Lynnda and I spent last week in Florida with our youngest son and his family. We went to Epcot on Monday and the Magic Kingdom on Thursday.

Disney has a product called the Lightning Lane Pass, allowing you to get in a shorter, faster line for three rides of your choosing, with some restrictions. There is a cost for this service over and above park admission. The cost varies depending how busy the park is that day.

Lynnda and I always buy the Lightning Lane Pass when we go to Disney. At this point in our lives, time is more important than money. Last week, I bought the Lightning Lane Pass as a gift for the family, all eight of us. It was worth it, especially when the lines got long in the hot afternoon.

With a family of six, my son normally doesn’t buy the Lightning Lane Pass. It’s a significant expense above the cost of park admission, which isn’t cheap. Disney has several special rides in each park like Tron at Magic Kingdom, Guardians of the Galaxy at Epcot or Rise of the Resistance at Hollywood Studios,on which the normal Lightning Lane Pass can’t be used. The wait time on these attractions can be two hours or more. For these attractions, Disney sells a special single attraction Lightning Lane Pass.

My son is frugal. I was surprised he spent extra money to buy the Lightning Lane for Tron. His children are older and have different schedules, so getting everyone together for vacation is more challenging. My son said he wanted quality time with his family, not waiting in line. He understands time is worth more than money.

Time is the great equalizer. Rich or poor, no matter the country, everyone gets 24 hours a day. When we fly west or set our clocks back in the fall we can temporarily gain an extra hour. We always give it back in the spring or flying east. We all have the same amount of time; the difference is what we choose to do with the time we have. Time should be treated with the same value as money. We can develop our talents. We can earn more money. We can’t make more time.

When young, it seems we have all the time in the world. As we get older, we realize how precious time is. No matter how wealthy someone is, they cannot buy more time. The best thing we can do is use the time we are given wisely, to make a positive difference.

When people look back on their lives, some wish they had taken more family vacations, watched their daughter cheer or son play football in high school. Others wish they spent more quality time with their spouse and children growing up. I have never heard anyone say, “I wish I spent more time at work.”

How can we make the most of our time and avoid looking back in regret? It starts with our personal values and the goals we choose. Be careful what you wish for. You could get it. What do you value most? Where you spend your time and money is an indication of what you value. What are your priorities? Is it things for yourself, or is it people and relationships? How important is family? Everything starts with a dream.

When I graduated from college and got my first job, my dream was to buy my first new car and a house. The car was a 1973 lime green Plymouth Duster. I knew I wanted to get married and have a family. The problem was I didn’t have a girlfriend. I moved to Michigan for the job. The only people I knew were the men at work. Working 60-80 hours a week in the oilfield didn’t leave much social time.

A friend I met in a bar had a house in the country north of town. He needed a roommate to cover expenses. I took a risk and moved in with him. He was a nice guy but a terrible roommate. Lynnda, my wife of now 51 years lived next door to us. We were married a year later, bought our first home and left Michigan four years later with three children.

The challenge when we are young is to balance career, family and finances. Work required more time and travel early in my career. When I was home, it meant I needed to spend time with Lynnda and the kids. No golf or much personal time. The family deserved my leisure time. I found time to be my kids’ rec soccer coach.

Children grow up fast. You get one chance to make memories. We did a lot of memory making on family vacations every year, even when we had two kids in college. Sometimes vacation was just a trip to Pittsburgh to visit my mother.

Once we determine our priorities, the struggle is to protect our time the way we protect our money. We are constantly faced with people trying to steal our time like uninvited telemarketers. Lynnda and I have a policy not to buy or donate to a telemarketer. This gets us off the phone from telemarketers who steal legitimate phone numbers.

Sometimes we need to say “no” to save time for what is most important. At Shale Crescent USA, we constantly determine the sources of our best leads and the most productive places to spend our time. At events like SelectUSA, we typically talk to over 100 companies. The challenge is ranking our contacts so we can focus on the most promising leads.

Time is precious. We can’t create more time. We can use money like we did at Disney to help us to make the best use of our time. Use the time you are given to focus on your dreams, the things of the greatest value. Put first things first. Protect your time like you protect money. Kids grow up fast. Seize the moments. Have no regrets.

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Greg Kozera, gkozera@shalecrescentusa.com, is director of marketing for Shale Crescent USA. He is a professional engineer with a master’s in environmental engineering and more than 40 years of experience in the energy industry. Greg is a leadership expert, high school soccer coach, professional speaker and author of four books and many published articles.