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Go The Extra Mile

July 29, 2007

How far do we Americans walk with a brother? The general answer is not very far. The specific answer is until we are inconvenienced. One of the things that prosperity has brought us and unexpectedly so is an intolerance for many things. Proof of the pudding can be seen in the divorce rate and the reasons for a divorce. You can get divorced today just because you want to! It’s not the fault of anyone! We are quick to jump into many things and just as quick to jump out of them. The hi-tech world has created some of that.

Who Wants Cheaper Auto Insurance?

“Victory belongs to the most persevering”. Napoleon
Bonaparte

We live in a microwave society that demands instant success and answers. It used to be that people believed that if you put in your proper “time and rank” that you would receive a just reward. Today, time has to be in nano seconds and effort is whatever you feel is sufficient. The thought of having to wait for something or doing a little extra just isn’t in our psyche today. The modus operandi is “ how little can I do to get by”?

“Slow and steady wins the race”.

We live in a microwave society that demands instant success and answers. It used to be that people believed that if you put in your proper “time and rank” that you would receive a just reward. Today, time has to be in nano seconds and effort is whatever you feel is sufficient. The thought of having to wait for something or doing a little extra just isn’t in our psyche today. The modus operandi is “ how little can I do to get by”?

Fifty years ago, one expected to work EXTRA in order to get a raise. Today, a person expects a raise because their living expenses have gone up. Inflation has increased, my next door neighbor got a raise, it’s another year. It’s not a matter that we’ve gone beyond and above duty, but that we FEEL we need a raise. NEED is the driving force, not MERIT! The government has introduced us to “minimum requirements” and almost everyone adheres to that or seeks it out like water seeking it’s own level.

“I believe that the true sign of MATURITY is DELAYED GRATIFICATION.” Peggy Cahn

We have become so childish in our demands. We act like children who want their own way- just because they WANT it, not because they DESERVE it. Again, as in the workplace, we see this principle in life in general. The attention span of every generation gets smaller and smaller. We have gotten used to “sound bytes” and one minute messages. The One Minute Manager. The one minute work out, etc. We live on SPIN. At best we want the Readers Digest version of War and Peace rather than read the entire book itself.

“You can’t sell the cow and have the milk too.”

Somewhere and eventually all things work back to their mean. I know, people that work Wall Street don’t believe in this principle, but it’s been with us throughout life since the world began. There are times when we have to “go the extra mile” but as a result of that we find that we encounter a season when we benefit from things that we put little or no effort in. However, if we don’t go that extra mile, the mean keeps getting reduced again and again against our favor.

When you boil it all down, you still get out of life what you put into it. Yes, there will be times when the equation seems to not be working. But, that is just an indication that there will be an overbalancing in the other direction once the correction is made. There are still no shortcuts to life (IPO’s notwithstanding). If you want MORE, then you need to give MORE. And, you must do it with an attitude that does not have secretive manipulations.

“Whosoever will bid you to go the extra mile with them, do it.” Matt. 5:41

Written by Ernie · Filed Under How to Get Promoted 

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