WORK NOW OR COLLAPSE LATER

I didn't grow up religious and I'm not religious now. However, I have witnessed the positive transformations it can make in people's lives. It's been used for good, and it's been used for bad. I'm not here to argue for one side or the other. I'm interested in what a piece of literature that has been passed down for thousands of years has to offer. I believe it's a mistake to refute the wisdom that can be found in such a classic book.

Today I'm reflecting on my favorite piece of wisdom I've read in Proverbs.

I haven't read the bible in its entirety, and I won't pretend to. I ordered the book a few weeks ago and thoroughly enjoyed what I read in proverbs. I'm going to share my favorite line and reflect on it with my personal experience and concepts I can connect it with from other sources.

Side note: I believe we can learn from anybody and anything if we look hard enough. I've had to learn as I grow up to not avoid certain ideas because I disagree with them. With that, we become the student and the world around us is our library. We can learn from so many sources if we put our curious cap on.

Anyways, here we go.

"Lazy hands make for poverty,

but diligent hands bring wealth.

He who gathers crops in the summer is a prudent son,

but he who sleeps during harvest is a disgraceful son."

(Proverbs 10:4-5)

Powerful and oh so true.

Deep down we know this to be true, but do we act on it?

A lazy man is one of the most despicable creatures in the world to me. Not because I judge them, but because I have been him and I know how lonely and disgusting the lifestyle is. No respect, no true reward, just momentary comfort that is fleeting and empty in its nature.

When you try, even just a little bit, the quality of your life multiplies in a way you wouldn't believe unless you've seen it firsthand.

I've seen people close to me whose months were wrecked by not saving for an inevitable flat tire, water heater, or random expense. It affects their moods and wrecks them for a period of time. All due to a lack of preparation and a laziness to not even build a buffer between them and a setback that everyone knows is bound to come up. Dave Ramsey once talked about the need for a rainy day fund and a woman said, "Dave, stop! Be positive." He said, "I am positive, it's going to rain". You have to prepare and it's not just with money. It's with your health, your work, your family, and your relationships.

It's always easier and less expensive to maintain rather than repair.

You have to repair when there's negligence and something breaks. Don't wait for it (or you) to break. Prepare by working every day to ensure your future self and your future loved ones are covered. It's your duty as a man to do that for your people.

I’ll never forget something my coworker Gwen said one time — she was a work mom to me, always providing wisdom. One day someone came to us and said, “Hey, the director is coming tomorrow. Make sure you’re ready.” Gwen didn’t hesitate and calm as ever, she said “I stay prepared so I never have to get ready.”

Her confidence in that line stuck with me. That’s the spirit of Proverbs in real life. Consistency and preparation today prevents panic tomorrow.

“The more you sweat in peacetime, the less you’ll bleed in wartime.”

-          Former U.S. General Norman Schwarzkopf

He was talking about war, but it applies everywhere. Train when it’s easy so you’re not crushed when it’s hard. There’s that other famous line: better to be a warrior in a garden than a gardener in war. Same message, different words.

There’s a million ways of saying the same thing.

The bottom line is as humans we’re inevitably going to face challenges.

Life is nothing but challenges.

Challenges in relationships, social dynamics, moving up the ladder at work or competing in business, it’s all a form of warfare. If you don’t see that, you’re probably a nonplayer at the bottom of the totem pole. Life is real competition. If you’re going through life pleasure-seeking and avoiding any type of confrontation or battle, you’re going to crumble the SECOND times get tough.

Do you want to be that loser or do you want to be the warrior?

Do you want to be able to seamlessly endure the hard times because of the training you’ve put in prior to the challenges?

Do you want to be the man who is able to lift up your family, friends, and community in times of real trouble? Or should we sit on the couch, jack off, and live a hedonisitic life while we are moved around like pawns on someone else’s chessboard?

I do not want to live life that way —  I completely and utterly refuse to actually.

Who do YOU want to be as a man?

I’ve been the lazy guy. The man with no drive, no discipline. Staying up late gaming, eating garbage, going out with losers and running up a bar tab that bought me nothing.

I’ve also been the man who works out every day without exception, who studies great thinkers, who works 70 hours per week to improve mine and my future family’s situation.

Give me the latter guy EVERY fucking time.

Once you taste the difference, you can’t go back. And once you wake up, you stay awake.

Don’t be the lazy guy. Don’t be the fool that your mother and father are ashamed of. Make your ancestors proud. Show your friends you’re not just talk. Let your actions carry weight. Prove to yourselves that there’s a fighter in you that’s worth respecting.

Be the man.

Do the work that’s required.

Work and bleed every day so that when you’re on the battlefield and life is staring you in the face with your toughest obstacle yet, you can smile back and say, "Bring it."