Nuggets For The Noggin

Don’t Be A Lollygagger!
by Jim “Gymbeaux” Brown, August 20, 2008

“Lollygagger”, a lazy person, one who lollygags; a slacker; or ne'er-do-well (I like that word, could have entitled this, “Don’t Be A Ne’er-Do-Well”)

Are you waiting for your ship to come in? Hate to be the one to tell you, ships don’t come in – you have to go out and meet them. What would happen if “your ship” was captained by a lollygagger? The chances of it coming in would be nil and none and you would wait your entire life for its cargo.

If “your ship” just set sail with no particular destination, you will wait forever for it to even come into sight let alone docking at your door. Captain Lollygagger would be at the mercy of the winds, tides, storms, crew and land masses that come between him and you. Captain Lollygagger was too lazy to research the navigational sea charts, plot a course, check the tide tables and even make sure he had a sufficient crew before he departed. Captain Lollygagger could also be called a “slacker”, or a “Ne’er-Do-Well” (still like that word).

Does any of this sound familiar? Some people (certainly not you) work at looking for the easiest way to make money; wishful thinking. Some people (certainly not you) take short cuts; few if any are truly short cuts but rather expressways to trouble. Some people (certainly not you) see their ship dock in the bay and fail to swim or boat out to meet it. Some people “hope” to win the lottery and as Dr. John Maxwell states, “Hope is not an effective strategy”, nor does it make much sense. Some people (certainly not you) would not recognize their ship if it did dock at their front door.

Each one of us has the ability through the mind’s eye to literally see our tomorrow as we want it to be. Wise people (that WOULD be you) see what they want and then unlike Captain Lollygagger find the education to learn how to get where they want to go. Gathers the crew (tools) necessary to reach their destination. Uses a great telescope to always stay focused on the goal and keep it in sight. Charts progress. And finally reports on his or her progress all along the way to someone who cares.

In this regard, I really like what Zig Ziglar says, “Are you a wandering generality (the 80%) or a meaningful specific (the 20%)?” He could have said, “Are you a lollygagger or a goal driven, laser focused, results producing successful genius?”

To put this Nugget into perspective, let me relate to you a story that was coming across the news as I wrote it. A sailor, sailing by himself, was about to lower the main sail on his boat without securing the boom. A wind caught the sail, swung the boom around and knocked the sailor into the water without a life jacket. He spent 12 hours treading water while the Coast Guard conducted a search for him. He was found and rescued. Question: Do you think the Coast Guard would have found him if they did not have a search plan? Do you think they would have found him if they did not prepare in advance for just such a problem? Saving this sailor’s life would not have happened without a very specific goal and then taking action to achieve it. Who would you rather be, the sailor (the wandering generality) spending 12 hours in the water hoping to be rescued? Or, the Coast Guard (the meaningful specific) trained and waiting to do what they do best? If you need help with the answer to that question, I would refrain from operating any heavy equipment if I were you.

Yesterday can not be changed, it is what it is. Tomorrow, now that is another story – it can be changed but only if you literally paint a picture of what you want it to look like. Then as Joy Tye teaches:

NEVER FEAR! NEVER QUIT! EXPECT A MIRACLE! . . . Joe Tye

I would then add, like Michael Phelps who just one 8 Gold Medals at the 2008 Olympics did:

STAY FOCUSED ON WHAT YOU WANT!