Apples of Gold
Radio Script for April 22, 2008
“To Do Your Best at Something, Measure It”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
I do some work for the Radio Forecast Network.
I’m not a meteorologist, just an announcer, but each day I produce weather forecasts for stations around the country.
And I do them as fast as I can.
Not that I do the Speedy Gonzales. I just don’t want to take any more time than I have to.
So I measure how long it takes. And let me tell you, since I started measuring, I have cut my time in half. I just kept finding ways to do it quicker.
I think it is important that we measure what we do. When we want to do our best at something, we need to measure it.
In my early days as a disc jockey I made a lot of mistakes. I didn’t want to, but they just happened; things like starting a record at the wrong speed, or not having all my commercials ready. Then one day I got the bright idea to start writing them down. I wrote down every mistake I made.
See, writing them down brought them out of the nebulous void and into a tangible reality where I could actually see them and correct them. And I did. Once I saw them tallied up on paper, I began eliminating them.
I know some DJ’s find this hard to believe, but you can get to the place where you make almost zero mistakes on the air. But to do your best, you have to measure what you do.
My daughter wants to get her money under control. What is her first step? Write up a budget, of course. She needs to write down her income, then write down her expenditures.
Then what? Then she needs to measure her spending. Where exactly does the money go? Money has a way of slipping into that nebulous void – until you start writing it down.
My youngest daughter is a volleyball player. I always harp on her, “Get your serves in. Every single serve should go in.” The great thing about sports is all the statistics – they measure exactly how you are doing.
My son has a new job, and he gets a bonus for certain things. That’s a great idea, because now he can easily measure his success by how many bonuses he gets.
Professors measure published articles. Dentists measure the number of patients. A-Rod measures home runs. The Cubs measure years since 1908.
Anything you want to be successful at, you can measure.
“But Doug, some things are intangible.”
Yes, but you can still find ways to measure them.
Take marriage. There are many little things you can measure to improve your marriage. For example, how many meaningful touches do you and your spouse share each day? They say you need something like a minimum of eight. So count them. And whatever it is, improve it.
What about “I love you’s,” or kisses or gifts or honey-do jobs or friendly e-mails. These are all measurable.
This applies to raising children.
It also applies to our spiritual lives. Some people get squeamish when they think of measuring their spiritual lives. Some people cry, “Legalism!”
But I think it’s time we bring our spiritual growth out of the nebulous void. We can measure how much time we spend in prayer. We can measure our Bible study and our witnessing. We can measure our giving and our good deeds and our help for the poor. We can measure acts of service to our neighbors. We can measure how much we honor our parents.
Some people don’t like this, but I don’t know why. Maybe they think it’s putting God in a box. Maybe they think it will lead to pride or bragging.
But what it should lead to is growth. You measure something so that you know where you stand and how much you are growing.
In the parable of the talents, those that grew, with a measurable growth, were rewarded.
Colossians 1:10 talks about bearing fruit in every good work. How do you know if your good works are bearing fruit unless you measure them? And the good thing about measuring your good works? It will help you bear even more fruit!
Colossians also talks about growing in the knowledge of God. Second Peter 3:18 says we are to grow in the “knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.” How do we know if we are? By measuring it.
One way I measure my knowledge of God is by how much I know of His Word. I measure that by how much I learn in Bible study.
How can we know for sure we are growing unless we are measuring?
We measure our sports. We measure our money. We even measure our weight! Measuring is what we do when we are serious about something.
So if you want to bring something out of the nebulous void and get serious about it, if you really want to improve an area of your life, then learn this simple but important rule: measure what you do.
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
© 2008 The Arrow’s Tip
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(Proverbs 25:11 – “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver.”)
Why “The Arrow’s Tip”? Each morning, after diligently seeking the Lord, I write Apples of Gold. Then before I release it to the public I pray one final prayer, “Lord, send forth your arrows.” I envision Apples of Gold as arrows, tips dipped in the river of the water of life that flows from the throne of God (Rev. 22:1), sailing toward the hearts and minds of men and women around the world.
Doug Apple
General Manager - Wave 94
Christian Radio for Tallahassee
PO Box 4105
Tallahassee, FL 32315
(850) 926-8000
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