Carl Richards says, “The cheque book and the calendar never lie.” This is a pretty insightful line as it has an application in every aspect of our life.

He says do not tell me what is important to you. Show me how you use your time and money; I will then tell you what is important to you.

In short, show me your calendar and cheque book and I will tell you what is important to you.

I had written an application (or use case) of this (I had not heard this line then) in the form of questions to be used to identify real prospects. I am reproducing them below.

• What is the problem the prospect is trying to solve?
• How much time has she/he invested in solving this problem?
• How much money has she/he invested in solving the problem?

Similarly, to evaluate whether something is important to you, test with these questions.

• What is the problem you are trying to solve?
• How much time have you invested in solving this problem?
• How much money have you invested in solving the problem?

The responses to the 3 questions will give you clarity on whether something is truly important to you.

Like Carl says, when you pay, you PAY Attention.