Search

decision

How Many Times Should You Try Something Before You Quit?

by

Successful People Accomplish More Because They Persist Without Exception

This is an interesting question. How many times is too many…ten, fifty, a few hundred, how many?

Depending on who you ask, the answer will be different.

For example, if you ask one individual in England, how many attempts should be made at passing a driver’s text, he will tell you…157. Why? Because it took him 158 attempts to pass.

It is reported that he spent over $5,000.00 in fees to accomplish this.

This is some serious persistence.

We don’t know exactly how many times the lady went to see the judge in Jesus’ story in Luke 18:1-8. What we do know is that she wouldn’t take no for an answer seeking justice from the judge. Persistence like hers pays off.

Whatever we’re trying to do will happen if it aligns with God’s purpose and we persist.

Wanting to align my desires with God’s is one reason I include the “serenity prayer” in my daily prayer time.

God, grant me:

Serenity to accept the things I can’t change,

Courage to change the things I can,

Wisdom to know the difference.

Help me to:

Live one day at a time

Enjoy one moment at a time

Accept hardship as a pathway to peace

Take the sinful world as it is

Trust that You will make all things right if I surrender to Your will

In everything Your will be done

Amen

Persistence is a choice that we can make.

It is the 7th Decision (link) in Andy Andrew’s book, The Traveler’s Gift. I think this excerpt from the book explains it as well as anything…

“I will persist without exception. I will continue despite exhaustion. I acknowledge the fact that most people quit when exhaustion sets in. I am not “most people.” I am stronger than most people. Average people accept exhaustion as a matter of course. I do not. Average people compare themselves with other people. That is why they are average. I compare myself to my potential. I am not average. I see exhaustion as a precursor to victory.

How long must a child try to walk before he actually does so? Do I not have more strength than a child? More understanding? More desire? How long must I work to succeed before I actually do so? A child would never ask the question, for the answer does not matter. By persisting without exception, my outcome—my success—is assured. I will persist without exception. I focus on results.

To achieve the results I desire, it is not even necessary that I enjoy the process. It is only important that I continue the process with my eyes on the outcome. An athlete does not enjoy the pain of training; an athlete enjoys the results of having trained. A young falcon is pushed from the nest, afraid and tumbling from the cliff. The pain of learning to fly cannot be an enjoyable experience, but the anguish of learning to fly is quickly forgotten as the falcon soars to the heavens.

A sailor who fearfully watches stormy seas lash his vessel will always steer an unproductive course. But a wise and experienced captain keeps his eye firmly fixed upon the lighthouse. He knows that by guiding his ship directly to a specific point, the time spent in discomfort is lessened. And by keeping his eye on the light, there never exists one second of discouragement. My light, my harbor, my future is within sight!

I will persist without exception. I am a person of great faith. In Jeremiah, my Creator declares, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” From this day forward, I will claim a faith in the certainty of my future. Too much of my life has been spent doubting my beliefs and believing my doubts. No more! I have faith in my future. I do not look left or right. I look forward. I can only persist.

For me, faith will always be a sounder guide than reason because reason can only go so far—faith has no limits. I will expect miracles in my life because faith produces them every day. I will believe in the future that I do not see. That is faith. And the reward of this faith is to see the future that I believed. I will continue despite exhaustion. I focus on results. I am a person of great faith.”

It is up to you to decide how many times you should try something before you quit.

Just remember that this is a decision that you can make, but I recommend that you run it by God first.

How Can We Be Prepared for Unexpected Situations?

by

We Can’t Know Everything That’s Going to Happen, But We Can Still Be Prepared

Getting ready for things that we weren’t expecting or wanting can be hard.

Like a kid that’s told to get ready. What they hear when they’re told, “We’ll be leaving in five minutes.” is… Get undressed, start a finger painting and lose at least one shoe.

It’s reasonable that young kids don’t fully understand the concept of getting ready. It’s less tolerable when we’re adults.  

In Luke 12:32-40 Jesus is trying to prepare His disciples for their mission going forward after His death. He’s trying to help them see the bigger picture.

He tells them to get ready for eternity and not get sidetracked with things of this world. He tells them to be ready like a servant waiting for his master to come home. We don’t know when our lives will end, so we need to get ready now, so that we will be ready when the time comes.

Being prepared is making a decision and taking action before you need to. If you wait until it’s time…it’s too late.

Being prepared requires work. It’s not something that just happens. This is why a lot of people don’t want to be prepared for things. It requires study and training to get prepared for anything.

If it’s worth doing, it’s worth the effort.

We can’t just show up and expect to perform at our best.

Preparation is the difference between success and failure. People who are good at what they do, don’t perform at that level without putting in time and energy to get that way. Preparation is an advantage.

Being prepared requires willingness to put others ahead of ourselves.

At Texas A&M they have a tradition of the 12th Man. This dates back to 1922 when the Aggies were facing a top-ranked team in a football game.

An Aggie by the name of E. King Gill, a squad player for Texas A&M’s football team, was up in the press box helping reporters identify players on the field below — and what was happening on the field wasn’t pretty.

The Aggies found themselves plagued by injuries, with their reserves seemingly dwindling with every play. As Texas A&M Coach Dana X. Bible looked across his rapidly emptying bench, he suddenly remembered Gill’s presence in the stands. Bible waved Gill down to the sideline and told him to suit up. Gill ran under the bleachers and put on the uniform of injured running back Heine Weir, who had been knocked out of the game in the first quarter.

Gill returned to the sideline, where he stood ready to play for the entirety of the game. When the last play was run, the Aggies found that they had pulled off one of the greatest upsets in college football history, winning the game 22-14.

And Gill remained standing, the only player left on the team’s bench.

Gill’s willingness to serve his team in 1922 has passed down from generation to generation of Aggies for nearly one hundred years, as Texas A&M’s student section stands together during entire football and basketball games, a symbol of the 12th Man on the team.

The power of the 12th Man is echoed in the unity, the loyalty, and the willingness of Aggies to serve when called to do so.

And it is the reason that Texas A&M has earned a name that embraces Gill’s simple gesture of service: Home of the 12th Man.

Preparation is a choice. It requires willingness, sacrifice, learning and training. Are you prepared?

Movement is the Key That Starts the Engine of Success

by

You Have to Decide to Take Action if You’re Going to Accomplish Anything

Last week I wrote about life being one continuous choice after another. This topic has been front and center in my thinking since then. It’s been the focus of multiple conversations as well.

Thinking about choices led me to think about decisions. Choices and decisions are the same…aren’t they? Let’s think about this.

Choice and decision are simple words. Most people think they know when to use which one…but there’s a subtle difference between a choice and a decision.

Choice –

If you go into an ice-cream parlor, you have multiple choices. You’re tempted to choose one…wait maybe you want a different one. After going through this selection process, you finally decide on one – this is your decision.

Decision indicates you have reached a conclusion.

Choice comes from the word choose, it refers to the act of accepting, adopting, appointing, favoring, opting for, settling, gleaning or preferring. There are times when you have no choice. You can choose your friends but not your relatives. However, you can choose how you act toward both.

Decision –

A decision is the end of the selection process, it narrows several options until one is chosen. Decision is the final result of a thought process that begins with choices or opportunities. You decide the school you will send your children to, the bank you will use, the car you will drive and the dealer you will buy it from. Everyday is full of challenges. We’re required to make the decisions, some simple, some hard and some very important.

Most of us want to make wise choices that lead to good decisions.

Writing this, I had an epiphany. As many of you know I’ve often written about my favorite book, Andy Andrews’, The Traveler’s Gift. I think I now know what it is that makes this book my favorite.

It’s the awareness of the freedom that comes from understanding that WE HAVE CONTROL over our choices and decisions.

In the book…

Forty-six-year-old David Ponder feels like a total failure. He feels that he has no choice. Once an executive in a Fortune 500 company, he now works a part-time, minimum wage job and struggles to support his family. Then, an even greater crisis hits: his daughter becomes ill, and he can’t afford to get her the medical helps she needs. When his car skids on an icy road, he wonders if he even cares to survive the crash.

But an extraordinary experience awaits David Ponder. He finds himself traveling back in time, meeting leaders and heroes at crucial moments in their lives—from Abraham Lincoln to Anne Frank. By the time his journey is over, he has received seven secrets for success—and a second chance.

The subtitle of this book is…

Seven Decisions That Determine Personal Success

The key is DECISIONS. Here they are:

  • The Responsible Decision
  • The Guided Decision
  • The Active Decision
  • The Certain Decision
  • The Joyful Decision
  • The Compassionate Decision
  • The Persistent Decision

In the book, David Ponder finds himself in the crow’s nest of a ship with Christopher Columbus. An excerpt from the Certain Decision.

A wise man once said, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.” Knowing this to be true, I am taking my first step today. For too long my feet have been tentative, shuffling left and right, more backward than forward as my heart gauged the direction of the wind. The power to control direction belongs to me. Today I will begin to exercise that power.

I have a decided heart. I am passionate about my vision for the future. I will awaken every morning with an excitement about the new day and its opportunity for growth and change. My thoughts and actions will work in a forward motion, never sliding into the dark forest of doubt or the muddy quicksand of self-pity.

Yes, I have a dream. It is a great dream, and I will never apologize for it. Neither will I ever let it go, for if I did, my life would be finished. My hopes, my passions, my vision for the future is my very existence. A person without a dream never had a dream come true.

I have a decided heart. I will not wait. I know that the purpose of analysis is to come to a conclusion. I have tested the angles. I have measured the probabilities. And now I have made a decision with my heart. I am not timid. I will move now and not look back. What I put off until tomorrow, I will put off until the next day as well. I do not procrastinate.

We can choose, we can decide…both require action.

Actions are required for accomplishment. This is in your control. Take action today and get your engine of success started.

No one can stop you but you!