Subject: Rocks

> >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." He then 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 by one, 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

> > r

> >eached 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 rock.

> >

> >Then he asked the group once more. "Is this jar

> full?" By this time the

> >class was on 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 the spaces

> left between the rocks and

> >the

> >gravel.

> >

> >Once more he asked the question. "Is this 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 the expert in

> time-management 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

> in it."

> >

> >"No," the speaker replied, "that's not the point.

> The truth this

> >illustration

> >teaches us is this: 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?"

> >"Your children.

> >Your spouse. Your loved ones. Your friendships.

> Your education. Your

> >dreams. A

> >worthy cause. Teaching or mentoring

> >others. Doing things that you love. Time for

> yourself. Your health."

> >

> >Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first, or you'll

> never get them in at

> >all. If

> > you sweat the little

> >stuff (i.e. gravel, the sand) then you'll fill your

> life with little things

> >you

> >worry about that don't really matter, and you'll

> >never have the real quality time you need to spend

> the big, important stuff

> >(the

> > big rocks).

> >

> >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 your jar

> >first.

> >

> >