How Great Leaders Embrace Change!

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Don’t Worry About It

By David Brandt Berg

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There’s one thing for sure in this life, and that is change.

In times of change, this has always been my favorite passage to read—the 11th chapter of Hebrews. “Faith is the substance”—the title deed—“of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.”

Verse 8 says: “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out…” Someday you’re going to be called to go out. Don’t get so settled that you let the roots grow down and you think you’re going to be where you are forever.

But at the same time, don’t worry about it. When people get upset and worried about things, you say, “Don’t worry about it.” And if anybody could say that to us, it’s the Lord. Don’t worry about it. You’re His child and He’s going to take care of you no matter what happens.

So what about Abraham? “He sojourned in the land of promise as in a strange country.” Here he’d been promised a whole country, and it was full of a bunch of enemies and aliens. He must have thought, “My Lord, I don’t know if I even want this country; it’s a mess. And what do we do with all these terrible people who hate us and fight us and try to kill us?” But there he was, “dwelling in tabernacles”—that means tents—“with Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise.”

So Abraham started wandering. He’d apparently lived in Ur of the Chaldees all of his life, and then all of a sudden his father said, “We’ve got to move. God’s called me to Canaan.” So they started on their way to Canaan. But they only got about a third of the way there, and I guess poor Terah was getting old and tired and sick, so they settled down there to rest him up and he died. So after his father was dead, the Lord said to him, “Abraham, get thee out of thy father’s tents and come to a land that I will show thee and give thee.”1 So Abraham carried on.

“With Isaac and Jacob, the heirs with him of the same promise” Why? “For he looked for a city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” Hallelujah! It says “which hath foundations.” How many foundations has it got? It says twelve foundations, think of that.2 “Whose Builder and Maker is God.”

Verse 13 says: “These all died in faith, not having received the promises, but having seen them afar off.” Just think, one after the other of the patriarchs died without ever getting there, without receiving the promise, without receiving the Promised Land, much less the city of God. Think of it. But they all believed and they kept traveling and they kept on going for God and spreading the message, evangelizing the world, witnessing. They were witnesses to faith in God and His Word.

“But having seen them afar off.” Probably some of them never dreamed they were 2,500 or 3,000 years away. Abraham was nearly 4,000 years away from that city, and yet he was traveling for it. That took a lot of faith.

“These all died in faith, not having received the promises.” He hadn’t even received the Promised Land yet; it was full of enemies. “But having seen them afar off, and were persuaded of them, and embraced them, and confessed that they were strangers and pilgrims on the earth.” There’s no place on this earth that we can go without being strangers and pilgrims. “For this world is not our home, we’re just a-passing through; our treasures are laid up somewhere beyond the blue”—the old song goes. “The angels beckon me from heaven’s golden shore.” It’s not ocean shore, it’s those golden streets up there. “And I can’t feel at home in this world anymore.”

The Lord loves us so. He knows we’re not completely at home here. He knows we have no resting land, no place where we’re going to be able to stay for eternity.

I believe we ought to enjoy what we have while we’ve got it. A lot of people can’t enjoy what they’ve got for worry about tomorrow.—Like the old lady who, when they asked her how she felt, said, “Well, I feel pretty good today, but oh, when I feel good I always feel bad, because I know it’s not going to be long before I feel bad again.” That’s the way some people are. But I believe in getting as much as we can out of each day.

We should enjoy life, do our job, do our work, enjoy it, enjoy each other, enjoy our beautiful home, enjoy our comforts: the good beds, food, and pleasures that the Lord has given us. God will bless you as long as you put Him first and love Him and worship Him above all and seek Him with your whole heart. He’ll give you the desires of your heart. If you seek Him first, all these other things shall be added unto you.3

Look at the things God has added unto you—things you didn’t even ask for. Hasn’t He been good to you? As Jesus said to the disciples, “Lacked ye for anything?” They said, “No, Lord, we had more than enough.”4 He sent the seventy out by faith, and they came back shouting and praising the Lord for the marvelous victories, the healings God gave and the souls won. They said, “Even the devils are subject unto us”—much to their surprise.5 Jesus had told them that they would be, but I guess it was hard for them to believe. But they tried it, casting them out in the name of Jesus, and it worked, He worked, and even the devils were subject to them.

Some people can’t enjoy what they’ve got now for worrying about the future. Some people can’t enjoy the present for worrying about the past—and the future. We children of the Lord ought to be able to enjoy every day to the full. We don’t have to worry about the past; the Lord has washed that away in His blood and cleansed us from all guilt and shame and sin. And we don’t have to worry about the future. He’s going to take care of that too.

Have you ever been homesick? Sometimes you have a little qualm of nostalgia and you think about those good old days and those beautiful places. It reminds me of that old verse, “Turn back, turn back, O time, in your flight and make me a child once again for the night.” Everybody gets nostalgic sometimes. Everybody remembers happy memories and you think how wonderful it was sometime. So enjoy today. Enjoy the moment. Enjoy right now. There’s just something about human nature that we tend to look back through rose-colored glasses. It’s wonderful how God made you to remember the good memories and to forget much of the bad. You’re already enjoying a little bit of heaven on earth, happiness, work for the Lord.

These people in Hebrews 11 never got what they were looking for on earth. “But now they desire a better country.” We’re not satisfied with this world. We’re not satisfied with all that we have here and now. Watch out if you get satisfied with it. We’re looking forward to a better country—heaven. Like that song, “There must be a better place than this—heaven.” “But now they desire a better country, that is, an heavenly.” There it is, clear as day.

“Wherefore God is not ashamed to be called their God.” Boy, that is one of the most amazing statements in the whole Bible to me. What does that mean? If God’s not ashamed of you, what is He? He’s proud of you. Why? Because you’re not satisfied with this world, you’re not settling down here. This world is not your home, you’re just a-traveling through. You’re seeking a better country, a better city, that hath foundations, a better land.

This world doesn’t satisfy your heart; it doesn’t fulfill your longings, your desires for the heavenly.

I am a stranger here within a foreign land.
My home is far away, upon a golden strand.
Ambassador to be, of realms beyond the sea,
I'm here on business for my King.

This is the message that I bring,
A message angels fain would sing.
Oh, be ye reconciled, thus saith your Lord and King,
Oh, be ye reconciled today.

We’re ambassadors of the greatest kingdom the world is ever going to know, the greatest country, the most beautiful.

“Therefore God is not ashamed to be called your God.” He’s proud of you because you’re not satisfied with this world. You’re working hard and willing to be pilgrims and strangers and to go wherever God calls.

And because you’re willing to do that, you’re willing to be reshuffled whatever way God designs, whatever way God can best use you, God’s proud of you. God is thankful for you. I just hardly know what other word to use to express it, but He’s proud of you.—Just like you’re proud of your children when they do well.

When you’re in school, you call it passing when you go from one grade to the other. Our kids are passing all the time; they’re making progress. When you’re traveling along in a car, how do you know when you’re moving? You know you’re moving and you’re making progress because you’re passing things. Maybe in your spiritual life the same is true, when you start letting it pass. You don’t worry about it, you don’t hold it against somebody for some idle remark or something foolish that they did, something they said. You don’t get hypersensitive and upset about it and hold it against them. You just let it pass; you forgive them. You’re passing things.

You’re passing through this world too; that’s another sign of progress. You’re ready to go, ready to stay, ready to do His will. So God’s proud of you. He says it right here: “So God was not ashamed to be called their God.” Isn’t that wonderful?

So thank God, God is thankful for you, because you are willing to be a pilgrim and a stranger. He knows you’ve got the right spirit, He knows you seek a better country.

Thank You, Jesus, for Your kingdom which is going to last forever. We’ve already got it in us, Lord, and we’re in it already as far as You’re concerned. Wherever Your children are, it’s Your kingdom. You said You’d give us the uttermost parts of the earth for our possession, and the heathen for our inheritance, Lord.6 So we’re conquering the world, we’re conquering souls for Your kingdom. We’re taking it over, Lord, until that day when You’re going to have the final complete takeover. It’ll all be Your country then, not the Devil’s kingdom anymore, but “Thy Kingdom Come.”

Originally published May 1985. Updated and republished February 2013.
Read by Simon Peterson.


1 Genesis 12:1.

2 Revelation 21:14.

3 Psalm 37:4; Matthew 6:33.

4 Luke 22:35.

5 Luke 10:17.

6 Psalm 2:8.

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Change or Die! EVG Research Team

EVG Research Team <News@TheElevationGroup.com>

Adapt to the Changes
Life Brings, Or Be Replaced

Hi, Did you know humans have a natural resistance to change?That tendency can often protect you from harm. But sometimes it can be deadly.

EVG Research Team here. We understand the reluctance to change (we're human too).

But as entrepreneurs we've learned to embrace change. To adapt. Switch gears when necessary. Keep things fresh.

All great individual investors and companies possess these traits.

One of our goals with The Elevation Group is to help our members develop the traits and habits that will propel them to personal success.

If you'd like a solid foundation for your financial success and growth, be sure to check out how EVG's Wealth Blueprint can help you. Click here for details

We also believe our blueprint is a "living document." Which means that we'll be making changes along the way as economic conditions and the wealth cycle changes.

Because...
If You Are Unwilling to Change,
Bad Things Can Happen

Take Kodak, for instance.



You probably heard that Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last year.

It's a shame too.

Kodak was one of the first "social media" companies ... long before that term was a buzz phrase.

Kodak connected people. They brought us closer together.

They were "Facebook" long before Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook founder) was born.

You could capture a moment in your life, save it for later use, and send it to a friend.

And Kodak made it easy enough for a kid to use (check out the ad for the Brownie camera above).

As founder George Eastman once said ...


You push the button, we do the rest.

Seeing a company like Kodak fail is sad.

Especially for the generation that captured their growing years on Kodak film with Instamatic cameras...

...and sang along with Paul Simon's 1973 hit, "Mama, don't take my Kodachrome away..."
The Culture of Complacency

How could a giant in the industry like Kodak fail?

How do you go from dominating 90% of the film market and 85% of camera sales in America (like it did in the 1970's and 80's) to bankrupt in 2012?

Well, that's what happens when you refuse to change. When you're too stubborn to let go of the old before you embrace the new.

You see, until the 1990s, analysts consistently rated Kodak as one of the world's five most valuable brands.

Kodak had built that reputation on the back of their film business and their consumer-level cameras.

And here's the crazy thing. Kodak knew (before almost anyone else) that film-based cameras would soon be obsolete.

An internal memo passed around the Kodak front offices in 1979 predicted that digital imaging would fully replace traditional film by the year 2010! Wow!

So why didn't they change?

Well, they tried. But a culture of the "complacent monopolist" permeated the company.

In other words, they were making money and that was good enough for much of the upper management.

Why change when you're making money?

As late as 1999, the company was still making $16 billion in revenues and $2.5 billion in annual profits.

The demand for film was still strong. Digital photography had not yet reached the masses.

Kodak executives didn't want to abandon their flagship film business at the expense of their digital research. They resisted the change.

And it cost them. Big time.

During the first decade of the new millennium, Kodak watched helplessly as digital photography swiftly replaced film, and as smartphones rapidly took the place of cameras.

Without a solid foot in the door on either of those industries, Kodak also watched their profits plummet ... and their net worth drop off a cliff.

In 2009, Kodak stopped manufacturing their last remaining film product, Kodachrome64.

At the time they filed for bankruptcy in early 2012, they were upside down by nearly $2 billion.
How You Can Learn
From Kodak's Mistake

Companies and individuals are different ... but there are important take-aways from Kodak's demise that can help you.

First, recognize that change is already here. The old (comfortable) ways are gone.

Think about it...
The global economy is still on life support.


Unemployment is sky-high.


Reliance on government subsidy and handouts is at epidemic levels.


Inflation is sneakily sucking the sails out of your net worth ... and it's getting worse by the day.



So, to keep from just scraping by... or postponing retirement ... or facing a jobless future...

YOU need to change with the times.

It might mean learning a new (more valuable) skill.

It might mean moving to a different part of the country or the world.

It might mean starting a business.

It might mean learning a new way of investing (and ditching the old, outdated ways).

Whatever it means to you ... recognize that change isn't always easy.

It will require you to move outside of your comfort zone (exactly what Kodak failed to do).

But it can be the only way to survive in changing times.

And the times... oh, they are a changing.

The Elevation Group equips you for the changes going on in our world and in the economy.

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