Excellence is about contributing our best to the world while evoking others to do the same. It is about understanding our place and making our mark in the world, as we attempt to make it a better place.
The Consistency Magic
There was always strong resistance whenever the new music teacher suggested that the organ be moved from the left to the right side of the stage. His argument was that the ventilation and lighting was better there. The authorities would not budge; the organ didn’t either. So he took matters into his own hands. Before morning service everyday he would shift the organ only a few inches to the right. By the end of the year the organ was at the centre of the stage. Another year later, it was just where he wanted it to be. No one complained. No one even noticed it. Small changes made consistently did the trick. Most of us have terrific ambitions. We dream about things and we get excited about them. But a few days afterwards the dream loses flavour and becomes cold. It’s either too big and we don’t imagine how we will ever get it done or sometimes we even start work on it, don’t see any fruit, then quit. Nehemiah knows a thing or two about dreams and ambitions. When he heard that “the wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and it’s gates have been burned with fire”* it disturbed him. He felt the burden to rebuild the wall that was about 4km long, 12m high and 2.5m thick. To put it in perspective, it is like building a wall around the University of Ghana with a height like that of a 4 storey building and a width thicker than the height of Yao Ming (2.29m). It should have taken years to complete. But it took just “fifty-two days.” ^^ Because, they were committed to it, everyone got on board and, most importantly, they worked every single day “from the first light of dawn till the stars came out.” ^^^ Consistency is the magic that turns dreams into reality. Do you want to read through the Bible, memorize scripture, become a prayer warrior? Do you want to lead excellently, accomplish a big goal, impact millions of young people? Do you want to become rich, be an expert in a field, win the best teacher award? Then you have to invest in it regularly. In your regular acts of investments don’t bite more than you can chew or bite so small that you can’t even taste. Do only enough at a time, build a routine around it and make sure it is something you can continue at for, say, the next 5 years. Consistency is the magic that turns dreams into reality. My main struggle with consistency is that I give up too early because I want to see the results now! When I was struggling with my Bible reading a wise man told me: “Some days you will feel like reading and some days you won’t feel like reading. Whatever the feeling, read anyway.” That advice was priceless. Today, I loan it to you. *Nehemiah 1:3 ^^Nehemiah 6:15 ^^^Nehemiah 4:21