Never try to defend your present position and situation

NUGGET #1
YOUR LEAST FAVORITE COLOR SHOULD BE BEIGE
Never try to defend your present position and situation. Choose to be a person who is on the offensive, not the defensive. People who live defensively never rise above being average. Instead, take the initiative. Lukewarm, indecisive people are never secure, regardless of their wealth, education, or position.
Don’t ever let your quest for balance become an excuse for not taking the unique, radical, invading move that God has directed you to take. Many times the attempt to maintain balance in life is really just an excuse for being lukewarm. In Joshua 1:67,9 the Lord says three times to Joshua, “Be strong and courageous.” I believe that He is saying the same thing to all believers today.
When you choose to be on the offensive, the atmosphere of your life will begin to change. So if you don’t like the atmosphere of your life, choose to take the offensive position. Taking the offensive is not just an action taken outside a person; it is also a decision made within.
When you do choose to be on the offensive, keep all your conflicts impersonal. Fight the issue, not the person. Speak about what God in you can do, not what others are incapable of doing. You will find that when all of your reasons are defensive, your cause almost never succeeds.
Being on the offensive and taking the initiative are master keys that open the doors of opportunity in your life. Learn to create a habit of taking the initiative, and don’t ever start your day in neutral. Every morning when your feet hit the floor, you should be thinking on the offensive, taking control of your day and your life. Don’t become like some people who lose an hour in the morning and spend the rest of the day trying to recover it.
By pulling back and being defensive, you usually enhance the problem. Intimidation always precedes defeat. If you are not sure which way to go, pray, and then move toward the situation in faith.
Be like the two fishermen who got trapped in a storm in the middle of a lake. One turned to the other and asked, “Should we pray, or should we row?” His wise companion responded, “Let’s do both!”
That’s taking the offensive.
NUGGET #2
THE ONLY PLACE TO START IS WHERE YOU ARE
Start with what you have, not with what you don’t have. Opportunity is always where you are, never where you were. To get anywhere you must launch out for somewhere, or you will get nowhere. Hamilton Mabie said, “The question for each man to settle is not what he would do if he had the means, time, influence, and education advantages, but what he will do with the things he has.” God will always give us an ability to create what we need from something that is already here.
Each person tends to either underrate or overrate that which they do not possess. Ed Howe said, “People are always neglecting something they can do and trying to do something they can’t do.” I agree with Teddy Roosevelt when he said, “Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.” The only way to learn anything thoroughly is by starting at the bottom (except when learning how to swim). To be successful, do what you can.Read full book