Thanks to Tim Hetzner, President of Lutheran Church
Charities
for his article that prompted my thoughts on this
matter.
In A
Closer Walk Catherine Marshall writes, 'One morning last week God gave
me an assignment for one day. I was to go on a "fast" from criticism. I was not
to criticize anybody or anything. 'For the first half of the day I simply felt a
void, almost as if I'd been wiped out as a person. This was especially true at
lunch. I listened to the others and kept silent. In our talkative family nobody
seemed to notice. Bemused, I noted that the Federal Government, the judicial
system, and the institutional church could apparently get along just fine
without my personal observations! But still I did not see what this "fast from
criticism" was accomplishing - until mid-afternoon. 'In the afternoon God gave
me a new vision for my life. And it had His unmistakable hallmark on it - joy!
Ideas began to come to me in a way I hadn't experienced in years. Now it was
apparent what the Lord wanted me to see. My critical nature had not solved a
single one of the multitudinous things I had found fault with. What it had done
was to stifle my own creativity.'
Creativity is a huge part of
marketing smarter and when we're cynical and critical about our competition,
ourselves and well....., it stifles our energy and
thoughts.
To that end....stay focused
on your competitive advantages!
(this is a re-post from 1/14/12 in my blog Market-Smarter)
