The
Professor
A professor stood before his
class with some items in front of him.
When the class began, he
picked up a large empty mayonnaise jar,
And proceeded to fill it
with rocks about 2” in diameter. He then
asked the students if the
jar was full and yes, they agreed it was
The professor then picked up
a box of pebbles and poured them
into the jar, which he
shook. The pebbles of course, rolled into the
open spaces between the
rocks. He asked the students again if the
jar was full. They agreed it
was. The students laughed. The professor
picked up a box of sand and
poured it into the jar. Of course, the
sand filled up everything
else. “Now” said the professor. I
want
you to imagine that this jar
and its contents represent your life.
The rocks are the important
things – your family, your women,
your health, your kids. If
everything else was lost, and only
they remained, your life
would still be full. The pebbles are the
other things that matter.
You’re job, your house, your car. The sand
is everything else. The
small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar
first, there is no room for
the pebbles or the rocks. The same goes
for your life. If you spend
all your time and energy on the small
stuff, you will never have
time for the things that are important to
you. Pay attention to the
things that are critical to your happiness.
Play with your children.
Take time to see if your dying. Take
your women out dancing.
There will always be time to go to work,
tune the car, work on your
sad web site, and fix the garbage disposal.
Take care of the rocks first
– the things that really matter. Set
your priorities. The rest is
just sand. One drunk little chump then
took the jar, which the
other students and the professor agreed was full,
and proceeded to pour in a glass of beer.
Of course the beer filled the
remaining spaces within the
jar making the jar truly full. Which
proves: No matter how full
your life is, there is always room
for a
beer.