LANCE ARMSTRONG: THE DEATH OF PROCESS

“Every God given vision will become real if we will only have patience”

 Oswald Chambers.

Welcome. I believe that everyone has a dream, everyone qualifies to live their dream, and every dream has the capacity to make impact.  Today I want to appreciate my off line respondents, all my sistas in the US, thanks for following. You are loved and appreciated.

 Last week I heard the story of a man destined for greatness, but jumped process, and took shortcuts.  Lance Armstrong was looked upon by most as a great man not just by biking enthusiasts but by most dreamers.  He had the most important ingredient to succeed in his chosen field (PASSION) and he did seem to be succeeding for a while, until revelations in the past month started to poke holes in his credibility as an athlete.

Having a conversation on how this man has dropped in his rating with my husband; he said to me, “You know I have completely lost faith in bikers as athletes with integrity.”  Wow!  That hit me! Because my husband is a man who has faith in most people!  Then I became sad because this is how Process died!  So today, we mourn the death of PROCESS. 

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 Why does anyone think that they can cut corners and make it?  Why is it that we think that success obtained without integrity will last? So many questions!  More importantly, what are we telling our children about competition?

If you are a dream chaser, people will tell you how to get there the easy way; they will suggest to you what to do so you will be working ‘smart.’ What they may not tell you is that smart is not necessarily wise!  Old principles like integrity may be old but they are tested and proven to be the only way.  

So how do we work our dream so we don’t lose all we have worked for? How do we ensure that our passions are legitimately worked to bring the desired result without causing us pain and shame in the end?  Let’s look at a few pointers:

1.       INVEST: Anything you give up to go up is an investment in the future.  When we don’t put in the required hard work but will rather cut corners like undergoing blood transfusions before a major contest, we are eating our seed rather than sowing it.  Because the right thing to do in this instance is put in the time and work required.  Whatever is achieved from hard work tends to endure longer than others.  Plus in the process of training, we learn life lessons that enable us to win the game over and over again, in the future.  Rather than take a short cut, invest the time to travel the route so you can learn the terrain and own it!

2.      WEIGH YOUR OPTIONS: All things are lawful but not all things are expedient is a biblical saying that I believe in.  That something works for your competition doesn’t mean it will work for you.  Weigh your options, what works within your peculiar circumstances? What price are you willing to pay? Are a few months or years of seeming success enough to destroy your name for life? How do you want to be remembered in the final analysis?

3.      WHO HOLDS YOU ACCOUNTABLE? ‘Show me your friends and I will tell you who you are’ is also a popular saying that some of us have stopped taking seriously.  Every dream chaser requires an accountability partner.  Who is it that holds you accountable? What principles guide their lives?  Really who is the one you go to for counsel?  I find that people may not know the details of running my business but they have life values that I admire so I submit to them.  They help shine the light when I begin to move into those gray areas that can ultimately become dark and keep me accountable. If in chasing your dream you will not ‘kill’ process, then you need to submit yourself to accountability.  

4.      WHAT WILL YOUR FINAL HOURS LOOK LIKE?  You have now had the opportunity to live long chasing this dream and you have been blessed to have done great things with it. It is time to go home and stand before your maker and it is time for others to put a sentence on your tomb, what is it you can see them say about you?  What is it you will be proud to stand before your maker and say concerning how you have run?  It is only a fool who lives like he will have no end because surely the end will come, and at that place there is no chance to go back and right the wrongs… wise people decide from the get go not to make those costly intentional mistakes.

In the end, your dream will also stand to be judged, that is when you will realise that it is not how far you have ran but how well that matters.  It is given to us all to run and finish well but the choices we make will decide what happens.  

My prayer now and always for you is that you will make it NeverTheLess… you will.

Hugs 

Sistar B