700,000 HOURS…
700,000 hours… the number of hours in an average life span. Seems like a lot. It’s really not. A third of them are taken up with sleeping. Another third with work. The hours just keep slipping away.
Malcolm Gladwell, in his book “Outliers”, postulates that putting ten thousand hours into a thing makes you an expert at the thing. I asked Jimmy “Diamond” Williams, leader of the Ohio Players, voted number seventy-two of the top hundred drummers of the 20th Century by Rolling Stone magazine how many hours he spent drumming before making it big. He said, “Over ten thousand.” I’ve spent well over ten thousand hours in study so the theory seems to hold true. That seems like a lot of hours but when you reach that level your hours become more valuable.
That’s where we’re going. How valuable are your hours? Are you using them well? Being paid what they’re worth? And how can you increase the value of your hours?
Many years ago I had opportunity to hear Ralph Wilkerson speak at a conference in a rural Indiana town. He was pastor of Melodyland Christian Center, in Anaheim, California, and a of the vanguard of the charismatic movement. He was larger than life and presented himself as such. During the course of his speaking he said, “I’m getting a thousand dollars for this. Some of you think that’s too much, but I know what I’m worth.” That translates into just over three thousand dollars in 2018 dollars. Was he worth it? He was to the people that sponsored the meeting. And he did challenge our thinking.
Shortly after that I asked J. Don George to dedicate our Lima store building turned church. He graciously accepted without even asking about an honorarium. But I was thinking in terms of time. He pastored one of the largest Charismatic churches in America. He could preach anywhere. He didn’t need to come to Lima, Ohio. How much was his time worth? I told my staff at least a thousand dollars. One of my staff pastors said, “No man is worth a thousand dollars for one service.” I should have fired him on the spot! My reply was, “At least two people are, Pastor George and me. I just don’t get it!” But that was a long time ago and good seed always produces a good harvest. What you do for others has a way of coming back to you— adjusted for inflation.
You may be reading this thinking, “I’m not a big time preacher, and I haven’t done anything for ten thousand hours.” That’s not the point. What is your time worth?
Harley is a great help, a good man, and one of my favorite people. He mentioned that there were people where he worked that were hired after him that made more money that he. I said, “Go ask for a raise.” He cited the economy and other issues and I said, “Go ask for a raise.” After we had the same conversation more than once he went to his boss and explained that he believed that he was underpaid. His boss asked, “How much are you making?” Harley told him and his boss said, “You’re right, you’re underpaid. How much do
you think that you should make?” He said, “I don’t know. Let me think about it.” He later went to his boss with a figure that was agreeable to both. He didn’t know what he was worth. (I use “boss” rather than “employer” because that’s the way he was described when I was told the story.)
What’s your time worth? Only you and the market can determine that but you can you’re your time more valuable. That’s what I’m sharing “Behind The Door” and it’s worth your time. And your money! It’s the first of the month so the password has changed. To get this months password hit the “Sowing” button and sow a seed of any size into the ministry. The default setting is $20 but that can be lowered. (At this point no one is lowering that amount—those that did have discovered how valuable the info “Behind The Door” is!) A few even raise that amount. Either way—if you want your time to become more valuable join me “Behind The Door.”
