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An Idea – A Powerful Thing

Wisdom makes one wise man more powerful than ten rulers in a city.
Ecclesiastes 7:19

In his book, Thinking for A Change, John Maxwell says, 'The right thought, plus the right people, in the right environment, at the right time, for the right reason, always produces the right result.' Let us examine those words:

1) The right thought. Thinking produces ideas and ideas have power. But every idea begins as a 'seed thought' and you have to nurture it!

2) The right people. Every time you expose the right idea to the right people, incredible things happen. In their company it blossoms and becomes infused with possibility.

3) The right environment. In the right environment thinking is valued, ideas flow freely, fresh eyes are welcome, change is expected, questions are encouraged, egos are checked, ideas stimulate better ideas, and thinking generates teamwork.

4) The right time. The Emperor Hadrian said, 'To be right too soon, is to be wrong.' While still in the stretching stage of an idea, present it without expectations, time frames or rigidly defined goals. Why? Because if you try to implement your ideas too early they may not survive.

5) The right reason. J P Morgan said, 'A man always has two reasons for doing anything: a good reason and the real reason.' Motives matter. Selfish motives disqualify us; God only gets behind ideas that fulfill His purposes and demonstrate that we care for others. Sometimes an idea becomes great when it partners with another one; other times it excels just as it is. One thing's for sure: as you stretch your thinking, you will discover that your thinking is stretching you.

Prayer
Heavenly Father, thank you for being the light in my life that guides me in all I do. Keep me focused on you and taking my lead from you! In Jesus’ Name, Amen