Valorie Burton - Its About Time: The Art of Choosing the Meaningful Over the Urgent

CONTENTS

V ALORIE BURTON helps readers find joy and resilience while navigating the challenges of modern life. She has written a dozen books on personal development and is founder of the Coaching and Positive Psychology (CaPP) Institute, which provides coaching, resilience training, and certification programs for individuals and organizations. Her unique combination of research, faith, and personal transparency inspires action and delivers practical tools to find fulfillment and purpose in work and life. She and her husband live near Atlanta, Georgia, with their children. Visit her at www.valorieburton.com and www.cappinstitute.com.

T his book exists because of the support of devoted, gifted people in my life. I did not do this alone. Not even close. I especially want to thank the following:

My amazing husband, Jeff. Your willingness to jump into this journey with me not only made it fun but has transformed how we think about and spend our time. Thank you for your wholehearted commitment to me, to our dreams, and to helping me write the book we both needed.

Sophie, Addie, and Alex, our children. The journey with you makes my life so much more meaningful. You are what this book is aboutmaking time, making memories, and making choices that create a meaningful legacy. Thank you for being you.

Daisy Hutton, you rock. Thank you for inviting me to join the W family. Your vision and guidance have blown me away. You stretched me in ways I wanted to be stretched, and I am better for it. Thank you for passionately embracing this book and providing the road map to help me write it.

Andrea Heinecke, my literary agent. You believed more was possible even when I couldnt see it. Thank you for encouraging and supporting me every step of the way.

Yvette Cook, my phenomenal friend and COO of Inspire Inc. Your unwavering friendship, brainstorming sessions, personal stories, and ideas made this journey more meaningful and the book more powerful. You were there when the idea for this book became clear in the Phoenix airport that day, and you stuck by me every step of the wayreading chapters, letting me read passages out loud, helping me when it felt hard. I appreciate you so very much.

Kristin Tucker, my talented and beautiful godsister and personal editor. Working with you on this book was a heaven-sent gift! Thank you for the countless hours editing and talking concepts through. I could not have made it through that first big edit without you and your relentless focus. You are such a brilliant and disciplined writer and editor. You make it look effortless. I cant wait to see your book in print and your credits rolling on the big screen! Thank you for being there for me.

Meaghan Porter, senior editor at W Publishing. Thank you for making this manuscript better! I appreciate your ability to fine-tune and enhance the spirit of my message.

Denise George, Kristi Smith, Becky Melvin, and Ashley Reedmy marketing and publicity team at W Publishing. Thank you for your passion, creativity, and effort on this project! It is a joy to work with you.

Senia Maymin, PhD, my dear friend and colleague. Thank you for being a sounding board, coach, and true encourager. I admire and appreciate your excellence and humility.

Leone Murray, my mom. You have cheered me on from the day I embarked on my journey as a writer. Your support is so consistent and caring. From encouraging me when I feel stuck to babysitting when I need a few extra hours to meet a deadlineI dont even have to ask. You go ahead of me and make a way. Not to mention my passion for books is a gift from you. Thank you.

Johnny Burton, my dad. Youve always encouraged me and said that I could do absolutely anything. Your belief in me made me bold enough to believe I could pursue my dreams. And my love of communication is something I got from you. Thank you.

Wade and Alexis Murray, my brother and sister-in-love. Thank you for your enthusiasm, your love, and your hard work to help bring the vision for this book to life!

Natasha McCain, my hairstylist. Thanks for getting me ready for this cover shoot! You are fabulous at what you do!

Briana Jones, my make up artist for this cover shoot. Thank you for your warm spirit, excellent professionalism, and natural touch!

I am blessed with many family members, friends, and colleagues who have made this journey fun, meaningful, and life changing. You know who you are. Thank you for those conversations and interactions that kept me inspired and moving forward.

And to you, the reader. Thank you for the opportunity to share this message and the chance to help you transform your life.

T he morning of her fathers open-heart surgery, Marie had an ambitious plan to take her children to school, attend a work meeting, and get back in time to see her father before he went into surgery.

As a top-producing sales executive and divorced mom with sole custody of her three children, Marie was accustomed to juggling an overloaded schedule. Work had become her priority because, with no child support, she wanted to do everything she could to make sure her kids didnt suffer financially. It wasnt the way she had imagined her life when she was younger, but it was her reality, and she tried to make the best of it. Almost daily, she raced from one appointment to the next.

Marie is an optimist. It was part of what had gotten her promoted to vice president in an industry where such a position was rare for a woman. And her plan that Wednesday morning was nothing if not optimistic.

The previous day was like most others. Maries father picked up the kids from school as he did every day and brought them to her house. When she arrived home, the kids were doing their homework, and her dad even had dinner on the stove. He was outside skimming the pool, a weekly chore he gladly did for her. But on this day, instead of standing over the pool with the skimmer and walking around the perimeter, he was sitting down. She stepped outside and asked him if he was okay. He said he was tired and felt like he had a little indigestion. She gave him some over-the-counter medicine, but when he didnt get any better, she became concerned. Her dad had been diagnosed with heart disease several years earlier and had a pacemaker, so if this wasnt indigestion, she was afraid it might be something much more serious. She picked up the phone and called 911.

She followed the ambulance to the hospital, where an EKG revealed hed suffered a mild heart attack. The doctors insisted he have triple bypass heart surgery the very next day. Marie had an urgent meeting the next morning. Instinctively, she contemplated how she could go to both.

Her dads surgery was at 10:00 a.m., and her office in downtown Dallas was just a twenty-minute drive from the hospital. So she came up with a game plan. The next morning, she would drop her two sons and daughter off at school by 7:30 a.m., attend the one-hour meeting that started at 8:00 a.m., then rush out as soon as it was over and arrive at the hospital by 9:30 a.m., just in time to tell her father she loved him and everything would be okay.

The meeting ran over by ten minutes, and she drove as fast as she could to the hospital. But by the time she arrived, it was 9:40 a.m., and her father had already been wheeled away for surgery. Marie was so disappointed.

What was I thinking? she berated herself as she reflected on her whirlwind morning.

Frustrated with herself for her decision, she headed into the surgery waiting room and sat with her mother and brother. It was a long few hours, but her father was eventually brought out of surgery and taken to the critical care unit (CCU) to recover. He had made it!