As Creative Director of Watchfire Music, an on-line Inspirational music company, I daily face a lot of challenges in today’s screwed up music business.  I was never much of a worrier in life; my dad was, and I saw what that did to him and promised myself that I would not go in that direction.

But this crazy business is now literally changing daily and trying to stay up with its evolution (let’s hope it’s evolution) is a challenge that requires some considerable speculation.  I said to a friend the other day, “If there’s one thing I’ve learned leading WFM into the future, it’s not to speculate.”  He agreed.  Speculation, for me I find, tends to breed worry.

You know, your boss called you in for a surprise meeting tomorrow at 8 sharp and you lie awake all night speculating what he might say and how you might answer on a myriad of subjects.

Lately, I’ve been doing far too much speculating on another myriad of subjects and have slipped into Dad’s disease and worried myself ragged.

I quit.

I shall worry nor speculate no more.  Or at least I shall work, watch and pray not to.

Instead I’ve decided to follow another path.  After all, you can’t just blow it all off.  You can’t just go la la la-ing down the path paying no attention to the difficulties of life.  You have to think ahead.  You have to plan.  You have to organize for the future.  You have to consider the possibilities, the ramifications, the ins and outs.

So how do you do this without speculation?   Without worrying?  I’ve decided instead to choose another path entitled ‘Preparation’, our second not-so-little word for this evening’s investigation.

Somehow the word preparation implies simply getting to work and gettin’ it done.  For me it implies not sitting around wasting time worrying, but getting right to the heart of the matter and solving the issues.  I’ve seen myself spend far too much time going over and over an imagined conversation speculating on what might be said and how to answer if said, when all I really had to do was prepare the truth, know it and be able to draw from it.  Now that’s preparation.

When I effectively do this, it works like magic.  I sleep better at night.  I mentally rehearse things far less.  I prepare instead of speculate and that enables me to deal with it, sometimes simply by writing it down and then move on knowing that I’ve done my work.  Then I’m ready to face the challenge.

Preparation breeds confidence.  If you’re nervous about something it simply means that you haven’t prepared properly.  So stop worrying and prepare.

Take control of your mind.  Do not let your mind control you.  This control is gained by preparation.

I have an important decision to make.  I shall not speculate the outcome.  I shall prepare for the outcome by taking my human footsteps, but putting the outcome in God’s hands knowing that He will do what’s right for everybody involved.

I just simply have to be ready to follow His plan.  That comes through proper preparation.