Start Early

 I love them that love me and those that seek me early shall find me....Prov 8:17. One of the major reasons why we have ordinary result in what we do is because we didn't start early enough, we didn't take responsibility for our lives early enough. look back at your life, your childhood and teenage years, what did you learn during your high school days. How serious and responsible were you then. if you could roll back the hands of time, would you do things differently, would it be a slight change or a total overhaul? Did you have a dream you pursued? did you follow instructions or were you headstrong and full of pride? Many of us didn't have the privilege of learning the basic life values back then, no wonder our country is in chaos.

People who discover what they want from life early have a greater chance of achieving success. God loves things to be done early, no wonder he arose from death very early in the morning. Life only starts when you choose a particular path you want to follow. What path have you decided to follow? If you can't answer that question, you have not started at all. Hurry up, start now, time is ticking away, it waits for no man.

Joseph and david started taking responsibilities as a teenager. One of my most respected men of God Bishop David Oyedepo once said that while he was in school, he read 58 African writers series books because he knew he would one day address crowds, he was only 15years old. Pastor Christian Oyakilome was said to have 2 big boxes of christian books and one small box of school books, no wonder they are taking Nigeria and Africa by storm. Kenneth E Hagin started his ministry at age 22. In sports, Tiger Woods started playing golf at age 4, at 17 he had won all competitions Golf could offer. Andrea Agasi got his first tennis racket on his first birthday, no wonder he proved almost unbeatable during his prime.

The earliest time to start taking responsibility for your future is now, whether you are ten, teenager, middle age or elderly.Don't allow yourself get distracted, stay focused and you will enjoy the fruits of your labour.

Destroy That Mental Barrier

Have you heard of Roger Banister? He was the first athlete to run the mile in less than four minutes. In doing so, he not only broke the four minutes barrier, but also taught us all a valuable lesson. Back in the1950's, the world record was 4:mins 1.4 seconds held by one Swedish guy Ginder Haegg. The record stood for several years since it was set in 1945. Athletes, experts and even doctors argued that the human body was biologically incapable of running the mile in less than four minutes. Then came Roger Bannister on May 6 1954 doing the impossible, he broke the 4 minute barrier when he completed a race in 3 minutes 59.4 seonds. His rival, Charles Landy had thrice run the mile in less than 4 mins 2 sec without breaking the 4 minutes mark. The four minutes barrier was like a wall, Landy had once said, but guess what? just 56 days after Bannister broke that "wall", Landy ran the mile in 3 mins 57.9 seconds. In 1957, 16 athletes around the world ran the mile in under 4 minutes. THE 4 MINUTE MENTAL BARRIER WAS TRULY SHATTERED.

What really happened? Did coaches get smarter and teach the athlete new technique? Did running shoes get more sophisticated? Did the body suddenly get stronger? NO. The 4 minute barrier it turned out was not a physiological one - just a mental one! As Rogger Bannister explained later, it seemed illogical that you could run a mile in 4 minutes and a bit, but not break the 4 minutes. His mind refused to accept that barrier, that made the difference. 

Bannister breaking a mental barrier

Once that mental barrier was broken by Bannister, every one believed it could be done! and once the belief changed, the rest was easy. It is important to understand that our achievement in life are limited not by what we can do, but by what we think we can do. More than ability, it is our attitude that makes the difference. As Henry Ford said " if you think you can, or you think you can't, you are a right". You will probably find your mind constantly grappling with two competing thoughts, I can't! and I can! How do you ensure the "I can" wins. Simple, feed it and consciously make it grow stronger. While you are at it, starve the "I can't" and ensure it grows smaller and weaker. You won't always find a Bannister to break the mental barrier in your life. You need to do it yourself. Once you start feeding the "I can"thought, you will achieve more than you ever thought was possible.

Wish you a great week!

You Are The Architect Of Your Own Life

According as his divine power hath given us all things that pertains to life and godliness ...2Pet1:3. If you asked me, this is one of the most inspirational statements made in the bible. What God is simply trying to say is, child, this is your bag of tools, that is cement and sand, make concrete, those are iron rods, I have made blocks available, just go ahead and start building, if you need any other material, I will provide them for you. Wow! Everything you need for your reality is in your ability!

Many people complain about their lives, they say, why was I born in this house, why wasn't I born in Europe or America (I must confess I once thought this way). I see people blame the government for their woes. If only they knew that all they would ever need is within them. It is time to stop giving excuses, it is time to rise up and start building the life of your  choice. History is saturated with people who grew up facing adversity and yet still built a great life despite all odds going against them. I'll like to mention a few;

Albert Eintein was termed a dullard, unteachable (not different from a person suffering from Down's syndrome), yet we all know him as one of the greatest scientist of our time. His quantum theory is still relevant today.

Glen Cunningham was an American Athlete in the 1930s. When he was eight, he got involved in a fire accident which took his elder brother and severely burnt his legs. Doctors tried to amputate his legs but he wouldn't let them, so the doctors concluded he would never be able to walk normally. A man of faith and positive attitude, he soon using those legs to run. 

In the 1932 Olympics he took 4th place in the 1500 m, and in the 1936 Berlin Olympics, he took silver in the 1500 meters.In 1934, he set the world record for the mile run at 4:06.8, which stood for three years.In 1936, he set the world record in the 800 m run.In 1938, he set a world record in the indoor mile run of 4:04.4. He retired from competition in 1940. (Roger Bannister was the first to break the four-minute mile, in 1954.).

Booker T Washington, an African- American born during the time slave trade was still in vogue, he became one of the leading voice of former slaves and their descendants who were oppressed and disenfranchised. He gave speeches and became nationally famous. He became adviser to the presidents of the US between 1890 and 1915.

Every one has the power to build a great life, no matter what you may be facing presently. All the materials needed are available. There is only one problem. That problem is you! We seek help, fortunately, the only help we can get is at the end of our own arm. We are too lazy and impatient to build a great life, instead we run after wealth. Lets kill the demon called laziness and impatience. Lets start now, whether you are a student, a youth or middle aged, though no one can go back and make a brand new start, you can start now and make a brand new ending.

The Expediency Of Change

One thing in life we cannot change is change. Change is constant, no matter how much we try, change must occur. Look back at how you were 10 years ago, I bet you have changed intellectually, physically, emotionally and in your perception of life, I have. Pause and imagine for a moment, if you were exactly the same as you were 10 years ago, how would it be?

Despite the fact that change is inevitable, we must strive to create changes (and I mean good ones) in our lives and environment. Success in life largely depends on how well we change and adapt to the demands life throws at us. The almighty God creator of the heavens and earth was subject to change. God realized that the instructions he gave to Moses was producing little result, therefore he decided to send his begotten son Jesus Christ to bring about the change he so desires. If God can change, then so can you. All you may need to improve your situation could be just a little change in your appearance, character, thinking, habits, priorities and so on especially as a new year beckons.

Henry Ford learnt about change the hard way. In early 1900s, his manager William Cannuzi advised him that his model T car was getting out dated. Henry ford so cherished his model T that he sacked his manager and refused to change a bolt on it. William Cannuzi joined General Motors (GM) and helped build a better car than Ford's model T. General motors began to make more sales than Ford motors. Henry Ford realised this and made another model called Model A. It was however too late, General Motors had taken over the market. Ford motors was never able to recover even up till today.

The key to change is wisdom, wisdom is the result of the knowledge and understanding we have about a particular subject. Wisdom can only be gotten through continuous learning. In other words change is directly proportional to the amount of learning. The more we learn, the more the ability to change. It is high time we take learning more seriously. The best cellist Pablo Casals was asked on his 95th birthday why he still practiced 6 hours a day, he said, "because I think I am making progress".

Oswald J. Smith

A great revivalist Oswald J Smith learnt French and Spanish at 70 and ministered in french and Spanish until his death. What area of your life are you changing as you enter 2014?

The Power Of Dream (2)

     I realize that dreams come to us in the form of pictures, though a little bit unclear, its capable of taking root in our subconscious minds. The content of your subconscious mind determines how successful you will be in life. This is the reason you should always ensure you hold a favourable picture (which I call a dream) in your minds.
      God knew this when he started by planting a dream in the mind of Abraham, he said " i will give this land to your offspring" Gen 12:7. The dream of attaining leadership was also planted in Joseph, in no time at all, these men started living their dreams.

How To Create A Dream
      Only few people have the privilege of been given a dream (or vision) directly by God. It is therefore our responsibility to create one by ourselves, after all, bible says "ye are gods", gods are meant to be creative and infinite. The whole world is at your beck and call, its all yours, you have a "blank cheque" to become whatever you want, by;
1. Carrying out a self appraisal, look into yourself, identify your likes, preferences and strength. Funnily enough you could consciously develop love for something and turn it into a dream.
2.  Start developing, first by writing it out, thinking about it and start doing things that will bring about improvements in line with the attainment of your dreams.

       At this stage you have a dream in your hands which should dictate how you live the remainder of your life. In fact if I see you misbehaving, I conclude that you don't have a dream or you simply have a bad dream. At the early stages, dreams are fragile, they are like soap bubbles floating towards jagged rocks on a windy day. 
      Start living your dreams, always ask yourself this question, "what the are the things I need to achieve my dream?" The more frequently you ask yourself this question, the more your dream take root in your mind and the more efficiently you will be pursuing your dream.
       Thomas Edison dreamed of producing light from electricity, he invented the incandescent lamp. John F. Kennedy dreamed of having a man on the moon, 8 years later Apollo II was launched and landed Neil Armstrong, Edwin E. Aldrin Jr and Michael Allen Collins on the moon. Martin Luther King Jr dreamed of racial equality in America, this dream is believed to be fully achieved when Barack Obama was elected president of the United States.
   Start dreaming early, start dreaming now, you never know, you in a short while you might be living your dream if you don't give in, a dream will provide you with the power to be the best you can be. This is Gods plan for you. 

The Power of A Dream

Tony wakes up suddenly, sweating profusely, his heart thumping away violently in his thoracic cavity, his pupils dilated, he reaches for the lamp, its just 3:30am he blurts. His wife complains, "whats wrong darling"? I had a nightmare, he says. Oh, its only a dream dear, lets go back to sleep. I am sure you have once experienced something similar to what Tony experienced.

The dream I am talking about isn't those we see when we sleep but those we make when fully awake. (of course I don't mean day dreaming). Dreams arise as a result of activities taking place in our subconscious minds. The workings of the subconscious mind is very complex and processes billions of information sent to it via the sense gates (i.e the eye, ear, nose, tongue, and skin). These activities usually  are what result into the dreams we see when we sleep.

However, we are talking about a dream created, crafted and designed by you which is able to sail you from where you are right now to where God wants you to be. God's desire for us is to be prosperous. The Hebrew word translated as prosperous "Tsalach Tsaleach" means to push  forward. We are expected to push forward in our business, academics, marriages and so on. God said, "I know the thoughts I have towards you, thought of peace and not of evil to give you an expected end". Having an idea of what is ahead gives us energy to continue pushing forward.

God will likely not appear to you and tell you what to do, he has already done his own part of the deal, the bible says " he has given us all things that pertains to life and godliness". This means you have all the raw materials needed to build yourself a great and impartful life here on earth. That is success. you cannot begin to achieve success except to begin to achieve one internally. This internal success begins with creating a dream by and for yourself. If you don't design your own dream, you will likely end up working yourself in someone's own dream.

The Enigma Called Madiba

Last night I was scrolling through the news feeds on my facebook page when i stumbled on a post by a good friend of mine which states " REST IN PEACE MADIBA AFRICAN GREAT LEADER". I felt a cold chill run up my spine as I thought, oh! at last this man has finally left us.

Personally, I have been facinated by the life of this great enigma. The life he lived, his leadership qualities all helped to make Africa and the world a much better place. I would like to use this medium to share some of the leadership qualities of this great man.
1. He sacrificed all: The life of Nelson Mandela was a life of sacrifice for the people of South Africa. He laid down his life, education, family to ensure a better life for his people. He refused to accept offers from the Apartheid government during the early days of the struggle, instead he preferred the Robben Island prison than to sit in luxury and watch the people suffer. He must have the heart of the greatest leader of all, Jesus who sacrificed himself for humanity to reconcile us to God. Jesus taught us something profound when he said "no one who has left home or wife or brother or parents or children for the sake of the kingdom of God will fail to recieve many times as much in this age and in the age to come eternal life". The sacrifice of Madiba virtual bought him the world, he was begged to become president, a position  people would gladly kill and destroy to get.

2. He had a Large Heart; Madiba was a man with an incredibly large heart. He was loving, forgiving, humble and always ready to listen to ideas. He could have come out of prison and turned himself into an emperor or dictator, but not this man. I remember watching him soon after his release going round to visit and reconcile himself with those who worked hard to ensure his life was a living hell, especially the attorney who laboured to ensure Mandela was hanged during his trials. you could feel the genuiness of his smile, hugs and disposition.
when he became president, he dropped some of the "ignorant" policies of the ANC which could have spelt disaster to the economy of South Africa, thanks to his wide consultations and learning he had undergone after he was released.
There is too much to say about this man, he is an inspiration of hope to me and millions alike. I pray the youth of my country Nigeria learn something from the life of Nelson Mandela. May his gentle soul rest in perfect peace.