Common Thread

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“Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow has not yet come. We have only today. Let us begin.” 

-Mother Teresa 

​Every human being in this world shares one common thread. Despite who you are or what you are, we all share this same common thread. If you are lower class, upper class, or middle class-we all share this common thread. If you are a celebrity, CEO, stay at home parent or part of the working class-we all share this common thread. If you are healthy or inflicted with a disease-we all share in this common thread. This common thread can never be altered, manipulated, changed, or modified. 

Every human being from ancient to modern civilization all share this common thread. The one common thread that I am not referring to is that all people on this earth were conceived from a female. That is powerful, yet, we are not discussing that concept. This common thread, despite positions of power, share the same theme. By now, you are probably wondering what is this common thread? Every human being shares it. What is it you ask? It is simply this....we only have 24 hours a day.  
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As a college instructor, I have shared this concept with my students and I receive the same look of “That’s It!"  As I have shared with them and now with you, despite, money, fame, grades, social status or emotional status; we have only 24 hours a day to make a difference. This realization is a powerful notion. We may be born with different resources, but NO ONE is born with more or less time. Therefore, the professional athletes, celebrities, business professionals, have the same amount of time as you. They have nothing more or nothing less. From my experience, most people don’t understand the significance of this concept. Conversely, once you truly understand the common thread, then it becomes a gift and a curse.
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The gift is we should be encourage that we share the same basic element that some of our most successful counterparts share. No one is born with more thread than you. Everyday, we all start out with the same amount. We all end with the same amount. As Eric Thomas, one of the most powerful motivational speakers states, “...... the differences between Oprah and the person that is broke is how they use their 24 hours.”  Simply put, individuals are not successful because they have some magical gift; instead, they reach success because they understand the gift of time.

​The curse of the common thread is we cannot physically touch time. Time is elusive. Unlike money, you can see yourself giving the dollar away and seeing the immediate return on your purchase. Time is slightly different; you can spend one hour watching your favorite television show and you don’t physically see the time leaving your life-never to return again. It is so easy to waste time doing nothing. Before you know it, you have spent your day during meaningless activities and nothing to improve your life. America is one of the fattest nations in the world. The number one reason why people do not workout or have an active lifestyle is time. Most people use the same words to describe their reasoning for a non-active lifestyle, “I don’t have the time.”  Wait you don’t have the time? Most gyms open up no later than 5:30 a.m. and several facilities are open 24 hours. GET UP! You do not need 25 hours in a day, just use more of the 24 hours you already have.
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The common thread is the most important element to any living organism on the earth. It has been said that the average lifespan of Americans is mid 70s. In one year, you will have 8,760 hours to use for your life. Once you have reach the age of 70 years old, you will have used 613,200 hours in your lifetime. Anyone that reaches 70 years old will have the opportunity to use those same number of hours. How are you going to use your hours?



-Ron S. Lewis, Ph.D. Candidate
-Rodney S. Lewis, Ed.D.