Bring on the new-ness!

by Sandra Yancey

With the recent unfortunate passing of the great Steve Jobs, I am reminded how precious time is and, no matter how much money or success you have, when it is your "time," there is nothing you can do about it. The concept of time motivates me. I am increasingly clear that I want to be intentional in making better use of it. The next time someone asks me, "So, what's new?" I want to be bubbled over with new-fangled, innovative and fresh happenings in my life. From business concepts to girlfriends, I want new-ness!

One thing that's not new is that we are in the final quarter of the year. We all know that in a few short months, 2011 will be over, and we will be entering yet another new year. Knowing that we are in the home-stretch of this year, perhaps now is the time to reflect on the past 10 months, assess what has served you well, and use the time left to make critical adjustments so that when you look back and reflect on how you spent 2011, you will feel good about all the new-ness that you have created!

Trust that it's never too late to do something new with your time. No one knows how long we each have to live. Estée Lauder had 98 years, Mother Teresa had 87 years and Indira Gandhi had 67 years. On the other hand, Susan G. Komen and Diana, Princess of Wales each had 36 years. Joan of Arc only had 19. Each of these amazing women—young or old—left a lasting legacy, a direct result of how they used their time.

As Steve Jobs so eloquently told the students at Stanford in a commencement speech in 2005, "Your time is limited, so don't waste it living someone else's life. …Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary". So, here's wishing you a final fourth quarter of new-ness filled with excitement, energy and enthusiasm to do something audacious, something that you can look back at and say, "Yes! That was the 'time' of my life!"