#21- Mining Your Own Business

My stint in Network Marketing was short lived.  The promises made by the people  at the top of the pyramid never materialized and I sold the large inventory I’d acquired at a reduced price.  That was over twenty years ago, but I haven’t forgotten a valuable lesson I learned from that experience: mine your own business.

I had a job at the time that could have earned me more money using a fraction of the energy.  For example, I could have worked some overtime here and there.  Instead, I marketed my entire circle of family, close friends and acquaintances.  To this day, I’m unsure if some of them still trust me.  You know you are in deep waters when you attempt to make sales outside of deep relationships.  The other warning light is when you believe you can make lots of money with little or no work required.

When we work outside of our niche, we’re like the proverbial torch that is just a flame rather than a laser: we lose focus, and lack results.  Instead of cutting steel, we’re in danger of burning the house down. 

Rather than sowing the forest, we’re sometimes better off cultivating the garden in our own backyard.  A nearby friend is better than a brother far off.

Ultimately, we don’t need a new wife or a new career- we need to take better care of the ones we have.  Often, we’re ready to trade in things that still have quite a lot of life in them.  Two licks and we’re ready for a new Tootsie Pop, while the best part is in the middle.  If you’re ready to trade, did it ever occur to you that maybe God knew the extent of your needs when he met them in the first place?

So mine your own business and you just might find the fulfillment that’s been right there before your eyes the whole time.  Trust me, it will cost you dearly, but it’s a lot LESS expensive in the long run!  In the words of Solomon, the wisest man who ever lived, "Whatsoever thy right hand findeth to do, do it with all thy might."