Read Excerpt: 'The Other 8 Hours' by Robert Pagliarini

March 24, 2010— -- Robert Pagliarini's new book looks at the importance of the eight hours of the day not spent working or sleeping.

He writes that "Your day doesn't start when you crawl out of bed. Your day -- and even your life -- doesn't really start until 5:00 pm. What you've done with your time after 5:00 pm last week, last month, and last year hasdetermined where you are today. How you use the other 8 hours today, tomorrow, and next year will determine your future -- they are your only hope to radically improve your life. The 8 hours you sleep are lost.The 8 hours you sell for a paycheck are gone. What you have -- really, all you have -- are the other 8 hours. Life not only happens in those other 8 hours, but life is the other 8 hours."

CLICK HERE to see a quiz from the book about how you spend the most meaningful moments of your life.

Read an excerpt of the book below, and then head to the "GMA" Library to find more good reads.

Chapter 1: Life Begins at 5:00 p.m.

The Other 8 Hours Determine Your Happiness and Net Worth

Six years ago, Mark andSarah were on a cruise ship touring the south pacific when a violent tropical storm damaged the ship's hull. Several passengers were knocked overboard and into the dark, churning watersnearly fifty feet below. Mark and Sarah were two of the passengers who plunged into the cold waters that night. They frantically grabbed pieces of debris and hung on tight -- doing whatever they could to keep theirhead above water.

The next morning, Mark washed up onto a small and uninhabitedisland. Sarah washed up onto a neighboring island, also uninhabited,About two miles from Mark.

After the initial shock of the situation wore away, fear and anxietyovercame them. They knew that it would not be easy. They would haveto work hard to build a shelter, pick fruits, locate fresh water, and fishfor food. The first few days were scary and difficult, but they bothmanaged to build makeshift shelters to protect them from the rain andsun. They found freshwater streams deeper into the islands and plentyof fruits and nuts. As the days turned into weeks, they even got good attrapping crabs and spearing fish.

In the late afternoons, Mark had some time to relax after a hardday's work. He'd climb to his favorite bluff and watch the waves crashagainst rocks. As the sun set and the stars lit up the sky, he'd dream ofgalaxies far away and pray that he'd be rescued soon.Sarah struggled to survive each day, too. Like Mark, her day beganwhen the sun came up. Chopping wood, climbing trees for fruit, pickingnuts and berries, fishing, and getting water kept her busy. At the endof her daily routine, she'd long to relax on the beach, but she knewshe wanted more than just to survive. Sarah wanted to get off theisland.

Each afternoon, Sarah spent a couple of additional hours gatheringand storing wood. She tested nearly every type of vegetation on the islandto see which produced the darkest and thickest smoke. She collectedrocks of all sizes and used them to spell "h e l p" in giganticletters on the beach in four areas around the island. Sarah also dug firepits on the beach in several areas where she kept a large supply of drywood and special vegetation.

Because it rained often, Sarah found it necessary to continuouslyreplace wet wood and vegetation with dry supplies. Her rock signsaround the island also needed care and attention. Not wanting toalace her fate in the hands of a rescue team that might never come,Sarah started building a raft out of bamboo and vines -- a little biteach day.

Of course, she'd relax as well. Her favorite time of day was sunset.Sarah would take a handful of nuts and berries she'd picked earlier inthe day down to the beach and sit under her favorite palm tree. She'ddaydream about her family and how wonderful a big piece of hermother's special chocolate cake would taste. During these daydreams,she'd also spend a few minutes going over her rescue plan.

Day after day, without any fanfare or recognition, Mark and SarahDid what they needed to do to survive. After several noneventful weeks,That day finally came. Sarah was picking fruit near the beach and Markwas trapping crabs when they both -- almost at the same time -- saw asmall plane in the distance.

Sarah jumped into action. She ran to the small fire and used it toLight the large pile of wood. She dumped the vegetation on it and usedHer homemade tiki torch to light the other stacks of wood on fi re. SheThen ran back to add more wood and vegetation to the fi re. HugePlumes of smoke rose into the air and fi lled the sky above her island.Meanwhile, Mark was frantic. He ran around trying to fi gure outWhat to do. He fumbled, trying to light a fi re, and once he had one lit,He was disappointed that it produced very little visible smoke. He sprinted into the jungle and grabbed any kind of vegetation he could find to throw on the fire. Unfortunately, the vegetation he used quickly suffocated the fire and Mark wasted several precious minutes trying tolight another one. Each time he threw new vegetation on the fire tocreate more smoke, the fire would die and he would waste time tryingto restart it.

The plane turned and started heading toward the islands. As it gotcloser, Mark realized it was not flying toward him but was headed severalmiles off course. The plane circled Sarah's island and toucheddown a hundred yards off shore. Two rescuers jumped out of the planeand started paddling toward her in a raft. As they got closer, she lookedaround her island one last time and dove into the ocean and swam towardthe raft. Minutes later, Sarah was airborne. The pilot asked her ifthere were any other survivors and Sarah told them that she had beenalone.

Desperate to get their attention, Mark resorted to running up anddown the beach waving his arms in the air and screaming in desperation.As the plane flew out of sight, Mark realized that he had missedhis chance.

Mark survived. He survived the fifty- foot plunge into the water,lived through the violent storm, made it to dry land, built a shelter, andfound food and water. Sarah also survived. She did what was necessaryTo make it each day, but she had a bigger plan -- she wanted a betterlife. She wanted to see her family again, to taste chocolate, and to reada love story. She wanted to hug her friends and hear the sounds of herchurch choir. She wanted to pet her dog, attend a play, and grow oldwith her husband. She needed to survive on the island, but she madethe decision that surviving was just not enough.

Mark and Sarah's lessons aren't reserved for castaways on remoteislands. Their story is played out every day around the globe -- in smalltowns and in big cities, in diners and in corner offices, and for thoseworking for minimum wage and those pursuing advanced degrees.If you feel like you are stranded on an island of monotony, unpaidbills, and forgotten dreams, or if you find yourself daydreamingof a different life but have no idea how to achieve it, there is only onesolution. . . .

The Other 8 Hours

Your day doesn't start when you crawl out of bed. Your day -- andeven your life -- doesn't really start until 5:00 pm. What you've donewith your time after 5:00 pm last week, last month, and last year hasdetermined where you are today. How you use the other 8 hours today,tomorrow, and next year will determine your future -- they are youronly hope to radically improve your life. The 8 hours you sleep are lost.The 8 hours you sell for a paycheck are gone. What you have -- really,all you have -- are the other 8 hours. Life not only happens in those theother 8 hours, but life is the other 8 hours.

Where you work, the size of your paycheck, the amount of debtyou have, what you weigh, the number of people you can count on tohelp you in an emergency, your connection to god, the relationshipyou have with your spouse and children, and just about everythingelse that is meaningful to you is the result of how you've used theother 8 hours.

Look at each of the areas below to see the profound effect the other8 hours has had:

Family

Even if you met your partner/spouse at work (i did), you needed toput time and energy into your relationship after work if you wanted itto grow and mature. The dates you went on, long walks, and falling inlove all occurred during the other 8 hours. Even the disagreementsand arguments that make you the couple you are today occurred after5:00 pm.

If you have children, surely their conception and maybe their birthoccurred during the other 8 hours. All of the diapers you changed, Elmoyou watched, and homework you've helped complete -- all of the thingsyou did to build connections with your children today -- wouldn't havehappened if it were not for the other 8 hours.

The reason my daughter runs up and hugs me when I come homeFrom work is because of the other 8 hours I've "invested" in her (thenagain, it's probably the m&ms I bribed her with).

The love your spouse and children feel toward you -- and, yes, theabsence of love -- is entirely the result of how you have spent the other8 hours. The connection you feel toward your siblings and parents isbased largely on what you've done during the other 8 hours. If you investedthem wisely, you probably have some good relationships. If youdidn't, you probably don't.

Relationships

The nine- to- five working hours are a great time to meet people anddevelop friendships. I met most of my nonchildhood friends whileworking. It's no surprise. We come into contact with more people forlonger periods during working hours than we do at any other time of the day. But to convert your work relationships into real friendships,you have to spend some of your other 8 hours hanging out with andgetting to know those people on a different level. It's one thing tochat around the water cooler about the latest American Idol contestantto be voted off or to relive Sunday's big game in the lunchroom,but it's an entirely different thing to share a drink or dinner withsomeone and really get to know him. Your close friends -- regardlessof where you met them -- became your friends during the other 8 hours.

Physical Health

The notch you use in your belt, how out of breath you feel after climbinga flight of stairs, and how comfortable you are in a bathing suit arealmost entirely dependent on how you have used the other 8 hours.What you choose to eat for breakfast, dinner, dessert, and snacks is usuallydetermined during the other 8 hours. If you've chosen wisely, itshows. Do you exercise? If so, when? While you sleep? No. While youwork? No. During the other 8 hours? Yup.

Personal Growth

This category includes your hobbies, educational pursuits, travel, reading,art, and other activities that you find enriching and are passionateabout. One of my hobbies is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and mixed martial arts.I'm not very good, but I enjoy it and I'm better than when I started. IAlso enjoy learning Spanish (even though those verbs confuse me).Another of my favorite pastimes? Reading. My clients wouldn't appreciateit, and I wouldn't be very successful if I spent my hours betweenNine and five practicing Jiu Jitsu, learning Spanish, and readingbooks. No, I can only do these things that I love and am passionateabout -- these things that help define me as a person -- during the other8 hours.

Spirituality

Your spirituality and faith should follow you wherever you go -- duringwork and during the other 8 hours. But, unless your nine- to- five job isin ministry, chances are your spiritual growth and deepest connectionto God occur during church/temple, small group meetings, Bible study,chanting, volunteering, meditation, or whatever.

Financial HealthSurely your financial health is the direct result of the hours betweenNine and five. It is during this time that you work and earn a paycheck.Your paycheck determines your financial health, right? Not so fast. Obviouslyyour working hours play a significant role in your finances, butyou might be surprised at the role the other 8 hours play in the size ofyour bank account.

Your financial health is determined by just two things . . . Your incomeand your expenses. That's it. No more, no less. Your income isbased on what you do for a living and how well you do it. The bestsnow-cone maker in the world may make a fine snow cone, but herchoice of occupation limits her financial success. Likewise, a brain surgeonwho botches every surgery isn't going to be financially successfuleither.

What you do for a living is based on hundreds of factors . . . Whereyou grew up, your intelligence, your parents' encouragement, yourpersonality, your interests, chance, etc. What you do for a living is alsodetermined partly by whether or not you graduated from high school,spent the extra years getting an advanced degree, took online coursesor night classes to earn an important industry designation; by howhard you studied, and your personal network of friends and acquaintances.It is these factors -- those that you can control -- that have aHuge impact on what you do between the hours of nine and fi \ve. Andhuess what? All of these other factors are the direct result of how youhave spent the other 8 hours.

So the other 8 hours have a huge impact on our income, but whatabout the other half of the financial health equation . . . Our expenses?You guessed it. Your expenses are the result of the decisions you makeduring the other 8 hours. How much you choose to spend on rent, thetype of car you drive, the clothes you buy, the entertainment you experience,and the toys you purchase aren't decisions you usually makewhile you are working, and they definitely aren't decisions you makewhile sleeping. Every single one of these spending decisions -- and thousandsof others, both big and small -- occurs during the other 8 hours.Still aren't convinced? I need you to buy into just how importantthe other 8 hours are. If you read this book with the same skepticismYou have when you read those tabloid headlines in line at the grocery,it's not going to work. Go ahead. Drink the Kool- Aid. Because onceyou do -- once you realize the power the other 8 hours has had on yourLlfe -- you will respect and appreciate the power that the other 8 hourscan have on your life.

To prove just how important the other 8 hours have been in yourlife, take this quiz . . .

Directions: After each question, put a checkmark in the "sleeping"box if the event occurred while you were sleeping, a checkmark in the"working" box if it occurred while you were working, and a checkmarkIn the "Other 8" box if the event occurred in the other 8 hours.

Meaningful Moments in Your Life

1. When did you meet the love of your life?

Sleeping:

Working:

Other 8:

2. When did you have your first child (please note,office stairwell fans, the question is when didYou have, not conceive, your first child)?

Sleeping:

Working:

Other 8:

3. When did your most emotionally painfulexperience occur?

Sleeping:

Working:

Other 8:

4. When did you see the most spectacular sunsetyou've ever seen?

Sleeping:

Working:

Other 8:

5. When do you feel the most intellectually aliveand excited about your future?

Sleeping:

Working:

Other 8:

6. When do you participate in your favorite hobby?

Sleeping:

Working:

Other 8:

7. When was the first time you saw your childwalk?

Sleeping:

Working:

Other 8:

8. Think about your favorite movie of all time.When was the first time you watched it?

Sleeping:

Working:

Other 8:

9. When did you meet your best friend?

Sleeping:

Working:

Other 8:

10. When was the last time you could hardly catchyour breath because of your excitement?

Sleeping:

Working:

Other 8:

11. When was your most profound spiritualmoment?

Sleeping:

Working:

Other 8:

12. When did the most rewarding physical thingyou've ever done occur?

Sleeping:

Working:

Other 8:

13. If you could relive one event from your past,when would it occur?

Sleeping:

Working:

Other 8:

14. When do you find you feel the most sure andconfident?

Sleeping:

Working:

Other 8:

15. If you had one year left to live, what would youspend the majority of your time doing?

Sleeping:

Working:

Other 8:

TOTAL:

Now add the checkmarks in each column. Do you notice anything?I've done this exercise with a whole lot of folks and the results are almostalways the same.

Sleeping: Necessary and feels great, but doesn't provide much "life" tolife. Most likely, you don't have a single checkmark in this column.

Working: Also necessary and can feel rewarding, but it is typicallysomething you must do and not something you love to do. Most peopleHave between one and three checkmarks in this column.

Other 8: Surprise! The majority of the most important events in yourLife don't occur while you sleep or work . . . They occur during the other8 hours.

While it's true that I created the quiz to convince you of the significance of the other 8 hours, I think it is still a valuable illustration.

Prove it to yourself by thinking about the most meaningful events andmemories in your own life. When did they occur?

It Cuts Both Ways

Time has no conscience, and the other 8 hours are indifferent. Theycan be invested or wasted. The other 8 hours can improve every aspectOf your life, but you must do something valuable with them. If youwaste the other 8 hours, they can't help you. The clock ticks. Seconds,minutes, and hours pass, regardless of what you do.Your finances, your job responsibilities, your relationship with yourparents or spouse, your health, and even your quality of life and level ofhappiness are either getting better or getting worse. Life and all of thethings in it are moving forward, progressing, and advancing or fallingbehind, stagnating, and dying. Is your net worth growing or shrinking?Are you moving up in the company or down? Are you getting closer toyour boyfriend or moving farther away from him? Are you getting intoshape or losing the battle of the bulge?

If you don't invest the other 8 hours in the areas of your life that areimportant to you, those areas will shrivel up and waste away (unlessyou're talking about weight, and in that circumstance, neglect tends toHave the opposite effect). How many friendships have you had that disappearedbecause you didn't put the time into them? Have you grownapart from a spouse or significant other? Have you lost touch with yourfaith? Have you felt shocked after stepping on the bathroom scale? Haveyou ever wondered where the last year, or five or ten years, have gone?

Do you get sick of coming up with reasons for why you didn't start abusiness or take that trip? The reason for all of these shortfalls can beTraced to how you failed to invest the other 8 hours into these areas ofyour life.

Still not convinced that life starts after 5:00 PM? Talk to someonewho has completely wasted the other 8 hours for several years (or decades).You'll see pain, frustration, anger, and despair. You'll hear abouthow life is unfair and that having the "good" life is hopeless. If yousleep 8, work 8, and waste 8, at the very best, you'll manage to survive,much like Mark has on his lonely island.

Each of us is given the other 8 hours (some more, some less). It's upto us to use this time as wisely as possible. If you have a plan for yourday after 5:00 PM and actually do something with this time, there isvery little in life you can't accomplish or achieve. Those who invest theother 8 hours achieve and experience the most from life. Those whowaste the other 8 hours feel stagnant and unfulfi led, and they are thesubject of the next chapter . . .

Click here to return to the "Good Morning America" Web site.

The Other 8 Hours Determine Your Happiness and Net Worth

Six years ago, Mark andSarah were on a cruise ship touring the south pacific when a violent tropical storm damaged the ship's hull. Several passengers were knocked overboard and into the dark, churning watersnearly fifty feet below. Mark and Sarah were two of the passengers who plunged into the cold waters that night. They frantically grabbed pieces of debris and hung on tight -- doing whatever they could to keep theirhead above water.

The next morning, Mark washed up onto a small and uninhabitedisland. Sarah washed up onto a neighboring island, also uninhabited,About two miles from Mark.

After the initial shock of the situation wore away, fear and anxietyovercame them. They knew that it would not be easy. They would haveto work hard to build a shelter, pick fruits, locate fresh water, and fishfor food. The first few days were scary and difficult, but they bothmanaged to build makeshift shelters to protect them from the rain andsun. They found freshwater streams deeper into the islands and plentyof fruits and nuts. As the days turned into weeks, they even got good attrapping crabs and spearing fish.

In the late afternoons, Mark had some time to relax after a hardday's work. He'd climb to his favorite bluff and watch the waves crashagainst rocks. As the sun set and the stars lit up the sky, he'd dream ofgalaxies far away and pray that he'd be rescued soon.Sarah struggled to survive each day, too. Like Mark, her day beganwhen the sun came up. Chopping wood, climbing trees for fruit, pickingnuts and berries, fishing, and getting water kept her busy. At the endof her daily routine, she'd long to relax on the beach, but she knewshe wanted more than just to survive. Sarah wanted to get off theisland.

Each afternoon, Sarah spent a couple of additional hours gatheringand storing wood. She tested nearly every type of vegetation on the islandto see which produced the darkest and thickest smoke. She collectedrocks of all sizes and used them to spell "h e l p" in giganticletters on the beach in four areas around the island. Sarah also dug firepits on the beach in several areas where she kept a large supply of drywood and special vegetation.

Because it rained often, Sarah found it necessary to continuouslyreplace wet wood and vegetation with dry supplies. Her rock signsaround the island also needed care and attention. Not wanting toalace her fate in the hands of a rescue team that might never come,Sarah started building a raft out of bamboo and vines -- a little biteach day.

Of course, she'd relax as well. Her favorite time of day was sunset.Sarah would take a handful of nuts and berries she'd picked earlier inthe day down to the beach and sit under her favorite palm tree. She'ddaydream about her family and how wonderful a big piece of hermother's special chocolate cake would taste. During these daydreams,she'd also spend a few minutes going over her rescue plan.

Day after day, without any fanfare or recognition, Mark and SarahDid what they needed to do to survive. After several noneventful weeks,That day finally came. Sarah was picking fruit near the beach and Markwas trapping crabs when they both -- almost at the same time -- saw asmall plane in the distance.

Sarah jumped into action. She ran to the small fire and used it toLight the large pile of wood. She dumped the vegetation on it and usedHer homemade tiki torch to light the other stacks of wood on fi re. SheThen ran back to add more wood and vegetation to the fi re. HugePlumes of smoke rose into the air and fi lled the sky above her island.Meanwhile, Mark was frantic. He ran around trying to fi gure outWhat to do. He fumbled, trying to light a fi re, and once he had one lit,He was disappointed that it produced very little visible smoke. He sprinted into the jungle and grabbed any kind of vegetation he could find to throw on the fire. Unfortunately, the vegetation he used quickly suffocated the fire and Mark wasted several precious minutes trying tolight another one. Each time he threw new vegetation on the fire tocreate more smoke, the fire would die and he would waste time tryingto restart it.

The plane turned and started heading toward the islands. As it gotcloser, Mark realized it was not flying toward him but was headed severalmiles off course. The plane circled Sarah's island and toucheddown a hundred yards off shore. Two rescuers jumped out of the planeand started paddling toward her in a raft. As they got closer, she lookedaround her island one last time and dove into the ocean and swam towardthe raft. Minutes later, Sarah was airborne. The pilot asked her ifthere were any other survivors and Sarah told them that she had beenalone.

Desperate to get their attention, Mark resorted to running up anddown the beach waving his arms in the air and screaming in desperation.As the plane flew out of sight, Mark realized that he had missedhis chance.

Mark survived. He survived the fifty- foot plunge into the water,lived through the violent storm, made it to dry land, built a shelter, andfound food and water. Sarah also survived. She did what was necessaryTo make it each day, but she had a bigger plan -- she wanted a betterlife. She wanted to see her family again, to taste chocolate, and to reada love story. She wanted to hug her friends and hear the sounds of herchurch choir. She wanted to pet her dog, attend a play, and grow oldwith her husband. She needed to survive on the island, but she madethe decision that surviving was just not enough.

Mark and Sarah's lessons aren't reserved for castaways on remoteislands. Their story is played out every day around the globe -- in smalltowns and in big cities, in diners and in corner offices, and for thoseworking for minimum wage and those pursuing advanced degrees.If you feel like you are stranded on an island of monotony, unpaidbills, and forgotten dreams, or if you find yourself daydreamingof a different life but have no idea how to achieve it, there is only onesolution. . . .

The Other 8 Hours

Your day doesn't start when you crawl out of bed. Your day -- andeven your life -- doesn't really start until 5:00 pm. What you've donewith your time after 5:00 pm last week, last month, and last year hasdetermined where you are today. How you use the other 8 hours today,tomorrow, and next year will determine your future -- they are youronly hope to radically improve your life. The 8 hours you sleep are lost.The 8 hours you sell for a paycheck are gone. What you have -- really,all you have -- are the other 8 hours. Life not only happens in those theother 8 hours, but life is the other 8 hours.

Where you work, the size of your paycheck, the amount of debtyou have, what you weigh, the number of people you can count on tohelp you in an emergency, your connection to god, the relationshipyou have with your spouse and children, and just about everythingelse that is meaningful to you is the result of how you've used theother 8 hours.

Look at each of the areas below to see the profound effect the other8 hours has had:

Family

Even if you met your partner/spouse at work (i did), you needed toput time and energy into your relationship after work if you wanted itto grow and mature. The dates you went on, long walks, and falling inlove all occurred during the other 8 hours. Even the disagreementsand arguments that make you the couple you are today occurred after5:00 pm.

If you have children, surely their conception and maybe their birthoccurred during the other 8 hours. All of the diapers you changed, Elmoyou watched, and homework you've helped complete -- all of the thingsyou did to build connections with your children today -- wouldn't havehappened if it were not for the other 8 hours.

The reason my daughter runs up and hugs me when I come homeFrom work is because of the other 8 hours I've "invested" in her (thenagain, it's probably the m&ms I bribed her with).

The love your spouse and children feel toward you -- and, yes, theabsence of love -- is entirely the result of how you have spent the other8 hours. The connection you feel toward your siblings and parents isbased largely on what you've done during the other 8 hours. If you investedthem wisely, you probably have some good relationships. If youdidn't, you probably don't.

Relationships

The nine- to- five working hours are a great time to meet people anddevelop friendships. I met most of my nonchildhood friends whileworking. It's no surprise. We come into contact with more people forlonger periods during working hours than we do at any other time of the day. But to convert your work relationships into real friendships,you have to spend some of your other 8 hours hanging out with andgetting to know those people on a different level. It's one thing tochat around the water cooler about the latest American Idol contestantto be voted off or to relive Sunday's big game in the lunchroom,but it's an entirely different thing to share a drink or dinner withsomeone and really get to know him. Your close friends -- regardlessof where you met them -- became your friends during the other 8 hours.

Physical Health

The notch you use in your belt, how out of breath you feel after climbinga flight of stairs, and how comfortable you are in a bathing suit arealmost entirely dependent on how you have used the other 8 hours.What you choose to eat for breakfast, dinner, dessert, and snacks is usuallydetermined during the other 8 hours. If you've chosen wisely, itshows. Do you exercise? If so, when? While you sleep? No. While youwork? No. During the other 8 hours? Yup.

Personal Growth

This category includes your hobbies, educational pursuits, travel, reading,art, and other activities that you find enriching and are passionateabout. One of my hobbies is Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and mixed martial arts.I'm not very good, but I enjoy it and I'm better than when I started. IAlso enjoy learning Spanish (even though those verbs confuse me).Another of my favorite pastimes? Reading. My clients wouldn't appreciateit, and I wouldn't be very successful if I spent my hours betweenNine and five practicing Jiu Jitsu, learning Spanish, and readingbooks. No, I can only do these things that I love and am passionateabout -- these things that help define me as a person -- during the other8 hours.

Spirituality

Your spirituality and faith should follow you wherever you go -- duringwork and during the other 8 hours. But, unless your nine- to- five job isin ministry, chances are your spiritual growth and deepest connectionto God occur during church/temple, small group meetings, Bible study,chanting, volunteering, meditation, or whatever.

Financial HealthSurely your financial health is the direct result of the hours betweenNine and five. It is during this time that you work and earn a paycheck.Your paycheck determines your financial health, right? Not so fast. Obviouslyyour working hours play a significant role in your finances, butyou might be surprised at the role the other 8 hours play in the size ofyour bank account.

Your financial health is determined by just two things . . . Your incomeand your expenses. That's it. No more, no less. Your income isbased on what you do for a living and how well you do it. The bestsnow-cone maker in the world may make a fine snow cone, but herchoice of occupation limits her financial success. Likewise, a brain surgeonwho botches every surgery isn't going to be financially successfuleither.

What you do for a living is based on hundreds of factors . . . Whereyou grew up, your intelligence, your parents' encouragement, yourpersonality, your interests, chance, etc. What you do for a living is alsodetermined partly by whether or not you graduated from high school,spent the extra years getting an advanced degree, took online coursesor night classes to earn an important industry designation; by howhard you studied, and your personal network of friends and acquaintances.It is these factors -- those that you can control -- that have aHuge impact on what you do between the hours of nine and fi \ve. Andhuess what? All of these other factors are the direct result of how youhave spent the other 8 hours.

So the other 8 hours have a huge impact on our income, but whatabout the other half of the financial health equation . . . Our expenses?You guessed it. Your expenses are the result of the decisions you makeduring the other 8 hours. How much you choose to spend on rent, thetype of car you drive, the clothes you buy, the entertainment you experience,and the toys you purchase aren't decisions you usually makewhile you are working, and they definitely aren't decisions you makewhile sleeping. Every single one of these spending decisions -- and thousandsof others, both big and small -- occurs during the other 8 hours.Still aren't convinced? I need you to buy into just how importantthe other 8 hours are. If you read this book with the same skepticismYou have when you read those tabloid headlines in line at the grocery,it's not going to work. Go ahead. Drink the Kool- Aid. Because onceyou do -- once you realize the power the other 8 hours has had on yourLlfe -- you will respect and appreciate the power that the other 8 hourscan have on your life.

To prove just how important the other 8 hours have been in yourlife, take this quiz . . .

Directions: After each question, put a checkmark in the "sleeping"box if the event occurred while you were sleeping, a checkmark in the"working" box if it occurred while you were working, and a checkmarkIn the "Other 8" box if the event occurred in the other 8 hours.

Meaningful Moments in Your Life

1. When did you meet the love of your life?

Sleeping:

Working:

Other 8:

2. When did you have your first child (please note,office stairwell fans, the question is when didYou have, not conceive, your first child)?

Sleeping:

Working:

Other 8:

3. When did your most emotionally painfulexperience occur?

Sleeping:

Working:

Other 8:

4. When did you see the most spectacular sunsetyou've ever seen?

Sleeping:

Working:

Other 8:

5. When do you feel the most intellectually aliveand excited about your future?

Sleeping:

Working:

Other 8:

6. When do you participate in your favorite hobby?

Sleeping:

Working:

Other 8:

7. When was the first time you saw your childwalk?

Sleeping:

Working:

Other 8:

8. Think about your favorite movie of all time.When was the first time you watched it?

Sleeping:

Working:

Other 8:

9. When did you meet your best friend?

Sleeping:

Working:

Other 8:

10. When was the last time you could hardly catchyour breath because of your excitement?

Sleeping:

Working:

Other 8:

11. When was your most profound spiritualmoment?

Sleeping:

Working:

Other 8:

12. When did the most rewarding physical thingyou've ever done occur?

Sleeping:

Working:

Other 8:

13. If you could relive one event from your past,when would it occur?

Sleeping:

Working:

Other 8:

14. When do you find you feel the most sure andconfident?

Sleeping:

Working:

Other 8:

15. If you had one year left to live, what would youspend the majority of your time doing?

Sleeping:

Working:

Other 8:

TOTAL:

Now add the checkmarks in each column. Do you notice anything?I've done this exercise with a whole lot of folks and the results are almostalways the same.

Sleeping: Necessary and feels great, but doesn't provide much "life" tolife. Most likely, you don't have a single checkmark in this column.

Working: Also necessary and can feel rewarding, but it is typicallysomething you must do and not something you love to do. Most peopleHave between one and three checkmarks in this column.

Other 8: Surprise! The majority of the most important events in yourLife don't occur while you sleep or work . . . They occur during the other8 hours.

While it's true that I created the quiz to convince you of the significance of the other 8 hours, I think it is still a valuable illustration.

Prove it to yourself by thinking about the most meaningful events andmemories in your own life. When did they occur?

It Cuts Both Ways

Time has no conscience, and the other 8 hours are indifferent. Theycan be invested or wasted. The other 8 hours can improve every aspectOf your life, but you must do something valuable with them. If youwaste the other 8 hours, they can't help you. The clock ticks. Seconds,minutes, and hours pass, regardless of what you do.Your finances, your job responsibilities, your relationship with yourparents or spouse, your health, and even your quality of life and level ofhappiness are either getting better or getting worse. Life and all of thethings in it are moving forward, progressing, and advancing or fallingbehind, stagnating, and dying. Is your net worth growing or shrinking?Are you moving up in the company or down? Are you getting closer toyour boyfriend or moving farther away from him? Are you getting intoshape or losing the battle of the bulge?

If you don't invest the other 8 hours in the areas of your life that areimportant to you, those areas will shrivel up and waste away (unlessyou're talking about weight, and in that circumstance, neglect tends toHave the opposite effect). How many friendships have you had that disappearedbecause you didn't put the time into them? Have you grownapart from a spouse or significant other? Have you lost touch with yourfaith? Have you felt shocked after stepping on the bathroom scale? Haveyou ever wondered where the last year, or five or ten years, have gone?

Do you get sick of coming up with reasons for why you didn't start abusiness or take that trip? The reason for all of these shortfalls can beTraced to how you failed to invest the other 8 hours into these areas ofyour life.

Still not convinced that life starts after 5:00 PM? Talk to someonewho has completely wasted the other 8 hours for several years (or decades).You'll see pain, frustration, anger, and despair. You'll hear abouthow life is unfair and that having the "good" life is hopeless. If yousleep 8, work 8, and waste 8, at the very best, you'll manage to survive,much like Mark has on his lonely island.

Each of us is given the other 8 hours (some more, some less). It's upto us to use this time as wisely as possible. If you have a plan for yourday after 5:00 PM and actually do something with this time, there isvery little in life you can't accomplish or achieve. Those who invest theother 8 hours achieve and experience the most from life. Those whowaste the other 8 hours feel stagnant and unfulfi led, and they are thesubject of the next chapter . . .

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