FIVE SMOOTH STONES

PROVEN STEPS FOR POSITIVE SUCCESSBy Phil Farver

AuthorHouse

Copyright © 2009 Phil Farver
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4490-1826-9

Contents

Introduction............................1Biblical Reference......................5The Story...............................9The Giants..............................15The Team................................21Five Smooth Stones?.....................27The Plan................................35Stone # 1...............................41Stone # 2...............................53Stone # 3...............................61Stone # 4...............................67Stone # 5...............................73Conclusion..............................85Quotes..................................89Notes...................................91

Chapter One

THE STORY

My pastor loves to bring history and context into stories and events that he preaches about. It helps the common man, like me understand exactly what he is trying to say. I want to give you the Biblical account of this story and put it into context so that you understand where the book is coming from and the thoughts that are being expressed. The writer of this story certainly brings to life the setting for the reader by giving a brief background of David's life and how he came to be in the position of confronting the giant. The writer puts a huge emotional tag on the story, telling about a young boy seeking to take a stand for a strong cause, using only a sling and a staff for the battle. The story is used many times today in reference to the little guy overcoming the big guy: a real David and Goliath story.

In a nut shell, here is the Coach Farver paraphrase:

Saul was the king of Israel. He was made Israel's king at a time when the nation did not have a king and no longer wanted to trust in God as their king. The people wanted someone they could physically see, touch, and talk to. God warned the people about what would happen if He gave them a king: a king would levy taxes on them, create a burdensome workload for them, and take their sons off to war, but the people said they wanted a king anyway. Saul was chosen as a leader because he was strong, smart and good looking. In fact the Bible tells us that he stood head and shoulders over everyone in all of Israel. God was with Saul in the beginning, and everything looked like it would work out just fine. However, Saul, in his finite human wisdom, took some matters into his own hand and disobeyed God. God had told Saul to kill ALL the Amalekites and wipe them out of the land. Saul, instead, saved the king and some of the finer possessions. Because of Saul's disobedience, from that time on the Spirit of God was no longer with him. God instructed the priest Samuel to anoint another man as king. David was a man after God's own heart, and God saw in him a great leader who would one day bring the nation of Israel back to Him. Well, David was still a boy when he was anointed king, and at that time he basically had two jobs in life: to watch after his father's sheep and to play the harp for Saul, in order to soothe his troubled soul.

David's father, Jesse, sent David to the forefront of the battleground with some bread and cheese for three of his sons who had joined Saul in the fight against the Philistines. When David arrived at the camp, he witnessed something strange and contrary to the stories he had grown up hearing about the army of Israel. He saw the men in disarray, fearful and running from the battle. He saw a king who, instead of leading his men, was at the back of the camp cowering in fear himself. A giant Philistine, Goliath, had proposed a solution to end the battle quickly. He challenged the army of Israel to send out its best warrior to fight him. The losing side of that one-on-one fight would then become servants to the winners. There was not much bloodshed at stake with this simple solution. During those days many battles were decided this way. Therefore, the enslaved army would provide a larger work force. Goliath challenged the army of Israel twice a day for forty days. However, Saul and the entire army looked at how big the giant was and lost their focus on who they were, who they served and what they were doing there. David, seeing and hearing all this, became quite indignant and decided enough was enough; he was going to do something about it. He went to King Saul and volunteered to go and fight the giant. Saul, gave a little resistance at first, but quickly agreed to send David, since no one else would go. David tried to wear Saul's armor, but it wouldn't work for him, so he put it off and took the tools he understood: a staff and a sling. He went over to a nearby stream, picked up five smooth stones, put them in his pouch, and proceeded into battle with the giant. David took one stone from the pouch, loaded the sling, and twirled it rapidly above his head. In an instant he let the stone fly, hitting the giant in the forehead, and dropping him in his tracks. David stood over the fallen giant's body, took the giant's own sword from its sheath and cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their champion was defeated, they turned and ran. The army of Israel chased after them and claimed a great victory that day, with the help of David and his five smooth stones.

The story of David and Goliath has been told millions of times over the years. It has been used to capture the attention of people from around the world, young and old alike. There have been many applications of several individual aspects of the story. Children and adults who hear the story or see it acted out for the first time, sit in wide-eyed amazement as the story unfolds and they actually connect with the characters, the struggles, the emotions, and the final conquest of the giant. The story and the analogies drawn from it are not only recounted but used in churches, Sunday schools, and Christian school settings, but they are also used world wide, especially when describing a true underdog conflict of little versus big, weak versus strong, good versus evil or small business versus corporate America. David and Goliath befittingly displays for us the consummate battles in life of snatching victory, against all odds and defying common sense, from the jaws of certain defeat. It teaches us that with proper planning, the right tools, simple faith, and resolute strength of character, you can overcome just about anything in life and become a winner in the process.

THE GIANTS

I put giants as a plural because we are talking about giants in several different aspects. To define what giants we might be talking about, we need to understand them within the different venues we cover in this book. In general, giants would be anything that stands in the way of progress for growth, prosperity and success. Let's keep in mind that success can be defined in several ways and measured equally so. For our purposes and the purposes of relating the Five Smooth Stones within the different venues, success is more than the accumulation of money, power, or points. We find that you can have a lot of money, gain all the power you want, or score the most points and win the game, yet you may not be considered a success.

In his book, Success 101, John Maxwell defines success in the following manner:

Success is ... Knowing your purpose in life Growing to reach your maximum potential, and Sowing seeds that benefit others.

Based on Maxwell's definition of success we can then begin to define and describe giants as those things that hinder or stop us from knowing our purpose, growing to our potential, and sowing seeds to benefit others.

Biblical Giant

Within the context of the story of David and Goliath, we are talking about a very huge warrior, who has filled the hearts of the bravest men in Israel with fear and trembling. Certainly we are talking about a living, physical giant of a man who stands in the way of the nation of Israel conquering the Philistines. No Israeli soldier would dare go up against a mighty man the size of Goliath. The entire army of Israel, including King Saul, was frozen in fear as they stared across the valley and saw a giant of a man, who was too big and too fierce to fight. David, with absolutely no hidden agenda, looked across the valley and saw a foe much larger than any lion or bear he had faced before, yet he saw Goliath as nothing more than a big man with a target on his head that said, you can't miss! Not only did the army of Israel have to deal with the physical giant, but they also had to face several giants on emotional, psychological and spiritual planes as well. They were faced with fear, doubt, intimidating circumstances, a feeling of inadequacy, low self-esteem, worry, lack of courage, lack of faith, mistrust, complacency, and a lack of leadership. It was more than they thought they could bear. Each of these giants had to be conquered, and they were with the toss of one small, smooth stone.

Basketball Giant

Our basketball team was about to embark on a new season with one senior, two sophomores and two freshmen starting and playing together for the first time. Do you think we had several giants to conquer? We were going to face the giants of faster and taller opponents, teams with more experienced players, youth and untested resolve, a new offensive system, getting everyone to understand their role on the team, playing together and learning to play the game like the coach wanted them to play. Let's not even mention things like mood swings, emotional roller coasters, bad attitudes, bickering, jealousy, griping and complaining, and just a little bit of immaturity. They are all giants that every team has to face at one time or another. Each giant would surface at different times during the season and present itself with different levels of intensity. Every coach has a huge task in from of him that at times can be very intimidating. Yet each giant can be defeated, and the sweetness of a successful season is within reach if properly done so.

Business Giant

In the corporate world, there are giants that stand in the way of great profit margins, growth and prosperity. Greediness, unethical dealings, power plays, embezzlement, cutting corners, cheating, stealing, fudging the numbers, kick backs, takeovers, business pirating, dishonesty and lying are all giants that business owners, CEO's and board members are faced with all the time. The love and pursuit of money, power and status sometimes cloud the judgment of even the best men and women and bring them to utter ruin. Those in decision making positions who do not watch themselves and have a set of checks and balances to hold themselves accountable soon find themselves with great financial problems, problems they never meant to get into, yet they allowed the giants to have the victory over them. These giants are easily defeated and turned aside with a well thought-out strategy and deep commitment to run things cleanly and honestly.

Personal Giant

Everyday, our lives are filled with giants that need to be conquered or we ourselves fall under the stress and strain of trying to keep our heads above the water line. Everyday people give in to alcohol and drug addiction, pornography, false hope sand dreams, low self-esteem, infidelity, depression, self-doubt and loneliness. Without the proper tools, adequate preparation and divine guidance, these giants can often seem too big and too powerful to conquer, leaving us with a feeling of no hope. When we look upon with determination and resolve we can conquer any giant we face. God gives us the power we need, if we will just trust Him and use it to our advantage.

The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn and relearn. Alvin Tuffler

THE TEAM

I coach girls' basketball and every summer as I prepare for the upcoming basketball season, I do a lot of reading to pick up as much information as possible. I am always looking to improve what we did the year before, pick up some new ideas on training and preparation, and, most importantly, decide on our motto or our theme for the season. It is a process I call "evaluate and change." Every coach goes through this process. Every corporation, CEO, vice president, and store manager goes through this process. We use it everyday as we strive to improve our lives. We evaluate what we did yesterday, look for ways to improve and act upon that information.

Every year I have the privilege to give the last faculty devotion before we break for the summer. I have repeatedly challenged our faculty and staff with this process. I tell them to evaluate what they have done during the past school year and change what they need to change in order to become better teachers. I challenge you to do the same. If you want to be a better coach, teacher, team, supervisor, president or CEO, you will intentionally and deliberately go through a process of evaluation and change. You will experience greater growth as you repeat this process year after year. We wouldn't have great companies, great leaders, great teams or great technological advancements without this simple process. Those who are willing to engage in the process are those who experience the greatest success.

I am not claiming to be the best coach or athletic director. I am not even claiming to be great at anything. I am claiming, however, that I continue to grow as a coach, a person, a father and a husband because I dare to get out of the "box" and look for new ways to do things and improve my team and my life.

Every team has a theme, they wear t-shirts with their theme printed on them, they use it as a rallying cry for their season, and everything they do is wrapped around their theme. You know, it wouldn't hurt if every corporation, sales team, or any group of collaborators built their operation on and around a central theme. Some of the most successful corporations have seen their profits and their reputations soar as a result of a central theme. Ford had a better idea, you could have it your way with Burger King, and you were challenged to "Just do it" by Nike. Having a central theme for everyone to rally around brings a sense of ownership and pride as each on works together for a common cause. After all, one of the key ingredients of being successful is getting everyone to pull together and work together to accomplish a goal. Teamwork is the key to success.

Don Soderquist said in his book, Live, Learn, Lead to make a Difference:

"While success can lead to success, it could also lead to failure if you refuse to focus on improving."

One man or woman can make a difference in this world, but no one does alone. It takes a "team" of people to accomplish great things. The whole concept of using a central theme helps bring everyone together as that "team." Every little edge I can get as a coach will help me take the team a little farther. Every little edge you can get in the corporate world will help put distance between you and your competitor.

Soderquist also said,

"A great team will often beat a group of highly talented individuals - even if they are loaded with superstars, because the true team has learned to play together. We accomplish much more if we know our own abilities, recognize that other people do some things better than we do and understand that if we all do our part and encourage others to do theirs, we will be successful."

While speaking at a coaching convention, NBA coach Pat Riley said, "Each player has to develop an attitude of excellence that is always defined as wanting to do and be better."

When all the players on the team come together with this attitude of excellence, the TEAM is better for it. Coach Riley also said, "The key to teamwork is to learn a role, accept a role and strive to become excellent playing it."

When the team is made up of players willing to put aside personal agenda in order for the team to be the best it can be the TEAM becomes nearly unbeatable. It is called having synergy.

No one part (player) is greater than the whole (team) but the sum of all the parts (players) is wholly greater.

With the help of my assistant coaches, we have come up with some great themes in the past. We draw ideas from reading books and magazines, going to clinics, analyzing game film, watching television or listening to motivational tapes. We are always looking for that one little idea that will just jump off the page, a small idea that we can turn into something big.

We have used something about having "Heart"-putting your whole heart into what you are doing and leaving everything on the court, not saving anything for ourselves, but giving it all for the team. We have used "ONE" as a theme and tried to rally around being of one mind and one goal, five players playing as one. One year we used, "Play like a Champion, today" and we had a plaque positioned above the door going into the gym, and every time they passed under that plaque, they reached up and touched it, symbolizing their commitment to playing like a champion.

(Continues...)

Excerpted from FIVE SMOOTH STONESby Phil Farver Copyright © 2009 by Phil Farver. Excerpted by permission.
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