The Cost of Waiting

All week long, I’ve been in a training every night from 12:00–2:00 a.m.

It was called the Next Top Speaker Challenge.

No this wasn’t just about crafting a speech.

This was about something much deeper.

It was about the boldness to proclaim: This Is Me.

No masks.

No shrinking.

No waiting for approval.

As my final homework, I delivered a mini talk called “The Cost of Waiting.”

It opened with a truth that hits way too close to home for most people:

The richest place on earth isn’t a city.

It’s the graveyard.

Because that’s where dreams go when we keep waiting.

Waiting to be ready.

Waiting to be chosen.

Waiting for permission.

Waiting until the timing feels perfect.

Waiting until the fear goes away.

Waiting until someone validates what God already planted inside of us.

Here’s what this journey has taught me plain and simple:

Almost Doesn’t Count.

Almost prepared.

Almost confident.

Almost bold enough to move.

Almost feels responsible.

Almost feels mature.

Almost feels safe.

But almost still buries the dream.

This training wasn’t really about learning how to speak.

It was about learning how to decide.

Deciding to stop sitting in neutral.

Deciding to stop rehearsing a life you never step into.

Deciding to move before everything makes sense.

Because clarity doesn’t come before movement.

Confidence doesn’t come before action.

Permission doesn’t come before obedience.

It comes after.

The truth is waiting has a cost.

It costs time you’ll never get back.

It costs momentum.

It costs belief.

It costs the version of you that could’ve existed if you moved sooner.

I’m done paying it.

So here’s the charge.

Not just for you but for me too.

Every morning.

Every noon.

Every night.

Basically anytime life isn’t going your way…

Say it out loud:

Dream.

Dare.

Do.

Let it remind you who you are.

Let it remind you what time it is.

The light is green. 

The moment is now.

Almost doesn’t count anymore.

 

CLOCKS DON’T CONTROL CALLINGS

God is working while you’re waiting.

Let’s be clear waiting is not weakness.

Waiting is warfare.

Just because nothing is moving on the outside doesn’t mean God isn’t moving behind the scenes. The wait is where pressure is applied, focus is sharpened, and faith is tested. And most people quit right here because they mistake silence for absence.

But God works in the waiting.

When everything feels like it’s going against you, that’s usually the sign that something in you is being built. Strength doesn’t come from comfort. Clarity doesn’t come from ease. Growth comes from resistance.

“They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength…” — Isaiah 40:31

Notice it doesn’t say they that rush.

It says they that wait.

The waiting season isn’t meant to break you, it’s meant to prepare you. Every delay is discipline. Every setback is setup. Every closed door is God forcing you to level up internally before He opens the next one externally.

I need you to hear this clearly:

Clocks don’t control callings.

Time doesn’t decide purpose.

Calendars don’t cancel destiny.

God doesn’t move on urgency, He moves on readiness.

You’re not stuck.

You’re being shaped.

You’re not losing time.

You’re gaining strength.

So hold the line.

Don’t fold because it’s hard.

Don’t panic because it’s slow.

Don’t walk away because it’s uncomfortable.

Pressure creates power.

Patience produces promotion.

Therefore, faith in the dark is what qualifies you for the light.

Your change is coming.

Your elevation is loading.

So when it hits, it won’t be random, it’ll be earned.

Stay ready.

Stay locked in.

Stay faithful.

The wait isn’t the enemy.

Quitting is.

 

GUSTO OVER GUARANTEES

The courage to be vulnerable has nothing to do with winning or losing.

It has everything to do with showing up when there are no guarantees.

No safety nets.

No applause.

No clear outcome.

Vulnerability isn’t weakness.

It’s stepping into the unknown knowing you can’t control how it ends and moving anyway.

That’s real courage.

Too many people wait until they feel ready.  Ready never comes.  They wait for certainty, clarity, confidence, confirmation. But growth doesn’t respond to comfort, it responds to conviction.

Sometimes the real test is having the courage to go for the GUSTO when you’re at the bottom.

When your back is against the wall.

When the score isn’t in your favor.

When your name isn’t ringing in rooms yet.

That’s when it matters most.

Because going all in when you’re winning is easy.  Going all in when you’re losing?

That’s identity.

That’s faith.

That’s belief under pressure.

If you aren’t willing to go all in on yourself, then who do you expect to do it for you?

No one is coming to rescue your potential.

No one is obligated to believe in your vision.

No one owes you a breakthrough.

GABOS.

The Game Ain’t Based On Sympathy.

The world doesn’t reward intentions, it rewards execution.  It doesn’t care how tired you are, how hard it’s been, or how unfair it feels.  It responds to movement.

Consistency.

Courage in action.

That doesn’t mean you harden your heart.

It means you harden your resolve.

You can be vulnerable and still relentless.

You can be honest and still hungry.

You can feel fear and still take the step.

Vulnerability says, “I don’t know how this ends.”

Courage says, “But I’m showing up anyway.”

So show up.

Messy.

Uncertain.

Undeniably committed.

Because the ones who change their lives aren’t the ones who waited for perfect conditions. They’re the ones who went for the GUSTO when all they had left was belief.

Best part about belief, is that when it’s backed by action, it is undefeated.