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"It’s pretty easy to tell when someone is, and isn’t, investing in inspiration."


A thought by Zig Zigler, from his book, Better Than Good (p. 27). Thomas Nelson, Kindle Edition.  (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.)

It really is.

Zig says, "You and I have three kinds of resources given to us by God that we can invest in whatever we choose: time, talent, and treasure. God doesn’t come down and dictate to us every morning how we are to use our time, apply our talents and abilities, and spend our money. From our human point of view, He leaves those choices to us. But I can tell you this: the more of your time, talent, and treasure you invest in your passion, the more you will fight for it, defend it, and protect it from everyone and everything that would attempt to steal it from you."


He goes on, "Let’s say your passion is to own your own flower shop someday. Right now, you’re not involved with flowers except as a hobby and impressing your neighbors with your gorgeous gardens every spring. But the children have left the nest and you know the time is right to make this move—to give wings to your passion. If I were to come to your house and spend an hour talking with you about your passion, I’d be looking for signs that you’re investing your time, talent, and treasure. I’d be looking for bookshelves full of books on flowers and running a small business, magazine subscriptions on the same subjects, your class schedule for the course on entrepreneurship and small-business management that you’re taking at the local community college, check stubs from your payment of dues to the appropriate floral associations, your applications to several local flower shops where you plan to work as an apprentice for the next year or so in order to get experience, the syllabus from a success and motivation seminar you recently attended . . . and on and on."

He then says, "It’s pretty easy to tell when someone is, and isn’t, investing in inspiration. I’ve never met anyone yet who was living his or her passion—I mean 'pedal to the metal'—who was not a heavy investor in inspiration."

So, are you really serious about your passion? Are you investing your time, talent and treasure into making it happen? Are you?

Yes, yes!



 

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