ARISE AND FLY

“Arise and shine for thy light is come and the glory of God is risen upon thee”.Isaiah 60:1

The most difficult step to take in achieving your God given vision is always the first step,after you have discovered what you are meant to do,the fear of starting becomes our first challenge.The stage of writing out the plan and drawing up a strategy is not a problem but to take that first step to begin fulfilling the dream of your life.
God has recently spoken to my heart to start a work,this is something I know I am called out for,everything else I do,outside of this would be nothing,but I was so scared and I would like to share some of the fears I had with you,I believe this would be a blessing to you.

• The fear of “I am not good enough”

I always knew this was what I was going to do,I remenber when I owned a business I always told my friends,that business was just a thing for the now,ministry was my life.With all the confirmations I had gotten,but I still didn’t feel good enough,I felt there are others who could have done it better than me.
But the bible says that God uses the foolish things of this world to confound the wise,and the weak things to confound the strong. 1Corinthians 1:27
I would like you to know that the feeling of “Not good enough” is a feeling that would keep you in the place called average,its not from God.The fact that God picked you means you are qualified for the job,and God has choosen you specifically so that he can prove to you that he can do something out of your life,so stop feeling not good enough,if God saw the guys that were good enough and still chose you,you got to be good enough.
Know that you have been chosen before the foundation of the world to do this job,its your call and only you are meant to carry out this responsibility.Ephesians 1:4
when God called moses,moses complained to God that he wasn,t good enough,but God showed him what he will do, with the “not good enough moses”.That’s why I have learnt not to cry over my weakness but to trust entirely in Gods grace that is made perfect in my weakness and this is the key to dealing with this feeling,how can you do that? begin to see yourself the way God sees you,because you are what God says you are,if God says you are qualified,then you are qualified.
Yes there are others better than you but remenber there is non of them like you,you are specially picked by God to solve a particular need,your clients have been waiting for you to arrive,don’t step back,you have the more than enough God with you and he will perfect that which he has started,brace yourself and move toward your dreams.

• The fear of “not been Accepted”

In life you must know that Gods report of you is more important to you than what people say.I believe that something is wrong,if everyone accepts your vision,you must have those who will reject you.
Even Jesus was rejected by men.Most times your vision will be rejected by those who are closest to you.Stop waiting for the acceptance of man,and start the work,don’t be afraid,for you are already accepted by God.
Success in life is your ability to overturn the negatives.life is full of negatives,and sometimes more of it will come from friends and family.
The law of averages states that,out of every ten clients you speak to you will always get one yes,I worked in a marketing firm,where I was asked to speak to as much as 300 clients daily in the field and I am expected to get just 30 yes,in the process I have to overturn 270 no’s.
My job is to look for thirty persons that will buy my product,but I must overturn two hundred and seventy persons who will say no to me.Your success lies in your ability to overturn the No’s in your favor.
That’s life,we have loads of no’s to overturn for our success,focus on the yes and not the no’s.Everyone will not accept your vision but know that certainly everyone will not refuse it also.
You must be ready to take some risks to fulfill your God given potential,you must be determined.Having a dream is one thing but I always ask the question,how badly do you want to achieve that dream?
Joseph in scriptures had a dream, he was rejected by his brothers,but he stood his ground and was faithful till he got to where God wanted him to,but the route to that place was a tough one.
It is more risky not to attempt on your dreams,its better your tried and failed than not to try at all.

• The fear of failing

I am someone who never wants to fail at anything in life,though I am not afraid of it,I always give my best,but you might not be me.I think the greatest thing that prompts that thought of failing is what others will say,how will I be looked at by others when I fail? These are some questions that runs through your mind.
But failing at something doesn’t necessarily disqualify you from succeeding.
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." Those where the words of the man who discovered the light bulb,after trying so many times and failing but eventually got it,the man Thomas Edison.
You can not deal with your fear sitting down and doing nothing,take your chances and be like Esther in the bible who said,she would see the king against the law,”if I perish I perish”,until you get to that state of mind you are not ready.
“Inaction breeds doubt and fear. Action breeds confidence and courage. If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.” Dale Carnegie.
If you fail,so what! failing at anything gives you the Asset of experience that others don’t have,experience is said to be the best teacher,there are people who shy away from trying anything because they are scared of failing.Sometimes you must move out of your comfort zone to bring out the best in you.
I have failed before,but I bet you I am smarter than most people.Gray hair without experience is not wisdom,no man is said to be wise without experience,you can only get Wisdom from experience.
"Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm." Sir Winston Churchill.
Henry ford said failur is the only oportunity to begin again,but this time wisely” henry ford
"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed." Michael Jordan
Those are words of some great men,who had successes at their field,failure most times precedes success.Its inspiring to read that from Michael Jordan,be encouraged,you are not a failure until you give up.
The only way you can be remenbered for something is when you do something.Peter and his friends have tried but caught nothing,now Jesus the master came and said,lets go fishing again,but they refused saying “we have toiled all night and caught nothing” but thank God at the word of Jesus they tried again,don’t give up on your dreams because you tried before and failed,get up and keep trying till you win,”its not over till you win”
Don’t give up easily,those who give up will never be a success at anything.
Robert Schuller said failure doesn’t mean you are a failure,it means you have yet succeeded”
Keep at it and you will succeed.
Sometimes we spend time waiting for God to do a miracle,for us to succeed,stop waiting and start acting,you sometimes wonder why it looks as if God is not doing nothing about your situation,he is actually waiting for you to do something,the first move is yours to take,the ball is in your court.
Get up,walk,run and fly.
see you at the top.

YOUR LIFE A BESTSELLER IN THE MAKING

"What you need to know about the past is that no matter what has happened,it has all worked together to bring you to the very moment,and this is the moment you can choose to make everything new,Right now"

When I look back in retrospect at my life and the experiences that have molded the person I am today, I would say I am glad at the way things have turned out for me, I know I am not where I ought to be but I know I am not where I used to be.

Our life today is a series of different experiences that either makes us positively or negatively. The mindset that we have today, the attitude and habits that we have today are a result of our past experiences.

Experiences don't make us except we allow them to. We are a product of our decisions of yesterday. In my country we say “you make your bed the way you want to lie on it"

Mike Murdock says "Don't complain about what you permit"

We are actually the architect of the future we desire to have. No man can actually take responsibility for the future we eventually have but us. People come into your lives for a purpose and a time; nobody stays in your life forever. We have friends today, we even call them best friends but something happens and they are no more our friends.

Only the lazy and the irresponsible blame others for what they turn out to become.

Some of us have experiences we don't want to remember, in the past, things we rather forget and keep away from people, I do have some too. But I would like to say to you, “your life is a combination of your past experiences, you cannot have a today without a yesterday”.

Our past whether good or bad is important for what we eventually become.

 I always tell people the experience is not the problem but how you let it affect you, positively or negatively. Some people have killed themselves because of something that happened to them, some have lost it and gone crazy, some live in an asylum right now, because they couldn’t handle it, some don't talk to anyone secluded themselves from family and friends because they are hurt, some even hate everyone else in the world, some have turned to alcohol and are destroying their lives.

But if you must be a success in this life you must stand up and face your past, face your haters, those who treated you bad and stop running from them. I would like to let you know that you are no more living in yesterday but today,dont allow your past determine how you live today, instead use your past to make a better today, let the experiences of your past motivate you positively for a better life today.

Think of the kind of life you want to have and go for it. Don’t let the hurt and pain caused by others make you put your life on a hold. Don’t allow forgiveness make you not have a life, the only person that gets hurt when you keep a grudge is YOU. Let go and let God!

You have a good life and future awaiting you, don’t let you destroy yourself.

Yes she hurt you bad, yes he hurt you really bad, but when you keep a hurt you always stay back and you never excel 100% the way you ought to.

Your past is gone and you can’t do anything about it, but you got today and the future ahead of you, make your life count, make the best out of your today, spend your energy going for your dreams than to waste it hurting over someone going forward.

You are not what people say that you are, or what your past is saying, you are what God says you are and what you are making of yourself and your experiences. Maybe you made a mistake and so what! Move on, learn from the past mistake and have a life.

Paul shows us what to do, in Philippian’s 3:12-14:

12  Not that I have now attained [this ideal], or have already been made perfect, but I press on to lay hold of (grasp) and make my own, that for which Christ Jesus (the Messiah) has laid hold of me and made me His own.13  I do not consider, brethren, that I have captured and made it my own [yet]; but one thing I do [it is my one aspiration]: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,14  I press on toward the goal to win the [supreme and heavenly] prize to which God in Christ Jesus is calling us upward.15

Like Paul, you got to press on to the reason why Christ created you, you need to understand that he created you with a purpose and for a purpose, but you got to press toward it.There is a call higher than your past experiences and you need to understand that God allows you to go through some things, some of our experiences qualify us for the call, you are better at what you have experience at.

Press forward not backwards, people who think on their past never get hold of the future that they are meant to have.

The next thing Paul said is "forgetting those things that are behind".

Imagine a man running forward with his eyes closed; he is certainly heading for a fall, that’s exactly what you do when you focus on those things in your past you will not get the goal.

Forget those things that are behind, stop feeling guilty about something that happens ages ago, don’t restrict yourself because of something you did, you asked for forgiveness he forgave you move on, stop crying over spilled milk. It’s in the past.

Forget about the hurts, when I say forget I mean, don’t carry the hurt, of course sometimes you will remember but with a smile, that you have been delivered. Some of you are pressing on but still holding on to those things in the past, it’s a weight and in Hebrews 12:2;

 Says "drop every weight and every sin that besets you”, drop every weight, and run toward the goal with all you got.

You are a bestseller in the making, your story is a combination of the good and the bad and the ugly but you are still here because you did not allow your past to kill you. God has a beautiful plan for you and his intent is to give you a good life.

Robert Schuller says "tough times don’t last but tough people do”.

It’s your choice what you do and what you become, I am a bestseller in progress.

TALK YOUR WAY TO THE TOP

"You can't do anything about your past,but you can do something about your present and your future by the words you speak today"

There is a clear difference between asking for something and talking it.
When you ask for something,you are making a request,when you talk it,you are making a declaration.
Our life is a combination of our thoughts,requests and declarations.
The bible says "Out of the abundance of the heart,the mouth speaketh".
Every spoken word is a finished product from the heart or mind.
Our heart first settles on it before our mouth speaks it.
That's why the bible cautions us to Guard our hearts,because out of it flows the issues of life.We speak what we are.
We must make it an obligation to guard our heart,In other words we must be careful about what we give our attention to.What you watch and what you listen to.Your eyes and your ears are doorways to your heart.
Our lives is built by our beliefs,what we ask for and what we speak.
The totality of a man's life consist of his belief system.How you think,lays the foundation of your life,but your words are the bricks you use in the actual building itself,but if the foundation is not strong the building is certain to come crumbling down.
Thinking a thing doesnt guarantee success but speaking it,over and over again,till you see it.
You are a product of your words.
Proverbs 18:21 says,"Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life]."
Death and life are entirely two extremes.There can not be more extremes than death and life.
Your words can either produce death or life.
Jesus said "The words that i speak to you are spirit and they are life"
The world we see today is the product of our words.Your life today is the product of your words.
"And they who indulge in it,will eat the fruit there of"
Your negative words will produce death and your positive words or word of faith will produce life.
You can not be more than your words,your words are the standard of your life.
That means your success or failure in life is tied to the words you say.Romans 10:8
We are snared by the words of our mouth,the words spoken by other people will have no effect as far as we refuse to accept them,but the words spoken by us has the ability to destroy or better our lives.Proverbs 6:2.
The earth was created by the word from the mouth of God,from Genesis 1:3,"And God said"our words have the ability to create our desires into existance.
"God calleth those things that be not as though they were" Romans 4:17.
We have the power to create the kind of life we desire with our words,start creating.
Especially if you are a born again child of God,stop complaining and start creating,your words can either make you or unmake you.Start speaking to reality those things that be not.
Do not allow your condition to develop your confession but let your faith in the word of God build your confession.
Develop the right mentality by hearing the word of God,"Faith comes by hearing the word of God" Romans 10:17.
Start speaking what God's word has said about you,start creating your world with the spoken word of God.
All that you need to succeed is in your mouth.
Speak words of success and not defeat,your words define your thoughts,i can tell if you are defeated already by the words that proceed out of your mouth.
Speak your way to the top,stop speaking defeat.
Your words can either release fear or faith.
When you speak negative words,negative things are sure to be released into your atmosphere,but if you speak positive words good is sure to come to you.Start declaring into reality the life you want to have and you will have it in no short time.

There is a time for everything,a time to ask,a time to declare,now is the time to begin to decalare;I am healed;I am a success;All my needs are met;I am rich in Christ;Lines are falling for me in pleasant places.
Start making declarations and what you speak is what you will see.

POWER OF FOCUS

"Always remember your focus determines your reality."

Qui-Gon to Anakin,star wars episode 1

A short story about focus by Coach Al Johnson:

For weeks a lion tamer in-training had observed his teacher very carefully.He paid close attention to every move his teacher made,especially the timing.He asked many good questions and just about everything made perfect sense to him.However,one thing stood out as odd. Each time his teacher entered the lions cage he took a stool in with him and always pointed it with the legs towards the lions face.

Puzzled as to why this was,he asked yet another good question, "Teacher,why is it that you never enter the lions cage without the stool,i have watched you carefully for weeks now and i do not understand."

The teacher responded, "Yet another wise observation you have made.Pointing the four legs of the stool to the lions face causes him to try and focus on all four at once.This act tames him as it divides his focus and sends him into a state of paralysis."

This story illustrates the power of focus.As you look at your life,career,are you focused or paralyzed by a lack of focus.Through focus we can achieve great things,you can set priorities,give attention to the task ahead and deliver great results.
One of mans greatest challenges is staying focused,in a fast paced,technology driven world,we live in.But staying focused is perhaps the best way to get things done,with our lives and career.So how do we keep our eyes on the ball when its bouncing around from court to court?
How many goals are you chasing right now? " if you are chasing more than one thing,you are likely to come empty handed."
You end up all over the place without focus.A lack of focus will cause you to exact much effort and accomplish very little.
Through focus we are able to set priorities,concentrate on tasks at hand and deliver very high results.
Here are a  few ways you should focus and achieve high results;

• Focus on one thing

" I have asked one thing
 from the LORD—
 it’s all I seek—
 to live in the LORD’s house
 all the days of my life,
 seeing the LORD’s beauty
 and constantly adoring his temple." Psalms 27:4(Common English Bible)

Even David understood the power of focusing on Just One thing. "I have asked one thing from the lord-its all i seek",when you seek too many things at the same time,you will likely end up with achieving non. 

"He who chases two rabbits catches none" Confucius

Most of us are chasing a dozen rabbits at the same time and a few elephants.Multitasking is a productivity nightmare,if you will be productive you got to be focused one one thing.
How can we focus? 
Set Priorities-distinguish the important from the immediate.There will always be many things to do,but there will be the one number one thing,do that first.
In economics we call it have a scale of preference.Draw up a list according to the order of most important to less important.Focus on the most important,take it one after the order,one step at a time.
You become what you focus on,your focus becomes your reality.
All that we are,is a result of what we put our thoughts on.
No life ever grows great,until it is focused,disciplined and dedicated.
"God will keep in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on him"
What is that one thing you desire?keep your focus on it and you will achieve it.

• Write it down

Priorities not written down may never be achieved.

Get a diary or Journal and write it down.

Write down your main goal and put a deadline on your goals.The deadline gives you a sense of urgency.Everything that has a start must have an End.Its important you write it down,so you can see it and read it daily.

Write down your main goal and smaller steps that you must take daily to achieve that main goal.

Make the steps short and simple.Write at least three to five things you must do daily to achieve your goals and do them.

• Give quality time to your goals

Setting goals is not enough,but you must give quality time to working on your goals.Quality time to planning and thinking about your goals and also working to achieving it.What you give your time to,tells much about you.

Spend quality time with video or audio tapes,books and anything that will positively move you in the direction of your dreams.

The internet is such a great tool,but lots of us spend more time in chatting with people,discussing irrelevant things.Find out information,read articles and watch messages on you tube,make the most of the tool of the internet.

How much time daily,do you give to building yourself,take out quality time,time spent on developing of yourself is time spent in the bettering of your future.

• Avoid distractions

" But when you pray, go to your room, shut the door, and pray to your Father who is present in that secret place. Your Father who sees what you do in secret will reward you." Matthew 6:6 

 When ever i want to have my devotion,i put off my phone and shut my mind from anything else,so i can focus on God alone.This is the same attitude you must put up in life,if you are going to achieve your dreams.

"The first rule of focus is this, where ever you are,be there"

If you must achieve anything daily,you must cut yourself off from some people,turn off your phone,put off your television,put off your chat browser.Choose an environment that will encourage your focus. Create the right atmosphere for work,choose the best time,especially when everyone has gone to bed and is sleeping.
The attitude you give to your devotions,would affect your life,either positively or negatively.

• Calm your Mind

One of the biggest distractions are the thoughts racing through our minds,when we are trying to get something done.Don't listen to them,take charge and redirect your mind to the job at hand.
The environment you choose to work in affects your success,i most times like to work in a quiet environment with some beautiful slow music,i work better in such environment.
Good music helps you to concentrate and work better.
Another way to calm your mind is meditating on the right things,put your mind on things that are good and positive;

"whatever is true,whatever is noble,whatever is right,whatever is pure,whatever is lovely,whatever is admirable - if anything is excellent or praiseworthy - think about such things." Philippians 4:8

Another way to calm your mind is to Pray;

"Do not be anxious about anything,but in everything,by prayer and and petition,with thanksgiving,present your request to God."Philippians 4:6 

The prayer of thanksgiving produces results beyond your imagination.

• Exercise 

Exercise is a very powerful way to reduce stress,as endorphin's are released by the pituitary gland to block out feelings of pain or stress. Serotonin,another chemical released while exercising improves our mood and our sense of happiness.

Exercise creates energy and from experience,it helps you to prepare for the days job.It prepares you for the day mentally and physically

I worked in a firm years ago,that was into sales and promotion,we have a room in that building,were you can not come in except you are excited.We called it motivation room,very loud music and loud noise is allowed in that room,to keep us stirred for the days work,and we also practice our pitching for any product in that room before we go out to the field.

Exercise your mind also,speak to yourself,motivating words and inspiring words,wake up every morning saying loud to yourself,words that will provoke you to do something toward your goals.

Exercise is also responsible for the creation of new neurons in the brain which enable us to process and store information more easily.

"For physical training is of some value" 1Timothy 4:8a

Get that value you get from Exercise.It will profit you here and it will keep you healthy and strong so you can achieve your goals.

"We are what we think,we become what we focus our eyes on,our thoughts and desires and habits,we either ascend to the full divine dignity of our nature or we descend to suffer and learn." J. Todd Ferrier

Doubt is one of the things that breaks our focus,fear is the mother of doubts and the bible makes it clear,that a man who doubts will not receive anything from God ,James 1:6.
When we doubt we move out of position,like having a dislocation,and can't receive,because you already doubted.
The bible says believe,hold on,keep your focus,don't allow the waves of the sea make you loose focus.
When peter lost focus,when you took his eyes off Jesus and put it on the boisterous wind,he began to sink.
when we focus we can do and see the supernatural.Matthew 14:27-31.

The Power of Association

The development of your life either positively or negatively is dependent on your association.Who your friends are,goes a long way to determine your success in life.You can not improve more than the people you spend more of your time with.When you choose friends,chose those who will add value to your life and not those who will make your life reduce in value.We may not have the choice to choose our biological parents,but we sure have the choice on the association we keep.What are your goals and vision for life? let your goals determine who your friends are.I would like to share thoughts of a few great men on the Power of Association.
Colin Powell,who was one time Secretary of State of the United States of America,has this to say on the power of association:
 “The less you associate with some people, the more your life will improve. 
Any time you tolerate mediocrity in others, it increases your mediocrity.
 An important attribute in successful people is their impatience with negative thinking and negative acting people. As you grow, your associates will change. Some of your friends will not want you to go on. They will want you to stay where they are. Friends that don’t help you climb will want you to crawl. Your friends will stretch your vision or choke your dream. Those that don’t increase you will eventually decrease you".
You need to realize that you don't need too many people in your life if you must achieve your dreams.You must be able to distinguish your friends from your fans.Stay with friends who motivate you and encourage you to go for your dreams.There are so many people who are just around you and they add nothing to your life.
I use the pareto principle,i spend 20% of my time with 80% of people who add little value to my life and 80% of my time with the 20% that add more value to my life,thats the secrete of productivity.
I worked in a marketing company in the UK years ago,and i remenber my director used to say,if you will be a success in this company you must spend most of your time being friends with those we call high rollers,we say Roll with the high Rollers,those who consistently make more money and sell more,and i became a high Roller in a short time because my best friend was the guy who sold the most and i learnt from him.
This is so important,if you get this you will experience not just a mental change but a spiritual and physical change,we must understand that real change starts in your mind,even the bible says Evil communication corrupts good manners" no matter how strong you seem,the wrong company affects you negatively.Show me your friends and i will tell you who you are,i dont need a prophet to tell you were you are going to end,all i need is to see those you hang out with,you can change were you are going to today,by changing your association.
Be careful who speaks into your life,never tell your problems to those who cannot contribute to the solutions.never follow those who are not going anywhere,with some people you spend and evening but with others you invest it.
Wise is the person who fortifies his life with the right friendships. If you run with wolves, you will learn how to howl, but if you associate with eagles, you will learn how to soar to great heights.
“A mirror reflects a man’s face, but what he is really like is shown by the kind of friends he chooses.” The simple but true fact of life is that you become like those with whom you closely associate – for the good and the bad. ( Colin Powell )
According to Rohn Jim,we become the combined average of the five people we hang around the most.The people we spend our time with will determine what conversations dominate our attention and what observations,attitudes and opinions we repeatedly are introduced to.
The lesson Jim Rohn wants you to learn is that,we will have the combined attitude,health and income of five people you hang around with.Imagine this,Les Brown puts it this way,that you earn two to three thousand dollars of your closest friends.If everyone you know,earns nothing more than a 100dollars,you can imagine what you are likely to earn.
Evaluate your associations into three categories:

1. Disassociation: decide the quality of life you want to live then associate yourself with people who represent and support that vision.There are some people you might need to break away from completely,it might not be easy,but you cannot surround yourself with negative influences,kiss them goodbye,it might be a girlfriend.
2. Limited Associations:Decide how much you can be influenced based on how those people represent themselves.There are people you can spend 3hours with and not 3days and others 3minutes and not 3hours.Spend your time wisely,smartly and make sure its productive.
3. Expanded Associations:What ever area you want to see improvement on,find those who represent the success you want,could be parenting skills,academic success,relationships,the life style you want,and spend time with them.Join organisations, businesses,and health clubs were this people are and make friends with them.

Associations are both subtle and powerful,we must be careful.Take time out and start,evaluating your friendships,you cant please everyone,you must be concerned about your future,spend your time with those who can add value to your life,those who motivate you.

I leave you with this,from John Maxwell:

spend time with great people

visit great places

Attend great events

Read great books

Listen to great tapes.

What truly is success?

I am so moved and inspired to write this today and I hope you can truly understand my motivation. Today I read a very long story about a man who today is termed a success, this is not the first I have read of various men, coming from the back side of life and today they have made it to the top, and they give us this long story of how they made it.  He said so much on how he struggled through his life, and how now he has attained success. Great story very inspiring but I have an issue and I want you to reason with me, you reading this right now.

 I want to ask a question, what truly is success? I have heard so many definitions, let me let you in on some. Owning a business? Or buying a Lexus jeep? Or owning a mansion of Gold? Or been married to Miss world? Or having kids? Or travelling the world? Is that your definition of success? What does it mean to you? Most of the so called successful men and women, we see today, either die broke or commit suicide, they have broken marriages, and may be have married four or five times. Most of them are unhappy; any success that takes away your peace, joy and love and family from you is not true success. I want to think of success in another angle and I think it’s the most important.

Success is not an achievement, it’s not a one time achievement, oh, I finally bought my dream car, that’s not success. I will again define it in the following way. Success is a journey and not a destination, don’t think of success as a place but see it as a path. Success is a journey you can enjoy one day at a time. Success is a daily thing; you can be successful one day or one decision at a time. “If you can handle today correctly, tomorrow you can take care of yourself”

Success is a decision at a time, you don’t become a success when you get a diploma, you become a success when you decided to go to college, when you get your diploma you get the rewards of success.

The best definition of success I have ever read is the one given by my mentor, John Maxwell, saying, “SUCCESS IS KNOWING YOUR PURPOSE IN LIFE, GROWING TO REACH YOUR MAXIMUM POTENTIAL AND SOWING SEEDS TO BENEFIT OTHERS”

It only starts with discovering your purpose, then growing to reach your maximum potential, but a lot of people stop here and call it success, sorry you are not yet successful according to Gods standard, in fact you are poor. The part that really makes you a success is SOWING SEEDS TO BENEFIT OTHERS, in the first place why would God allow us into so much wealth, so we can buy a car? No! So we can own a house, certainly not its more than that, so we can reach and affect the lives of others.

He told Abraham “I will bless you and make you a blessing” so my conclusion is; your life of success actually starts when you start to sow seeds that will benefit others, you have so much and people around you, are hungry, you are not a success but a failure.

 In Africa the rate of poverty is so high, children are hungry and suffering, people are homeless and live on the streets; a lot of persons have turned to prostitution and crime to survive. But just one man rides a car that costs two million five hundred thousand dollars. One man steals over six billion naira from a state treasury and enriches him and family. Some of the richest men in the world today are recorded to have come from Africa, but still Africa cries to the rest of the world for help.

The next generation needs to get it right, we don’t need to wait for bill gates to come help us, or the United States of America but we have what it takes.

This is my definition of success, giving back to society, helping the less privileged, feeding the hungry, giving homes to the homeless, creating jobs for others.Dont be rich alone, carry others along, help someone else have a life.

James defined true religion James 1:27

“Pure and genuine religion in the sight of God the Father means caring for orphans and widows in their distress and refusing to let the world corrupt you”

THE SIXTH SIGHT

God’s life is the best quality of life, it’s a life that never dies and never goes deem. This life is not sustained by our body system, but it’s sustained by Gods spirit. When a king is anointed in the Old Testament, the bible immediately records that he becomes another man, like the anointing on him changes him entirely, like a transformation takes place.

God put his life in us, and that quality of life changes us totally inside out. We are different; we are not ordinary, because the source of our life is from the supernatural. This life within us has the potential to quicken our mortal bodies to life eternal. Romans 8:11

You are not ordinary; you are the very representation of god here in this world. The life should reflect in all we do, academics, business, family. We are the very image and likeness of God. We are not ordinary.

But why do we live in this world and we still see the degradation, even with the presence of the church, the very people of God. Check the state of the nations of the world, when we talk of the wealthiest men of the world we see only those who don’t believe God, the BILL GATES and Warren Buffets are not saved folks, these men do legal businesses and they don’t have the Holy Spirit, yet make so much impact in the world.

How can we impact our world? We complain of the government and leadership problems all over the world, the corruption, drought, floods, the deaths, terrorism, why are we here? There is no time to waste, we have been talking about finding your purpose, but you must grow to reach our maximum potential.

We read of our brother Daniel in the book of Daniel, it’s said of Daniel that he was a man that has an excellent spirit, an exceptional spirit, a man who distinguished himself that he was made a ruler in his time. The king Nebuchadnezzar was not a Christian, in a kingdom were the king wasn’t a believer Daniel makes the difference. Daniel 5:12; 6:3.

The Holy Spirit makes that difference in us, Job said that there is a spirit in man and the spirit of the almighty gives him understanding. The presence of God distinguishes you the believer.

We need to be men of understanding, Paul said and my lord shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory, through Christ Jesus, GOD takes care of your need and you take care of your wants.

I know a very fat sister, who believes God that she will be slim, and still eats fatty foods, sorry sister, you will get fatter. It’s not the job of the Holy Ghost to make you slim, what you have is called fats, and it can be burnt out by jogging and dropping on your intake of fatty foods and cream and oily meals, stop troubling God about what you can handle.

We are just been lazy, that’s why we cannot make any impact, and we expect the lord to take care of everything so we can just relax and eat and be fat.

We must grow to reach our maximum potential, how? By working, practicing and exercising our gifts as the opportunities arise. We got no time to be lazy about our lives and futures.

I would like to share with you some sights that are very important for success in life, when we speak of sight, we are talking about the way you see, your ability to see. How you are able to perceive situations will help in bringing about solution. Perception is everything, your perceptions determines your attitude.

·         SIGHT:

 When we talk of sight, we are referring to your ability to see, with your eyes you can see the natural, but we are not talking about your physical eyes we are talking about your minds eyes. Sight speaks of your view, your perspective of life and situations. That perspective built overtime is called mindset. When we talk of mindset, we talk of a habitual or characteristic mental attitude, which determines how you will interpret or respond to situations.

We all respond to situations differently, why? Because we see things differently, trained from different backgrounds. Mindset are like spectacles, when you put a pink spectacle on, everything turns pink in your eyes. Some people sees things very negatively because of their mindset, our mindset affects our relationships with people, our attitude to work and life.

A mindset can either be negative or positive; we need to maintain a positive mindset to have success and to be successful in life. Someone with a negative mindset trust nobody, gets easily worried, full of fear all the time and believes nothing and nobody, cannot work with anyone, other than themselves, complains about everyone, always right never takes to corrections because they believe that they are better, there are those who look down on others because they have a mindset of the kind of people they can relate with, that’s a negative mindset and it’s not good for success.

A positive mindset for example been kind to others, and treating older people with respect, going to work early. Your mindset helps you in building the right values. So your mindset affects the way you see people and things.

HOW MINDSETS DEVELOP

Mindsets are learned as a result of the experiences we have had in our lives. The thoughts, beliefs, assumptions, and attitudes about ourselves and the world around us are conclusions we arrive at, based on what has happened in our lives. We learn things in different ways. We may learn from direct experiences, the media, observing what other people do, and listening to what people say. This means that our experiences in our childhood, family of origin, and the particular society we lived in, schools we went to, and with our friends – all these have influenced our thoughts and beliefs about all sorts of things, including ourselves, eating, body shape and weight, and control. When we arrive at particular conclusions about ourselves or the world and others, we may also begin to behave in certain ways as a result of these conclusions. When this happens, our behavior then serves to reinforce or strengthen that conclusion.

It may be helpful to think of your mind as a DVD player and your mindsets as a collection of DVDs. What you see on the screen depends on what DVD is being played. Everyone has different mindsets within themselves, different ‘DVDs’, for example a ‘work’ DVD or a ‘friends’ DVD. These get activated in different settings, and influence your thinking and behavior differently when you’re at work or out with friends.

There is a right mindset for achieving success in life, there are guys that have the mindset that using any means whether legal or illegal means is okay, but that is a wrong mindset.

The bible says that, we should not be conformed to the mindset of this world, the world has a mindset and God has a mindset, but we should be transformed,metamorphosed;a marked change in appearance,character,condition and function, a total change from inside out. Romans 12:2

Without this change you cannot comprehend what the will of God is.This is a process, it’s not magic but a change that occurs when you come in contact with the word of God and yield to its working in your life.

Paul further stated, let this mindset which was in Christ be in you. This attitude; Philippians 2:5 and in 1corinthians 2:5b says; we have the mindset of Christ.

The word of God is complete, it teaches you the mind set of Christ and that’s what a believer should possess. It teaches you Gods mindset on business, relationships, love, marriage, success, money and so on.

Take time to develop the right mindset for success, the book of Matthew 6:22-23, puts it better, “the eye is the lamp of the body, if your eyes are sound, your whole body will be full of light, but if otherwise it will be full of darkness”. Simply put, your sight of life, determines the direction of your life.

to be continued....