“Great opportunities may come once in a lifetime, but small opportunities surround us every day.”                                                                                  -Rick Warren

When I was in college I was faced with some difficult decisions. I was on the fence between living for God and living the “typical” college experience. I had to choose whether I would follow my old friends or whether I would be willing to walk away from them and pursue God.

I remember telling one of my professors my predicament. He said, “Bubba, choose to do the right thing. I think if you could see the difference between where your friends will be and where you’ll be in ten years if you make the right choice, it wouldn’t be much of a choice.”

I chose to follow after God. It didn’t make much of a difference in a week, a month, or even a year. Now, years later, I have old friends coming up to me, patting me on the back, and telling me they’re proud of me and affirming that I made the right choice. The best part is I’m in a position to help them live an awesome life now!

The tough decisions you have to make now don’t always pay off in the short term. In fact, you usually pay a price for making the right choice in the short term. You’ll get ridiculed, rejected, and criticized. I know I did. However, if you’ll press through all of that, years later, you’ll be praised, congratulated, and patted on the back for making the right choice, many years ago.

Choose to do what’s right, no matter what. It always pays off, even if it’s 20 years later.

I finally got around to reading this classic  by Dale Carnegie! Theodore Roosevelt said, “The most important single ingredient in the formula of success is knowing how to get along with people.”

I believe that. Because I believe that, I want to do everything I can to become better at connecting with people. I believe that anyone can learn to be charismatic. I believe anyone can learn  to win friends and influence people. I also believe we all need to develop our people skills as often and as much as we can.

For anyone who is looking to become better with connecting with people, this is hands down a must read!

Buy this Book Here: How To Win Friends and Influence People

Some Highlights:

• 15 percent of one’s financial success is due to one’s technical knowledge and about 85 percent is due to skill in human engineering—to personality and the ability to lead people.

• Dr. Johnson said: “God himself, sir, does not propose to judge man until the end of his days.” Why should you and I?

• Sigmund Freud said that everything you and I do springs from two motives: the sex urge and the desire to be great.

• If you tell me how you get your feeling of importance, I’ll tell you what you are. That determines your character. That is the most significant thing about you.I shall pass this way but once; any good, therefore, that I can do or any kindness that I can show to any human being, let me do it now. Let me not defer nor neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again.

• Emerson said: “Every man I meet is my superior in some way. In that, I learn of him.”

• “If there is any one secret of success,” said Henry Ford, “it lies in the ability to get the other person’s point of view and see things from that person’s angle as well as from your own.”

• You can make more friends in two months by becoming interested in other people than you can in two years by trying to get other people interested in you.

• Jim Farley discovered early in life that the average person is more interested in his or her own name than in all the other names on earth put together.

• Whenever Roosevelt expected a visitor, he sat up late the night before, reading up on the subject in which he knew his guest was particularly interested.

• William James said: “The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.”There is an old saying: “Give a dog a bad name and you may as well hang him.” But give him a good name—and see what happens!

¹⁷And when Jesus heard it, He said to them, Those who are strong and well have no need of a physician, but those who are weak and sick; I came not to call the righteous ones to repentance, but sinners (the erring ones and all those not free from sin).                                                  Mark 2:17

This is quickly becoming a life verse for me. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy spending time with Christians, in fact my best friends are all Christians. However, I want to have a lot more friends that don’t live for God.

We’re here for one reason: to reach the world for Jesus. How are we going to do that if we’re not befriending and loving on people who don’t know God?

Here are Some Statistics that should shock you, and ideally inspire you to action:

Within 2 Years of Being a Christian, Statistically, Christians will Have 0 Non-Christian Friends in their Lives

There are 5 Types of Unchurched People in the World -4/5 Said they Will go To Church if Someone Invites Them

21% of Christians Will Invite Someone to Church in their Lifetime

2% of that 21% Actually Invite Non-Christians to Church in their Lifetime

What does this mean? Churches are growing at the expense of other churches. We’re taking Christians from one church and bringing them to our church. We’re only reaching 2% of the lost! Does anyone else see something wrong with this?

While we spend all of our times trying to encourage and lift other believers (this is a good thing, but we need a balance), there are billions of people who are desperate for a relationship with God. People desperate for hope. People looking for purpose. People who go to bed and know there has to be something more to life. People who we can point to Jesus.

The Concept is Simple: Hang out with People who don’t know God, love on them, and point them to Jesus. If that’s too hard for you, at least you can do is invite them to church!

If we don’t, who will?