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Apples of Gold
Radio Script for March 10, 2010
“Who Are You Trying to Please or Impress?”
Hello, I’m Doug Apple…with Apples of Gold.
The owner of the radio station died a few weeks ago, and it really messed with my motivation.
I don’t mean it messed with my work ethic or my drive to get up and go. I mean it messed with the “why” I do what I do each day.
I’ll get into that, but first a little clarification. The station is actually corporately owned, so it will continue as usual. But Mike Floyd was the CEO and the visionary. He’s the one who hired me, and he was the man I had to please with my work.
Now Mike was not a micromanager when it came to the radio station. He didn’t tell me what to do everyday, or how to do it.
So how did I know what to do?
Well over time I learned in general what he wanted, then I applied that to the specifics of everyday decision-making.
When I first started working for Mike, I found myself in the ditch a few times. I did things he didn’t want me to do. Not bad things, just things he wanted done differently.
As time went by, I learned how to stay out of the ditch, how to do the things Mike wanted me to do while avoiding the things he didn’t want me to do.
Over the years that hardened into a structure of thinking. It became unconscious. It was sort of like, in the back of my mind, I made decisions based on, “If Mike was here right now, would he be pleased with what I’m doing?”
Plus there’s always the accountability. “If Mike asks me about this, will my answer please him?”
So that’s what I’m calling my motivation. It’s the “why I do what I do.” And as Mike’s employee that meant pleasing him.
And then he died.
I hadn’t really thought about this motivation factor until Mike was gone. But then it slowly dawned on me. “I’m doing this because that’s what Mike would want. But now what?”
And then a kind of emptiness set in.
The day will never come when Mike says, “Why did you do that?” or “That’s just what I wanted, good job!” or “What were you thinking? That’s not what I wanted at all.”
So if my motivation, my decision-making was based on pleasing Mike – now what?
Like I said, it was a kind of emptiness.
And then I thought of other motivating factors in life. For example, what if that was my dad, and what if I had lived my whole life to please him, to make him proud of me, or just to make him notice me? Would my entire structure for decision-making be lost?
Then I thought of a woman. What if, subconsciously, this woman’s decision-making was based on getting the attention of men? She dressed in such a way and behaved in such a way to attract men. Not that she ever came right out and said it. She may not even know it, but it’s at the foundation of her thinking. It’s just something she’s always done. But then she gets old. Or she has an accident. Or something happens that takes “attracting men” out of the equation. Now what?
I read a story about tennis star Serena Williams. In 2001 her boyfriend dumped her cold, and suddenly she had a new motivating factor. She was going to show him! She wanted to prove to him just how wonderful and awesome and incredible she was. So her decision-making was based on that. “Should I practice today? Should I work harder today? Should I be number one in the world or is number two or three good enough?” Well number one would impress him the most, so that’s what she did.
This is a question we all need to examine. Why do I do what I do? Who am I trying to please or impress?
Maybe you are trying to be a success because your mother said you would never amount to anything. But what happens when she dies?
If our motivation is to impress or please any human, we must realize that the day will come when they will pass on, and then what?
Then there will be an emptiness. You might even feel like your life has been lived for nothing. I mean, what do you do when the person you were trying to prove yourself to is no more?
The good news is, there is a much better, much longer-lasting motivation than trying to please or impress people.
Second Corinthians 5:15 says we should live for the Lord.
Colossians 1:10 says we should live a life worthy of the Lord, and seek to please Him in every way.
Second Timothy 2:4 words it this way. We want to please our commanding officer.
This is a motivation that is worthwhile, and it will last the rest of your life.
So take a good hard look. Why do you do what you do? What is your motivation? Who are you trying to please or impress?
What happens when they are gone?
Well you can avoid that emptiness by building your life and your motivations on something eternal.
Instead of living to please and impress people, we make our decisions based on pleasing the Lord
Comments?
E-mail me: dougapple@wave94.com.
May God bless you today! With Apples of Gold…I’m Doug Apple.
That doesn’t mean we never try to please people. Romans 15:2 says, “Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.” And Paul said in First Corinthians 10:33 that he tried to please “everybody in every way. For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.” But the ultimate motivating factor for pleasing people is actually to please the Lord Himself.
© 2010 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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