Stop and start right now.

There are the invincible years zero to thirty, you bungy jump, you drink copious amounts, you party and decisions are controlled by southern parts of the anatomy. There are, the I need that second house and the BMW years thirty to fifty, where the focus changes and decisions are about surviving the crush and everyday distractions. Then there are years of reflection, retracing, consolidation, affirmation and figuring out you are wiser than you ever thought you would be as a pimply fifteen year old. I mention the above as an intro to tonight's graduating class of T.I.M.E., the travel industry mentoring program aiming to bring out the best in the future leaders in tourism. The people who signed up to the program are wise beyond their years, they have figured out my peers and I have something to offer as mentors in knowledge and skills that will aid and abet their careers. They have decided, they are adamant and they are uncompromising in knowing they need to start right now for a head start, for a head start that will see their colleagues wonder at their progress and success, for their future will be bright.

It's that knowing when to start, knowing its time to change and knowing you shouldn't wait another minute to become better, to start your evolution and transform tomorrow, that is the hard part. The hard part because there are always hurdles, always other distractions and consequences if decisions don't turn out the way you thought. Consequently the great majority take up space, fill up the trains and clock on at work, without ever making a difference. Reasons to change needn't be seismic, they can be the simplest admission change is required, for a better day at work, a better relationship with your clients or just to give yourself a chance to succeed. Nonetheless the hurdles, no matter how low, stop most and in the process they become public transport fodder.

A colleague, Terry Hawkins, doing well on the talk show circuit in the US, sums it up best when she says there are "two times in life, now and too late". So is today the day to stop waiting; until you finish school, until you lose five kilos, until you get a break, until you go back to school, until you leave your job, until you have kids, until your kids leave the house, until you retire, until the footy season is over, until you get married, until you get divorced, until Friday night, until Sunday morning, until you get a new car, until you get a new home, until you pay off the mortgage, until you've done the laundry, until you've cleaned the garage, until you find your soul mate, until spring, until summer, until your mother in-law likes you, until autumn, until winter, until you have a million dollars in the bank, until the first of the month, until the thirtieth of the month, until your favourite song comes on the radio, until the sun comes up, until you've had a drink, until you've sobered up, until you die, until you are reincarnated?

The T.I.M.E. graduating class have already figured out the above and they've started. What time is it?