Monday, May 28, 2007

Batter Up!

FOR THE WEEK BEGINNING MAY 21, 2007

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:
"Plan for gradual improvement, not spectacular leaps. A slow and
steady stream of water will, in time, erode the hardest rock."
~ John Campbell, Ph.D.

BATTER UP!
It's exciting to attend a baseball game in any league and see the batter swing into a major home run. It really ramps up the fans, and pumps up the score. Hoorah for the home team! What batter wouldn't be excited running around the bases?

In most baseball seasons, however, there are many more base hits, more runs batted in, and more games won on singles and doubles. Oh sure, the crowd is more subdued, the accolades lower key, and the base-hit batters not as widely recognized. Nevertheless, at the end of the season it's the base hits that win the pennant.

Yet, as youngsters, we all heard our parents and relatives talk about the day "their ship will come in." This is the mythical tale, beloved by grown-ups, that attributes wealth and financial independence to a single event - the sudden and unexpected arrival of a ship laden with gold and silver.

While awaiting the ship, many others are quietly hitting singles and doubles - getting an excellent education, saving and investing modest sums, quietly improving their service to employers and customers. They understand that each step forward, no matter the size of the step, will pay larger and larger dividends in the form of promotions, added income, and independence later on.

Solid growth in all areas of life is most often the result of carefully laid foundations on solid bedrock, rather than sudden, whimsical actions carried out without consistency, careful forethought, and vision. Read "The Millionaire Next Door" and you'll learn that those with wealth have lived in the same home and been married to the same spouse for many years. They shop at Wal-Mart and Sears, drive the same car for many seasons, and spend many hours each month planning their growth.

Before any ship can come in, it must first leave the harbor. It must have a destination, enough fuel, an excellent navigator, food and water, a map and compass, and a captain passionate about reaching the destination. If you want to leave the harbor, repeat to yourself the words of William Earnest Henley from "Invictus" - "I am the master of my fate; I am the captain of my soul."

Land ahoy!

(Originally published June 30, 2003)

posted by The Office Grapevine at 12:33 PM  

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