Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent.... — Carl Sandburg

Time is the coin of your life. It is the only coin you have, and only you can determine how it will be spent. Be careful lest you let other people spend it for you.

Author: Carl Sandburg

Insight: Most of us talk about time like it's this abstract thing we're running out of, but here's what makes this idea stick: time literally is money in the most direct sense possible. You wake up with a fixed daily allowance and nothing else—no way to earn extra, borrow against tomorrow, or negotiate a better rate. That's humbling. What makes it even sharper is the second part, the part we usually ignore: other people are constantly trying to spend your coins without asking. Think about how this plays out. A text message interrupts your morning. A meeting runs long. Someone else's crisis becomes your crisis. A guilt trip about family obligations, social media keeping you scrolling, a job that demands constant availability—these are all tiny acts of someone else's hand reaching into your pocket. The sneaky part is that it often doesn't feel like theft. It feels like obligation, or habit, or just how things are done. The real challenge isn't protecting your time from obvious villains. It's recognizing that every yes to someone else's priority is a no to your own. And unlike money, you can't earn it back on weekends.