You want more out of life?  Give more.

But you don’t have to give money, you can give time.

But I’m exhausted.  I don’t have any time to give.  You don’t?  Look at those priorities.

And here’s the MintROI Tool #9 Whatever is getting your time, is where your priorities lie.  For a lot of people, the money part is pretty evident, but the time part is surprising.  If you’re anything like me when I first figured this out, I went straight into denial.  Surely my family was more important to me than my work, yet my work was taking much more of my time.

Guys, we have 24 hours in a day.  168 hours in a week.  Let’s say we work 45 hour work weeks, 123 hours left.  And sleep is super important, so that’s 8 hours a night.  67 hours are left.  And subtract 20 hours for eating and grooming…that’s 47 hours you have left to do whatever you prioritize…do you realize that’s a whole other work week?

Where is your time going?  It’s going to whatever you prioritized.  Is it Facebook?  Is it TV?  Is it writing a blog?  Maybe you commute, maybe you have soccer practice, maybe you run errands, maybe you have a second job.  I’m not saying any of these are bad or good.  You have to actively decide what is right for you.  My point is that we need to be as aware of our time spend as we are of our financial spend.  More so even.

How we are spending our time is a leading indicator of our happiness.  If we are spending our time doing the things we love, we are more likely to be happy.  If we are spending our time doing things that are emotionally neutral, or even draining, of course we’re going to be exhausted.

MintROI Tool #10 Giving back in a way that you want to give actively puts you in a positive state.  It actually gives you energy.

Do you know the one thing that you get more of the more you give? Love.

Love makes us feel good, and the more we give it away, the more we feel good.

So let’s go back to that 47 hours – maybe you’ve chosen some pretty important priorities.  If you’re married, does your spouse have the best of you, or do they have your left overs?  If you have kids, do they have your attention?  Can you help mentor another at work, can you offer to do the lunch run?

There’s a lady at my office – Nastassia – who is very busy, yet every time I go to check on her she always asks me what she can do for me.  Can you believe it?  This crazy busy person always stops and asks ME how she can help me.  Now let me tell you, if Nastassia EVER has something she needs my help on, you know I’m going to go out of my way to help her.

But I don’t know you, and maybe you’re the employee who always asks what else they can do, and always says “yes” when asked.  And that’s why you’re soooo busy.  Rather than celebrate your generosity, maybe your boss always tasks you with more because you can take it.  Maybe you think they walk all over you.

Listen, no one wants to be used.  So two things here.  First off, as a manager, I will tell you it’s true.  I tend to give more to those who have proven successful at taking more.  But those are the first people I consider when it’s time to give merit increases.  Those are the ones that get the most experience and the best projects.  Those are the ones who eventually become leaders in their own areas.

But you’re right.  No one wants to be used.  And so when you’re thinking of what to give, I ask you to consider giving the gift of honesty.  If someone is using and abusing your kindness, let them know.  Heck, if you need help, let them know.  Sometimes being honest and true, revealing what we think is a weaknesses to others, we are actually giving the most important thing of all – we are giving of ourselves.

So today I’m going to ask you to give it a shot with me.  If you need more, give more and see what happens.  Let me know!