While we are alive, do we want to be a positive role model for our family?  And do we want to leave a positive, eternal legacy? If so, we need to live our life with the end in mind.

Remember these eight facts:

1. Life on earth is short. (James 4:14).
2. Earth is not our home.(1 Chronicles 29:15) (Philippians 3:20).
3. We are going to die (Hebrews 9:27).
4. After we die, we face judgment (Hebrews 9:27).
5. We will appear before God to give an account of our life and receive payment for what we have done (Romans 14:12) (Matthew 16:27) (2 Corinthians 5:10).
6. We will either be with God or separated from Him for eternity (1 John 5:11-13)
7. After we die, nothing material leaves earth with us. (1 Timothy 6:7).
8. When we are in heaven, the “eternals” who will be with us are God, Jesus, The Holy Spirit, Angels, and people.

Keeping these eight facts in mind, if we want to be a positive role model for our family, and if we want to leave a positive, eternal legacy, then we need to live life backwards. In other words, we need to live life with the end in mind. And how do we do that?

We need to write down what we want the following people to say at our funeral: spouse, children, grandchildren, siblings, extended family, friends, employers, coworkers, and our pastor or priest.

Knowing that we will appear before God, we also need to write down what we want Him to say about us? And what we want Jesus and The Holy Spirit to say about us?

Then, we need to live that way.

Emails

What usually happens when you receive an email?

• You interrupt what you are doing and read it.
• Maybe you can set aside specific times during the day to read and handle your emails.
• Maybe you can tell people that the best time to reach you by email is between say 11:30 a.m. and 12 Noon.
• You may want to simply reply that you received the email and that you will get back to them at a specific date and time.
• And depending on your assignment or task, you may want to turn off your email alert for an hour.

What is your plan to handle emails?

Experts agree that you should manage your emails by acting on the 4 D’s. 

1. Do it.—Take the specific action now. Then file it.
2. Defer it.—File it in a reminder folder that you can easily find and set a start date and time on your calendar.
3. Delegate it.—Assign the work for someone else to do. But keep track of who you assigned it to, set a date and time for a progress check, and set a completion date and time.
4. Delete—Toss it. Don’t clog your inbox.

Document Management

The same 4 principles that apply to how you handle emails also apply to how you handle any document.

• You need to read the document one time and then either do it (take action and file it), defer it, delegate it, or delete it.
• You can’t afford to clog the inboxes on your computer or clog your desk with stacks of documents.
• Before you file and save the document to a work site location on your computer, or before you drag and drop it into an electronic folder, make sure that you profile it accurately so you can retrieve it quickly.
• A little extra time on the front-end preparing properly worded profiles for all of your documents will save you time searching for them on the back end.

Interruptions

Why is it important to manage interruptions such as office-phone calls, cell-phone calls, text messages, tweets, and unexpected drop-in visits?

• Interruptions break your focus and stop your thought process.
• Interruptions cause you to spend extra time to re-engage your thought process before you can resume working.

Nevertheless, you will encounter interruptions over which you have no control. So here is a tip on how to lessen the effect of an interruption.

• If you are interrupted while working on a task, you should take a few seconds and jot down the last thing that you were thinking about, and what your next step will be.
• Then after you deal with the interruption, you will spend less time re-engaging your thought process.
• Regarding an unexpected drop-in from someone other than say your boss, you may want to say something like: “I really want to visit with you, but I need to finish this assignment. What would be the best time after lunch for me to come to your office?”

Phone Interruptions

• Regarding unexpected phone calls, you may politely say, “Your call is very important to me, and I am just finishing a project, can I call you back in X minutes?”
• On your phone greeting, you could for example leave a voice message that you will return calls between 1:30 and 2.

Schedule work-time on your weekly calendar

• If you want to become more focused and productive, you need to schedule your time.
• After entering your assignments and due dates on your computer/IPhone , you need to block out specific days and times during the day to work on the assigned tasks.
• When are you more productive—in the morning or afternoon?
• For the most difficult tasks, block out time when you are more productive.
• When you schedule your time, you should consider Parkinson’s law that states, work expands to fill the time available for its completion. For example, if you give yourself 2 days to complete a 2 hour project, the natural tendency is to rationalize that the project is more complex and requires the two days.
• Consequently, when you set a time deadline to complete a task, you may want to experiment by setting a shorter one to determine whether you can finish your task faster without reducing the quality of your work product.

 Work time

• You should stay focused on one task for 30-40 minutes followed by a 5 minute break to rest and recharge your brain.
• Then you should continue working on the task for 30-40 minutes followed by another 5 minute break until you are finished.

Relax time

• During the week, you need to schedule some time to relax and do what you enjoy so that you will have more energy when you are working.

Outside Commitments

• You need to calendar your outside commitments.
• Do you have too many commitments outside the office?
• Do you need to cut one or more of them?
• And maybe you will decide to cut one commitment and replace it with another.
• For example, on a Saturday morning, you may decide to do something with your spouse or play with your kids or grandkids instead of golfing or shopping.

Plan for the unexpected

• You should always leave some margin on your calendars.
• Therefore, never over schedule your day by filling up every space on your weekly and monthly calendars.
• Otherwise, you will not have time to handle the little unexpected surprises.

Thinking time

• You should schedule some “thinking time” on your weekly calendars so you can take time to think about strategy and other big-picture items.

Be Flexible

• If an emergency arises or things don’t go as planned, you need to be flexible and re-arrange the time that you had previously scheduled to work on an assignment.

Last month, I provided one example of how wisdom helped me in my personal life. This month, I provide one example of how wisdom helped me in my business life.

Business Life

After spending countless hours trying to land a big client, I encountered many problems. In the end, there were just too many problems to overcome, and I lost the perspective client.

Before I became a believer, setbacks like this would have discouraged me and shut me down for weeks. But as a believer, I prayed for help and asked God for wisdom on how to handle the situation. He brought to remembrance Romans 8:26 that tells us that we do not know how to pray as we should but the Holy Spirit intervenes for us.

Therefore, I asked the Holy to intervene for me in prayer. He did. And as a result, I remembered Isaiah 41:10 that helped me deal with my discouragement.

Specifically, Isaiah 41:10 says,

“fear not, for I am with you, be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my victorious right hand,”

I asked God to help me (which I frequently do throughout the day) and as a result, I suddenly remembered two of God’s promises.

First, God promises that he is still working for my good. (Romans 8:28).

Second, God promises that he has a plan for my welfare, my future, and to give me hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)

As a result of focusing on and believing in these two promises, I was able to get back on my feet quickly so I could return to performing well.

And as a bonus, a friend brought Proverbs 3:13-18 ESV to my attention that says,

13 Blessed is the one who finds wisdom,
and the one who gets understanding,
14 for the gain from her is better than gain from silver
and her profit better than gold.
15 She is more precious than jewels,
and nothing you desire can compare with her.
16 Long life is in her right hand;
in her left hand are riches and honor.
17 Her ways are ways of pleasantness,
and all her paths are peace.
18 She is a tree of life to those who lay hold of her;
those who hold her fast are called blessed.

As you may know, I wrote a blog on wisdom in January 2021. Recently, I re-read Proverbs 16:16, where God’s Word tells us that wisdom is more important than getting gold. Therefore, I want to provide some additional information on the topic of wisdom.

First, what is the difference between knowledge and wisdom? Some of my family members have a license to carry a firearm. Knowledge is how to use the firearm. And wisdom is when to use it and when to keep it holstered.

Wisdom can help us in our personal life and in our business life. This month, I will give you one example how wisdom helped me in my personal life. And next month, I will give an example how wisdom helped me in my business life.

Personal life

I wrote a book titled Created For Greatness, Living Your Best Life Through God’s Word.

After completing my research, I vividly remember trying to write my first chapter on Finding Lasting Happiness/Joy.

Before I started to write, I prayed for wisdom on what to say, how to say it, and in what order. But I still drew a blank. To say that I was discouraged would be an understatement.

Then I remembered a verse that my wise mentor told me about. Romans 8:26 says,

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness, for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with sighs too deep for words”

Therefore, before I went to bed, I asked the Holy Spirit to intercede for me with God. The Holy Spirit knew exactly what help I needed to write this first chapter and knew how to ask for it from God.

When I woke up the next morning, I had clarity of thought. And ideas started popping into my head one after another.  I thought to myself that The Holy Spirit must have spent a long night with God!

Application

As our children were growing up, I told them that when they read, listened to, or watched something meaningful, they should ask themselves three questions:

1.    What is the point?

2.    What are the benefits?  and

3.    How can I apply the point to my life?

So when you read each chapter in the book of Proverbs that was written so that we may have wisdom (Proverbs 1:1,2), you can ask yourself these three questions.

Also, you can read one Proverb each day and ask yourself what is the one thing that I learned that will help me obtain and apply God’s wisdom to my daily living?

Last month, we discussed Commandments one through four that deal with our relationship with God. This month, we will discuss Commandments five through ten that deal with our relationship with each other.

Commandments Five through Ten:

5. Honor your Father and Mother, that your days may be long in the land which the Lord your God gives you.

This commandment contains a promise. If you honor your father and mother, you will live longer. If your parents are still alive, do you see them and talk with them on a regular basis? Do you seek ways to help them emotionally and spiritually?

6. You shall not kill.

This commandment safeguards life. It also applies for example to killing another person’s reputation with gossip or killing a person’s spirit with anger.

7. You shall not commit adultery.

Do we misuse other people for our own self-gratification? Do we look at another person lustfully? Read what Jesus says about that in Matthew 5:28

8. You shall not steal.

Have you ever taken something that is not yours? Have you ever used the company’s stamp machine for a personal mailing instead of paying for your own postage?

9. You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor.

Have you ever talked negatively about someone to make them look bad so you can look good?

10. You shall not covet.

Do we take time to thank God for the blessings he has given us, or do we covet what we don’t have?

One morning, our children asked me to make blueberry muffins. I bought a box of mix, read the instructions, and put the completed ingredients in the oven. After the timer went off, I opened the oven. And to my chagrin, the tops of the muffins were burnt! What went wrong? I did not follow the basic instructions. Instead of baking the muffins, I broiled them.

When it comes to living life to the fullest, do we follow God’s basic instructions contained in the Bible? In fact, a great acronym for the Bible is Basic Instructions Before Leaving Earth.

What are these basic instructions? They are God’s Five Purposes and God’s Five Calls, which I discuss on pages 26-35 in my book titled Created For Greatness—Living Your Best Life Through God’s Word.

God’s Five Purposes:

1. The Great Commandment: Love God with all your heart, soul, and mind (Matthew 22:37).
2. A Similar Commandment: Love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39).
3. The New Commandment: Love others as Christ loved you (Matthew 13:34).
4. The Great Commission: Go and make disciples of all nations (Matthew 28:19).
5. The Cultural Mandate: Tend to your family and work (Genesis 1:28; 1 Timothy 5:8).

God’s Five Calls:

1.  Seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33).
2. Keep your eyes on Jesus (Hebrews 12:2).
3. Think about what is true, honorable, just, pure, excellent, and worthy of praise (Philippians 4:8).
4. Walk with God, do justice, love kindness, lead a life that pleases God, and get to know Him better (Micah 6:8; Colossians 1:10).
5. Live a holy life in all of your conduct (1 Peter 1:15).

If Jesus is God, and the Bible is God’s inspired Word, how should these facts impact our life?

Jesus is God

When I was a practicing attorney, I contacted people who had authority to send business to me. First, I would read all about the person. Second, I would schedule a meeting to talk with him or her.

When it comes to Jesus, we can follow the same procedure. First, we can read the Bible that tells us everything we need to know about him. Second, we can set a time each day to meet with Jesus.

You can read about Jesus in the New Testament starting with the book of Matthew. And you can use a simple acronym developed by Pastor Rick Warren to help you learn about Jesus and how he lived.  The acronym is SPACE PETS. Ask yourself does the chapter or verse contain one or more of the following: Sin to confess. Promise to claim. Attitude to change. Command to follow.  Example to follow. Prayer to pray. Error to avoid. Truth to believe. Something to praise God for.

For just one example, when you read John 14:6, you find a truth to believe. Jesus tells us, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but by me.”

And we can meet with Jesus throughout the day by simply talking with him. In fact, in the simplest terms, prayer is talking with Jesus. If you want to create and maintain a powerful prayer life, read chapter Ten in my book titled Created For Greatness-Living Your Best Life Through God’s Word.

The Bible is God’s Inspired Word

2 Timothy 3:16 and 2 Peter 1:20-21 state that the Bible is God’s Inspired Word. Based on that fact, how should we act and talk? And how are we going to make decisions? Are we going to continue making decisions based only on emotions, feelings, and opinions of others? The answer is No. We are going to use Biblical principles to guide our life. And chapter Six in my book discusses how to make better decisions based on Biblical principles.

When I was in school, I enjoyed walking around a lake near downtown Minneapolis. I remember one particularly hot and humid afternoon. As beads of sweat dripped down my forehead, I looked forward to drinking the cold, clear water that flowed from a pump-activated fountain located near the walking path.

As I rounded the corner where the fountain was located, I saw a man vigorously pumping the pump handle while swearing up a storm. He pumped hard for about 20 seconds more, and because no water was coming out, he walked away in an angry huff.

At that time, I remembered hearing Zig Ziglar use a pump illustration to tell his audience the importance of maintaining a positive attitude, working hard, and not giving up. He said success requires hard work so one has to pump the handle hard. He then told the attendees, don’t stop pumping—never give up. He said that just because the pumping is hard and nothing comes out even after you have pumped harder does not mean the water will not flow out if you kept pumping. And he concluded by telling us that the water (the thing that we desire) may be just at the point of flowing when we gave up.

I walked up to the pump and pumped the handle hard for about 10 seconds. Suddenly, the water started gushing out. After I satisfied my thirst, I walked over to a nearby park bench and sat down to enjoy the view and consider what had just happened.

When I was thinking about the attitude of the angry man at the pump, I remembered a couple or Bible verses. Philippians 2:14 tells us to do everything without grumbling. 1Thessalonians 5:18 tells us to give thanks in all circumstances. 1 Thessalonians 5:16 tells us to rejoice always, which includes having a positive attitude. Isaiah 40: 29 tells us that God gives strength to those who are tired and more power to those who are weak. And Philippians 4:13 tells us that we can do all things in Christ who strengthens us.

If the man had known these verses and applied them to his situation, maybe his attitude would have improved to the point where he would have thought, “With a little more effort I can do this” thereby triggering his resolve to keep pumping until the water started flowing.