Strategic Quitting – If you are not going to get to #1, you might as well quit now.

Recently I have completed reading a book. It’s about quitting, about perseverance, about becoming the best and leaving mediocrity behind.

This book is titled “The dip” by Seth Godin. And the dip is only one of the 3 scenarios you can be facing right now. The other 2 are the Cul-de-sac and the cliff.

The dip is the most difficult part of the journey, but once you overcome that, you will enjoy the rewards that follow. The dip produces scarcity and scarcity creates value, that explains the great reward. In business, people use the dip to draw themselves far away from their competitors giving themselves the edge.

The Cul-de-sac is a plateau. You slog, you give, you put in lots of resources but you won’t be going anywhere or just end up being mediocre.

The cliff is when you peak and then you descend drastically. Your future efforts or resources, even when being greater than previous, just won’t satisfy enough. The example given in the book is smoking, an addicted smoker may find smoking more not satisfying as before.

Being the best in the world is usually underrated and most people would settle for mediocrity. If you are aiming for excellence, you will arrive at the dip, but persevere through, do this provided the reward at the end of the dip is what you want. If you are at the Cul-de-sac or cliff, think, is it possible to turn it into a dip by ways such as changing the platform you compete and then slog through the dip you have created. If you can’t, quit.

The wisest thing to do though, before you start to go into a dip, think, is this really what you want? If not, don’t go through it and quit, wasting the resources. List down the things which may make you quit in the dip before you journey.

It is almost impossible to overinvest in becoming the market leader.

Enjoyment

It has been a while ever since I last posted anything on this blog, things however, have happened at the rate I couldn’t keep up with in jotting them down in this blog.

Preoccupation with work. It hasn’t been that smooth all along, lots of new things to learn, new habits to be formed. Sometimes, I would wake up thinking do I have to go to work today, and it has only been 2 months, thinking yesterday, since I started on this new job.

A couple of things have been laid aside, undone. One of them is the book “Intercessory Prayer”, which I had only read and digested 3 chapters. Others include meeting often with friends. And updating this blog and also reading the blogs of others. I hope to keep up with these pursuits soon.

I have been pretty involved in church though, attending every sunday service if I am not on call, on top of that I will attend the monthly prayer meeting and also my cell group meeting, all these being possible only when I’m not on call. Some things have changed in the cell group. More help. More ideas. And all these have definitely brought more excitement, laughter and enjoyment. We have a new meeting place which is very accessible, with dinner provided before we start cell group, a new bible study teacher who is my aunt, and also we do intercessory prayer in groups before we start worshipping and devoting into study of the Word of God.

I have re-journeyed into reading and foot reflexology too. Bit by bit. And I do enjoy. Yes, really.

Disappointments, love and wishes

There were 2 disappointing events this week. The first came on wednesday, when I was supposed to meet my cousin on wednesday for a movie “The empress and his warriors”, but it turned out he couldn’t make it at the last minute due to the emergence of a meeting. The movie plan was postphoned to friday. Then on friday, which is today, we finally watched it but it turned out to be really a flop – we kept laughing at Kelly Chen for her unnatural facial expressions in the show. The story was very badly written as well.

On this day, I talked to this friend about “love”. I asked him: “ What is love to you?” He said its a feeling. I questioned him and asked: ” There must be actions which led to the feelings right, and what are those actions to you?” His answer was: ” I have not really felt love before, so since I never really felt love how could I possibly know what brings love?” 

Love, has been explicitly spelt out in the bible in 1 corinthian 13 which is a well known chapter. Let’s just take the first description – love is patient. Lets say when we are being taught by a teacher on a subject, and the teacher raised his frustrated voice at us when we couldn’t answer his questions or contrary, the teacher patiently guided us to the correct answer, which is love? An act of patience is an act of love which will produce loving feelings. Think about it – the description in 1 corinthian 13 are acts which creates love as a feeling. Is love around in your cell group? Is your cell group filled with actions of love that the love aroma suffuse and saturate the cell?

Lastly, I received an sms from a youth in church, she asked - if you had 3 wishes what would they be? For me, they are – To be healthy, to enjoy living the life I was given by God and lastly to be able to glorify God with this life. What are your wishes then?

Two Five

Two, 2 and five, 5. What does twenty-five or 25 reminds you of?

Whatever significance or inconsequentiality this number may be, it’s today’s date don’t you remember? The 25th of march, for me, reminded me of a hero Gianfranco Zola of my favourite football club Chelsea. He held this number for his jersey.

This week which contained this magic number, however seemed so listless. I felt lethargic. Even at the start of the working week, some people call this the monday blues. Then I was praying to God for a great day before I step foot into my office and in came all the surprises and blessings. Suddenly, everyone seems to treat me additionally good today. Firstly, my manager became exceptionally patient with me when she was revising with me on one of the topics of my work – she used to go into interrogation when I couldn’t answer her questions; my male colleague, who was usually irritable suddenly became friendly too.

Then I realized I didn’t have to be on call for tonight and tomorrow’s so I can really sleep in peace.

On top of all these, today’s payday. And it was my first full pay. I’m glad with two five.  

The believers’ lifestyle

For many young people of my age, being a full-fledged graduate would mean stepping out into the society to look for a job and start earning your keep. Following this, there would be a drastic change in the lifestyle when you stepped out to work. Recently, I had been in touch with a friend who had just started working in a new company and she savoured the opportunity to fly overseas instantaneously to work. 

For the past few months, I have found myself attending a Senior youth cell group where many of this category of young adults are gathering and meeting once a week. Apart from the regularity of meeting, there isn’t much thing excitement and support; active devotion to God’s words, sharing our lives, possessions, and most importantly interceding for the each and everyone through prayer. I knew that must be something being mentioned in the Book of ACTS about living together as a believers and so I came to ACTS 2:42-47.

When I read this passage, I see that the meeting of the believers was very spontaneous and natural. It didn’t require much coordinating and attendance taking, seeing who’s present and who’s not, no hassle to find someone to lead the bible study, and so definitely no trouble for the person to start to pray or sing praises to God. It was an activity so imbued into each and everyone of the believers that they found joy in doing so, everyday, and overtime, it became a “lifestyle”.

I first associate cell group gathering with “lifestyle” when I took on my new job; then I had to adapt to a new environment. From a 9-6pm idyllic period at home, now I had to undertake tasks from my boss at work; from a peaceful sleep at night, now I had to anticipate calls and rush off to hospitals in the middle of the night. It was a siege, an arduous thing that could happen. To find respite and comfort from work, I started going to my aunt’s place regularly for homecooked food and prayer after that. When situations are tough and not to our liking, the first thing that we usually stop is prayer, so when you are not wanting to pray, all the more you will need someone to pray for you.

Eventually, this became a “lifestyle”. Now, I look forward to going to my aunt’s place every week after work to eat my most favourite home-cooked foods. Afterwards, we’ll pray together. I looked forward to it. What is your “lifestyle” like? Maybe it’s going home after work to face a computer again playing some stimulation game, or it may be reading a book enjoying the thrill of the suspense the writer has provided. Whatever it is, I see that activity as something that is so incorporated into your life that it is your ”lifestyle” or “style of life”.

And what about the believers then? They loved to meet up, to the extent, everyday. They meet up in the houses of other believers, devoting themselves to the apostles’ teachings - how I wish the thing we craved today is the preaching and hearing of God’s words and applying it to our lives! And also the fellowship. To the breaking of bread and to prayer. How many of us dread going to prayer meeting or have a regular prayer life that we intercede for people other than ourselves? The believers became so knitted that my possessions are not mine but yours too. We share. And thank our Father for his favour on us.

The Lord added to their numbers daily those we were being saved, and many others soon had this “lifestyle”. Has the meeting together with other believers become your “lifestyle”?

Sharings on prayers (Part 2)

During the whole period at Japan, I continued to intercede, and my intercession, which started from Jan 12 finally was finally truncated by a serious flu caught when we went down from Hokkaido to Tokyo – the date – 12 february, which was exactly 1 month from the date 12 january which I started intercession.

I would like to share a bit of my experience of praying when I was sick. Previously, in one of my posts, I shared that I had a fever and was praying in my bed – I felt a strong presence of God and after resting, my fever was gone. However, this time, I couldn’t pray at all even when I tried very hard to concentrate. The flu was so bad that I had to keep lying down. My aunt, who was a christian, had to lay both her hands on me to pray for me.

After coming back from Japan, I had to nurse the flu, at the same time, start on a new job at a local hospital as a coordinater.

The whole episode of intercession, disciplined, focused and targetted at different groups of people, had ended but it was very rewarding. I am still paying my premiums everyday – would either pray with my christian aunt on the phone or have dinner at her place and afterwards we’ll pray.

Going back to the sermon preached by my pastor, which was on the 2nd of march, there were three main points derived from the book of Acts 4:23-31.

1. The presence of God is perceived
2. The power of God is received
3. The purpose of God is achieved

I have shared on the presence of God being present, signified by the shaking of the ground. The power of God was received when the believers was filled with the Holy Spirit and the purpose of God achieved when they spoke the word boldly.

I hope I can start another bout of intercession soon, and this time, let it be more enduring!