Monique Fields
The chapter that I am writing on is Proverbs 20. It is a chapter full of principles on business, integrity, honor and knowledge. Here are some of the key principles found in this chapter.
Have a Vision: Proverbs 20:24 (AMP) - Man’s steps are ordered by the Lord. How then can a man understand his way?
Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary poses the question, “How can we form plans, and conduct business, independently of the Lord?” It is God who provides and allows for grace, mercy and favor. He is at the root of our success and allows us to prosper in every area of our lives. Please note that prosperity does not just include monetary gain or prize possessions, it also includes what is most important to you… health, strong relationships, etc.
What vision do you have for your life? How does God or his people benefit from that vision? Having a vision requires goals. If you don’t know where you are going, how will you know when you get there? I often hear that in order to make a humongous goal more manageable, take one step at time. However, sometimes those small steps seem a lot larger than what they actually are, especially when you are stepping out of your comfort zone. This is where faith comes in. God’s will for your life is for you to prosper so you will do just that. Believe that you will receive. Walk in faith.
Now this does not mean that you will never fail and that everything will go as you planned. Steve Harvey summed it up nicely in his book, “Act Like a Success, Think Like a Success”. He said, “I learned that failure doesn’t have to be this life-shattering, I’m never-going-to-do-this-again experience but is in fact an opportunity to gain a valuable learning experience.” He then went on to say, “Failure is not here to defeat you but to give you the power to gain those life experiences that you can come back to and learn from again and again.” I’m guilty. I have said that I wish I had done something differently or I have said that I wish I had never done it at all since it did not have the expected result but guess what… I learned some valuable lessons.
Preparation is Key: Proverbs 20:4 (KJV) – The sluggard will not plow by reason of cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.
In order for the crops to grow (harvest), the farmer must loosen or turn the soil (plow) to allow for the seed to be planted. In the right season, at the right time, the harvest will come. It takes a certain amount of preparation to reap a harvest. Preparation can come in many forms. You could do things such as go to a 4-year college, a trade school, or read books on your craft. The options are limitless and vary based on your individual goals and objectives. Whitney M. Young Jr. once said “It's better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared.”
Proverbs 20:15 (KJV) says There is gold, and a multitude of rubies: but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel
The knowledge you gain will not only help you keep the gold and rubies (or whatever is most important to you) but it will provide you with the resources needed to obtain more and give more. This scripture reminds me of Proverbs 4:7 which talks about getting wisdom and while getting wisdom, we should get an understanding.
Walk in Integrity: Proverbs 20:7 (KJV) - The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.
Wikipedia defines integrity as the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness. How does that saying go? If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything. Stand for what you believe in and what you know is right. Sometimes doing the right thing does not have the outcome that you would expect. Galatians 6:9 says that we should not become weary in well doing because in due season we will reap if we faint not. Stand anyway.
Every Argument is not Worth Entertaining: Proverbs 20:3 (KJV) - It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling.
Strife as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary is bitter sometimes violent conflict or dissension Know that every battle is not worth fighting. Every comment or opinion is not worth responding to. Choose wisely. Some people may never understand who you are because of your uniqueness. Some may never see where you are going because the vision is not for them to see. It is for you.
Use Discernment: Proverbs 20:5 (KJV) - Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out.
I John 1:4 says that we should test the spirit we are interacting with to make sure it is of God because there are so many false prophets. This not only apply to people in church but also people you encounter day-to-day. In my quest for real estate investments, I am continuously learning and growing. I have met people who have deposited knowledge and more strategic ways of doing things into me. I have also heard so many get rich quick schemes or programs that require thousands of dollars that prey on the emotions of those trying to go the next level in real estate. I often find myself asking… What is in it for them? What is in it for me? The counsel, or advice, that is in the heart of man can be a treasure uncovered or an ulterior motive revealed.
I will conclude this blog with an article on RIS Media that summarizes a speech former Mayor Rudy Giuliani gave at the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World (Leading RE) annual conference February 11. The article was entitled, “6 Lessons for Leadership from Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani”. I included his 6 lessons below because some of the lessons include principles described in Proverbs 20. You might say, well I am not in a leadership role. There is a leader in everyone. Certain situations or environments may cause you to tap into your leadership skills more or less than others, but a leader is within you.
Below are former Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s six essential components of a great leader:
1. You have to have a vision. “You can only lead if you can look into the future, said the former mayor, who noted that agents and all leaders need to be able to predict growth and change. And, Giuliani believes not only do you need to have a vision, but you need to be able to share it. “People can only follow you if you announce your plan-they can’t follow you if you don’t tell them where to go.”
2. You have to be an optimist. “In order to be a great leader, you have to be an optimist,” said Giuliani. “This doesn’t mean you see the world as wonderful and great. It means being a problem solver.” The former mayor stressed the importance of switching your focus from problem to solution “An optimist is able to infuse in an organization the idea that we can get it done”
3. You have to have courage. “Leaders are risk takers, because when things aren’t going well, you‘ve got to make changes,” said Giuliani. “You have to have the courage to take the risk to do something different.”
4. You have to track your progress. Giuliani emphasized the importance of goal driven metrics to measure your improvements, so that you’re able to fully understand if you’re on the right track toward your goals. “There’s no better way to re-energize people than with success. Positive energy feeds on itself.”
5. You have to be relentlessly prepared. “Think of the worst case scenario, and then prepare yourself for it,“ Giuliani said going on to note the importance of cyber protection from bottom to top.
6. You have to love your team. “If you want to be a good leader, like the people you work with.” These people should be important to you, and –noted Giuliani-you have to make them feel important. “If you want your people to go above and beyond, to pitch in their ideas and contribute, you have to love those people.” And what happens when you fail? You learn. Giuliani noted that he learned more from losing the election than he did from the two times he won it. “Nobody likes failure, but you can use it to figure out how to do it better next time.”
What vision do you have for your life? How does God or his people benefit from that vision? Having a vision requires goals. If you don’t know where you are going, how will you know when you get there? I often hear that in order to make a humongous goal more manageable, take one step at time. However, sometimes those small steps seem a lot larger than what they actually are, especially when you are stepping out of your comfort zone. This is where faith comes in. God’s will for your life is for you to prosper so you will do just that. Believe that you will receive. Walk in faith.
Now this does not mean that you will never fail and that everything will go as you planned. Steve Harvey summed it up nicely in his book, “Act Like a Success, Think Like a Success”. He said, “I learned that failure doesn’t have to be this life-shattering, I’m never-going-to-do-this-again experience but is in fact an opportunity to gain a valuable learning experience.” He then went on to say, “Failure is not here to defeat you but to give you the power to gain those life experiences that you can come back to and learn from again and again.” I’m guilty. I have said that I wish I had done something differently or I have said that I wish I had never done it at all since it did not have the expected result but guess what… I learned some valuable lessons.
Preparation is Key: Proverbs 20:4 (KJV) – The sluggard will not plow by reason of cold; therefore shall he beg in harvest, and have nothing.
In order for the crops to grow (harvest), the farmer must loosen or turn the soil (plow) to allow for the seed to be planted. In the right season, at the right time, the harvest will come. It takes a certain amount of preparation to reap a harvest. Preparation can come in many forms. You could do things such as go to a 4-year college, a trade school, or read books on your craft. The options are limitless and vary based on your individual goals and objectives. Whitney M. Young Jr. once said “It's better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one than to have an opportunity and not be prepared.”
Proverbs 20:15 (KJV) says There is gold, and a multitude of rubies: but the lips of knowledge are a precious jewel
The knowledge you gain will not only help you keep the gold and rubies (or whatever is most important to you) but it will provide you with the resources needed to obtain more and give more. This scripture reminds me of Proverbs 4:7 which talks about getting wisdom and while getting wisdom, we should get an understanding.
Walk in Integrity: Proverbs 20:7 (KJV) - The just man walketh in his integrity: his children are blessed after him.
Wikipedia defines integrity as the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness. How does that saying go? If you don’t stand for something, you will fall for anything. Stand for what you believe in and what you know is right. Sometimes doing the right thing does not have the outcome that you would expect. Galatians 6:9 says that we should not become weary in well doing because in due season we will reap if we faint not. Stand anyway.
Every Argument is not Worth Entertaining: Proverbs 20:3 (KJV) - It is an honour for a man to cease from strife: but every fool will be meddling.
Strife as defined by the Merriam-Webster dictionary is bitter sometimes violent conflict or dissension Know that every battle is not worth fighting. Every comment or opinion is not worth responding to. Choose wisely. Some people may never understand who you are because of your uniqueness. Some may never see where you are going because the vision is not for them to see. It is for you.
Use Discernment: Proverbs 20:5 (KJV) - Counsel in the heart of man is like deep water; but a man of understanding will draw it out.
I John 1:4 says that we should test the spirit we are interacting with to make sure it is of God because there are so many false prophets. This not only apply to people in church but also people you encounter day-to-day. In my quest for real estate investments, I am continuously learning and growing. I have met people who have deposited knowledge and more strategic ways of doing things into me. I have also heard so many get rich quick schemes or programs that require thousands of dollars that prey on the emotions of those trying to go the next level in real estate. I often find myself asking… What is in it for them? What is in it for me? The counsel, or advice, that is in the heart of man can be a treasure uncovered or an ulterior motive revealed.
I will conclude this blog with an article on RIS Media that summarizes a speech former Mayor Rudy Giuliani gave at the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World (Leading RE) annual conference February 11. The article was entitled, “6 Lessons for Leadership from Former Mayor Rudy Giuliani”. I included his 6 lessons below because some of the lessons include principles described in Proverbs 20. You might say, well I am not in a leadership role. There is a leader in everyone. Certain situations or environments may cause you to tap into your leadership skills more or less than others, but a leader is within you.
Below are former Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s six essential components of a great leader:
1. You have to have a vision. “You can only lead if you can look into the future, said the former mayor, who noted that agents and all leaders need to be able to predict growth and change. And, Giuliani believes not only do you need to have a vision, but you need to be able to share it. “People can only follow you if you announce your plan-they can’t follow you if you don’t tell them where to go.”
2. You have to be an optimist. “In order to be a great leader, you have to be an optimist,” said Giuliani. “This doesn’t mean you see the world as wonderful and great. It means being a problem solver.” The former mayor stressed the importance of switching your focus from problem to solution “An optimist is able to infuse in an organization the idea that we can get it done”
3. You have to have courage. “Leaders are risk takers, because when things aren’t going well, you‘ve got to make changes,” said Giuliani. “You have to have the courage to take the risk to do something different.”
4. You have to track your progress. Giuliani emphasized the importance of goal driven metrics to measure your improvements, so that you’re able to fully understand if you’re on the right track toward your goals. “There’s no better way to re-energize people than with success. Positive energy feeds on itself.”
5. You have to be relentlessly prepared. “Think of the worst case scenario, and then prepare yourself for it,“ Giuliani said going on to note the importance of cyber protection from bottom to top.
6. You have to love your team. “If you want to be a good leader, like the people you work with.” These people should be important to you, and –noted Giuliani-you have to make them feel important. “If you want your people to go above and beyond, to pitch in their ideas and contribute, you have to love those people.” And what happens when you fail? You learn. Giuliani noted that he learned more from losing the election than he did from the two times he won it. “Nobody likes failure, but you can use it to figure out how to do it better next time.”
© 2015 by Monique Fields. All Rights Reserved.
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