Warren Buffet's 10 maxims to live by

1. Hard work leads to profit, talk just leads to poverty
2. Laziness a sleeping lobster is carried away by the current
3. Earnings never depend upon a single source of income
4. Spending: if you buy things you don’t need you will soon sell things you do need
5. Savings: don’t save what is left after spending, spend what is left after savings
6. Borrowing: the borrower becomes the lender’s slave
7. Accounting, no use carrying an umbrella if your shoes have a leak
8. Auditing: beware of little expenses a small leak can sink a large ship
9. Risk Taking: never test the depth of a river with both feet
10. Investment: don’t put all your eggs in one basket

Overcoming the Challenges and finding Joy in Workplace

As a business expands new challenges can take us out of our comfort zone. We are going to discuss how to gain the confidence needed to overcome new challenges and build the practical and spiritual skills that will help you complete new tasks all the while maintaining a joy and peace regarding your current circumstance.

Please join us Thursday October 1st at the Lauren Parson Pratt conference center 281 Park Ave South (@22nd Ave) at 7pm

Value of Relationships

As current and future business leaders, the marketplace is our area of vocation and mission field. Despite the availability of and our modern reliance on technology, marketplaces are and will remain vibrant with human interaction. Building lasting relationships in the workplace is of value to our professions and to the Kingdom. Let's meet to consider, discuss and pray about how we can become people who are consistently well-liked, connected and serving others as we work.

Join us Thursday September 10th at the Lauren Parson Pratt Conference center 281 Park Ave South (@ 22nd Ave) Time: 7-9pm

Pathfinders Event: "Shifting Gears"

Thursday,July 23rd:

Business like cycling requires that you shift gears in order to get ahead. In the modern workplace you have to constantly adapt to ever changing circumstances. It is God’s desire that we continue to grow and succeed in our place of business and this often will require that we shift gears spiritually. I believe that we are in a season where God wants to shift you into high gear so that you can spiritually accelerate and take your business and life into a new gear. Join us this Thursday at Pathfinders were we will help you transition/shift smoothly into the new gear in your career so you can strive ahead of the pack.

Location: Laura Parson's Pratt 281 Park Ave South (@ 22nd Ave)

Time: 7-9pm

PERSIST, PERSIST, PERSIST

PERSIST, PERSIST, PERSIST... But do not be anxious!

Please join us for a special prayer meeting as we press into God for breakthru for those needing employment, new clients, contracts, funding, vision, & encouragement in their professions. We are God's people and as Paul advised, we are to be anxious for nothing but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God (Phil 4:6). Its going to be a great night!

High Performance

Dana Torres attributes her Olympic gold medal winning skill to having her body and muscles professionally stretched 5 times daily. And while, in part, hers is a God-given talent, she maximizes her "raw material" with techniques that lead to high performance. Are you operating in your professional life in such a way that you are achieving high performance? Let's gather to consider and share what areas of our work and thinking need activating and / or realigning so we too are maximizing our natural, God-given talents and excelling as high performers.

Join us Thursday April 2nd at the Location Laura Parson Pratt Conference Center
281 Park Ave South (@22nd St.) please plan to join us after the meeting for a Pathfinders Social at Barbounia.

Be Strong and Courageous

Assistant Pastor Anthony Ceccutti of Christian City Church Manhattan spoke a wonderful message on Sunday on Joshua chapter 1, where God tells Joshua to be "Strong and Courageous." In difficult times we often have a choice between fight or flight. Often when God allows an obstacle to obstruct us it is for us to attack and conquer.

Often we stand in front of an obstacle in defeat asking why God has allowed such a trial to enter our path. Instead we need to ask God what is the lesson we are to learn from this obstacle and how are we to overcome it? Are we to rely on our own abilities and ingenuity or are we to trust that God is going to provide a way of escape?

Obstacles will come and go but the lessons learned will last a lifetime.

Do you Soar or Slide?

"Those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint" - Isaiah 40:31

Eagles use storms to actually lift them above the storms. If you are flying above the storm you are unaffected by the turbulence. This is a complete contrast to a snake whose entire body is earthbound. The snake is not only effected by the storm above but the ground below scraping his belly. If you listen to the spirit of God and abide in Christ Jesus you can soar like an Eagle, while those who live out of the flesh are earthbound.

When it comes to your business do you Soar like an Eagle or Slide like a snake?

Stepping on your Problems

On Sunday, Senior Pastor Stephen Hickson of Christian City Church Manhattan had an amazing message on "Vision" and I had to share part of it that was particularly inspiring.

"When Jesus was walking on the water, he was walking on their problems, the water/storm and he commanded Peter to walk on his problems as well."

I love the image of Jesus encouraging us to walk on our problems. What is greater the problem or God and the direction He has for your life? If He has placed you in a boat and He is steering the vessel He will get you to the other side. Wouldn't you rather be where God is and where he wants to take you even if it means passing through turmoil?

Get out there and walk on your problems!

Gold will Rust

As the market turns south, investors turn to Gold as a safe haven. Yesterday, gold rose 2.7% to $967 a troy ounce. It made me look to see what the Bible has to say about gold and God led me to James chapter 5.

"Look here, you rich people: Weep and groan with anguish because of all the terrible troubles ahead of you. Your wealth is rotting away, and your fine clothes are moth-eaten rags. Your gold and silver have become worthless. The very wealth you were counting on will eat away your flesh like fire. This treasure you have accumulated will stand as evidence against you on the day of judgment. For listen! Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. The wages you held back cry out against you. The cries of those who harvest your fields have reached the ears of the Lord of Heaven’s Armies. You have spent your years on earth in luxury, satisfying your every desire. You have fattened yourselves for the day of slaughter. You have condemned and killed innocent people, who do not resist you."

Since gold is not iron ore it can't actually "rust" so I can only come up with one of two possible meanings behind this passage it is literal or figurative. As far as the literal interpretation I have read that it is possible that a nuclear fall out could cause gold to rust however, I haven't been able to verify this and I don't think we would survive it to see gold rust so I think we may need to look at this passage as figuratively. Silver and Gold has always been synonymous with money and or wealth. It is clear that the passage is warning not to count on the wealth that you have stored away.

As investors we need to not put our trust in our wealth but put our trust in the Lord. As employers we need to make sure we are taking care of our employees because the verse says, "Hear the cries of the field workers whom you have cheated of their pay. " We need to expand and not contract. If you don't take care of your employees during this time, why should God take care of you?

Consumption vs Production

We have become a society of consumers rather than producers. Our spiritual and physical growth requires that we actually produce more than we consume. If your body consumes more food than it expends in work you get fat, likewise the more we become consumers of the things the world has to sell us the less spiritually fit we become.

As consumers it is important to keep account of where we are spending our money. In our household we call them buckets. We have buckets that can't be changed like the mortgage bucket, or the groceries bucket, but then we have buckets on things like the vacation bucket or the going out for dinner bucket. At the end of the month we can look at our buckets and see where our money has gone. Where your money goes is where your priorities in life are.

My wife and I made a promise to ourselves that with the exception of our mortgage none of our buckets would be bigger than our tithing bucket. What you consume determines where your heart is.