Keys To Success

I've said it before on this blog: I love cooking competition shows. Point Blank. From "Top Chef" to "Chopped" and everything else in between. And one term I've heard over and over again is "Mise En Place." It is actually a French term that literally means "putting in place."

The term refers to getting ingredients organized in the kitchen for a meal. It includes chopping up vegetables, having spices, herbs and sauces ready and cutting up meats. As a chef, it is highly important to have an organized mise en place. It is important to be prepared. I've seen too many times in the cooking competitions on television that when a chef's mise en place is not on point, it reflects in the final product usually ending in losing the task.

The better prepared we are, the greater our chances for success.

In Proverbs, Solomon calls us to take a look at the ant who labors and prepares all through the summer so that when winter comes, they have enough to survive.

"Take a lesson from the ants, you lazybones. Learn from their ways and become wise. Though they have no prince or governor or ruler to make them work, they labor hard all summer, gathering food for the winter." [Proverbs 6:6-8 NLT]

And just like the ant, we need to prepare. Look at your goal... how can you prepare for success?

Do you want to take the family on a summer vacation? Then set up a savings schedule a few months prior and stick to it.
Do you want to start eating better? Then make out a menu and then only by things that fall in line with your menu.
Do you want to read a devotional every morning? Then set your alarm a few minutes earlier and pick out what you are going to read the night before.

These may seem like easy, silly examples. But when we fail to prepare, we are preparing to fail. Small, simple tweaks to our days will make a huge difference in achieving our goals.

Friend, I want you to be successful. I want you to reach your goals. But there is no fairy godmother waving a wand.