Be, Do, Have
"If you want to build a boat, you don't go out and drum up a bunch of people and assign them tasks; rather, you teach
them to long for the endless immensity of the sea." Antoine de St Exupery
Be-Do-Have = striving to become the person we are designed to be, which will prepare us to do the things we are called to do, and only
then can we truly receive the rewards set out for us, just as Christ did. [1 Timothy 6:11-12,19]
The next major perspective relates to three of the most common verbs in the English language, and how important they are to our way
of thinking, and how important that order is. They are the verbs 'be', 'do' and 'have'.
Usually we hear ourselves say "Once I 'have' more time or money or freedom or support, then I can start 'doing' the things I am supposed
to or want to (hopefully they are one and the same), and then that will help me become the person I should 'be'."
That order should be reversed. First, we should strive to become who we are meant to 'be', then we will be ready to 'do' the things
asked of us and expected of us, and then will we begin to 'have' results and rewards, and only then will we know how to truly respond
to those results and enjoy those rewards.
As de Saint Exupery pointed out, we must become enamored with the sea if we truly want to 'do', to build a great boat. And it is only
after building that boat that we can truly enjoy the rewards of sailing the ocean.
Take a look at jobs. If you were to walk into a company and begin to start doing chores and tasks, they would not pay you for it. First
you must become an employee of the company, and once you are hired, they will train you to do a certain job, and only then will you
begin to receive a paycheck. You must become a member of a football team before the coach will send you onto the field to block, tackle,
pass and catch, which must take place before you can begin to have marks in the 'win' column. You must be wise before you can most
effectively manage your time, and thus have free time for a vacation. You must understand the financial world before you can wisely
invest your money, and then receive a return. You should be in good health before you begin to climb a mountain to reach the top.
You should be open-minded to then study and learn other perspectives to then gain more knowledge.
So in this life, ask yourself, "What must I Be, in order to Do, in order to Have more of?" If you want more free time, what actions
must you take to achieve that, and what kind of person do you need to be to accomplish those actions? If you want more friends, strive
first to become a friendly person before you attempt to do things to gain friends. If you need more money, what can you do to achieve
that, and what kind of qualities do you need to embody to make those achievements? If you want more knowledge, or happiness or significance,
determine what needs to be done to go in that direction, as well as determine what needs to happen first initially. Make three lists:
everything you want 'to be', everything you want 'to do' and everything you want 'to have' in life. And then start working on the
Be list. For as illogical as this sounds and for as much as you may want to argue this point, if you put you energy into your Be list,
and for the time put the Do and Have lists on the back burner, you will find that the items on the Do and Have list will begin to
take care of themselves as you consciously work on your Be items. Try it.
It is like the mechanisms of a lock. You must unlock each stage in a certain order before you move to the next one. It is not possible
to unlock the mechanism any other way. That is the way it is. The same holds true for life. You must develop who you are before you
are ready to accomplish things, which needs to be done before you receive anything truly of value.
Throughout this site, if there is something promised to you, see what you need to do to get it, and more importantly, see what you
need to be to do that. If you are struggling with a certain concept, think 'Be-Do-Have' and see if that order, that alignment, makes
things easier to understand and apply.
The Seven-Fold Life is acknowledging the four key areas of our life: Heart, Soul, Mind and Body. Continue on to the
Seven Fold Life
11But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.
12Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession
in the presence of many witnesses.
19In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold
of the life that is truly life.