Dear Friends,
I am a great believer in ‘growing while you’re going, ‘learning while
you’re listening.’ The apostle Paul reminds us in Ephesians 5:16 that we
are to “redeem” or make the most of our time, and one way I can do that is by
continually filling my mind with the wisdom of others.
This is why on my afternoon walks with my dog Maggie, I am
almost always accompanied by another walking friend, and yesterday it was the
well-known leadership expert John Maxwell. I figure anyone who has written over
100 books must have something of value to say, and he did
Our conversation was private, just me, Maggie and John talking and
teaching me through my I phone.
I learned a lot on yesterday’s walk, and because I didn’t want to
forget any of John’s wisdom, so I re listened to him while typing some of the
valuable lessons I learned during our conversation, and I thought I would share
some of these lessons with you today.
John’s message dealt with the importance of focusing on the
future, and not the past. As he spoke, I was reminded of what the apostle Paul
had to say about this subject. He said, “We are to forget about the past and
look forward to the future as we press on to the upward call of Christ Jesus.
Philippians 3:13-14
John reminded me that “the future is drained by looking back to
what might have been” and that we reveal our potential by where we focus. He
reminded me that, “If what I did yesterday seems big, I haven’t done anything
today.” One remark he made that I will never forget is that “a doubled minded
focus depletes energy.”
He quoted the wisdom he had learned from a couple of his friends,
one of whom had said, “The most tiring exercise in the world is carrying
yesterday on your back.” He quoted Mark McCormack, a sports representative and
author who taught him that, “You can’t think clearly about your future if you’re
obsessed with the past.”
John stressed to me that “unless I believed in myself, I would
never believe in my future.”
During our walk, I learned I must be careful not to “yearn for the
past and get stuck in it, but to learn from the past and then let go of it.”
And probably the most important lessons I learned yesterday was a
lesson in ‘home improvement.’ He said, “It is better to construct the
future than to varnish the past.” I thought to myself how easy it is for me to
live in the past, to varnish up past accomplishments and achievements. But such
a backward focus will only obscure even greater growth opportunities and
accomplishments that might still lie ahead. Wow, that really struck me as
important to keep in mind.
John told me he gets tired of talking to people who are always
dreaming about the future, but who are doing nothing today that will help them
accomplish what they want in their future. “I don’t have time for such people,”
he said, “for such people are only involved in wishful thinking and not
purposeful planning.”
John reminded me that If I am not doing something today to help me
achieve tomorrow’s dream, I am wasting my time. He said, “if I would do today
what I want to do tomorrow, and if I will do it well enough, tomorrow will arrive,”
and I might add, so will my dream.
And as I arrived back home, John concluded our time together by
leaving with me with this parting thought: “The future is that time when you’ll
wish you had done what you aren’t doing now.”
Is there someone you would like to get to know better? It’s easy.
Just charge up your phone, put on your ear buds, and take a listen. I promise
you that you’ll be amazed at the things you can learn about living for the
future.
Yours in faith and friendship,
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