12 Key People To Have In Your Community & Network

1. Someone who loves you for you, just because you are you.

Yes, it’s magic. Find and Enjoy

2. Someone who isn't afraid, to be honest with you.

They'll need courage.

3. Someone who is more evolved than you are.

Let them be an evolving environment for you.

4. Someone who knows everybody.

Saves you time.

5. Someone who is well-connected.

Gives you access to opportunities

6. Someone who can solve your problems for you.

Life is too short to do this for yourself

7. Someone you can rely upon in a crisis.

Make sure they are up for this. Have a clear understanding

8. Someone who you love completely. Just because

Love is its own reward.

9. Someone who is a cyber/tech wizard.

Suck up if necessary

10. Someone in your field who is far more successful than you.

Model.

11. Someone who you are mentoring or coaching.

This brings out your best.

12. Someone who is mentoring and coaching you.

We all do better with a coach.

- Dave Buck

THE LITTLE FOXES THAT SPOIL THE VINE (PART 2)

Every single thought, word, and action contributes to our state of being at any point in time. Nurturing evil thoughts and intentions towards someone, saying the wrong thing to or about someone, or doing a wrong thing to someone may not seem to be connected to that thing we are seeking the face of God (or man) for, but the bitter truth is that they really do affect it and may be the reason why we do not get our desire at times. Not Knowing the Required Principles: the second-way ignorance robs us of our breakthroughs is by our not knowing the right thing to do to get what we want. We have often heard the saying that God operates by principles. And truly the bible is replete with several passages that hinge the attainment of certain blessing on the fulfilment of one condition or another. These are clear indications of what it takes to get such blessings. For instance, someone who desires financial prosperity may not attain it through constant prayer and fasting. That is like using Phensic to cure stomachache. The bible is very clear on what it takes to be prosperous; it is by giving, giving, and giving. Another example is that of someone who desires power (the ability to control or influence happenings both in the spiritual and the physical realm), but who is not given to constant fasting and a prayerful lifestyle, he is only deluding himself. He may not have it; no matter how great he or she can sing or how committed he or she may be in the church. The list of ‘to-dos’ to get ‘what’ goes on and on. That is why it is good for us to be devoted to reading our Bible regularly, for apart from the primary benefit of the knowledge of God it will avail us, it also contains all the information we need for life and godliness as well as all the relevant principles we need to apply to obtain the various good things we desire in life. But many of us Christians do not know this, and that is why we usually use the “wrong” approach to achieve the right end and thereby end up not getting the desired result. The Bible says in Hosea 4:14c “people who do not understand will be trampled.” Ignorance, pure and simple, is usually the major cause of most of our sufferings. NOT DOING ENOUGH (praying, giving, sacrificing etc) Another reason we do not receive what we seek from God is that we do not do enough of what it takes to receive our heart’s desire. The bible says, “If the clouds are full of rain, they empty themselves upon the earth; and if a tree falls to the south or the north, in the place where the tree falls, there it shall lie” (Ecclesiastes 11:3). Oftentimes we are complacent and settle for the average or even below average performance in our pursuits in life.

THE LITTLE FOXES THAT SPOIL THE VINE (PART 1)

Why Prayers Are Not Answered and Sacrifices Not Honoured Truly, the bible says, “Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened” (Matthew 7:7-8). However, we all know that this is not usually the case with most of us. Many are the times we have fervently asked, sought, and knocked for one thing or the other from God and man without being granted our heart’s desire. This write-up is an attempt to explain some of the reasons why some of our prayers and services to God are neither answered nor rewarded. Meanwhile, it is important that we note that the reasons proffered below are not totally exhaustive. There may well be some other reasons why we do not get answers to our prayers. But the ones below are those the LORD unveiled to me in the course of time after I asked Him the reason for this phenomenon some months ago. Let us now consider them: IGNORANCE The first reason why some of our prayers are not answered is because of our ignorance. The LORD says in Hosea 4:6a that ‘My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge’. While most of us know this scripture very well and even quote it often in discourse, we still nonetheless fall victim to its veracity. It is amazing to see the way we go all out to seek something and still truncate our own efforts or chances of getting such thing by our actions or inactions, done in ignorance. Let us look at two ways ignorance robs us of rewards and answered prayers. Self-sabotage: Oftentimes, we are diligent in our supplications to God about an issue and even do all we could to ensure that we get our heart’s desire. But little carelessness in a seemingly unrelated or unimportant matter may be the spoiler that will foil our chances of getting that for which we have for so long been seeking the face of God. A wrong thought, a wrong statement, a wrong action, or a wrong indulgence carelessly entertained when it does not seem to matter may just be the spoiler that will prevent our much sought-after blessing from being delivered to us. We all know that the earth we live in is spherical in shape. However, most of us do not realise that life itself is circular in nature. What this means is that even as the earth orbits or goes round the sun, so do our thoughts, words and actions revolve around the ultimate entity that is our lives. There is nothing like “it does not matter”, “it does not affect…”, “it does not relate to…” or “it is not important to…” in the cycle of life.

Tips on How to be a Star Performer

1. Self-discipline

All the highlighted pointers that make a star performer are a matter of discipline.After you have taken note of all the points, if you are not disciplined enough to put them into practice, they will all filter away. Self-discipline is what gets you started and keeps you going even when you don’t feel like it. In fact, one constant principle from all the books I have read on success is self-discipline.

Star performers are self-disciplined people, they don’t take nonsense from themselves, and they don’t take it from people either. They are harder on themselves than they are on people. They are driven by results; they don’t like stories and excuses. There can be a million and one reasons why things cannot or should not be done. Star performers only look for one reason why it should be done and they go ahead to do it despite the odds.

The workplace is about results and not reasons why things should not or cannot be done. People desire to associate with success, but it is not easy to be successful; there is no overnight success, the person who becomes successful has been paying prices that others have not been paying. That is why you just see him soaring above others, it is not by magic. Yes, God’s favour is key; and God will indeed favour you, as He has promised to bless the work of your hands. But if your hand is not doing much, what will be available for God to bless? It’s what you are doing that God blesses, He will not bless what has not been done.

We have passed that stage when the earth was void and it was without form, we are now in the realm of tangibles. He says,‘I will bless the works of your hands’, but if your hand is not doing something and He blesses nothing; nothing will start to multiply into more nothing.

Achievements come by self-discipline.You know we don’t like to be disciplined and we don’t like to discipline ourselves, but we have to be hard on ourselves to make any impact. Internet is a major distraction these days; for us to be focused, we have to limit our use of the internet. For the purpose of clarification, the internet can be a great tool for success, but it depends on what you are doing there. You have to be self-disciplined in your usage and activities on the internet. Star performers are disciplined people.

You usually know disciplined people from the way they talk and conduct themselves. While everyone can give excuses, it is the person that produces results that is celebrated, not story tellers. How many excuse-makers do you know that are successful? Nobody claps for what you plan or intend to do. You only get applauded for what you have done, and it takes discipline to get difficult things done because you have to take tough decisions and be rigorous in your thinking. It is not even easy to think through a process, it takes discipline.

2. The God Factor

Star performers know the place of God. You remember the story of Herod in the Bible, he talked and people started hailing him as God; then, suddenly, he was snuffed out. You have to know your source; star performers know their sources. They know where they recharge their batteries and receive inspiration. Where do you unwind, where do you get inspiration from? What makes you gel? These can be answered by knowing yourself (discussed in the first tip) and knowing your source.

Life is full of ups and downs; so there are many instances when both productive and idle people will experience highsor lows. It is the way each individual responds to these varying situations in life that usually separates them. When productive people face issues that are beyond them, they know where to turn because they know they must deliver results. The loafers, on the other hand, will merely cave in and turn back saying it is difficult because they do not think that they have to deliver. So, even as the loafer also has a source, he/she doesn’t draw much from there because it doesn’t seem to matter.

Star performers know their source and they draw strength and inspiration from there to carry on because they are committed to optimising their performance.

3. Focus

After you set your priorities and you are able to manage time, you have to be able to focus on what you are doing. You have to learn the art of focusing. As simple as it sounds, it is one of the most difficult things to do. It is not easy maintaining a laser focus on what you are doing and not be distracted.

There are psychological noises everywhere, even in your own thoughts there will be stuff demanding your attention. But you must have the ability to sieve through the myriad of things and focus on what needs to be done at any point in time. That is a major habit of star performers, they know how to focus; they know how to sieve through the muddled thoughts, they know what they want and they go after it, not minding what is going on within, around, below or above them. They just focus on what they have to do; they are not easily distracted or carried away.

You have to maintain focus, it is key to star performance. People usually get swept away by emotions and situations and then leave what they are doing or supposed to do to mind whatnot. Star performers do not fall prey to such trifles.

4. Manage people and your environment

You have to be able to manage people and your environment. For instance, maybe Mr A is busy working and then Mr B sees something on the internet and says,‘Hey, Mr A see this.’ In order to be polite, Mr A can check and then go back to what he is doing immediately. But if he is not someone who is committed to productivity, he can abandon what he is doing and start to ‘hoo-hah’ with Mr B such that both of them put their official tasks aside and become engaged in exchanging comments about a news or social media post.

You have to manage the people around you so you can be productive. People are their own enemies, if you leave what you are doing and then start to mind what you are not supposed to do, you cannot be productive. You have to manage people; you have to learn to say,‘No’ or promise to check it later, but not now because you need to do certain things at this time.

You have to be able to manage the people around you:your colleagues, your family members, your friends, associates, Facebook contacts, etc. If someone is chatting with me online and they do not say what they want to say between the first, two, three chats, I would not answer the person again. There must be a reason you want to engage me, I don’t have much time for online chats except there is something important to discuss.

You need to manage your environment too, there are some environments that aid productivity, and there are some that inhibit it. You have to position yourself in an environment that aids productivity, for example the way you organise your system, table and workspace. You will see some desktops littered with all manners of files, folders and applications; experts say you don’t get productive in a cluttered environment. So there is a way you arrange your system and workspace that aids productivity because performance is also environment-driven.

5. Review your work

Top performers have reviews ingrained in their system. If you have done something you should look at it again and ask yourself questions: Is this the best I can come up with or can I do better? They review their day; how has my day been, how have I fared? At home, how have I fared? Have I bonded with my family members? Have I bonded with my wife, husband, children? Review your work, your day, your professional life, your family life, your spiritual life so you can know if you are on track or off track.

The holy book counsels that you examine yourself to see if you are still in the faith. A popular saying goes that ‘an unexamined life is not worth living.’ A life that is not being assessed is not worth living. You have to be able to review your own performance before you are assessed by your superiors. You should also review your day, week, month, quarter and year. This helps you to know what you have accomplished so that you can report it and get the confidence boost to do more. It also helps you to know what is outstanding so you can pursue it. Star performers review their work, output, day, conduct and actions.

Problems, Solutions and Problem-Solvers

Problems and challenges abound in the world of the living. And we dare not deceive ourselves by hoping that they will all end someday. The day that one ceases to have issues to contend with is the day he bids the world goodbye. To lend credence to this fact, the Bible records in the book of Job 5:7 that man is born to trouble as indubitably as the sparks fly in no other direction but upward.

So having established the fact that problems and challenges abound in the world in different forms and sizes, how can they be solved as they arise? Where does one run to for solution when confronted with challenges?

There are a number of recourses available for men to explore in solving the various challenges of life, such as one’s learning, past experience in handling a similar situation, parents, friends and loved ones, a consultant/ counsellor, etc. While any or all of these measures can prove to be very helpful, however, the most effective solutions are those given by God, and the best answers to all our questions are found in the presence of God.

I derived this insight from the Holy Bible, the book of Judges Chapter 21. The Israelites were faced with a major problem; preventing the extinction of one of the 12 tribes that formed the pillars of their nation, the tribe of Benjamin.

They had themselves launched a reprisal war on the Benjamites (read Judges Chapters 19 & 20 for details) and killed hundreds of thousands of them in the war, as well as every living thing that was found on their land. Only 600 men of the Benjamites who fled from the battlefront and went to hide in the rock remained, every other person had been killed; old and young, men and women.

And since the Israelites had vowed before God not to give their daughters as wives to the Benjamites, then the tribe faced the risk of total extinction, as there were only 600 survivors left in the whole tribe, and they were all men!

This made the Israelites went to the house of God to seek counsel on what should be done. And there they found the answer to their question. Without speaking through a prophet, God gave them a circumstantial direction on what to do to get wives for the men of Benjamin without having to break their vow.

While the whole congregation of Israel was in the presence of God mourning, weeping, and offering sacrifices, the inhabitants of Jabesh Gilead were not represented. Therefore, in making good their word, the Israelites sent warriors to the city and killed all the children, the men and every married woman in that land. They spared only the virgins whom they brought to the camp and then gave as wives to the men of Benjamin.

Another insight I derived from this new development is that it is those who do not spend time in the presence of God that will be made to pay the price or be used as a pawn to execute the solutions that those who spend time in the presence of God come up with. The people of Jabesh Gilead who were found wanting in God’s presence were the ones who forfeited their lives so that their virgins could be given to the Benjamites as wives.

This underscores the need for every one of us to cultivate the habit of spending time in God’s presence so that we do not become perpetual tools (for the accomplishment of the purpose) of those of who do.

How Can You Maximise Your Potential? (3)

B     

By setting life and project goals

¡   By drawing up a roadmap to achieve the set goals

¡   By always taking actions – instead of idling away or procrastinating

¡   By holding yourself accountable for living out your potential

¡   By adopting a steward’s attitude toward your potential, knowing that you will have to give account to God on whatever potential has been besotted to you (remember the parable of the talents in the Bible)

¡   By making the most of time and opportunities, and wasting none

¡   By giving of yourself whenever occasion demands

¡   By getting a coach, a mentor or an accountability partner who will guide or hold you accountable to your ideas

 

In Search of Career or Business Success? Look Here:

When seeking the roadmap to success in career and business, you must essentially look in three places:

1.             LOOK UP: to God for instructions, the blueprint of what you are meant to do, the direction detailing how you are to go about it, when, where and for His favour,

2.             LOOK INWARD: inside yourself and do a written inventory of your strengths, your skills, your flairs, your talents and the gifts of God in you that have commercial potential, and finally

3.             LOOK OUT: for opportunities in the marketplace where the application of your endowments will prove both useful and profitable. Look out for people who can be of use to you as service providers, mentors, strategic partners, amongst others.

These three steps are by no means exhaustive in accomplishing business/career success. But they sure can get you on the path if you do them rightly.

To your success!

How can you Discover your Potential? (2)

B   

By self-examination and reflection

¡  By self-expression or applying yourself in various activities

¡  By being adventurous, learning from trials and errors

¡  Through informal interactions with families, friends, colleagues etc

¡  Through divine revelation

¡  By chance and unpremeditated happenings

¡  During a coaching or mentoring session

 

Personal Thoughts on Potential

Potentials are the gifts, the talents, the endowments, the riches, the resources as well as the blessings inherent in a human that are yet to be expressed in his/her actions, interactions and works. Once these find expression, they cease to be called potential and then become skills and abilities.– Babatunde Oladele

The fear of not 'starting rightly' is what keeps many a great man and woman from fulfilling their potential. It is what also robs us of ideas and solutions that could have made the world a better place for you and me. I will say, start; if you fail, start again and improve yourself (and your process) along the way. The tortoise makes no progress unless it juts out its head. After all, the Bible says, "the end of a thing is better than the beginning thereof." – Babatunde Oladele

Life is a marathon, but some live it as if it's a 100metre dash; that is why you see some people with so much potential in their youth looking so ordinary in midlife. They have burned out. – Babatunde Oladele

A potential is what you can become. – Babatunde Oladele