Sam Parker writes: ‘When you decide to cross the line that separates failure from success, you’ll discover that not everyone will applaud your choice. Nor will everything go your way. There are those who have decided they would rather not cross the line and would prefer you didn’t either. And unfortunately, sometimes those people might be your friends. Maybe they will sprinkle a little doubt or withhold a little encouragement at just the right time (or even encourage you to do the wrong thing). Maybe they will be a little less subtle about it and just step directly in your way. And then, every once in a while, there will be you – that inner voice that’s trying to tell you you’re not that special and that making something exceptional happen is for other people. Then there will be the work – hard work. Good things are rarely easy, or cheap. Real effort and attention are the fundamentals behind everything. There are no quick fixes. There are no silver bullets. You have to earn your results and push yourself more often than not. You must also focus. That means eliminate distractions, and minimise your exposure to negative people, thoughts, and things that don’t serve the intent you have to succeed. Time moves quickly, and you can’t get it back. So, take good care of it. And learn to bounce back. Built into every mistake is increased knowledge and understanding.’ Paul put it this way: ‘One thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press towards the goal’ (vv. 13-14 NKJV).

© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.