Destruction is not the purpose of humanity, for all humans have been built to build.
And what are we to build?
1. We Are To Build Each Other
An encouraging word, a pat on the back, an uplifting text or email can change the course of one life in an instant. Be a builder, not a destroyer.
2. We Are To Build Strong Families
A nation is only as strong as the family unit. With the divorce epidemic rampant in our midst there is a need for us to stand up and say no to the ‘D’ word and to say yes to the ‘F’ word – and that word is FORGIVENESS.
3. We Are To Build Strong Economies
And how do we do that? By working diligently, by giving generously, by providing excellent service, by helping others, and by putting them first in all we do. For those in business – if you serve your customers and your staff well, then they will serve you well. And if you work for a boss, then take ownership of the business and act accordingly as though it is your very own.
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I have in the first month of this year attended two funerals. One for a friend who was a few years older than myself, and who had lost a five year battle with cancer, and the other for a friend’s child who died full-term in the womb of his young mother. Both were sad events, but we were all comforted by the fact that we know that both now reside in heaven.
Apart from the services that were both amazingly beautiful ceremonies, I was moved by the richness of the friendships that were evident at both, along with the communication and support that surrounded each of the events.
Friendship is so important if we’re ever to live a rich life. Without true friends – those whom we can depend on in both the good and the not so good times – we are poor indeed.
Friends provide us the support we need. They gird us and they goad us. They draw out the best and encourage us to be better. They provide the strength in our weakness and the light in our darkness.
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Before heading to bed tonight I found myself singing The Beatles song ‘All You Need Is Love’, and soon recalled all the events that had just occurred in my household – just another bustling night in the Sinclair household.
Over dinner, which my wife and I shared with my son and his girlfriend, we found ourselves discussing passionately a whole range of new business ventures we wanted to explore in the new year. This was done over chicken pie, and a very nice chicken pie I might add, where we were dreaming dreams, planning plans, and mapping maps with our words for the future. What a meal. Food for the body, soul and the spirit. Rich food for thought.
Then after the meal my eldest married daughter dropped in to use her mother’s sewing machine. A fault in the machine needed correcting, so out was pulled my trusty tool kit, which ultimately kept things moving seamlessly in the sewing department.
In the midst of this it was decided that the cat needed to be wormed. So wrapped up in a towel to protect all involved, the tablet was administered. Three attempts later, and a few cuts and abrasions inflicted by unhappy claws and teeth, the mission was accomplished.
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I recently read a sad obituary of a billionaire who had passed on. It recorded the fact that they had been known for their ‘bullish’ dealings in business and their unsettled family relationships resulting from three marriages.
Now they may have been the owner of some other fine qualities throughout their lifetime, not noted in the obituary, but for me personally – to have recorded as part of my obituary the above details, is the leaving of a sad legacy.
Success in life must be assessed by not just the bank balance alone, but rather by the measure and richness of the relationships developed by a life both in business, and in particular within the structure of the family.
All of us are flawed, but if we can live our lives in a state of love, forgiveness, the keeping of short accounts and of faithfulness – then we are traveling on the road towards a rich and prosperous life.
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Two of my children and I kayaked from the mainland, across the Pumicestone Passage, to Bribie Island yesterday.
We got wet, used muscles in our arms and legs that we hadn’t used in a while. We paddled against the wind and the current, and even chased a stingray who suddenly disappeared, as if by magic, in the sandy bottom.
We disembarked, once we reached the island, and then walked barefoot to the other side where we splashed in the ocean waves as they crashed onto the shore. We marveled at a sea eagle as it floated effortlessly through the air. We picked up a stray piece of driftwood and drew in the sand and we sunk in the soft sand up to our knees.
On returning to our kayaks we then paddled towards a flock of seagulls and a group of pelicans. Hopping out of our vessels we ran straight towards them with waving hands and raised voices before being enthralled by the sea of white that was now soaring above our heads.
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