Work on Your Success
In recent years, parents who had little before making a decent living spoiled their children, making few demands for household chores. Modern conveniences, including dish washers, packaged food, and no gardens, eliminated a lot of work in the kitchen and the yard.
The result has been a reduction in those who were used to working to earn their privileges. I am sure that you do not fall into that category and share my observations.
“It is hard to find good help!” That is a phrase that is repeated by most employers, per my acquaintances.
However, that makes more opportunities possible for those who are willing to work and have a good attitude on the job. That should be an incentive to work on your success!
Give Your Success a Purpose
Unless you make your efforts to succeed with a beneficial purpose, you will develop a selfish image in your mind and in your conversations. That outlook will not serve you well.
I do not want to downplay having goals to obtain wealth. Money will add to your feeling of security, if you do not flaunt your wealth. If you do, the unfortunate will be offended and seek to take your wealth from you.
There are good and there are evil intentions in this world. Do not ignore those opposing forces.
That is why I suggest you make some goals to do some good once you have achieved reasonable success. However, be regular about donations along the way. Blessings can come from being a blessing to others.
Will Your Lifestyle Be Selfish?
When you start to earn an above average income, you will be tempted to buy based on the payments you can make each month.
Notice I said “payments” and not “purchases”. Purchases imply that you paid for them. Buying on credit reveals that you have things that you have not paid for, yet.
Your lifestyle reveals your approach to paying for things you want. The concern comes from how you endanger your ability to provide for your needs. Loan payments can easily become enough to reduce available funds for housing, food, and transportation.
Buying used items, including vehicles, and a house that you can easily afford are practices of the rich. I have read two books that included studies of those who had accumulated wealth and the habits that made that possible. They are The Millionaire Next Door by Thomas J. Stanley and William D. Danko and Rich Habits, Poor Habits by Michael Yardney and Tom Corley.
Be Found Not Found Out
Be honest. Do things right and do the right things at work and at home. People pay attention to things like that.
Greed influences dishonesty, where benefits come from the losses of others. When you think, “No one will notice”, you are wrong. Eventually, someone will notice, and punishment of some sort is bound to follow. I have had to fire someone for stealing from the company. No jail time but lost income resulted just the same. I hope you never have to do that.
A Mission to Do Better
Improving your abilities can take time and interfere with your time with family and friends. However, with a good purpose, you can make that effort worthwhile. And that can lead to greater success in earning an income, thus you can be a blessing to those who were patient with you and your improvements.
One of your improvements must be in your ability to give value to your time, which includes being sensitive to the time that others may have for interaction with you.
That ability will help you succeed in most jobs. Learning to organize will be another ability that helps both at home and on the job.
Your mission must include an attitude that allows you to humbly seek improvement in your skills and knowledge every day to help you continue to do better.
A Mission to Be Better
When we think of ourselves as being better than others because we earn more or have more, then we endanger our ability to find success.
Becoming better includes becoming aware of why people have problems, make mistakes, and lose their way.
“But for the grace of God, there go I.” That is an often-quoted phrase, thought to have originated with the Reformer John Bradford in the 16th Century, as he observed criminals being marched to the gallows for execution.
The same could be said of observing those who made poor choices with alcohol, gambling, or other causes of financial and family losses. Bad habits can take you down a path of self-destruction.
Work on your daily choices. Always try to be better. And help with that mission by guarding your mind to only allow helpful information inside. Qualify what you hear and read. Do not accept everything without testing it for good or evil intentions.
That is why I consider reading Scripture a necessity. You need a tool to measure what is good and what will do harm. Such as in Romans 12:2 ESV — Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
A Mission to Help
I want you to succeed at all you do, including your ability to earn an income and your ability to use wisdom in managing what resources come your way.
Life can be hard. Family and friends can cause unwanted drama due to poor decisions and selfish actions. Emergencies can come which add stress to your life and cause delays to planned actions.
In Scripture, you are promised to not be given more than you can bear. When you are weighed down with concern, that may be hard to remember. You are limited in what you can do to affect others. God, however, is not limited in anything. Pray for help. Allow God to help.
Then, your mission to help will have a greater chance of resolving the problem and becoming a ministry.
Judge Not or Be Judged
Scripture says God will judge you the same way that you judge others. See Matthew 7:1 — Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce, you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.
Imagine what your life could be, and you will have a base for making goals for yourself. Of course, goals should be more than just wealth. What you do with wealth will say a lot about how you want to live and the value you give to other souls.
When you say souls instead of people, you can easily envision the crowd gathered at Judgement Day. How will you be judged?
My goal is to help you build a better mindset for money, which includes doing your best to increase your chances to experience wealth. However, it also means seeking help from a higher authority and being thankful when you can avoid devastating habits that have plagued many other souls.
Be faithful and read Scripture to help you understand the traps to avoid and habits to build upon.
Improve your skills to prepare for opportunities. Pray that you will be ready and be able to recognize them when they come.
Set some goals. Change them, as needed, when more information leads you in another direction. There is a lot to know and learn. Be persistent.
Be aware of others who are not inspired to do better with their lives. Help them see a better way, if they will listen. Otherwise, just show them by example.
A ministry is a way of life not just an event. Read and pray a lot to keep yourself aware of blessings and always be thankful, even the hard times have a lesson to learn.
Wisdom comes from experience. That will take time and evaluation of your experiences. Reinforce your observations with wisdom found in Scripture and other good sources.
Be careful to filter what goes into your mind, which will eventually show in your actions.
Work on your success. Give your success a purpose. Do better. Be better. Help others.
Make your success a ministry!