I have long believed in the truth and wisdom contained in the Bible and that it can help us in everyday life. My book Ancient Wisdom for Modern Times attempted to distill some of the lessons of life that I have learnt from the ancient texts with application to modern life. Knowing of my interest in this area, Sir Steven Wilkinson, who writes the excellent Pitchfork Papers, alerted me to a book written by a friend of his friend, titled Ingredients for Success: 10 Best Practices for Business and Life by Joseph James Slawek. I have read the book this week (it is only 119 pages) and found it very valuable, so I thought I would share Mr Slawek’s best practices and encourage my readers to buy the book.
Boldy, yet compassionately, tell the truth. We must tell the truth in order to define reality and fight denial. Truth-telling is an essential practice for anyone at any level of any organization. As Jesus said: “You shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:28). Never skimp on the truth.
Plan ahead but be ready for surprises. We are responsible for planning and preparation and also for responding to surprises or crises. In planning, there are four fundamental principles:
a. Strategize in three key areas. It is important not to have too many areas of focus;
b. Follow the natural order. For example, start with customers, then how to get your product or service to them, and then the financial plan.
c. Set goals for three time periods: the next year, the next three years, then the next ten years.
d. Create a calendar. This should have the goals and specific plans for these periods.
Know, develop, and use your unique abilities. God assigns to each of us a certain amount of specific talents, gifts, resources, and abilities, along with unique personalities and the responsibility to use them. You need to make a frank assessment of your abilities and use them accordingly. You need to assess your strengths and work to develop them.
Use your talents responsibly, or you’ll lose them. We are entrusted with God’s resources in the form of our talents, skills, abilities, gifts, resources, etc. We have a responsibility to use them or lose them. Responsibility is an obligation. We are each to use our talents not just randomly or foolishly but responsibly.
Be ready for accounting. There is always an accounting—daily, weekly, monthly, and annually. Eventually, there will be a final accounting from God—an eternal audit of your life and what you did with your talents. You need to be ready for accounting, and keep your eyes on the figures.
Invest your talents faithfully for maximum return. We will all get the same reward from our master if we use our respective talents properly. He will say, “Well done – good and faithful servant”. It is crucial to establish and nurture a high-performance work environment. This involves providing feedback and expressing “well done” when excellence has been achieved. It is important never to provide the reward before an accounting of the outcome. In other words, don’t reward based on intentions but rather results.
Aim for excellence, not perfection. There are only four outcomes at home or work: failure, mediocrity, excellence or perfection. Excellence is our target because it requires and motivates us to get better. Excellence will never happen unless we see our talents as a wonderful gift from God, not an impossible assignment. We need to believe and embrace the truth that God has gifted us so we can work diligently to create excellence in our craft.
Be strong and courageous. Fear, though a normal part of life, can cause us to bury our talents. Fear and perfectionism both create procrastination. The most common form of fear is fear of failure. Fear can lead to paralysis, but the best way to fight it is through the pursuit of excellence. Fear can lead to procrastination, and a good tool to avoid procrastination is having a “stop time” for a project, i.e. a specific time to stop working on a project because it is unproductive. Fear is normal. We can choose whether it will motivate us to be courageous, or we can let it paralyze us.
Redistribute unused talents and resources. Unused gifts, resources, and talents are always recycled to someone who will use them faithfully. When we don’t use our gifts, they’ll be given to someone else. This is the simple principle of “use it or lose it”. It’s about being good at what you do and faithful enough to be trusted with the task.
Express gratitude to God and others. Gratitude is our first priority, and it precedes all rewards. It is essential to have an attitude of gratitude for the day-to-day things: food, a job, accommodation and clothing. St. Paul wrote to the Thessalonians: “In everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you” (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
Also on this podcast are recent reports related to: Riots in the UK, the new NZ Health Pandemic Plan, Trump’s appeal, COVID vaccine negative efficacy (the vaccines make you more likely to have negative effects from COVID, the UN Pact for the Future, and the strategic importance of Turkey.
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