Recently I was made aware of some things I must focus on. I
am reading a book called, Leading on Empty by Wayne Cordeiro. In this book the author reminds his readers there are
some things in our life that he called the most important five percent. He
writes,
Eighty-five percent of
what we do, anyone can do. These tasks don’t require an elite expertise or
specialized skill. Many of these tasks can be delegated to others so we can
concentrate on what’s most important to the job we have been given to do.
Ten percent of what we
do, someone with a modicum of training should be able to accomplish. After all
we were trained to do what we do; someone else of like capabilities could learn
how to do what we do.
But 5 percent of what
I do; only I can do! This is the most important 5 percent for me. I can’t
delegate these initiatives to anyone else. I can’t hire someone else to take my
place in any of these activities because they require that I be there! This 5
percent will determine the validity of the other 95 percent.
I think we tend to really not believe that someone else can
do our other 95 percent but we are just fooling ourselves. If we were to step
from this life today there would be tears and some sad days but within weeks
our jobs and positions would be filled as life went on. This world has never stopped
because someone was no longer there. But we can get so busy that we neglect the
most important things that only we can do, our most important five percent. My
five percent may be different from yours but the principals are the same. After
reading this chapter I put down my most important 5 percent.
1.
A vibrant growing relationship with Jesus
through prayer and His Word. He in me and I in Him. (John 15)
2.
A healthy and real relationship with Stephanie
that’s enjoyable and comforting.
3.
An authentic family that love God and also have
a close relationship with Him. Also that my family be close to one another.
4.
A God pleasing ministry that is continually
consumed by His anointing.
5.
A physically healthy body with a creative mind
and an emotional heart.
6.
Taking time to enjoy life with my family and
friends and in that order.
So as you move into this busy season make sure you keep
everything in order. If you get the top 5 percent out of focus the other 95 percent
will be a mess and really just a fake. I want to finish with a story I found
years ago that still gets me in my emotional heart every time I read it. It’s
called 1000 marbles. Enjoy!
I was shuffling towards the basement with a
steaming cup of coffee in one hand and the morning paper in the other. What
began a typical Saturday morning, turned into one of those lessons that life
seems to hand you from time to time.
Let me tell you about it.
I turned the dial up into the phone portion
of the band on my ham radio in order to listen to a Saturday morning swap net.
Along the way, I came across an older sounding chap, with a tremendous signal
and a golden voice. You know the kind, he sounded like he should be in the
broadcasting business. He was telling whoever he was talking with something
about “a thousand marbles.”
I was intrigues and stopped to listen to what
he had to say.
“Well, Tom, it sure sounds like you’re busy
with your job. I’m sure they pay you well but it’s a shame you have to be away
from home and your family so much. Hard to believe a young fellow should have
to work sixty or seventy hours a week to make ends meet.” He said.
“Too bad you missed your daughter’s recital.”
“Let me tell you something Tom,” he
continued.
“Something that has helped me keep a good
perspective on my priories.” And that when he began to explain his theory of “A
Thousand Marbles.”
“You see, I sat down one day and did a little
arithmetic. The average person lives about seventy-five years. “Now then, I
multiplied 75 times 52 and I came up with 3,900 which is the number of
Saturdays that the average person has in their entire lifetime!
Now stick with me Tom, I’m getting to the
important part.”
“It took me until I was fifty-five years old
to think about all this in any detail”; he went on, “and by that time I had
lived through over twenty-eight hundred Saturdays. I got to thinking that if I
lived to be seventy-five, I only had about a thousand of them left to enjoy.”
“So I went to a toy store and bought every
single marble they had. I ended up having to visit three toy stores to round up
1000 marbles. I took them home and put them inside a large clear plastic
container.
Every Saturday since then, I have taken one
marble out and thrown it away.”
“I found that by watching the marbles
diminish, I focused more on the really important things in life. There is
nothing like watching your time here on this earth run out to help get your
priorities straight.”
“Now let me tell you one last thing before I
sign off with you and take my lovely wife out for breakfast. This morning, I
took the very last marble out of the container. I figure if I make it until
next Saturday then I have been given a little extra time. And the one thing we
can all use is a little more time.”
It was nice to meet you Tom, I hope you spend
more time with your family, and I hope to meet you again here in the band.
73 Old Man, this is K9NZQ clear and going
QRT, good morning!”
You could have heard a pin drop on the band
when this fellow signed off. I guess he gave us all a lot to think about. I had
planned to go fishing with some of my buddies this morning, and then I was
going to work on the antenna, so I could listen to the game. Instead, I went
upstairs and woke my wife with a kiss. “C’mon honey, I’m taking you and the
kids to breakfast.”
“What brought this on?” she asks with a
smile. Oh nothing special, it just been a long time since we spent a Saturday
together with the kids.
Hey, can we stop at a toy store while were
out? I need to buy some marbles.
From www.lovethissite.com
If we use the same
figure as the story, 75 years:
If you’re 25 you
have 2600 Saturdays left.
If you’re 35 you
have 2080
If you’re 45 you
have 1560
If you’re 55 you
have 1040
If you’re 65 a
little over 500 Saturdays left.
Get the top 5 percent
right, your running out of marbles.
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