Both of These Are a Problem

Hey team. I do not know how many of you guys have ever heard of Zig Ziggler. He is kind of a big-time guy years ago who wrote a number of books. He used to speak around the country on leadership and other things, and a lot of people would go and listen to him. I have read a few of his books, and one of the things he says is this.

He says most of the problems in life are because of two reasons. We act without thinking, or we keep thinking without acting. And I have been guilty of both. I have just run off without thinking and started trying to do something, and not realized that I did not adequately think or prepare myself or the team, or people I was working with, to prepare for the event that we were doing or whatever the goal was.

And then on other times, I have either been gunshy, or I have been not prepared to make the decision, and I kept waiting and waiting and waiting. Sometimes, for me, that is more about being gunshy. Those of you who do not understand that term. It is kind of like when a dog, we used to hunt with dogs when I was a kid, and go bird dog hunting, and a bird dog, if it is gunshy, it will not point because it is afraid of the sound of the gun, and that dog will not hunt, and so it is kind of useless. Meaning it never executes.

And I have been in that kind of situation where maybe I have made a mistake. I have done something, and the loudness, so to speak, of the situation before made me feel a little gunshy about jumping back in with both feet and trying to do something new or trying to do something different.

Or maybe it felt the same. And that is why I was maybe thinking this is going to end up like the last time type of thing. And both can be a problem. You can think without acting, and you can also act without thinking. And it is important to recognize that both are bad. If you think too much and never act or if you act too quickly and never think about the results or the problems that might ensue.

I like the way John Maxwell also puts it, especially in leadership. For the individual that thinks they are a leader and thinks they are out trudging and going ahead. If you do not look behind you and find out if you even have any followers, then you are not really a leader.

You are just out on a walk by yourself. And I have been in that situation too, where I have been thinking I am running ahead of everybody and not realizing that I have left everyone behind, and they just stop following, and that can be problematic.

So as you go through the rest of your week and as we approach the next year, think for yourself. Spend a little time thinking.

Definitely plan your next year. Think about things you want to do, things you want to accomplish. Write some of them down. I am not just talking about New Year’s resolutions. I am talking about budgeting your time and thinking through what do I want to accomplish in the next quarter, in the next year. What do I want to do? And then start setting yourself some milestones to accomplish those things.

Find yourself three or four or five books that you would like to read in the next year that are going to enhance and grow you, and then start mapping out how I am going to read a chapter a day, 10 pages a day, whatever it is, and watch that become something. Start journaling, maybe writing some things down, taking some notes.

Think about taking a class. I am taking a class right now, not in school, but I am taking a leadership course, and I will be going through that until March. And so I am doing those kinds of things. I am also thinking about teaching a financial class both here at work and at my church.

And so I am mapping out and thinking about how I am going to accomplish those things. So plan your route, plan your thinking. Do not act without thinking, but do not think so much that you forget to act.

And remember, Christmas is just around the corner. So God bless you guys. I will talk to you next week. See you.