| "Fix Your Eye on the Glorious Prize!"
Hello,
Recently I have brainstormed with leaders facing difficult circumstances, wearied by burdens. Each had been striving in a tough market and was losing heart; his will was flagging. Such circumstances and responses are not uncommon in economic times such as today’s. Read below how two men of faith and accomplishment expressed their sustaining mindsets.
William Wilberforce labored against entrenched power for 20 years before Parliament passed a bill abolishing the slave trade, then for another 26 years until slavery was abolished in British colonies. He knew about perseverance, persisting through defeats, ostracism and poor health.
“Accustom yourself to look first to the dreadful consequences of failure; then fix your eye on the glorious prize which is before you; and when your strength begins to fail, and your spirits are well nigh exhausted, let the animating view rekindle your resolution, and call forth in renewed vigour the fainting energies of your soul.”
- Wilberforce
Dietrich Bonhoeffer pursued justice in German society, politics and religion from the rise of Nazis until his execution in a concentration camp. He was sustained by his faith and the accompanying hope it gave.
“The essence of optimism is that it takes no account of the present, but it is a source of inspiration, of vitality and hope where others have resigned; it enables a man to hold his head high, to claim the future for himself and not to abandon it to his enemy.”
- Bonhoeffer
Take heart and soldier on in your efforts. Be encouraged by such words as above. If you need independent perspective or counsel, give me a call.
Soldier on! Doggedly,
John R. Bise
Accredited Valuation Analyst
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