The supremacy of time as a number

This is the second in the retirement and life-skills article series, the first being the power of numbers in most of the adult decisions.  “Time is a measure of non-stop, consistent change in our surroundings” – Science Alert.  Time as can be simplified and made easier to understand when turned into numbers. It has a lot of number meanings and interpretations that, when focused on, will greatly change and transform our lives and businesses. It is good to take a reality check on the things that we need to get better at. Let’s use these three things to spark an immediate sense of time as a number.

1.Time can be viewed in terms of the past, present and future.

In terms of the past, if you looked at number like 5th March 1980, the number may not carry any message. But if this is the date when you were born or when your company was registered, that is now worth a 100 million dollars; or when you wedded, the meaning and importance attached to that number significantly changes.

If you want to know the significance of such a number, assume you are the Executive Director of a Company which has been celebrating annually the day it was formed for the last 24 years and you forget to prioritise and plan to celebrate the silver Jubilee (25 years) and the date passes without notice. You may be strongly sanctioned. Secondly, as a couple, if both spouses prepare and arrange to celebrate that event as a surprise, I can assure you that the date will be memorable. However, it can be a disaster, if one prepares and the other one forgets or ignores it, and unfortunately the one who forgets sends a message to the other that I am chilling out with my friends. If such a message hits a faint-hearted person, he or she may get devasted because of a past number.

In regard to the present, if you told your children today that according to the way you see them, their potential to conquer the world is very visible, that date and message may be remembered till the time of their death. Equally important, if you make a decision today to set a goal; to develop ten-skill-enhancement-online-courses in a period of three years, attracting at least 500 students, that date will be memorable. More importantly, if you followed your goal, you will never forget the day you set such a great goal. It is only the present that creates the past and the future. Use the present to create a memorable past and an envisioned future.

Concerning the future, if one viewed 31st December 2021 as a period a new product will be launched. That time becomes a fundamental number to follow and work towards achieving; otherwise, 31st December will pass like any other 31st December annually.

2.You can count the days or make days count.

“Count the days” or “make days count” are just 3 words each that have a number-meaning that can change your life. If you look at the day 28th October 2021, you will note that there are sixty-four days to the end of the year 2020. By that action, you have just counted the days. However, if you observed that in sixty-four days remaining to the end of the year, I commit that I will run three courses, or will use my savings and networks to procure a suitable land for my business, you will have made the sixty-four days certainly count!

3.You can use time as a signal to act or change

In Uganda, at the age of eighteen, you are considered an adult. Right? However, there are expectations at that age; otherwise even at age 25, you can still be considered a child due to your actions. Therefore, if you use time to signal an act or change, you will have used it as a catalyst for change.

The next article examines, the influence of statistics in our lives and businesses.

Charles Barugahare (Ph. D., FCCA) – Financial Consultant, Trainer and Coach