Just Saying It Doesn’t Make it So

It’s funny how my mind works. I pop awake hours before I need to, or should, and thoughts fly from one ear to the other. Sometimes it stops and haunts my half-waking state. Other times? The fly-by didn’t alert me that a new thought was on the horizon.

This Morning, a couple of hours before this 5 a.m. thought, this buzz in my ear became a thought I couldn’t back away from or forget till sunrise.

Just saying it doesn’t make it so.

Just saying I’m going to do all the things [yesterday’s post] I said I needed to do to survive into my triple digits doesn’t make it happen automatically. Saying it doesn’t make it so.

You must do something to make it happen, not just say it.

What’s that old saying, “If wishes were horses…” You cannot wish something into a reality. You work hard at it to make it happen. For some, the doing is easier, and we all wish it were as easy for each of us. That’s not the case. You must want something, do something about it, and keep grinding at the wheel until you get it!

A friend of mine said something on a webinar yesterday that sticks. We equate these thoughts together.

Honest Work = Hard Work = Long Hours

While this is true, there are often different ways to have honest Work that does not always equate to hard Work or long hours. It’s about what you tell yourself you are willing to do and then do what you said.

As I learned when learning to fly:
“Plan your flight. File your plan. Fly your plan.”
That way, you know where you plan on going,
you tell the right people about it in case something happens.
And then you flew where you said you would go
so others would know where you went if you failed to return on time.

This is a valuable lesson when we start planning for the future, which can be as quickly as the next hour of the day.

The Infamous 5 P’s

I learned this in a classroom, which has proved to be confirmed through the application of knowledge.

Prior Proper Planning Prevents Problems.

Life isn’t always lucky. Success comes to those who work hard. Isn’t that along the lines of something Thomas Edison said?

“Opportunity is missed by most people
because it is dressed in overalls and looks like Work.

Well, Edison also said:

“Being busy does not always mean real Work.
The object of all Work is production or accomplishment
and to either of these ends there must be
forethought, system, planning, intelligence and honest purpose,
as well as perspiration.”
[Source]

Along the way of doing what you think or say, you may find some success that others call “luck.” But know this, you worked hard doing it honestly, and sometimes it took some long hours.

It’s like playing the lottery.
Your odds of winning are infinitesimally small
and are only better improved
if you spend money on a lottery ticket.
Just thinking you’ll win will not produce a win!
You must at least spend some time and money to purchase the chance to win!

Spend Wisely On Value, Not Baubles

It is said that the rich purchase to make money, while the average person spends money just because they want something. Are you buying a car at today’s prices? Why not invest that same money in something that will double and triple the value of each dollar? Buy used, and be happy with what you have.

Of course, I’m a proponent of buying new and keeping it for a long time. Just ask my 2003 Dodge truck with 362,000 miles on it!

We grew up with grandparents who lived through the Great Depression. Young folks will not know a thing about the depression of nearly 100 years ago, but we were the products of the Depression Experience. “What they went through taught lessons we are still experiencing today.”

I’ve summed up these thoughts into this list. Do you have something to change or add?

Depression Experience Summation:

• Make do with what you have, and be happy you have it.
• Buying used is not bad.
• Saving stuff until you will possibly need it could be very smart.
• Valuing the ownership of something is wise if you want it to last a long time.
• Don’t spend it until you can pay cash; don’t spend the money unless you must.
• Your value system will change as you live through the experience.
• Repurpose everything to fill the need.
• Do it yourself instead of paying someone else to do it.
• Live through this because there’s hope on the other side.

Take It Spiritual For A Moment

Jesus taught a parable, and as with all of his parables, it could be a story everyone knew about because it happened to someone they knew! What’s the difference? Jesus applied it to some nugget of thought and life they had not thought about.

Then He spoke a parable to them, saying:
“The ground of a certain rich man yielded plentifully. And he thought within himself, saying, ‘What shall I do, since I have no room to store my crops?’ So he said, ‘I will do this: I will pull down my barns and build greater, and there I will store all my crops and my goods. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have many goods laid up for many years; take your ease; eat, drink, and be merry.” ‘
But God said to him,
‘Fool! This night your soul will be required of you;
then whose will those things be which you have provided?’
“So is he who lays up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”
(Luke 12:16-21 NKJV)

Just saying we are planning for the future and not taking our spiritual self into the plan is a waste of time spent taking care of life in the “here and now.” Most people die suddenly. Right? We may know it’s coming, but when it happens, we are surprised.

That being said, what are you planning for your future? It takes hard Work to live here and to enjoy there. It’s not easy. The rain falls on the just and the unjust, and the sun rises on the good and evil alike. (Matthew 5:45) Lest you take it out of context, Jesus is talking about “Love Your Enemies…”

Let’s be wise in what we are doing.
Plan your life. File your plan. Live your life.
Along the way, you will be better prepared to face the challenges.