As I study the attitudes, perspectives, and philosophies of successful people throughout history, I am struck by how many of them share common elements in their worldviews. One characteristic of these outstanding people is their tendency to think, act, and live in the current moment.

Without being mindful of your focus, it is easy to dwell on the past or fret about the future.

Yesterday is a cancelled check, tomorrow is a promissory note, but today is cash—so we need to spend it wisely.

Many people violate these principles in three areas. They borrow excessive amounts of money, procrastinate on tasks and activities, and worry about things that may never become reality. The only things we can do with our money are spend it on our needs for today, save and invest it for tomorrow, or give it away to make the world a better place.

If we borrow money for mindless consumer spending, we disrupt all three areas where our money should be focused. While money is an important aspect of building a successful future, time is a more precious commodity. You can lose your money and earn it back, but you can never get more time. If you’re putting off activities and tasks today, you are limiting your future. I like to leverage this concept with an activity I call pre-crastination—positively do the things I had planned to do tomorrow, today. This mindset opens up many new opportunities and possibilities.

The final way people mindlessly steal from the future is by needlessly worrying about things that may not happen. You can minimize this by having an adequate emergency fund, appropriate insurance, and simply by staying focused on the things you can have an impact on here and now. The only things that we can take away from yesterday are great memories and the lessons we have learned. The only way we can engage in the future is by preparing ourselves and our resources for whatever may come. Today is the golden moment to build on our past and project into the future. As you go through your day today, focus on the things where you can make a difference here and now.

Today is the day!

About the author: Jim Stovall is the president of the Emmy-award winning Tulsa based Narrative Television Network as well as a published author of more than 50 books—eight of which have been turned into movies. He is also a highly sought-after platform speaker. He may be reached by email at Jim@JimStovall.com.