“We are at our very best, and we are happiest, when we are fully engaged in work we enjoy on the journey toward the goal we’ve established for ourselves. It gives meaning to our time off and comfort to our sleep. It makes everything else in life so wonderful, so worthwhile.” -Earl Nightingale
At open house on Wednesday, a prospective parent asked me an interesting question. “Why does the time matter so much?” It is a great and often pondered question. The answer is that time, and the way we treat it, is essential to our community.
Time is our most valuable resource. We can’t buy more hours or reuse days passed. I promise to value the Heroes’ time by starting each launch exactly on time (the exact second). It respects the people who are on time, and reinforces punctuality. I promise the Heroes that a launch will not exceed 15 minutes. In fact, they can get up to leave if we go over 15 minutes. This practice emphasizes that the Heroes’ time is valuable. The work that they are doing (and the time it takes) is important. When someone values your time, it is a strong affirmation: you are valued as a person.
Timing is necessary for a second reason: everyone has choices. At the Village School, we accept that we are on a hero’s journey. That means that you have the freedom to choose, and those choices have consequences. A hero may run to get water just before a launch and return 5 seconds late. The consequence of that choice is that hero is asked not to participate in the launch. A hero may be working on an assignment and not be keeping track of the time. We would call that a passive choice because the hero could have taken action, like setting a timer or wearing a watch. You can choose to be on time.
People say, “Life happens!” That’s true- our adherence to punctuality may seem borderline neurotic. And yet, Heroes know that great responsibility comes with great freedom. It is better to fail cheaply with responsibility when the consequences are small. Then you have more experience for next time. You know more and are equipped with better strategies. Overall, this mindset reinforces a Hero mentality: you happen to life, life does not happen to you.
You have a calling and you can change the world.
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