IT'S THE LITTLE THINGS THAT GET TO YOU

It's amazing how 15 minor frustrations at the office can add up to one big bad attitude by the time you head for home.  Frustrations come in three varieties:

     * Interruptions - unexpected visitors or phone calls like the one I received while typing this sentence.  You've got a deadline to meet and something requires your time.  Our best plans are often interrupted.

     * Inconveniences - while interruptions are usually people, these are usually situations involving things: the copy machine breaks down, traffic jams up, you can't find what you need when you need it.

     * Irritations - delays, unreliable people, having to play telephone tag, catching a cold, obnoxious clients, etc.

     You can't eliminate these - I guarantee you'll face all three types this week - but you can learn to keep them from making you stressed-out.

 WHAT'S THE SECRET OF MANAGING FRUSTRATIONS?

    1.  DON'T RESIST IT! - Don't overreact or blow up.

    2.  DON'T RESENT IT! - Don't internalize you anger.

    3.  DON'T RESIGN TO IT! - Don't have a pity-party.

    4.  REDUCE IT! - Treat it as insignificant.  Put the frustration into proper perspective. It's just a minor setback...a part of living...no big deal!  It's certainly not worth a heart attack

Here are Ron's Rules for Stress Management:

RULE #1:  Don't sweat the small stuff.

RULE #2:  Realize it's all small stuff!

     The Bible says, "A man's wisdom gives him patience."  The only way we can see all stuff as small stuff is to view it from God's perspective.  When I am in tune with God, I remember he has everything under control even though I don't!  So I don't have to sweat it!   "The fruit of the Spirit is love...joy...peace..."

   PRAY THIS:  "Lord, help me to be filled with your love, joy, and peace this week - so that when I'm squeezed and pressured that is what comes out of me."

SUCCEEDING AT WORK

Work dominates our lives.  If you are a typical American, you’ll spend about 150,000 hours, or 40% of the waking hours of your life, at work.  You’ll spend more time working, thinking about work, and commuting to work than you do eating, relaxing, and vacationing combined.

Since work comprises such a major component of your life, God wants you to succeed in it.  In fact, he’s ready to help you out.  In the Bible God offers this guarantee:

“Commit your work to the Lord, then it will succeed.” (Prov. 16:3 LB)

What does it mean to “commit your work to the Lord”? How do you do it?

There are four specific steps:

            1. SEEK GOD’S DIRECTION.  Ask Him to guide you everyday - in your planning ... your organizing ... your decision making... your implementing ... and in relating to everyone you come in contact with.  “The Lord is pleased when good people pray” (Prov. 15:8 GN)

            2. SHARPEN YOUR SKILLS.  Be the best you can be for God’s glory.  Never stop learning.  Look for ways to cultivate the talents He’s given you. “If your ax is dull, and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success.”

(Eccl. 10:10) 

            3. STAY POSITIVE IN YOUR ATTITUDE.  Refuse to be infected by the worrying, the complaining, or the laziness of others.  Remember, enthusiasm comes from the Greek words  (“en theos”) that mean “to be in God.”  "In all the work you are doing, work the best you can. Work as if you were doing it for the Lord, not for people."  (Col. 3:23 NCV)

            4. TITHE ON YOUR PROFITS.  If you’re serious about committing your work to God so He can bless it, then God expects you to demonstrate your commitment by tithing your income. "Honor the Lord by giving him the first part of all your income, and he will fill your barns... to overflow"  (Prov. 3:9-10 LB)

These are the conditions that guarantee God’s blessing on your work. The choice is yours.

SIX LAWS OF LEADERSHIP

One of the most desperate needs in the world today is the need for quality leaders. There is a severe shortage of men and women with character who can lead the three sectors of our society (business, non-profit, and government). The Bible says "...A nation will be strong and endure when it has intelligent, sensible leaders." (Proverbs 28:2)  Over the years, as I worked with hundreds of leaders in various projects, I've developed a list of what I call "Laws of Leadership" - principles that real leaders operate by.  Here are six of them:

            1. Nothing happens until someone provides leadership for it.  Everything rises or falls on leadership.  There was no NASA space program until Kennedy said "Put a man on the moon by the end of the decade.  McDonald's was a single restaurant until Ray Kroc assumed leadership.  Most problems in any business can be traced back to a lack of competent leadership at some level.  Leaders provide vision. "Without a vision, the people perish."

            2. Leadership is influence.  Every time you influence someone...for good or bad, positively or negatively...you are assuming leadership.  Whether on the playground at school, with a group of teenagers hangin' out, or in a corporate committee meeting - it's easy to pick out the leader: find the person who is influencing everyone else.  Often, that person isn't the "official" or "elected" leader.  Just because you have a title doesn't make you a leader.

            3. The test of leadership is: IS ANYONE FOLLOWING? If you want to know if you are a leader just look over your shoulder!  If no one is following you, guess what?  There's an old proverb that says "He that thinketh he leadeth and hath no one following him is only taking a walk!"  If you have to tell people you are their leader - you aren't!  Being a boss and being a leader are two different issues.

            4. The foundation of leadership is character, not charisma!  Leaders come in all different shapes, personalities, and temperament.  But what great leaders have in common is character.  Image and reputation is what others think you are but character is what you really are.  Character is what you are in the dark.  Character is the basis for credibility.  And without credibility you can't lead anyone.

            5. Leadership can be learned.  But it can only be learned from someone who is already a leader.  Leaders reproduce other leaders.  If you want to sharpen your leadership skills, get up close to someone who is modeling what you want to learn.

            6. The moment you stop learning, you stop leading.  All leaders are learners. They are always on the lookout for ways to improve what they do.  "If the ax is dull, and its edge unsharpened, more strength is needed, but skill will bring success."  (Eccl. 10:10)   When you stop growing, you're dead!

Father's Day Thoughts

Father’s Day is coming up soon. We often make a grand showing of our love and loyalty to mothers.  But it is time to demonstrate to Fathers the honor the Bible says to show them (Exodus 20:12; Ephesians 6:2), and there is a promised reward of life with well being if we do so.  These verses are not for people young only. Every person of every age should honor their Father. I invite you to send a free Father's Day card on me by visiting Remember Father's Day and sign up. 

What if you had a “crappy” father or were abused by him. What he did was wrong, but you should honor the position even if the person was a jerk. God does not waste a hurt in our lives. Trust Him to show you in the long run the why of your painful paternal influence. Please practice forgiveness and reap its rewards concerning your painful past! You just honor the position and let God handle the person. Whether your fathers is living or dead consider some way to express your honor for the Lord using him to get you to planet earth. If you father is yet alive, here are a few suggestions from expressing your thoughts from Thank you Notes Samples. What you make happen for others, God will make happen for you!

The Dynamics of Commitment

There is a difference between interest and commitment. When you are interested in doing something, you do it only when circumstance permit. When you are committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results. How many times do you think we have expressed commitment to tasks, relationships and organizations only to find out we were shortly just interested. The late actor, Mae West, said, “An ounce of performance is worth pounds of promises.”

We fail to fulfill upon commitments because often we do not evaluate the efforts and costs involved. When work, commitment, and pleasure all become one and you reach that deep well where passion lives, nothing is impossible. Have you stop to really ponder do I know enough about this opportunity; do I sincerely believe my life would not be fulfill without this obligation; do I have the physical and inner resources to enlist in this demanding activity? If you say no to any one of these questions you are not ready for the devotion required. If you say yes to all three, you are ready to commit. Peter Drucker said, “Unless commitment is made, there are only promises and hopes; but no plans.”

We become what we are committed to…commitment does not leave us unchanged. James Womoack declares, “Commitment unlocks the doors of imagination, allows vision, and gives us the "right stuff" to turn our dreams into reality.” When dedicating yourself to something expect a level of opposition. Commitment in the face of conflict produces character. Tony Robbins says, Stay committed to your decisions, but remain flexible in your approach.”

Your loyalty to your goals will help you attain them. “It was character that got us out of bed, commitment that moved us into action and discipline that enabled us to follow through,” says Zig Ziglar. Be it marriage, the military, marketing, or ministry, desire is the key to motivation, but it is determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal - a commitment to excellence - that will enable you to attain the success you seek.

Procrastination

Do you say to yourself, “I will get around to it?” “One of these days I will get this done.” “I have to be in the mood for doing that.” If you answered yes to any of these statements, you struggle with procrastination.

It is the habitual putting off until a more comfortable or convenient time. Often this better time never arrives and key tasks never get accomplished. One man‘s poem stated, “Procrastination is my sin, it only brings me sorry, I think I will change, I will…tomorrow.” This habit also make liars of all of us; impoverished people of plenty of us; and slob of some of us.

Achievers do not wait for perfect conditions to tackle tough tasks. The schedule their success, set up plans, focus upon the rewards of accomplishment, and practice this daily. Achievers do daily what we do occasionally. They sometimes do not try to get it right...just get it going! In the words of the successful billion-dollar company, “Just do it!”

Get Off Your Blessed Assurance

We have preachers saved, love God, and the local Church but sit on their blessed assurance waiting for Jesus to return and watch others to do what needs to been done in the House of God. They cannot conceive the idea that Ephesians 6:11-17 directed them to “develop the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ…”  Get the rest of the post  by visiting http://thesecondscoach.com for a call to action.