PAY NOW AND PLAY LATER! | By Olayinka Ekundayo

“This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shall meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shall make thy ways prosperous and then thou shall have good success.” Joshua 1:8
“Whatever your hand find to do, do it with your might; for there is no work, nor devise, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, where you go!” Ecclesiastes 9:10

One fundamental demand of success in any realm of life is the principle before us today.
Life only gives to people what they demand of it and not what they feel they deserve.
Pay now and play later is a major habit of the great and successful in life.

The truth is, everyone will pay and play someday. However, it is when we play that marks us out either as successful or failures in life.
The successful people recognize that if we play today we will definitely pay for it tomorrow while it is also confirmed that if we pay today we will surely play later.
In order to be successful therefore every one of us must determine to pay the price for success today (responsibility). 

If you want to bid success farewell in your life, all you have to do is to play away your precious time and opportunities today; only to end up paying dearly for it later on with grey hairs.

TAKE NOTE OF THE FOLLOWING:
1. TIME IS FINITE
This means time is measured and numbered. None of us has more than a lifetime to fulfil destiny.
When used up, our allocated time here on this planet expires!
Wisdom demands that we pay careful attention to the passing moments of our lives, never wasting these precious treasures packaged in time.
“So teach us to number our days that we may apply our hearts to wisdom.” Psalms 90:12
Dear teenagers, remember you will not be young forever! Don’t waste your life.
Time flies away so fast…

2. TIME IS A CONVERTIBLE RESOURCE: This means that whatever you want to become or have can be purchased with the currency of time. God has given all of us equal portion of time daily -24hours!
Whatever you do with those hours determine where you stand tomorrow.
Time is your resource to obtain the reality of your dreams in life.
“To everything there is a season, and a  purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, and a time to die; a time to plant and a time to pluck up that which is planted.”  Ecclesiastes 3:1-2

3. THERE IS A PRICE FOR EVERY RISE
“It is good for a man that he bear the yoke in his youth.” Lamentation 3:27 
For every rise there is a price to pay.
Only failures run away from paying the price. They become so addicted to comfort.
Successful people put themselves under pressure willingly to pay the price for a great life. Young people must pay the price now that they are young…
Life has a way of rewarding those that have paid the price for success.
My counsel to you today is: Pay the price now…whatever price you don’t pay now you will pay with interest later!

4. PRICE IS SPECIFIC FOR DIFFERENT PERSONS…
We rise to different levels in life by virtue of the difference in the price we are willing to pay. Rise is a function of price!
The price we are willing to pay determines the rise we can enjoy at any point in time.
The price that an Olympic athlete pays is different from that paid by a secondary school runner. The price paid by a student whose vision is to have a first class degree in his academics will be different from another student whose dream is just to pass with any grade.
The price you pay for your spiritual life to be vibrant is different from that you will pay for your physical health and mental well being. Price is specific for different persons and purposes.

THE KEY:
What then is the key to the pay now and play later mindset?
It’s called SELF DISCIPLINE.
Self- discipline is defined as the following:
a. The ability to work on yourself regardless of how you feel in order to achieve the success you desire.
b. The ability to say NO…
It’s easier to say YES than to say NO. It takes a lot of discipline to say no to your wrong desires that will stand on your way of success in life.
It takes discipline to say no to peer pressure that want to drive you into hard drugs, smoking, alcohol, pornography, careless attitudes to life, laziness etc.
c. The ability to do what needs to be done, when it’s to be done whether you feel like it or not.
This definition is very crucial…
There are times we know what to do but we find ourselves shying away from doing it because we don’t feel like doing it. 
It takes self discipline to wake up when sleep is sweetest and you need to study for a test or exam.
It takes discipline to challenge yourself to new heights of academic excellence.
It takes discipline to step up your spiritual life amidst so many distractions of this age.

BOOSTERS OF SELF DISCIPLINE:
Self-discipline is not a gift that belongs to a selected lucky few but 
A virtue that all can develop by following certain steps. 
What are the things that enhance the virtue of self discipline in our lives?
   Booster 1- DECISION
 Destiny is determined by the strength of     decision. Destiny is shaped by decisions!
In order to cultivate the virtue of self- discipline therefore, we must be a people of informed decisions. These are decisions strengthened by quality information and truths. Nothing limits the strength of a decision like the quality of information at our disposal per time.
Booster 2- A SENSE OF DELAYED GRATIFICATION.
This is a great booster of self-discipline. Delayed gratification is the ability to defer your pleasure today and embrace pain instead as opposed to instant gratification which tends to sacrifice the promise of a great future upon the platter of pleasure today. Refuse to sacrifice your glorious future by instant gratification. 

Anything great takes time to build. There’s no instant success in life.
Learn to delay your gratification.


You will succeed!

   

THIS IS A GUEST POST COMPILED BY OLAYINKA EKUNDAYO (aka Eagle). 
AUTHOR BIO: He is a Pastor, a Motivational Speaker, Leadership and career Coach, with several inspiring books to his credit.             He holds a monthly Knowledge Impartation Programme for the Youth and Teens at the Conquerors Assembly, Akowonjo. Lagos. Connect with him by clicking on Facebook or email  tosyinks@gmail.com