Entitlement

“You have got to be before you can do AND do before you can have…” — Zig Ziglar

Regardless of where you were born or who you were born to, THERE ARE NO GUARANTEES in life. Ah, but you say your parents are wealthy and they have placed you in their trust fund. Well, before you run off believing the wealth of your parents will get you through and over anything, allow me to shed some light on that subject for there is nothing, which guarantees you anything even if your parents are the wealthiest people on this planet. I can say this with confidence because neither you nor I know if either one of us will be alive ten minutes from now. There is any number of things that could happen to bring our physical lives here, to an end. It is for this very reason I find those with a sense of entitlement, fascinating. There simply are no guarantees in life. If or when you finally come to this realization you will be humbled, for you will see how fickle, fragile, and temporary our and more importantly, YOUR life’s journey.

Although I do not believe in the sense of entitlement, the likes of which we are seeing today, I do believe there is a level of entitlement one can enjoy, but it comes at a price. The sense of entitlement many believe in today is: I am entitled to have what others have even though I have not earned it. The sense of entitlement of which I speak is one where you have become therefore, you can do; making you a person of value to those around thereby, allowing you to have. This sense of entitlement is one where you are entitled because you “PAID” for it. The current sense of entitlement is no different than walking into Tiffany’s, asking for a diamond ring, then walking out without paying.

A “real” sense of entitlement only comes when you have PAID for something you wanted thereby, entitling you to own it. This sense of entitlement goes along with the quote above: “You have got to be before you can do and do before you can have.” The question then becomes, “Be what and Do what?” You must be what it takes to go get what you want. You must become all that is required to possess what it is you want to have; for then and only then are you doing what is required and then and only then will you have what you want. In so doing, you will have properly paid and thus will be entitled to have that for which you paid. Many however, are not willing to pay the price nor are they willing to make the sacrifices necessary to form the disciplines required to study and thus, become what it takes to earn and pay the price. As previously stated, many feel entitled, which is simply a way of saying they want something for nothing.

It has been said many times yet it bears repeating: The way it works on planet earth is you must plant your seed first for then, and only then, do you stand a chance of receiving a harvest. After planting however, you must also keep the ground in which you planted your seeds, watered and free from weeds. You must protect it from pests. You must harvest at the time of harvest. With the current belief of entitlement many feel it is outright acceptable to ask the ground for food expecting it to open up and spit it out, BUT HAVE NOT PLANTED A SINGLE SEED. Although when you read this it sounds ridiculous, but that is how absurd it is to think you are entitled when you haven’t earned or paid for it? It is quite the rude awakening for those who believe in this erroneous theory, for it doesn’t work. The response you will get from the ground will be, “Give me your seeds, not your needs.”

Jim Rohn, taught this principle and even had a Treasury of Quotes book where this quote was: The soil says, “Don’t bring me your need, bring me your seed.” He further taught: Life responds to deserve and not to need. It doesn’t say, “If you need you will reap.” It says, “If you plant you will reap.” The problem is people want to reap, but they don’t want to plant. There is no reaping without planting. Yes, you may reap the harvest someone else planted, but something was planted by you or someone you knew that left it to you. The issue is too many feel they deserve when they haven’t done anything to deserve.

So, again one must be before one can do and do before one can have. If one is going to do electrical work one should start with the study of the fundamental laws and principles of electricity. Through study and practice one can become a skilled craftsman in the field of electricity. Once one is on the track of becoming a skilled craftsman, one can get paid. It is at this point one will be able to have. You could do electrical work without learning the craft and skill, but more than likely you are not going to be paid. On the other hand, if you are paid it won’t be what those of higher education and skill will receive, which ultimately means you are not going to have WHAT THEY HAVE.

You can continue to believe you are entitled in the same way it seems most believe today, or you can become someone with the necessary skills to go get what you want AFTER paying the price. One has to pay the price in two ways: First, one must pay the price to become; secondly, one must earn the required amount to purchase what it is one wants. There are no short cuts. This is how it works. When you try to short change the laws you only hurt yourself. The laws will not change. If however, you abide by and use the power in the laws they can work for you. If you don’t they will work against you. The choice of course is yours…

Best of LUCK as you
Labor Under Correct Knowledge…

Respectfully,

Rick Cox