Future Destination

Women are like Elephants in that they never forget. OK, I know that that’s a generalisation. As a guy, I like and appreciate women in lots of different ways, but there’s something abou tthe fairer sex gender that drives me nuts. Why on earth do they have to live in the past so much. Just listen to them will you? “She said . . . He said . . . We did this . . . then we did that . . .” and the list goes on and on about what has already HAPPENED!

Now just so we don’t get off on a tangent here, men are a pain too, except that if women might tend to live in the past, men live more in the future. “I’m gonna this . . . I’m gonnna that. I’m gonna get me a [whatever] . . . or I’m gonna do [whatever]”. This guy thing, the dreaming thing, is all very well but it can get you into trouble if you’re not careful.

The younger the guy, the worse it is . . .

A teenager will say things like: “I’m gonna get me a really cool car/spoiler/motor/chick/sheila or whatever”. Eruggggh! Or the more refined approach may be “I’m going to go into business and make a killing, and reture at the age of 30″. Nope, I NEVER said that - honestly.

As an entrepreneur, and also a guy, it’s my job to dream - to project plans for the team - to paint a verbal picture of the future for our various businesses. Some people see this as nutty - others just ignore it until t he project actually happens. The brave ones actually say it: “Who do you think you are to achieve all that?” The less secure ones just think it and say “Yes, Dennis” and then do what they want to do.

This pessimism vs enthusiasm thing is a deep issue. If people on the team don’t believe in the vision, you can talk until you’re blue in the face, but they won’t help you one inch. Is the cup half full or is it half empty? Are we on our way to a great destination in business or are we nowhere yet?

A colleague of mine recently referred to some of my crazy ideas as “delusion” and mentioned my “flights of fantasy”. Ouch. That’s not really getting on board with the vision very much! Hopefully one day, once someone else has picked up the ball and helped me made it happen, he’ll come around a bit and share the fruits of the vision.

It’s a funny thing this perception thing. If we have a personality that is aversion to risk, a new business venture can seem like a crazy idea. If our past is a string of negativity, we can then see things overly pessimistically. It’s like wearing tinted glasse. If the glasses are pink, then the whole world is pink. If they’re yellow, then the whole world is yellow.

For guys, it’s really important to have a picture of where we are going. Our customers, our women, staff and children all appreciate it and gain confidence from us when we can set sail for a clear destination. It helps us all to know who we are and where we are going.

I know that based on my Christian faith I’m heading upward, not downwards when my time is up here on earth. That makes a HUMONGOUS difference to my living here on earth. Knowing my future, gives me meaning and purpose and peace and satisfaction and . . . well lots of cool things really.

To be honest, I struggle with the deeper theological aspects to this heaven destination. Don’t ask me to explain how you can have streets of gold in the sky, or how Pete’s going to be sitting at the pearly gates with a book that by my calculations has to be 3/4 mile thick just to get all our names in it, or whether or not we’re going to be singing “Holy, holy, holy” for ever, or why on earth heaven there is no such thing as death, marriage, anger or taxes.

Some things I just don’t know. I’m not really into blowing myself up here on earth just in order to pick up a gazillion virgins in paradise. I’m not really into coming back again as a lizard because I didn’t get it good enough thirteenth first time round, but what I do know that the Lord is a good God, who makes it quite clear that His intentions for those who honour and follow Him are pretty good. In fact He says it Himself in the Good Book here:

For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope.
Jeremiah 29:11

That’s pretty simple if you ask me. Trust in the Lord (after all If He knows all about His own thoughts, He probably knows all about us too) and the glass seems to behalf full, not half empty, by these words.

Look, it’s pretty simple this Christian living thing. We just humble ourself, listen to what He says and do it. Just like the old hymn says: “Hear and Obey, For there’s no other way.” A full life and straight to heaven.

And that’s the heart of the VICTUS IN AMBITUS way.