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Life Is Like Money

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On our trek today, we will hike on the Money Trail as we explore that the value of life is not diminished regardless of its condition.

Do you wonder what life is like money relates to? It is not about having a significant amount of money, and it isn’t about having a great big bank account so you can do whatever you want.

Value Beyond Crumpled And Wrinkled

Instead, life is like money because, barring destroying it with fire, it always has value, no matter how crumpled it is, how used it is, or if it is stained with coffee or magic marker or crayons used by a child thinking it is something to draw on.

Life is something like money in that you still have value no matter how many times you have been downtrodden or how often you have failed in your attempts to excel at a certain sport or how many times you have failed to succeed in starting a successful business.

Who You Are Matters More

The bright spot here is that your value does not come from what you have or what you own or how many homes you have around the world or any of these materialistic things. Your value is who you are not what you have.

Value Behind Bars

Even if someone is in prison for committing crimes against humanity, it does not lessen his or her value at all. To me, it doesn’t matter what criminal activity brings a person to prison. Instead, it is more about the value of the person within.

For a lot of prisoners, even when they are released, they wear the stigma of being a convict for the rest of their lives because they saw no value in themselves.

Failure Does Not Diminish Value

Many people who have failed often devalue themselves thinking that their failure demonstrated that they should never think of having more than they have had in the past.

Unfortunately, these types of people do not learn the most valuable lesson there is and that is failures are your best teacher.

The point is to learn from mistakes, take out what was done right, and then incorporate that planning and thinking into the next business or life event. I remember the story of a guy who started a small pre-cooked meal business hoping to move away from his current job that he loathed.

When this business did not produce the results he wanted, he just plain and simply gave up trying or even thinking of another business he could start that would move him to where he wanted to be. Would you say that this person devalued their ability to succeed?

Real Value Established Through Living to the Fullest

The value is in the person; the value is in the quest to move beyond that which comes easy; the value is who you are through hard times, and the value is also who you become when you surpass your own expectations. Do you want to be more like money?

Even if you are still unconvinced of your value after this, realize that in God’s sight you are more valuable than any other part of creation. Luke 12:6-7 tells us, “What is the price of five sparrows—two copper coins? Yet God does not forget a single one of them.  And the very hairs on your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are more valuable to God than a whole flock of sparrows.

And Luke 12:23-25 tells us, “For life is more than food, and your body more than clothing. Look at the ravens. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for God feeds them. And you are far more valuable to him than any birds! Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?” 

Today we looked at how life is like money and when we realize that our lives are valuable regardless of who we are or what we have accomplished, we will become valuable. God always sees us as valuable. The lessons that we can learn from each other are also valuable, so encourage your friends and family to join us each day on our Wisdom-Trek Podcast.

Change Your Thinking, Change Your Life – Part 6

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Different Ways of Thinking

Life is a trek, and we are all in this trek together. Each day as we gain wisdom and insight, let us do all that we can to live life each day so that we are leaving a legacy.

We have stopped by waypoints 1-9 so far, so we only have three more to go.  I encourage you to apply each waypoint to your life so that you can become more wise and successful. Let’s continue on life’s trail until we reach waypoints 10 and 11.

As we ended our previous Wisdom Note, I asked you to consider two more questions:

  1. Am I consciously rejecting the limitations of common thinking in order to accomplish uncommon results?
  2. Am I consistently searching the minds of others to think “over my head” and achieve compounding results?

Consider these questions each day and apply them to your life. This will help you to change your thinking and start down the trail to a changed life. As we are on this trek of life together, one of the most important ways of thinking is found at our 10th waypoint.

10. Practice Unselfish Thinking

Unselfish thinking is beneficial because it enables personal fulfillment, adds value to other people, and increases the quality of your life. When you engage in unselfish thinking, you become part of something greater than yourself. It is only possible to create a long lasting legacy by thinking unselfishly and investing in others. Here are five ways to cultivate the ability to think unselfishly:

  • Put others first. When you think unselfishly you make a commitment, both mentally and emotionally, to look out for others’ interests.
  • Find situations where people have needs. One way to practice unselfish thinking is for you to find situations where people have needs and then do something about it. At first, the kind of giving you provide is not all that important; the goal is for you to learn how to give.
  • Give quietly or anonymously. After learning how to give, you must learn how to give when nothing is provided to you in return. Anonymous giving results in spiritual, mental, and emotional benefits.
  • Invest in people intentionally. Consider different people and their journey, and then work together with them. To possess the characteristics of an unselfish thinker, you must make sure the other person in a relationship wins first.
  • Continually monitor motives. It is in your human nature for you to put yourself first. This is true of everyone. It is important for you to examine your motives to ensure that you are not acting for selfish reasons.

As we look at unselfish thinking, it reminds me of verse 24 of Hebrews 10,“Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works.” 

Focus Question: “Am I continually considering others and their journey in order to think with maximum mutual aid?”

“When you engage in unselfish thinking, you become part of something greater than yourself.”

11. Rely on Productive Thinking

In your life, being useful and productive determines whether you are succeeding or not. However, money is certainly not the primary measure of success. The primary measure of success is to determine if you are achieving the desired results in your life and if your life is positively impacting the lives of others.

Productive thinking provides clarity by providing a benchmark to measure activity. Decisions also become easier when the desired outcome is determined. Success in the future relies on recognizing if you have been productive today.  No matter what the desired result is for an activity, it can be improved through good thinking that turns ideas and dreams into results. There are five ways that you can learn to become a more productive thinker:

  • Identify the results desired. The results may be large or small objectives. Regardless of the size, the desired results must be as specific as possible.
  • Make the results the measuring point. All activities in your life should be consistent with your values, which should not be compromised.
  • Create a plan to achieve your results. Plans must be designed so that your smaller goals add up to your overall objective for the season of life you are in.
  • Ensure that family and friends help you towards your objectives. Your family, friends, and associates should know and understand what your life values and objectives are and what role they may assist with.
  • Choose a system that will help you with your objectives. The systems and methods in your life must reinforce achievement of your objectives and the results you desire.
Productive thinking helps us to grow in our character as mentioned in Apostle Peter’s 2nd letter in chapter 1 verses 8 and 9, “The more you grow like this, the more productive and useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.”

Focus Question: “Do I stay focused on productive thinking so that I can gain the maximum results and reap the full potential of my thinking?” 

We need to learn and then adopt the thinking habits of unselfish and yet productive thinking in our lives. These are traits or habits of wise and successful people. It is not enough just to learn something. We must also put it into practice for it to become effective.