Perhaps the most sought after goal in our present society is success in business. Whether you want to be promoted into high paying management positions, or wish to start your own independent enterprise, knowledge of the business world is important.
As you plan a course of action towards accomplishing your goal, keep in mind the small goals that put you closer to the end. And be prepared to change often. You may need to change companies, or to take opportunities in other department as those positions open.
Create an aura of success around you. People who are successful dress that way. Even if you’re not in a high income bracket, act as though you have already achieved without being egotistical or overspending. Develop an expertise in an area. Don’t keep special information to yourself, but be quick to learn all there is about your position and the tasks surrounding getting that job done.
Capitalize on your strengths, and let others help you develop your weakness into assets. Get to know the people in the company and the people in the industry. Read all the trade journals and magazines relating to your company. Make appointments with people who a successful in your field and learn from them.
You need to have a total commitment to succeed in business. Most people who make it to the executive boardroom put in long hours, often at the sacrifice of everything else. Regardless of the physical effort involved, you must mentally be engrossed in your business and the company enterprises. In order to help yourself develop fully, you might seek a mentor, someone who will offer you time and teach you the ropes. This person is someone who believes in your ability, someone who you can develop a mutually beneficial business relationship with. Some people become friendly with all their co-workers and find that is a way to advance. But don’t try to be extroverted if it’s not real to you. Most people who successfully run their own business are individuals who like to work alone.
As you increase your activities and accomplishments, you increase your potential to reach higher. The more you achieve, the more confidence you develop to achieve more. You don’t have to be the same as everyone else and fit like a vegetable in a patch. Be unique, different. Capitalize on your own self-image. Don’t fall victim to self-consciousness. Trust your intuition. Hunches and inner feelings usually are the best route to travel, regardless of what seems to be the logical choice. Make decisions quickly and with firmness. A true leader will handle theses responsibilities efficiently. That’s what makes you different and why you’ll rise to the top.
Be persistent in attaining your goals, but be open and sincere. Many people choose not to increase their own accomplishments and will give you the right of way to be successful. If you are having personal difficulties with any co-workers, try to know more about these people from a personal angle. Be interested in them and their accomplishments and goals. You might be able to turn opposition into friendship.
Above all, use your integrity. If the goal is not worthy of your inner desires, it will be hard to attain. If your methods are not sincere, you will receive opposition. If your actions are not honest you will suffer the consequences. Turn all negative qualities into positive aspects, then watch yourself achieve.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
“The secret of success is learning how to use pain and pleasure instead of having pain and pleasure use you. If you do that, you’re in control of your life. If you don’t, life controls you.” – Anthony Robbins
Friday, September 28, 2007
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
BEGIN, NO MATTER HOW SMALL
Think about the ants again. How long does it take them to prepare? How much food they gather every day? Not much, I guess, but because they do little they can do daily, they are able to gather enough to be prepared for the next phase of life. Begin, no matter how small. An oak tree started out as an acorn, and a forest started out as a single tree.
John F.Kennedy, in his inaugural address about his plans for the American people said, “…All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin…” Let us begin! Winning starts with beginning.
“Despise not this small beginning, for the eyes of the Lord rejoice to see the work begin...” ZECH 4:10
God is excited to see you begin your dream. He is excited to watch you take your first step, whether that’s writing down the title of your new book, registering for an examination, or sending in your proposal. Whatever your dream, “the eyes of the Lord rejoice to see it begin.” Begin, no matter how small.
Small beginnings do not mean small destinies. They are great destines that need time to mature.
Give your dream the opportunity of taking a life of its own by giving birth to it through beginning. God is waiting for you to begin. He is waiting for you like He waited for the four lepers, waiting for you to take the first step so that He can enter onto the scene on your behalf. Therefore, begin, no matter how small!
QUOTE FOE TODAY
“All great ideas have small beginnings.” – 3M
John F.Kennedy, in his inaugural address about his plans for the American people said, “…All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin…” Let us begin! Winning starts with beginning.
“Despise not this small beginning, for the eyes of the Lord rejoice to see the work begin...” ZECH 4:10
God is excited to see you begin your dream. He is excited to watch you take your first step, whether that’s writing down the title of your new book, registering for an examination, or sending in your proposal. Whatever your dream, “the eyes of the Lord rejoice to see it begin.” Begin, no matter how small.
Small beginnings do not mean small destinies. They are great destines that need time to mature.
Give your dream the opportunity of taking a life of its own by giving birth to it through beginning. God is waiting for you to begin. He is waiting for you like He waited for the four lepers, waiting for you to take the first step so that He can enter onto the scene on your behalf. Therefore, begin, no matter how small!
QUOTE FOE TODAY
“All great ideas have small beginnings.” – 3M
CREATING PRODUCTS AND SERVICES
As a Candler bought a kettle and the formula for a drink and simply improved on the idea. He produced the drink in large containers and put them in public locations. That was how Coca cola exploded in sales.
One of the cheapest routes to creating products and services is to look around at the things that are being done already and to improve on them. In fact, start-up entrepreneurs are usually advised not to try to start with an entirely new product. It could be a costly experiment. The truth is that there are loads of products and services being supplied already. People are used to receiving them; ride on their reputation. There is a difference between an inventor and an entrepreneur. It is not every inventor that is an entrepreneur. That is why there are many inventors who never make money from their inventions. It is when entrepreneur come along, take the inventions and package them for business that those inventions begin to make money. So, the fact that you have invented a product or service does not mean you are going to make a lot of money from it. It is advisable that you look at the myriads of services and products that are being supplied now and just design something better.
There are a few entrepreneurs in Nigeria that I quite appreciate. One of them is the publisher of Success Digest magazine and Complete Sports series of magazines. He is a sport journalist who suddenly realized that all the newspapers only have sports sections in them. But there were sports enthusiasts whom as soon as they bought a newspaper, first flipped to the back page to read articles on sports. Then he thought, “It looks like some of these people are probably keen on sports only. What if we provide a newspaper that specializes in sports? What if we did a magazine that is focused purely on sports?” He did it and it was a success. I came across a young man also sometime back, his name is Shina Adegoke. He discovered that Nigerians see products, either from magazines or TV programs or on the internet that they would like to buy from overseas but they don’t have a means of paying for these products and the cheapest way for you to order for any product is for you to pay online via credit cards. So he opened a Website called NigeriaBuyOnline.com. The simple arrangement is that you pay to him, and he arranges your payment overseas.
TRY THIS EXERCISE
- Make a list of everything in your living room
- Go through the list
- Try and write down how each item could be supplied in a better way
This little exercise would help you develop your creativity. If you want to start a bank, well, go ahead and do that. The new generation banks did that and beat the first generation banks to it. The old banks used to give us tallies and keep us for hours, before the new banks came along offering 5 minutes banking services. That got everybody’s attention.
There is such enormous need in our formal education system. Over a million candidates wrote the last Universities put together cannot take more than a hundred and fifty thousand students, “Where should the remaining eight hundred and fifty thousand go?” Thank God for private universities. These needs are in all levels of formal education – Daycare, Nursery, Primary, Secondary and the University levels.
Secondly, there is such an awesome need for informal education in Nigeria today. You see a good chunk of what people study in school is useless for day-to-day living. What informal education does is to cut off all the flesh and go straight to the bones. That is what seminars, audio training cassettes, video training and books do. Out of this one-year course cut 11 months and 3 weeks, then organize a three-day seminar and give people what they can apply immediately. We need that more than ever before. One of the reasons people like Bill Gates of Microsoft did not finish school was because most of the things he was being taught were somehow not of benefit to him. He already had his mind on being an entrepreneur, and he wanted things that were relevant to his dream.
Soichiro Honda, the founder of Honda Motor Company, was a mechanic that used to repair motorcycles. He was trying to design an engine of his own because the motorcycles they had were imported from Europe. But he was having serious problems with his piston and rings, so he went to study mechanical engineering in the university. You know the only problem? He never attended the theoretical classes, just the practical. There was a particular course that addressed the problem he had. He managed to hang on in school until they got to the particular class that address his problem and as soon as he got what he needed, that was as many people as possible in Nigeria to teach the things that would be of immediate use to 120 million Nigerians, for example, entrpreneuring.
I believe that a season of insight and understanding would come on your life. As you move around town this week I believe there would be transfer of wealth and ideas to you. We have heard other names of people associated with particular lines of business but now; I believe it is your turn. I see you taking over. You will succeed.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
“Efficiency is doing better what is already being done” – Peter F. Drucker
One of the cheapest routes to creating products and services is to look around at the things that are being done already and to improve on them. In fact, start-up entrepreneurs are usually advised not to try to start with an entirely new product. It could be a costly experiment. The truth is that there are loads of products and services being supplied already. People are used to receiving them; ride on their reputation. There is a difference between an inventor and an entrepreneur. It is not every inventor that is an entrepreneur. That is why there are many inventors who never make money from their inventions. It is when entrepreneur come along, take the inventions and package them for business that those inventions begin to make money. So, the fact that you have invented a product or service does not mean you are going to make a lot of money from it. It is advisable that you look at the myriads of services and products that are being supplied now and just design something better.
There are a few entrepreneurs in Nigeria that I quite appreciate. One of them is the publisher of Success Digest magazine and Complete Sports series of magazines. He is a sport journalist who suddenly realized that all the newspapers only have sports sections in them. But there were sports enthusiasts whom as soon as they bought a newspaper, first flipped to the back page to read articles on sports. Then he thought, “It looks like some of these people are probably keen on sports only. What if we provide a newspaper that specializes in sports? What if we did a magazine that is focused purely on sports?” He did it and it was a success. I came across a young man also sometime back, his name is Shina Adegoke. He discovered that Nigerians see products, either from magazines or TV programs or on the internet that they would like to buy from overseas but they don’t have a means of paying for these products and the cheapest way for you to order for any product is for you to pay online via credit cards. So he opened a Website called NigeriaBuyOnline.com. The simple arrangement is that you pay to him, and he arranges your payment overseas.
TRY THIS EXERCISE
- Make a list of everything in your living room
- Go through the list
- Try and write down how each item could be supplied in a better way
This little exercise would help you develop your creativity. If you want to start a bank, well, go ahead and do that. The new generation banks did that and beat the first generation banks to it. The old banks used to give us tallies and keep us for hours, before the new banks came along offering 5 minutes banking services. That got everybody’s attention.
There is such enormous need in our formal education system. Over a million candidates wrote the last Universities put together cannot take more than a hundred and fifty thousand students, “Where should the remaining eight hundred and fifty thousand go?” Thank God for private universities. These needs are in all levels of formal education – Daycare, Nursery, Primary, Secondary and the University levels.
Secondly, there is such an awesome need for informal education in Nigeria today. You see a good chunk of what people study in school is useless for day-to-day living. What informal education does is to cut off all the flesh and go straight to the bones. That is what seminars, audio training cassettes, video training and books do. Out of this one-year course cut 11 months and 3 weeks, then organize a three-day seminar and give people what they can apply immediately. We need that more than ever before. One of the reasons people like Bill Gates of Microsoft did not finish school was because most of the things he was being taught were somehow not of benefit to him. He already had his mind on being an entrepreneur, and he wanted things that were relevant to his dream.
Soichiro Honda, the founder of Honda Motor Company, was a mechanic that used to repair motorcycles. He was trying to design an engine of his own because the motorcycles they had were imported from Europe. But he was having serious problems with his piston and rings, so he went to study mechanical engineering in the university. You know the only problem? He never attended the theoretical classes, just the practical. There was a particular course that addressed the problem he had. He managed to hang on in school until they got to the particular class that address his problem and as soon as he got what he needed, that was as many people as possible in Nigeria to teach the things that would be of immediate use to 120 million Nigerians, for example, entrpreneuring.
I believe that a season of insight and understanding would come on your life. As you move around town this week I believe there would be transfer of wealth and ideas to you. We have heard other names of people associated with particular lines of business but now; I believe it is your turn. I see you taking over. You will succeed.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
“Efficiency is doing better what is already being done” – Peter F. Drucker
Wednesday, September 19, 2007
UNLESS THE LORD GOES WITH US
Then Moses said to him, "If Your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here." - Exodus 33:15.
Moses was in the middle of his journey through the wilderness, leading the people of Israel out of Egypt. The people had just sinned by worshiping the golden calf. Moses interceded for them and God spared them their lives. Moses then talked one on one with the Lord. He knew he could not lead this stubborn people without God's presence. He had come to realize that without God's presence, he could not do anything.How will anyone know that You are pleased with me and with Your people unless You go with us? What else will distinguish me and Your people from all the other people on the face of the earth? (Exodus 33:16)Moses did not want to move farther without the assurance that God was moving with him. He knew it was a life-and-death situation. He sought the Lord with his whole heart on this one matter.The question is a good one. If we are to be effective in anything we do for the Lord, the Lord must be in the midst of it. Unless the Lord's power is seen among us, we will be just another person who has religion. Unless we manifest His life to others, they will see only good behavior.Moving out in presumption will end in failure and frustration. Ask the Lord today to assure you of His presence and power in your activities. Then you will be assured that you will be distinguished among all the other people on the face of the earth.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
“The world’s great characters have been products of faith. Faith is the mighty force that drove them to produce the miracles of civilization.” - E.W.Kenyon
Moses was in the middle of his journey through the wilderness, leading the people of Israel out of Egypt. The people had just sinned by worshiping the golden calf. Moses interceded for them and God spared them their lives. Moses then talked one on one with the Lord. He knew he could not lead this stubborn people without God's presence. He had come to realize that without God's presence, he could not do anything.How will anyone know that You are pleased with me and with Your people unless You go with us? What else will distinguish me and Your people from all the other people on the face of the earth? (Exodus 33:16)Moses did not want to move farther without the assurance that God was moving with him. He knew it was a life-and-death situation. He sought the Lord with his whole heart on this one matter.The question is a good one. If we are to be effective in anything we do for the Lord, the Lord must be in the midst of it. Unless the Lord's power is seen among us, we will be just another person who has religion. Unless we manifest His life to others, they will see only good behavior.Moving out in presumption will end in failure and frustration. Ask the Lord today to assure you of His presence and power in your activities. Then you will be assured that you will be distinguished among all the other people on the face of the earth.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
“The world’s great characters have been products of faith. Faith is the mighty force that drove them to produce the miracles of civilization.” - E.W.Kenyon
BEGIN, NO MATTER HOW SMALL
Think about the ants again. How long does it take them to prepare? How much food they gather every day? Not much, I guess, but because they do little they can do daily, they are able to gather enough to be prepared for the next phase of life. Begin, no matter how small. An oak tree started out as an acorn, and a forest started out as a single tree.
John F.Kennedy, in his inaugural address about his plans for the American people said, “…All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin…” Let us begin! Winning starts with beginning.
“Despise not this small beginning, for the eyes of the Lord rejoice to see the work begin...” ZECH 4:10
God is excited to see you begin your dream. He is excited to watch you take your first step, whether that’s writing down the title of your new book, registering for an examination, or sending in your proposal. Whatever your dream, “the eyes of the Lord rejoice to see it begin.” Begin, no matter how small.
Small beginnings do not mean small destinies. They are great destines that need time to mature. Give your dream the opportunity of taking a life of its own by giving birth to it through beginning. God is waiting for you to begin. He is waiting for you like He waited for the four lepers, waiting for you to take the first step so that He can enter onto the scene on your behalf. Therefore, begin, no matter how small!
QUOTE FOE TODAY
“All great ideas have small beginnings.” – 3M
John F.Kennedy, in his inaugural address about his plans for the American people said, “…All this will not be finished in the first one hundred days. Nor will it be finished in the first one thousand days, nor in the life of this administration, nor even perhaps in our lifetime on this planet. But let us begin…” Let us begin! Winning starts with beginning.
“Despise not this small beginning, for the eyes of the Lord rejoice to see the work begin...” ZECH 4:10
God is excited to see you begin your dream. He is excited to watch you take your first step, whether that’s writing down the title of your new book, registering for an examination, or sending in your proposal. Whatever your dream, “the eyes of the Lord rejoice to see it begin.” Begin, no matter how small.
Small beginnings do not mean small destinies. They are great destines that need time to mature. Give your dream the opportunity of taking a life of its own by giving birth to it through beginning. God is waiting for you to begin. He is waiting for you like He waited for the four lepers, waiting for you to take the first step so that He can enter onto the scene on your behalf. Therefore, begin, no matter how small!
QUOTE FOE TODAY
“All great ideas have small beginnings.” – 3M
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
CHANGE AGENTS - FOUR LEPERS WHO MADE HISTORY
This is the story of four outcasts who made history not too long ago in a city called Samaria. They had a disease called Leprosy, and their society had banished and ostracized them. Therefore, they lived outside of the city, at its entrance. 2 Kings 7:1-11.
At the time, Samaria was experiencing a famine so severe that some of its citizens had begun to resort to cannibalism. The King had become so desperate for change that he approached a Prophet in the city, called Elisha. In those days, prophets were the mouthpiece of God. Elisha, under divine inspiration, informed the king that within the next 24 hours, God would cause abundance to come to the city in such a way that “nine litres of flour or eighteen litres of bailey
Grain will be sold in the market of Samaria for 40p.” So ridiculous was the prophecy that the King’s personal assistant, who had accompanied him, did not believe it. He said, “That couldn’t happen if the Lord made windows in the sky!” The King’s assistant, engulfed by famine, could not see how a miracle would occur within 24 hours.
In the meantime, outside of the city gates, the four lepers were experiencing the same hunger pangs that everyone else in the city was experiencing. They knew nothing about the meeting the King and the Prophet, nor the prediction that within 24 hours there would be abundance at the gates of Samaria.
But rather than sitting down and wishing that things would get better, the lepers decided to do something to change their situation. They decided to act upon overcoming starvation, and they moved towards the camp of the Syrians their enemies. That step changed their history forever.
When they got to the camp of the Syrians, no one was there! The Lord had filled the Syrians’ minds with the sound of a great army approaching, the clatter of speeding chariots and the galloping of horses. The Syrians assumed the king of Israel had hired men to attack them, and in panic and fear, they fled into the night, abandoning their tents, horses, donkeys, and stores. The lepers got to the camp and had a feast.
The turning point in the lives of the poor lepers came when they asked themselves, “Why sit here until we die?” This statement was the catalyst for the breakthrough they needed. And when they took action, they fulfilled the prophecy. It was the step that brought the reality of the promise of abundance that God had in store for them. Had they not taken that first step, had they not moved towards their dream, the prophecy would have gone unfulfilled, and they and the rest of the inhabitants of Samaria would have starved to death even though abundance was there, waiting for them to step out and collect it.
The four lepers became the agent of change for their city and the instruments through which God’s plans and purpose for their generation were accomplished.
We learned these lessons:
- Prophecies and promises go unfulfilled without corresponding actions.
- God often works through ordinary people, even outcasts like lepers, who know nothing about His plans but who are willing to take the steps necessary to fulfil His promises.
- Work is the father of opportunity and the mother of luck. The more we apply ourselves to the task, the more opportunities we’ll have and the “luckier” we’ll become. The lepers were “lucky” because they worked.
What was special about the lepers? Nothing. In fact, they were at a major disadvantage in life. They were discounted as failures in the eyes of their society. But they discovered the power of taking risks.
TAKING RISKS
History is usually made by ordinary people who take extraordinary risks.
Is profit not rightly defined as the return on risk? In business parlance, “high risk, high return: low risk, low return” is the law of the land. However, when it comes to decisions in life, we most often settle for low-risk ventures. Little wonder the returns on our lives are not commensurate with our potential for success.
How risky were the adventures of the four lepers? They took a step forward in hope that their enemies, the Syrians, would spare them a meal although that step held the possibility of death for them. They knew that their present situation held no future for them, but rather than sitting around hoping for change, they took a risky step forward towards the camp of their well-fed enemies.
If risk entails leaving a presently negative situation in pursuit of a better prospect even if it holds the possibility of failure, then it is worth it. If the risk holds the option of a new beginning, then it is worth taking.
The truth is, it is risky to remain in a negative situation. It is risky to remain at a job that you loathe. It’s like remaining in a boat that is sinking when life has given you chance to walk on the water of opportunity. Opportunities will pass you by if you don’t step out and take risks like the four lepers.
The greatest risk in life lies, not in taking risks, but in failing to take them.
SUCCESS, ANTIDOTE TO PREJUDICE
The four lepers teach us that success is just a step away. But they also show us that success changes people’s perception of us.
While success might not be able to change our background, race, colour, sex, and so on, it has power to change other peoples’ opinions. The success of the lepers did not change that fact that they were lepers, but it changed the way they were seen and treated by their society. Before they succeeded, they were outcasts, abandoned to the outskirts of the city. But once they found success, they were not only allowed back into the city, they were invited into the King’s palace to convey the good news.
The King and his people no longer viewed them as lepers. Instead, they saw them as agents of change, people with the solution to the problem of famine. They teach us the following:
- When you have the solution to the problems of your generation, their prejudices usually disappear. Even a purebred racist, sexist, etc, would praise the person who discovered the cure for cancer or HIV/AIDS.
- The easiest way to change people’s opinion of you is to succeed. Prejudices take years to form, and it would take years of campaign for it to change. South Africa is still not completely free from Apartheid. American blacks are still not free from racism, despite passing of nearly 150 years since the Emancipation Proclamation. However, on an individual level, all that changes once you succeed. Colin Powell became the first black Secretary of State in U.S. history, and nobody campaigned against it. Why? He was a testimony of success.
- Success opens door that have previously been shut due to our colour, race, or gender. The doors shut before the four lepers were immediately opened when they had good news for the citizens of Samaria.
- It is not how you look that counts, it’s what you reflect. Who remembers Abe Lincoln because of his looks? When Nelson Mandela’s name is mentioned, is it his looks that come to mind? Even today, with all emphasis on beauty, it’s crystal clear that people are remembered, not for their looks, but for their accomplishments, no matter how big or small they may seem.
REASONS WHY PEOPLE FAIL TO ACT ON THEIR DREAMS
Why do people fail to act on their dreams? While the reasons are numerous, let’s discuss two:
- Analysis paralysis:
Analysis paralysis is a buzzword in business used to describe people who are always analysing situations but are never able to take action. They want conditions to be perfect before they start. I call them, “Prisoners of Hope.”
- Unwillingness to start small:
They want to start with a bang, and if they cannot, they would rather not take the little steps necessary to reach their dreams. They want the lead actor role in a play of greatness and if they can’t get it immediately, they would rather not participate in the play.
PRISONERS OF HOPE
These groups of people are those who sincerely hope that someday conditions will be favourable. Someday, opportunities will knock at their door. Someday, conditions will be perfect and they will have a luck break in life. They live in a fool’s paradise called “someday.” Their hope of a better tomorrow has kept them in prison today. They cannot move on, or accomplish great things in life, because they have built prison doors around themselves and committed their release to “ Mr. Someday.”
Don’t be a prisoner of hope. Don’t allow your hope for a better tomorrow to blindfold you to the opportunities that are before you today. Don’t allow your hope of a brighter future to blind your eyes to the dawning of a new day. Turn! Take a bold step. Leave your present state. Take the necessary actions towards your goal, and you will find that success has been waiting for you all while.
Break free from the “tomorrow” mentality. It doesn’t really exist. Between a thousand yesterday and a million tomorrows, there is only today. Today is the only day to accomplish greatness. TODAY IS THE DAY TO BEGIN YOUR SUCCESS STORY. There will never be another day like today. You will not enjoy successes you were meant to enjoy today if you postpone it to someday.
Abraham Lincoln once observed, “The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.” Today, therefore, is not only the dawning of a new day; it is the unfolding of your future. Utilize it effectively. No matter what your dream or goal is in life, there is something about it that you can do to make it a reality.
And do it daily. Remember that great people do daily, what ordinary people do occasionally. Use the summer period of your life to prepare for greatness. Follow the advice of the sage, “ A wise youth makes hay while the sun shines, but what a shame to see a lad who sleeps away his hour of opportunity.” Proverb 10:5. Don’t sleep away your hour of opportunity. Wake up to the demands and challenges of your future. Destiny beckons everyday. Respond to it. Recall the success of the ants. The ants teach us the principle of urgency. Why do they labour hard all summer? Because they do not want to be caught hungry in winter. They use the summer period of their lives to prepare for “the retirement” of winter.
From the ants, we learn that success is maximizing each moment, each day, each season; to live with a sense of urgency that you are willing to work hard all summer because you know that winter is about to begin, when conditions will no longer be favourable.
People who succeed are driven by the passion of the now. Maximise your day.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
“Our grand business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what is at hand.” – Thomas Carlyle
At the time, Samaria was experiencing a famine so severe that some of its citizens had begun to resort to cannibalism. The King had become so desperate for change that he approached a Prophet in the city, called Elisha. In those days, prophets were the mouthpiece of God. Elisha, under divine inspiration, informed the king that within the next 24 hours, God would cause abundance to come to the city in such a way that “nine litres of flour or eighteen litres of bailey
Grain will be sold in the market of Samaria for 40p.” So ridiculous was the prophecy that the King’s personal assistant, who had accompanied him, did not believe it. He said, “That couldn’t happen if the Lord made windows in the sky!” The King’s assistant, engulfed by famine, could not see how a miracle would occur within 24 hours.
In the meantime, outside of the city gates, the four lepers were experiencing the same hunger pangs that everyone else in the city was experiencing. They knew nothing about the meeting the King and the Prophet, nor the prediction that within 24 hours there would be abundance at the gates of Samaria.
But rather than sitting down and wishing that things would get better, the lepers decided to do something to change their situation. They decided to act upon overcoming starvation, and they moved towards the camp of the Syrians their enemies. That step changed their history forever.
When they got to the camp of the Syrians, no one was there! The Lord had filled the Syrians’ minds with the sound of a great army approaching, the clatter of speeding chariots and the galloping of horses. The Syrians assumed the king of Israel had hired men to attack them, and in panic and fear, they fled into the night, abandoning their tents, horses, donkeys, and stores. The lepers got to the camp and had a feast.
The turning point in the lives of the poor lepers came when they asked themselves, “Why sit here until we die?” This statement was the catalyst for the breakthrough they needed. And when they took action, they fulfilled the prophecy. It was the step that brought the reality of the promise of abundance that God had in store for them. Had they not taken that first step, had they not moved towards their dream, the prophecy would have gone unfulfilled, and they and the rest of the inhabitants of Samaria would have starved to death even though abundance was there, waiting for them to step out and collect it.
The four lepers became the agent of change for their city and the instruments through which God’s plans and purpose for their generation were accomplished.
We learned these lessons:
- Prophecies and promises go unfulfilled without corresponding actions.
- God often works through ordinary people, even outcasts like lepers, who know nothing about His plans but who are willing to take the steps necessary to fulfil His promises.
- Work is the father of opportunity and the mother of luck. The more we apply ourselves to the task, the more opportunities we’ll have and the “luckier” we’ll become. The lepers were “lucky” because they worked.
What was special about the lepers? Nothing. In fact, they were at a major disadvantage in life. They were discounted as failures in the eyes of their society. But they discovered the power of taking risks.
TAKING RISKS
History is usually made by ordinary people who take extraordinary risks.
Is profit not rightly defined as the return on risk? In business parlance, “high risk, high return: low risk, low return” is the law of the land. However, when it comes to decisions in life, we most often settle for low-risk ventures. Little wonder the returns on our lives are not commensurate with our potential for success.
How risky were the adventures of the four lepers? They took a step forward in hope that their enemies, the Syrians, would spare them a meal although that step held the possibility of death for them. They knew that their present situation held no future for them, but rather than sitting around hoping for change, they took a risky step forward towards the camp of their well-fed enemies.
If risk entails leaving a presently negative situation in pursuit of a better prospect even if it holds the possibility of failure, then it is worth it. If the risk holds the option of a new beginning, then it is worth taking.
The truth is, it is risky to remain in a negative situation. It is risky to remain at a job that you loathe. It’s like remaining in a boat that is sinking when life has given you chance to walk on the water of opportunity. Opportunities will pass you by if you don’t step out and take risks like the four lepers.
The greatest risk in life lies, not in taking risks, but in failing to take them.
SUCCESS, ANTIDOTE TO PREJUDICE
The four lepers teach us that success is just a step away. But they also show us that success changes people’s perception of us.
While success might not be able to change our background, race, colour, sex, and so on, it has power to change other peoples’ opinions. The success of the lepers did not change that fact that they were lepers, but it changed the way they were seen and treated by their society. Before they succeeded, they were outcasts, abandoned to the outskirts of the city. But once they found success, they were not only allowed back into the city, they were invited into the King’s palace to convey the good news.
The King and his people no longer viewed them as lepers. Instead, they saw them as agents of change, people with the solution to the problem of famine. They teach us the following:
- When you have the solution to the problems of your generation, their prejudices usually disappear. Even a purebred racist, sexist, etc, would praise the person who discovered the cure for cancer or HIV/AIDS.
- The easiest way to change people’s opinion of you is to succeed. Prejudices take years to form, and it would take years of campaign for it to change. South Africa is still not completely free from Apartheid. American blacks are still not free from racism, despite passing of nearly 150 years since the Emancipation Proclamation. However, on an individual level, all that changes once you succeed. Colin Powell became the first black Secretary of State in U.S. history, and nobody campaigned against it. Why? He was a testimony of success.
- Success opens door that have previously been shut due to our colour, race, or gender. The doors shut before the four lepers were immediately opened when they had good news for the citizens of Samaria.
- It is not how you look that counts, it’s what you reflect. Who remembers Abe Lincoln because of his looks? When Nelson Mandela’s name is mentioned, is it his looks that come to mind? Even today, with all emphasis on beauty, it’s crystal clear that people are remembered, not for their looks, but for their accomplishments, no matter how big or small they may seem.
REASONS WHY PEOPLE FAIL TO ACT ON THEIR DREAMS
Why do people fail to act on their dreams? While the reasons are numerous, let’s discuss two:
- Analysis paralysis:
Analysis paralysis is a buzzword in business used to describe people who are always analysing situations but are never able to take action. They want conditions to be perfect before they start. I call them, “Prisoners of Hope.”
- Unwillingness to start small:
They want to start with a bang, and if they cannot, they would rather not take the little steps necessary to reach their dreams. They want the lead actor role in a play of greatness and if they can’t get it immediately, they would rather not participate in the play.
PRISONERS OF HOPE
These groups of people are those who sincerely hope that someday conditions will be favourable. Someday, opportunities will knock at their door. Someday, conditions will be perfect and they will have a luck break in life. They live in a fool’s paradise called “someday.” Their hope of a better tomorrow has kept them in prison today. They cannot move on, or accomplish great things in life, because they have built prison doors around themselves and committed their release to “ Mr. Someday.”
Don’t be a prisoner of hope. Don’t allow your hope for a better tomorrow to blindfold you to the opportunities that are before you today. Don’t allow your hope of a brighter future to blind your eyes to the dawning of a new day. Turn! Take a bold step. Leave your present state. Take the necessary actions towards your goal, and you will find that success has been waiting for you all while.
Break free from the “tomorrow” mentality. It doesn’t really exist. Between a thousand yesterday and a million tomorrows, there is only today. Today is the only day to accomplish greatness. TODAY IS THE DAY TO BEGIN YOUR SUCCESS STORY. There will never be another day like today. You will not enjoy successes you were meant to enjoy today if you postpone it to someday.
Abraham Lincoln once observed, “The best thing about the future is that it comes only one day at a time.” Today, therefore, is not only the dawning of a new day; it is the unfolding of your future. Utilize it effectively. No matter what your dream or goal is in life, there is something about it that you can do to make it a reality.
And do it daily. Remember that great people do daily, what ordinary people do occasionally. Use the summer period of your life to prepare for greatness. Follow the advice of the sage, “ A wise youth makes hay while the sun shines, but what a shame to see a lad who sleeps away his hour of opportunity.” Proverb 10:5. Don’t sleep away your hour of opportunity. Wake up to the demands and challenges of your future. Destiny beckons everyday. Respond to it. Recall the success of the ants. The ants teach us the principle of urgency. Why do they labour hard all summer? Because they do not want to be caught hungry in winter. They use the summer period of their lives to prepare for “the retirement” of winter.
From the ants, we learn that success is maximizing each moment, each day, each season; to live with a sense of urgency that you are willing to work hard all summer because you know that winter is about to begin, when conditions will no longer be favourable.
People who succeed are driven by the passion of the now. Maximise your day.
QUOTE FOR TODAY
“Our grand business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what is at hand.” – Thomas Carlyle
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