The last quarter!

A good friend of mine wrote this about a week ago and it was inspiring and motivating to say the least. Please enjoy:

The Fourth Quarter
by
Jason H. Thomas

It is difficult to believe that 2007 is almost gone. Very soon, we will be entering the final quarter of the year. During this final quarter, several things tend to happen. Cooler temperatures begin to replace the summer heat wave. Leaves begin to turn from green to orange, yellow, and red. Diets begin to shift from fruit and salads to soups and comfort food. But the best thing that the year’s final quarter brings is…football. Maybe it’s just me but I can smell the pigskin in the air. But that’s not the focus of this piece. As you approach the tail end of the year, your focus should be on “How can I finish well?”

At the beginning of the year, you had goals. You had dreams. You had unbreakable focus. You had determination. You had will power. And then it happened…life. Your dreams didn’t flow according to plan. Your goals didn’t get accomplished quite like you imagined. Either you had less income or more expenses, but your financial balance sheet is a bit…off balanced. You experienced a few more problems than you initially accounted for. Some relationships went sour and died while others were birthed and flourished. But life happened to you and the end of the year is now upon you.

So what do you do now?

Finish what you started. It’s not about how you start but how you finish. Your aim should be to finish well. People rarely remember how you started something but they certainly remember how you finish.

Implement an effective and efficient strategy. Effectiveness relates to how well you do something whereas efficiency relates to how fast you can do it. I believe that a person of true excellence has the ability to marry the two (effectiveness and efficiency). As a part of implementing a great strategy to end the year well, you must ask yourself:
What do I need to start doing?
What do I need to stop doing?
What do I need to continue doing?

Keep the end result/reward in mind. Many people are motivated when they have a keen understanding of “What’s in it for me?” The primary reason that Jesus could endure the pain of the cross was because of the joy that was set before Him (Hebrews 12:2). In the same manner, it is the goal/reward that you are working towards that will help you to endure the pain of the process.

Although the year’s end is almost upon us, you still have time to accomplish those things that you initially set out to do. So don’t delay; make it happen TODAY! Remember, it’s important that you start, but it’s more important that you finish…and finish well!