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 % of your life. Work: (Based on 55 yrs) 114,400 hrs/lifetime % 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.