Just keep banging until someone opens the door.
-- Cynthia Copeland Lewis, “Really Important Stuff My Kids Have Taught Me”

About 7 months or so ago, you hinted to your boss that a raise would certainly be nice. You reminded him of the myriad of accounts you’ve expertly managed over the past year and the deals you’ve made that have netted the company a greater profit. Shortly before Christmas, you formally stated in a letter to your boss that your value to the company was worth a raise, then you named your price. Since the beginning of the year you’ve more than doubled your productivity which helped to increase the company’s bottom line. Yesterday, you got your raise!

If you keep asking, you’ll finally get what you want.

For at least 2 years, you and she have dated, and, for no less than a year, you’ve been in a perpetual “courting” stage. You’ve committed your time and energy to her; rearranged your life to accommodate her schedule, moods, and fears; and kept your sulking at a minimum when she could not decide if it was you she really wanted. You gave her calla lilies because you know she loves them; you found her a dozen pink tulips in December and watched her heart warm for your effort and thoughtfulness; you changed her oil because it was time and you knew she would not take the car for service unless a light came on. Seven months ago, you made an attempt to gauge her commitment to you. She moved closer, but made no promises. You didn’t stop calling. You didn’t lose hope. You didn’t lose faith in her. Yesterday, realizing that she loves you more than she’s ever loved another, she proposed to you!

If you keep up the same energy, you’ll finally reach that plateau.

For most of your life, you have struggled with a right relationship with money – either you have none and need it badly or you’ve got some and you don’t spend it wisely. Each day, every year, it seems you’ve worked harder and harder to squash your debt and mismanagement, but at every moment, they seem to bash your spirit and fuel your anxiety. Seven years ago, you put yourself on a budget, even though you believed setting a budget was for people who had money. A year later, you began working a second job, even though you still wonder how you have time to do that. A year after starting that job, you began investing in a mutual fund, took classes on better money management, and sought professional assistance to examine the underpinnings of your relationship with money. Bit by bit, you watched your debt dwindle; day by day, you noticed life returning to your Being: dollar, two dollars, you noticed they stayed in your pocket longer. Yesterday, you put the last mortgage check in the mail!

If you keep hitting the thing hard, it’ll finally give in.

Keep banging. The door will open. And when it does, rejoice!

Sadiqqa © 2007