Some Cliches on the Road to Success - Which Are True!

 

 

There is actually a road to Success in Central California. Traveling west from Porterville on highway 190, you will soon see signs indicating that you are, in fact, on the road to Success whether you knew it or not.

Life can be like that.

But know these things:

#1 - The road to success is paved with the cobblestones of failure, defeat, disappointment, and loss. We recently rented and viewed, "We Are Marshall." There is a poignant moment in this film set in 1971 about a team, a university, and a city coming back from the loss of an entire football team and many community leaders in one fatal airplane crash. The question arises about whether or not winning is everything and the coach muses that he has always felt that way and will feel that way again in the future. However, in that moment, what counted was getting the team on the field, showing up, risking loss, and playing the game. Once they had achieved that, they could begin to win somewhere down the road. You will never reach your destination if you don't get on the road. Take the risk.

#2 - The road to success has some sharp and unexpected turns. You can't anticipate all of them, but you better be flexible enough to turn with them or you will find yourself stuck in a field or gully or worse. Pay attention to the signs and to the road. Anticipate what you can, but don't rely on predictability. The thing about this road is that it can change in a moment and you need to be ready for change, crisis, and opportunity.

#3 - The road to success has some pit stops. Take them. There used to be only one stop on the West Virginia Turnpike between Princeton and Charleston. If you didn't take it, a little time card would show whether or not you had been speeding. There was no point. People would stop to kill time to cover up their haste. On the road of life you must stop to rest, refresh, and renew. You could press on past the rest places, but you do so to your detriment and the detriment of your cause. You will not be your best. You will not be as productive and efficient in your use of energy. Take the rest stops along the way.

#4 - There are narrow places, slow downs, road blocks, and other forms of frustration along the way that call for attention and intention that may not come naturally to you, but will be necessary to get through to success. You may believe that sitting in stop and go traffic is the most wasteful, useless, and infuriating thing you could ever be doing, but the Designer of the Road who is the Master of All Traffic and the Source, Force, and Course of your dreams and goals knows better. Develop techniques for stilling your restless soul and channeling your energy toward alternate tasks so that no time is lost. There can be and is purpose in every moment.

#5 - There are inclines and declines on the road to success. Sometimes it takes all your power to climb and sometimes you coast. It is all one road and one destination. Just as it is never always easy, it will not always be hard. Keep on keeping on through the difficulties.

#6 - There will be switchbacks - especially if your goals are as lofty as a high mountain peak. In mountain driving, which I love, there are 180 degree reversals - sometimes 360 degree turns around a hill. If you are watching a compass, it can be very confusing. You get the impression you are going away from your goal even though you are making progress. Switchbacks in driving and setbacks in life are part of the process. You can't get there "as the crow flies." You have to follow the flow of the road and it is determined by the topography of your times and circumstances. Keep your map and compass handy, watch the signs, and keep on keeping on.

#6 - There will be speed limits, sped bumps, warning signs, and arbitrary rules along the way. Honor them. They are purposeful. Someone who knows the road far better than you put them there. The Engineer of the Universe knows the science because He invented it and has called you to your purpose. None of these "hindrances" are designed to prevent your ultimate success.

#7 - The road will end or merge with another. I remember riding country roads with my dad at night on vacations and other times knowing that he was lost, but not flustered. He quoted his father with words that made little sense to me at the time. "Son," he said, "my daddy always said that all roads lead somewhere." And he was right. Another old boy just scratched his head when asked for directions at the country filling station, finally muttering, "Mister, you can't get there from here."

But you can. It may take some course corrections, more time than you allotted, more energy, a lot of patience, repairs on your vehicle, multiple vehicles, and change in your own life, but YOU CAN GET THERE.

You are on the road to success, whether or not you know it.

Stay with it and see you there!

Tenacity or Stiff-Necked Oblivion

Tenacity is a good thing. Sticking with a dream, vision, or goal is a virtue. Sticking with it in the face of obstacles and hardships is heroic. Ignoring one's critics when they are nitpicking our inspired visions involves resolve, courage, and integrity.

The extreme of that actually comes around full circle in opposition to virtuous tenacity and becomes stubborn, stiff-necked stupidity. It is the characteristic of not listening to sound advice or heeding warnings when our judgment is flawed, our motives are unsound, or our actions are illegal, immoral, or ill-advised. It is the sin of not seeking counsel and ignoring it when it is offered.

Proverbs 29:1 says," A man who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes
       will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy." (NIV)

The reason for same of our failures is just this. we live in La La Land on the river known as De-Nial. We have no regard for accumulated wisdom, experience, or authority. We operate as mavericks in a world of self-interest and instant gratification.

We are warned, re-warned, and warned some more. The consequences of our courses are spelled out and we exempt ourselves from the laws of nature and of time-honored ethics. We are told what will happen if we continue with our dubious business and lifestyle practices and are surprised when one day, after many breaks and numerous chances, it happens.

That is why it says "suddenly" and "without "remedy." It is not particularly sudden to everyone else, but it is to us because we have been denying the possibility of accountability . It is "without remedy" because there have been numerous remedies already offered and refused. At some point, the clock stops ticking and the payments are due.

This is just the way life is. You are not being singled out. Everyone has been very patient with you (see "numerous"). You have chosen the consequences.

You are not exempt.

Don't take shortcuts. Listen to advice. heed warnings. Do the right thing all the time. Play by the rules. Obey the law.

You have the capacity for great success and you don't have to sneak in the back door. Hold your head high and march in the front door. That way, you will never have to worry about being evicted as an uninvited guest at the success party.

Don't sell yourself short.

You can do it! Do it the right way.

The extreme of that actually comes around full circle in opposition to virtuous tenacity and becomes stubborn, stiff-necked stupidity. It is the characteristic of not listening to sound advice or heeding warnings when our judgment is flawed, our motives are unsound, or our actions are illegal, immoral, or ill-advised. It is the sin of not seeking counsel and ignoring it when it is offered.

Proverbs 29:1 says," A man who remains stiff-necked after many rebukes
       will suddenly be destroyed—without remedy." (NIV)

The reason for same of our failures is just this. we live in La La Land on the river known as De-Nial. We have no regard for accumulated wisdom, experience, or authority. We operate as mavericks in a world of self-interest and instant gratification.

We are warned, re-warned, and warned some more. The consequences of our courses are spelled out and we exempt ourselves from the laws of nature and of time-honored ethics. We are told what will happen if we continue with our dubious business and lifestyle practices and are surprised when one day, after many breaks and numerous chances, it happens.

That is why it says "suddenly" and "without "remedy." It is not particularly sudden to everyone else, but it is to us because we have been denying the possibility of accountability . It is "without remedy" because there have been numerous remedies already offered and refused. At some point, the clock stops ticking and the payments are due.

This is just the way life is. You are not being singled out. Everyone has been very patient with you (see "numerous"). You have chosen the consequences.

You are not exempt.

Don't take shortcuts. Listen to advice. heed warnings. Do the right thing all the time. Play by the rules. Obey the law.

You have the capacity for great success and you don't have to sneak in the back door. Hold your head high and march in the front door. That way, you will never have to worry about being evicted as an uninvited guest at the success party.

Don't sell yourself short.

You can do it! Do it the right way.

Sharpen Up

Sharpen Up

Are you taking full advantage of the opportunities that come to you with arms and legs every day?

You have been gifted with associates above you and below you on charts made by human hands who have the capacity to add value to your life with every conversation and as you observe them.

Some of them make big mistakes, but even they are not useless. You can use them as examples of what not to do.

You can learn from everyone with whom you come into contact.

Proverbs 27:17 in the NIV says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

How does this happen? Many ways. Perhaps we can touch on a few of them with the word,SHARP.

S = Seeing - We observe the other person's life, choices, habits, techniques, strategies, behavior, and interactions and learn. If we will watch people closely, we will collect valuable information and will observe timeless principles being fleshed out in their lives. Paul once told some of the disciples to follow him as he followed Christ.

H = Hassle - The word means "struggle" or "contest," but we use it to refer to the resistance we sometimes get when we need to reevaluate our behaviors and choices. So it is sort of a struggle that begins within us and continues as others compete with us or challenge us about our behaviors. we get shaper and either change our choices or become stronger in them. Never discount the benefit of a good hassle.

A = Accountability - If we are never accountable to anyone, we will drift into an undisciplined and unproductive life. That is almost always true because God has made us for community and has designed systems of accountability into the framework of churches and businesses. Network marketing employs that principle. So, call your leader, your pastor, or your accountability partner and do it regularly.

R - Respect - We learn respect for ourselves by respecting others, We learn respect for others when we reverence and respect God and His handiwork in fashioning people so magnificently. When you look upon one of those polished pieces of iron with arms and legs, you are looking upon the very handiwork of God. You will get sharper by respecting people.

P - Practice - People give us the opportunity to practice principles, to practice our presentations, and to practice our principles. People sharpen people through practice, interaction, conversion, struggle, and shared labor.

Don't be a loner. If you make the choice to do it all yourself, by yourself, you will suffer unnecessary setbacks and delays. Let other people make you sharper and let them benefit through their association with you as well.

Are you taking full advantage of the opportunities that come to you with arms and legs every day?

You have been gifted with associates above you and below you on charts made by human hands who have the capacity to add value to your life with every conversation and as you observe them.

Some of them make big mistakes, but even they are not useless. You can use them as examples of what not to do.

You can learn from everyone with whom you come into contact.

Proverbs 27:17 in the NIV says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

How does this happen? Many ways. Perhaps we can touch on a few of them with the word,SHARP.

S = Seeing - We observe the other person's life, choices, habits, techniques, strategies, behavior, and interactions and learn. If we will watch people closely, we will collect valuable information and will observe timeless principles being fleshed out in their lives. Paul once told some of the disciples to follow him as he followed Christ.

H = Hassle - The word means "struggle" or "contest," but we use it to refer to the resistance we sometimes get when we need to reevaluate our behaviors and choices. So it is sort of a struggle that begins within us and continues as others compete with us or challenge us about our behaviors. we get shaper and either change our choices or become stronger in them. Never discount the benefit of a good hassle.

A = Accountability - If we are never accountable to anyone, we will drift into an undisciplined and unproductive life. That is almost always true because God has made us for community and has designed systems of accountability into the framework of churches and businesses. Network marketing employs that principle. So, call your leader, your pastor, or your accountability partner and do it regularly.

R - Respect - We learn respect for ourselves by respecting others, We learn respect for others when we reverence and respect God and His handiwork in fashioning people so magnificently. When you look upon one of those polished pieces of iron with arms and legs, you are looking upon the very handiwork of God. You will get sharper by respecting people.

P - Practice - People give us the opportunity to practice principles, to practice our presentations, and to practice our principles. People sharpen people through practice, interaction, conversion, struggle, and shared labor.

Don't be a loner. If you make the choice to do it all yourself, by yourself, you will suffer unnecessary setbacks and delays. Let other people make you sharper and let them benefit through their association with you as well.

Habits of the First Half of Life

"It seems, in fact, that, the second half of a man's life is made up of nothing but the habits he has acquired during the first half." - Fyodor Dostoevsky

As much as I love Dostoevsky, I am not buying that ... at least not for my personal collection of life artifacts.

I can see where one might make the observation and where it might be the norm. However, I want to defy it.

One must grant that the resistance to reinventing oneself is heavy and the force of habit is strong. The road to establishing new patterns of thought and practice is uphill and treacherous. But there exists such a path and one can choose to take it.

We preach resurrection hope this Sunday. That means that we do not have to be defined by inertia whether we are objects at rest or in motion.

Centrifugal force is only as strong as our commitment to break free while relying on a Power that is far greater than ourselves.

May your second half be your best.

Fly with Both Wings

I posted a version of this in 2007. As I have been listening to partisan debates, distortions, and distractions lately, it seemed appropriate to review. I find it difficult to entrust leadership to people who call each other names, paraphrase other people's beliefs into less-than-accurate sound bytes, and attack each others characters and motives.

I would rather trust a person of reason and goodwill with whom I disagree than someone who is not courteous or balanced enough to listen to his or her adversaries.

We are in a troubling political climate and entering what may be a nasty campaign season. We will have to dig hard to get accurate information for decision making, but we must do so ... in politics and in life. We cannot depend on commentators or candidates to feed it to us ... we must listen to all sides.

We must do the same in business decisions and in all strategies.

I resist wearing labels such as "Conservative" or "Liberal" with an upper case "C" or "L" to describe my leanings. Sometimes I hear the word, "wing" attached to directional terms such as "left" or "right." I cannot tell you off the top of my head what a "red state" is as opposed to a "blue state" or why they are opposed at all.

Words like these are "deceptive," "misleading," "ambiguous," and "meaningless." But back to the wing metaphor. My grandson brought me one shoe to put on his one day, years ago. I sought to explain to him why he couldn’t go outside with one shoe on and what it might be like to feel lopsided.Then, I thought about airplanes and realized I wouldn't consider getting on a left-winged or right winged airplane. I prefer my aerial transportation with two wings. Balance means a lot to me at that elevation.

I read an interview with a guy today who thought he'd always been on the left wing of a theological issue. Then, he said, a movement emerged that went further to the left and left him in the center. When you are in the center, you might lean to one side or the other, but you are still in the middle.

What is most troubling about the way we debate issues in the public arena is the absence of two vital principles. The first is mutual respect (see The Golden Rule and the Great Commandment). We cannot function without this. We degenerate into a society that no one will what to call home.

The second is reasoned, careful, and balanced thinking that carefully weighs issues from multiple perspectives, thinks independently of "the herd," and seeks win-win solutions.

"Talk of the Nation" had articulate spokespersons for "both" sides of one of the pressing issues of the day several years ago that was before the Supreme Court. Both made sense and I felt a tug of "leaning" as each spoke and ended up in balance after weighing all the arguments.

Definitions are always in flux and that can be confusing.

I don't want to live in a one-winged society. I am not impressed with one winged philosophies and would not feel happy about a brain with a single hemisphere. I want a multitude of counselors helping me look at all sides of any question. This is true in politics, faith issues, business, and our day-to-day decisions.

Proverbs 18:17   says, "The first to present his case seems right, till another comes forward and questions him."

I think that is by design. Truth is simple, but not simplistic. The best course of action may not always be the most obvious. We need point and counterpoint to make good and wise decisions.

Perhaps that is why the American people as a body politic can be so shifting in their political party loyalties. As a people we know that you can't fly the "airline of state" with one wing - nor a business, nor a life.

If you are a decision maker, make sure you are getting good information and that all of your advisers are not always in 100% agreement. If you are not wrestling with some of the major matters that come before you, you are probably not getting the best out of your own abilities to think clearly and objectively.

We all have biases and they are helpful when they inform us. They are dangerous when they blind us. They are disastrous when the rule us.

Fly with both wings!

How do you fly with both wings?

•    F - Face your own limitations in perspective, knowledge, and ability to know it all. There is a vast storehouse of knowledge that no human will ever possess. The only all-wise and all-knowing one is God and He ha distributed bits of His knowledge widely among diverse peoples.

•    L - Listen carefully to what others are saying. Respect those with whom you disagree and who disagree with you. Consider that people who are wrong about one thing may have insight into something else. Never throw out babies with the bath wash or dismiss the value of people because of your prejudices.

•    Y - Yin/Yang it. Sometimes, I pick up some insights from other philosophies. The truth of a given situation may dwell in the tension between paradoxical opposites and failure to look for it there will deprive you of the truth you seek to make a good decision.

STUPID Questions

An Allegory of Folly (early 16th century) by Quentin Matsys

Have you ever asked or been asked a stupid question?

What constitutes stupid questions? How does the asking of them often nullify their stupidity?

There is an old adage that the only stupid question is the one we do not ask. That is true sometimes, but there really are stupid questions that are asked.

"Stupid" has this etymology:

Etymology:

"Middle French stupide, from Latin stupidus, from stupēre to be numb, be astonished"

The relationship between exercising stupidity and being in a stupor is profound.

1 : a condition of greatly dulled or completely suspended sense or sensibility <a drunken stupor> 2 : a state of extreme apathy or torpor resulting often from stress or shock

Therefore, a stupid question is one that is numb, disengaged, apathetic, or drunken.

To break it down with an acronym, a stupid question has these characteristics:

• S - Surface - It is exemplified by the student who, after a moving lecture of the meaning of life, raises his hand and, as the professor prepares of an insightful and probing question asks, "Is this going to be on the final?"
  

• T - Trivial - With the opportunity to probe some pretty profound principles of perpetual truth, we focus on insignificant details. Another professor, Dr. Charles Tyer, once lectured us from a classroom overlooking a bucolic mountain view. He asked us if we were focused on the view or on the fly specks on the window. Trivial questions miss the view for the fly specks.
  

• U - Unconsidered - Any question worth asking someone else is worth asking oneself first. Then ask if

  • (a) you could not find the answer within yourself,
  • (b) you want a second opinion, or
  • (c) you sense that there are any number of answers and approaches to the question and you wish to enter into dialogue over it. Once you have wrestled a while with a question, it is no longer stupid.
    

• P - Perfunctory - A perfunctory question is one you are using to accomplish something other than the quest for truth. It is an obligatory question like the one at the blood donation center when they ask if you have had marital relations with a non-human primate in the last 12 months. It is the question where you state your name for the record. It is merely functional and automatic. Anyone can ask it given a script.
  

• I - Inflammatory - An inflammatory question is asked when you know that the answer is going to embarrass,indict, inflame, or discredit the person giving the answer. In online forums,people who asked such questions used to be called "flamers." They were just trying to start fires. There was no value placed on the quest for truth.
  

• D - Disengaged - This is the essence of stupidity in every area of life. As Forest Gump's mother said, "Stupid is as stupid does." That is why Gump was never stupid in spite of his lower than average intelligence quotient. In spite of the challenges he faced, when he set out to do something, he fully engaged in the process. When he asked a question, he really wanted to know the answer. He looked beneath the surface of things. He thought about life and the big questions. Gump was, as his drill sergeant said, "brilliant," because he was fully engaged.

Don't be afraid to ask questions. No question that digs beneath the surface a bit, ignores the fly specks, is given some thought, comes from your own heart and mind, seeks real answers, and is fully engaged can ever be a stupid question. ASK!

 

Sharpen Up

Are you taking full advantage of the opportunities that come to you with arms and legs every day?

You have been gifted with associates above you and below you on charts made by human hands who have the capacity to add value to your life with every conversation and as you observe them.

Some of them make big mistakes, but even they are not useless. You can use them as examples of what not to do.

You can learn from everyone with whom you come into contact.

Proverbs 27:17 in the NIV says, "As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another."

How does this happen? Many ways. Perhaps we can touch on a few of them with the word, SHARP.

S = Seeing - We observe the other person's life, choices, habits, techniques, strategies, behavior, and interactions and learn. If we will watch people closely, we will collect valuable information and will observe timeless principles being fleshed out in their lives. Paul once told some of the disciples to follow him as he followed Christ.

H = Hassle - The word means "struggle" or "contest," but we use it to refer to the resistance we sometimes get when we need to reevaluate our behaviors and choices. So it is sort of a struggle that begins within us and continues as others compete with us or challenge us about our behaviors. we get shaper and either change our choices or become stronger in them. Never discount the benefit of a good hassle.

A = Accountability - If we are never accountable to anyone, we will drift into an undisciplined and unproductive life. That is almost always true because God has made us for community and has designed systems of accountability into the framework of churches and businesses. Network marketing employs that principle. So, call your leader, your pastor, or your accountability partner and do it regularly.

R - Respect - We learn respect for ourselves by respecting others, We learn respect for others when we reverence and respect God and His handiwork in fashioning people so magnificently. When you look upon one of those polished pieces of iron with arms and legs, you are looking upon the very handiwork of God. You will get sharper by respecting people.

P - Practice - People give us the opportunity to practice principles, to practice our presentations, and to practice our principles. People sharpen people through practice, interaction, conversion, struggle, and shared labor.

Don't be a loner. If you make the choice to do it all yourself, by yourself, you will suffer unnecessary setbacks and delays. Let other people make you sharper and let them benefit through their association with you as well.

Stay on Your Toes

The admonition is to be alert and take nothing and no one for granted. Live life on tiptoe in anticipation, and in awareness of what is going on over the horizon.

Boasting vs Believing about Tomorrow  

We are to make faith declarations and dream statements as freely as we breathe, but boasting is another matter. It presupposes that we are self-sufficient and need neither God nor other people to reach our aspirations and excludes gratitude from the success equation of our lives.  

Thus, the writer of Proverbs declares (27:1): Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day will bring forth." (New International Version)  

Of course we do not know. There are variables beyond our oversight and capacity to predict. We do not control other people's choices or the heartbeat of nature. There are larger purposes than our own and we function best when we view our lives as part of a larger plan and submit ourselves to a greater will.  When that happens, the dream that is planted within our hearts is a dream we must pursue and can pursue with divine guidance and power.

However, we do not know what valleys of sorrow or storms of trouble through which we must pass.   We cannot boast about the time frame.   All that we can determine are our choices and our beliefs and these we must control or they will be controlled by the circumstance.  

You can believe in tomorrow without boasting about it.

You can predict your own success without presumption.

You can embrace a life of faith without assuming that there will be no battles to fight or hardships to bare.

You can control your decisions without controlling all of your circumstances.   You can choose to be an overcomer without knowing what tomorrow will bring.   You can live in absolute ignorance of the specifics of the future and remain positive if you know and trust the One who holds tomorrow.

The Postive Power of HUNGER

I was a little taken back as I sat in the training session for aspiring vacuum cleaner salesmen and heard the trainer say, "I hope you are all in serious debt or financial trouble. If you are, you will be successful."

I didn't like what he said at the time, but I came to understand that he was right.

The wise teacher of the proverbs tells us, "“A worker's appetite works for him, for his hunger urges him on” (Proverbs 16:26 NASB). This can be known through careful observation and is as true today as it was in Solomon's time.

You have to be hungry. At the very least, you must possess an appetite for more. If you are satisfied, you will stay where you are. If you are complacent, you will not exert extraordinary effort in any direction. If you are resigned to your circumstance or to the world as it is, you will not do much to change either.

Even Jesus said that those were blessed who hungered and thirsted for things to be right (ie... righteousness).

What does the hunger that works for us and drives us on look like? Let us break it down.

H - HATE. Hunger involves hate, not in the sense of vitriolic preoccupation with a destructive emotion toward other people. but the broader definition of detesting something to the point of turning away from it. You must be willing to make a clean break with your addiction to an undesirable condition in order to embrace something better. Some people are addicted to their self identities as poor failures and hopeless "losers." It takes something as dramatic as hating those designations to break free of them. Like Scarlet O'Hara you declare that you will never be hungry again. - except for the next goal.

U - URGE - We have used this word before to point to something inside that goes beyond rejecting the old to the idea of being drawn toward something in a powerful and compelling way. When you are deeply hungry for food, that hunger urges you on. You move in the direction of your goal. It drags you out of bed and out of the house. The urge is powerful and is empowered by the faith and hope that what you long for is possible with God's help and with your commitment.

N - NOTICE - When you are hungry for your goal, you start noticing things around you that you have previously ignored, things that remind you where you are going, examples of what you desire.You notice other people on the same path. You notice books, articles, and information designed to equip you in the fulfillment of your dreams. You notice open doors and opportunities. You notice people in a new way.

G - GRASP - Having identified a goal for which you hunger, you are always grasping in that direction. You hold what is in your grasp and reach for what is beyond it. You also grasp concepts you never would have paid any attention to before because understanding them is a means to your desired end. You make grasping a tool in your belt for reaching that to which you aspire.

E- EXHAUSTION - you stop at nothing less than the exhaustion of every effort in the service of your goal. if you haven't tried everything, you are not done. If you have not tried some things several times and several ways, you are not finished. If you have any energy left, you use it. of course you pace yourself, get adequate rest, and care for your body and soul in the process, but you DO NOT QUIT until all options are exhausted and even when they seem to be, you look for more.

R - RESILIENCE - When you fall, get up. When you fail, try again. When you falter in your faith, renew it and never let entertain discouragement for any longer than it takes to be encouraged by positive people, scripture, prayer, and your own commitment to keep on keeping on. Successful people are resilient in their hunger. They are often the folks that stayed in the game just a little bit longer than everyone else, tried a few more tricks, and refused to quit. They are knocked down, insulted, wounded, and wearied, but they have elastic in the back ends of their trousers so that that they bounce when knocked on their posteriors. Be that kind of person and your hungry appetite will drive you to success.

To your success!

Proverbs 16 on Planning and Implementation

Reflecting on the relationship between planning and implementing our work and the sovereignty of God over the affairs of humanity provided a framework for my daily reading in the Proverbs.

Proverbs 16 does not discourage planning; but it does make a case for holding everything with an open hand, tentatively, humbly, and with a comfortable tolerance for flexibility.

Plans are in the heart, verse 1 says, but there is some distance between the heart and the tongue and God has something to say about the final product. Start with the heart and let things gel. Think before you speak. Better still, think and pray. Margins are a necessity in business and in life.

Verse 2 ( Look these up) reminds us that no matter how innocent we believe our choices are, only God knows and can evaluate our motives or anyone else's. Lesson for business and life: Don't try to pass judgment on other people's motives. Deal with what you can know, what is before you.

Verse 3 is helpful. We can plan and strategize to our hearts content, but only when we commit our plans to God is success within view  - real success, the kind defined by verse 4 - namely God working everhything out for His purposes.

The question implied there is, "Am I in or out of this deal?  Either way, He will succeed."

Again, verse 9 mandates flexibility and verse 33 calls for humility. In the midst of it all, though, we are not to be passive because, along with flexibility and humility, real success require industry, otherwise known as a work ethic. The laborer is moved forward, prodded, and impassioned by his own hunger.

For a good treatment of work ethic see the article on Labor Day in the Faith at Work blog. Mike McLoughlin is reading our preacher mail when he indicts us for our silence on the dignity of work.

The bible is not silent here. Why should we be?

Proverbs 16 oozes the sentiment that God has the final word on everything, but that is no excuse not to plan, consider, commit, and work with integrity, humility, and flexibility.

No Excuses - Integrity

As I set out to type this entry about Integrity and specifically, "no excuses," I kept hitting the "m" instead of the "N." As a result, I was getting MO excuses rather than NO excuses.

I am absolutely certain that there is a lesson in that slip of the fingers. 

In the processes of eliminating my excuses, more and more present themselves. My soul is on alert for anything that can get me off the hook for my choices.  It takes a conscious effort to go back and type in the right letter so that I can have the integrity of taking responsibility for my actions.

If I run out of time for projects at the end of the day because I wasted time in the middle, I have no excuses even though I've had plenty of time to dream "mo" of them up. If I fail to reach my goals it may be because they were unrealistic or because I could not anticipate all the contingencies, or because I did not bother to do all my homework and keep on keeping on.

Excuses take time I do not have, so I cannot afford them. I do better to recognize where I went wrong and make changes there.

Excuses obscure the dream because they take us to a default position which says, "IT not your fault. It is an impossible task. No one could have done any better than you did."

Do you see the subtle message that sabotages the dream? We are checking off the box that says, "I can't change. I can never do better. I can never be more."

Excuses, not responsibility kick us in the rear end because they drag us down into a stagnant pool of stinking impossibility thinking.

I'll go with integrity. At least that way, I can do better tomorrow.
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Mid Valley Christian Women's Job Corp is training women to take charge of their choices and enter the job force, some for the first time. Under the leadership of Donna Cooper, lives are being changed. The next round of classes begins in the Fall. You can help by ordering (and reording) our magazines using this Link: Magazine Fund Raiser for CWJC. 

Help yourself by visiting the following Health and Wellness Sites. There are business opportunities as well:
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Cravings or Desires

I read a chapter in Proverbs most every day corresponding to the day of the month. I've been doing this for quite a while an have failed to exhaust all the insights that pop out of the page, grab me around the neck and shake the living daylights out of me.

Solomon was a successful leader who was not impressed with his own success. All he really ever wanted to be was wise. He authored or collected these sayings and they still ring true with such piercing relevance that they seem like they could have been written yesterday.

I do most of my reading and reflecting from the New International Version (c) 2002, International Bible Society.

This one grabbed me today:

13:4 - "The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied."

So what is the difference between the desire of a dilligent person and the craving of a lazy person?

From the start, we nod our heads knowingly, acknowledging that this proverb is true. A craving is a carnal drive that overwhelms our judgment and woos us into reckless thinking and action.

C is for carnal because this drive is fleshly through and through. There is not accounting for satisfaction which transcends momentary instant gratification. Carnal cravings sabotage long-term goals which require delayed gratification. The desires of the diligent are long-term desires. The antidote to unbridled Carnality is Captitol. I'll need to explain this more later, but the successful and diligent business person is not trying to satisfy the momentary cravings of the flesh, but is attempting to accumulate intellectual, spiritual, and economic capitol to build a dream over the years.

R is for reckless because we will do anything to get what we crave if we are driven by our cravings. We will make bad decisions and sloppy choices. The sluggard's true desires cannot be satisfied because he does not make the kind of choices that move him steadily toward his goals. He has bursts of energy, but no tolerance or stamina for the long haul. He is recklessly lazy. He's work hard for a moment, but refuses to pace himself for a lengthy journey. Recklessness must give way to Responsibility.

A is for absorbed in self. Nothing outside of self matters, ones own desires, ones own needs, and ones own irritations and pain. You see the same sort of thing in 21:10 -. "The wicked man craves evil. His neighbor gets no mercy from him." He is too driven by self-absorbed cravings to have empathy and compassion for anyone else. Absorption is self must give way to natural Affect, as in the capacity to be touched in the heart and moved by the heart's response to another's pain and emotion.

V is for vindictive. When mercy is lacking, one keeps score of wrongs and a new craving emerges, an irrational desire for revenge and retribution even if it means sinking ones own ship. Instead of being driven by Vindictiveness, we need to be driven by Values.

E is for evil. Define it as you will. Some will argue that there is no evil in the world. That seems to defy any honest study of history or human behavior. All of us have areas of our lives where we are drawn to darkness because there are some things that appeal to us that are not good for us or for others. It is when we give into these cravings that evil begins to creep into our hearts. We loosen our standards and suspend our ethics and before you know it, we have an Enron-sized debacle. compressed into our own lives. We must replace Evil with sound Ethics if we are going to reach our long term business goals.

S is for selfish. "I want it all for me." "It's all about me." The sluggard cannot weigh the larger issues of what is good for the community or the team. Such an individual will cash out as soon as he or she has been immediately gratified. This person is not even concerned about the self she will be in ten years - only the self right now. He makes no provision for his future. She takes no thought of leaving a legacy. He makes no effort to contribute to society.  As a result, he gets nothing - at least nothing of value or substance. Selfishness must be replaces by Selflessness. The diligent know that no person succeeds alone and gives time and energy to helping other people succeed, even if it is personally costly (and it always is - but it is also, always personally rewarding.) The outward focus yields inward rewards.

The desires of the diligent are focused on long term goals and dreams. The cravings of the sluggard are momentary and fading fast. Diligent people sacrifice a great deal for long term success, but lazy people sacrifice everything for instant gratification.

Well, that's what hit me between the eyeballs today. Perhaps together we can make something of it.

ADDENDUM

I found this at TheFathersHouse Online.org:

"Proverbs 13:4 The soul of the daydreamer desires, and has nothing to show for it: but the soul of the one who is perfecting their business shall be made fat.

In other words, if it is worth dreaming about then it is worth working."

Very insightful and impressive. I love the translation and application.

And a Prayer Application

This from novelist, Janet Rubin:

"Lord,
Please help me to be diligent to exercise this gift. Give me a vision of what I will be in the future if I work hard. Thank You for all You are teaching me on the way.
Amen"

A Multitude of Counselors

Dennis Raup poses the question reflecting the wisdom of Solomon in Proverbs 11:14: Does your business have a multitude of counselors?

I have been deeply immersed in Proverbs for the last year, both teaching through the book several times a week and studying it daily. No other book within the Bible or outside of the Bible contains as much wise and practical teaching for how to build a successful, honorable, and God-honoring business while maintaining balance in your personal life.

I am becoming more and more convinced that of all the success literature written in the last century, most of it can be found in Proverbs.

Raup is president of Faith Connections @ Work  and produces a very helpful blog worth exploring.

Living the Proverbs

A ministry in our church called Set Free introduced me to the practice of reading a chapter in Proverbs every day, corresponding to the day of the month. For instance, today's reading was from Proverbs 16.

Sometimes one will ring especially true for that day.

Today, I read:

"The laborer's appetite works for him; his hunger drives him on." (NIV, Proverb. 16:26)

Call it need, drive, self-interest, desire, or hunger, without it, lethargy rules inertia till no motivation remains. Unfulfilled dreams move us to the next goal. We need them.

Stay hungry.

Honey

Eat honey, my son, for it is good; honey from the comb is sweet to your taste.

Know also that wisdom is sweet to your soul; if you find it, there is a future hope for you, and your hope will not be cut off.  – Proverbs 24:13-14, NIV, © 1973, 1975, 1978, International Bible Society

Maybe the problem with some folks who think they are very wise is that they don't eat enough sweets.

I understand the rather obvious problem with that statement, but I wonder if I also might be on to something. Some folks seem to do more snarling than smiling when they encounter great ideas. The lights go on in their minds and out in their countenance. All of the energy that comes from insight is used up in perpetuating their misery.

Sour puss thinking, teaching, and living misses the whole point of wisdom.

Wisdom is sweet. After a long wrestling match with truth - which ought to be as playful as it is dead serious, we emerge with something wonderful, an idea. It rings true with the scriptures and true with the soul and it gathers around it a galaxy of other loose ended ideas which suddenly find an orbit that was there all along, but unnoticed.

Eureka! Serendipity! Spread the honey! How sweet it is!

Do you ever chuckle when you read the bible? If not, I dare say you are missing something.

There you are, pouring over the word of God, brain strain focus is fixed on the meaning of the passage and you turn the page. There in living color is an illustration that rings true. You encounter a mirror of your own emotions, a replay of your own experience, an answer that has eluded you and you get all giggly.

You just got the point. How sweet it is!

The gospel is the wisdom of God and it is good news. There is some bad news mixed in, but only to lead us to the good. Carrots are sweet and corn is really sweet, but a little honey brightens the disposition so much.

No one wants or needs a steady diet of nothing but sugar coating, but blandness is not a characteristic of radical Christianity. I want to be where there is love and life and laughter. That's my honey tree. That is wisdom. That is my faith.