Practice What You Preach

Practice What You Preach dan skognes insurance finance motivation blogger speaker entrepreneur

You might have heard this phrase before.  It is typically a response from someone to get you to look in the mirror.  My wife actually told me the other day, “You need to take your own advice.”  LOL.  Ouch.  Not what I wanted to hear, but it is what I needed to hear.

It is very easy to give advice and tell others what to do to fix their relationships, fix their finances, and fix themselves.  We are natural-born fixers.  We do this effortlessly.  Isn’t it funny when you see someone that you love and care about struggling, or even a stranger for that matter, the first thing you want to do is fix it.  You have the answers, if they would just listen!

OK, here is the hard part for all of us.  We have to “Walk the walk,” meaning if we are going to tell someone else what to do or how to do it, we better be doing it ourselves.

How can anyone really take your advice seriously if you don’t listen to your own advice?  HELLO!!!  Are you feeling just a little uncomfortable about all this?  Am I getting too personal?  Good, because I am very uncomfortable looking at myself and seeing all the flaws that need to be fixed.

I realize that I have to practice what I preach.  I have to walk the walk, not just talk the talk.  If we don’t take our own advice, who are we fooling?  Nobody but ourselves!

Enough true confessions.  I admit it.  I have not always listened to my own advice…and some of it was pretty darn good if I do say so myself.  LOL.  One thing good has come out of this discussion.  When I give someone else advice from now on, I am going to look in the mirror and see if I am doing it myself.

Am I treating others with respect, love, grace, and mercy?  Am I forgiving people that have wronged me?  Am I managing my finances properly and living within my means?  Am I putting the needs of others ahead of myself?  Am I keeping my relationship with God a priority?  Am I treating my spouse as a queen, and valuing her only second to God?  Am I being the right example to my family, to my friends, to my business associates?

When I put it in those terms, I sure have a lot to do myself.  When you think about me…say a prayer for me that I can be the person that I advise others to be.  I think I give pretty good advice, now I just need to take it myself.

Shalom!

Dan Skognes

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