3 Points to Ponder
- “When I truly get to know many of the forgotten of the world, I quickly realize the tremendous burden many have to carry. I can always learn something from them. What is one thing you have learned from a surprising source?”
- “Nothing can substitute for hard work. Some of my best outcomes have come as a by-product of hard work. Where is one area of your life you need to put forth a bit more hard work?”
- “Everyone has an excuse as to why they can’t do something. Some just choose to not believe the excuse. How can you do something today to not believe an excuse you’ve maybe used in the past?”
2 Quotes to Share
“Striving for success without hard work is like trying to harvest where you haven’t planted.” -David Bly
“Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.” -Galatians 6:9
1 Story of Impact
This past week, I spent time in Haiti with our amazing Many Hands staff. I truly am blown away by their attitude and commitment to the work at hand. During one of the mornings, we were doing seedcorn training for local farmers, utilizing a product designed specifically for their growing conditions yielding over 158% more production versus local varieties. We started the training and in comes through the gate one of our physically handicapped ladies on a Personal Energy Transportation (PET) cart, coming onto our campus to tend to her raised garden beds. She overheard the seminar and when we went out to plant the demonstration field, she tagged along. Now, remember, she is physically disabled, with one leg significantly shorter, to the point she can’t even stand up straight. Walking over 400 meters to the planting site, she sat on the dirt and started to plant by hand. All the time, with a smile on her face. After some time, Christi and I lean over to her and ask her why is she doing this? And her response was priceless. “If you don’t work, you don’t live,” with a huge smile and laugh at the end. No truer words were spoken during my time in Haiti. Her willingness to show up and do the hard work, despite the many obstacles to overcome in her life, speaks volumes about the philosophy of her life. She doesn’t have time for excuses or for someone to feel sorry for her. She wants to live, so she needs to get to work! At the end of the training, she received around 500 kernels of seedcorn. If all goes right, this will produce hundreds if not thousands of pounds of food. Whatever you are investing your time and energy into these days, will it help you live the best version of your life? Will it multiply? We can all take a page from our little old lady friend in Haiti.
