It's Going To Cost

Hey, what's up? This is Tim Pratt Jr. I want to thank you for taking the time to listen to this content today. I hope you hear something that adds value to your life, shaping your perspective, faith, and hope, as well as the application to see it through on this thing that we call life. Enjoy. Episode 7: It's Going to Cost. What are you willing to sacrifice to become the best version of yourself? At the end of your life, think about getting into heaven and God introduces you to the man or woman you you could have been, or the version he intended you to be. And every day we have to contend to be that version because we're always going to be presented with options not to be the best version of ourselves. And so contending for it is very important because it's about becoming through the daily renewal of our mind. And it reminds me of a quote that I've seen on Michael Hyatt. I don't believe he takes credit for this because it's actually The author is unknown, but it said— it went like this: If you don't sacrifice for what you want, what you want becomes a sacrifice. And it makes me think about something Jim Rohn often would say in a lot of his programs and seminars that I would listen to, as he said that what's easy to do, it's also easy not to do. And that's kind of the two types of costs that I want to talk about within the context of this episode, is that either You're gonna do it or you're not gonna do it, but either way it's gonna cost you something. And so two quick points by Jim Rohn to kind of further elaborate on what he was saying about that. He was— one thing he always says about when we say, oh, you know, I don't want to read the books because they cost too much, okay, or whatever you want to use for their seminars, seeking out the appropriate friendship, going to school, whatever. Jim Rohn says that it isn't what the book costs, it's what it will cost you if you don't read it. What Jim Rohn is saying there is like, for me, no one could teach me what they didn't know. And so therefore, two books like early on in my life helped change the trajectory of it. It helped give me a perspective that As great as my parents were and a lot of my family, and connected, and connected as I was with them, they still couldn't teach me what they didn't know. And I do believe God works through his people. And so we have to read those books, go on the living information age now. So literally you can almost get any type of information for free, but it's audiobooks out there. If you don't like to read, pick up audiobooks. You don't like neither one of those, check into a podcast. One of the main things I'm trying to do with this podcast is just keep it straight to the point, but also add substance, because I don't want to just be putting out content but not giving the necessary application to kind of help live it out. And so it's very important to know that sometimes you cannot do something, and that's cool, but it's still costing you something. And on the other side of it, another quote that I like about Jim Rohn, which is the second one, is that he said, if I If I would have known how much it would cost, I would have never paid the price. And so what I believe Jan Rome is saying there basically is what we always hear just about any personal development book out there, personal growth or whatever you want to use, is that oftentimes we spend too much on stuff that don't matter. For example, I can be on social media, a game, such, such all day. And because I'm doing that, I'm missing out on things that could have brought me great value in life. And so Jerome is saying that if I would have known it at the time, I would have never done it. I would have never paid that. But in all truthfulness, in the era we live in today, a lot of us know but we still choose not to. And it is what it is when it comes to that. And I hate that, but take a step back and just say, man, listen, I'm tired of paying this cost for this. I got to get some value. I have to change the way I'm doing things. And so because why do you have to do that? Well, think about legacy for one. With me, it's not just what I want to leave for my kids, but in people to come after me. But it's what I want to leave in them. I want to be the best version of myself because if I don't, I'm gonna leave them a mediocre version or the worst version of myself, and I don't want them living up to that. It's not necessarily that I'm trying to praise myself by any means or tell you to praise yourself, but I'm just saying that if I strive to be the best version of myself, my prayer and my hope and my desire is that everyone connected to me, especially my kids, is that they look to me and say, man, like, my daddy strive to be great. But at the same time, I also want to impart in them that that was only by the Holy Spirit, because I made a choice by God's word to live up to the expectations that God has for me. And so I don't want the praise in any means, but at the same time, I know I have to allow God to work through me. And so they look basically to me as I follow Christ. I'm perfectly fine with that. But I also want to— I'm just being clear because I don't want no one to take this and be like, oh, you who you think. No, no, that's not what I'm saying. But in all truth, we have to make a decision because there's a lot of people out there that's not allowing God to work through them, and they can be just as great. And so that's what I'm trying to say. But it's about becoming the best version of myself. And for me to do that, you know, I have to take the necessary action steps. And one of the key ones is just mindset. It's a renewal of the mind, as we mentioned earlier. The Bible even says the daily renewal of our mind. We have to do this. It's an ongoing process. It's not a one-time event. And especially considering, like, what are we reading? Who's around you? A lot of people don't like toxic foods. They don't like toxic shows. But at the same time they allow toxic people to be around them. And so it's like an anchor, you know. You have anchors and engines, and Darren Hardy talks about this in Compound Effect. The anchor is the person that's keeping you, or the people, that's content or whatever that's keeping you from being the best version of yourself. But the engine, people like that in our life, or the content that we're taking in, is helping propel you push you to become the best version of yourself. So always try to categorize this person in the context of this episode. Are they an anchor or engine? And then you have to be committed to your why. You know, I talked about, uh, from when we first kicked off this podcast about Jonah dealing with purpose and why, when God gave him specific instructions but Jonah wasn't going to do it, he actually tried to run from it. And maybe God would have used someone else, I don't know. All I can do is go by the scriptures. But I do know this, that if Jonah didn't do what God instructed him to do, if he didn't step into becoming that best version of himself that God intended for him to be, a lot of people probably would have been lost. And so you have to think about in your mind who needs you to become the best version of yourself. Sometimes it might just be a family member. What if it's just your kids? It might not be the whole world. But every soul matters, and that's one thing that I'm learning in life. So ask yourself, who needs me to become the best version of myself? For me, it's my wife, it's my kids, it's my family. Like I, like I just told you, I have to be that. I don't want to be mediocre or the worst version of myself. And so, because if— and I'm kind of making the transition, just being obedient to Spirit right now— but if I don't, it's consequences that can come upon them that I really could have stopped, things that I could torment right now that God has intended me for to torment. But I say, nah, I'm straight, I don't want to do it. So now they got to face this, now they got to deal with these battles. So I'm willing to pay that cost so they won't. I want to pay the cost to become the best version of myself. The last thing to kind of think about, third point if you may want to say, is that it's about self-discipline and consistency. Like I just said, what's easy to do is also easy not to do. Jim Rohn quote. Anybody can do something one time, and we celebrate that so much in today's culture, just to start. But we don't celebrate the finishing, the sustaining process of it. And so just because I go to the gym today and tomorrow, if not the rest of this week, can I pick that up week after week? You know, can I read week after week? Can I be in the presence of God day after day, week after week, month after month, year after year of consistency. John C. Maxwell says the best thing, I believe his book Leadership, is that he's like, I get too much credit today. And he went on to explain why he's saying that. And it's basically because he was like, early on I was like, man, I don't get enough credit. But as I stay consistent, it compounded over time. And now I get too much credit, but really I'm just doing the same thing over and over, day in and day out. And so for me, I'm like understanding now that in all honesty, I'm probably putting out content that very only few people are reading right now or even listening to as this podcast. But every soul matters to me, and I do want to reach as many people as I can, but I'm not going to focus so much on just trying to reach a multitude of people that I'm overlooking and taking necessary time to say, okay, this person, they have a soul, they have a life, and if God wants to work through me, I want to pay that cost to make this necessary sacrifice to say, okay, Lord, use me. I'm available to connect with this person and help them become the best version of themselves. They're not looking unto me, they're looking at me as a vessel that God is using. And so to close out this episode, I wanted you to think about this quote by Martin Luther King that in that context, you know, was dealing with the civil rights time. But in the context of this episode, I'm gonna read it and I'm gonna kind of tell you why I chose it and what it means to me. But he said, "I may not get there with you, but I want you to know tonight that we as a people will get to the promised land." Yes, we know what it cost Martin Luther King.. But to me, as I've kind of said all throughout this episode, is that I'm willing to pay the cost. I'm aware of it. I know it's going to cost me, but I don't want to make things harder on my wife and my kids, my family, my friends, everybody connected to me. Life is hard in itself, but what I can do is say, look, I'm going to pay it. I'm going to pay it forward, and I want to make it easier on them, the burden, because I also want to show them and impart in them as I'm becoming the best version of myself. What's the next question? How are you doing this? How are you operating? That's my point to Christ, because it's not me. And so with that being said, as we open up this episode, are you making the necessary sacrifices daily, right now in this moment, in order to become the best version of yourself? In order to basically help everybody who's connected to you. Hey, thank you so much for listening to this content today. I want to encourage you, if you haven't already, to subscribe to it and share it with family and friends on your social media feeds. And you can also go over to www.timothyprattjr.org in order to find out more about the blog as well as other things that I offer on how to connect with me. So with that being said, I hope you have a blessed day and continue to see this thing through that we call life.