Each Friday, on the Mid-America Catastrophe Services company review call, I am asked by the Vice President of Operations, who leads the call, to share a bit of wisdom going into the weekend. Maybe it’s the years. Maybe it’s the miles. Whatever the reason, mine is the last voice on the call. I am glad to do it, though I often feel anything but wise.
On today’s call, I shared a personal story.
When I first accepted the pastorate of a church in East Texas, I hired a young man who was preparing himself for pastoral ministry. He had a degree in hand but needed a mentor—an apprenticeship. I offered him a part-time salary and put him to work.
I haven’t thought of him in 25 years or more, but this morning, I did. I remembered our Monday morning meetings when I would assign him tasks for the week. He always responded the same way:
“That’s simple and easy, Preacher!”
I can hardly think of a conversation with him when he didn’t say that. I woke up thinking about him—and I need to check in and see how the past quarter century has treated him and whether he has found ministry to be “simple and easy.”
I also kept rolling the phrase around in my mind. “Simple and easy.” They sound similar, but are not the same.
Simple is Not Always Easy
At Adjust U, we train insurance adjusters. From the ground up, from the top down, through and through, we equip adjusters for success.
Most of what it takes to succeed as an adjuster is simple. It is not rocket science or string theory. It does not require years of higher education to qualify for the job. Mostly, the requirements are simple. Things like…
- Integrity—doing the right things because they are the right things to do.
- Industry—working hard, not wasting time, starting early, and working late when required.
- Empathy—putting yourself in someone else’s shoes; seeing an issue from the inside out.
- Teachability—a willing learner can learn this business inside and out.
- Tenacity—storm seasons come and go, work ebbs and flows. You have to be committed to the process.
There are other things, too. And most of them are simple. None of them is easy. Integrity sounds easy until you find yourself in a compromising situation, where it would be easy and lucrative to cut a corner or deal loosely with the facts. Hard work is called hard work for a reason. Empathy goes against human nature. We tend to see the world for ourselves and ourselves in the world. It takes intention to see the world through another’s eyes. Being teachable requires humility. Tenacity just sounds hard.
Simple is not always easy. Do it anyway.
Easy is Not Simple
Conversely, some things are not simple, but for a select few, they are easy. We are not all created equal. Some easily understand complex concepts. That is not a virtue in itself. It is a fact of DNA. They naturally have a high IQ, which has nothing to do with hard work and little to do with education. It is a matter of mental acuity.
Others find practical things like mechanics and construction easy.
Some read with comprehension and insight. They can break down policy language into simple terms for interpretation, even if the policy was written, and rewritten, and rewritten by attorneys, who are notorious for dense and convoluted language.
Policy is easy for some. Effective communication is easy for some. Construction concepts are easy for some.
Easy, not simple.
Here’s Your Mission
If you are looking for a little weekend wisdom for yourself, here it is in simple and easy terms:
💡If it is simple, but not easy, then do it.
🔬If it is easy (to you), but not simple, then teach it.
The further down the road of life I wander, the more I am aware that the things I do will die with me but the things I teach may live forever.
Do it. Enable others to do it. You will never be a failure. And you will never die.