These days, to say that life is a challenge is really an understatement. If you have a tendency to get discouraged from time to time, I have some thoughts to share with you that I believe will be very helpful. One of the reasons many people get discouraged is that they get in too big of a hurry. A lot of these people are waiting on their ship to come in, and they never stop to realize they have never sent one out. During our visit today I want to talk with you about a wonderful life-changing principle that could make a tremendous difference in our lives.
If you are a regular reader you know that this column is not about current events. I do my best to keep up with current events, but whether it’s international, national, state or local, this kind of information is covered by reporters and news gathering services. My mission is to share ideas, concepts and principles that are presented in an interesting and unique way, to help each reader to become a happier and more successful person. We all have our own personal challenges, opportunities and the normal ups and downs of everyday living. How to deal with some of these is what I want to share with you. And it’s an honor to do so.
It is my heartfelt desire that a reader in Cut Bank, Montana … Crystal River, Florida … Huntsville, Texas … Lenoir, North Carolina … Bardstown, Kentucky … Dodge City, Kansas, and any of the other markets across the nation where this column runs will be inspired, encouraged, helped and made to feel better about themselves and their future. Even in our tough times, America is still the land of opportunity, and our greatest blessing is freedom. When given freedom and opportunity, millions of us can and do succeed. I just pray that I can convince a few others they can also share in the blessings of America.
The principle I mentioned earlier is known as “The Principle of Deferred Compensation.” One of the things I have observed in this era of “fast food” and instant gratification is that most people lack patience when it comes to achieving greater success. These people do not understand that there is a price to be paid for everything, and that to achieve anything really worthwhile takes time. You can’t plant corn one day and have corn-on-the-cob the next day. Understanding this principle is the best way I know to keep from becoming discouraged.
If you happen to be discouraged about something just now, I hope you will give some real thought to what I am saying. A reader sent me something recently titled, “Life is an Echo.” It is really a great illustration with a very powerful message. It begins, “A father and his son were walking in the mountains. Suddenly, his son falls, hurts himself and screams: ‘AAAhhhhhhhh!!!’ To his surprise, he hears a voice repeating in the mountain: ‘AAAhhhhhhh!!!’ Curious, he yells: ‘Who are you?’ He receives the answer: ‘Who are you?’ Angered by the response, he screams: ‘Coward!’ He receives the answer: ‘Coward!’
“He looks to his father and asks: ‘What’s going on?’ The father smiles and says: ‘My son, pay attention’. And then he screams to the mountain: ‘I admire you!’ The voice answers: ‘I admire you!’ Again the man screams: ‘You are a champion!’ The voice answers: ‘You are a champion!’ The boy is surprised, but does not understand. The father explains: ‘People call this echo, but really this is life. It gives us back everything we say or do. Our life is simply a reflection of our actions’.”
Again, “The Principle of Deferred Compensation” means that for our ship to come in we must first send one out, and to accomplish anything worthwhile takes time.
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(Editor’s Note: Jim Davidson is an author, public speaker, syndicated columnist and Founder of the Bookcase for Every Child project. Since its inception in 1995, Jim’s column has been self-syndicated to over 375 newspapers in 35 states making it one of the most successful in the history of American journalism.)