Orrin Woodward on LIFE & Leadership

The following is a snippet from an upcoming book on the 13 Resolutions.  Engaging the mind, heart, and will is essential for long-term success.  God Bless, Orrin Woodward

But if success were as simple as writing out a few resolutions and studying them daily, wouldn’t more people apply this method to become successful? Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones explains why few achieve lasting success, teaching, “Man is a wonderful creature, he is mind, he is heart, and he is will. Those are the three main constituents of man. God has given him a mind, He has given him a heart, He has given him a will whereby he can act.” Transforming a life then, requires the whole person to be involved – his mind, his heart, and his will must be engaged in the process. In other words, true change isn’t just a mental (mind) assent, it isn’t just an emotional (heart) experience, and it’s more than just routinized (will) learning.  Many will read the resolutions, make a mental nod of approval but won’t involve the heart or will.  Even though they claim a knowledge of how to succeed in life, they never seem to achieve anything.  To know and not to do is not to really know, since if one knew how good holistic success would be, one would not delay in striving for it. The resolutions must engage the mind, but must go beyond it, tapping into the heart and will to produce real change.  There’s another group, very common today, who will attend motivational seminars, having their hearts touched by a message, but not comprehending mentally (mind) or following through (will) on what it takes to succeed.  These people seem to jump from one achievement fad to another, gaining emotional (heart) releases, but accomplishing little of real substance.  Life has been hard on them, so they attend another fad seminar, seeking, not real change, but a cathartic release of tension.

A third group will review the resolutions, attempting to transform themselves through sheer will-power, but it won’t last without the mind and heart engaged.  They are those who decide to take up the resolutions, rather than being taken up by them.  The will, by itself, can go through the motions, but without the heart and mind, the passion and understanding involved, the process lacks zeal.  It’s like the old saying, “A man or woman convinced against his will is of the same opinion still.”  A methodical, passionless, robotic like study of the resolutions will not get the job done.  It’s only with a mind that understands, a heart that generates passion, and a disciplined will to follow them, that creates real change inside of a person, making world changing achievement possible.  Sadly, all of the partial groupings (these three plus any two of three) will end in disappointment, having made the common mistake of compartmentalizing the mind, heart and will.  But, the good news is that anyone can develop the ability to work on the mind, heart, and will simultaneously.  The process is simple, but certainly not easy, requiring immense discipline to marry the mind, heart, and will together in the pursuit of excellence in any area that a person has resolved to change. By thinking seriously about which areas to focus upon, writing them down clearly, and then resolving to read, ingest, and apply them on a consistent basis, these three men (George Washington, Ben Franklin, and Jonathan Edwards) transformed themselves.  By changing themselves, they ultimately, transformed the world around them.