I'm no Swami......
I’m no Swami, but once a year I try to predict the future. It’s always an occasion for deep reflection because I use those predictions as navigation beacons along my journey in life. Its how I got to where I am today and how I’ll find my way tomorrow. It’s not just about the personal satisfaction of accomplishment or my perseverance when life threw a screwball. It’s about my relationship with God. It’s also about my interaction with other fellow travelers in life and creating something good with and for them too —and, of course, it’s about the legacy I leave my daughter and future generations……. All of this is really about setting goals, ain’t it?….
I was recently reminded of an important point in regards to planning ahead. That point is, if you really want to know where you’re going, you have to understand where you’ve been and recognize where you are right now. Where you’ve been, or the past, provides you with knowledge and experiences, successes and failures, as well as opportunities and obstacles. Where you are, or the present, is what happened during the past month, what’s happening today, as well as what’s going to happen within the next month. Where you’ll be, or the future, is a combination of your experience, your being open to God’s guidance, your goals and dreams, your tolerance for risk, as well as your determination and focus.
Let me share with you 4 steps I learned a number of years ago on this very subject. I think you’ll find them very appropriate. They are:
1. Once was.
2. As is.
3. Can be.
4. Become.
Once was is the history of your life. It’s the sum total of your knowledge, your wisdom, your experience, your victories, and your defeats. If you look closely at the history of your life, you can see some things that you wanted with all your heart but you didn’t get. At the time, you were devastated, but in retrospect it seems silly that you ever wanted those things. You can also see some things that you were given or that you earned, but once you got them, you quickly lost interest. More important, you see the things you loved and how they have affected you. You look at the risks you took and think that if you had the opportunity to take them again, you might not. And all of that brings you to As is.
As is, is where you are today. Are you walking with Christ in your life? Are you as successful as you want to be?... Are you happy with your accomplishments, both professional as well as personal?... Are you blaming your lack of success on someone or something else?... Have you prepared yourself to be successful in life?…in Christ??... Do you even know what success is?...
As is provides you with your greatest opportunity. It’s about how you decide to invest your time, money and effort. The time to take action is now. The time to risk is now. The time to go for what you want is now. The time to educate yourself and study is now. If you do, you will be able to achieve the success you are seeking,…so, what are you waiting for?
Many people think that once they’re done with high school or college, they’re essentially done studying. That may be OK if your only question in life will be: Do you want fries with that?...
Success doesn’t just show up in the now. Success comes as a result of hard work and focus in the now. Success is the journey. But that elusive brass ring you are looking for lies within. It’s the can be.
Can be is full of dreams, full of goals, and full of serendipity. Some things are not goals or dreams. Some things just evolve. And in that evolution, you can find what you really love. If you love something, you don’t have to make it a goal. Instead, you just work your butt off, trust in God and it can become reality.
What you can be is going to be a result of God’s grace, your hard work, your positive attitude, your passion, your focus on achievement, and your drive to not let little things stand in your way—even if it means risking what you’ve got.
You might be thinking right now, “Coffee Man, you don’t understand.” You might be blinded by the obstacles you encounter in life, like personal situations ( marriage or divorce), parents, money (or the lack of it), spouse (or the lack of them), or kids.
I understand fine. Most folks are afraid to risk what they have in order to go for what they really want. The worst part of not risking is lamenting. Lamenting that you didn’t try it, that you didn’t go for it, or that you should have done it. With every year that passes, I am further convinced that the waste of our lives lies in the love that we have not shared, the power we have not used for good and the selfish attitude we take that will not allow any risk or pain and, in the process, we miss happiness as well. Nobody ever was poorer in the long run for having, at least once, in their lifetime charged ahead, oblivious to the obstacles.
When you combine once was, as is, and can be, the sum total is what you will become. One of the most valuable lessons I have ever learned was “Make all decisions based on the person you would like to become.” That wisdom is so powerful that I think of it everyday. It’s been a big help to me. Perhaps you can use it in your quest to be your best.
Let me leave you with this advice for 2006. Trust God, talk with God , make a plan, educate yourself, try your best, risk failure, seize the opportunity, develop self-discipline, dedicate yourself to becoming a better Christian, be a friend, and make a commitment to do it all every day .
It’s not a formula—it’s a philosophy. And philosophy is the secret to getting you from where you are to where you want to be.
I was recently reminded of an important point in regards to planning ahead. That point is, if you really want to know where you’re going, you have to understand where you’ve been and recognize where you are right now. Where you’ve been, or the past, provides you with knowledge and experiences, successes and failures, as well as opportunities and obstacles. Where you are, or the present, is what happened during the past month, what’s happening today, as well as what’s going to happen within the next month. Where you’ll be, or the future, is a combination of your experience, your being open to God’s guidance, your goals and dreams, your tolerance for risk, as well as your determination and focus.
Let me share with you 4 steps I learned a number of years ago on this very subject. I think you’ll find them very appropriate. They are:
1. Once was.
2. As is.
3. Can be.
4. Become.
Once was is the history of your life. It’s the sum total of your knowledge, your wisdom, your experience, your victories, and your defeats. If you look closely at the history of your life, you can see some things that you wanted with all your heart but you didn’t get. At the time, you were devastated, but in retrospect it seems silly that you ever wanted those things. You can also see some things that you were given or that you earned, but once you got them, you quickly lost interest. More important, you see the things you loved and how they have affected you. You look at the risks you took and think that if you had the opportunity to take them again, you might not. And all of that brings you to As is.
As is, is where you are today. Are you walking with Christ in your life? Are you as successful as you want to be?... Are you happy with your accomplishments, both professional as well as personal?... Are you blaming your lack of success on someone or something else?... Have you prepared yourself to be successful in life?…in Christ??... Do you even know what success is?...
As is provides you with your greatest opportunity. It’s about how you decide to invest your time, money and effort. The time to take action is now. The time to risk is now. The time to go for what you want is now. The time to educate yourself and study is now. If you do, you will be able to achieve the success you are seeking,…so, what are you waiting for?
Many people think that once they’re done with high school or college, they’re essentially done studying. That may be OK if your only question in life will be: Do you want fries with that?...
Success doesn’t just show up in the now. Success comes as a result of hard work and focus in the now. Success is the journey. But that elusive brass ring you are looking for lies within. It’s the can be.
Can be is full of dreams, full of goals, and full of serendipity. Some things are not goals or dreams. Some things just evolve. And in that evolution, you can find what you really love. If you love something, you don’t have to make it a goal. Instead, you just work your butt off, trust in God and it can become reality.
What you can be is going to be a result of God’s grace, your hard work, your positive attitude, your passion, your focus on achievement, and your drive to not let little things stand in your way—even if it means risking what you’ve got.
You might be thinking right now, “Coffee Man, you don’t understand.” You might be blinded by the obstacles you encounter in life, like personal situations ( marriage or divorce), parents, money (or the lack of it), spouse (or the lack of them), or kids.
I understand fine. Most folks are afraid to risk what they have in order to go for what they really want. The worst part of not risking is lamenting. Lamenting that you didn’t try it, that you didn’t go for it, or that you should have done it. With every year that passes, I am further convinced that the waste of our lives lies in the love that we have not shared, the power we have not used for good and the selfish attitude we take that will not allow any risk or pain and, in the process, we miss happiness as well. Nobody ever was poorer in the long run for having, at least once, in their lifetime charged ahead, oblivious to the obstacles.
When you combine once was, as is, and can be, the sum total is what you will become. One of the most valuable lessons I have ever learned was “Make all decisions based on the person you would like to become.” That wisdom is so powerful that I think of it everyday. It’s been a big help to me. Perhaps you can use it in your quest to be your best.
Let me leave you with this advice for 2006. Trust God, talk with God , make a plan, educate yourself, try your best, risk failure, seize the opportunity, develop self-discipline, dedicate yourself to becoming a better Christian, be a friend, and make a commitment to do it all every day .
It’s not a formula—it’s a philosophy. And philosophy is the secret to getting you from where you are to where you want to be.
posted by Coffee Man at 9:37 AM
1 Comments:
Wow, and all this from a Blogasphere beginner!
K
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