Tributum Newsletter #78

Hello

Spring is around the corner, but as things are warming up weather wise there remains a cool attitude towards SA. The National Dialogue will probably not be so national with many high-profile bodies and parties electing not to participate. And then Oom Cyril and MTN and the Taliban…allegations yes but sometimes mud sticks.

It is interesting how many that now berate “the West” and its “Colonialism” and who call for countries to retain independence and autonomy were on the receiving end of the benefits of sanctions and political isolation under the pre 1994 regime. Views change as perspectives do I suppose…

In last month’s Newsletter #77 we mentioned Kobus Wiese’s 4D’s to meeting life halfway. One of his D’s was for Discipline. In Steven Bartletts Book, the Diary of a CEO, he discusses what he believes are the 33 laws of life – laws that are often pushed onto you rather than chosen. One of his rules is the discipline equation – a function of death, time and discipline. There is the word again – discipline. But I want to focus on time for now as much of discipline is about what we spend our time on, what we prioritise. Bartlett uses the example of “time betting” on the roulette table of life.

We all have chips to play, but none of us know how many chips we have left. And even if we win the turn, we do not necessarily get more chips, we may get some other reward. So, assuming that each betting chip is an hour and you do not know how many chips you have left – how will you place your bets? Remember, where you place your chips on the roulette table of life is the only thing you can control.

Using myself as example and assuming I have 10 years remaining till I want to retire that means that I have 87600 chips to play. Eating, sleeping and ablutions are a given – you need to use some of your chips for that. Say that takes care of 9 hours a day for 10 years that means I have 54750 chips left. Take out Sundays as rest days, as well as 20 holiday/public holiday days a year then the chips remaining are 37470 – wow they reduce quickly as I now have less than half the chips I started with to do the things that will help me into retirement. In fact, working on a 293 working day year (taking out Sundays and 20 other days) that leaves me with 12.78 hours per day (including Saturdays) to make my retirement a reality. Knowing that, where do I need to place my chips? And do I have the discipline to keep on placing them where they are needed.

Admittedly it was a scary exercise. 10 years feels so long, a decade. And while the hours are much more number wise the unit is almost tangible, and you can almost feel the chip being put on the roulette table with every passing hour. So, what is it that you want to achieve and what is your time frame? Assuming that you will be dealt all those chips how many chips do you have that will get you to where you want to go?

Some maths I know. And on a weekend nogal. But the Boks are not playing so there are a few chips you can place on the table for this exercise. Until next month, keep breathing.