Can you see your biggest problems as your biggest opportunities?
Once a month, our church has an evening service that Kristen and I like to attend. I believe spiritual health is a big component of a leader being steady for his or her team (and family), so we make it a priority to attend this extra service monthly. Last night's service was a unique lesson leveraging the story of David and Goliath that I thought was great for business as well. For the below four points, think of Goliath as your big problems or obstacles.
Lesson 1 - Your Goliath will expose the enemies amongst you. Solving big problems in business often results in big opportunities on the other side. When you step up to defeat those problems, you'll be confronted by the naysayers who will try to ruin your confidence. Many times, these people will be those closest to you. Celebrate your Goliath moments because they will expose these people in your life so you can move on from them.
Lesson 2 - Your Goliath will bring clarity to your past. We all wonder how hard times make sense in our development until we are confronted with our Goliath. That's when everything becomes clear and we relearn to trust that God has a plan for us. All hard things can be used for good. Leaders must be tested so we can be trusted. As you struggle today, you are preparing for something special in the future. It won't be clear until your Goliath shows up and you are thankful for your past experience.
Lesson 3 - Your Goliath affirms your gifts. Did you know that Goliath was actually the underdog in this fight? David would have had the specialty of "slinger" if he was actually in the military. A slinger would have been in the artillery division and their mission was to destroy infantry from a distance. That's why Goliath continued to try to persuade David to come close to him. It was the only way he could win. Saul, trying to do the right thing, even allowed the situation to persuade him and put his armor on David. Luckily, David took a step back, acknowledged that his unique gift was as a slinger over hand-to-hand combat, and refused the armor. David defeated Goliath because he kept his distance and fought his battle using his own gifts.
Lesson 4 - Your Goliath requires spiritual health to win. The three lessons above are not easy ones to implement in your life. They require endurance, and endurance requires faith in something bigger than this world. Why else would you tackle a Goliath for others when it would be easier to turn away? There is big opportunity on the other side of big problems, but you'll need a source of strength beyond your own mental toughness. We are too quick to let ourselves down.
Use your Goliaths to make yourself a better leader!
Written by Schuyler Williamson
REALTOR. Leader. Veteran. Business Owner. Investor.
