We’re all busy with meetings, projects, deadlines, challenges, not to mention everything happening in our personal and social lives. So how do we manage it all, stay sane, and continue making meaningful progress?

If I may, I’d like to share a perspective that has worked for me, one I explore in my book Make Today Your Masterpiece.

What I’ve come to believe is simple: all we truly have is today.

There is a poem that has deeply influenced me, and in fact, helped inspire both the mantra and the book. In The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam, translated by Edward Fitzgerald, we read:

“The moving finger writes; and, having writ,
Moves on: nor all thy Piety nor Wit
Shall lure it back to cancel half a line,
Nor all thy Tears wash out a Word of it.”

Here’s how I interpret that:
Yesterday is gone. Tomorrow isn’t promised. But today, today is yesterday’s tomorrow, and it’s right here in your hands. What will you do with it?

Each day, we make choices about how we spend our time, what to do, with whom, when, and how. Those choices shape the stories we’ll tell tomorrow.

Please remember this: invest your time where it matters most. The greatest impact often comes when we pour into others—sharing wisdom, experiences, knowledge, and skills. For any leader, that is deeply fulfilling, and it starts today.