You Get What You Ask For...You Reap What You Sow...

This message came to mind at least twice in the same day so I had no choice but to write a post about it. As I drove home from work the other day, I listened to an interview on the Michael Baisden Show featuring the Singer Estelle from the UK. What struck me outside of the updates on her recent work, collaborations etc was when she mentioned that she had been at this for ten years. I thought about it and I probably heard about her two years ago. Granted that I am not the prolific music lover but still, it proved one thing to me yet again. It takes time to build a brand but if you stick with it, perfect it and put your all into it, you'll get there.

I have heard many authors say they've been at it for six years, ten years and such and I've just now heard about them or read one of their book. Some have said to me that they have written ten books and I just now picked up book number ten.

The problem is that we often want it now but we don't want to put in what it takes to get it. People like Beyonce have put in a lifetime of effort and discipline from her whole family and not just her. Fame and success do not come easy.

I have been doing some interviews recently on websites, blogs, etc. As I thought about some of them today, one thing struck me. The difference between a good or an excellent or even a possibly mediocre interview does not only depend on me, it also depends on the interviewer. There are interviews where no matter how hard I tried to make it fun, because of the way the questions were asked, it could never sound quite as interesting as I would like if I was to not go off on a tangent! On the other hand, some inetrviewers were so good or so in tune with me and my message that it had no choice but to come across as a great interview, even with little effort on my part and just being myself.

Everything in this world has a cause and effect. You get what you ask for and you reap what you sow. If you put no effort in, there is very little likelihood of success. We need to pay our dues and all else hopefully will follow as God blesses out effort. Flukes do happen but how often? Do you really want to leave it up to a very slim chance? I think not. And even though hard work does not always give the desired result, it definitely feels better to have put your whole heart in it as opposed to never trying and never getting a chance to see if it may have worked.

This can be applied to everything in life: your job, relationships, marriage, food, construction, etc. Name it, it applies.

May God help us to have the patience and the wisdom to pay our dues so that when the time is right, we will reap what we sowed.

BLESSINGS.