The Businessman

from Le Petit Prince / The Little Prince

If you ever read one of the classic stories The Little Prince, you’ll know who he is. He is a businessman from asteroid B-328. He is a large gentleman who is very busy until he doesn’t even have time to light his cigarette.

As he said:

“When you find a diamond that belongs to nobody, it is yours. When you discover an island that belongs to nobody, it is yours. When you get an idea before anyone else, you take out a patent on it: it is yours. So with me: I own the stars, because nobody else before me ever thought of owning them.”

This character grabbed my attention a lot. He spends his time so busy counting stars which he claims to own. As grown-ups, we may think that he is so productive by working all day long until he doesn’t realize what happens around him. To be honest, I do that sometimes when I face lots of deadlines. But I don’t want to be like him though. He’s wasting his life to recount the stars, and forget that “owning” means being useful to what he owns, not to own more and more just to feel good about being rich.

So this time, I want to share some of the things that we can do to finish our tons of work without becoming ignorant human beings.

1. Set your priority straight

I believe we do have unfinished tasks every day and we just want to get rid of them as soon as possible. However, you can’t just go along with everything, right? You can set your priority straight by dividing each task into the matrix system (most urgent until not urgent columns). You can write it down in your notebook, whiteboard, or even your phone.

2. Balancing your life

Working eight hours a week is the “recommended dose” for optimum mental wellbeing, British scientists claim. So please don’t go too hard on yourself. I believe as a human being, we need a balance between work and also ourselves. Love yourself more by rewarding yourself with a movie after your complicated project is done, go for a jog every morning, read several pages of the book, or simply treat yourself with a cup of coffee.

The character of Businessman is such a good reminder for all grown-ups to “live”. Because life is not always about work and money, but it’s how we live our lives and be a blessing for people around us.