Availability
Availability vs. Self-Centeredness
Making my own schedule and priorities secondary
to the wishes of those I serve.
Family
When you go on a vacation, do you do what you
want to do, or what the rest of the family wants to
do? Availability is about being available for
someone else, and their needs.
This may require putting aside your hobbies when
they conflict with precious family time.
Job
Listening to the concerns of the employees,
even if it goes against your grain.
Taking time to meet the personal needs of the
employees even if it takes after hours.
This shows your workers that they are a priority
in your life, and stimulates a family
environment.
Community
Be available to work in your community. Make
time to serve those that are less fortunate, or
give of your time and/or finance to make
someone else available for them.
Pick up trash on the side of the road, help an
elderly widow to get her shopping done, or fix a
car for the single mother. Even if it’s once in a
while, it helps build more character in the whole
community.
What does it build?
The 12 Disciples of Availability
1) Attentiveness: Showing the worth of someone else by listening.
2) Benevolence: Making sacrifice to help others without reward.
3) Compassion: Feeling for the needs of others and wanting to help.
4) Dependability: Doing what you said you would do even with sacrifice.
5) Enthusiasm: Expressing joy as you make yourself available.
6) Flexibility: Willingness to change plans to benefit others.
7) Generosity: Giving to those that are in need.
8) Hospitality: Cheerfully sharing your resources with others in need.
9) Humility: Realizing that investing in others only helps ourselves.
10) Meekness: Giving up your personal rights to serve others.
11) Responsibility: Doing what you know is right.
12) Wisdom: Seeing and responding to life situations in a righteous way.
I’m not called to be a great man,
just one that is available just in
case.
Being available to serve is
the tool that will bring
others to help you to
succeed.
Serving
Greatness is not found in possessions, power,
position, or prestige. It is discovered in goodness,
humility, service, and character.
And without availability, we don’t have anything.
Are we too busy?
In a 70 year life span:
Sleeping: 2548 hrs in a year, 178,360 hrs in a life. 29% of life
Eating: 546 hrs per/yr, 38,220 hrs in a life. 6.23% of your life.
Personal Care: 1533 days in a life. 6% of your life.
Entertainment: 76,440 hrs/lifetime. 12.47% of your life.
Work: (Based on 55 yrs) 114,400 hrs/lifetime. 18.66% of life.
Helping others: (2 hrs a week) 6720 hrs in a life.
Who is this person?
The measure of a man’s success is not in how many
people serve him, but how many people that he serves.
The greatest reward for making yourself available to
others, is the satisfaction found in your own heart.
Scheduling your time
Priorities:
1) God: Take time to make sure that you are spiritually
healthy.
2) Family: Take time to make sure your family is ok.
3) Work: Take time to make sure you do your job well.
There must be a good balance in your schedule.
What can you do to prioritize
your schedule to be more
available to others?
1) Look at your daily schedule and see if you are doing anything to
help someone else. If not, add something in.
2) Ask your family what they need from you, and listen to the
answer.
3) Ask the people at work what you can do to further the success of
the business, and work towards it.
4) Get adequate exercise, sleep, and care so you can do your best at
serving others.
Group
Each group write an example of how someone in the group has
changed what they were doing to make themselves available to
serve someone else.
One of them will go on the web sight to demonstrate true character
of AVAILABILITY.
EXAMPLE
I was stressing one day because I had run out of time to take care of
some things that I was behind on. I had to go to the courthouse to pick up
a file for a mediation. When I looked at the docket for the court
proceedings for the day, I saw the name of a girl that I had been
counseling with up on the board. I looked at my watch and knew that I
might get myself in a bind if I were delayed, but still decided to just run
over and see what was going to happen to her.
When I got in there, the judge was just bringing her up. She was scared
and shaking, and the judge was not in a good mood. When the judge saw
me, he asked the girl if I was in the room for her. She replied, “Yes, I
have been talking to him.” The Judge asked if we could take her into the
program, and I responded, “Yes, we have one bed.” She was an addict,
and also very bulimic. Her very life was in grave danger. The change in
my schedule that day brought that girl into rehabilitation. She now is
clean, sober, and had her second child. It was worth it.