Bytes of Wisdom

    Dave Kraft shared these lessons from his blog, Leadership from the Heart. It was written by a leader and addressed to leaders. However, as I was reading it, I realized that much of the wisdom that was being shared is applicable to everyone. Here are a few nuggets:

1. Tough Decisions Become Tougher

This is true as you get older and have more responsibilities. What do you need to stop doing or start doing? People are sometimes paralyzed to take take action because they are afraid to make big mistakes. Dave Kraft points out that one's destiny isn’t a mystery. Your destiny is determined by the cumulative decisions you make. What tough decision do you need to make? What are you waiting for? Start taking the little steps and you'll get there.

2. Negativity is cancer. Kill it or it will kill you.

Christians ought to be the most positive people in the world. We place our faith in God who is for us, graciously gives us all things, works all things for good, and whose love for us is everlasting and stronger than anything in this world (Romans 8:31-39). We rejoice in the Lord always and give thanks in all circumstances (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18). Negativity is not of faith but is a symptom of unbelief. Indeed it is a cancer that will kill you. So kill it.

3. No Margin = No Vision.

Dave Kraft warns, "If you don’t control your calendar, your calendar will control you." A doctor once said,

"We must have some room to breathe. We need freedom to think and permission to heal. Our relationships are being starved to death by velocity. No one has time to listen, let alone love. Our children lay wounded on the ground, run over by our high-speed good intentions. Is God now pro-exhaustion? Doesn't He lead people beside the still waters anymore?" - Dr. Richard Swenson

We need to put margin in our lives. In the end, being overloaded and overworked accomplishes nothing. If we make no room for reflection and rest, it kills our creativity.

4. Don’t just dream big. Think long.

Dave Kraft points out :

We tend to overestimate what we can accomplish in 2 years, but we underestimate what we can accomplish in ten years. Zoom out. Your mantra shouldn’t be “as soon as possible.” It should be “as long as it takes.” Your vision isn’t just too small. It’s too short.

5. Work like it depends on you. Pray like it depends on God.

Dave Kraft says it so well :

Failing to plan is planning to fail. So plan away. And loving God with all of your strength = a great work ethic. So work hard. But I believe in prayer-storming more than brainstorming. Prayer is the difference between you fighting for God and God fighting for you. If work is the engine of success, then prayer is the high-octane fuel.