When I graduated high school, I received a partial scholarship to study at a prestigious Chicago Art School. At nights and on the weekends I worked as a Firefighter/EMT, which gave me a unique perspective on TIME and how fragile life can be. I saw things at the age of 18 that most people will never see in their entire lifetime.

I watched people come into this world, I witnessed people take their last breath and I saw everything in between. I helped people in the aftermath of accidents, illness and violent tragedy and I learned a valuable lesson I built my life around... DO NOT SQUANDER TIME.

Time is a precious resource. Time is LIFE.

A lot of people don't know that I left Art school after 1 year and started my first business out of my tiny bedroom of the home in the ghetto I grew up in. It's not a glamorous beginning, in fact it was brutal, but my circumstances of living in poverty certainly provided me with more than enough motivation to succeed.

I was in my 20's. I had zero capital. It was either sink or swim.

I learned very quickly when everything is riding on your shoulders, you live or die based upon how you spend your time.

You might think that's too black and white, or too intense, but that's the philosophy that guided my decisions minute to minute, day to day.

That clear cut philosophy is what enabled me to earn more in a month than I previously earned in a year.

That clear cut philosophy is what led me to develop a laser like focus and generate quick income, starting with only $100.

That philosophy is what enabled me to double my income and then double it again, and again and again. By the time I was 30 years old, I was a self made millionaire and was living in a custom built dream home I helped design. In a short time I went from a crime ridden ghetto, to living in a sanctuary like paradise, surrounded by a nature preserve, complete with my very own creek and backyard putting green. I went from living among thugs and drugs to living among millionaires.

People always want to know how I was able to achieve such a dramatic transformation so quickly.

Here are some of the secrets and strategies that guide my life:

If you want to make rapid changes in your life, you must arrange and design your life so that your GOALS and DREAMS are at the FOREFRONT of your days, instead of them being an afterthought.

My Goals direct my thoughts.

My Goals direct my days.

You have got to let your GOALS, dreams and visions become so real and near to you that you feel them in your soul. My goals live in every cell of my body, they are within every breath I take. I integrate my goals so clearly into my existence, I cannot be separated from them by any outside event, person or circumstance.

I believe I am guided and if I do not achieve my goals as I envisioned them, I will receive something much, much better than anything I could have ever dreamed of.

I understand a positive mental attitude is key, especially when things go wrong.

I visualize my Goals constantly and they become a part of me.

I include others in my goals, and never miss an opportunity to help someone else reach theirs, even when I don't think I have much to offer.

I never discourage anyone from going after their dreams... ever.

It has been said that God's gift to you is LIFE.

What you do with it is your gift to God.

Let's see. I live in America. I have the absolute freedom to design my own life.

That's a lot more than millions of other people have who are born elsewhere in the world.

People risk their lives to come to America and experience a small taste of the rights I was born with, which were granted to me by my country's insightful forefathers.

I am healthy. I have 2 hands, 2 feet and a brain that works reasonable well. Some people don't have that. There is no reason in the world I couldn't become anything I want if I am willing to do my part and keep on keeping on.

There isn't anything I can't learn.

I make a concerted effort to read, learn and grow every single day.

I can change my life and start over anytime I want.

I can pursue my own American dream.

I am FREE.

And I am responsible for my own decisions and actions.

Someone once told me, "You are what you do." How and where you spend your time, and your actions are indicative of your self-esteem and your own self-worth. What you do with your time reveals what you truly value. Not what you "say" you value. You can raise your standards at any time.

This story is not to impress you, simply to illustrate what is possible for you if you strive to master your time and treat every minute as a precious resource.

Cherish your health and the people around you.

Be Bold. Be courageous.

Set Goals and get to work.

If you are going to do something, do it with all your might.

Make the Mastery of Time a priority in your life.

I actually created products to help people program themselves for success. They pay for themselves many times over for those who are committed to investing a few minutes a day.

Do not squander time.

There are 525,600 minutes in a year.

That's a lot of minutes.

How are you spending yours?

Live Your Dreams,

Jill Koenig