A while back there was an expert on the subject of time management. One day this expert was speaking to a group of business students and to drive home a point, used quite an illustration. On a table in front of him, this expert had a very large glass jar.Then, he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is the jar full?" Everyone in the class said, "Yes." Then, he asked, "Are you sure?" Of course, some students were beginning to realize that they were being set up, so the number of "yeses" were not as many. The expert once again reached under the table and this time pulled out a bucket of gravel. He then dumped some gravel in the jar and shook it a couple times. This caused pieces of gravel to work their way down into the jar around the larger rocks. Then, he smiled and asked the class again if the jar was full. Now, thinking they understood what this gentleman was doing, a member of the class said, "Probably not." Our expert replied, "Correct." But, the demonstration did not end there. Next came a bag with sand in it. He started dumping sand in the jar and the sand filled in the small spaces and crevices around the rocks and gravel. Once more he asked, "Is the jar full?" Now, as though in a chorus, the entire class responded, "NO!" And, they were correct, because out came a bucket of water. The expert poured the water into the jar. Of course, whatever crack it could find the water filled until the water rose to the very brim of the jar. It was now full. "What is the point of this illustration?", asked the expert. One eager beaver in the class raised his hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard, you can always fit some more things into it!" "No," said the speaker, "that is NOT the point. The main thing this illustration teaches us is: If you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all. Our schedules can easily get filled up with many little things that seem urgent, but may not be very important in the long-term scheme of our lives. So put the big rocks into your schedule first. Focus on your life-long dreams first. The rest is just filler." What are the "big rocks" in your life? Better get them into your schedule now or they may never get into your life at all. So, tonight or in the morning when you are reflecting on this short story, ask yourself this question: What are the "big rocks" in my life, my business, my career,relationship etc.?" Then, put those into your jar first. Hope you enjoyed this one. Makes a great deal of sense. "The things that are urgent in life are seldom important and the things that are important seldom are urgent."