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Marketplace Proverbs & Coffee With Ernie · Marketplace Proverbs and Coffee with Ernie-A Proverb Per Day Keeps Stinking Thinking At Bay

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Today is the ninth day of the month.
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  SPEAKER_00: That means Proverbs 9, the spiral of progress.
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  SPEAKER_00: It just looks like a loop.
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  [music]
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  SPEAKER_00: I'm Ernie Lansford, and this is Marketplace Proverbs and Coffee with Ernie.
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  SPEAKER_00: A proverb each day keeps stinking thinking away.
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  SPEAKER_00: This podcast is about bringing timeless biblical wisdom into the marketplace
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  SPEAKER_00: where influence is real,
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  SPEAKER_00: choices are constant, and relationships matter more than results.
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  SPEAKER_00: So grab your coffee, tea, latte, soda, or water, and let's get started.
• 0:47
  SPEAKER_00: Today, I'm sharing from the book that I published earlier this year,
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  SPEAKER_00: Chapter 9 from the Marketplace Proverbs,
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  SPEAKER_00: Volume 3, Ego, Humility, and the KPI that Matters the Most.
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  SPEAKER_00: Today we discuss the spiral of progress.
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  SPEAKER_00: Proverbs 9.9 is our reference point.
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  SPEAKER_00: Quote, instruct the wise and they will be wiser still.
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  SPEAKER_00: Teach the righteous and they will add to their learning.
• 1:18
  SPEAKER_00: Proverbs 9.9.
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  SPEAKER_00: You know, there are seasons when we feel stuck even though we're doing the work.
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  SPEAKER_00: We're showing up,
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  SPEAKER_00: we're staying faithful and giving our best But
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  SPEAKER_00: the results we expect haven't materialized yet.
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  SPEAKER_00: And that's when self-doubt creeps in.
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  SPEAKER_00: Slowly at first, but then all at once.
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  SPEAKER_00: I gotta tell you, I've asked myself more than once, what am I even doing?
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  SPEAKER_00: And if I'm transparent with you,
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  SPEAKER_00: I've sometimes questioned if my effort was making any difference at all.
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  SPEAKER_00: But that's often the exact moment when God reminded me what feels like going
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  SPEAKER_00: in circles is a quiet elevation,
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  SPEAKER_00: an upward spiral that happens to look like a loop from where I'm standing.
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  SPEAKER_00: In his Curiosity Chronicle newsletter,
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  SPEAKER_00: writer Sahil Bloom quoted Herman Hesse and wrote, quote, We're not going in circles.
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  SPEAKER_00: We're going upwards circles.
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  SPEAKER_00: The path is a spiral.
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  SPEAKER_00: We have already climbed many steps.
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  SPEAKER_00: The spiral appears to be a circle to the one standing on it.
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  SPEAKER_00: But zoom out and you see the reality.
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  SPEAKER_00: Each circle exists on a slightly higher plane than the last.
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  SPEAKER_00: Mr. Sahil also described the quiet evidence of progress.
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  SPEAKER_00: Those minor signs of spiritual maturity.
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  SPEAKER_00: One, you stop chasing the approval of others.
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  SPEAKER_00: We set boundaries that once felt impossible.
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  SPEAKER_00: We stop complaining and start taking ownership.
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  SPEAKER_00: And we cringe in a good way at who we were six months ago.
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  SPEAKER_00: And you lean into the discomfort of being a beginner again And frankly,
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  SPEAKER_00: I'm enjoying it,
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  SPEAKER_00: although there have been strange moments or intense moments of launching a podcast
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  SPEAKER_00: and creating a site on a Substack.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's not as simple as it seems, but we just keep going and we're progressing.
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  SPEAKER_00: And in the moment that we feel that we're beginning again or whatever, it clicks again.
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  SPEAKER_00: I wasn't stuck.
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  SPEAKER_00: I've grown.
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  SPEAKER_00: Proverbs 9.9 says, Instruct the wise, and they will be wiser still.
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  SPEAKER_00: This verse reminds us that growth is often a subtle process.
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  SPEAKER_00: The wise aren't satisfied with maintaining.
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  SPEAKER_00: They keep learning, keep humbling themselves, keep climbing.
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  SPEAKER_00: Progress in the kingdom doesn't always feel like progress.
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  SPEAKER_00: We serve, we give, we obey.
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  SPEAKER_00: And sometimes we wonder if it's making a difference.
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  SPEAKER_00: But faithfulness is never wasted.
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  SPEAKER_00: It's just that elevation happens quietly, like a seed growing beneath the surface.
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  SPEAKER_00: Romans 12, 2 speaks to this when it calls us to be transformed by the renewing of your mind.
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  SPEAKER_00: The world says success is about what others can see, but we know the more profound truth.
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  SPEAKER_00: What God sees is far more critical.
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  SPEAKER_00: And when we renew our minds with his word, we start seeing the spiral for what it is.
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  SPEAKER_00: Evidence of movement, not repetition.
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  SPEAKER_00: Evidence of growth, not staleness.
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  SPEAKER_00: We're not chasing our tail.
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  SPEAKER_00: We're building something.
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  SPEAKER_00: We're not going in circles.
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  SPEAKER_00: We're rising.
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  SPEAKER_00: So here's your customer success code for the day.
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  SPEAKER_00: What looks like a loop is often the spiral of obedience,
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  SPEAKER_00: and it's raising us one step at a time.
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  SPEAKER_00: So here's your action points.
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  SPEAKER_00: Zoom out.
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  SPEAKER_00: Reflect on the last 6 to 12 months.
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  SPEAKER_00: What subtle signs reveal you've grown?
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  SPEAKER_00: Number two, name your spiral.
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  SPEAKER_00: Identify an area of life where you feel stuck.
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  SPEAKER_00: Ask God to reframe it as a growth in motion experience.
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  SPEAKER_00: Action point number three, encourage someone else.
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  SPEAKER_00: Send a word of encouragement to a friend who may feel like they're spinning their wheels.
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  SPEAKER_00: Remind them they're ascending.
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  SPEAKER_00: And then action point number four, recommit to the process.
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  SPEAKER_00: Choose one habit you've been tempted to quit, but keep going.
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  SPEAKER_00: Progress is still happening.
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  SPEAKER_00: And action point number five, pray for fresh perspective.
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  SPEAKER_00: Ask God to help you recognize and celebrate the quiet gains in your life today.
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  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for joining me for today's episode of Marketplace Proverbs and Coffee with Ernie.
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  SPEAKER_00: I speak numbers 624-26 over you.
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  SPEAKER_00: May the Lord bless you and protect you.
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  SPEAKER_00: May the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you.
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  SPEAKER_00: May the Lord look with favor on you and give you peace.
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  SPEAKER_00: If this message encouraged you, please share it.
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  SPEAKER_00: And remember, success is temporal, significance is infinite.
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  SPEAKER_00: Let's meet again tomorrow.