Do You Want To Change Your World?

Jobs (left) and Sculley circa 1985

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."1

Some years ago when Apple Computer fell on hard times, Apple's co-founder and chairman, Steven Jobs, went from California to New York City. "His purpose was to convince PepsiCo's John Sculley to move west and run his struggling company. As the two men overlooked the Manhattan skyline from Sculley's penthouse office, the Pepsi executive started to decline Jobs's offer. 'Financially,' Sculley said, 'you'd have to give me a million-dollar salary, a million-dollar bonus, and a million-dollar severance.' Flabbergasted, Jobs gulped and agreed—if Sculley would move to California. But Sculley would commit only to being a consultant from New York.

"At that, Jobs issued a challenge to Sculley, 'Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling sugared water, or do you want to change the world?' In his autobiography,Oddesy, Sculley admits Jobs's challenge 'knocked the wind out of me.' He said he'd become so caught up in his future at Pepsi, his pension, and whether his family could adapt to life in California that an opportunity to 'change the world' nearly passed him by. Instead, he put his life in perspective and went to Apple."2

Let me ask you a question, "Do you want to spend the rest of your life selling "sugared water"—or doing what you are doing today for the rest of your life? Or do you want to help change at least your world?" There's nothing wrong with selling sugared water … or doing a million other things; but there's nothing earth-changing about many of these undertakings either. The question is, "Is what you are doing making a difference in someone's life—or that of many lives—and that for eternity? Do you want to join hands with Jesus Christ and help make an impact on your world? If your answer is yes, he may call you to be a prayer intercessor, to give sacrificially, to change your profession, or he may call you to leave your comfort zone to go out into the world of Christian service.

Whatever you choose to invest your life in, be sure that what you are doing is investing in people's lives for all eternity, and in so doing, storing treasure in heaven.

Suggested prayer: "Dear God, thank you for the tremendous opportunity to serve you while here on earth. Please help me to see what is the best way for me to do this so my life is invested in eternal values—and so I am storing treasure in heaven. Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus' name, amen." 

Dick Innes

1. Matthew 6:19-21 (NIV).
2. Leadership, Spring, 1991, Vol. XXII, No. 2, p. 44.

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The Thread of a Dream

When I was researching the history of the building of the Brooklyn Bridge as a major illustration for the ideas of success and motivation, I became engrossed with the story of how the first bridge was built over the Niagara River near Niagara Falls. You see, to build a bridge over a giant gorge, first you have to get a line over the canyon, from one side to the other. Easier said than done at Niagara Falls.

The engineers couldn’t cross the river in a boat to take the line from one side to the other because the boat would go over the falls. And the airplane hadn’t been invented yet. The distance was also way beyond the bow-and-arrow range, which had been a common method at the time of getting the first line across to build a bridge.

The designing engineer, Charles Ellet, pondered the question until he came up with a revolutionary idea. He decided that, while solving the problem, he would also have some fun and generate some publicity for the project. Ellet sponsored a kite flying contest and offered five dollars to the first person who could fly a kite across the gorge and let it go low enough to the ground for someone to be able to grab the string. In 1849, five dollars was a prize similar to a small lottery today. The boy who won the prize relished his accomplishment until his death, nearly 80 years later.

It all began with an idea and one thin kite string. The kite string was used to pull a cord across, then a line, then a rope. Next came an iron-wire cable and then steel cables, until a structure strong enough to build a suspension bridge was in place.

I’m struck by how that string is like a single thought. The more vivid and clear the thought, and the more you come back to it, the stronger it becomes—like the string to the rope to a cable. Each time you rethink it, dwell on it, or layer it with other thoughts, you are strengthening the structure on which to build your idea, like building a bridge over Niagara Falls. But unlike a kite, there is no string attached to how high and how far your goals may take you. They are limited only by the power of your imagination and the strength of your desire.

Denis Waitley

Remember The Alamo

Remember The Alamo!

I like Texas and Texans. In Texas, everything is bigger. When Texans win, they win big. And when they lose, it's spectacular.

If you really want to learn the attitude of how to handle risk, losing and failure, go to San Antonio and visit the Alamo. 

The Alamo is a great story of brave people who chose to fight, knowing there was no hope of success against overwhelming odds. They chose to die instead of surrendering. It's an inspiring story worthy of study; nonetheless, it's still a tragic military defeat. They got their butts kicked. A failure if you will. They lost. So how do Texans handle failure? They still shout, "Remember the Alamo!"

That's why I like Texans so much. They took a great failure and turned it into a tourist destination that makes them millions.

Texans don't bury their failures. They get inspired by them. They take their failures and turn them into rallying cries. Failure inspires Texans to become winners. But that formula is not just the formula for Texans. It is formula for all winners.

― Robert Kiyosaki, Rich Dad, Poor Dad: What the Rich Teach Their Children About Money That the Poor and Middle Class Don't

Nitty-Gritty Reasons by Jim Rohn

Nitty-Gritty Reasons 

by Jim Rohn

Wouldn't it be wonderful to be motivated to achievement by such a lofty goal as benevolence? I must confess, however, that in the early years of my struggle to succeed, my motivation was a lot more down to earth. My reason for succeeding was more basic. In fact, it fell into the category of what I like to call "nitty-gritty reasons." A nitty-gritty reason is the kind that any one of us can have—at any time, on any day—and it can cause our lives to change. Let me tell you what happened to me.

Shortly before I met Mr. Shoaff, I was lounging at home one day when I heard a knock at the door. It was a timid, hesitant knock. When I opened the door I looked down to see a pair of big brown eyes staring up at me. There stood a frail little girl of about 10. She told me, with all the courage and determination her little heart could muster, that she was selling Girl Scout cookies. It was a masterful presentation—several flavors, a special deal, and only two dollars per box. How could anyone refuse? Finally, with a big smile and ever so politely, she asked me to buy. And I wanted to. Oh, how I wanted to!   

Except for one thing. I didn't have two dollars! Boy, was I embarrassed! Here I was—a father, had been to college, was gainfully employed—and yet I didn't have two dollars to my name.

Naturally I couldn't tell this to the little girl with the big brown eyes. So I did the next best thing. I lied to her. I said, "Thanks, but I've already bought Girl Scout cookies this year. And I've still got plenty stacked in the house."

Now that simply wasn't true. But it was the only thing I could think of to get me off the hook. And it did. The little girl said, "That's okay, sir. Thank you very much." And with that she turned around and went on her way.

I stared after her for what seemed a very long time. Finally, I closed the door behind me and, leaning my back to it, cried out, "I don't want to live like this anymore. I've had it with being broke, and I've had it with lying. I'll never be embarrassed again by not having any money in my pocket." That day I promised myself to earn enough to always have several hundred dollars in my pocket at all times.

This is what I mean by a nitty-gritty reason. It may not win me any prize for greatness, but it was enough to have a permanent effect on the rest of my life.

My Girl-Scout-cookie story does have a happy ending. Several years later, as I was walking out of my bank where I had just made a hefty deposit and was crossing the street to get into my car, I saw two little girls who were selling candy for some girls' organization. One of them approached me, saying, "Mister, would you like to buy some candy?"

"I probably would," I said playfully. "What kind of candy do you have?" "It's almond roca." "Almond roca. That's my favorite. How much is it?" "It's only two dollars." Two dollars. It couldn't be! I was excited. "How many boxes of candy have you got?" "I've got five."

Looking at her friend, I said, "And how many boxes do you have left?"

"I've got four." "That's nine. Okay, I'll take them all."

At this, both girls' mouths fell open as they exclaimed in unison, "Really?"

"Sure," I said. "I've got some friends that I'll pass some around to."

Excitedly, they scurried to stack all the boxes together. I reached into my pocket and gave them eighteen dollars. As I was about to leave, the boxes tucked under my arm, one of the girls looked up and said, "Mister, you're really something!" How about that! Can you imagine spending only eighteen dollars and having someone look you in the face and say, "You're really something!"

Now you know why I always carry a few hundred dollars on me. I'm not about to miss chances like that ever again.

And to think it all resulted from my own embarrassment, which when properly channeled, acted as a powerful motivator to help me achieve.

How about you? What nitty-gritty reasons do you have waiting to challenge and provoke you into change for the better? Look for them, they are there. Sometimes it can be as simple as a brown-eyed girl selling Girl Scout cookies.

The Mountain Has No Defence

The mountain has no defence of its own. All may climb it if they dare. However brave the climbers, they will never climb when the weather is really bad. 

The rain, snow, ice and wind are unpredictable. 

It's not the stable things but the unstable things that can throw you a curve ball in life. 

Climb your mountain but keep an eye on the unpredictable weather. 

Rev Albert Kang

The Funeral of An Enemy

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me." ^{(Philippians 4:13)}

Some time ago, a teacher in Decatur, Georgia, taught her fourth-grade students an invaluable lesson by conducting a funeral. She enthused her class because the funeral was to be conducted for an enemy—the "I can't" enemy.

"Each child was encouraged to list their 'I Can'ts': 'I can't do math.' 'I can't make any friends.' 'I can't hit a home run in softball.' 'I can't give a book report in front of the class,'" and so on.

When the teacher collected all the "I can't" lists, she put them in a box and took them with the class outside where they took turns in digging a grave. In her eulogy she said, "We have provided 'I Can't' with a final resting place and a headstone that contains his epitaph. He is survived by his brothers and sisters, 'I Can,' 'I Will,' and 'I'm Going to Right Away.' May 'I Can't' rest in peace and may everyone present pick up their lives and move forward in his absence."