As iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend (Proverbs 27: 17)
Today we are going to jump right into more of the principles of Solomon’s wisdom and what I like to call business and personal life principals
I really liked last week where we started with a quick prayer so let’s do that again…..
Lord, God today we come to you to ask that you open our eyes, hearts, minds, and whole body to help us really absorb what you need us to. God, we pray that you help us to open our entire body and soul to you and your wisdom. Help us to hear exactly what you need us to hear. We ask these things in your precious son’s name.
Amen
Alrighty then…..
Let’s jump back in.
His sixth principle was to USE DEBT SPARINGLY.
In business cash is king, or as Solomon would say it: “But money answers everything” (Ecclesiastes 7: 12).
By maintaining a cash reserve or savings it will relieve massive amounts of stress.
Use debt for needed capital items but avoid debt to pay operating expenses like salaries and typical operating expenses. Otherwise, you will end up working for the bank (or your private lender) and on their terms, not yours.
The rich rule over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender (Proverbs 22: 7).
One thing in personal life that we do is overextend ourselves with credit cards. Well maybe not everyone does this.
But….
We definitely have in the past. And we work diligently not to let that happen again.
If you are in credit card debt there are ways that you can get out of it, but it takes diligence, hard work, and prayer. Yes, it does take ALL 3 of those.
His seventh principle is to WORK COOPERATIVELY.
As iron sharpens iron; so a man sharpens the countenance of his friend (Proverbs 27: 17).
Build strategic partnerships with others in business, where you can quickly call on reliable source providers to meet the needs of your clients.
Solomon built such a partnership with King Hiram of Lebanon, and it greatly benefited both nations, making Israel the economic superpower of the day and Jerusalem the showpiece of the world.
We can do this in our personal life as well. I like to call it our network.
In the past, you might have heard it’s not what you know it’s who you know.
Well, I have a different impression of this. It’s NOT who YOU know. It’s WHO KNOWS YOU!
Let me give you a great example.
Say I was applying for funding and I went in and said that I know Ellon Musk (founder of Tesla, Space X, PayPal, etc.…) It’s not a lie I do know him. Just like I know Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Tony Robbins, I think you get the point. I know them and even give you some details about their history.
The thing is, that they don’t know me!
So when the people I apply for funding go to Ellon and say, “what do you think about this Dan Greer guy, is he any good?”
Ellon is going to respond back with, “Who? Never heard of that clown!”
My point is that when we work with others and always deliver more than we promise we grow our network and relationships.
This leads us directly into his eighth principle,
ESTABLISH RELATIONSHIPS WITH VALUED PROFESSIONALS.
Without counsel, plans go awry; but in the multitude of counselors, they are established (Proverbs 15: 22).
Be smart enough to know that you don’t know it all.
This is especially dangerous when you don’t know what you don’t know.
Establish trusted relationships with legal, financial, IT, and other professionals. Then utilize those relationships efficiently to get out ahead of problems.
The other thing here to remember is to always be a servant.
All too often we forget to serve others before they will help us. We go out and expect others to do everything in their power to make our lives easier when we haven’t even lifted a finger to help make their lives easier.
The key here is to start your relationships by serving others.
The other key is to ALWAYS OVER DELIVER. If you tell someone that you will do something, DO IT!
In fact, if you tell them that you will pray for them, don’t stop there and get your whole family to pray for them.
In today’s world, we need MORE people who underpromise and OVER deliver.
Be that person in every single one of your relationships.
Take Action
Today we want to encourage you to take action on every principle you have heard so far in your personal life.
- BE DILIGENT AND WORK HARD.
- WORK WISELY. Work smarter not harder.
- PURSUE EXCELLENCE. Always try your best to be the best at what you do in everything you do.
- WORK PROACTIVELY. Don’t wait on the sidelines, jump in and get to it. Stop procrastinating.
- BE HONEST – ALWAYS. The good Lord LOVES honesty, just like all of us do as well. So be honest in everything you do.
- USE DEBT SPARINGLY. Try your best to work off of your own finances without borrowing too much $$.
- WORK COOPERATIVELY. Working with others is your KEY to success. Without them, you don’t stand a chance of surviving, let alone thriving.
The last action item I have is to ALWAYS OVER DELIVER! If you tell someone that you will find them 10 new contacts, make sure you find the 15 or 20 new contacts.
