Guest column: Putting out fires, or lighting up our world?

By David Magallanes / Guest columnist

In his book, “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People,” Stephen Covey challenges his readers to consider using his “Time Management Matrix,” which consists of four quadrants. We can occupy our time performing tasks and carrying out activities that are either I) Urgent and Important; II) Not Urgent and Important; III) Urgent and Not Important; or IV) Not Urgent and Not Important.

Too many of us spend our time in the first quadrant: Urgent and Important.  It feels like we’re always “putting out fires.”  We forgot to pay the bill and the water is going to be shut off.  We quickly send the payment.

We solve a problem only to be confronted almost immediately with something bigger, it seems (we realize we forgot to put a stamp on the envelope and now the water will be shut off!). Family members are a terrific source of emergencies and crises, all of which are “important.” The cycle continues, often with generous dollops of self-imposed guilt (those of us raised Catholic are particularly good at this). We never even have time to plan our lives. We might plan a vacation (let’s see how many fires that ignites!), but … planning our life?  No … no time! Besides, it might seem that few of our friends actually take serious time to map out their lives, so why should we?

Mr. Covey is merciless in his assessment of people who conduct their lives in Quadrants III and IV (Urgent and Not Important; Not Urgent and Not Important, respectively): “People who spend time almost exclusively in Quadrants III and IV basically lead irresponsible lives” (153).  We all know people, all around us, who spend much of their precious life in these two vacuous quadrants filled with unimportant activities. It’s up to us to stay out of them if we seek our own measure of success in life.

The author also states that “Quadrant II is the heart of effective personal management” (153). If we can discipline ourselves to do what is important, day after day, year after year, even if it’s not “urgent,” even if no one is telling us we must do it (or else!), then we will become masters of our lives.

Becoming masters of our lives, captains of our ships, is the first step in acquiring wealth, however we define that for ourselves.  That could mean financial wealth — or even “spiritual wealth.” Or both. After all, they’re not mutually exclusive. Some of the wealthiest people understand spiritual laws better than many churchgoers.

I believe that Ronald Reagan had a deep spiritual foundation. He stated in his own words what countless philosophers and leaders before him have said: “There are no constraints on the human mind, no walls around the human spirit, no barriers to our progress except those we ourselves erect.”

There is nothing more American than the belief that we can succeed to the extent that we believe we can, and for which we’re willing to work. Let’s roll up our sleeves, get down to the hard work of coming to terms with our unique innate gifts, and plan to succeed in a way that no one else on the planet can. We have enough gifts and talents to offer the world to become rich ourselves many times over; we don’t because we’re not harnessing that power. In many cases, we simply were not taught. Sometimes even our teachers, including our parents, didn’t know. But we bless them nonetheless.

In my upcoming articles, let’s explore this field of possibilities for ourselves. We owe it to the world, and to ourselves. I believe that’s why we’re here on this physical plane: to offer something unique to the world — something that will leave it better, richer, more vibrant.

— David Magallanes is the creator of his own enterprise, Real World Projects, a business dedicated to providing products for a healthier life and a more vibrant lifestyle, as well as free training and guidance for those who wish to create their own similar enterprise.  For more information, you are invited to visit and explore his web site at www.realworldprojects.info