05/09/2021
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The Law of Faith
Faith is the ability to see things that don’t yet exist. Faith can turn difficulty into positive reality. There are a few parts to the law of faith:
See it as it is. First, faith is the ability to see it as it is. Faith doesn’t mind seeing it as it is because faith is a miracle worker. Faith does not ignore the negative. Faith uses the negative, because if there was no negative, then there’d be no need for faith. You need faith because everything isn’t OK. If it’s ugly, then it’s ugly. If it isn’t working, then it isn’t working. If it’s a mess, then it’s a mess. It doesn’t hurt to call a mess a mess. Faith doesn’t mind admitting that. Faith doesn’t mind seeing that. Seeing it as it is—that’s the beginning of faith.
See it better than it is. Second, faith is the ability to see it better than it is. Can’t you see beyond the mess? The mess is for today. Can’t you look into tomorrow? The answer is, “Yes, I can look into tomorrow.” Humans have this incredible ability to look into tomorrow, to look into next week, next year. So we not only have the ability to see it as it is—the beginning of faith—but also to see it better than it is. Dream the dreams, make the plans, visualize, use your imagination and see it better than it is.
Make it better than it is. Now, the part that turns faith into reality: Make it better than it is. Faith now must be invested. If you invest faith in action, you can take any situation and make it better than it is.
Don’t see it worse than it is. Here’s something to watch out for in the beginning of faith: Don’t see it worse than it is. Don’t blow it out of proportion. If it’s bad, that’s how bad it is. You don’t need to multiply how bad it is by 10. That’s not necessary. See it just as it is. That’s the deal.
Don’t see it for more than it can become. Here’s another unique key to faith: Don’t see it for more than it can become. There’s a thin line between faith and folly. Yes, it’s possible to see yourself as a millionaire, but not overnight. It’s still possible to be a millionaire and it’s still possible to be rich and wealthy, given a certain amount of time working with the law of averages. Plenty is possible without being foolish in your faith exercise.
It might be worse than when you first see it. Keep in mind that it might be worse than you first see it. Sometimes you just look at the surface. You’d better look underneath. You’d better take a deeper look so that you can really see it as bad as it is. Not to overblow it now, but to make sure you see it as bad as it really is.
It might be far more in the future. Don’t forget to give yourself a chance to see that it could be far more in the future than what you can first see. On a foggy night, if all you can see is a hundred feet, then walk that first hundred feet. Now you can see another hundred feet.
So take the early steps of faith. Whatever you can see as possible to become, start believing that, have faith in that. As that starts to take hold, you’ll be able to see it for more and for more and for more, and the possibilities will start to increase in your own imagination.
Work With the People Who Deserve It
Life operates by deserve. So, in leading people, learn to work with the people who deserve it, not the people who need it.
You’ve got to set up objectives ahead of time to determine who deserves it. When you bring somebody into your enterprise, you set the ground rules. Make sure all the guidelines are clear. Monitor results and accomplishments, then you know who deserves it.
Now, remember the 80/20 rule—the pull is in the opposite direction. Guess who wants your help: usually the wrong people. It’s usually the people who need it, not the people who deserve it. There are plenty of places for your benevolence, but in your enterprise, you must respond to the people who deserve it.
Teach people how to deserve it.
Teaching people and moving them from need to deserve starts to accelerate their self-esteem. You can’t believe what a high the beginning of new self-esteem is. If a person hasn’t had it for years and years, and they’ve been beaten down by their own philosophy and they’ve been beaten down by everybody else—if you start them on the early steps of learning to deserve, then that starts this process of self-esteem. And self-esteem leads to action, action leads to progress, and progress leads to fortune. So work with the people who deserve it. And teach people how to deserve your time, how to deserve your help.
Let people grow and develop.
Don’t expect the pear tree to bear apples. I mean, let people do whatever they can do. And let them change their mind. Let them grow and develop. Here’s what I’ve found: You cannot change people, but they can change themselves. The best you can do is to inspire, teach, pray and hope. You can’t get in there and change them, but you can do your best to deliver the message that can create change if someone will accept it. If someone will do something about it, then take the early baby steps to get them started. Be happy with the smallest progress, give some rewards and a pat on the back and say, “It’s going to work for you. You’ve taken these two steps. I’m telling you, if you can take two steps, you can take 102.”
Know That There Is Both Good and Evil
All leaders must teach the fact that there is both good and evil. We are all challenged to become the most of the good in us and the least of the bad. That’s the beginning of civilization. Character is a core element of leadership.
Let me tell you a story. The frog and the scorpion appear on the bank of the river at the same time, and the frog is about to jump in and swim to the other side. The scorpion sees what’s about to happen and engages the frog in conversation. He says, “Mr. Frog, I’m a scorpion and I can’t swim. Would you be so kind as to let me hop on your back? You swim across the river, and just deposit me on the other side. I’d be grateful.” The frog looks at the scorpion and says, “No way. Scorpions sting frogs and kill them. I’d get out there halfway, you’d sting me, and I’d drown.” The scorpion said, “Mr. Frog, with your frog brain, you’re not thinking. If I stung you out there halfway, you’d drown and I’d drown. I just want to get to the other side. Please do me the favor.” The frog says, “OK, that makes sense. Hop on.” The scorpion hops on the frog’s back, and the frog starts across the river. Sure enough, halfway across the river the scorpion stings the frog. They’re both in the water about to go down. The frog cannot believe what’s happened, and he says, “Why did you do that? I’m about to drown and die, but so are you. Why would you do that?” And the scorpion says, “Because I am a scorpion.” It’s his nature, his character. Make note of this: You can’t take a chance. You’ve got to know the scorpion.
I learned in building an enterprise that there are some people you don’t need. You’re better off without their productivity because they’re scorpions in the fold. The Bible said, “Beware of the foxes that spoil the vines.” The vineyard looks good, but you’d better look a little closer—the foxes are at work. And to be a good shepherd, to be a good father, to be a good mother, to be a good leader, you’ve got to learn the story of the frog and the scorpion and the foxes that spoil the vines.
..stay tuned
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