What Are You Waiting For?
What are these people waiting for? The question popped into my mind one day at this company where I worked. I just happened to walk around this huge floor where we all had our offices and cubicles, on my way to a colleague's desk. For some reason I noticed how many people were basically gabbing and staring at their computer screens doing basically nothing. What were they waiting for? Didn't they have a job to do?
Have you ever worked with people who just sort of "wait around"?
I've seen salespeople kind of moping when sales are slow. They wait for something to "happen," rather than take action. Sales happen as a result of activity, not waiting around. What are they waiting for?
Sometimes whole companies get stuck in the waiting game. They're like deer in a car's headlights. They're struck by something and just kind of stare. Even big companies. Look at Sears, for example. It's slowly going out of business. Mighty Sears, one of the world's great retailers since the 19th century, dying right before our eyes. The world passed it by and instead of changing the way they do things, they just waited around until - well, I don't know what they waited for. Now it's too late.
(And if K-Mart doesn't wake up and stop waiting for lightening to strike, they'll be next. Just saying.)
We Catholic men are like other working people in some ways, but not in all ways. We can be subject to the same "waiting around" syndrome in our work. But for us, there's always something to do. So even if we find ourselves staring at the headlights one day, we've got no excuse to just stand around.
You see, we work for the greater glory of God. And even if our business is suffering and we're not sure what to do (as many businesses are now, during our economic crisis), we can still work for God's greater glory. We can work for Him by doing everything we do as perfectly according to His Holy Will as possible. And it doesn't matter what's going on in the economy or in our industry or in our particular business.
If you get stuck at some point, just ask yourself, "What would Our Lord do?"
So let's say your sales slow down and you can't seem to light a fire under your customers or prospects. Now you think of what Our Lord might have done if He was working with Saint Joseph in the shop and orders slowed down.
I can't say for sure, of course, but I would suspect that He'd find something to clean up, or fix up, or improve in some way while waiting for that next order. And I'd say that He would not have waited for St Joseph to wake him up and motivate Him.
And I think He'd maybe pray more intensely to His Heavenly Father, perhaps asking for some help in getting business going again. Maybe He'd ask for direct help, as in "Please send in a customer." Or maybe He'd ask for some inspiration, some idea that might bring in new business. And as soon as He got some idea, He'd act on it.
You know that the Holy Family wasn't rich and so slow business would affect them right away in the most basic ways - food, clothing, shelter. Less business might mean a lighter supper, or having to wear a garment that's too old or ragged, or maybe not being able to fix the leak in the roof because you couldn't afford the new tiles you'd need (or whatever material they had on their roofs).
So when you get stuck, don't wait around. Think of Our Lord right away. Run to your Heavenly Father and ask for help. Pray more, maybe get yourself in front of the Blessed Sacrament (if you can find a church that's open during the day).
We don't have to wait around, we Catholics. We always have something to do. And we always have Someone to turn to for help when we need it.
Have you ever worked with people who just sort of "wait around"?
I've seen salespeople kind of moping when sales are slow. They wait for something to "happen," rather than take action. Sales happen as a result of activity, not waiting around. What are they waiting for?
Sometimes whole companies get stuck in the waiting game. They're like deer in a car's headlights. They're struck by something and just kind of stare. Even big companies. Look at Sears, for example. It's slowly going out of business. Mighty Sears, one of the world's great retailers since the 19th century, dying right before our eyes. The world passed it by and instead of changing the way they do things, they just waited around until - well, I don't know what they waited for. Now it's too late.
(And if K-Mart doesn't wake up and stop waiting for lightening to strike, they'll be next. Just saying.)
We Catholic men are like other working people in some ways, but not in all ways. We can be subject to the same "waiting around" syndrome in our work. But for us, there's always something to do. So even if we find ourselves staring at the headlights one day, we've got no excuse to just stand around.
You see, we work for the greater glory of God. And even if our business is suffering and we're not sure what to do (as many businesses are now, during our economic crisis), we can still work for God's greater glory. We can work for Him by doing everything we do as perfectly according to His Holy Will as possible. And it doesn't matter what's going on in the economy or in our industry or in our particular business.
If you get stuck at some point, just ask yourself, "What would Our Lord do?"
So let's say your sales slow down and you can't seem to light a fire under your customers or prospects. Now you think of what Our Lord might have done if He was working with Saint Joseph in the shop and orders slowed down.
I can't say for sure, of course, but I would suspect that He'd find something to clean up, or fix up, or improve in some way while waiting for that next order. And I'd say that He would not have waited for St Joseph to wake him up and motivate Him.
And I think He'd maybe pray more intensely to His Heavenly Father, perhaps asking for some help in getting business going again. Maybe He'd ask for direct help, as in "Please send in a customer." Or maybe He'd ask for some inspiration, some idea that might bring in new business. And as soon as He got some idea, He'd act on it.
You know that the Holy Family wasn't rich and so slow business would affect them right away in the most basic ways - food, clothing, shelter. Less business might mean a lighter supper, or having to wear a garment that's too old or ragged, or maybe not being able to fix the leak in the roof because you couldn't afford the new tiles you'd need (or whatever material they had on their roofs).
So when you get stuck, don't wait around. Think of Our Lord right away. Run to your Heavenly Father and ask for help. Pray more, maybe get yourself in front of the Blessed Sacrament (if you can find a church that's open during the day).
We don't have to wait around, we Catholics. We always have something to do. And we always have Someone to turn to for help when we need it.
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