The Bible is rich with metaphors about farming, which I can relate to, since I enjoy gardening. One of the things about farming is that seasons change, which means that your daily tasks will change too.

When a farmer plows for planting, does he plow continually? Does he keep on breaking up and working the soil? Isaiah 28:24
 (NIV)

In my garden so far this year, I’ve already gone through the time of plowing. Having just a small patch of soil in my yard, I use a shovel to break up the clay soil. It is hard, back-breaking work to lift the soil and break it up. But there is a reason for it.

First of all, it breaks up the roots of the old plants in the ground. This kills them, so that the new plants have some room to spread out.

Tilling also adds air to the soil, which includes both oxygen for the bacteria and the worms, and nitrogen for the new plants. And finally, turning the soil also makes it easier for the plant roots to go deep into the ground once they start growing.

Once the soil is tilled, I don’t keep coming back and breaking the soil up, as it says in Isaiah. The first goal is to get the seeds into the ground so that they can start growing.

It is springtime now, and we’re beginning the growing season. I can see things starting to green up, and it is a time for a little optimism.

Unfortunately, even though the season has changed, there is still work to do. It is now a time of weeding, watering, and feeding the plants.

Lucky me… I now get the opportunity to pull out the weeds that have sprouted next to my vegetables. And weeds seem to grow faster than my plants, which I can’t figure out why… But if I don’t pull the weeds, they steal nutrients and moisture from the soil that my plants need. And since they grow faster, they could easily cast a shadow on my plants, shading them from the sunlight that gives them energy. Yes, weeds need to be pulled!

It is the season of weed-pulling now, and it will be until for a long time to come. It goes on and on, seemingly forever.

I’ll bet your work life feels like this too. You feel that all you are doing is the same-old stuff, day-after-day. Right?

Take heart. The season will change. But for you to reap the harvest, you have to stay diligent and continue to weed your garden.

Your task for today is to prepare for the changes, and start getting ready to make switch to the next task. It will be work though. But don’t give up now. Stay the course, even if it feels like you’re not making progress. I guarantee that the day of reaping will arrive, because we serve a God of “seasons.”

.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Most people don’t have that patience. In fact, it is such a rare quality that you’d have a hard time naming 10 people with the trait.

Right now, here in the beginning of April of 2012, the country is going back into a recession, even though the big-3 auto makers just reported a huge gain in sales of cars. I am certain that we’re heading into a recession, because my rocketry business is a leading indicator. Discretionary purchases, like toy model rockets, are the first thing that people cut back on when times get hard. And since mid-March, I’ve seen a decline in sales of rockets.

I did expect it though, as my sales seem to follow the price of gasoline. When the price of gas goes up, discretionary spending goes down. It is only when the price stabilizes that the customers will begin returning to the spending on rockets.

Normally, it would take at least 5 or 6 months for things to stabilize after a big surge in the price of gasoline. That would put us somewhere right in the heat of the Presidential campaigns. That would happen if things were normal…

Things aren’t normal this time around. I predict that President Obama will start to see his days numbered unless he has some sort of crisis that would make him look presidential. So he is already in the beginning stages of ratcheting up the rhetoric to make himself look like a savior. The North Koreans are getting ready to test fire a long-range missile, and he is provoking the Iranians with sanctions (why now, he could have done this 2 years ago). Also, the main-stream media is trying to stir up racial tensions to make sure that his core base stays energized to vote for him. He needs the crisis, and things are going to get ugly the until the end of December.

But his days in office are indeed numbered. The Republicans are more energized than ever to get out and vote against him. That is the good news!

That gets us back to patience. In the mean time, while we wait for the geo-political climate to return to a normal level, it is important to remain calm. And while you wait, continue to do what you’ve always been doing.

In the bible, I look at the patience of Jacob as my example. He wanted to marry Laban’s daughter Rachel. In fact, he had to patiently wait for seven years.

Jacob was in love with Rachel and said, “I’ll work for you seven years in return for your younger daughter Rachel.”

Laban said, “It’s better that I give her to you than to some other man. Stay here with me.” So Jacob served seven years to get Rachel, but they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her. Genesis 29:18-20 (NIV)

But he wasn’t idle during those years. He did is daily duties and there is no indication that he slacked off.

So while the economy is going down with the increase in the price of gas, don’t give up what you’ve been doing. And if you’ve been reading this blog, you know that what you should be doing is to continue to “Be Fruitful.” You will reap in due season. Even in a drought, there will be some harvest.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

These are some of the things that I hear at home all the time. Tell me if it sounds familiar to you: “Dad! The TV isn’t working!” “Dad, the printer isn’t working on the computer ” or “Dad, how come I can’t connect to the internet?”

What does this mean in real terms? “Come here right now, and fix this for ME.”

I get the exact same thing at work with my employees. The only difference is that the word “boss” is substituted for the word “dad.”

• “Boss… The internet isn’t working.”
• “Boss… The printer isn’t working.”
• “Hey boss… We need more toilet paper in the bathroom.”
• “Hey boss… There is a spill that needs to be cleaned up.”

I hear these phrases far too often in my business, and I would bet that ALL owners are inundated with the exact same issues on a daily basis. It is enough to drive you nuts if you are an employer.

I’m going to cut right to the chase today, because this issue annoys me to no end:

The phrase “I’m not paid to do that” should be thrown out of your vocabulary right now.

Why? Because first of all, it is a searing ember in your bosses (or customer’s) ears. It burns right down to their core, and makes them furious.

It makes them furious, because it goes against the reason you were hired (or selected by the customer). Your job—your ONLY job—is to make the life of someone else easier. That was God’s plan when he issued the first commandment in the bible to “Be Fruitful.”

When you say: “I’m not paid to do that,” or “come here and fix this for me,” you in essence are throwing it back up to the boss to find a way to get the job done. And that means he/she has to find someone else to do the job that you won’t do yourself.

Not only does it cost them money, but costs them their own TIME, which is even more valuable to them than money. In fact, that is the ONLY reason to hire an employee. I tell this to my children all the time, to get them ready for their career-life:

“The only reason for employees, is because the boss doesn’t have the time to do everything themselves.”

I’ll say this again, even if you’ve heard it before: the employer wants more time, and he is willing to trade money for it. When you tell him that his money is not enough (by saying, “I’m not paid to do that” or “come and fix this for me”), you’ve basically have said that your time is more important than his time.

At that very second in time, you’ve just limited your chances of promotion and an increase in income. The boss’ opinion of you has instantly changed for the worse.

Saving Other People Time Is A Golden Ticket To Wealth

I have to tell you that having a servant’s attitude is one of the key reasons that my company Apogee Components is growing at more than 20% per year. Even during this recession.

When a customer comes to me with a problem, I try to solve it, and do it quickly. It saves them time, and they are willing to pay handsomely for that. In fact, my prices are much higher than my competitors, and I’ve put many of them out of business. The reason is that the competitors thought their time was more important than the customers. The customers didn’t like that, and even though it cost them a little more, they decided to go where they were treated by someone that valued their time.

For me to value their time, and take care of their needs quickly, I need for my employees to do the same for me.

In fact, the ones that free up my time, are immensely valuable to me. I LOVE them more than they could ever know. I want them around, because my time is more valuable to me than the money I pay them. And they are the ones that will get big raises every year.

How Not To Get A Promotion

A couple of weeks ago, an employee in my office came to me with a list of our products. He said: “Hey boss, I’m just a temp employee here, and I don’t know the products that well. Could you go through this list of 200 products and classify them for me, so that I can update the web site?”

Now he thought that he was doing me a favor. He thought that an updated web site was more important to me in the long run. But what was he doing in reality? He was assigning me work. He was trying to make his job easier at the expense of my time and effort.

At that moment, his value to me dropped like a boulder tossed into the ocean.

What should he have done?

I think the one thing for him to have said was: “Boss, I need help classifying these products. Do you have any suggestions?”

That subtle difference in the phrasing of the request would have made a lot of difference. To be honest, it wouldn’t have increased his value to me, but it wouldn’t have decreased it either. Because he was a temp, I’m was certain now that he wouldn’t ever become a permanent employee.

If he wanted to increase his value, he should have said: “I’d like to have a little time to figure out how to classify these products myself. When I am done, may I have a few minutes of your time to verify that I have the criteria correct?”

That would tell me that he is interested in helping me two ways, saving my time, and getting his job done.

Here are some magic phrases that I guarantee will increase your worth to those you serve:

• “Boss, I noticed that XYZ was broke. Is this something I would be authorized to fix?”

• “Boss, there was a problem with this customer. It might be possible to fix the situation by doing XYZ. Do you want me to go ahead and do it that way?”

Not only do these phrases imply that you are saving the boss time, but you are becoming his eyes too. You’re taking in information, and feeding it to him.

If you are in a situation where there are multiple layers of management between you and the owner, you might be wondering how to get noticed. Basically, you use the same phrases. You work for the manager that is directly above you, and you make their life easier.

This sounds hard. And it is. But the manager over you was put there by your employer to free up the owner’s time. Serve that person, and serve them well.

The Bible is in complete agreement with this business tactic. Both Joseph and Daniel were servants to their managers before they rose to the ranks of rulers in the country.

What Should I do if My Manager is a Jerk?

I know that many people do not like their managers. And they want to bypass them and get noticed by the owner. So they will subtly sabotage them by not following their directions or doing what they think is important. They hope that the owner will notice that the manager is not “managing.” The owner notices everything, and they do you see what you’re doing. Trust me, I know.

To be honest, I did this myself when I was just getting started in my own career when I worked for a tyrant of a boss. I even wrote letters to the company Board of Directors letting them know that my boss was an real jerk.

Who ended up getting fired? Right. I did.

The manager was put there by the owners, because at some point in the past, he earned their trust by making their life easier. And I was (to look at it from a different point of view), letting them know that they made a poor decision when they made him the manager. I was telling them that they were incompetent.

How would you (as the owner) like to be called “incompetent” by your employees? You don’t like it at all. It is a rebellious attitude and insubordination. That person has to be fired, before other employees start to think that they can do whatever they want.

This situation is one of my most shameful moments of my career. I had to learn the hard way what I should have been doing. I should have just served my manager as hard as I could.

How Low Will You Go To Serve?

I am willing to go low in the service to my customers. I’ve said before on this web site, that I don’t blink twice about having to clean nasty-dirty toilets. If it needs to be done, I’ll do it.

I do it, because I’m a fixer. I see the problems ahead of time, and I take action to head them off before they become mountainous problems. Most of the time, I’ll hire someone to take care of the problems for me. But I’m not above doing the work myself if it absolutely needs to get done.

I’m willing to do the dirty work to make sure my customers are happy. In this sense, I subordinate myself to others, and I’m really not much different than a prostitute.

Serve wholeheartedly, as if you were serving the Lord, not people, because you know that the Lord will reward each one for whatever good they do, whether they are slave or free. Ephesians 6:7-8 (NIV)

“Be a servant” is another way of saying “Be Fruitful.” It is how to make money, God’s way.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Pride is easy to see in people around us. It is an “I did these great things myself” attitude. It is saying that you don’t need anyone else’s help.

No one likes to be around a prideful person. And that is why there are so many warnings against pride. Because when you ignore the contributions of those around you, they will quietly step away from you, leaving you hanging out in the wind. Like a building on a cliff, where the soil has eroded away from the foundation, it topples easily.

Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall. 
Proverbs 16:18 (NIV)

The question is does accumulating wealth bring about a prideful spirit?

By your great skill in trading you have increased your wealth, and because of your wealth your heart has grown proud. Ezekiel 28:5 (NIV)

The answer is that wealth can easily lead to a prideful spirit.

The reason is simple. To accumulate wealth, you have to make a lot of wise decisions for a long period of time. Overnight success is rare, and if you become wealthy, it will probably be because you followed the long-and-hard path. You probably didn’t win the $640 million Mega Buck lottery.

Therefore, since you did it the slow way, it is very easy to come to trust your own wisdom. I say this from experience. I get product and service tips from people all the time, and most of them are the same. For example, it may be from people saying that if I were to discount my shipping rates, then my sales would soar.

I tend to brush aside such statement, because of the evidence that I see that discounting is a disaster to a lot of companies.

But I often wonder if brushing aside their comments is pride on my part. It could be. But then again, if I’m able to step back and wonder if I’m making a wrong decision, then I feel better.

The more experience and knowledge you have, the easier it is to ignore the advice of others. When you can no longer listen, then you’ve hit that pride wall.

Where there is strife, there is pride, but wisdom is found in those who take advice. Proverbs 13:10 (NIV)

Today, remember to step back and at least consider the advice of others. It is how to make money, God’s way.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

The verse that scares people about wealth was this phrase uttered by Jesus:

“What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul?” – Matthew 16:26 (NIV)

They gather from this, that wealth is an “either-or” proposition. They think that you can either be poor and go to heaven, or be wealthy and lose your soul. Right? I’m sure you’ve heard people say things that infer that.

I think the reason they believe those things is because of their beliefs about how people become wealthy. The thoughts that I come across most are that rich people got their money in one of these three ways:

• 1. Inheritance
• 2. Being greedy
• 3. Being lucky

Let’s go through some examples of the phrases that I have heard, just to show how prevalent these thoughts are.

Wealth By Inheritance

I have never in my life have come across someone that got their money by being a “trust-fund baby.” And I know a bazillion people, and a lot of rich ones too. Based on my experience, the number of people that got their wealthy by inheritance is exceptionally rare.

I think that people think it is prevalent because those few individuals that got their money by inheritance are getting a lot of publicity—far more than anyone else on the planet. People like Paris Hilton, and Nichole Richie, the  members of Kennedy family are the only ones that pop into my mind.

I believe that they get so much attention, because people are covetous of how easy it was for them to get wealthy. Wealth without work… what a lovely concept!

Wealth By Being Greedy

My nephew posted on his facebook account yesterday a news story about the amount of profit that Exxon-Mobil made this last quarter. Immediately, everyone started posting about how greedy the company and its executives were.

Really? Greedy?

Do they know who owns Exxon-Mobil? It is all the retirement funds that people buy. You know, 401K’s and IRA’s. They are the owners, and these people demand that the company make a profit, and the more the better. In fact, it would be against the law for the corporate executives to forego making a profit for their shareholders.

And besides, it is not Exxon-Mobil that is selling to the customer. There are layers of middle-men in the situation that bid on the price of oil, because they are the ones that are selling to the customers. They want to make sure that they have a supply of the product to get through to the customer, and they are competing against other middle-men. So they try to offer Exxon-Mobil a price that is just slightly above what his competitor is offering, just to insure that he has a product to sell. It is this back-and-forth bidding by the middle-men that drive up the price, based on the uncertainty of production.

Wealth By Luck

People really believe the wealth-by-luck reason to explain why others (an not them) are wealthy. They hear phrases like: “rich people put on their pants one-leg-at-a-time,” which indicates that they are just like them. So how did these people that are just-like-them, get wealthy? It must be luck, because everything else is equal.

It also explains when they see teenage pop stars that make millions of dollars, seemingly overnight. And they don’t think that they have any more talent than the kids that sing in the church choir at Christmas time. How can it be? Obviously “luck,” right?

But they never see the army of promoters and agents working behind the scenes to make these talented entertainers into instant successes. How many people worked for Disney to make Miley Cyrus a success? I’m sure that you too could be an instant success if you had an army of publicists pushing your brand out to the media.

Wealth-by-Wisdom

In reality, the proven method of wealth is through wisdom. I’ve been saying this over and over, because I truly believe it —and besides, the bible says so too.

By your wisdom and understanding you have gained wealth for yourself and amassed gold and silver in your treasuries. Ezekiel 28:4
 (NIV)

Wealth comes from an application of your wisdom. If you’re not becoming wealthy, it is either because you don’t have wisdom, or you are applying that wisdom incorrectly. To me, not applying wisdom correctly is the same thing as not having wisdom… right?

So we’re now back to my original question:

What Do You Lose When You Gain the World?

Things change, and while you gain money, you lose things too. The first thing you lose is some family and friends.

The reason is because of what they think of you once you have earned and have accumulated wealth. They now think you are: “greedy.”

They know you didn’t inherit it, as they knew you when you were poor. And they didn’t see you win the lottery, so the only reason left in their mind is that you must be greedy.

In other words, in their minds, you must have lost your “soul.”

So… how does it feel to be treated like Exxon-Mobil? Do you like that feeling? Does it make you angry that you’ve been abandoned by many friends and a few family members?

I can sympathize with you. People treat you like you’re in league with the devil once you’ve accumulated some cash. Instead of rejoicing with you, or asking for access to your wisdom, they’d rather ask you for some cash and berate you behind your back when you don’t give it to them.

Because of this, you will de-friend a number of people as you accumulate money. And it hurts. I guarantee you that it hurts.

Nobody Cares About Your Hurts

That is the next thing you lose when you get wealthy. You lose the ability to tap into compassion of others, including other Christians.

People don’t care about the emotional pain of rich people! Not one iota. In fact, they get a little giddy when they see a rich person stumble. “What goes around, comes around” they think. Obviously, since the rich person got their money by being greedy, it must be karma that is getting even with them when they stumble and fall in life.

The feeling that I sense is that poor people don’t believe that rich people need Jesus.

Ouch.

To be honest, this is one reason I created this web site. I believe everyone has a calling to someone else in the world. Most people feel called by the Lord to help the poor. And I am grateful for them, and I pray for their mission. But I don’t feel that God has laid this mission on me personally. I feel called to help the rich, because they have needs too; and no one else is serving those needs. They are hanging out there in the wind, without anyone standing by to encourage them and to offer them hope.

Nobody Wants Your Advice

Not only don’t people care about you once you have money, they also don’t care to listen to you either. This hurts too. But it hurts the poor person even more.

If it is “wisdom” that leads to wealth, then getting wisdom down to the poor people would help them rise out of their poverty. But they don’t want it. In fact, they resent it, just as they resent the message of the bible.

How can you help people that resent you? You can’t.

The poor person thinks that those with money are all trying to “keep them down,” sort of like a slave. They don’t trust the information and advice that comes from someone with money. They would rather trust the advice of their broke friend, as if that makes any sense. So they are always stuck in the loop of poverty.

The message of building wealth is not an easy one. It requires work, investment, and helping someone else get what they want first. It normally takes a lot of time and effort. That means it is hard, which is a message they don’t want to hear. They want wealth accumulation to be fast and easy.

To make it easier, you need wisdom. And wisdom is all around you for the asking.

I find that rich people are generous with their wisdom. They are craving to share it. And to them, it is far more precious than their money. So calling them greedy is a complete insult since they are begging to give you something more precious than money. But nobody wants it.

The way of fools seems right to them, but the wise listen to advice. Proverbs 12:15
 (NIV)

Listen to the wise. Don’t resent them for their money. It is how to make money, God’s way.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

Traditionally, the term “man of letters” refers to a person that has scholarly pursuits, such as a person that has gone to college. In fact, you’ve probably seen hundreds of commercials on TV for nigh-schools that will tell you that in order to get a job, you need to get a lot of letters after your name, like Ph.D., BS, MS, AS, MD, DDS etc.

Are these late-night TV commercials right? That is debatable. It comes down to what the employer believes about a college education.

We all know that it used to be that a college education stood for something. It stood for indepth learning and study to improve yourself. But with diploma mills churning out graduates, it is becoming harder and hard to say if the piece of paper has any meaning.

Because of this, when I see a college graduate, I don’t assume anything. They may have general knowledge, but I know they don’t know my business specifically. The only thing I infer from a person with “Letters” after their name, is that they spent time in a class. With “online” classes now, I’m now thinking that even that is becoming less significant, as anyone can do an on-line class and pass them: including grade schoolers.

A Man WITH Letters

This is why I want to talk about how to become a man “with” letters. It will make you stand out.

First of all, what do I mean by the phrase “a man with letters?” This is easy to explain: just add the word “testimonial” before the word “letters.”

Become a man with testimonial letters.

That makes a huge difference. The testimonial letters are really an endorsement of your capabilities written by a third party.

And it is biblical tactic, which should make you take notice:

Meanwhile, Saul was still breathing out murderous threats against the Lord’s disciples. He went to the high priest and asked him for letters to the synagogues in Damascus, so that if he found any there who belonged to the Way, whether men or women, he might take them as prisoners to Jerusalem. Acts 9:1-2 (NIV)

Here is the gist of this: Saul wanted a job in Damascus. He wanted to be the enforcer of jewish laws in the synagogues there. But he knew he couldn’t just walk in and ask for the job. He needed an endorsement of his capabilities. So he asked the high priest for a letter of recommendation. And it worked! He got the job.

I want you to notice one thing. Saul had to ask for the letters.

No one bothers to ask for letters of recommendation. How do I know? Because none of people that come in my office looking for a job have any letters of recommendation with them. The reason is that they didn’t ask their previous employer for them. It is really that simple. They were too lazy or fearful to ask for them.

Knowing this, as an employer myself, if I were to see a letter of recommendation, it would tell me a lot about the person carrying it. They are one of two things: They are such a good worker than their previous employer offered to write it on their own volition. Or, the employee took the initiative to ask. And “taking initiative” is one of the key qualities that I look for in a candidate. This would be 100% proof that the person took the initiative to do something.

Letters Carry Weight

Do not, I beg you, minimize the weight of a letter of recommendation. You think it is trivial. It is not. It is probably the biggest persuasion tactic that you could ever use to get what you want in life.

Consider this: why did you pick your dentist out of the 1000′s in your town? Why pick your hair stylist? Why did you pick your bank? Why did you pick your telephone service?

The answer to these questions is probably because a friend vouched for them. In other words, they gave their personal recommendation for those services. I’m sure you’ve heard of the Angie’s List web site, right? It has only one purpose, to allow people to put up testimonials about busineses.

Even in my business, I always save and publish customer testimonial’s. They are gold!

Here is a story from the bible of how a testimonial was again used by Saul to get “in” with the disciples in Jerusalem. Again, notice that Saul was pursuing the job – he wasn’t waiting for the job to come to him. The disciples wanted nothing to do with him, and they didn’t trust him at all. But the power of a single endorsement changed everything. It literally changed the world because of what Paul went on to do for the work of the Lord.

When he came to Jerusalem, he tried to join the disciples, but they were all afraid of him, not believing that he really was a disciple. But Barnabas took him and brought him to the apostles. He told them how Saul on his journey had seen the Lord and that the Lord had spoken to him, and how in Damascus he had preached fearlessly in the name of Jesus. So Saul stayed with them and moved about freely in Jerusalem, speaking boldly in the name of the Lord. Acts 9:26-28 (NIV)

Develop A Plan For Acquiring Letters of Recommendation

What is your plan? Are you afraid to contact an employer that you worked for 10 years ago? Don’t be. You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain. You need those pieces of paper in your portfolio.

Become a man with letters. It is how to land that dream job, and how to make money God’s way.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

I’ve seen this same story about two years ago. This time around, the story is no different, except the company’s are now asking directly for facebook log-in information. Before they were just spying from behind the hedges.

The obvious controversy is that people don’t want others prying into their personal lives. For them it is a privacy issue. They believe that their work-life and their home-life are two different things, and that the companies have no business crossing over into their personal lives.

Home Life, Work Life?

Is it really true that there are two separate lives of an individual? Is there a home-life, and is there a separate work-life?

I want you to put aside your privacy fears for just a second, and think about this objectively and logically. I want you to think about this from the company’s perspective. No emotions for now, just dry, sterile facts…

Why would a company be interested in your personal life? Here is the simple answer: “Character.”

The company is interested in your character, and the only way to find out this is to observe you when you are alone or under stress. These are where your real character is exposed. And since they can’t put you under stress, the next best thing is to find out what you are like when you think that no one is looking.

Why is your character so important? This sound such like a stupid question, because you already know the answer. But I’ll say it anyway.

Your character is important, because once you are an employee of the company, you become the face of the company to everyone you meet.

The company is worried that you will project negatively to their customers, and drive them away.

For example, let’s look at Penn State University, since it was in the news a few months ago. I didn’t follow the story too deeply, so my facts may be a little off, but here is what I recall:

In the story, the Football department hired an assistant coach, and that coach ran a summer football camp. Allegedly he sexually abused some of the young boys. And this went on for several years.

Rumors of that abuse started to surface, and people said that the legendary head football coach, Joe Paterno, even knew about the allegations. But he did nothing.

When the story leaked out, a lot of people got fired, including Joe Paterno and the university’s president.

Why? Why such a huge reaction to this scandal by the university? To understand why they were fired, you have to see who the customers of the school are.

You’re right. It is the parents of the students (you didn’t think it was just the students, did you?). It is the parents, in a large portion, that are paying for the school’s services. What is the fear of the parents? That their child will be abused at the school.

Therefore, the university has a major problem. Their customers are thinking that the school is OK with students being abused, because the football program is more important. Right? In the end, the university is worried that the parents will send their students to some other school.

They have to get rid of this notion immediately, like it is breast cancer. They have to remove it immediately, even cutting away good tissue.

Additionally, they are now faced with lawsuits of the alleged victims of the coach’s actions. It is going to cost them millions of dollars.

The Company Is Taking A Risk Hiring You

There is no such thing as separate lives. Companies know this. When the company-life spills over into the personal life, the company is obligated to pay you. This is called “overtime pay.” Right?

But what happens when your personal life spills over into the company’s life? What compensation does the company get? What did Penn State University get out of the deal?

Or for example, say you go out partying, and you get a DUI on the way home. You don’t think this doesn’t spills into the company life, do you? Sure it does. You’re going to miss several days of work—at least. And your mind is not going to be on your work for a long time, because of the worry that is going to be consuming you. So the company is going to have to scramble to find other people to pick up the slack because of your lost productivity. And the state may even require them to garnish your wages, which pretty much prohibits them from firing your butt. They are then stuck with you.

Similar things happen when you go through a break-up with your lover. You lose time at work because of all the emotional issues that are involved. And it also spills over on how you treat the customers that you come into contact with.

Character Matters – It is VITAL to Your Potential Employer

What you do in private does spill over into your work life. Drill that concept into your head. It is a truth that is indisputable from the company’s perspective.

Character is probably the most important criteria a company is looking for in a potential new-hire. It is the same thing that a customer looks for when she is deciding which company to take her business to.

And the higher up you go in salary and in job responsibility, the more important it becomes. Why? Because not only do you have to consider all of what I previously mentioned, but when you become a well-paid manager, you are also a role model to everyone under you. So if you habitually come in late for work, or if you arrive to work sleepy because you stayed out until 3 a.m. to be at the midnight-premier of the Hunger Games movie, it means that everyone under you will assume that it is OK to do the same thing.

You are a role model if you are a manager. You set the example for what everyone else around you expects that they can do too. And productivity and customer satisfaction suffers. You also put the company at risk of being sued.

Your FaceBook Account Matters Too

Why are companies so interested in your Facebook account? Because it allows them to see your real character when your guard is down.

For example, job candidates are well trained in how to handle an interview. There are web sites that you can click on that will show you how to answer all of the typical job interview questions. There might even be advertisements here on this web page, which means it is pretty common.

Ask yourself: “Do you think the companies don’t know this?” I’ve been saying this same thing for years:

The interview process is a battle – the job candidate is doing their best to hide their personal life (which is a reflection of their personal character), and the company is trying their best to expose it.

A Facebook account lays it all bare. Even if you don’t post much on your account, the people you select as your friends tells a lot about your own character. Isn’t that what your parents told you when you were young? If you hang out with a bunch of dopes, it isn’t a far stretch for the company to assume that you’re a dope too.

That owners of Facebook fear this. They are even threatening lawsuits against companies that look at a job candidate’s Facebook account. They are worried that people will stop coming to Facebook all together, and then their ad revenue will drop.

How To Get A Job Without Giving Up Your Facebook Password?

One of my favorite sayings my mentor used a lot is: “You can’t hide the odor of a skunk.”

What this means is that by your works, you shall be known. In other words, “the word gets around about you.”

If you are a lousy employee, other employers will get wind of your performance and character attributes. But it works the other way too: if you are a GREAT employee, word will spread about that as well.


Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank. Proverbs 22:29 (NIV)

How does this apply to you? Right now you may be out of a job, looking to get hired. You may not be in a position to be seen by officials of high rank within a company. Here is my suggestion:

Step 1: Go right now to a temporary employment agency. Tell them EXACTLY what you are going to do. You need to be up-front about this. The reason is that they will be DELIGHTED to help you, because it helps them out too. They are chosen by employers based on the quality of candidates they send out. You’re going to be helping them build this reputation so that they get more companies coming to them for employees.

Tell the employment agency that you are trying to quickly build up a reputation about your work ethic and character values. Tell them that you want to work as a very short term temp at at least three different employers. A week at a time.

Step 2: Here’s the kicker, which I guarantee will get you a those three jobs nearly immediately. Tell the staff person that you’ll be willing to give them all your money that you make during those three weeks. You’re paying them to find you three temporary jobs for you! You’ve been out of work for over three months, so what is another three weeks worth of pay checks…

Is this worth it? Think long-term. At the end of three weeks, you’re going to have work experience at three different companies.

Step 3: When you go to these companies, tell the boss the naked truth. “I know you’re probably not want to keep me on full time. But while I’m here, I’m going to bust my ass off for you. And at the end of the week, I’d like for you to write a character and work recommendation letter for me. Is that fair?”

Of course it is fair. As an employer myself, I’d jump at the chance to take on this type of employee. This is someone that is willing to invest in themselves. This shows a MASSIVE amount of personal character. I’d be tempted to hire them full-time right there on the spot.

Landing Your Dream Job

Step 4: At the end of the three-week period, you’re going to have “in your hand,” three little pieces of paper, that are literally worth a minimum of 10 times their weight in gold. Those recommendation letters are actually priceless.

They are your ticket to a dream job that you’ll have no problem landing. Here’s why: I haven’t come across a job applicant in the last five years that has ever had a letter of recommendation from a previous employer. And you’re going to have three of them!

As an employer, those three pieces of paper are concrete evidence that you are a person worth hiring. So what? So what, that they are only for an employment history of the last three weeks. Just the fact that you asked someone else to put their credibility on the line for you makes you vastly different from every other person that has applied for the job. The letters say: “You are different.”

That is enough for me. I’d be excited to hire a person like that, because everyone else I see is: “same-old, same-old.”

Let your pleasant odor be known. It is how to make money, God’s way.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

What I see is that the covetous people add an addition phrase to this definition. They see greedy people as those that keep the possessions, and DON’T funnel it down to them. In other words, they are benefiting from the other’s wealth, so the person must be greedy. In other words: “he won’t give his money away to me (or my friends), so he must be greedy.”

I have to say this right out, because it has to be said: “The Democratic Party in the United States, is the party of the covetous.” They want other people’s wealth to be distributed to themselves. That is a sin, just as greed is a sin.

The other thing that I see is that people will drop off part of the definition too. They drop off the last part. So the definition for them becomes: “excessive desire to possess wealth.”

I think this is wrong too.

The definition of greed needs to have the aspect of “selfishness” to it. Otherwise, it would be greedy to want “anything.” Wanting a safe place to live, or a new pair of shoes could be considered greedy.

Having things in abundance is not greed. Even Jesus says that in John 10:10.

What Does Jesus Say About Greed?

The book of Luke, chapter 13 gives us an example of what Greed is:

15 Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.”

 16 And he told them this parable: “The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest.

STOP! Pause here and think about what Jesus implies here in verse 16. The rich man got an abundant harvest. If God is against abundance, he would not have blessed him with this harvest. Right?

Continuing on…

17 He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’

   18 “Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain.

Stop again! Ask yourself: “has greed entered into the picture yet?” When he desires to tear down his old warehouses and build bigger ones, is that a sin? I don’t think so. Even the people that are adamant that man is only a steward of God’s creation would agree that this is not a sin. Taking care of the processions God has given you is the proper thing to do. To let the grain rot out in the open would be the sin, right?

Now we get to the sin of greed:

19 And I’ll say to myself, “You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.”’

   20 “But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’

   21 “This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” Luke 13: 15-21 (NIV)

The sin of greed is hording the wealth for his own pleasure.

That is what I get out of this passage. I’m not alone. I was reading one commentator say that “retirement,” based on this scripture, is not biblical. Yikes! That hurts, doesn’t it?

Most people will look at verse 21, and say that it contains the definition of greed: “Not being rich toward God.” They will assume that this means to give all your money to the church.

I think this in an incorrect definition. God has only ever required a 10% tithe to the church. He never punishes people that don’t give an offering over and above that amount. So that is not a sin.

What are you supposed to do with the other 90% of your wealth then? This is a great question. The answer, in my heart, is found in the question: “What is important to God?” and “How do you store up treasures in heaven?”

I think the answer is “people.” But I don’t believe that this means just to give your money away to other people. If that was the case, why would God allow people to accumulate money in the first place. They should be giving away their money as they make it, keeping only enough to live off of.

That God would allow people to become rich must mean that he wants us to do something other with our wealth than to just give it away to people. But he still wants people to be involved. In other words, I think this goes back to the first commandment in the bible: “Be fruitful.”

I don’t know about you, but when I look around, I see that rich people are some of the most fruitful people around. They take their money and invest it, which creates opportunities for those around them. In other words, they give other people employment, which allows those people to be productive.

Work is part of God’s plan for his people. He wants them to work. When you say that you won’t work anymore, which is what the Rich Fool did in the parable, you’re depriving someone else the opportunity to become a producer of goods and services.

What is Wrong With Retirement?

Your body is going to slow down as you get older. But that doesn’t mean you can’t be productive in other ways. Even the old fruit tree that no longer bears fruit can still be a home for birds and provide cooling shade for the grass below it.

Your task, as you become older, is to find ways to still be a blessing to those around you. In my case, I look to my father as an example. He was forced into retirement by a heart attack when I was still in high school. But while he was not working on the assembly line anymore, he basically worked for those around him. He volunteered at the local hospital, raised chickens for their eggs, and took care of children for those that had no other day-care options. Even when he had cancer and was close to dying, he felt this urge to stay busy and productive. I marveled at him as he was out painting a barn, when he should have been conserving his strength.

In my eyes, the sin of greed is hording your talents, and not putting them to work so that other people can be productive too. That is what God will probably judge me on, when I stand before him after my body dies.

Stay productive and “be fruitful.” That is how you make money, God’s way.

Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.

First, the most quoted verse from the bible about wealth transfer is:

A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous. Proverbs 13:22 (NIV)

On the surface, it sounds cool. Money and wealth are being tucked away by others and for others.

Here’s the bad news—just in case you thought that the money is free and doesn’t require any work on your part. No where does the verse say you don’t have to work for it. You do.

So many Christians interpret this verse and all the other passages to mean that they don’t have to do anything but wait. And “wait” is all they do. They say: “I’m righteous, so the money is being stored up for me.” And then they start to get impatient.

They want God to hurry and send them that lottery ticket. And when the money doesn’t flow in, they say things like: “It’s all in God’s time…” or “maybe God is teaching me how to be patient first.” I’m sure you heard phrases like that a million times; I have.

The problem is that they aren’t following the process of the wealth plan.

The Wealth Plan

One of the stories in the Bible that has grown on me is the Parable of the Talents from Luke 19. I remember that as a kid, I didn’t like it. The reason was that it meant we have to work; and I didn’t want to work when I was a kid. I just wanted to play. That is an attitude far too many people still have.

But as I matured, and after I started to reap the wealth that flows to a productive worker, my attitude changed. I have to be honest with you, being broke stinks. People say that money doesn’t buy permanent happiness, but I guarantee you that having no money is a lot worse. There are benefits to having money, and the primary one is that you can accomplish goals quicker.

The plan, as laid out by Jesus in the parable of the ten Minas in Luke 19, is straight forward: “Be a producer.” You have to become the guy that gets things done; especially when no one is looking.

“The first one came and said, ‘Sir, your mina has earned ten more.’

“‘Well done, my good servant!’ his master replied. ‘Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities.’ Luke 19:16-17 (NIV)

This is where the real and significant wealth comes from – earning it by being a producer and helping others achieve their goals.

As a business owner myself in a growing company, I’m constantly experiencing the “Master’s” side of things with my own employees. Like the Master, I have things that I need to get done, so I hire people to take care of them for me. There are those that jump on my requests and get them done, and then there are those that go through the motions and pretend to do them.

And I notice what goes on. I notice everything, even though I don’t always say things. For example, I can tell who “cares” by the act of cleaning up after themselves when they finish a job. I’m constantly cleaning up after my employees. I’m the one that comes in on the weekends and scrubs the toilets of those brown stains on the upper side of the bowl. I vacuum up the crumbs from their lunch that fall on the floor…

Putting things away properly is another clue that I use to tell if the person is working to please me, or just exchanging time in order to collect a paycheck.

Little things matter. They are the difference between “did it” and “done.” If they don’t do the job completely the first time, I have to make them finish it up, have someone else do it, or do it myself.

If I have to do it myself, or if I have to assign someone else to do the job, then that first employee’s value to me is diminished.

I LOVE it when one of my other employees steps up and notices that the first employee hasn’t finished the job, and they automatically take care of the situation. I notice that stuff too (so does your employer). And it makes a big difference to me. Those are the people that I promote and give raises to. They understand what their purpose is to the company. They know that they are their to make sure my goals get accomplished. They ease the Master’s burden.

That is where the big money comes from. Helping others to achieve their goals.

Wealth Transfer

“Then he said to those standing by, ‘Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas.’ Luke 19:24

The wealth transfer comes later – usually much later. Here is one thing you may not have noticed before: it isn’t a lot of money. It is one-tenth as much as the first servant was given originally.

In other words, that pot-of-gold you were expecting, may not be such a big pot at all. Remember, the transfer comes from the sinner’s “wealth.” Doesn’t this explain why it is such a comparatively small sum? How much wealth would you expect a lazy slob to have produced and saved?

The Jewish Exodus from Egypt

The one example that I’ve heard people mention when talking about wealth transfer is the Jewish exodus from Egypt.

The Israelites did as Moses instructed and asked the Egyptians for articles of silver and gold and for clothing. The LORD had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians. Exodus 12:35-36 (NIV)

The very fact that they had to “ASK” for the articles, should be very telling. To me, these gifts seem to be more like the departing gifts you’d give to a wayward adult-child that you want out of your life because they are giving you a lot of grief.

Is this the attitude that you want people to associate with you? “Gimme money, and I’ll go away and leave you alone.” 

Or would you rather your boss say: “You did a good job on that last assignment. And by the way, I’m giving you more responsibility because you’re a guy that gets things done.”

That one-time transfer of wealth is nice, but it is nothing compared to the wealth you’ll get by being a producer for your employer. Or if you’re a business owner like I am, the wealth that you get from helping your customers achieve their goals is much greater than a one-time tax credit (which is a wealth transfer from other people). And it is much more satisfying than a wealth transfer payment, because you sleep good at night knowing that you’ve earned it. What’s more, it will continue day-after-day, as long as you keep helping others.

Wealth Transfer or Real Wealth?

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To sum things up, wealth transfer is biblical. But I wanted to make you aware of a couple of things with this article. First, it does not come automatically. There is no lottery-ticket wealth from God. You have to prove you are worthy of receiving wealth by being productive for your employer.

And second, the amount of wealth transferred may not be very much because it comes from the savings of people that aren’t typically “savers.” You can get 100% of someone’s wealth, but if they saved only $10, you aren’t going to get much.

Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank. Proverbs 22:29 (NIV)

True and abundant wealth comes from helping others. It is what God wants you to do. That is how you make money, God’s way.

What are the top five regrets of the dying?

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According to the article, the top five regrets of those surveyed (I don’t believe these are the top 5 of everyone, just the top five of a very small sample of people that the researcher surveyed) are:

1. I wish I’d had the courage to live a life true to myself, not the life others expected of me.
2. I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.
3. I wish I’d had the courage to express my feelings.
4. I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.
5. I wish that I had let myself be happier.

Do you see a common thread in all of these regrets?

They are all based on making “decisions.”

People regret that they either don’t know how to make decisions, or that they made bad decisions. I think it is more of the latter one.

In other words, people regret not having “Wisdom.” Because that is what wisdom is, after all; it is the ability to make “good” decisions.

Fortunately, there is a solution to this problem: “Get Wisdom.” That way, you don’t have to regret any of your decisions.

How To Get Wisdom?

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If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. James 1:5
 (NIV)

The Bible is a handbook of wisdom, and how to live your life without regrets. You’ve come to the right web site if you want to learn how to get wisdom. Here is a good place to start: Ancient Wisdom for Creating Wealth.

The cool thing, is that wisdom is also the key that creates wealth. So you CAN live a life free from regrets, and with prosperity.

Get Wisdom. It is how to live a regret-free life, and to “make money, God’s way.”

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Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 Biblica. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.