Margin

As I understand it, in a general business context the difference between the selling price of a product or service and the costs is margin. I don't believe it a stretch to describe margin in one's life a the difference between what one has at his disposal for use and what is already spent or otherwise allocated. In terms of my money my margin might be what I have left to spend after I've paid all my bills. If I have been saving my money and putting it aside for the proverbial "rainy day" I might have enough money to buy that classic car that Aunt Laudie has in her barn when she decides to sell it.

In terms of time management those who procrastinate tend to have less margin when it comes to having the time to respond with minuteman urgency.

Relationships are no less prone to the impact of margin. The amount of encouragement or help I can give someone is often directly related to the relationship I have with them. I was speaking with someone this week who described this idea with this example - His wife was sick and out of commission for the better part of a week. One person close to the family who knew she was ill sent an email speaking to that fact. Another friend whose friendship was more once a week at church calls wondering why no one called and was disappointed when she had to hear it in an email. Perhaps life gives you opportunity to be close to people at certian times so you can develop the margin in relationships to be close enough to see the need and respond according.

Taking care of business today is the key to having margin tomorrow.

If I want to live my oneONus, I may need to learn to develop margin in my finances, my time, and my relationships.