5 Steps to Success

At 56 years of age here’s where I’m at now and I imagine many of you are with me….I don’t need to be wowed by big ideas anymore.  I just want simple concrete things that I can learn and incorporate into my life to make me a better person.  I found some of those simple little nuggets of Biblical wisdom in 1Timothy 4:6-16.  I have tons of notes written in my Bible from sermons, conferences, seminars, Sunday School lessons, etc.  If I knew where these notes came from, I’d be more than happy to give credit for its authorship, but all I had in my Bible were these notes about the 5 Steps to Success. Read on and be encouraged friends!  If you want to be successful, incorporate these five steps with fidelity.

• Right Direction – Think about your life right now.  Is the direction you are heading going to get you where you should or want to go?  If not, make a course correction.  Get some more education; look for a different job but don’t settle for less that God’s best! 
• Right Diet – You have to find balance in your diet.  Feed your physical, spiritual and emotional body the right nutrients.  If all three parts of you are healthy, then you’ll have taken a huge step toward success.
• Right Discipline – This is the noun, not the verb form of discipline.  Train yourself to act in accordance with the rules.  Engage in the activities, exercise and regime that will develop the skills needed to succeed.  Just as you feed on the right diet, the right discipline dictates that you stay away from these success killers: fatigue, griping and grumbling, gossip, anger,  bitterness, and lack of self-control.
• Right Desire – Here’s the question; why do you do what you do?  Spend some time and write a personal and professional mission statement on that big question. 
•  Right Determination – Pay close attention to details; keep the main thing, the main thing.  In your life and profession, what is the main focus?  Figure it out and don’t forget it!        

The Only People Who Like Change are Wet Babies!

It was Friday evening, on my way home I received a call from my sweet wife Pam.  I always call her when I start my 40 minute commute from Killeen to Temple each evening.  This time she called and told me that she was cooking a very special dinner for us.  Wow, was I ever excited.  Pam is an awesome cook; one can just take a look at my 250 pound frame and see the results of her feeding me for the past 32 years!  The anticipation of a culinary masterpiece kept my attention all the way home.  I know what you’re thinking now; what in the world does this have to do with change and wet babies?  Read on friend.

When I walked in the house, the smell from the kitchen was intoxicating!  Pam was making Shrimp Creole!  AAAEEEE (that’s for my Cajun friends!)  What an amazing supper!  We had a great time sitting in our lovely dining room, just her and I sharing a great meal and wonderful conversation.  Now, what if I came home each Friday evening and Pam served me the same Shrimp Creole meal?  No changes, no substitutions, just the same meal every Friday night for months.  At first, it would be amazing, but after a few weeks, I might be wanting something different.  Ya think?  After a while I would want a CHANGE!  Change is good, it is exciting, it is necessary.  Without change, every organization will suffer and die!  A couple of years ago, Bob Burroughs wrote about change in the church; focusing especially on our Sunday worship experience. I based what he wrote about change in the church and expanded it to any organization of which we are a part.  Our families need change; our businesses need change, our communities and certainly our country needs change.   Many thanks to Bob and his keen insight on change and it’s importance.  Read on friends.

Transfer my meal word picture to your organization.  Whether it be your church, your business, your community or your family, change is necessary because it is the precursor to growth.  Change is difficult and sometimes it hurts but it is necessry for growth.  What if the people in your organization came to work every day with the same format, same surroundings, same job expectations; are they not experiencing the Friday night menu of sameness?

Change has become a word that is not welcomed in our churches, families and organizations.  Not many are willing to rock the boat!  When things are going well, we get comfortable; We are moving along and everyone is with us; then things start to get stale because nothing changes.  When Pam moved into our new home (built in 1926) last January, she went to work right away getting furniture arranged, accessories in the right place, etc.  You know what happened; we had to make changes!  It’s 11 months later and we’re on our fourth bedroom arrangement, thrid dining room arrangement and third living room arrangement.  I’m writing this from my man cave that has been rearranged at least three times.  Change is good!  When things are running smooth; when everyone is on board; when the opposition is kept at bay, why change?  Whether your organization is successful or floundering, here’s six reasons to change the way you do business.

1.  Change can stimulate the experiences of your people.  New ways of doing things, new work surroundings, new and expanded job opportunities can and will stimulate the creativity of your people.

2.  Change can bring your people to new insights, challenges, and thoughts.  Is your organization, family, church, community caught in a rut?  A rut is just a grave with both ends knocked out!  Staying in the rut will keep you from new opportunities and will only succeed in deepending the rut!  Make some changes and get out of the rut!

3.  Change can move your people to see things differently.    I work for a really large organization with 6,000 employees.  It’s a very large ship and change is difficult to make in large organizations.  When this ship changes course, it takes a while and creates a very large wake in its path.  However, it can and is being done.  Change is a function of leadership.  Whether your organization has 6 or 6,000 people, change moves people to new heights!

4.  Change can cause your people to think in new ways.  This result of change is especially needed in our churches today.  I love our traditions and our music, but without change, the church can die.  God’s church should always be looking for new ways to bring the gospel to our world!  The gospel has not and will not change, but our methods of communicating the gospel must change because culture changes.  With the advent of computers, email, the world wide web, we now have the opportunity of communicating the gospel of Jesus Christ with people around world in milliseconds.  We could not do that a generation ago!  We now have the technology, the resources and the creativity to reach the entire world with the gospel.  Change things in your organization and people’s creative juices will begin to flow.

5.  Change does not have to be dramatic.  Small changes can have a huge impact.  When Pam and I changed our bedroom arrangement for the fourth time, it was really just a few small changes but it’s impact on how we viewed our living space was huge.  This week, make some changes in your work place.  Here’s a thought; paint some walls, rearrange some furniture, put some different art on the walls, clean the bathroom!  You’ll be surprised at how small changes can have a huge impact.

6.  Change does have to be well planned.  Changes that are spontaneous sometimes can backfire.  Moving people from current job responsibilites without planned notice can and will have the opposite effect you want.  Most people DON’T like change.  Like the title says, “The only people who like change are wet babies!”   Even those who resist change the most, will buy in if the change is well planned.  In my first principalship, I made some personnel changes that were not well planned and it backfired.  Had those changes been well planned and thoroughly communicated, the result would have been much different.  To have full buy-in on changes, get all your stakeholders in on the change process.  Decisions on change made in behind closed doors are certain to fail.  Plan the changes well and you’ll see great things. 

So my friends, when considering your Friday night menu, let’s not eat Shrimp Creole every time.  Let’s consider making some creative, necessary changes and watch all the good things that can and will happen!

Be encouraged my friends,

Randy