Music Trade Review -- © mbsi.org, arcade-museum.com -- digitized with support from namm.org
SPECIAL—FALL NUMBER
VOL. LV. N o . 21.
REVIEW
Published Every Saturday by Edward Lyman Bill at 373 Fourth Ave., New York, Nov. 23,1912
SINGL
«.OO°PER S VEAR ENTS
What Wasted Time Means
I
F EVERY business man would make a minute analysis of just how his time is spent every week there
would be big surprises in store. I wonder how many hours it would be found had actually gone
to waste. Then, if an estimate were made of his average earning capacity for a week, it would be in-
teresting to figure out just how much dollar producing time had actually gone to waste.
Applying this same rule to employes, I wonder how much time in dollars and cents is wasted every day
in this industry. Surely it would total big figures. Time lost is opportunity lost—and reduced to the
commercial plane, dollars lost.
• It would pay a man to sit down and figure along these lines. He would be surprised to find how much
of life was going to pure waste with him all the time.
Now that is not right, for the business mills will not revolve with the power that is past. Time
wasted is time lost. Every day should count for something—and every hour, for that matter, because there
are only twenty-four hours in a day and every one of them is a precious jewel in a costly setting.
If every spare moment were used in developing methods that would bring better results, how much
would that amount to in a year?
Another thing to figure out. It seems to me that waste is a good thing to eliminate from life just as
well as it is from business. I do not call it wasted time to discuss matters of great business moment, or
matters of art—science—religion—literature, because all such discussions are broadening and aid in reach-
ing the higher plane, but all time spent in the companionship of idle men who discuss nothing but silly
gossip is wasted time, because nothing comes from it that is good.
I do not call time wasted that is spent in reading good books—I do not mean the latest novels, but I
mean books that build, such as Tennyson, Longfellow, Goethe, Darwin, Epictetus. That time is well spent
because it is broadening and it is mental and intellectual pabulum of the highest standard.
I do not consider time wasted that is spent in developing methods which will apply satisfactorily to the
conduct of modern business, neither is time wasted in studying particular traits of character in men who
have accomplished things in any particular industrial line, whether directly related to your own or not.
I do not consider time wasted that is developing ambition—developing qualities which cause a man to
face to the front with determination and fixity of purpose.
Each act—each word—each thought of our life to-day becomes a mosaic in the mansion of our destiny.
Thus we decree our fate to ourselves.
To create—to build—one must toil hard and long. It is not merely to think out a plan—a theory, but
to put it into active service, a definite plan of action and a determined execution of that plan must underlie
all permanent advance. And with virile-definite action there will be less wasted time, hence greater accom-
plishments.
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