THE KEYWORD TO PERSONAL GROWTH (PART B)

To achieve this, you need to break out of your comfort zone, query some of your traditional mindsets and stretch beyond your imaginary limits to the realm of can be. One word that must be your driving force – which I call the keyword to personal growth – is “more”, “more”, and “more.” To this end, you would need to:

See more: open your eyes wider and see on a larger scale. Open your inner eye and see beyond the present. See the big picture. See opportunities. See options. See avenues. See possibilities. See greatness. See seeds. See potentials. See, see, and see!

Ask more: ask more questions. Seek more information. Request for more explanation, more clarification. Increase your curiosity. Double your inquisitiveness about everything. By asking more, you get to know more and be more.

Read more: if you do not have a habit of reading, you need to cultivate it. And if you already have, then you need to read more, read wider, read over, read beyond your field. By so doing, you would be cultivating your mind for sound reasoning and better decision-making.

Learn more: you need to increase your bank of knowledge by consciously seeking information on different things, from different sources. Go out and learn more about what you already know, update your mind with the latest information. By learning more, you will become more.

Try more: you might have failed in an endeavour, try again. Explore more options. Try your hands on new things, you don’t have to get it perfect at first or even at all, just do something. Try this, try that, try here, try there. Don’t stop trying, it’s the key to growth and the best way to increase your capacity.

Work more: do more work than you are wont to do. Organise your life and time in such a way that will enable you to get more work done. Do more work than you are paid for. Whatever you are doing, work more at it and don’t rest on your oars.

Do more: take more actions. Expand more efforts. Do one per cent more of what you are doing. Increase your action ratio. Go an extra mile; and you are on the path to self-development, happiness and success.

Give more: give more of yourself, give more of your time, give more of your resources to your family, your friends, your work, your church and your society. Don’t stop giving, it is the secret of getting and becoming. So give more.

Be more: be more than you are to yourself, to your family, to your friends, to your company, to your church/society. Be more than “me” to yourself, be your own resource person. Be more than a husband/father to your wife/children, be their mentor. Be more than a wife/mother to your family, be their inspiration. Be more than a friend, be a motivator. Be more than an employee, be a value-adder. Be more than a colleague, be an encourager. Be more than a member of your church/society, be a contributor. Do you understand now? So break out of the status quo and be more to all!

The keyword to personal growth and development is “more”. Always ask yourself ‘what more can I do?’, ‘What more can I be?’, ‘What more can I learn?’, ‘What more can I give?’ etc. You will be amazed at how fast you would grow as well as at what you are able to accomplish.

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT, THE POWER OF VISION & MAXIMISING THE MOMENT (PART A)

SELF-DEVELOPMENT: 

A Major Recipe For Success Men are anxious to improve their circumstances, but are unwilling to improve themselves; they, therefore, remain bound. The man who does not shrink from self–crucifixion can never fail to accomplish the object upon which his heart is set. - James Allen, 

What is Self-Development? Personal development is the conscious, disciplined, and sustained series of investment in the self through the acquisition of knowledge and skills, as well as the application of the acquired knowledge and skills for an enhanced lifestyle. Areas of Personal Development The development of the self is as composite an entity as the very nature of man. It consists of various interdependent aspects of human, which all work together to produce a better person when cultivated, or result in a debased existence when ignored. The different aspects of man open to cultivation for development are his: Spiritual state Mental state Emotional state Physical state Social status and his Professional/vocational performance If you want to be wealthy and happy learn this lesson well: learn to work harder on yourself than you do on your job. - Jim Rohn  

Painting The Right Picture: THE POWER OF VISION AND FOCUS 

What is A Vision? Vision is the ability to see what is not yet, so you can create what never was. -Doug Firebaugh A blind man’s world is bounded by the limits of his touch; an ignorant man’s world by the limits of his knowledge; a great man’s world by the limits of his vision. - E. Paul Hovey Visions and dreams are the children of your soul, the blueprints of your ultimate achievements. - Napoleon Hill The most pathetic person in the world is someone who has sight but has no vision. – Helen Keller, 1880-1968, American Blind/Deaf Author and Lecturer Aligning Goals to Your Personal Vision do an Inventory of your skills, Abilities, Knowledge, Character Attributes/Weaknesses, and Spiritual Gifts ¡ What are your God-given abilities? ¡ What skills have you acquired? ¡ What education do you have? ¡ What are your Character strengths & weaknesses? ¡ What is your Spiritual Gifting? Draw A Life Plan How does your Life Vision Statement translate into practical goals? ¡ Do you have a calendar of when you will do what? ¡ What tasks do you have to undertake to accomplish these goals? ¡ How will you know when you have achieved your goals? Goals must be SMART: Specific; Measurable; Achievable; Realistic; Time Limited. A Career Plan: ¡ What are your career goals? ¡ Do you have a plan to advance in your career? ¡ What experience do you need for advancement? ¡ What education do you need for advancement?

M E D I T A T I O N & I N S I G H T S (3)

TIPS FOR MAKING YOUR LIFE COUNT 

 You’ll know if you are adding value to people when your encounters with them make their eyes shine brightly, make them smile, or make them say “thank you।” On the other hand, you’ll know if you are depleting from people if every day your encounters with them make them frown, make them groan “Oh no, not again!” or make them say “I’m sorry.” Now that you know, make your life count every day in 2008!

DISCERNMENT AND SENSITIVITY  

In our bid to enforce what we think is right we sometimes find ourselves fighting against God without knowing. How? Humanly speaking, it was not proper for Joseph to be the favoured son of his father and for him to still be telling his brothers about his dreams. It was not proper for an ordinary carpenter to rise up one day and claim to be the Son of God and be preaching doctrines that were at variance with the law of the day. It was not proper for Stephen to say that he saw God and Jesus seated on the throne (who has ever seen God and live?) and not expect to be stoned to death. It was improper for some people to claim to be of The Way (Christianity) and be practising a religion contrary to Judaism, why shouldn’t someone as fervent as Paul persecute them to death? It was improper for Pharaoh, a pagan king, to rise up one day and claim the LORD asked him to go fight a battle; king Josiah was one of my favourite personalities in the Bible, but he met his death at age 39 trying to stop Pharaoh on his God-assigned task. It takes discernment and sensitivity in the spirit to identify the God-factor in any situation and then act appropriately. Of all the foolish things a man can do, running on a collision course against God (knowingly/unknowingly) is the most dangerous. The result is predictable. 

Shalom

M E D I T A T I O N & I N S I G H T S (2)

While the whole congregation of Israel were 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. Shalom!

HOW TO KNOW WHEN THE SPIRIT OF GOD HAS DEPARTED FROM SOMEONE 

The Spirit of God is gentle and at the same very strong. Among other things, He is an inspirer, a motivator, an enabler and an energiser. When He dwells upon someone He enables such person to do great and mighty things that he wouldn’t have been able to do in his own steam or human strength (Check Judges 11:29, 14:6, 14:19, 15:14, 1Samuel 10:6, 1Samuel 10;10-11, 11:6-7, 1Kings 18:46 etc etc). 

However, when He leaves someone, He usually does so in a quiet and unobtrusive way that the person may not even know that the Spirit has departed. Especially if such person is given to routine (as we all are), he will continue to perform his customary tasks and other activities every day without any inkling that he is on his own, without the Presence of God! The Spirit usually departs from someone during a moment of carelessness, un-guardedness, compromise, disobedience etc. So how does one know when the Spirit of God has left him? One may not know when the Spirit takes His leave. On the surface, everything will still look and appear normal. And there may not even be an inner turmoil to indicate the departure. 

However, one of the indications that will help one to know is if he finds himself struggling, perspiring, exerting and experiencing so much stress to accomplish things he used to do before with relative ease. Then such a person needs to do a personal check to know where he has lost it. A case study in this instance is Samson. He was a very strong person because of the hand of God upon him. He tore a lion apart with bare hands (Judges 14:6), killed a thousand men with the jawbone of a donkey (Judges 15:15), and carried on his shoulders two gateposts with people on them and walked some distance to the top of a hill (Judges 16:1-4)! He was indeed a very strong man; one of the strongest men in recorded history. And that was simply because the Spirit of God was upon him. But when he lost it, he didn’t know it, he didn’t feel it, and no bell rang in his head to announce his loss of Essence. 

The Bible captures it thus: Judges 16:20 And she said, “The Philistines are upon you, Samson!” So he awoke from his sleep, and said: “I will go out as before, at other times, and shake myself free!” But he did not know that the LORD had departed from him. See what happened after that: Judges 16:21, 25 Then the Philistines took him and put out his eyes, and brought him down to Gaza. They bound him with gold fetters, and he became a grinder in the prison….So it happened, when their hearts were merry, they said, “Call for Samson, that he may perform for us.” So they called for Samson from the prison, and he performed for them… So how does one get back the Spirit of God? It is simple. All you need to do is personal consecration and rededication of yourself to God. He is more than willing to occupy His kingly place in your life and scheme of things. But you have to be willing to allow Him space. It is very important that you note that the race of life is full of ups and downs. 

Therefore, having the indwelling of the Spirit of God or losing the same is not a once-for-all phenomenon. No, no. As often as you become conscious of the loss, so should you do the needful consecration and rededication to get yourself back on stream. May the LORD help us. It’s my pleasure sharing this piece of meditation with you. Shalom!

M E D I T A T I O N & I N S I G H T S (Part 1)

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 in 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.

SOME 22 FACTS ABOUT YOUR LIFE PURPOSE

1.           It is the key to your greatness

2.           It is not determined by your past or present location

3.           It has nothing to do with your family background or standing in the society

4.           It may have nothing to do with your present career or the job you are doing now

5.           It helps you to set your priorities in life and identify what is really important and what isn’t

6.           It helps you to apportion and make use of time more productively

7.           God will require an account of stewardship from you on what you do with it

8.           It takes an accountability system to continually live and fulfil it maximally

9.           It is what you will do with joy and look forward to doing every day

10.         It will bring you great contentment in life and give you a sense of fulfilment

11.         It helps you to identify your destiny partners: e.g. who to marry, who to be friends with, who to go into business with, who to hire as workers, who to submit to etc

12.         In the field of your purpose, you are a king and a celebrity

13.         It is in the Word of God

14.         It takes God and His resources to fulfil it

15.         You are not really successful if you are not fulfilling or living it

16.         It guides you to make the right choices and decisions in life

17.         It is not something you learn in school, seminars, workshops, or conferences

18.         It has been in/with you all along, merely awaiting discovery

19.         You might have been fulfilling it without knowing

20.         You don’t have to leave your present job or career to start fulfilling it

21.         You can make a career out of it

22.      It can be commercialised to fetch you money and make you very rich

THE AWAKENING (PART 3)

And you learn that your body really is your temple. And you begin to care for it and treat it with respect.

You begin to eat a balanced diet, drink more water, and take more time to exercise.

You learn that being tired fuels doubt, fear, and uncertainty and so you take more time to rest. And, just as food fuels the body, laughter fuels our soul. So you take more time to laugh and to play.

You learn that, for the most part, you get in life what you believe you deserve...and that much of life truly is a self-fulfilling prophecy.

You learn that anything worth achieving is worth working for and that wishing for something to happen is different than working toward making it happen.

More importantly, you learn that in order to achieve the success you need direction, discipline and perseverance. You also learn that no one can do it all alone...and that it's OK to risk asking for help.

You learn the only thing you must truly fear is the greatest robber baron of all: FEAR itself. You learn to step right into and through your fears because you know that whatever happens you can handle it and to give in to fear is to give away the right to live life on your own terms.

And you learn to fight for your life and not to squander it living under a cloud of impending doom.

You learn that life isn't always fair, you don't always get what you think you deserve and that sometimes bad things happen to unsuspecting, good people.

On these occasions, you learn not to personalize things. You learn that God isn't punishing you or failing to answer your prayers. It's just life happening. And you learn to deal with evil in its most primal state - the ego.

You learn that negative feelings such as anger, envy and resentment must be understood and redirected or they will suffocate the life out of you and poison the universe that surrounds you.

You learn to admit when you are wrong and to build bridges instead of walls.

You learn to be thankful and to take comfort in many of the simple things we take for granted, things that millions of people upon the earth can only dream about: a full refrigerator, clean running water, a soft warm bed, a long hot shower.

Slowly, you begin to take responsibility for yourself by yourself and you make yourself a promise to never betray yourself and to never, ever settle for less than your heart's desire.

And you hang a wind chime outside your window so you can listen to the wind. And you make it a point to keep smiling, to keep trusting, and to stay open to every wonderful possibility.

Finally, with courage in your heart and God by your side, you take a stand, you take a deep breath, and you begin to design the life you want to live as best you can.