21 April 2011

A Key to Success

Perhaps you've heard the saying, Pray like everything depends on God; work like everything depends on you. It's probably an American saying — sounds like an American worldview. My purpose is not to debate that statement, but I was reminded of it by a blog post that I read today. It was on a running blog — well, to be more accurate, it was on Nissan's Facebook page where they feature, among others, Ryan Hall. The content of the post applies to many facets of life, not just running.

Let me begin by stating what should be obvious. In mission work, as in any other endeavor in which a follower of Jesus pours his life, the foundation, the prime cause, the source of all success is the Holy Spirit. Without the presence and empowering of God's Spirit, all of our effort will be for naught. We will not effect real change by effort, perseverance, intelligence, scheming, or fraud. Real, lasting change only comes as a result of God's Spirit working in a life or a situation.

That being said, we are never given the freedom to simply be lazy — we have responsibilities. The Great Commission (Matthew 28:18-19) tells us that we are to do something — we are to make disciples of all nations, we are to baptize them, and we are to teach those disciples to obey all that Jesus commanded. So, we have work to do and we should do it heartily. That's the context within which I want to share this post.

Facebook doesn't give permanent links to articles or notes, but you can find the original post somewhere on this Facebook page: Master the Shift. Here's the article — I won't restate or apply, but just let you do that. Josh Cox is an American ultramarathoner and holds the American record for a 50K race:


What it Takes to Succeed: Random Ramblings

By Josh Cox
While pacing a rain-soaked LA Marathon, I was asked what the keys were to having a long professional running career. I’ve learned a few things since the summer of 2000 when running shifted from avocation to vocation. In some ways it seems like yesterday when I was the youngest guy at the Olympic Trials eleven years ago, yet in other ways, it seems like a different life. There’s a myriad of ways to answer the question; here are some thoughts…
Whatever the profession, those with long-term success are the passionate few who would be doing what they’re doing whether they were paid for it or not. Dr. Howard Thurman said it this way:
“Don’t ask yourself what the world needs; ask yourself what makes you come alive and go and do that. Because what the world needs is people who have come alive.”
It’s the passion principle. Passion takes you the extra mile, passion gets you through the tough times, passion keeps your hand on the plow.
Dream big and work your tail off. There’s no magic bullet, there’s no quick fix, there’s no substitute for blood, sweat, and tears. Embrace the grind; if it were easy everyone would be doing it. If you’re dreaming big and working hard, you have to learn toignore the critic. For every dreamer there are 100 cynics. Those who have abandoned their own dreams will try to convince you to abandon yours. Don’t listen. Believe in your dream. They’re on the sideline, you’re in the game.
“Keep away from people who try to belittle your ambitions. Small people always do that, but the really great ones make you feel that you, too, can become great.” -Mark Twain
Follow the golden ruleDo unto others as you’d have them do unto you. When you treat people right, folks want to work with you; when you act entitled, you end up alone.
Assemble a good team; no one can do it alone. Be proactive, don’t wait for good things to happen. My buddy, Josh Shipp, said it this way:
“Stop waiting for your ship to come in, swim out to it or build your own.”
Find influencers and ask for help. Find products you believe in and write those companies a letter. Knock on enough doors and eventually someone will let you in.
In short: Pursue your passions, dream big, work hard, be nice, and surround yourself with others who do the same. Be positive, ignore the critic, follow your heart, invest in your passions, believe in your dreams, & get busy making them reality. Don’t talk about it; be about it.
Success isn’t found on the couch, it’s usually under a rock… on top of a mountain.

For the Kingdom,

Bob A