Going for the Gold!

It’s mind-boggling to think of the discipline and focus of the Summer Olympians. Marveling at photos of their toned bodies and ripped muscles, I nurse my latté and enjoy a slice of Key Lime Mango heaven from The Cheesecake Factory.

Though I’d love to be as sleek and fit as these medal-laden athletes, I’m just not willing to make uber-fitness an uber-priority. I am, however, uber-inspired by their commitment and dedication.  (Another slice of cheesecake please.)

These “gods and goddesses” of the Games of the XXX Olympiad remind me of what can be accomplished by mere humans once we focus our hearts and souls and minds on a particular endeavor.

Most of us won’t come close to winning a gold medal for our athletic abilities; but surely we can Go for the Gold for something!!! Yes?

If I were to ask you what you’re wholeheartedly committed to, what you’re willing to go the distance for, could you give me a definitive response?

Don’t respond with what you should be committed to. Instead, look for clues regarding what you are committed to:

1)   Consider your calendar and daily schedule. How and where are you spending most of your time?

2)   Consider your selection of books, magazines, and online articles. What topics interest you the most?

3)   Consider your “inner world” of thoughts and ideas. What’s going on in your head most of the time?

4)   Consider your relationships. To whom are you fully committed?

5)   Consider your checkbook. Where does your money go?

Any revelations?

Seems to me it’s all about investment. Where (and in whom) do we invest out time? Where (and in whom) do we invest our thoughts and prayers? Where (and in whom) do we invest our treasure?

We know these Olympians didn’t start out as super stars. They invested a little bit of time and effort one day, and a little bit of time and effort the next, until they became truly committed and truly skilled and truly determined to achieve their dreams. Then there was no stopping them.

If you’re a home-based business owner with a family, I have a pretty good idea how you answered your questions. Me too. (Whoever invented the term “life balance” must have been delirious. Or a man.)

If you’re a female home-based business owner with a family, I have an even better idea.

As a working mom for 24 years, I’ve learned I must invest my resources:

• First in my relationship with God
• Second in my relationships with family and friends
• Third in my relationships with clients, customers, and colleagues

As a human being for almost 60 years, I’ve learned that having a meaningful, successful, purposeful life is all about investing in relationships. Period.

Even a tiny investment, regularly made, can add up. Did you have a cute little piggy bank as a kid? A few pennies one day, a few pennies the next, and voilà! Suddenly you have a new Barbie doll—or diary, or transistor radio, or Little Red Spinning Wheel, or dwarf hamster!

Even a small amount of time laughing with your teenaged daughter…

Even a small amount of time tending to your aging mom or dad…

Even a small amount of time reading from your devotionals…

… does add up provided you invest something day after day after day, not just whenever you feel like it.

Then, when challenges arise, and they will, you’ll have weeks and months and years of investment to draw from.

After my mother suffered a stroke in November 1996, my new beau Dave (whom I’d recently met) and my brother Curt helped me move our parents from the Eastern Shore of Maryland to Central Virginia where, for 2 ½ years, I was able to tend to my parents faithfully and tenderly. This special time with my mother helped us enter into a new relationship—one that helped heal old wounds for us both.

Though in a wheelchair and heavily sedated, Mom was physically present at Dave’s and my wedding in March of 1999. (And she smiled!) Ten days later, Dad was abruptly called Home, giving me nine more months to care for Mom before she followed her husband of 42 years.

I’ll never ever forget those precious months and years of caring for my parents. They had invested so heavily in me; how could I not invest in them?

And…because I had invested in my relationship with God throughout my lifetime, I was spiritually and emotionally equipped to deal with their passing.

Invest heavily, ladies, in the right places.

Correction. In the right relationships.

When you look back on your life, you’ll know you went for The Gold—and earned it!

I’d love to know how you answered the questions above. Would you please share your responses and reflections in the comment box below?

May God grant you joy, prosperity, and peace.

 

 

 

Contact Me today if you need help setting purposeful goals and achieving your lifelong dreams.