Stones

An expert adviser of companies in Time Management wanted to surprise the attendees of his conference. He pulled out from under the desk a large, wide-mouthed bottle. He placed it on the table next to a tray with stones the size of a fist and asked:

• How many stones do you think fit in the jar?
  After the assistants made their conjectures, he began to put stones until he filled the jar.
  Then he asked:
• Is it full?
  
  Everybody saw it and agreed. Then he pulled a bucket of gravel from under the table. He put some of the gravel in the jar and waved it. The pebbles penetrated through the spaces left by the large stones.
  The expert smiled wryly and repeated:
• Is it full?
  This time the listeners doubted:
• Maybe not.
• All right!
  And he put a bucket of sand on the table and began to pour it into the jar. The sand seeped into the small nooks and crannies left by the stones and gravel.
• Is it full? he asked again.
• No !, the assistants exclaimed.
  Well, he said, and picked up a one liter jug ​​of water that he began to pour into the jar. The bottle still did not overflow.
• Well, what have we shown? He asked.
  A student answered:
• That it does not matter how full your agenda is, if you try, you can always make them fit more things.
• No !, concluded the expert: what this lesson teaches us is that if you do not place the big stones first, you will never be able to place them later. What are the big stones in your life?. Your children, your friends, your dreams, your health, the beloved? Or are your work, your meetings, your business trips, power or money? The choice is yours. Once you have decided ... put those stones first. The rest will find their place.