Sunday, October 8, 2000
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Sunday, October 8, 2000 |
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About time By
MARY JANE HOLT
I'm not sure I understand the concept of timing. How many times have your heard, or said, "I'm waiting for the right timing"? Who sets the time? I'm not sure I'm the one to answer such questions, but I think the timing is so very right for a book I recently discovered. In fact, I know it is the right time for me to have discovered it. "Success Is Not An Accident" by Tommy Newberry has grabbed me like I have needed to be grabbed for a long time. As I go through the book (you can't just read it - you have to study it), I am wondering where this book was twenty years ago, or even ten years ago. I needed it then! And then I think about timing. Has there been a period any time in my past when I would have taken seriously the concepts that are so skillfully conveyed on the pages? I honestly do not know. I have been tempted to become discouraged of late. Actually, that's not true, I became so discouraged on Thursday night, Sept. 21, that I actually considered going home and burning everything I had ever written and "put away." Any writer knows what I'm talking about here. The stuff we write and stick in a box or file it back or... well, you know, if you are a writer. I was at the Margaret Mitchell museum. I was standing in front of one of the wall displays (I thinks it's call a shadow box, maybe) of some of her early work. We're talking childhood here. I cannot begin to tell you what came over me. I almost became ill. I felt like I was invading her privacy. Like she would not want me or anybody else looking at what was on display. I could look no further. I didn't even let my eyes wonder to other exhibits. I only wanted to escape that building. Am I making any sense here? Anyway, I was already discouraged. My mind started wondering... If my work ever really caught on was there a chance I could one day be exposed like Margaret? The last thing on earth I would want! But, of course, I'd be dead, so what would it matter? I was really heading down. And the next day I continued to spiral downward. It got so bad that I began to pray and asked several other folks to pray for me. I mean, normally, it takes months to become as discouraged as I had grown in less than 72 hours. THEN, the next day, I discovered "Success Is Not An Accident." I interviewed the author. He glowed. He was real. No canned pitched going on here. I can spot a phony a mile off. Tommy Newberry was/is a blessing. And so is his book from which I quote today: Page 81: "It has been said that four simple words characterize mediocrity most accurately and they are, 'I didn't have time.' Four simple words. 'I didn't have time.' There is no excuse more damaging that you or anyone else could have concerning success. When you tell someone you didn't have time, you simply reinforce their perception of you as someone who can't be relied upon to get the job done. And when you tell yourself that you didn't have time, you undermine your inner credibility and fortify a self-image of underachievement and irresponsibility." Trust me here, that quote does not even begin to tap into the wisdom shared in this remarkable book. I am reading and studying it. I feel quite strongly that the book is helping to change my life. The timing is perfect. Other books by Newberry include: "366 Days of Wisdom & Inspiration with America's Success Coach," "Getting Results," "High Speed Success," "Peak Performance For Christ," "The Secret Place," "Talk Yourself Into Success," and "Vital Time." In closing, another quote from "Success Is Not An Accident": Page 69: "Planning really
means evaluating your life in light of where you've been, where you are
now, and where you intend to go. You must be willing to question how well
you've managed your life up until now. Effective planning allows you to
avoid life management by crisis. Crises divert your attention from the
vital people and activities in your life and are nearly always a result
of inadequate planning. Systematic, long-term, yearly, quarterly, monthly,
weekly, daily planning is absolutely critical to your success. Remind
yourself that all successful people plan on paper. Unsuccessful people
simply 'cannot find the time.'"
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