PUSH: Persevere Until Success Happens Through Prayer (19 page)

The godly may trip seven times, but they will get up again.
—P
ROVERBS
24:16 NLT

L
ee Iacocca, a twentieth-century businessman, said, “The ability to concentrate and to use your time well is everything if you want to succeed.” One of the most important questions one can ask themselves when it comes to time is, “What is the most important thing I can do with the time I’ve been given?” Look at what Colossians 4:5 tells us,
“Behave yourselves wisely [living prudently and with discretion]…making the very most of the time”
(AMP). If you plan to achieve more, accomplish more, and do more, you must learn to behave yourself wisely by
first
eliminating time-wasters.

Like the enemy himself, time-wasters do nothing but kill, steal, and destroy your life. I like what the early eighteenth-century English cleric Charles Caleb Colton has been quoted as saying, “Much may be done in those little shreds and patches of time which every day produces, and which most men throw away.” And people during that time didn’t even have the distraction of electronics! Look at the time-wasters we must learn to negotiate today.

According to a recent survey of the A. C. Nielsen Company, the average American watches more than four hours of television every day.
⁷⁴
This information can be translated to twenty-eight hours of television viewing per week, which in turn means about two months a year. In a sixty-five-year life span, people spend and average of nine years glued to the television set. Instead of sitting in front of the television set watching sitcoms and reality shows, refocus your attention, energy, and resources for the accomplishment of what truly matters to you—your priorities. Live life; don’t watch someone else’s go by.

Overcome your television addiction by getting rid of the television set. Yes, you read me right: Get rid of it! In our own household, we don’t have televisions in the main living areas or bedrooms. We do have a vast library and other reading materials that feed our mind instead of sapping it. This is one of my secrets to accomplishing so many things.

However, if getting rid of that state-of-the-art flat screen television is just too much for you, then learn now to cut back your viewing hours. Believe me—you can survive without your favorite shows. Try reading for a change. Books enhance your imagination and actually help you create more vivid pictures in your mind than watching television shows.

The telephone is a very ingenious invention and I personally thank Mr. Bell for making it possible. However, it has its own share of disadvantages. Telephone calls can be an annoying and constant source of interruption. Whether you’re working, reading, visiting with someone, or meditating, when the phone rings it breaks your focus.

Practice personal mastery of the phone. Before attending any meeting or immersing yourself in your work, set your phone on silent. Let your voice messaging system accept all of your calls. Review your messages only after you have finished with your work or meeting. You can return the calls of the most important callers. This way, you can still receive your calls and, at the same time, screen not-so-important phone calls without answering them. When you do return the calls, keep the conversation short and straight to the point. Remember, the person on the other end is probably not welcoming the interruption either.

It’s the little interruptions and small portions of stolen time that add up to missed opportunities. “One must learn a different sense of time, one that depends more on small amounts than big ones,” advised Sister Mary Paul.

The Internet in general is overwhelmingly awesome, especially for younger folks and their yuppie counterparts. If the telephone allows people to communicate more easily, than the Internet makes the world smaller and draws people closer together—maybe not physically, but certainly mentally. Regular mail has been replaced by instant messaging, reaching people anywhere around the globe. Online chatting lets strangers engage in cyber conversations without even seeing each other in person. Virtual social networking and blogging allows the general public to know your thoughts and opinions and gives a peek into your private life through posted photos and videos.

Aren’t these things awesome? Yes, they are. That is the reason why we are all so hooked on them. We don’t only watch television at home, but we also browse the web wherever we are thanks to wireless technology. We can download music, videos, movies, games, etc. The fact that we sit in front of our computer and browse the web for hours, even when we’re at work, diverts us from doing the things that are most important to us. This is when the Internet intercepts our focus from our goals.

With all that being said, how can you break through these barriers? It is only by means of a potent combination of focus, self-discipline, and determination that we can unblock our road to success and prosperity. One way to do that is to develop your emotional intelligence—or EQ—by practicing the art of delaying gratification. In other words, do the hard work now in order to enjoy the taste of the sweet fruit later. Plant now; reap later. This is an age-old, simple truth. Learn to wait for it because discipline always delivers in good time. It was the late sixteenth-century mathematician and astronomer Johannes Kepler who so wisely said, “Truth is the daughter of time, and I feel no shame in being her midwife.”

The Book of James tell us to
“let endurance and steadfastness and patience have full play and do a thorough work, so that you may be [people] perfectly and fully developed [with no defects], lacking in nothing”
(James 1:4 AMP). Patience is cultivated through focus, self-discipline, and determination. Find in yourself what you are passionate about. Regardless of your chosen career, learn to love what you do and motivate yourself. And for everything that you decide to accomplish, delay your gratification. This is how you can have quality time to fulfill your goals in life and harvest the sweet fruits of your labor:
“To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose”
(Ecclesiastes 3:1). Do not abort your purpose by wasting or rushing time.

My words are of a kind which will be fulfilled in the appointed and proper time.
(Luke 1:20 AMP)

For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; for it will certainly come, it will not delay.
(Habakkuk 2:3 NASB)

I want to leave you with this story called, “Thanks for Your Time:”

It had been some time since Jack had seen the old man; college, girls, career, and life itself got in the way. In fact, Jack moved clear across the country in pursuit of his dreams. There, in the rush of his busy life, Jack had little time to think about the past and often no time to spend with his wife and son. He was working on his future and nothing could stop him.

Over the phone, his mother told him, “Mr. Belser died last night. The funeral is Wednesday.” Memories flashed through his mind like an old newsreel as he sat quietly remembering his childhood days. “Jack, did you hear me?”

“Oh, sorry, Mom. Yes, I heard you. It’s been so long since I thought of him. I’m sorry, but I honestly thought he died years ago,” Jack said.

“Well, he didn’t forget you. Every time I saw him he’d ask how you were doing. He’d reminisce about the many days you spent over ‘his side of the fence’ as he put it,” Mom told him.

“I loved that old house he lived in,” Jack said.

“You know, Jack, after your father died, Mr. Belser stepped in to make sure you had a man’s influence in your life,” she said.

“He’s the one who taught me carpentry,” he said. “I wouldn’t be in this business if it weren’t for him. He spent a lot of time teaching me things he thought were important. Mom, I’ll be there for the funeral,” Jack promised.

As busy as he was, he kept his word. Jack caught the next flight to his hometown. Mr. Belser’s funeral was small and uneventful. He had no children of his own, and most of his relatives had passed away.

The night before he had to return home, Jack and his Mom stopped by to see the old house next door one more time. Standing in the doorway, Jack paused for a moment. It was like crossing over into another dimension, a leap through space and time. The house was exactly as he remembered. Every step held memories. Every picture, every piece of furniture…Jack stopped suddenly.

“What’s wrong, Jack?” his Mom asked.

“The box is gone,” he said.

“What box?” Mom asked.

“There was a small gold box that he kept locked on top of his desk. I must have asked him a thousand times what was inside. All he’d ever tell me was, ‘The thing I value most,’” Jack said.

It was gone. Everything about the house was exactly how Jack remembered it, except for the box. He figured someone from the Belser family had taken it. “Now I’ll never know what was so valuable to him,” Jack thought.

It had been about two weeks since Mr. Belser died. Returning home from work one day Jack discovered a note in his mailbox. “Signature required on a package. No one at home. Please stop by the main post office within the next three days,” the note read.

Early the next day Jack retrieved the package. The small box was old and looked like it had been mailed a hundred years ago. The handwriting was difficult to read, but the return address caught his attention. “Mr. Harold Belser,” it read.

Jack took the box out to his car and ripped open the package. There inside was the gold box and an envelope. Jack’s hands shook as he read the note inside. “Upon my death, please forward this box and its contents to Jack Bennett. It’s the thing I valued most in my life.”

A small key was taped to the letter. His heart racing, as tears filling his eyes, Jack carefully unlocked the box. There inside he found a beautiful gold pocket watch. Running his fingers slowly over the finely etched casing, he unlatched the cover. Inside he found these words engraved: “Jack, Thanks for your time! —Harold Belser.”

“The thing he valued most was my time,” Jack said to himself. Jack held the watch for a few minutes, then called his office and cleared his appointments for the next two days.

“Why?” Janet, his assistant, asked.

“I need some time to spend with my son,” he said. “Oh, by the way, Janet, thanks for your time!”
⁷⁵

As Maya Angelou so aptly quoted, “Life is not measured by the number of breaths we take, but by the moments that take our breath away.” Time is indeed precious and how you choose to spend it is important.

See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
—E
PHESIANS
5:15-16

There are two days in every week about which we should not worry. Two days which should be kept free from fear and apprehension. One of these days is yesterday with its mistakes and cares, Its faults and blunders, its aches and pains. Yesterday has passed forever beyond our control. All the money in the world cannot bring back yesterday. We cannot undo a single act we performed, We cannot erase a single word we said. Yesterday is gone. The other day we should not worry about is tomorrow. With its possible adversities, its burdens, Its large promise and poor performance. Tomorrow is also beyond our immediate control. Tomorrow’s sun will rise, either in splendor or behind a mask of clouds, but it will rise. Until it does, we have no stake in tomorrow, for it is yet unborn. This just leaves only one day…Today. Any person can fight the battles of just one day. It is only when you and I add the burdens of those two awful eternities—yesterday and tomorrow that we break down. It is not the experience of today that drives people mad. It is the remorse or bitterness for something which happened yesterday and the dread of what tomorrow may bring. Let us therefore live but one day at a time.
—A
UTHOR
U
NKNOWN
(Possible author Jennifer
Kitsch)
⁷⁶

I love the sweet smell of dawn – our unique daily opportunity to smell time, to smell opportunity – each morning being a new beginning.
—E
MME
W
OODHULL
-B
ÄCHE

E
very morning is the dawning of a new day, and with it the dawning of new opportunities to win, to succeed, to maximize your potential, to accomplish your goals, and to realize your dreams. Today is the only day you will ever have. Yesterday is gone and tomorrow will never come, for when it does, it will be today. You only have one decision to make, and that is how you will make the most of the present. The morning is the seedling for the rest of your day.

I came across this quote the other day by J. M. Power: “If you want to make your dreams come true, the first thing you have to do is wake up.” The greatest achievements in life occur when someone wakes up from a dream and makes that dream a reality. There are things that are asleep within your soul. The next best-selling novel, the next great concerto, or the next great invention; the next great politician, scientist, or hero is asleep within you. Wake up that sleeping giant within. The great oak tree had to be stirred to life from within the tiny acorn. What lies dormant within you, just waiting to be stirred to life? Give birth to the champion, push out the inventor, wake up the scientist; unleash the artist, activist, or author you are called to be. Wake up that sleeping giant. It is your time to rise and shine.