Life is Short - First Things First – [Ep. 130]

Linda J. Hansen:  Welcome. Thank you for tuning in to this episode of the Prosperity 101® Breakroom Economics Podcast. My name is Linda J. Hansen. Your host and the author of Prosperity 101® - Job Security Through Business Prosperity: The Essential Guide to Understanding How Policy Affects Your Paycheck, and the creator of the Breakroom Economics online course. The book, the course, and the entire podcast library can be found on Prosperity101.com. I seek to connect boardroom to breakroom and policy to paycheck by empowering and encouraging employers to educate employees about the public policy issues that affect their jobs.

My goal is to help people understand the foundations of prosperity, the policies of prosperity, and how to protect their prosperity by becoming informed, involved, and impactful. I believe this will lead to greater employee loyalty, engagement, and retention and to an increased awareness of the blessings and responsibilities of living in a free society. Listen each week to hear from exciting guests and be sure to visit Prosperity101.com.

Thank you for joining with me today. I realize there are countless choices when it comes to podcasts. And I want you to know how much I appreciate the fact that you are listening right now. This particular episode will be shorter than normal and the content is a bit different than usual, but I hope it will be meaningful for you. If you are a regular listener, you may have noticed that I did not release an episode last week. 

I first launched the podcast series on March 10, 2020 and it began with 12 ready-to-release episodes. Each week I tried to provide interesting, educational, and inspirational content for you, the listener. Last week was only the second week since then that I did not. I took time away from the microphone because my only sibling, my sister, passed away last week. This was the second death of a close family member in less than a year. And although it was somewhat expected, it came earlier than anticipated. Obviously, it was not a week for concentrating on new podcast episodes. I will be back in regular routine soon, but I’d like to share just a few thoughts as I’ve been processing the death of my sister and other loved ones. 

Life is short. When one is young, it seems like life can last forever and people in their 40s are old. Yet the longer we live, we realize that if someone makes it to 40 we can celebrate, for life is fragile. Although we like to think we are in control of our lives, we are not. We have no control over our first breath or our last and we become wiser and more at peace with ourselves and others when we realize that. Developing a relationship with God our Creator is essential to being ready to face life and death. Keeping eternity in mind as we live assures we will be reminded of keeping first things first – God, family, country.

People often asked me why I do what I do. If I could sum up a mission statement for my life it would simply be to know Christ and make him known and to promote liberty and freedom throughout the land. We are all imperfect people. But if we seek to love God and to love and treat others as we would like to be treated, our lives will have meaning and significance. We speak a lot about business, policies, prosperity, and freedom on this podcast. But there is no true freedom unless we have freedom in Christ. And that spiritual freedom guides us to promoting liberty for all people. John 8:36 reminds us that if the Son sets us free, we will be free indeed. 

If you are striving to get ahead or to build a business or to make an impact on public policy, that’s great. But I pray you will be able to keep first things first. Few people wish they could spend more time at the office when they are on their deathbed. They wish they had more time to spend with the people they love. If you are listening to this and there is someone you love that is coming to mind, please reach out to them and tell them you love them. Don’t delay. Don’t assume you or they will be given another day. Make every day count.

And if you are listening to this and you are not sure where you stand with God, now is a great time to solidify your relationship with him by simply asking Jesus Christ to come into your heart and to be the Lord of your life. That is the first step to peace with God. And when you take that step, the rest will follow. If you have questions about how to have a relationship with Jesus Christ, please reach out to me and I can refer you to resources and organizations that may be helpful for you. No matter what, please consider your life and how you are choosing to invest your time and resources. Life is short. Don’t waste a day.

I’ll be back soon with my more regular format. But in the meantime, I pray you will be blessed as you consider what I’ve shared. I hope it will help you to have improved relationships with God, with others and with yourself. Thank you.

Thank you again for listening to the Prosperity 101® Podcast. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe, share, and leave a great review. Don’t forget to visit Prosperity101.com to access the entire podcast library, to order my newest book, Job Security Through Business Prosperity: The Essential Guide to Understanding How Policy Affects Your Paycheck, or to enroll you or your employees in the Breakroom Economics online course. You can also receive the free e-book, 10 Tips for Helping Employees Understand How Public Policy Affects Paychecks. 

Freedom is never free. Understanding the foundations of prosperity and the policies of prosperity will help you to protect prosperity as you become informed, involved, and impactful. I give special thanks to our sponsors, Mathews Archery, Inc. and Wisconsin Stamping & Manufacturing. Please contact us today at Prosperity101.com to let us know how we can serve you. Thank you.