A rock climber lost his grip and started a 600-foot fall to the bottom of the canyon. In the first several seconds as he found himself in a mid-air free fall, he thought everything was going well. However, his optimism didn’t give him a safe landing.  In business, as in life, we need to balance idealistic optimism against unrealistic pessimism.

When facing a serious business crisis, total optimism that says:   the situation will resolve shortly; isn’t our best tool.  Neither is extreme pessimism that makes us want to fold up our tent and go home. 

The best management guru of the 20th century in my view was Peter Drucker. I've read many of his books and had an opportunity to meet him at a seminar many years ago. It was a highlight in my business education.

One of the books he wrote was The Five Most Important Questions You'll Ever Ask Your Organization. I strongly recommend you pick up a copy and read the book.

Frequently a presenter on Shark Tank will talk about how passionate they are about their product, service or business. Unfortunately for the presenter, the investors don't really care much about the person's passion; they care about what the presenter can do and how the business can be successful. We've all seen people who are passionate about a concept that eventually fails.

An organization, Study Finds, released a report indicating that when we fear the day in front of us; our day becomes more stressful, reduces our focus, impacts our memory and decreases our productivity. The full article is here:  https://bit.ly/2LBkijS

The Lord spoke to Joshua and said, “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go." (Joshua 1:9, NIV)

Most of us want to leave a good legacy behind. Demonstrating the power of Christ in your life is the best legacy we can leave. In addition, we may have other stories and accomplishments others may find interesting that we should pass on.

A few years ago I stumbled on some notes my uncle had written regarding my grandfather. I found an interesting story that occurred in 1910 when he left a small farming town in Aylmer, Ontario, to take a bank manager's job in Calgary.  In 1910, Calgary was still a part of what we would call the Wild West. My uncle’s notes told how my grandfather would sleep in the bank office with a .38 caliber pistol under his pillow to make sure nobody broke in to rob the safe. Years later after he moved to Detroit, he used the same pistol when he collected rent in a real estate business.