Today is the first day of July. For fellow Ghanaians, that means it’s our Republic Day — a public holiday marking our dear nation becoming a constitutional republic.

What are you doing today?

You certainly deserve a break: have some fun, take a long walk, read something new and interesting, pamper your mind with some meditation, and by all means … give a little extra T.L.C. to that special person in your life, if you’re fortunate enough to have one.

And when all the fun and excitement is over, before you retire to bed tonight, spare a few quiet moments and reflect upon the fact that…

The Cup Is Half Empty!

July 1st, apart from being our Republic Day, also means we’re done with half of the year 2008 already. From the faint recollection I have from my nursery rhyme (“30-days-hath-September…”), we have already spent 182 days out of the 366 days in the year, 2008 being a leap year.

The question that begs asking is: what have you accomplished so far this year? How are you getting on with your New Year’s Resolutions (if you’re one of the people who practice this annual ritual)?

It’s only you who can sincerely answer these questions. But whatever it takes, spend sometime tonight and reflect on your personal and professional life during this past 6 months.

Your Half Year Personal Assessment

You’ve certainly chalked some successes, however small in magnitude they may be. I’ve come to a personal realization that little successes can provide so much motivation to push ahead to move greater mountains.

Were you such a great custodian of time during the past 6 months? Many people, without hesitation, will say that time is money. Yet it amazes me how we often waste, and willingly giveaway, this money. 4,368 hours worth of money gone … how much of this did you convert into real money or some other form of wealth?

Are you building the right bridges… while burning the ones that can’t help you cross over to where you’re heading? Sure, we live in an inter-dependent world, and the relationships we build are as important as the actual widgets we crank. But I am convinced that a budding musician cannot achieve any great success, if such a person spends all his time with friends who only play, eat and sleep football.

If you can go through these deep and personal reflections and finish with a smile on your face, kudos to you. But you’re certainly the exception here, and not the norm.

But for most of us, if we could be really sincere with ourselves, we’ll come to terms with how wasteful we’ve been for the the past 6 months: the time and money we’ve wasted, the opportunities we’ve let slip by, and oh… our New Year’s Resolutions which we forgot even before January was gone.

Upon this realization, many people who are genuinely seeking personal growth will almost come to tears. But save those salty tears for now. After all…

The Cup Is Still Half Full

We’ve still got half of the year ahead. That’s 6 months, 184 days, or 4,416 hours. That’s a heck lot of time — many times more than other people’s entire life-time on this planet.

The past 6 months are gone, and there’s absolutely nothing you can do to bring those months back. But whether or not this year will be the year you made a major breakthrough in quest for wealth and abundance… or not… depends on the 6 months ahead, not the 6 months that have just passed.

So what are you going to do? Share your thoughts below.