What do Hewlett Packard, Burger King and Microsoft all have in common? Besides being incredibly successful companies, each one was started during a weak economy.
Hewlett Packard started during the Great Depression, Burger King during the recession of 1954 and Microsoft during the recession of 1975. It has been said by many financial experts that starting a business during a weak economy can actually come with significant advantages. In other words, businesses can succeed not in spite of a weak economy, but because of it. It all depends on where they are coming from (their inner stance).
Last week we started a conversation of
financial slavery vs. financial mastery. And it has sparked a discussion with several folks about the principle of not presuming upon tomorrow. “Don’t take out a loan, that’s presuming upon tomorrow.” On the surface it can appear as wise financial advice. You can’t predict what the economy will do, if you will have your job, if you will have your health, etc.
But presuming upon tomorrow can only take place in a context of being a victim. What?? Yep. Presuming upon tomorrow (or the avoidance of it) has you viewing the uncontrollable events of tomorrow as being responsible for whether or not you succeed at what you set out to do, instead of seeing yourself as always responsible come what may. That is a disempowered inner stance; it is a context of honoring your circumstances instead of honoring your word.
Events make for an excellent servant, but a terrible master. You never have to presume upon tomorrow when you choose to leverage it instead. Leveraging tomorrow is an empowered position that says, “Whatever comes my way, I will use it instead of it using me. I will honor my word, and not my circumstances.” It is a context of commitment and responsibility for the outcomes in your life. This goes beyond succeeding in spite of the unexpected or the difficult, but actually capitalizes on them and incorporates them into your commitments.
Let me be clear, I’m not saying that events don’t matter. I’m saying they don’t matter the way you may think they do. Events are raw opportunity. When you operate from a position of being responsible and committed–being cause in the matter of your life–you will train your eyes to intentionally see the possibilities present in every event instead of being blinded to those possibilities by victim-itis.
Isn’t this just how God works? He uses ALL THINGS for good. You and I are made in His image. You have this same capacity to use the unexpected and uncontrollable and direct them with purpose. You never have to worry about presuming (or the avoidance of presuming) upon tomorrow whenever you choose to leverage it instead.
Where have you been presuming upon tomorrow? Where have you been avoiding presuming upon tomorrow? What becomes available to you in your business, relationships, health, etc. when you make YOURSELF responsible for your results instead of making tomorrow responsible for them? What would you create from that place? It is your committed inner stance, not your circumstance, that makes the difference.
