You can change your job by changing you!

An inheritance gained hastily in the beginning will not be blessed in the end. (Proverbs 20:21 ESV)

Many people say, “If I just won the lottery…all would be OK.”  This seldom turns out to be the case. God has built in to the universe the need for man to labor and produce from his efforts.

There is honor in work and one can walk with integrity for a good day’s labor.

Jim Rohn says it well. “If you want to be paid more, you must become worth more. “

How?

Clue…it does not come from spending endless mindless hours in front of a TV.

Learn not only to labor but to increase your skills as you do so. Labor + skills= increased worth in the marketplace.

You can chop down a tree with a hammer, if you have enough time.

You can chop it down with an ax in shorter time. With a chain saw in a few minutes.

Your job and pay will improve when you improve.

Start today.

Use Good Sense

Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense. (Proverbs 19:11 ESV)

As I blogged recently, a simple daily wisdom search in Proverbs can go a long ways.

If people would have the maturity and perspective to have “good sense” as described above, we would see less tension in the home here would be no drive by shooting and no people up in arms ready to do violence because they had been “disrespected”.

Thankfully, Jesus came and took the form of a servant and made himself the lowest level of society so He could reach everyone.  He could have been offended easily and every day. But, He knew and still knows the hearts of men. We are selfish and self-centered when left to ourselves.  We need a savior and redeemer.

He knows we do not need instruction but redemption and transformation.  He gave His life to redeem us from the curse and consequences of sin.  His spirit comes to live in us to grow us into the image of Jesus.

Those who read this today…be careful.  Surely something will come up where you have to put this into practice.  Be of good sense.

Use it or Lose It

Proverbs 18:15 “An intelligent heart acquires knowledge, and the ear of the wise seeks knowledge.”
Jim Rohm said many things well in his four decades of being a personal development speaker. One of thing that sticks out is his saying,”Formal education will get you a job…self education will make you a fortune”.
I believe Jim was paraphrasing the above Proverb.
Many of the most successful people in business made their fortune BEYOND what they learned in the classroom.
Steve Jobs with Apple…Bill Gates with Microsoft…Michael Dell…Sam Walton.
One of the saddest decision people make when they complete their formal education, whether it be high school, college or an advanced degree, is to believe they are done with the learning process.
With us living in the digital and information age, many tend to grow less mentally stimulated by endless hours in being entertained.
W. Clement Stone once challenged one of the people he mentored to give up an hour of TV per night to study something in depth. That works out to 365 hours in a year…the equivalent of 9 work weeks! Most of us could enrich our lives and those around us by making this simple commitment.
One of the best ways a family can grow in wisdom and knowledge is to use the book of Proverbs for a daily Wisdom Search. Read the chapter that corresponds to that date, today being the 18^th, and make note of these incredible collection of wisdom nuggets.
What can you learn in this book?
God’s wisdom on relationship…communications…partnership…diligence…hard work…industry…choosing friends and much more.
Note this…education is not a matter of the will, the mind or just a formal system. It is a matter of the heart. When students go to school we should pray that their HEART is set to acquire knowledge. Not to just sit and absorb, buy to acquire it and take possession and put it into practice.
Charles “Tremendous” Jones said it well.
“You will be the same in five years in you are today except for the people you meet and the books you read.”
Simply put…use it or lose it.