One day an expert in time management
was speaking to a group
of business students and,
to drive home a point, used an
illustration those students
will never forget. As he stood
in front of the group of
high powered overachievers he said,
"Okay, time for a quiz."
The he pulled out a one-gallon,
wide mouth mason jar and
set it on the table in front of him.
Then he produced about a
dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully
placed them, one at a time,
into the jar. When the jar was
filled to the top and no
more rocks would fit inside, he
asked, "Is this jar full?"
Everyone in the class said,"Yes."
Then he said, "Really?" He
reached under the table and pulled
out a bucket of gravel.
Then he dumped some gravel in and
shook the jar causing pieces
of gravel to work themselves
down into the space between
the big rocks.
Then he asked the group once
more, "Is the jar full?" By this
time the class was on to
him. "Probably not," one of them
answered. "Good!" he replied.
He reached under the table and
brought out a bucket of sand.
He started dumping the sand in
the jar and it went into
all of the spaces left between the
rocks and the gravel.
Once more he asked the question,
"Is the jar full?"
"No!" the class shouted.
Once again he said "Good." Then he
grabbed a pitcher of water
and began to pour it in until the
jar was filled to the brim.
Then he looked at the class and
asked, "What is the point
of this illustration?"
One eager beaver raised his
hand and said, "The point is, no
matter how full your schedule
is, if you try really hard you
can always fit some more
things into it!"
"No," the speaker replied,
"that's not the point. The truth
this illustration teaches
us is: if you don't put the big
rocks in first, you'll never
get them in at all."
What are the 'big rocks' in
your life? Time with your loved
ones? Your faith, your
education, your dreams? A worthy
cause? Teaching or
mentoring others? Remember to put these
BIG ROCKS in first or you'll
never get them in at all.
So, tonight, or in the morning,
when you are reflecting on
this short story, ask yourself
this question: What are the
'big rocks' in my life?
Then, put those in the jar first...