I was listening to Dave Ramsey’s EntreLeadership podcast yesterday, when he said something that struck me as profoundly true:
Diligence is excellence over time.
Or to put it mathematically: Diligence + time = Excellence.
Some might take that as a discouragement. You mean no quick fixes? No shortcuts? No magic formula? No silver bullet?
That’s right.
However, I think it’s actually a huge encouragement and motivation to faithful and consistent daily living in our callings.
And it looks like God wants me to hear that message because today I also came across Seth Godin’s post, Preparing for the breakthrough:
Products and services succeed one person at a time, as the word slowly spreads….Doors open, sure, but not all at once. One at a time.
One at a time is a little anticlimactic and difficult to get in a froth over, but one at a time is how we win and how we lose.
In a world that falsely promises instant results, “one at a time” is such a needed message. Pastors and church planters need to hear it. Parents and teachers need to hear it. Businesses need to hear it.
I need to hear it.
One sermon at a time. One lecture at a time. One blog at a time. One video at a time. One soul at a time.
Diligence. Diligence. Diligence.
And maybe one day…excellence.