, I have to sort through all this material and toss out what has no importance for those who follow me.
Every day I seem to find another little gem that prompted a column years ago and continues to have value today.
When the years pass, a new audience - hopefully - turns to this column each week. And maybe even the old audience enjoys an occasional return to some words of wisdom.
Today's column was prompted by finding in my desk an old e-mail from Ron Kozlicki, the legendary all-state basketball player at Palatine High School in 1963.
Kozlicki, who was on the Daily Herald's first all-area basketball team, went on to star at Northwestern and enjoy a brief pro career.
Ron has been keeping in touch through the years from his home in Georgia, and his e-mails cover a variety of fascinating subjects and not just sports.
Kozlicki never took credit for what was in the e-mail I found in my desk because he knew it was old. He wasn't even sure of the original author.
However, he liked what it said then and understood the messages I try to deliver in my columns each week, so he thought it would make a perfect subject.
Kozlicki's e-mail is called "The Bank Account" and makes you think about the value of every second of every day.
That's a very appropriate subject for our young people who are getting hit from so many different directions in today's fast-paced high school life.
Imagine there is a bank, the e-mail starts, that credits your account each morning with $86,400. It carries over no balance from day to day.
Every evening it deletes whatever part of the balance you failed to use during the day.
What would you do? Draw out every cent, of course.
Each of us has such a bank. Its name is TIME.
Every morning it credits you with 86,400 seconds for the day.
Every night it writes off, as lost, whatever of this you have failed to invest to a good purpose.
It carries over no balance. It shows no overdraft.
Each day it opens a new account for you.
Each night it burns the remains of the day.
If you fail to use the day's deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back.
There is no drawing against the "tomorrow."
You must live in the present on today's deposits. Invest it so as to get from it the utmost in health, happiness and success.
The clock is running. Make the most of today.
To realize the value of ONE YEAR, ask a student who failed a grade.
To realize of the value of ONE MONTH, ask a mother who gave birth to a premature baby.
To realize the value of ONE WEEK, ask the editor of a weekly magazine.
To realize the value of ONE HOUR, ask the loved ones who are waiting to meet.
To realize the value of ONE MINUTE, ask a person who missed a train.
To realize the value of ONE SECOND, ask a person who just avoided an accident.
To realize the value of ONE MILLISECOND, ask the person who won a silver medal at the Olympics.
Treasure every moment you have.
And remember that time waits for no one.
Yesterday is history.
Tomorrow is a mystery.
Today is a gift.
That's why it's called - the present.
You obviously can come up with your own thoughts about the value of a year, month, week, hour, minute, second or millisecond, but I am sure you get the idea.
Everyone should take full advantage of every moment of every day.
Remember, TIME is precious.
Don't waste it.