NormsMilfordBlog

The Best of Jack’s Winning Words – Originally sent March 27, 2012.
“Those who want milk should not seat themselves on a stool in the middle of a field and hope the cow comes to them.” (Elbert Hubbard) I smiled when I read this quote. Can’t you just “see” the person on the stool? The one who makes the sale is the one who gets off of the stool. It works in the business world, at home and even in the church. By my computer is a sign: “Get tough–get off your duff.” Today is a good day to follow that advice. 😉 Jack

Every now and then you may experience a fortuitous stroke of luck and some good fortune may befall you. But, for the rest of life, and indeed for most of life, one must get off the stool and make one’s own luck through hard work and persistence. Get off your duff!

I have posted here a few times about the importance of getting started and about breaking dauntingly big jobs down into smaller tasks (steps) that can be more easily accomplished. It is easy to let what should be planning time turn into daydreaming time. Things don’t get dome just because you dream about them being done. Focus on the planning and on getting started. Get off your duff!

Sometimes you may have to go off in a completely different direction than where you are headed to accomplish some intermediary step or some prerequisite. Just be sure to keep your goal at least in the corner of your eye, so that you don’t lose track of it or get discouraged by your apparently lack of progress towards the goal. Get off your duff!

More times than we’d like to admit, we may actually start off in the wrong direction and go very far down what proves to be a blind alley. Don’t get discouraged. Learn from your mistake. Backtrack to the starting point and choose a different direction. Thomas Edison famously said about his numerous failures – “I have not failed 10,000 times—I’ve successfully found 10,000 ways that will not work.” So, now, like Edison, you have successfully found one way that will not get you to your goal. Don’t go that way again. ” Get off your duff!

Jack posted a reminder for himself next to his computer. For him, that helped him to remember that ha was committed to writing a daily post to his Blog – Jack’s Winning Words – five days a week. There was no winning to be had if he just sat there and waited for the words of a new post to come to him. He had to get off his duff and write the post for that day. Get off your duff!

I have found it helpful to post notices to myself on the bathroom mirror where I have to look at them when I’m shaving in the morning. It may be a reminder for something that I need to get done that day or just a restating of the goal, so that I get renewed energy to work towards it that day. Whichever, it serves as a reminder to me to…Get off your duff!

I took the time to go back and look at a number of the posts that I have done over the years about tackling large or difficult tasks or pursuing lofty goals. One recurring theme that all of those posts in some way contained was the advice to take time to ask for God’s help. There is nothing more calming and reassuring in the face of daunting tasks or goals than touching base with your faith in God. Take God’s hand and he will help you …Get off your duff.