Ant-icipating Success


By Belinda

I'm listening to the audio book, From Good to Great; Why Some Companies Make the Leap and Others Don’t by Jim Collins. I'm always up for being inspired!

The trouble is, I'm often driving along, sort of listening, when I hear something that grabs my attention and, you know, it's not so easy to rewind an audio book.

Yesterday, amidst all of the corporate leadership lessons that were drifting past my ears, I heard a nugget just for me--and you, too, perhaps.

Jim Collins laid out the methodology and findings of his teams study of stunningly successful businesses; and said that they discovered some common factors in the "greats," including this surprising one: There was no blinding flash of light; no defining moment when everything changed for these companies. He said, instead,that they bore a striking resemblance to a tiny creature that gets a couple of honourable mentions in the book of Proverbs--the ant.

He spoke of an ant, straining with all its might against a big flywheel, until it reached a tipping point and began to gain momentum. In the summary of the book that you can read by clicking on the link in the first paragraph, it says, "A flywheel is a heavy wheel that takes a lot of energy to set in motion - to do so usually requires constant, steady work, rather than a quick acceleration."

Think of doggedness; perseverence; tenacity; relentless movements in the direction of the goal.

The timing and schedule is God's. What counts is moving in the direction he has for our lives; one small but mighty step at a time. So many applications--losing unwanted weight; building muscle; getting healthy; becoming a writer (insert your own passion, goal or calling)...

 25The ants are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the summer; (Proverbs 30:25, King James Version

Comments

Anonymous said…
Also Belinda when a flywheel is broken it is very expensive to fix (especially on a car ... I have first hand experience). The moral of the story, is take care of the flywheel from the beginning (weight, muscles, getting healthy) before it breaks.

See you Thursday.
12:21 PM
Maureen said…
Hi Belinda. I love the illustration of the ant. I just heard it the other day as well on the radio. I guess we would rather have that "instant" success in whatever we strive for, but God knows better. I am encouraged by this post. Thank you so much!
9:41 PM
Susan said…
Being faithful in the little things... plugging away... taking what little you have and faithfully investing it and reinvesting it into the Kingdom... It's one of those upside down Kingdom principles - one of God's incredibly wonderful, inimitable ways!
11:50 PM
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