“You gotta be present to win” is one of my friend’s favorite lines in business. What he means by this is that if you want to get the most of anything, then you have to be involved and present (figuratively) to get the most of the activity or the work. Sometimes he uses it literally with those who are not spending enough time on the job or in the office, but then it becomes punitive. Being present means to me, giving of ourselves enough that we set aside our distractions, subordinate our egos and wants, and we focus on the work at hand. That makes good sense to me. Years ago I went through Senn Delaney’s leadership seminars and there was one axiom that stuck with me throughout all the years. It is, “Be Here Now”. Being here now means being present. Set aside the emails, ignore the text messages and phone calls, the distractions outside of work, and focus in on the person or the work in front of you. It was a very valuable lesson for me, and one that I continue to relearn. Being present with others is a very valuable skill and one that is more appreciated and recognized than we imagine. We all should think about being more present and being more here now. Paul gives Timothy a similar word in 2 Timothy 2:6; “Hardworking farmers are the first to enjoy the fruit of their labor”. Think about this and imagine being the farmer who is picking the corn, the tomatoes, the beans or the fruits. Who will get the freshest and ripest of the harvest? The farmer who is present, on the front line, focused and doing his work. The one who’s hands are dirty and in the dirt. I love that verse for it says so much about what God wants us to be in our jobs. He wants us to be present, to be there with and for others if that is what we do, to be focused and to be there in all that we have on the work we have been given. It is then that we can enjoy the fruit of our labor and along the way, bring glory to God through our hard and present work. If today you are questioning why and what it is that you are doing with your working hours, try asking God to give you the presence of mind to be totally present in the job that you have and see if there isn’t fruit in front of you that have previously missed.

Reference: 2 Timothy 2:6 (New Living Testament)