Wise Decisions

Chapter 11Managing Energy and Your Inner Voice

Energy, not time, is your most precious resource. Success in life will not be measured by the number of years you lived, but rather by the energy you brought to the time you had, aligned with what mattered most to you while we were here.

Energy infuses life into time, and the union of energy and time is what makes everything happen in life. Every one of the 30 trillion cells in the human body has its own energy production plant called the mitochondria, and cellular energy production is what ignites life in the human system. And human energy, like all energy in the universe, possesses quantity, quality, focus, and intensity (force). Here's the critical insight:

Energy investment spawns life, and one's inner voice controls energy investment.

Let's start with these energy fundamentals. Making a conscious effort to do something means intentionally investing your energy in that activity. Making a conscious effort to strengthen your biceps by lifting weights is an example. The critical ingredient in the growth‐stimulating process is energy investment. Spending time in the gym but failing to invest targeted energy into building your bicep will not get the job done. This same principle is true with everything, such as investing your energy in being a good parent, improving your backhand in tennis, or growing your capacity for kindness or gratefulness. And the greater the quantity, quality, focus, and intensity of the energy invested, ...