20 Dec GAME TIME!

IT’S GAME TIME! 

Life is not a dress rehearsal! This is it. The whistle has blown, the other players are moving, the clock is ticking! It truly is GAME TIME! Whether marked off by a whistle, flashing lights, the screech of an air horn or the clang of an alarm clock, life, for today, is underway. Whatever your situation or circumstance, now is the time. Now is YOUR time! Some of us have been waiting for this moment, others dreading it. Preparation is a part of any performance – whether a game, a play, sewing a skirt, blocking a linebacker or taking an enemy position. Even though we are mostly unaware of it, we are preparing all our life for that certain moment. Maybe that moment is now for you or maybe it is yet to come.

Each of us will have many of “those moments” in our lives. Times that we fear we are not prepared for, and yet, life has prepared us for even such a time as this – whatever “this” is!

BE PREPARED!

The Roman philosopher, Seneca, said: “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.” So if you want to be “lucky”, Be Prepared! Life may not be a dress rehearsal, but we can rehearse, anticipate and prepare! I can’t think of a single Super Bowl that both teams did not spend hours practicing. And this at the end of a long season. They have played home and away, in good weather and bad, practiced weekly, after a summer of practices and still work tirelessly – going over plays they have already practiced – along with new plays just for this singular opponent, all to ‘get ready’ for GAME TIME!

And after all that practice, whatever the score at half-time, the coach usually has some changes for them in the locker room. They may revise the game plan, based on what went on in the first half. You know why?! Because the Super Bowl is not a dress rehearsal! There is a verse in Ecclesiastes (9:11 NIV) that reads something like this : “The race is not to the swift or the battle to the strong … but time and chance happen to them all.” An unexpected interception, unintended fumble, inadvertent slip … anything can happen, even with the best of plans, impeccable preparation and incredibly talented players! But – without preparation, defeat is all but assured!

YOU GOTTA WANT IT!

So, if chance happens to all, what is the value of preparation? Why not just let chance happen? You may still win. But, do you think you improve your odds of winning, if you DO rehearse and prepare? You bet you do. Almost any athlete or performer, has a sort of sixth sense about their level of readiness. A boxer, before he steps in the ring has a sense of how prepared he is to face his opponent. He has done the research, watched the films, studied the techniques, the moves, the weakness of his rival. His intention is to go into the ring ‘ready’! Does that mean we will always win if we prepare? Of course not! But we do all we can to prepare if we truly want to wear the victors wreath! “You gotta want it!”

“DRESS” FOR SUCCESS!

Trust me on this… it IS game time! Wherever you are, whatever you do, today is the day, this is the time. You have prepared all your life to be right where you are, and you are right where you belong- right now. If you are not happy with where you are, look back and see how you have prepared to be exactly where you are. Perhaps inadvertently but you ‘prepared’ none the less! Take a look at where you are. IS it where you want to be? Where DO you want to be in a year, in 5 years? Start today, rehearse what you need to be doing when you ARE there. The concept of “Dress for Success” is this – dress the way the people, who are where you want to be, dress! Take that to heart.

That means you ACT the way, BE the way, THINK the way you need to think when you are where you want to be. Life is not a dress rehearsal – it is  a live performance. Like the ad for the US ARMY said – Be all you can be! Get yourself ready, the clock is already ticking – It is GAME TIME and you CAN do this!