From My Experience

I usually pay closer attention when someone speaks to me from their own experience. I’m listening to see if “my experience” is similar.  If I’m going to learn from others, I must listen to them. If I’m going to learn from others, I need to watch them. There are times when their words and actions are in conflict. I personally agree with the old idiom that “actions scream out so loudly that I can’t hear what you’re saying”.

I have learned over the years to listen to people who are older than I am and have experienced more of life than I have. I have also learned to listen to people who are more experienced than I am in business. I didn’t become a businessman until I was over 40. I’m still learning, watching and growing in this arena. I have some good people on my “Board of Directors” to help mentor and advise me.

Job’s friends were pretty harsh at times in their response to him. He wasn’t super kind to them either, but he was suffering profound pain from physical illness. (That will make a lot of people grumpy.) His friend Eliphaz second response was a bit harsh, but I think his intentions seemed good. Check this out…..

¹⁷ “If you will listen, I will show you.
    I will answer you from my own experience.
¹⁸ And it is confirmed by the reports of wise men
    who have heard the same thing from their fathers—
¹⁹ from those to whom the land was given
    long before any foreigners arrived. (Job 15:17-19 NLT)

I want to listen to the Lord today instead of my experience from my past. It’s easy to only look backward to see where I need to go forward. I have learned that my past doesn’t define me, but if I don’t deal properly with it, it can show back up in my future.  Experience is a hard teacher, but usually a thorough one.  A wise person learns from experience, but an even wiser person learns from another person’s experience.

I can’t imagine starting a new career or even a new hobby without learning from the experience of others. The internet is full of videos to learn from others. There seems to be an infinite number of people who desire to teach and present on just about any subject. The people I learn from best are people that I know personally, and I trust completely. I want to hear from their experience. If they haven’t experienced it, they can usually point me in the right direction to someone who has.  I think there is wisdom in listening to the experiences of others, but then turn to the Lord to His Insight and His Wisdom before taking action.

Pressing On!

Dwayne