Don't quit

Every now and then, in our lives, we have days when we go through the valley. We have our mountain top experiences where we feel the wind in our faces. It’s a lovely feeling when we are on top and things are going well. But mountain tops wouldn’t be there if there weren’t valleys. Sometimes life takes us into those valleys and all of us respond in different ways to the valley. But valleys, by their very nature, can take the steam out of us. They have a way of draining us. We find that there’s less focus on the things that we are doing and find that the vision sometimes is challenged. We find that our energy levels are down and we have to just keep going through the motions.
But I have found that we need to quickly take charge of our valley moments; we need to find ways to recognize that we are in the valley but yet be able to move out of it and onto a more secure foundation. Over the years I have put together the things that I have used in my life to help me in the times when I have run out of steam. On my table I have a little glass cube that has embedded in it the globe and on top of it is an eagle. It always reminds that this bird is above all, it transcends the things that can capture it. I am inspired by it, more because it reminds me of a quote from the Bible: “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

It reminds me that at times like this, I can rely upon God, that He will come alongside of me and lift me so that I can soar on wings like an eagle and I won’t be tired, I won’t faint. Maybe there are some of you on this call today who are tired and running out of steam. The Almighty is always willing to come alongside of you and me and help us to get out of that particular phase of life.

One of the things I love being challenged by is Sony Corporation. Their vision statement is such a powerful reminder of how one can move from the doldrums to a place of absolute devastation and still think big and huge and long. Sony Corporation wrote this in 1950: “We will create products that become pervasive around the world. We will be the first Japanese company to go into the American market and distribute directly. We will succeed with innovations like the transistor radio that American companies have failed at. Fifty years from now, our brand name will be as well known as any on Earth and will signify innovation and quality that rivals the most innovative companies anywhere. ’Made in Japan’ will mean something fine, not shoddy.”

Isn’t that amazing? Written soon after the war when Japan was devastated and yet one person was willing to look ahead and say, “Out of this I can see something that is tangible and powerful, something that can change everything within my country and will become a name that is synonymous with quality around the world.

I was reading an article on “Made in Japan” which is the story of how Akio Morita, co-founder of Sony, built up the company. Rachit Saraf from Bangalore, who did the review, says that we must remember that SONY was not built in a day. It took a lot of time, a lot of determination, devotion, hard work and sacrifice. So we find out that to achieve something great in life, there are no short cuts.

That is so true, isn’t it? Nothing comes easily to us; there is a need for effort. To be able to thing that there is a place to go, even when we are down and out, is wonderful. But to get oneself out of that situation needs effort and effort is sometimes at a premium in times like this. We wonder whether we have the effort to get out of it. We feel like just wallowing a bit, letting things roll for a while.

I am reminded of a story of a giant ship engine that failed. The ship’s owner tried one expert after another, but none of them could figure out how to fix the engine. Then they brought in an old man who had been fixing ships since he was young. He carried a large bag of tools with him, and when he arrived, he immediately went to work. He inspected the engine very carefully from top to bottom. Two of the ship’s owners were there watching this man, hoping he would know what to do. After looking things over, the old man reached into his bag and pulled out a small hammer. He gently tapped something. Instantly the engine lurched into life. He carefully put the hammer away. The engine was fixed! A week later, the owners received a bill from the old man for $10,000. “What?” the owners exclaimed, “He hardly did anything!” So they wrote the old man a note saying, “Please send us an itemized bill.” The man sent a bill that read:

“Tapping with a hammer: $2.00
  Knowing where to tap:    $9998.00"

Effort is important, but knowing where to make an effort makes all the difference. And as you try and work through low times in your life, when things don’t seem to be going too well, when the steam is running out, it’s important that we recognize that effort is important and yet to place the effort in the right place is what will make the difference.

“Great changes may not happen right away, but with effort even the difficult may become easy” says Bill Blackman.

Oliver Wendell Holmes says, “The mode by which the inevitable comes to pass is effort.”

Effort is the key, it is crucial in coming out of a situation. To be able to walk through the valleys will take effort and it’s something that you and I need to put in.

Peter Drucker says, “There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all.” This highlights that it is important to put effort into the right place.

Theodore Roosevelt quotes, “It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood, who strives valiantly, who errs and comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcomings, but who does actually strive to do the deed, who knows the great enthusiasm, the great devotion, who spends himself in a worthy cause, who at the best knows in the end, the triumph of high achievement and who at the worst, if he fails while daring greatly so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

I wonder where you are this morning, my friends. Whether some of you are in a place where it’s difficult, where you are low on energy, where your vision seems blurred and things are not going the way you would like them to?

I’d like to read this anonymous poem called ‘Don’t Quit’

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest, if you must, but don’t you quit.

Take a deep breath. Sit down for a while. Regroup. Think about what has happened. Think about new things, new perspectives. Look at things all around you that can motivate you and challenge you, like the eagle or Sony Corporation. Think about things that have motivated other people. Rise above the situation and take a deep breath and put in the effort.

Remember:

Success is failure turned inside out.
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar.
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,
It’s when things seem the worst that you must not quit.

Remember the turtle: he only moves ahead when he has his neck stuck out.

This morning if you are down and out, if you are weary and things are taking their toll, I want to challenge you. Don’t quit. Take a deep breath, look around you for things that can motivate you and then put effort into getting out of where you are. Put effort into the right place and allow that momentum to take you out but don’t quit.

God Bless You All.