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Dear Sam

Your calendar just called your bluff

Published about 2 months ago • 4 min read
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​Hi Reader,​

1. A quick word from Zach

Most business owners in my circles say that family, marriage, church, leadership, and strategy matter most. But if your calendar could talk, would it agree?

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2. Something worth sharing

For the last few years, I would have told you that my family mattered most. My marriage mattered. My children mattered. My church mattered. Honoring my parents mattered. I believed all of that. I would have said it without hesitation.

But if you looked at my actual time and energy, the story was different. I was working more hours and sleeping less than at any other point in my career. I kept telling myself that this was just a season. If I could push hard enough now, grow the business enough now, then eventually I would earn the freedom to give more of myself to the people and responsibilities I said mattered most.

But honestly, I don’t think that’s how God’s economy works.

What started to change things was not waiting until I could afford the time. It was making the time first. Even when every fiber of my being screamed that I couldn’t afford it. And strangely enough, that’s when the business began to get more traction. Proverbs 3:9-10 says,

Honor the Lord with your wealth
and with the firstfruits of all your produce;
then your barns will be filled with plenty,
and your vats will be bursting with wine.

I've come to believe that those "firstfruits" and wealth apply to much more than just money. Honor God with the firsts in all things, and then trust Him to work out the rest.

PS: Please don't hear me claiming to have this all 100% figured out or dialed in. I still struggle with this and likely will til the day I stand before Jesus. But by His grace, I am growing in this.

3. Something worth thinking about

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Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.
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Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

~ Jesus, Matthew 6:25-34

4. Something worth trying

If your calendar has been telling a different story than your stated priorities, I’d recommend working through The Time Budget Audit this week.

It’s a free worksheet that will help you name what matters most, compare it against how your week is actually being spent, and choose one protected block to defend like it actually matters.

Download The Time Budget Audit

That's enough for this time. Remember, the drift of life rarely takes you where you'd choose to go. Go somewhere on purpose!

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To thriving,

Zach Wise

Find me on LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube,
or Book a free chat​

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What is "Dear Sam", anyway? This column started with a real person — a friend and client named Sam. I write each issue with him in mind, and with you in mind, too.

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Dear Sam

by Zach Wise at Small Business Surthrival

Weekly encouragement and practical business wisdom for Christian business men who want to lead well, steward wisely, and build businesses that leave room for life.

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