Jesus - In Our Shoes

Several years ago, I read a classic story that reveals clearly the essence of what Jesus Christ, the son of God, did for us on the cross. Two thousand years after, we still remember and celebrate this day of liberation. Let me share with you the story of Dr Kane.

On February 15, 1921, there was a doctor who performed an appendectomy. He was Dr. Evan O'Neill Kane, who in over his 37-year medical career had performed nearly 4,000 appendectomies, so this surgery was not at all unusual except for two things.

First of all, this was the first time that local anesthesia had ever been used in major surgery. Dr. Kane believed that local anesthesia was safer than putting a patient completely to sleep. Most of his colleagues agreed with him in principle, but they wanted to see first if it would actually work.

So Dr. Kane searched for a volunteer, a patient who would be willing to undergo surgery while under local anesthesia. It wasn't easy to find one. Most people are squeamish at the thought of being awake during their own surgery. Others are fearful that the anesthesia might wear off too soon.

He made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross!"

(Philippians 2:7-8)

Finally, though, Dr. Kane found a volunteer, and on Tuesday morning, February 15th, the operation began. The patient was prepped and wheeled into the operating room. A local anesthetic was applied. And as Dr. Kane had done thousands of times before, he cut open the tissues and removed the appendix. The patient had only minor discomfort and recovered quickly, dismissed two days later.

Dr. Kane had proven his theory. Thanks to the willingness of a brave volunteer, Dr. Kane demonstrated that local anesthesia was an alternative, even a preferred alternative.

But I said there were two facts that made this surgery unusual. I've told you the first: the use of local anesthesia. The second unusual thing was the patient. The patient was Dr. Kane. You see, in order to prove his point, Dr. Kane operated on himself. The doctor became a patient in order to convince the patients to trust the doctor.

Because He himself suffered when He was tempted, He is able to help those who are being tempted.

(Hebrews 2:18)

As unbelievable as that may seem, it is insignificant compared with what Jesus Christ did for us. The Great Physician voluntarily became one of us. He placed himself in our shoes. He left the glories of heaven to live on this earth as one of us -- to suffer our pains and feel our fears. Why? So that when you hurt, you will know that you have someone who understands - your Great Physician, and you will have confidence to go to him for healing.
He understands relationships. He was rejected by close friends. So, he understands when you have challenges with relationships. He knows what it means to grieve. He suffered the loss of close ones. He understands when you lose close ones and he is beside you to comfort you. He was the son of a carpenter and he practiced carpentry. I believe he faced challenges with customers and suppliers. Are you going through challenges at work? Believe me, he understands. Whatever you are going through, he became human and went through it, so he can understand, and can comfort you. What a saviour!

Halleluyah!

He is risen!!

Change Your Life Forever!

I recently came across a powerful quote by Dwight D. Eisenhower that got me thinking about the power of our choices. He said, and I quote “The history of free men is never written by chance, but by choice - their choice”. Powerful. In my humble opinion, I think it’s not only the history of free men that is written by their choices. It is the history of everyone. You are where you are today as a result of the choices you made, or you did not make, yesterday. The choices we make today will colour the spectrum of our life in the future.

The history of free men is never written by chance, but by choice - their choice

The direction of our lives is determined by the choices we make every day. They accumulate and add up to our ultimate destiny. Success in life is not a gift. It doesn’t just fall on people like ripe apples! It is a choice that you have to make. You are a direct product of your choices. You are going to live tomorrow with the consequences of today’s choices. It is futile to squander today and hope for a generous tomorrow. Everything that happens in your life -both what you are thrilled with and what you are challenged by- began with a choice.

Here are some choices you can make - choices that will create for you a life of abundance and prosperity in all areas of your life.

1. Choose to become balanced spiritually, emotionally and physically.

Our lives are best when we have these three major areas in balance. Never leave God out of the equation of your life. Infact, He needs to take first place in everything. That is the starting point. Spend some time cultivating your spirituality. Spend time to develop your emotional health. Spend time to be physically fit. You need to make a conscious effort to develop your spirit, your mind, and your body.

2. Choose to grow personally.

This sounds simple but many people only wish to grow personally. They never choose to grow by taking actions, such as reading a book, taking a course, investing in knowledge, saving more money etc. Make a decision today to be a person who is on the never ending journey of personal growth.

3. Choose to always treat others right.

We come across all sorts of people, many of whom will treat us poorly. We can choose to treat them right, no matter how they treat us. When they lie, we will tell the truth. When they cheat, we will play by the rules. We may get the short end of the stick some times, but in the long-run we will win. And most importantly, we will be able to sleep at night!

4. Choose to break a bad habit.

Take them one after the other. Tackle it head on. If you don't know what it is, ask a friend. Then spend every effort you can to break that habit. Forget about the others, as you will get to them later. Stop smoking, get out of debt, and lose your excess weight. Exercise the power to choose!

5. Choose to work smarter.

Many people I work with feel like they are out of balance. One of the first things I do is try to find out how much time they are wasting at work, which makes them work longer, which throws the rest of their life into chaos. Getting your work done by diligently working in the time you have will free your life up extraordinarily. Read up my earlier article on working smarter.

6. Choose to see your work as a way to help others, and not a way to make money.

If you put your heart into helping others, the money will most assuredly come. Spend time helping others grow and your finances will grow with it. This is a profound truth.

7. Choose to sow more than you reap.

There are many takers in this world, but our lives will be better as we become givers. The world will become better as we become givers. Give away your time, give away your money, give away your love. You will most assuredly get it back in many folds!

8. Choose to get home for dinner more often.

The family is the most important group of people you will ever belong to. Make a decision today to grow in your relationship with your parents, siblings, spouse and children. This one choice you will never regret.

9. Choose to be positive.

A positive mental attitude will surely put you miles ahead of your peers. Never say never. Attitude can make or mar your life. Attitude, more than aptitude determines your altitude. It is more valuable than skill. Choose a positive attitude and things will start to work for you
You have a chance today, to change your life forever. Make the right choices on a consistent basis, and I assure you, my friend, that you will live life more abundantly.

Enjoy!

Profitable For All Things......

In the past 6 months, I have used a gym for my workouts in a consistent manner. It has been part of my health goals for the past few years now, but I finally cracked it somehow. It's been an exciting and rewarding experience. I feel much better, healthier and fitter. I have also been able to see firsthand, how far some are willing to go to improve their physical state - for good and bad reasons.

As usual, apart from exercising and getting the benefits out of it, I have also being conscious to learn from what's going on around. I am most intrigued by the resistance training area. Here, you see lots of guys (mostly young men) trying to build muscles by lifting weights for several hours. The commitment and resilience shown is amazing. You can hear them shouting and screaming (and can imagine them having to deal with pains at home), as they try to make sure their chest muscle is visible for all to see. They do not even stop at that. Their diets are well regulated and they deny themselves meals that regular men will love to gulp down. They also invest in protein and vitamins supplements just to make sure they are in great physical shape. When done for the right reasons (though I doubt if this is the case), this could be great. Bodily exercise has several rewards and benefits. Apart from giving you a boost of energy, and better sleep, it can help maintain a good shape (without adding loads of weight) as well as leaving you generally healthier.

Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever. You can count on this. Take it to heart.

However, when compared to godliness, these benefits of bodily exercises pale into insignificance! Look at the way the bible puts it " Exercise daily in God—no spiritual flabbiness, please! Workouts in the gymnasium are useful, but a disciplined life in God is far more so, making you fit both today and forever. You can count on this. Take it to heart. “(I Tim 4: 7, MSG)

Interesting, isn't it? Godliness gives you benefits in this world and in eternity. Do you want to be fit today and forever? The bible recommends your tablet - Godliness. If only believers can put in a fraction of the efforts I have seen people put in at the gym, into daily exercises in God and in leading a disciplined life, I believe we will easily get rid of spiritual flabbiness and be better fit to live in this fast paced world. If only we will pray, read the bible and fellowship with God on a daily basis (it will shock you to know that most Christians don't), then we will be better equipped with strength and stamina - which are both important in order to finish strong!

Do you want to be fit today and forever? The bible recommends your tablet - Godliness.

Are you exercising yourself in Godliness as hard as if you were training for the Olympics? Or at least as much as if you went jogging to exercise? In other words, are you reading, meditating on and obeying God's Word to become more Godly? Or do you use the time you should spend exercising watching TV and surfing the internet?

Godliness is profitable in all things. It has spiritual benefits, physical benefits, social benefits, and financial benefits. Most importantly, it has eternal benefits. Wouldn't you also exercise yourself into godliness? Think about it.

God bless you!

It All Began In A Manger

What’s the big deal about Christmas? Why do we celebrate the birth of someone who died over 2000 years ago? Why does everything in the whole world have to come to a stand still to remember and celebrate this day? The interesting thing about it all is this – his birth wasn't really celebrated. His birth sure didn’t appear on the national dailies of his days. There were no fun fares. No fire works. No special team of Doctors ready to help with the delivery. It was an ordinary day. Were someone to chance upon the sheep stable on the outskirts of Bethlehem that morning, what a peculiar scene they would behold. The stable stinks like all stables do. The stench of urine, dung, and sheep reeks pungently in the air. The ground is hard, the hay scarce. Cobwebs cling to the ceiling and a mouse scurries across the dirt floor. A more lowly place of birth could not exist.

His birth wasn't really celebrated. His birth sure didn’t appear on the national dailies of his days.There were no fun fares. No fire works.

Were Jesus's birth to be more spectacular, maybe the city would have noticed. Unfortunately his birth went almost unnoticed. The city hums. The merchants are unaware that God has visited their planet. The innkeeper would never believe that he had just sent God into the cold. And the people would scoff at anyone who told them the Messiah lay in the arms of a teenager on the outskirts of their village. They were all too busy to consider the possibility. Those who missed His Majesty’s arrival that night missed it not because of evil acts or malice; no, they missed it because they simply weren't looking. Little has changed in the last two thousand years, has it?

The circumstances surrounding his birth however did not diminish the concept. A king was born. “For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counselor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Isa 9:6). In our world today, people are often remembered for the problems they solve. Of course, we know some people because of the problem they created (remember Osama Bin Laden?). However, they are not often remembered for long, neither are they celebrated. Solving problems is one of the ways that one can be remembered for a long time to come. Faraday is often remembered today for solving the world’s electricity problems. Jesus, the reason for the season today, solved the greatest of man’s problem – SIN

Jesus, the reason for the season today, solved the greatest of man’s problem – SIN

When God created the world, everything in it was good. There was no problem at all, until sin came in. The fall of man when he sinned exposed him to all kinds of things imaginable. Sickness came, Poverty got hold of him. Death overpowered him. Fear gripped him. Man entered into the “crisis” mode as a result of SIN. Sin is a sinker my dear readers. It sank the destiny of man, and still does till date. The greatest hindrance to enjoying a good life is Sin, and Jesus came to solve that problem. By hanging on the cross, he paid the debt he didn’t owe; all because we owed a debt we couldn't pay! Celebrating Christmas without understanding this is just like celebrating a mass. Christ is what makes an ordinary mass become Christmas.

Celebrating Christmas without understanding this is just like celebrating a mass.

As you celebrate Christmas today, ponder on these things. Ponder on the greatest love story ever told – the story of a man who laid down his life for his friends.

Merry Christmas to you all.

Questions You Must Answer Before You Die.

About a week ago, we lost one of God’s generals in our generation, Dr Myles Munroe, and his wife, Ruth Munroe in a tragic plane crash. I am sure many (including myself) are yet to recover from the shock of his exit from this world. Dr Myles Munroe will never be forgotten for what he allowed God to use him to accomplish on earth. He was such a blessing to me, and to several others around the world. He challenged conventional thinking and helped us bring the Bible to life.

I had the privilege of listening to Dr Munroe live on more than one occasion. So, I dedicated my study time this morning to reviewing some of the notes I took from these conferences. I have chosen to share with you one of the ones that blessed me the most. It’s a list of 5 questions you must answer before you die! I believe Dr Munroe did great justice to these questions as you will see. My challenge to you today is “How are you answering these questions?” Are you living life with a consciousness of them, or just going by?

Your answers to these questions are very vital. They will determine what will become of your life here, and hereafter. They will also determine if you will die fulfilled or not, happy or sad. Whether you like it or not, you will be faced with these questions at some point – the worst case being on your death bed. It’s better to face them now than later.

What are these Questions?

Who Am I? (The Question of Identity).

This is perhaps one of the most important questions you’ll ever have to answer. Who are you? Do you have an identity? What is your identity? Statistics have it that about 99% of the world population have identity crisis. We don’t seem to know who we are. The tall wants to be short and the short wants to be tall. The fat wants to be slim and the slim wants to be fat. The old want to be young again and the young want to get old. It’s like a never ending cycle.

One of the things that made Jesus tick was that he knew who he was. No wonder one of his most popular phrase in the Bible was “I am”. If you don’t know why you are, then you’d most likely want to be like someone else. Do you know who you are? Do you know your identity in Christ Jesus?

Where Am I From? (The Question of Source).

“He that is from above is above all” says the scriptures. Your source determines the resources available to you. There are people who are still confused with the idea of evolution. When you discover that God is your source, and God alone, you will live to enjoy life better.
Until you know where you come from, you don’t know who you are. There is an old saying from the Sankofa tribe in Africa that says, “To know where you going, you must know where you come from”

Why Am I Here? (The Question of Purpose)

Do you know why you are here on this planet? When purpose is not understood, abuse is inevitable. You need to understand the purpose for your existence. You are not a product of an accident. You were made for a purpose and you need to understand what that purpose is.
Believe it or not, we came here to make a difference. We were not put on this earth to work, pay bills and die. You were created for a purpose. You must first discover this purpose, develop it and then deplore it for the benefit of the human race.

What Can I Do? (The Question of Potential)

This is a very important question. What special skills and talents have you got? What can you do with your hands or head to fulfill your purpose? This is what separates you from the crowd. It gives you an edge over your peers. You’ll never become successful until you recognize the special abilities and skills that you have and invest them in solving other people’s problems. You will be happy doing whatever you were called to do. You will have passion and will benefit financially as well because you’re excited about what you’re doing.

Where Am I Going? (The Question of Destiny)

In my opinion, this is one of the most important questions that is often neglected by people, until they realize they are at the very end of their lives. Then, it is almost too late. After all is said and done, where will you end it all? After getting the money, riding that nice car, going for that vacation and all, what eventually becomes of you? I like the way a wise man puts it “It makes foolish business sense to gain the whole world and loose you own soul”.

Some day through this medium, I hope to deal with each of these questions in greater details. However, ponder on them seriously for the moment and let it inspire change in and by you.

Stay on top!

Little Things Can Make A Big Difference

Today, while thinking about a scripture I read, I remembered an experience I had travelling from Lagos to Ibadan (both in Nigeria) in a public transport. I met a lady in the bus that amused me. She really looked like a very “tush” girl- well that was the first impression I had about her. She was actually in the bus before me and was helping herself with a Chicken Republic meal. Shortly after I sat down, a guy came beside the window where she sat, trying to sell her a skirt. “Do I look like a househelp?”, she blurted. “What’s the designer’s label on that?”, she further probed. Of course, she left the guy confused. I did not know whether to laugh or confront her. She had been really mean to the guy. Anyway, that somehow further proved her “tushness” to me.

However, in less than 15 minutes, I changed my mind about her. As soon as we set out on our journey, she started throwing everything imaginable out through the window – the bones of the chicken she was eating, the serviette she used to clean her hands, the plastic bag, the spoon and the drink bottle! I couldn’t take it again. “That’s not right” I finally said. “Why don’t you put everything in that bag? We need to keep our nation clean” I continued. Well, she didn’t agree with me! According to her, “This is Nigeria. The Roads are already dirty anyway. Whether I throw that out or not, the place is already a mess”. What an interesting submission.

Have you heard people around you say that? I have heard all sorts – “If you don’t take that bribe, someone else will. The nation is corrupt”. “Why are you bothering yourself obeying the traffic lights? No one else does!” “You cannot be a successful business man in Nigeria without bribing your way through”. I am sure you can list a dozen more.

What do you do when the “little” you are doing in your corner doesn’t seem to make sense? What do you do when right seems wrong? What do you do when you are being abused by other road users because you are trying to obey traffic rules? What do you do when you feel that the little you are doing doesn’t affect the overall outcome anyway? I recommend that you remember this story – it’s one of my favourite stories. It is the story of the star fish.

Once upon a time, there was a wise man that used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work. One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up. As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean. He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean." "I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man. To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die." Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!" At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "It made a difference for that one."

I am sure you get the morale of the story. What you are doing may not make sense to others and may not affect the whole nation, but it may affect an individual and change him for life. It can affect a community. When your young son is sitting beside you, while you insist on obeying traffic rules, you are laying a great foundation for his future. When you refuse to accept bribes, despite the fact that others are doing it, you are touching someone at least. When you do things right, someone is watching…and that someone can be positively affected for the rest of his life. To that one, the little thing that you are doing makes all the difference!

What little thing will you do today, that will make a difference?

Living a Fulfilled Life

Fulfilled. What a word! Two simple syllable and yet so elusive to our frazzled and restless hearts. Who among you haven’t yearned for something even faintly resembling fulfillment in our frantic demanding “what-have-you-done-for-me-lately” world?

Fulfilled is a great word. The only issue is finding it. You can find several definitions in the dictionary but do you have it in your everyday life? I am sure several people will offer anything in order to have a fulfilled life. Wouldn’t you?

Can I share with you some principles for a fulfilled life? These are principles I got from reading books and listening to audio messages, and they’ve helped me a lot in my search for satisfaction and fulfillment.

Count Your Blessings

Have you read my earlier article on “Count Your Blessings, Don’t Discount them”? If not, I recommend you take time to read it. Fulfillment has eluded most of us because we have not learnt to be grateful for the little things around us. “But godliness with contentment is great gain” opined a wise writer. Never take things for granted. Be grateful for the things you have and can afford.

Find Joy In The Ordinary

Eternal instants and moments. We’ve all witnessed them though we let them go without finding joy in it. Putting your arms in your husband's as you take an evening stroll. Listening to your 6 year old thank God for everything from goldfish to grandma. Never you underestimate the ordinary. They are laden with greatness.

Finish The Race

We live in a world that is only crazy about winning, not about finishing. You don’t have to win always. But you have to finish. Hang in there. Finish. Stick to it until it is done. But unfortunately, very few of us do that. Our human tendency is to stop before we cross the finish line. Our inability to finish what we start is seen in the smallest of things - A partly mowed lawn; a half-read book; letters begun but never completed; an abandoned diet.

Are you close to quitting? Please don’t do it. Are you discouraged as a parent? Hang in there. Are you weary with doing good? Do just a little more. Are you pessimistic about your job? Roll up your sleeves and go at it again. No communication in your marriage? Give it one more shot. Can’t resist temptation? Accept God’s forgiveness and lean on grace to be strong to overcome. Is your day framed with sorrow and disappointment? Are your tomorrows turning into nevers? Is hope a forgotten word?

Remember, a finisher is not one with no wounds or weariness. Quite to the contrary, he, like the boxer, is scarred and bloody. He finishes what he starts. He finishes strong. I strongly recommend you read the book “Finishing Strong” by Steve Farrar. I have personally read it more than three times!

Stay Positive

A positive attitude in invaluable in today’s world. There are a thousand and one things that will not happen the way you want it to happen every single day. How you respond or react to them will go a long way in determining whether you will be fulfilled or frustrated. It is not what happens to you that determined your fulfillment. It is what happens in you, as a result of what happened to you!

All things not being equal, attitude still sometimes win. I have found out that things turn out best for people who make the best of the way things turn out.

Finally, God wants us to live a fulfilled life. Do you know any other principle that can help? If yes, please share.

It's Alright To Dream Again

Have you ever been in a situation where all hope seems lost and it’s like you’ll never come out of it? Have you ever had a situation that just proves impossible? Have you ever been in the middle of a crisis and you can’t think of a way out? Have you ever believed so much in a thing and it didn’t work out the way you planned it? You are not alone.

Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Madgalene came to the tomb and found that the stone was rolled aside from the entrance

John 20:1 – Living Bible

It’s a dark Sunday morning. It’s been dark since Friday. It’s been dark as a result of events that have took place that Friday.

It’s been dark because of Peter’s denial. He had denied his Lord and Master on three different occasions. On one occasion, he swore that he never knew him when confronted by a teenage girl. It was still dark.

It’s been dark because of the disciple’s betrayal. No one except John had the courage to travel with Jesus all the way. They were all scattered abroad. They ran for their dear lives. Permit me to say that it was not only Judas who betrayed his Lord. Majority of the disciples did. They fled when Jesus needed them most. It was still dark.

Permit me to say that it was not only Judas who betrayed his Lord. Majority of the disciples did

It’s been dark because of Pilate’s cowardice. Read the account of Jesus’ betrayal and you’ll be amazed at the cowardice of a whole King. His name Pilate means close pressed or firm. You will agree with me that he was anything but firm on this particular day. He was been controlled by the crowd. He yielded to their wish even though he was dead sure it was a wrong thing to do. It was still dark.

It’s been dark because of Christ’s anguish. He must have gone through so much pain. How about a slap from one of the military officers after blindfolding him? What about the crown of thorn placed on his head? What about the heavy wood he had to carry most of the way down to Golgotha? What about the stripes that had to go round his exposed body? Consider the spiting, cursing and humiliation. What about the spikes that went through the hands that healed the sick? Oh, what anguish? No wonder it was still dark!

It’s been dark because of Satan’s glee. There was a party in hell over the events on Friday. As far as the devil and his agents were concerned, they were in charge now. The Son of God was dead and it was their time. It was still dark.

All these happened since Friday but it was still dark on Sunday morning. The only ember of light this morning was a band of women standing at a distance from the grave. They were the last to leave Calvary and the first to arrive at the grave. However, this morning promises nothing except an encounter with a corpse. They never imagined this could be the 1st Easter. They are not hoping the grave will be vacant. There was a time they dared to dream such dreams but not now. It’s too late for the incredible. The feet that walked on water have been pierced. The hands that cleansed lepers have been stilled. There noble aspirations had been spiked to yesterday’s cross. Their dreams appear dead and long forgotten.

Have you ever got to a junction like this in your life? A junction where everything seems dark? Where there seems to be no way forward? Where everything just appear gloomy? Before you give up and throw in the trowel, can you please follow me and see what happens afterwards?

Though it’s been dark hitherto, a miracle was just around the corner this Sunday morning. A double surprise was waiting for these women in quick succession!

First, the stone of the sepulcher had been rolled away! They must have been thinking of how to gain access to the sepulcher on their way there. But to their surprise, the stone was no longer there. As if that was not enough, they couldn’t find the body of Jesus in the grave again. While still wondering what could have happened, an angel explained to them that Jesus was risen as it’s been written! “You cannot be looking for the living among the dead”, the angel said. Suddenly, the darkness since Friday began to lift! A fresh hope sprang up in these women and later in the minds of the disciples.

After all the darkness, light shone. The greater the darkness, the brighter the glory of light. No wonder it was a special Sunday morning, one that we still celebrate till today. It was a morning with a great message of hope. That resurrection morning had a great message – It is Alright to Dream Again! Yes it is. The resurrection of Christ gives you this opportunity to dream again!

Happy Easter!

Opportunities And You

Be careful how you act; these are difficult days…..make the most of every opportunity

God, the creator, gives every human being on the planet opportunities to fulfill his/her destiny. Everyman is, in embryo, a possible hero. All that is needed is the opportunity and time for development.

Opportunity is a favourable time, chance, occasion or set of circumstances for doing something. It is taking full advantage of a situation or circumstance to achieve a goal. One other interesting definition of opportunity is this – It is the preference of what can be done to what should be done.

The difference between a success and a failure, between the poor and the rich is how they manage opportunities that come their way. It is called OPM – Opportunity Management Skills. What was perceived as a problem to the poor was seen as an opportunity by the rich. The opportunity that a successful man capitalized on, was seen as “work” by the man who failed. In this session, permit me to share with you how you can improve your skills in managing opportunities.

1. Watch out for opportunities

There is something interesting about opportunities. They are everywhere! They are all around you. Watch out consciously for them. Opportunities mostly come disguised as problems. Infact, every problem presents an opportunity for a solution. In other words, there are actually more opportunities than are problems! The problem of electricity was Faraday’s opportunity. The problem of nuclear energy was Albert Einstein’s opportunity. The list is endless. Recognizing opportunities is sure the beginning of making the best of them. Most times, opportunities wear an overall labeled “WORK”. Don’t run away from them. They are stepping stones to greater heights. All through his life, Joseph was always watching out for opportunities to interpret dreams – at home, in the prison, until he interpreted the dream of a King, and then became a prime minister. Look for problems around you and see them as opportunities for greatness.

2. Go for Opportunities

Success is not just how many opportunities that comes your way. It is dependent on the number of opportunities well utilized. Explore every opportunity that comes your way. Don’t just wish for opportunities, work it! When you see an opportunity, take it. Go for it. I remember several years ago when an opportunity presented itself to me. I was relatively unknown in my fellowship back in University then. A friend invited me to his birthday and I was asked to share a few words for a couple of minutes. Since many executive members of the fellowship were in attendance, I felt a little worried and concerned. Thanks to God I took this opportunity, for it was the beginning of several cycles of opportunities that brought the best out of me in that same University. Don’t just watch out for opportunities, but go for them when they show up.

The secret of success is to be ready for opportunities when they come

3. Respect Opportunities

A lot of times, people despise small things. They disrespect certain opportunities to their own perils. Never underestimate an opportunity, no matter how small it seems. Give every opportunity your best shot! I have discovered that one opportunity well utilized, will give birth to at least one other. Opportunities are like chain reactions linked to each other. If you disrespect a seemingly small opportunity, you may be eating up your destiny for lunch. Imagine that Joseph didn’t respect the opportunity that came his way to interpret the dream of the Butler and the Baker in prison. Imagine that he despised it and said to himself “my anointing is greater than interpreting dreams for prisoners. These guys are not at my level”. He would most likely have been forgotten in prison. May I encourage you to please respect every opportunity that God brings your way?

4. Prepare for Opportunities

The importance of this cannot be overemphasized. The reason why many people remain where they are is that when opportunities appear, they are not prepared for it. Listen. If you are trying to be ready when you are supposed to be ready, you are already late! It is better to be prepared and not have any opportunity, than to have an opportunity and not be prepared. Men of purpose always prepare for opportunities. They cannot afford to waste time, because to them, even time is an opportunity. How prepared are you for your opportunity?

Joseph was well prepared for his opportunities. When Pharaoh sent for him, he shaved, changed his clothes, and appeared before him the way a man should appear before a King. I perceive in my Spirit that he already chose a cloth for the occasion. He was so prepared. Everyday, opportunities for greatness are passing your way. How prepared are you?

There is a principle I call the P6 theorem. Proper Prayerful Preparation Prevents Poor Performance. When you fail to prepare for your opportunities, then be prepared to fail! It’s that simple.

I like the way a wise man puts it. He said “the secret of success is to be ready for opportunities when they come”.

If you use these principles, I am sure you will improve your Opportunity Management Skill and will be a better individual.

You are a miracle. Go and happen!

You Have What It Takes - Part II

In my last post, I started sharing on the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000 – where I highlighted that it was the most popular miracle in the life and ministry of Jesus in flesh. It is the only miracle documented by all the 4 gospels, and perhaps one witnessed by the largest crowd (most likely >10,000 people including women and children). We zoomed in to consider the lessons imminent in this very interesting account. We considered 2 powerful lessons already. They are:

1. The easiest way out is not always the best way out

The disciple’s solution to the problem was to send the people away to nearby towns and villages. They wanted to push the responsibility away. Jesus instructed otherwise “Give then something to eat”.

2. Break it down

We often overestimate problems when we consider them in very large chunks. Jesus asked the people to sit down in groups of fifties, perhaps trying to see what works with a smaller group, and then, reapplying to a larger group. Don’t be overwhelmed by the sheer weight and size of the problem. Break it down into smaller bits.

I encourage you to read the full post if you haven’t already, but let me conclude by sharing 2 other principles that I discovered in this story.

3. Give thanks, always.

There was no way 5 loaves and 2 fishes were going to feed 5,000 men - humanly speaking that is. Once Jesus had the loaves in His hands, He lifted them up to heaven, and gave thanks. He was thanking God for what he had, knowing for sure that he would provide what he needed. I know several of us would have prayed if we found ourselves in the situation that Jesus found himself, but I think for most our prayers would have been different. We would most likely have been praying for multiplication, and binding any force that tried to resist us. Jesus gave thanks. When you thank God for His finger, then, you are setting up yourself to see His hands! It is easy to give thanks when you have enough, when things are going fine and everything seems all together. What do you do when you don't have enough? Do you thank Him when you don't even feel like? Here, Jesus was faced with a situation that could have been very embarrassing. He chose to give thanks. Instead of complaining about the business you lost, thank Him that you didn't lose your mind.

In the words of Zig Ziglar “Of all the "attitudes" we can acquire, surely the attitude of gratitude is the most important and by far the most life-changing”. An attitude of gratitude qualifies you for greater blessings. Be grateful for things you have and God will be compelled to give you what you don’t have. Thank him for today and he will guarantee your tomorrow. Multiplication is not far from grateful people. Even in our day to day, don’t you tend to give more to or more inclined to do more for those who show appreciation for what you gave or did the last time?

4. War against wastage

In the story (John’s account of it), Jesus instructed His disciples to gather up the fragments. He said “Gather the leftovers so nothing is wasted…” I am sure you know and agree that he wasn't doing this just to fulfill tomorrow's bread needs. The same power that provided this could provide the next day. He was teaching a principle - wage war against waste.

I am convinced that our country and our continent would be a better place, if we wage war against waste. Look around you, and you would see waste – waste of time, waste of money, waste of resources, waste of talents and so much more. We are a wasteful nation. Have you visited any government parastatal recently? You’d be lucky to get in 1 week, what should normally take you just a few hours. Compare our budget figures with what we actually spent at the end of the year. You will feel like crying. Typically, only about 10-20% of the funds budgeted gets to where they are used. The rest is lost in transit! Someone must take his part before he signs the appropriation. Do you know how much the last administration supposedly spent on road repairs? Yet, our roads are still in a deplorable state.

Do you want to be successful in your personal and business life? I suggest you wage a war against wastage. No matter how much you try to fill a bucket that is leaking with water, you will not achieve much. The wise thing to do at first is to block or fix the leakage. Fix the avenues of wastes and in good time, the bucket will be full. Check your finances for waste. Do you have a budget? Are you sticking to your budget or are you eating with all your fingers. Are you just spending without any thought of the future? Don’t be the present day version of the prodigal son.

I challenge you to war against this evil today, whilst giving thanks and see how God prospers you thereafter.

You Have What It Takes

For the past few days, I have been reading about one of Jesus' many miracles - the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000. It is interesting to note that this miracle is perhaps one of the most popular ones in Jesus' days. Little wonder all the four gospels documented it. Apart from this, it was perhaps one of his miracles that affected the most number of people - five thousand men, apart from women and children. If the data comparing the ratio of men to women in "spiritual" gathering is anything to go by, then we would be counting > 10,000 people present at this meeting.

Let's take a closer look at what happened here, and lessons to learn from it, especially in these times.

The disciples had just returned from a very successful evangelistic outreach. The master gave them power before the task, and they exercised this successfully - healing the sick and preaching the good news. Jesus took them aside into a solitary place when they returned back. However, the crowd got wind of this, and followed them. In fact, one of the gospels said that the crowd went ahead of them to the other side. But this wasn't the problem. They had an exhausted and a hungry crowd, who needed food, and needed it fast. The 1st problem they had was that they were in the desert, a solitary place - in the middle of nowhere. No shelter. No kiosks. No supermarkets. No hotels. Just in the middle of nowhere. Add this to the fact that it was already getting dark. It was already late evening, and they didn't have much time to come up with a very detailed and well thought out plan or solution. You can guess they were running out of time and of ideas too. The disciples were very concerned. How would they handle such a crowd? How much would they have to spend to feed them? I can imagine Peter asking the accountant how much was left in the purse. Hear Philip already advising "two hundred denarii worth of bread is not sufficient for them all to have just a bite". Andrew, perhaps with the optimism that was as a result of the successful evangelistic outreach then opined "there is a little boy here with five barley loaves and two fishes, but that's a drop in the bucket for a crowd like this". In one sentence, he gave an idea and seems to kill the same idea he gave. This was the situation before Jesus stepped in, performed His most popular miracle, and left us with great lessons to glean from. May I share some of these with you?

1. The easiest way out is not always the best way out

After all the initial permutations and analysis, the disciples came up with a verdict - send the people away, to nearby villages and towns, where they can get something to eat, and places to sleep. It seemed a pretty good idea, didn't it? "Let's not take responsibility for them". “We don't have what it takes to solve their problem". Let's just take the easy way out - send them away. After all, they won't blame us if we do. They would know we care for their safety and for their belly. Jesus however would not have that. He was not one to shy away from a challenge. He would never send anyone away empty handed. “You give them something to eat", he instructed His disciples. The easy way out of a problem is not always the best solution. Imagine if the crowd had been dismissed, we would have missed the record of this miracle and the lessons from it. What challenges are you facing at the moment? May I encourage you not to just take the easy way out? Don't give up on yourself and on your dreams because of the prevailing obstacles. Don't run away from a problem, thinking that would solve it. Face it head on, and trust God to give you the wisdom to address it. Don't compromise on your integrity just to get that job! You don't have to secure that contract by doing what everyone else is doing. You don't have to sleep with a guy just to prove that you love him, and get him to marry you. Hold yourself to high standards. Don't take the easy way out - it is often the loser’s way.

2. Break it down

Jesus taught another very powerful principle here - break it down to small chunks. He told his disciples “Make them sit down in groups of fifties". Why would he say this? Couldn't He go ahead and feed the > 5,000 people all at once? I am sure he could have. Here, he was showing us how to break down our “big" problems into smaller chunks. He was confirming the saying that the easiest way to eat an elephant is one piece at a time. I believe that whatever Jesus asked the disciples to do in this story, he wanted them to test it with a group of 50 first, learn what works and what doesn't work, and improve as they go to another set of 50.

Recently, I was leading a discussion in a large group. In order to make it participative, we broke down the group into 4, and each group had to rotate through different booths to learn different things. I must confess that the 1st group we handled was very clumsy and almost a disaster. We had planned how the session would go to the finest detail. However, we were just testing all my plans with this group. It didn't go that well, even in our own estimation. By the time the 2nd group came, we had removed all the things that didn't work with the 1st group and came up with a refined way of passing the message. By the time we were handling the 4th group, it was a blast and it became a discussion point for the rest of the meeting. I believe this was what Jesus was trying to teach here. Break it down. Attack your problems in phases. Don't be overwhelmed by the sheer weight and size of your issue. If you break it down to simpler bits then, your "big" problem would be easier to solve. If you see that ladder as individual rungs, climbing won't be that tough.

I would share 2 more lessons I learnt in my next post. Until then, stay fit in Him!

God's Hall Of Fame - II

I mentioned something that I hope you didn't miss in my last post. It is very common to hear comments about church services, bible studies and prayer meetings. " service was awesome today", " we really felt God's presence", and all these are common phrases used by Christians to qualify what they felt. My question was (and still is), when last did God said "that was good" after your worship? When last did he derive so much pleasure from your worship that He wished it would never end?May I suggest to you that God's favorite services are not the same as ours? Too many times, we come to God's presence only to get something from Him, and not to minster to Him. Psalm 103:1 lstill reads " Bless the Lord, O my soul" - but we often practice, " O my Lord, bless my soul". I believe this was what happened to Enoch in the Old testament. "And Enoch walked with God and he was not". Awesome isn't it? God so much enjoyed fellowship with this individual and they "gisted" so much until Enoch practically walked into heaven! May I tell you that God is still in search of such intimacy today?

When last did God said "that was good" after your worship?

What qualifies people for God's hall of fame is not riches. It is not affluence. It has nothing to do with how many spiritual titles you bear or carry. It has nothing to do with how many years you have been serving the Lord. It is simply a heart of worship - a heart that is ready to pour itself out on the master with reckless abandon. It is a heart that is more interested in anointing the master, rather than looking for his anointing. I remember how much I sought for "the anointing" when I was growing up as a young Christian - several days of fasting and prayer, of waiting in God's presence and all that. There is nothing wrong with that by all means. However, little did I realize that God is also interested in anointers. He is interested in "being anointed". He is looking for those who will anoint Him in worship. This is what Mary Madgalene did that won her a place in God's hall of fame.

In Marks gospel, Chapter 14 and starting from verse 6, we are again introduced to the story of a true worshipper. She had earlier anointed the feet of Jesus in Simon's house (read the 1st part in my previous note), and was back to anoint Jesus shortly before His death. In this account, we were told she poured all the oil on the masters head. I don't want to get into the theology of whether the 2 accounts are one and the same or not. The point here is this - while others were with the Master for what they could get, a true worshipper was with Him for what she could give. We see Mary again, breaking her alabaster box and pouring out all it's content on the master. Interestingly enough, she got a lot of knocks for what she did from everyone present, including the disciples, except from someone - the master Himself, who was enjoying Her worship and taking pleasure in it. Their reaction to Mary's worship is worthy of mention - they were furious, indignant, and very angry. I do not know why. Isn't it the same today as it was then? True worshippers are labeled as wasters! In this busy and fast paced world, who wants to "waste time" worshipping, when you can use the time to be a blessing to the poor and minister to the needs of others? Wouldn't you rather minister to the masters needs? Think about that. The Masters reaction was quite different. He said " Why are you giving this woman a hard time? She has just done something wonderfully significant for me.........You can be sure that wherever in the world this message is preached , what she has just done is going to be remembered and admired." Need I say anything more?

The point here is this - while others were with the Master for what they could get, a true worshipper was with Him for what she could give.

Even when the master was already dead and buried in the tomb, the story of a worshipper still continues! Mary still longed to anoint Jesus's body after he was long gone. This proves to us that she wasn't really after what she would get from this. The master couldn't do anything again now. All the others had long gone back to their homes and back to their work. But not a worshipper. Oh, the love of an anointer. I believe Jesus was really touched by this that He had to stop one more time to address this worshipper. He came so close to Mary that he had to warn her not to touch Him. The anointer was the last to leave Calvary and the 1st to arrive at the tomb. Again, when last did you have such an encounter with God? When last did you leave his presence, and God would be looking forward to you returning again for more?

Can we stop chasing shadows and focus on our true reason for existing - for He created us to worship Him. Are you a worshipper?

God's Hall Of Fame

What qualifies people to enter the hall of fame? The answer to this question lies on who is giving the answer.

To enter into the world's hall of fame, the answer seems pretty obvious - wealth, beauty, royalty, a good name, prestige and many more such things. With God, the yardstick is very different! God's definition of a hero is way different from ours. The hall-of-fame in God's kingdom has nothing to do with all I have mentioned above. It rather has everything to do with touching God's heart. In God's hall of fame, you would see the uncommon and "unworthy names" like that of Mary Magdalene, the street girl, who touched His heart.

Now I assure you that wherever this gospel is preached all over the world, what she has done would be told in memory of her

Matthew 26: 13

Isn't that quite interesting? I have been reading the story of this woman from the different books of the Bible, and from 2 other Christian literatures in the last couple of days, and with each passing day, I am realizing how much there is to learn from her. There were 3 different accounts of her either anointing the Lord Jesus or attempting to do so (after His death and burial ). In all the accounts, one thing is certain - this was a woman who didn't give a hoot about what others thought about her. All she cared about was her worship to the master. She stooped low, gave her all - her worship, and in the process commanded heavens attention. In the midst of all the Pharisees ( the religious leaders of her days) and the 12 disciples ( the Deacons, the Pastors and Bishops), her worship of the master came up for special mention, so much so that she entered into heavens hall of fame, while the others watched on!

In Luke 7, Apostle Luke detailed the 1st account of this woman. She must have gate crashed this party. She was definitely not invited, and for sure, not welcome. A certain Pharisee, Simon, had invited Jesus over to his house for dinner and Jesus obliged. Everyone in town knew Simon. He was a good man, religious, and upwardly mobile. Everyone also knew Mary- the popular street girl, the prostitute. No one certainly expected her at such an event. Somehow she got in, and gave us the opportunity to learn a very big lesson.

I have been wondering how Simon, being a Pharisee who pays a lot of attention to outward appearance, missed washing Jesus's feet. If not for Jesus' sake, I thought he would have done that out of religious courtesy, or out of a need to keep his rugs and carpets clean! Somehow he didn't and no one seemed to care. No one, except Mary. I am sure there would have been at least 12 other persons there (if all the disciples were present), but no one cared. There were carried away by other matters. I suppose that Simon got a little worried on sighting Mary. " How on earth did this woman get in here? Who allowed her in?" he must have been asking.

Mary came to the party with a box, an alabaster box. It was probably her most priced possession. She decided to do what Simon didn't do. She washed the masters feet with her tears, dried them with her hair (which is her glory) and anointed it with her most priced possession. In simple terms, she emptied herself on Him. She gave Him real worship. She poured herself on the master, not minding who was watching or who wasn't.

Make no mistake, it took humility and brokenness for Mary to wipe the Lord's feet with her hair. If you understand that in Jesus' time, open sandals were commonly used, and most travelers in Israel shared the same roads with Camels, Horses and Donkeys, then, you will begin the appreciate her gesture more. What a picture of humble worship Mary provides.

When last have you worshipped the master with reckless abandon - without being all together and politically correct? When last has your worship brought the master so much satisfaction? When last has God said " that was good" after your worship? Little wonder why the master dismissed Mary, forgiving her of her many sins, and saying " Your faith has saved you ; go in peace " .

Selah.

You Can Dream Again!

Have you ever been in a situation where all hope seems lost and it’s like you’ll never come out of it? Have you ever had a situation that just proves impossible? Have you ever been in the middle of a crisis and you couldn't think of a way out? Have you ever believed so much in a thing and it didn't work out the way you planned it? You are not alone.

“Early on Sunday morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb and found that the stone was rolled aside from the entrance”

John 20:1 – Living Bible

It's a dark Sunday morning. It’s been dark since Friday. It’s been dark as a result of events that took place in those longs hours between Friday and Sunday.

It has been dark because of Peter’s denial. He had denied his Lord and Master on three different occasions. On one occasion, he swore that he never knew him when confronted by a teenage girl. It was still dark.

It has been dark because of the disciples' betrayal. No one except John had the courage to travel with Jesus all the way. They were all scattered abroad. They ran for their dear lives. Permit me to say that it was not only Judas who betrayed his Lord. Majority of the disciples did. They fled when Jesus needed them most. It was still dark.

It has been dark because of Pilate’s cowardice. Read the account of Jesus’ betrayal and you’ll be amazed at the cowardice of a whole King. His name Pilate means close pressed or firm. You will agree with me that he was anything but firm on this particular day. He was being controlled by the crowd. He yielded to their wish even though he was dead sure it was a wrong thing to do. It was still dark.

It has been dark because of Christ’s anguish. He must have gone through so much pain. How about a slap from one of the military officers after blindfolding him? What about the crown of thorns placed on his head? What about the heavy wood he had to carry most of the way down to Golgotha? What about the stripes that had to go round his exposed body? Consider the spiting, cursing and humiliation. What about the spikes that went through the hands that healed the sick? Oh, what anguish? No wonder it was still dark!

It has been dark because of Satan’s glee. There was a party in hell over the events on Friday. As far as the devil and his cohorts were concerned, they were in charge now. The Son of God was dead and it was their time. It was still dark.

All these happened since Friday but it was still dark on Sunday morning. The only ember of light this morning was with a band of women standing at a distance from the grave. They were the last to leave Calvary and the first to arrive at the grave. However, this morning promises nothing except an encounter with a corpse. They never imagined this could be the 1st Easter. They were not hoping the grave would be vacant. There was a time they dared to dream such dreams but not now. It’s too late for the incredible. The feet that walked on water had been pierced. The hands that cleansed lepers had been stilled. There noble aspirations had been spiked to yesterday’s cross. Their dreams appeared dead and long forgotten.

Have you ever got to a junction like this in your life? A junction where everything seems dark? Where there seems to be no way forward? Where everything just appeared gloomy? Before you give up and throw in the towel, would you please follow me and see what happened afterwards?

Though it’s been dark hitherto, a miracle was just around the corner this Sunday morning. A double surprise was waiting for these women in quick succession!

First, the stone of the sepulchre had been rolled away! They must have been thinking of how to gain access to the sepulchre on their way there. But to their surprise, the stone was no longer there. As if that was not enough, they couldn’t find the body of Jesus in the grave again. While still wondering what could have happened, an angel explained to them that Jesus was risen as it had been written! “You cannot be looking for the living among the dead”, the angel said. Suddenly, the darkness since Friday began to lift! A fresh hope sprang up in these women and later in the minds of the disciples.

After all the darkness, light shone. The greater the darkness, the brighter the glory of light. No wonder it was a special Sunday morning, one that we still celebrate till today. It was a morning with a great message of hope. That resurrection morning had a great message – It is Alright to Dream Again! Yes it is. The resurrection of Christ gives you this opportunity to dream again! To believe, to hope!

Happy Easter.

The Law Of Use

I often speak and write about Laws. I do this for a number of reasons. First, laws are universal. They apply equally to everyone. They are no respecter of persons. Everyone who jumps up will come down - the colour of his skin is immaterial neither is his ability to speak “conc” tongues. Second, laws are inviolable. No one can violate them without suffering the consequences. It takes a higher law to break a lower one. Thirdly, laws are immutable. They do not change. They hold true for ever and are the same anywhere, anyday, and any time. This simply means that laws gives predictability to events. If you follow a law strictly, you are guaranteed of the effect/reward.

I recently read again a story in the holy creed that amazed me. It is often referred to as The Parable of Talents. It opened my eyes to several points on what I call The Law of Use. May I please share it with you?

A certain man gave each of his three servants an amount of money, “each according to his ability” (Mt 25:15). This man (referred to as The Master) knew their ability and gave them opportunity anyway. His basic expectation to them all was to do business with it and make profit. The 1st one, who had five bags of money went and traded with it and got five more. The 2nd one, who had two bags, did the same thing and got another two. The 3rd servant, who got one bag, dug a hole in the ground and hid his mater’s bag of money there. Later, the master had his servants give account of what they had done with the resources at their disposal. In the same vein like this story, God has given us all something (ability, resource, insight, revelation), and He holds us accountable for what we do with it. One day, He will ask us to give an account.

The 1st two servants gave good accounts of what they had done with their talents and how they had made a 100% profit with it. The account given by the 3rd servant is worth examining.

He said, “Master, I knew you were a harsh man, harvesting crops you didn’t plant and gathering crops you didn’t cultivate. I was afraid I would lose your money, so I hid it in the earth. Look, here is your money back.” (Mt 25:24-25).

Take note of a couple of points

- The servant claimed he acted out of fear of the master; he placed emphasis on master’s perceived hardness. He was shifting blames and justifying his actions.

- I suggest two motives: fear (servant afraid for his own well-being), or laziness (little wonder the master did not give him much responsibility even from the beginning).

- If servant was afraid but aggressive, he would have done whatever was necessary to earn a profit; but he was lazy, so he simply tried to protect himself.

- Master’s evaluation: “You wicked and lazy servant!” It is wicked to leave resources at your disposal unused! Hmmm……are you wicked too? What are you doing with all the untapped resources at your disposal? I think it’s bearable to be called lazy. But wicked? That’s not a good title!

- Quantity wasn’t as big a problem as laziness: “You should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest”. It would just have been okay if he made an extra bag of money for his master. He would have made 100% profit too. I am sure that even 50% profit would have showed some efforts and would have been rewarded accordingly. Who wouldn’t be excited with a 50% profit, even in today’s world?

May I just summarize all these points simply? "Use it or lose it!"

God entrusts us all with resources so we can advance His kingdom and He would hold us accountable for those resources. If we do not use those resources effectively, we will lose them.

The Law of Use also applies to our day to day life. It governs the growth of individuals, corporations and nations. If you use the resources available to you, you will improve those resources and also develop new ones. Some other ideas/action points around the everyday life are -

*Exercise your muscles and they become stronger.
*Submit yourself to training and you improve your abilities.
*Read Bible and pray and you will grow spiritually.
*Exercising 5 minutes once a month won’t do much for you; exercising 15mins daily for 6 months will work “miracles”
*Invest money at 8% for one week, have little to show for it; invest it for 1 to 2 years and you get a good return on investment.

Even with a small, insignificant beginning, applying the Law of Use can produce great results.

You are lifted!

No Limit

Have you ever thought about what you could do, if you really decided to? I'm not merely talking about what your skills, education and talents are capable of. I'm talking about what is really possible for you. There is a very real possibility that you can do virtually anything. Not alone, not without new information, but certainly within your ultimate grasp.

Think for a moment. What would you like to do if you are not limited by anything? What is the one thing you will like to achieve if you have all the money, connection, information etc needed at your disposal? Write that thing down. Can I tell you something? You can achieve whatever it is that you have written down! Yes, you can.

You are not limited to the life you now live. It has been accepted by you as the best you can do at this moment. Any time you're ready to go beyond the limitations currently in your life, you are capable of doing that by choosing different thoughts.

We each earn the income we do today because that is the amount we have limited ourselves to earn. We could easily earn 5, 10, 20 times more if we did not limit ourselves through the thoughts we maintain. Don't believe that's true? Surely you know people who earn much more than you who don't have your education, your skills, or your intelligence. So why do they earn more than you?

I love the story of George Dantzig that Cynthia Kersey wrote about in her book “Unstoppable”. As a college student, George studied very hard and always late into the night. So late that he overslept one morning, arriving 20 minutes late for class. He quickly copied the two math problems on the board, assuming they were the homework assignment. It took him several days to work through the two problems, but finally he had a breakthrough and dropped the homework on the professor's desk the next day.

Later, on a Sunday morning, George was awakened at 6 a.m. by his excited professor. Since George was late for class, he hadn't heard the professor announce that the two unsolvable equations on the board were mathematical mind teasers that even Einstein hadn't been able to answer. But George Dantzig, working without any thoughts of limitation, had solved not one, but two problems that had stumped mathematicians for thousands of years.

Simply put, George solved the problems because he didn't know he couldn't.

Where some of us have seen only limitations of the world or ourselves, others have gone on, with courage and imagination, exploring new worlds, achieving great dreams, ignoring warnings that “it” can’t be done. The evidence of the unstoppable human spirit is everywhere. We have dammed rivers, dug canals, cured diseases, invented thousands of labor-saving machines, and forged roads across towering mountains. We have created global networks of communication and travel. We have touched the moon.

"keep reminding yourself that you have tremendous reservoirs of potential within you, and therefore you are quite capable of doing anything you set your mind to..."

Bob Proctor tells us to "keep reminding yourself that you have tremendous reservoirs of potential within you, and therefore you are quite capable of doing anything you set your mind to. All you must do is figure out how you can do it, not whether or not you can. And once you have made your mind up to do it, it's amazing how your mind begins to figure out how."

Isn’t that worth thinking about?

Little Things Can Make A Big Difference

While there's a natural tendency to want to 'think big' , 'do big' and 'be big' in life, relationships and business, much of the results we get are in doing the little things in a consistent way. Doing the little things makes a big difference, much bigger than we are willing to admit.

Show me a man who cannot bother to do little things and I'll show you a man who cannot be trusted to do big things.

Listen to the news and see how people are changing their world by doing seemingly little things. I read the profiles of most of the CNN Heroes of 2012, and one thing struck me - they were ordinary people, doing little things in their own ways, to change their worlds.

I witnessed a fatality some weeks back, on a highway in Cairo. The car involved was almost brand new and all the safety gadgets needed to protect anyone must have been in place. However, the driver was not wearing his seat belt! As 'little' or trivial as that might sound, it was what made the difference between life and death.

Did you hear about the bridge that collapsed in Japan recently? 9 people were killed and several injured. Initial reports shows that a missing bolt (yes, something as small as a missing bolt) was responsible for the collapse. Can you imagine that? Those little things sure can make a very big difference.

I know and work with a lot of very successful leaders and aspiring leaders who set very ambitious improvement goals for themselves. They want to be more strategic, lead change, be more visionary, improve their presentation skills, learn marketing and finance, and improve their work-life balance. Yes, these are all important and impressive goals. They can be huge mountains to climb, and could even take years to achieve or master. However, approaching these goals little by little but consistently, would ultimately get them there. This reminds me of a parent that screamed at her teenager: "if you want to clean up the environment, why don't you start by cleaning your damn room".

If you add a little to a little and do this often, soon the little will become great

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I came across this story a couple of years ago that further explains how little things, like acts of kindness and courtesy, can go a long way in making a huge difference.

Many years ago, an elderly man and his wife entered the lobby of a small Philadelphia hotel. "All the big places are filled," the man said. "Can you give us a room?" The clerk replied that with three conventions in town, no accommodations were available anywhere. "Every guest room is taken," he said, but then added, "but I can't send a nice couple like you into the rain at one o'clock in the morning. Would you be willing to sleep in my room?" The next morning as he paid his bill, the elderly man said to the clerk, "You are the kind of manager who should be the boss of the best hotel in the United States. Maybe someday I'll build one for you." The clerk laughed and forgot about the incident. About 2 years later, however, he received a letter containing a round trip ticket to New York and a request that he be the guest of the elderly couple he had befriended.

Once in New York, the old man led the clerk to the corner of Fifth Avenue and Thirty-Fourth Street, where he pointed to an incredible new building and declared "That is the hotel I just built for you to manage." The young man, George C. Boldt, accepted the offer of William Waldorf Astor to become the manager of the original Waldorf- Astoria, considered the finest hotel in the world in its time!

I long to accomplish a great and noble task, but it is my chief duty to accomplish small tasks as if they were great and noble

May I encourage you not to neglect the little things, because you are focusing on the big things? May I encourage you to pay attention to the "little" things, even as you dream big? May I encourage you not to get carried away with the notion that if what we do is not big enough, it could make no difference? It is time for a paradigm shift - do not take for granted the 'little', do not overlook ' the little', and when all you get sometimes is 'little', do appreciate it. In actual sense, the 'Little' things do make a BIG difference.

Double Your Failure Rate

In just a few more weeks, or perhaps days, the year 2012 will come to an end. A couple of people are already taking stock of the year and wondering why they are behind on their dreams and on their plans. I bet you would have at least 1 thing on your list that you didn't succeed at. You are probably wondering why you failed at it, or what really happened. It becomes are bit more serious if it is an item you have been “carrying over” for a few years now. Do you feel a sense of failure…..yet again? You are not alone.

Most people who have become famous have invariably tasted failure early in their lives and careers, lending credence to a view that failure is the stepping-stone to success. Failure is a friend, not an enemy. Failure is a school teacher, not a taskmaster. See it as such and you will benefit immensely. I am always thrilled by the definition of success I saw somewhere a couple of years back. It says “Success is moving from one failure to another without losing enthusiasm!” Of a truth, the mistakes we make are not as important as the lessons we learn from them.

Success is moving from one failure to another without losing enthusiasm

A number of years ago, an aspiring writer interviewed Thomas J. Watson, the President of IBM. Watson gave him this advice: “It’s not exactly my line, “he said, but would you like me to give you a formula for writing success? It’s quite simple, really. Double you rate of failure.” "You're making a common mistake," he said. "You're thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn't at all. Failure is a teacher--a harsh one, perhaps, but the best. You say you have a desk full of rejected manuscripts? That's great! Every one of those manuscripts was rejected for a reason. Have you pulled them to pieces looking for that reason? That's what I have to do when an idea backfires or a sales program fails. You've got to put failure to work for you." He folded his napkin and put it beside his plate. "You can be discouraged by failure--or you can learn from it. So go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can. Because, remember, that's where you'll find success. On the far side of failure."What a profound truth this is!

My point today is pretty simple (I hope) - don’t allow your failures or setbacks to discourage you. Failure needs not be fatal. When treated properly, failure can lead to great success and be a great learning experience. Henry Ford observed, "Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently." Don't try to hide your mistakes, simply admit them, learn from them and grow from them. Remember that it's OK to fail! It is okay to make mistakes as long as you don’t make the same mistake twice. Failure is like a tuition you pay for you to succeed.

Failure is the opportunity to begin again more intelligently.

A couple of years after Watson gave the above advice to the young aspiring writer, Arthur Godson, he went on to become a well known author and editor. He later said of Watson’s advice, “Somewhere inside me, a basic attitude had shifted. A project turned down, a lot of rejected manuscripts –why, these are nothing to be ashamed of. They were rungs in a ladder- that was all”. May I encourage you to do the same? You may be closer to success than you can ever imagine. Giving up now will just make all efforts of yesteryear go down the drain! One more push might be all you need. One more contact might be all that is required. One more trial might be the breakthrough you have been waiting for. Just one more……..

I guess I have shared the story of Sir Edmund Hillary before. Let me share it again to drive this point home. Sir Edmund Hillary was the first man to climb Mount Everest. On May 29, 1953 he scaled the highest mountain then known to man-29,000 feet straight up. He was knighted for his efforts. He even made American Express card commercials because of it! However, until we read his book, High Adventure, we don't understand that Hillary had to grow into this success. You see, earlier in 1952 he had attempted to climb Mount Everest, but failed. A few weeks later a group in England asked him to address its members. Hillary walked on stage to a thunderous applause. The audience was recognizing an attempt at greatness, but Edmund Hillary saw himself as a failure. He moved away from the microphone and walked to the edge of the platform. He made a fist and pointed at a picture of the mountain. He said in a loud voice, "Mount Everest, you beat me the first time, but I'll beat you the next time because you've grown all you are going to grow... but I'm still growing!" A year later, he succeeded where he has failed.

Failure isn’t bad if it doesn’t attack the heart. Success is alright if it doesn’t get to the head!

I have learnt something about successful people. They don’t avoid mistakes; they handle it. Peter Drucker once said "The better a man is, the more mistakes he will make, for the more new things he will try. I would never promote into a top level job a man who was not making mistakes…otherwise he is sure to be mediocre."

Failure should be a teacher, not an undertaker. Failure isn’t bad if it doesn’t attack the heart. Success is alright if it doesn’t get to the head!

Make the best of the rest of the year my dear friends, and double your failure rate and then success would be guaranteed.

A couple of years ago, a colleague sent me an interesting piece. It changed the way I perceived things after that. Over time, I have seen this help me in different situations, especially difficult ones. It taught me, or would I say it reminded me of how to view problems and seeming impossibilities. I have shared this story before, and I perceive it is worth sharing again.

Japanese grocery stores had a problem. They are much smaller than their US counterparts and therefore don't have room to waste. Watermelons, big and round, wasted a lot of space. Most people would simply tell the grocery stores that watermelons grow round and there is nothing that can be done about it. But some Japanese farmers took a different approach. "If the supermarkets want a space efficient watermelon,” they asked themselves, "How can we provide one?" It wasn't long before they invented the square watermelon. Yes, they did!

The solution to the problem of round watermelons wasn't nearly as difficult to solve, for those who didn't assume the problem was impossible to begin with and simply asked how it could be done. It turns out that all you need to do is place them into a square box when they are growing and the watermelon will take on the shape of the box! That simple? Yes, it was that simple!

Impossibilities only exist in the dictionary of fools

This made the grocery stores happy and had the added benefit that it was much easier and cost effective to ship the watermelons. Consumers also loved them because they took less space in their refrigerators which are much smaller than those in the US - which resulted in the growers being able to charge a premium price for them.

What does this have to do with anything besides square watermelons? There are a few lessons that you can take away from this story which will help you in all parts of your life. Here they are:

Don't assume:

The major problem was that most people had always seen and used to round watermelons so they automatically assumed that square watermelons were impossible before even thinking about the question. Things that you have been doing a certain way your entire life have taken on the aura of the round watermelon and you are likely not to even take the time to consider if there is another way to do it. Breaking yourself from assuming this way can greatly improve your overall life as you are constantly looking for new and better ways to do things.

Question habits:

The best way to tackle these assumptions is to question your habits. If you can make an effort to question the way you do things on a regular basis, you will find that you can continually improve the way that you live your life. Forming habits when they have been well thought out is usually a positive thing, but most of us have adopted our habits from various people and places without even thinking about them.

Be creative:

When faced with a problem, be creative in looking for a solution. This often requires thinking outside the box. Most people who viewed this question probably thought they were being asked how they could genetically alter water melons to grow square which would be a much more difficult process to accomplish. By looking at the question from an alternative perspective, however, the solution was quite simple. Being creative and looking at things in different ways in all portions of your live will help you find solutions to many problems where others can't see them.

Look for a better way:

The square watermelon question was simply seeking a better and more convenient way to do something. The stores had flagged a problem they were having and asked if a solution was possible. It's impossible to find a better way if you are never asking the question in the first place. Always ask if there is a better way of doing the things that you do and constantly write down the things you wish you could do (but currently can't or aren't) since these are usually hints about steps you need to change. Get into the habit of asking yourself, "Is there a better way I could be doing this?" and you will find there often is.

Impossibilities often aren't:

If you begin with the notion that something is impossible, then it obviously will be for you. If, on the other hand, you decide to see if something is possible or not, you will find out through trial and error. I like the way a wise man puts it. He said “Impossibilities only exists in the dictionary of fools”. Don’t you think he is right?

Apply the lessons from the square watermelons to areas in your life (work, finances, relationships, etc), and with consistency you may continuously improve all aspects of your life.

The Power Of Your Commitment

Dreams remain as hanging castles until you match them with practical steps to make them realities. Nothing works until you are committed to make it work. There is tremendous power in your commitment.

Do you know the first American to win 3 gold medals at the Olympics? She was born premature with severe Polio and was the 21st out of 22 children. She was confined permanently to braces. At age 11, she started herself out on a self rehabilitation course with the help of her loving family. She practiced 4 times a day (at 6.00a.m, 10.00a.m, 3.00p.m and 8.00p.m) for 1200 consecutive days! No wonder she was the first American to win 3 gold medals! Her name is Wilma Rudolph. She backed her dream and attitude with a commitment. She gave it all it took and booked a place for herself in the hall of fame. What price are you willing to pay to see your dreams fulfilled?

The quality of a person’s life is in direct proportion to their commitment to excellence, regardless of their chosen field of endevour. There is no scarcity of opportunity to make a living at what you love. There is only a scarcity of resolve to make it happen. The achievement of your goals/dreams is assured the moment you commit yourself to it.

There’s only one way to succeed in anything, and that is to give it everything. I do, and I demand that my players do.

Vince Lombardi

Take a moment to think about the goals you've set for yourself. How committed are you to achieving these goals? Under what conditions would you give up? What if you could significantly increase your desire to achieve these goals? What if you wanted them so badly that you knew with absolute certainty that you would absolutely, positively never ever give up? When you are truly 100% committed to reaching your goals, you move from hoping to knowing. If you want something badly enough, then quitting is simply not an option. You either find a way or make one. You pay the price, whatever it takes. You are committed to it.

When you are interested in something, you do it only when it is convenient. When you are committed to it, you accept no excuses, only results. Yes. Are you interested in success or committed to it? If you are committed, then you’ll be willing to go the extra mile. You will be willing to take personal responsibilities and develop yourself. You will register for that course. You will attend that seminar. You will give up that habit. You will wake up early. You will do whatever it takes to get the results!

Most of his life, Thomas Edison worked 18 hour days. Until he was 65, he only took catnaps and occasional breaks to eat on most workdays. By the age of 75, he had cut his workday down to 16 hours. Can you imagine that? He was committed to a course. No wonder we are still talking about him today. There is no overnight success my dear friends. Are you committed to your dreams?

Commitment is like burning the bridge behind. It leaves you with no chance to go back on your words. For instance, if you want to launch your own business, you can begin by making the commitment to quitting your job. Write a letter of resignation, put it in a stamped envelope addressed to your boss, and give it to a trusted friend with firm instructions to mail the letter if you haven't quit your job by a certain date. As Andrew Carnegie once said, "Put all your eggs in one basket, and then watch that basket!"

Let me close with the words of a wise man. “Losers make promises they often break. Winners make commitments they never break”

See you at the top!