1
00:00:03,520 --> 00:00:07,640
Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of iHeartRadio.

2
00:00:09,039 --> 00:00:15,360
Speaker 2: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

3
00:00:16,680 --> 00:00:21,639
Speaker 2: Today's tip is to consider being generous with your time.

4
00:00:23,120 --> 00:00:26,800
Speaker 2: While boundaries are wise, people are generally a good use

5
00:00:26,800 --> 00:00:31,760
Speaker 2: of time, so be generous with time when you can.

6
00:00:33,840 --> 00:00:37,000
Speaker 2: There is a famous passage from First Corinthians that has

7
00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:41,199
Speaker 2: read at weddings about love. You probably remember how this

8
00:00:41,280 --> 00:00:44,199
Speaker 2: starts from the last wedding you went to, with the

9
00:00:44,240 --> 00:00:49,600
Speaker 2: statement that love is patient. I was pondering recently what

10
00:00:49,680 --> 00:00:53,760
Speaker 2: it means for love to be patient, and I realized

11
00:00:53,800 --> 00:01:01,080
Speaker 2: that fundamentally, patience means being generous with time. When love

12
00:01:01,240 --> 00:01:04,560
Speaker 2: is patient, it means we aren't rushing off to the

13
00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:05,080
Speaker 2: next thing.

14
00:01:06,319 --> 00:01:10,520
Speaker 3: We are giving people enough time to be heard and seen.

15
00:01:12,319 --> 00:01:16,080
Speaker 3: This plays out in all sorts of ways. It can

16
00:01:16,160 --> 00:01:19,720
Speaker 3: mean chatting with a teenager even though it is bedtime

17
00:01:20,440 --> 00:01:23,920
Speaker 3: and you are tired. It can mean listening to your

18
00:01:23,959 --> 00:01:28,000
Speaker 3: spouse as worries even though you are annoyed about something

19
00:01:28,040 --> 00:01:32,039
Speaker 3: else here she did. It can mean taking time to

20
00:01:32,240 --> 00:01:35,399
Speaker 3: encourage a direct report, even in the middle of a

21
00:01:35,480 --> 00:01:40,000
Speaker 3: packed day. It can mean graciously listening to your elderly

22
00:01:40,080 --> 00:01:46,080
Speaker 3: neighbor tell that same story about her grandchild. Again. Time

23
00:01:46,200 --> 00:01:51,320
Speaker 3: is ultimately limited, and so this generosity is costly in

24
00:01:51,360 --> 00:01:55,960
Speaker 3: a way that being profligate with money is not. You

25
00:01:55,960 --> 00:02:00,800
Speaker 3: can make more money, you cannot make more time. And

26
00:02:00,880 --> 00:02:04,320
Speaker 3: so a lot of time management literature talks about saying

27
00:02:04,440 --> 00:02:09,080
Speaker 3: no more often, and perhaps there is something to that.

28
00:02:10,639 --> 00:02:12,880
Speaker 3: But when we can say yes to the people in

29
00:02:12,919 --> 00:02:16,799
Speaker 3: our lives, it strengthens those relationships in a way that

30
00:02:16,919 --> 00:02:21,960
Speaker 3: little else can. I fundamentally believe that people are a

31
00:02:22,040 --> 00:02:25,320
Speaker 3: good use of time, and the good news is that

32
00:02:25,440 --> 00:02:30,480
Speaker 3: a few minutes invested in generosity is often paid back

33
00:02:31,040 --> 00:02:35,639
Speaker 3: in profound ways. I love to get emails from listeners

34
00:02:35,639 --> 00:02:38,639
Speaker 3: and readers, and I respond to almost all of it.

35
00:02:39,520 --> 00:02:41,840
Speaker 3: As a result of spending just a few minutes on

36
00:02:41,880 --> 00:02:44,959
Speaker 3: those emails here and there, I have made some great

37
00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:49,720
Speaker 3: friends and professional acquaintances over the years because of those connections.

38
00:02:50,880 --> 00:02:54,679
Speaker 3: Talk about a huge payback. Many of us have had

39
00:02:54,720 --> 00:02:57,760
Speaker 3: the experience of encouraging a young person in our field.

40
00:02:59,040 --> 00:03:02,880
Speaker 3: That young person then goes on to become a total

41
00:03:02,960 --> 00:03:08,840
Speaker 3: rock star and a font of all sorts of opportunities. Again,

42
00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:13,280
Speaker 3: that is a big payback for what was probably not

43
00:03:13,440 --> 00:03:18,680
Speaker 3: a huge investment of time. Now, generosity doesn't need to

44
00:03:18,720 --> 00:03:21,640
Speaker 3: be a blank check, and I am sure that sometimes

45
00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:26,359
Speaker 3: generosity is abused. But even if being generous with time

46
00:03:26,560 --> 00:03:31,000
Speaker 3: sometimes feels like a waste of time, the truth is

47
00:03:31,040 --> 00:03:34,560
Speaker 3: that we waste time on all kinds of things. As

48
00:03:34,600 --> 00:03:38,560
Speaker 3: it is. I doubt that listening to a neighbor's story

49
00:03:38,720 --> 00:03:41,800
Speaker 3: is a much worse use of time than scrolling around

50
00:03:41,840 --> 00:03:45,680
Speaker 3: online for a few minutes. The former can spread some

51
00:03:45,840 --> 00:03:52,560
Speaker 3: serious joy. Love is patient and we all need more

52
00:03:52,600 --> 00:03:58,320
Speaker 3: love in the world. In the meantime, This is Laura.

53
00:03:59,080 --> 00:04:03,240
Speaker 3: Thanks for listening, and here's to making the most of

54
00:04:03,280 --> 00:04:03,720
Speaker 3: our time.

55
00:04:09,680 --> 00:04:12,440
Speaker 1: Hey, everybody, I'd love to hear from you. You can

56
00:04:12,480 --> 00:04:16,000
Speaker 1: send me your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just

57
00:04:16,000 --> 00:04:19,920
Speaker 1: connect with me on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram at Before

58
00:04:20,040 --> 00:04:25,880
Speaker 1: Breakfast Pod that's b E the number four then Breakfast pod.

59
00:04:26,760 --> 00:04:28,520
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email.

60
00:04:28,200 --> 00:04:30,240
Speaker 3: At Before Breakfast.

61
00:04:29,720 --> 00:04:33,599
Speaker 1: Podcasts at iHeartMedia dot com. That Before Breakfast is spelled

62
00:04:33,600 --> 00:04:36,080
Speaker 1: out with all the letters. Thanks so much, should I

63
00:04:36,080 --> 00:04:44,160
Speaker 1: look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is a

64
00:04:44,200 --> 00:04:48,920
Speaker 1: production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the

65
00:04:48,960 --> 00:04:52,760
Speaker 1: iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you listen to your

66
00:04:52,800 --> 00:05:01,080
Speaker 1: favorite shows,