By Rev. Gian Carlo Villatoro
Founding Pastor
Victory Church Odessa
Many people do not know what the meaning of a deadline is. Why is that? Because not everyone works in environments that require a quick response to things.
Is it bad to work under pressure? No. In fact, you will find that you become more productive when you have pressure. You won’t like it, though. But that is a separate issue, my friend. Quite often people do not achieve anything in life, precisely because they don’t have the pressure of anyone or anything.
However, there are some supervisors that are horrible! Horrible, horrible, horrible! They choose to think that you are a slave, that you are at their disposal, or simply, they think that they pay you enough to force you to do whatever they want, whenever they want it. That’s just wrong!
A good supervisor should be able to consider the abilities of his team players. Some people produce quick results by working under pressure. Others have trouble while working under very little pressure. A good supervisor is like a coach of a sports team. He needs to know his team’s players. Unfortunately, in today’s workplace, supervisors don’t want to get to know people. They just want to give a quick command and have everyone responding like a robot.
What are they thinking?
On the other hand, you have individuals that are so gifted, that they are able to quickly get the picture of how every team player works better. I have had both kinds of supervisors. Of course, I never liked the first one. But I did have the other kind where the supervisor is so understanding, and very smart.
So one day I decided that if I wanted to be a good leader, I needed to learn to get to know my team players. Sometimes your team players are sick. Sometimes they are just lazy. How can you know how everyone is doing? Well, it’s all about communicating with them and finding out how they feel.
A deadline should be seen as a goal. You should see it like an opportunity to accomplish something. You will be surprised how quick you can become once you learn how to use your tools and skills. The other important thing about your deadlines is to know your schedule.
You need to make time for everything. You have to know what’s priority. Are you paying attention to your responsibilities? Are you really aware of everything that is going on in your life that requires an answer?
So here is my advice to you today: pay attention to your life.
In the Kingdom of God, there is a deadline. Did you know that? Many people call it death. I do not. I call it transition. It’s about the time when we are going to depart this worldly life.
So, what’s going to be the day of your deadline on Earth? Are you going to Heaven on that day?
