I have long believed and often said that we live in a world in which when it’s all said and done, there’s too much said and not nearly enough done. Many people live in unreality based on what they intend to do, what they want to do, or said they were going to do. These things do not matter unless something is eventually done.
I remember, as a small child, attending an event with my grandfather where he volunteered at a table selling fishing line to raise money for charity. The fishing line cost three dollars, and all the money went to help those in need. After we had been there for a while, a man stopped by the table and looked at the fishing line and the sign saying that it cost three dollars. He told my grandfather someone was selling the same fishing line on the next aisle, and it was only two dollars. My grandfather asked him why he didn’t just buy the two-dollar fishing line, and the man responded that they were sold out and had no fishing line left. One of my enduring memories is my grandfather responding, “Well, when we’re sold out, it only costs one dollar, but right now, we have fishing line available for three dollars.”
It’s easy to say what you were going to do or would have done in any situation, particularly when you don’t have the willingness or ability to act on it. As a young adult, I was as broke as anyone you can imagine. I remember telling my wife Crystal that we weren’t poor because poor people couldn’t get that far in debt. Today, we are blessed to enjoy a level of prosperity few people experience.
One of the many challenges that goes along with having wealth is that you lose the ability to tell people that you would loan them money, buy their product, or support their cause if you only had the money. Today, we live by our priorities in spending and giving rather than making hollow statements of our intentions.
When I was a college student, my mentor was an entrepreneur named Lee Braxton. He had a third-grade education and had become a multimillionaire during the Great Depression. I repeatedly asked him for the easy, simple, magic way to become rich. He told me the first and foremost priority was to always do what you say you’re going to do. He explained that will give you the reputation of being an honorable person, and it will make you extremely mindful of what you say and the things you commit to doing.
As you go through your day today, think about what you say, then do it.
Today is the day!
About the author: Jim Stovall is the president of the Emmy-award winning Narrative Television Network as well as a published author of more than 50 books—eight of which have been turned into movies. He is also a highly sought-after platform speaker. He may be reached by email at Jim@JimStovall.com.