Monday, July 15, 2013

July 15, 2013 Focus Point

July 15, 2013
Focus Point

An Enemy Called Average

Have you ever noticed how easy it is to sit back, slow down, do just enough to get by? It is within human nature to desire to create, achieve, and make progress. But you have to stay on task because it is always easier to do less rather than more, to put off what you don't feel like doing until tomorrow, and to let someone else do what you should be doing, and so forth.

Many towns and cities in America have a street by the name of Easy Street, and the ones that I know of, go a few blocks and you guessed it, a Dead End. I believe in life when we take Easy Street, or take the easy way out we are headed for a dead end. It takes courage to rise above the norm, it takes persistence to go for the unpopular, it takes discipline to do what should be done, when it should be done even when you do not feel like it. It requires less thinking of yourself to pick up a piece of trash off the floor in someone else's work area. Any fish can swim down stream, but it takes effort to swim against the current. The enemy for many people is allowing procrastination, mediocrity, complacency, going with the flow, and being content with average, to take over and take control. Most people just live life, but the happy and successful people lead their life. John Mason said it well: "There is something within each of us crying out to be above average."

A man told a story about when he was a young boy, he came home to his mother with school grades that were less than what she knew he was capable. She said; "David, if you settle for mediocrity you are the top of the bottom and the bottom of the top. You can do better than this."

Every person wants to be happy and content in life, and interestingly enough it takes getting out of your comfort zone to make it happen. John Mason also wrote in his book An Enemy Called Average “Be the whole person you can be. Don’t settle for anything less. Don’t look back. Look forward and decide today to boldly take steps toward the very best plans for your life.”

My encouragement this week is to rise above average by doing what you should do, when you should do it.

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