“We’re not late, we’re on Cuban time…”

If you grew up in any Latin home, you would know exactly what “Cuban time” means.  It was one  of my favorite phrases to say growing up and into adulthood.

“Cuban time” is defined as the length of time, usually between 15 minutes and 1 hour 42 minutes, it takes for a native of Miami, Florida to show up to any specific scheduled event, such as a party or work.

It was such an accepted part of our culture and as I grew up and got to know other Latin cultures, I found out that they have their form of “Cuban time”.  As funny as it may sound, I have learned (the hard way) that this philosophy is not funny to others and in fact can be outright disrespectful.  In fact, that philosophy has cost me more money than I care to admit and has hurt relationships in which I value.  I share all of that because I have spent a good majority of my career trying to understand why it is so hard to change that internal culture/philosophy around time.

That journey has led me to the simple question of “what is time?”

I can’t accurately measure it without a clock.  I can’t touch it.  We all tend to experience it a bit differently depending on the context that we are in.  So how am I supposed to manage it?  People say, you need to value other people.  Well, I do value people and definitely respect them so that didn’t help.  I needed something more concrete and that dealt with the real issue.

For the sake of time, I’ll spare you the boring details of the journey to say here is what I’ve come across as the missing piece for me.  I needed a new philosophy, a new mantra that I could identify with.  I realized that “Cuban time” was such a part of me, my culture and in essence, my identity, that trying to change it was like trying to change the fact that I’m Cuban and I’m so proud to be Cuban.  Once it clicked, that I can change a philosophy and still be Cuban then the only piece that was missing was the new philosophy/mantra.  So where in the world would I find that?  Ive read all the books, taken all the classes, attended all the seminars, purchased all the systems….what was left?

The answer came in speaking with my good friend Daniel Martin (@septembermartin), he shared with me the philosophy that his father taught him when he was a boy.

WARNING: I’m about to share something so simple and cliche that is has the potential of going in one ear and out the other.

He shared with me this simple phrase…

“Early is on time, on time is late and late is NEVER acceptable…”

That philosophy was as much of a part of Daniel as being Cuban was to me.  It was a major part of how he identified himself.  I can’t tell you how many times I have repeated that to myself since that day.  It was so simple, so perfect and yet so profound all at the same time.  And you know what is crazy?  It wasn’t the first time I had “heard” that phrase, but it was the first time I listened to it.  I’m still amazed as to how the answers we are looking for in life are already with in our reach.  I am proud to say that I can for the first time say that I have a new philosophy and it is part of my identity.

So I ask you…what is time and what does it mean to you?

If you find yourself struggling to come up with an answer, don’t worry.  “Time” is a concept that has puzzled philosophers for centuries.  St. Augustin was quoted saying  “I know exactly what Time is until someone asks me ‘What is Time?’“  As eternity is infinite, it cannot be added to nor subtracted from.  Time can’t be touched and research has proven over and over again that time is relative.  It can fly when we’re having fun and it can’t take forever when watching water boil or when we’re waiting for that phone to ring from that special someone.

We stress and put focus on the importance of “managing our time” yet we struggle with understanding what it really is and what it means to us.  In the short video to the right, I go through a quick exercise that helps us get a grasp of this ever elusive concept of TIME.

Here is all I ask.

Please put the 2 sentences I ask you to write in the video in the comments below to spark some good conversation and sharing of ideas and other philosophies.  Also, feel free to share your “time philosophy” as you never know who might need to hear it.  I look forward to your comments.

Tagged as: legacy, time management