11 Things that Took Me 47 Years to Learn (and counting)

To go the easy way or the hard way.

To do what's right or to do what's easy.

To be selfish or selfless.

To follow Christ or follow the flesh.

And this is why I live by something called “greater thans.” 

They're incredibly simple. But they give me wisdom in my decisions. 

Building > dreaming

I would rather build something than dream about it.

Dreaming is easy, dreaming is fun.

You're talking to friends, high on caffeine while playing your favorite motivational song.

But man, does it suck when day after day after day you come to the realization that nothing has changed.

So stop dreaming and start building.

Yeah, building's going to hurt.

Some days it's going to rain, you're going to smash your finger with the hammer.

You're going to get discouraged, people won't believe in you.

Some days you'll get sick, some days you'll have to work when you don't feel like it.

But I'm telling you this, when you look back one day, not only are you going to be thankful because of the results, like the income, but also the personal growth.

Commitment > motivation

It's fine to get motivated, but no amount of listening to motivational speeches, watching motivational movies, or hearing motivational music is ever going to trump actually committing to the task and doing it.

Because when you commit to something, you decide, “I'm going to do it even when I don't feel motivated.” 

Someone who only acts on something when they feel motivated is someone who lives purely by emotion and will never succeed in what they're trying to accomplish.

Because the only people who really succeed in life are the people who keep pushing even when it's extremely uncomfortable, even when they would rather be sleeping in bed, warm on their couch, watching a show, or hanging out with their family. 

There is nothing in this world worth achieving that does not require sacrifice.

And that is why commitment is greater than motivation.

Consistency > innovation

“Innovation? Really, Seth? What about the 10s of thousands of inventions created in the last 150 years that have completely changed how we live?” 

Because none of that innovation would ever have occurred if the innovators were not consistent.

It was Thomas Edison's consistency and willingness to fail and fail and fail and fail and fail and fail and fail and fail until finally he finally figured out how the light bulb works.

Most people who have an innovative mind do not have the consistency to make that innovation worth anything.

You might come up with amazing ideas, but an idea means nothing until you become consistent in pursuing it.

“Day one” > “One day” 

It’s easy to talk a big game. 

“One day I'll get to that.”

“One day I'll put this away.”

“One day I'll do this thing my wife has been asking me forever to do.” 

Why not say, “No, today is day one. Let's begin.” 

Don't feel overwhelmed that whatever you're trying to accomplish is massive, like building a course business.

Focus simply on, “What do I need to do in day one?” 

Is it going to take longer to get there than you think?

Yes.

Is it going to be harder than you think?

Yes.

Are you going to suffer along the way?

Yes.

Will people misunderstand you along the way?

Yes.

And God will use every single one of those obstacles to grow you on the inside so that you're leaning on the cross and not on your strength.

It amazes me how many motivational speeches, songs, blogs, and books today are true, but the end goal and foundation is based on a lie.

“Believe in yourself.” 

No, I believe in the One who created me because I'm not perfect.

“Follow your heart.” 

No, I must guard my heart because from it flow the springs of life (Prov 4:23). 

Doing right > following impulse

It's easy to follow impulse. It is often hard to do the right thing.

But once you do the right thing, it's a lot easier.

Because when you follow your impulse, you choose easy now, hard later.

When you do the right thing, you choose hard now, easy later.

Executing > talking

It's one thing to talk and talk and talk about your plans, what you're going to do, how excited you are, how you're going to change your life.

But the more you talk without action the lower your credibility sinks. 

I'll never forget when I was in my early 20s, I met this man 20 years my senior who I thought would be a role model to me.

He was always talking about his plans to build a business and make money and get his family out of debt.

Always talking.

Every month he had a new idea he was working on.

But he never executed. 

Today he's old and still working a 9 to 5, paycheck to paycheck. 

Faith > feeling

Live by feeling and the chain of emotion will yank your life around. Feeling-driven decisions give birth to more negative feelings, which produce more bad decisions as your life spirals downwards.

But if you choose faith in God who loves you and will never fail or deceive you, even when your feelings are screaming the opposite direction, you become a man of character. A man of strength.

Giving > receiving

Jesus himself personified this amazingly.

He did not just give time and help people without expecting anything in return.

He literally gave His life.

Being a giving person is far more than being someone who donates to charity. This person’s life is about giving. Their mindset is about giving. It doesn’t matter if it’s their client, mom, wife, or dentist, they are always looking for ways to give. 

How can I give to them? How can I serve them today? How can I support this person in their time of need? 

Grace > judgment

Yes, I do believe in the law.

If there was no law, chaos would reign.

Some people deserve to be in prison for life. Others to be executed for gross crimes against innocent humans. 

But I also believe that I deserve to be in hell for all eternity because I'm a terrible sinner against an infinitely holy God.

God is just, I am not.

And my only chance for forgiveness is what Jesus Christ did for me on the cross.

When someone experiences this level of God's love, their natural impulse is no longer to point the finger and judge, but to say, “How can I show this person grace?” because he who has been forgiven much loves much (Luke 7:47). 

When someone asks me how I am doing I like to respond, “Better than I deserve.” (Thanks, Dave Ramsey). 

Many respond, “Oh, don't say that. You deserve better.” 

I reply, “No, I actually deserve worse.” 

“Why?” they always ask. 

“Because I'm a sinner. I've sinned against an infinitely holy God and he forgave me for all eternity."

Listen, if I lie against a stranger, consequences are minimal.

If I lie against a boss, consequences are more severe. 

What if I lie to the President of the United States of America?

I could get locked up or even be executed.

The higher the authority we lie to, the greater the consequences. 

What if I lie to God, the highest authority?

When we sin, we do not just sin against whomever we offended. We sin against an infinitely perfect God, which means the consequence are immeasurably terrifying. No wonder God had to die so we could live.

That is pure grace. And you cannot be touched by it without being forever changed by it.

Jesus > ego

Social media encourages us to promote ourselves. To inflate our egos. To put ourselves before others, the exact opposite of what Jesus did and taught.

But here's what’s amazing.

Jesus surrendered His ego.

He went from God in heaven with the Father and the Spirit in perfect community and came all the way down to earth to our level.

He pitched his tent among men.

He suffered, He got sick, He felt the grievances of a broken world full of pain and sorrow. 

And then He went even further.

He went to Hell on our behalf.

Talk about the example of no ego and complete love.

When you have truly surrendered to Christ and let Him be the king of your life, what flows out is genuine love, strong love, even tough love for others. And you no longer need to look a certain way.

In fact, you're willing to look like an absolute idiot for a long time while you build your business, while you mess up and keep asking for help because you don't care what people think.

You care what Jesus thinks.

And so you're willing to crawl through shit if you have to to get where you need to be.

God will honor that.

‘Well done, good slave, because you have been faithful in a very little thing, you are to be in authority over ten cities" (Luke 19:17).