I’m reading a book “How The Mighty Fail” by Jim Collins. Collins is known for his best selling books about business, “Built to Last” and “Good to Great.”
In “How The Mighty Fail” Collins researches and details the reasons why companies that were one time considered great end up failing. He does a great job of describing the stages these once great companies experienced prior to their ultimate demise and death. The bottom line is all of these companies did not keep the “main thing the main thing.” They forgot what got them to their level of greatness, they took their eye off the ball, became arrogant and by the time they figured out they were failing, it was too late.
I’ve been in business for over 25 years and I constantly remind myself and the leaders of our business what the “main things” are. In any business the “main things” are the customer and the employees. If you don’t try your best to listen to and take care of these critical components of your business, it will eventually fail.
I’ve also been married for over 25 years and I constantly try to keep the main thing the main thing, and the main thing in my marriage is my wife.
Keeping the main thing the main thing is critical to the success of anything, whether it be marriage, parenting, work, finances, recovery or most importantly our Christian walk.
Keeping the main thing the main thing as a Christian means asking God to drive ALL aspects of our lives including our work, business, relationships, parenting, finances and recovery. This happens when every day is started in prayer and in the word and this simple act allows us to die to ourselves and in turn allows God to live through us and ultimately run the show.
We’ve all heard this simple yet powerful prayer; “I can’t, God can, I think I’ll let him.” I’ve been doing this little prayer ritual (the first 3 steps of the 12 steps) in various forms, every morning since I got sober almost 22 years ago. The results have been nothing less than amazing and the only credit I give to myself is having the willingness to keep the MAIN THING the MAIN THING right out of the gate each and every day; the rest of the credit goes to the Lord.
Are you keeping the MAIN THING, the MAIN THING these days? I believe you would all agree with me that God is the most powerful force in the universe and that he is our Father and like any great Father he wants us to succeed. The success does not come by simply going to church on Sunday or by saying an occassional prayer when in need of something or by serving others when it feels right. The success comes by trying our best to keep God as the MAIN THING in everything we do and the only way this happens is by starting out on the right foot everyday.
Try getting out of bed for 21 days (the length of time it takes to create a new habit) and turning your entire day and all aspects of your life over to God before doing anything else. Then trust that God will guide your path in everything you do. He tells us he will in Isaiah 40:31 “But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” Give it a try, it works.
P.E.A.C.E.
