At the beginning of each year, Ed Trim (President & CEO) of Pennington & Trim writes out the goals for the company. In our department meetings we always discuss the company goals and where we’re at in reaching them and any changes we need to make. In a recent department meeting we discussed the importance of making adjustments when things get off course. An Air Force pilot said that for every one degree a plane gets off course, you will miss your targeted landing spot by 92 feet for every mile you fly. If you stayed just one degree off course from JFK in New York to LAX in California, you would wind up 40 miles off in the Pacific Ocean. One degree off course for an extended amount of time can lead your life way off course. Most of the time, it’s not one big event that shapes our lives negatively. It’s so often that 1 degree that got off course 5 years ago that never got examined.
Psalm 1:1-3 says, “How blessed is the man who doesn’t walk in the counsel of the wicked, nor stand in the path of sinners, nor sit in the seat of scoffers! But his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in its season and its leaf doesn’t wither; and in whatever he does, he prospers.” (NASB) First we walk to a place, then we stand in a place and then we sit in a place. We endeavor to make the Word first place in our life, so we’ll be walking in the right place, standing in the right place and sitting in the right place.
We have to continually ask God to help us correct the 1 degree where we get off. We strive to listen to that small still voice to find out the 1 degree change we need to make. It’s important to search God’s will and not your own and then pray it out.
As you lead people to reach goals, don’t lead on empty. You must continue to learn and grow and inspire those you lead. As leaders, we seek to equip our people to succeed. We gave all our employees a book (Prayers That Availeth Much For Leaders) and challenged them to read one prayer at the beginning of every day.
We all have to make adjustments in our lives, because we pick up bad habits and drift from good habits like prayer, church, reading the Bible, etc. Always take the time to examine yourself. In order to run your race, you have to lay aside weights that can slow you down and hold you back from finishing your course. To make progress in achieving your goals, you have to spend time with people who are ahead of you. Success leaves clues, so you have to spend time reading and learning from people who are more successful than you.
One degree off can make a big difference, so continue to evaluate and make adjustments as you travel to your destination and seek to achieve your goals.