After I retired, I provided leadership training & consulting to non-profits that serve people with developmental disabilities. Before I started with a small group, I always interviewed each participant to determine the needs of the organization. Each person’s response was recorded in a spreadsheet that functioned much like an MRI highlighting the points of need. The results from 10 years & 100+ participants were almost identical. People struggled with:

• Connecting With People
• Dealing With Difficult People in Difficult Times
• Getting A Grip on Time
• Serving From the Heart
• Leading & Managing
• Leading Effective Teams

All these core training areas had one common factor…Time. Over 75% of the participants told me they were stressed & overwhelmed…No time. These were dedicated, hardworking people, stressed to the max. When I asked how they started their day, most slept as late as they could and left home with their hair on fire.

It takes time to build relationships with people. It takes time to develop the skills to defuse, reframe and find win/win solutions. It takes time to effectively serve from the heart. It takes time to prepare & lead people. Here’s the key, time is the currency of relationships. Without time they (relationships) become fragile & break.

Our Creator God created relationships (see Genesis 1:26-28). He even wrote the book on relationships, full of examples of what works and what does not work. What we find in His “How To” book is the significance of having an on-going, personal trust relationship with Him. All our relationships (with people) will never reach their full potential until we get our relationship right with Him. Jesus made it crystal clear in Matthew 22:26-40, “Teacher (Jesus), which is the most important commandment in the law of Moses? Jesus replied, “‘You must love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.”

What is the elephant in the room? It is TIME! Either You control the elephant, or it will control you! Here are some helpful habits to control your elephant.

• Write down what you what you want to do with the rest of your life…and do it.
• Go to bed earlier…get up earlier to be alone with the Lord. This will blow you away. If you study God’s Word daily, you be amazed how the Holy Spirit will recall it to your heart when you need it.
• Stop trying to do it all. You cannot.
• Learn to say “NO.” This is a powerful habit. It enables you to focus on a few things and do them well instead of messing up a bunch of things.
• Being overwhelmed is not a badge of honor. It does not bring you value.
• Always keep the main things the Main Things!