The Other 8 Hours: Maximize Your Free Time to Create New Wealth and Purpose by Robert Pagliarini

Chapter One
Life Begins at 5:00 PM
The Other 8 Hours Determine Your Happiness and Net Worth
Six years ago, Mark and Sarah 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 waters
nearly 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 their head
above water.
The next morning, Mark washed up onto a small and uninhabited
island. 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 anxiety
overcame them. They knew that it would not be easy. They would have to
work hard to build a shelter, pick fruits, locate fresh water, and fish for
food. The first few days were scary and difficult, but they both managed to
build makeshift shelters to protect them from the rain and sun. They found
freshwater streams deeper into the islands and plenty of fruits and nuts. As
the days turned into weeks, they even got good at trapping crabs and
spearing fish.
In the late afternoons, Mark had some time to relax after a hard day’s
work. He’d climb to his favorite bluff and watch the waves crash against
rocks. As the sun set and the stars lit up the sky, he’d dream of galaxies far
away and pray that he’d be rescued soon.
Sarah struggled to survive each day, too. Like Mark, her day began
when the sun came up. Chopping wood, climbing trees for fruit, picking
nuts and berries, fishing, and getting water kept her busy. At the end of her
daily routine, she’d long to relax on the beach, but she knew she wanted
more than just to survive. Sarah wanted to get off the island.
Each afternoon, Sarah spent a couple of additional hours gathering and
storing wood. She tested nearly every type of vegetation on the island to see
which produced the darkest and thickest smoke. She collected rocks of all
sizes and used them to spell “h e l p” in gigantic letters on the beach in four
areas around the island. Sarah also dug fire pits on the beach in several
areas where she kept a large supply of dry wood and special vegetation.
Because it rained often, Sarah found it necessary to continuously
replace wet wood and vegetation with dry supplies. Her rock signs around
the island also needed care and attention. Not wanting to place 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 bit each 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 in the
day down to the beach and sit under her favorite palm tree. She’d daydream
about her family and how wonderful a big piece of her mother’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 Sarah did
what they needed to do to survive. After several noneventful weeks, that
day finally came. Sarah was picking fruit near the beach and Mark was
trapping crabs when they both—almost at the same time—saw a small
plane in the distance.
Sarah jumped into action. She ran to the small fire and used it to light
the large pile of wood. She dumped the vegetation on it and used her
homemade tiki torch to light the other stacks of wood on fire. She then ran
back to add more wood and vegetation to the fire. Huge plumes of smoke
rose into the air and filled the sky above her island.
Meanwhile, Mark was frantic. He ran around trying to figure out what
to do. He fumbled, trying to light a fire, 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 to light another one. Each
time he threw new vegetation on the fire to create more smoke, the fire
would die and he would waste time trying to restart it.

The Other 8 Hours: Maximize Your Free Time to Create New Wealth and Purpose by Robert Pagliarini