Story 13:
It was pouring in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.
An elderly lady entered a nearby department store to kill time while waiting for the rain to slow down.
She went from counter to counter, and most of the store workers noticed her idling and made no contact with her.
However, at one counter, a young salesman greeted her.
When he found out that she was in the store to avoid the heavy rain, he brought out a chair so that she could sit comfortably while waiting for the rain to stop.
After the rain finally stopped, he escorted her to the street, and the lady asked for his business card.
Months later, the department store owner received a letter, inquiring for this young man to help furnish a family home in Scotland.
The owner of the department store explained in his reply letter that the young man had no experience in furnishing, but he could suggest someone who had training in the furnishing department.
Soon the owner received another letter, which confirmed that the family only wanted this particular young man.
These letters were from the steel tycoon, Andrew Carnegie. The elderly lady in the department store was his beloved mother.
So the young man went to Scotland.
The house he furnished was the magnificent Skibo Castle in Scotland.
Many years later, this young man became the co-owner of the department store where he met Mrs. Carnegie.
Lesson:
Going the extra mile in what you do is money.
What have you noticed with this young man at his job? Had he treated every customer with attention to detail? Or was he just lucky that day to meet Mrs. Carnegie?
The extra mile he went on the job led him to a shortcut to riches.
When you’re on any task, do you intentionally give the extra effort or mindlessly complete it as a perfunctory routine?
There is an old saying, “The way you do one thing is the way you do all things.”
The story of choosing Rebekah in the Bible (Genesis 24) perfectly illustrates the result of going the extra mile.
God blessed Abraham with enormous wealth.
When Isaac reached the age to be married, Abraham sent his servant to seek the most appropriate bride for his beloved son.
Have you noticed the qualification didn’t mention the most beautiful or wealthy? As a hard-working self-made billionaire, Abraham knew beauty and money were ephemeral in a season. He looked for a long-lasting quality in a young lady.
When the servant met Rebekah, she was drawing water with exquisite beauty.
When she met the men on the road, she cheerfully offered them water and went the extra mile to draw water for the camels they were on.
That was it!
Rebekah was prudently and definitively chosen because she was far beyond her physical appearance.
She possessed the willingness to go the extra mile for strangers. This was a sign to Abraham that she could preserve and increase the family’s prosperity.
One of my mentors taught me a concept about sowing good seeds as he said,
“We’re a seed factory. Every day we’re sowing seeds with our actions, and we eventually reap what we sow. If you give less, you receive less. If you want to receive more, you give more.”
This concept can be applied to any area of life, health, finance, relationships, and self-expression.
Your world today is a collective manifestation of the seeds you’ve sown.
You can’t control the direction of the economy today, but you can intentionally go the extra mile in what you do NOW.
You’re always on two journeys simultaneously, the physical and the spiritual ones. Even if you’re not able to see how your extra effort can be paid off, the Christ in you is always working in the background for your best interest.
If you seek financial security in a job, you may lose it. But if you consistently go the extra mile in what you do, in its due time, your seed of excellence will grow into a harvest.
Like the young man in the department store and Rebekah in the Bible, you’ll meet the right people, in the right places, and at the right times.
When luck continuously knocks on your door, you’ll no longer seek security elsewhere. You’re security for yourself!
Now open the money door with affirmations:
I AM a daily seed sower.
I always go the extra mile in what I do.
I AM reaping a harvest from the extra mile I gave.
Let the money truth be engraved in your heart.
Your willingness to go the extra mile is MONEY.