VERY PRECIOUS TIME

They were the quiet days of autumn…

Hakkı had returned home after completing his military service, easing the longing he felt for the familiar scents and sounds he had missed for months. Although these familiar feelings comforted him, something about this return felt different. Having finished school and completed his service should have given him relief, yet the thought of preparing to shoulder the weight of life cast a shadow over the joy of coming home.

He had never liked school anyway. From an early age, he had stepped into trade, working beside his father’s friends. He was well-liked, cheerful, someone whose smile put people at ease and made them trust him. His father was no longer alive, but Hakkı had finished school because his father had once said: “At least graduate.” As for trade, it had been the thing he did best for as long as he could remember. Whatever he got his hands on, he could sell. His name had already spread throughout the town.

Starting in middle school, Hakkı would stop by his uncle’s shop after classes. He didn’t like it at first, but over time he learned how to arrange shelves, track stock, and look over the accounts. For him, dealing with people—softening them when needed and sensing what they truly needed from just a few words—was easy.

His childhood and youth passed with these small errands. The exact moment was forgotten, but one day on a bus a friend asked what he did in his spare time. Hakkı didn’t know how to answer, because the idea of “spare time” had always felt strange to him. Killing time, passing time… What did they even mean? While running between school and work, he had long realized that the saying “Time is money.” was incomplete. To him, time was even more valuable than money, because time could neither be taken back, saved for later, nor lent out.

So time had to be used in the best way. When one job was done, you had to move on to the next. Time only added something to a person when it was filled with effort and kneaded with sweat. Otherwise, didn’t every wasted minute quietly take something away from one’s life?

This belief shaped Hakkı’s plans after the military as well. The idea of resting a little and then starting work sounded nice, but it bothered him. “I need to start working right away.” he thought. But he had not yet fully decided what he should do. While he was in the army, his uncle had hired a young man because business had gotten busy. Even though his uncle said he could let that young man go and take Hakkı back, Hakkı’s conscience would not allow it. He had once learned that job; now he believed others deserved the same opportunity.

Even though he was unsure what to do, he knew one thing for certain: honest labor always had its return. For this reason, he still visited his uncle often, helped shopkeepers, and sometimes watched their shops for them. Even when his hands rested, his mind didn’t; he couldn’t stop thinking about what he should do, what step he should take.

One day, Rıza Efendi, a man he knew from the bazaar, appeared. The owner of the shop on the corner planned to hand over his business and was looking for someone trustworthy. Hakkı hesitated at first; he wasn’t sure if he could handle it on his own. But after speaking with the tradesmen in the market and hearing their supportive and positive opinions, the hesitation inside him slowly turned into courage. The next day, he went to speak with the shop owner.

Although they didn’t know each other closely, they knew each other by name. As they talked, mutual acquaintances and similar stories came up; one thing led to another, and trust formed quickly. By the end of the conversation, they shook hands and signed the contract.

Now Hakkı had his own shop.

This small place, worn down by years of use, had to be renewed from top to bottom. He removed the old shelves, painted the walls, and replaced the stones on the floor. In a short time, he turned the shop into a place that lifted people’s spirits the moment they looked at it.

Then it was time to fill it. The products he had ordered had arrived. He had chosen each one carefully; items people needed most, good quality but affordable. Hakkı’s goal wasn’t only profit; he wanted to give people a place where they could meet their needs without going far, saving them both money and, even more valuable than money, time.

At the end of the day, his hands were dirty and his face covered in sweat. He had chosen work over comfort, and that choice brought peace to his heart. Because he knew that time spent with effort was never wasted. In his eyes, life wasn’t won through money, possessions, or fame; it belonged to those who made the best use of their time.

 

The Experiential Design Teaching is about helping people discover their true purpose.

It guides them toward clear, conscious awareness so they can make the right choices and decisions. It offers practical strategies for solving real problems.

Programs beginning with “Who’s Who”, followed by “Mastery in Relationships,” “Psychology of Success,” and “Mastery in Avoidance,” help people become happier and more successful than the person they were yesterday.