AN ENEMY CALLED AVERAGE (NUGGETS 9 & 10)
NUGGET #9
SAFETY LAST!
For many years, according to Herbert Casson , “ Safety first” has been the motto of the human race… but it has never been the motto of leaders. A leader must face danger. He must take the risk and the blame and the brunt of the storm .”
If you want to be successful, you must either have a chance or take one. You can’t get your head above water if you never stick your neck out. A dream that does not include risk is not really worthy of being called a dream . Halifax said , “ The man who leaves no thing do chance will do, few things badly, but he will do few things.” If you’ll never take risks, you’ll never accomplish great things. Everybody dies, but not everyone has lived.
C.S. Lewis said , “ The safest road to hell is a gradual one the gentle slope, soft under foot, without sudden turnings, without milestones, with out sign posts.” Elizabeth Kenny reflected . “ It is better to be a lion for a day than a sheep all, your life.” If you dare for nothing, you need hope for nothing. If you don’t risk anything , you risk even more. John Newman wrote, “ Calculation never made a hero .”
Every person has a chance to improve himself, but some just don’t believe in taking chances. I agree with Lois Platford when she said , “ You have all eternity to be cautious, and then you’re dead .” Being destined for greatness requires you to take risks and confront great hazards. You’ll always miss 100 percent of the shots that you don’t take.
Stemmons once said ,” When your chances are slim and none… go with slim .” Morris West remarked , “ If you spend your whole life inside waiting for the storms, you’ll never enjoy the sunshine.” No one reaches the top without daring.
Listen to Conrad Hilton :encourage boldness because the danger of seniority and pension plans tempt a young man to settle in a rut named security rather than find his won rainbow .” Chuck eager advised , “ You don’t concentrate o n risk. You concentrate on results. No risk is too great to prevent the necessary job from getting done.” Whenever you see a successful person, I guarantee that person took risks and made courageous decision.
Success favours the bold. The world is a book in which those who do not take risks read only one page. David Mahoney said , “ Refuse to join the cautio us crowd that plays not to lose. Play tow in .” Metasta sis observed , “ Every noble acquisition is attended with its risk; he who fears to encounter the one must not expect to obtain the other.”
Listen to Tommy Barnett: “ Many people believe that you are really walking by faith when there is no risk, but the truth is the longer you walk with God … the greater the risk.” If you have found throughout life never scared, embarrassed, disappointed or hurt; it means you have never taken any chances.
David Viscot wrote, “ If your life is ever going to get better, you ‟ l have to take risks. There is simply no way you can grow without chances.” You have a chance to improve yourself. Just believe in taking chances.
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NUGGET #10
D O N ’T A SK T IM E W H E R E IT ’S G O N E; T E LL IT WHERE TO GO
All great achievers, all successful people, are those who have been able to control their time. All human beings have been created equal in one respect: each person has twenty-four hours each day.
We must give our best time to our most challenging situation. It’s how much we do that matters; it’s how much we get done. I remember my dad always telling me.” Don’t spend a dollar’s worth of time for ten cent’s worth of results. “ W e should choose to
watch our time, not our watch.
Make sure to take care of the vulnerable times in your day. These vulnerable times are the first thing in the morning and the last thing at night. I’ve heard a minister say that what a person is like alone at midnight and alone in the morning reveals that person’s true self.
These are the most potent times of the day, when productivity and idea generation are at their maximum. If you are saying , “ I could be doing big things if I weren’t so busy doing small things,” then you need to take control of the time. The greater control you exercise over your time, the greater freedom you will experience.
The psalmist prayed , “ So teach us to number our days, that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom ” (Psalm 90:12). The Bible teaches us that the devil comes to steal, to kill, and to destroy (John 10:10), and this verse applies to time as well as to people. I often hear people saying ; “ I’d give anything to be able to … ” If you have said this, you should adopt the” 6×1 = 6 ” leadership principle.
If you want to write a book, learn to play a musical instrument, become a better tennis player, or do anything else that’s important, then you should devote one hour a day, six days a week, to the project. Sooner than you think it will, what you desire will become reality. There are not many things that a person cannot accomplish in 313 hours a year! Just a commitment of one hour a day, six days a week, is all it takes.
We all have the same amount of time each day. The difference between people is determined by what they do with the amount of time at their disposal. Don’t be like the airline pilot flying over the Pacific Ocean who reported to his passengers, “ We’re lost, but we’re making great time!” Remember that the future arrives an hour at a time. Gain control of your time, and you will gain control of your life
JOHN MASON