The Substitute For Hard Work

There isn’t one.  Sorry.  I’m the same way.  I want to figure out some principle or shortcut to skip some of the hard work that’s necessary to be who I’d like to be.  This is true in my marriage, my relationships with my kids, my career, physical fitness and everything else that I’ll ever aspire to be great in.  

If you’re reading this and you’re thinking, “Well, yeah.  Of course.  Everyone knows this. Why even write about it?”, you’re forgetting that you struggle with this too.  I’m writing this to remind you that the struggle is worth the pain.  The hard work you’re putting in now will pay off for you later, both in ways you might expect and ways you've never imagined.  

It doesn't get easier, you just get stronger.  Keep up the good (hard) work. 

Why Did You Come Here?

I was leaving the gym one day and I saw this shirt. "I didn't come here to lose". What really caught my eye was not so much the shirt, but the combination of the shirt and the man wearing it. This guy must have been 80 years old (at least) and may have weighed in at a stout 120lbs. Not exactly the physical specimen we imagine dominating sports. Not exactly the kind of guy you would expect to "not come here to lose".

But, here's the thing.  Whatever we do is won or lost in the mind long before we take the field, have the meeting, try and spread the message or just punch the clock.

Why did you come here? Whatever you're doing, have you come to just exist (which is to lose, by the way) or did you come to win? Whether you're 80 years old, in the prime of your physical life or somewhere in between, please don't come to lose. Come to win!

Colossians 3:23 - Work hard and cheerfully at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. - NLT