#760 – The Thing next to the Thing

Sometimes the plan or idea does not last. The original thought could be a just a seed. The action of chasing the idea and the process of developing the idea, that will lead to a better idea. The right thing is not always the first thing, but if you are consistently pursuing the thing before you. You will eventually find the right and better thing.

The way ideas begin are not always the way they end, this is the evolution. As new information is introduced it must be acted upon, in order to be viable. Many times the initial thought or idea may becomes obsolete and new thoughts, ideas and processes must be found. Can I give you an example? Did you know one of the most iconic changes in clothing, did not come from a fashion designer, but actually came from an athlete?

Renée Lacoste (The Crocodile) was a French tennis player who created a shirt, that we all know now, as a polo. The design was created out of necessity, in order to become a better tennis player, he needed more mobility. In his day tennis was played in long sleeve dress shirts. As a player, Rene was not average, he was amazing. Rene was so great, in fact, he was a multiple grand slam French champion.

Rene modified his tennis shirts by using a lighter material, shortening the sleeves and adding a ribbed collar. The shirt became so popular, that many other tennis players began to wear the shirt, then polo players and eventually even golfers followed. Some refer to the shirts a tennis shirt,  a polo shirt and some call it a golf shirt, but we all know what this shirt is.

It was an innovation derived out of a need, for a full range of motion. Today, it is arguably the most popular shirt ever made and the luxury brand LaCoste, with the Crocodile Logo is known far and wide. The innovation has out lived and the brand has made more money, than anything tennis could offer.

::: Perhaps the things God has you involved in now are conduits for the main thing. What you do now can be the opportunity, the inspiration and the innovation that lands you at the place of God’s choosing. David was originally a shepherd and LaCoste originally a tennis player each is best known for very different reasons. The legacy God has prepared you for, may be the thing next to the thing. Be diligent with your current assignment and it will take places unimaginable.

1 Samuel 17:20-32
Early in the morning David left the flock in the care of a shepherd, loaded up and set out, as Jesse had directed. He reached the camp as the army was going out to its battle positions, shouting the war cry. Israel and the Philistines were drawing up their lines facing each other. David left his things with the keeper of supplies, ran to the battle lines and asked his brothers how they were. As he was talking with them, Goliath, the Philistine champion from Gath, stepped out from his lines and shouted his usual defiance, and David heard it. Whenever the Israelites saw the man, they all fled from him in great fear. Now the Israelites had been saying, “Do you see how this man keeps coming out? He comes out to defy Israel. The king will give great wealth to the man who kills him. He will also give him his daughter in marriage and will exempt his family from taxes in Israel.” David asked the men standing near him, “What will be done for the man who kills this Philistine and removes this disgrace from Israel? Who is this uncircumcised Philistine that he should defy the armies of the living God?” They repeated to him what they had been saying and told him, “This is what will be done for the man who kills him.” When Eliab, David’s oldest brother, heard him speaking with the men, he burned with anger at him and asked, “Why have you come down here? And with whom did you leave those few sheep in the wilderness? I know how conceited you are and how wicked your heart is; you came down only to watch the battle.” “Now what have I done?” said David. “Can’t I even speak?” He then turned away to someone else and brought up the same matter, and the men answered him as before. What David said was overheard and reported to Saul, and Saul sent for him. David said to Saul, “Let no one lose heart on account of this Philistine; your servant will go and fight him.”