CAN YOU SAIL THROUGH THE STORM?

Life is like a long distance journey on the sea. There are days of smooth sailing and there will be days of violent storms. It is a complex combination of the two. They are not predictable nor can one or the other be chosen or avoided. Both must be experienced.

While the smooth sailing is the more pleasurable of the two, it has its dangers if wrongly handled. The turbulent storm is the one dreaded and detested, yet has its uses if approached with wisdom. The issue is not about traveling in a smooth condition or struggling under the threatening destructiveness of the storm. The issue is, how will you handle these conditions of life? Either you like it or not every success journey is traveled under these states of affairs.

The danger of smooth sailing is pride and complacency. The invincibility of self. The absolute reliance on oneself to the exclusion of the role of others in one’s life. The lack of desire to improve and reach to higher and nobler goals. This condition of life is so enjoyable that you are blinded to the truth of ‘cultivating’ every path of the success journey, and the finite nature of every earthly resource.

While it is absolutely necessary to use this period of life to refresh yourself from the weariness of the journey and to rejoice in the good ‘fate’(?) that has brought you such pleasure, you must see this period also as a time of maintaining the structure of your ship. It must be a time of sowing into the lives of those ‘important others’ in your journey, you must sow into your future and do something to add to your environment without expecting anything in return but the joy of contributing to the wellness of your world.

Don’t be deceived that the storm of life will not show up. No matter how much smooth sailing you experience in life, storms will show up. The storm might be such that will just rock your boat and leave you unhurt or turbulent and life threatening. As long as you dream and set new goals for yourself to achieve, new challenges will arise. New opposition must be overcome. Some friends will refuse to go along with you on this journey, and some will betray and disappoint you. There will be new skill to acquire. There will be new friends to make. And new enemies to deal with.

Now, since storms are unavoidable, what do we do with them? Go through. Go deeper. Go stronger. Go wiser. And stand. Never allow the storm to stop you. Even if it means moving at the snail’s speed, move! Never allow the storm to make you vain. Even if it means straining yourself to discover a lesson, be more profound! Never allow the storm to weaken you. Even if it means stretching beyond your limit, become stronger! Never allow the storm to make you foolish. Even if it means studying wide and hard, become wiser!

And stand. Whatever life throws at you, stand strong, stand in faith and stand in love. Don’t allow the storm of betrayal and disappointment of men make you bitter. Don’t allow the opposition and challenges to the achievement of your goals make you lose heart. Don’t allow the shame and taunting of failure make you stop trying. It is the wadding through the storms to the other sides that brings the result, goals and the achievement you’re looking for. Robert W. Mcquilkin said ‘it is suffering and then glory. Not to have the suffering means not to have the glory’.

The purest ore is produced from the hottest furnace and the brightest thunderbolt is elicited from the darkest storm – Charles Caleb Colton

 In your success journey you must anticipate challenges, oppositions and unexpected setbacks. Make up your mind to face them, learn from them and go through them and be stronger. Allow them to abrasively smooth you and be more refined in strength, character and wisdom. Refuse to be roughened in the negativity of bitterness, hatred, lack of forgiveness, discouragement, frustration, weakness and despondency.

Sail through all storms that come your way in the success journey and continue to live a life of success!

SAILING TIPS

1. Build a strong foundation. A ship that is built to deal with anticipated storm is more likely to survive a storm. Prepare your heart and mind for the possibility. Lay a foundation of spiritual strength which will probably be the only saving grace when your wisdom, connections and human strength fails you. Fill your heart and mind with the Word of God and live by this Word. ‘And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever cometh to me, and heareth my sayings, and doeth them, I will show you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock.’ Luke 6: 46 – 48.                                                                                        

2. Build a reservoir of hope. There is no hopeless situation, there is hopeless man. Storms attack a man’s expectation. It destroys the possibility of success and causes a thick darkness filled with doom to surround the man. It brings a foreboding destruction of a man’s dream and all he stands for. To overcome this gloom, a light of hope must be lit. The soul must be warmed from the coldness of the storm. The soul must be kept steady from the violent tossing by the storm. The only hope that is strong enough to weather all storms is the hope laid before us by God in Christ Jesus. The hope of God’s help through Christ, the hope of eternal life. ‘That by two immutable things, in which it was impossible for God to lie, we might have a strong consolation, who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hope set before us: which hope we have as an anchor of the soul, both sure and stedfast, and which entereth into that within the veil;’                  Hebrew 6: 18, 19.                                                                                                                                    

3. Build and strengthen your faith. Faith sees beyond the present conditions. It sees into what could be and appropriate it for the present. In storm, there is little visibility and pervasive confusion. In this state, your mental reasoning and ability is be handicapped. You need to be able to see and reason with the eyes of faith. So that, you see beyond your present condition and take hold of the desired condition, working towards it with all enthusiasm and determination that the storm cannot break. ‘Now it came to pass on certain day, that he went into a ship with his disciples: and He said unto them, let us go over unto the other side of the lake. And they launched forth. But as they sailed He fell asleep: and there came down a storm of wind on the lake: and they were filled with water, and were in jeopardy. And they came to Him, and awoke Him, saying, Master, master, we perish. Then he arose, and rebuked the wind and the raging of the water: and they ceased, and there was a calm. And He said unto them, where is your faith?...’              Luke 8: 22 – 25.                                                                                                                                       

WHAT LIES WITHIN YOU?

The wealth of a man is not the material things he possesses. The true wealth of a man is the treasure that lies within him. A man can possess all the material things in this life and still be poorer than a man without a dime. True wealth is able to create, sustain and spread goodness and comfort. Material things in themselves do not engender this. It is what lies within that produces and spread great sense of well-being.

The resources required to walk through the path of success lies within you. The things you need to make your dreams come true are the things within you. Some of these resources are inborn while most are developed. They are resources that cannot be stolen from you. They are part or have become part of your essential being.

Growing up, these friends of my brother seem to always have a lot of cash to spend. They drive the latest cars, wear the latest expensive fabric and style in clothing and almost seem to be partying every weekend. It was clear they were doing well. So it seems.

They all have something in common; they were custom officers. At this time in my country, a lot of consumer goods are on import ban list or attract very high custom tariff. Smuggling was thriving and corruption was rife in the custom service. A custom officer on the field has it made. He swims in cash from bribery. In custom service, then, it is a punishment to be sent to desk work.

Then there came a change of government. There was a restoration of democracy from military dictatorship. The civilian government brought along with it liberalization of the market. Smuggling reduced, cash from bribery are hard to come by and my brother’s friends' source of cash dried up. In order to keep up with their lifestyle they got involved in illegal business and were caught. Some were sacked from the service and the others sent back to the office.

Life became hard to live. They sold their properties to survive. Since they did not have any worthwhile investment, the money they made from the sale of their properties was soon exhausted. They beg for money to eat, wore tattered cloths and live in penury. Since they do not know how to earn a living apart from working as a civil servant not to talk about creating wealth, they lived in this state for a long time.

We lost touch with them for some time and we almost forgot about them apart from the reminiscent of their extravagance. Then one of them came back. It seems the tide has changed for him again and the old times are back. He now drives a good car again. He adorns nice clothes and his skin shows that the good times are back. He told us how he got into money through his share of the family property that was sold. While we are still rejoicing with him, he disappeared into oblivion. The next time we set our eyes on him he was back in penury.

Money won’t create success, the freedom to make it will –Nelson Mandela

What is the point of this story? Money does not guaranty success, your greatest resources lies within you. Your ability to imagine a solution to a problem, creatively apply your skills and wisely convince others to go along with you is worth more than a million dollar in your account. Your ability to diligently apply yourself to a worthwhile course, enduring through the challenges and persistently holding on to good values will eventually yield a wonderful result that will bless others more than a gift of diamond. Your active faith, undim-able hope and acts of love will create more wellbeing than all the access to great finances can give.

Don’t misunderstand me. Money has its place in creating wealth, but money without all the necessary inner resources will bring destruction rather than wealth. But with these resources you can create wealth and share it with others. There are inner strengths you need to build. There are skills you need to acquire. There are principles you need to know and apply. As you start this great journey of success, let your focus be on becoming and not on having. Let your focus be on adding value to life and not on acquiring material things. As you fix your focus and begin to develop your inner gifts and resources, success will accompany you and with it will come money, material things and above all this fulfillment.  
    

A CHECK LIST

1. Your divine source. The acknowledgement of your divine source is the beginning of true awareness and genuine operation of your inner resources. Without a connection with your source, murkiness and eventual cease of flow of energy and power will result. Your inner resources depend on your divine source, God. Connect with Him and you are guaranteed the power to succeed. ‘But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is He that giveth thee power to get wealth, that He may establish His covenant which He sware unto thy fathers. As it is this day.’ Deut.8:18.                                                                                            

2. Knowledge, understanding and wisdom. The first and basic resource of life that drives the quality of life is knowledge filled with understanding and deployed through wisdom. Every venture devoid of required understood knowledge and used with wisdom is definitely destined to fail. It is essential that we are educated as we embark on the journey through success and express such education by wisdom. This education do not have to be formal, but whichever way it is acquired, acquire it as you start your journey. There are principles and laws of life to be learnt and applied, wisely. ‘Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding.’ Proverbs 4:7.                                    

3. Faith, hope and love. Faith helps you vision your life and receive the reality of it even before it manifest. The possibility brought into your life by faith help you to stay passionate and enthusiastic through the work that needed to be done. Hope helps you stand through the challenges and opposition without giving up. When the challenges and opposition brings darkness hope shines a light that allows you to still see your vision. Love help you keep the right perspective and give you the purest of motive. It helps you to keep the essential value in life. It helps you to overcome evil and live above hate. ‘For now there are faith, hope and love. But of these, the greatest is love.’  1Corinthian 13:13.CEV                                                         

4. Diligence. Every mental and physical skill (wisdom) acquired without ‘working’ them cannot produce results. Wisdom need to be applied diligently. Diligence is what bring results and attract great patronage and support required for a life of continuous success. ‘Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men.’ Proverbs 22:29.                                                  

5. Relationships. There is no success achieved alone. There is no fulfilled life lived alone. Successful living is based on a structure of both vertical and horizontal relationships. A vertical relationship with God who sustains you and horizontal relationship with men who complement you. True success is shared. True success is lived in a community. Your wealth and success will be greatly enhanced by your relationships. ‘Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow; but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.’                                                    

WHAT IS THE FIRST STEP IN MAKING YOUR DREAM A REALITY?

Now that you know where you are going, what is next? You now know what you should be living for. You can see vividly the life you desire to live. So what is your next step? How do you bring your desire to reality? What do you do next? Where do you go next? What time do you do what? The questions will continue to come as long as the vision is clear.

Do you know what I will suggest you do?

Look for money? No.  

Start working on your desire immediately? No. 

Ask for assistance from people? No.

Float a company or start an organization? No.

Are you still guessing? Okay, you have given up. This is what I will advise you to do – sit! Sit with a pen and a blank paper in a quiet place where you will not be disturbed. And plan!

A lot of mistakes would not have been made. A lot of regrets could have been avoided. A lot of waste of resources could have been saved if proper planning has been done. But many see it as a waste of time to plan. If they plan at all, they give it so little thought and time that the planning is as good as none.

There was once a king who desires to build a house of worship for his God. He perceived that he is not the best person to build it and so determine to have his son build it. He made a design of the house. He got a suitable land. And made an estimate of all the materials needed. He purchased and stored all these materials in sizes, quantity and finest quality. When his son came to the scene all he had to do was to supervise the building. For many generations in that kingdom that house was a point of reference for the entire citizen in extravagance and workmanship. This is the result of planning!

The king had time to plan since he was not going to do the building himself and he did not want to weigh down his son with the whole project. So he concentrated on planning and did a thorough job of it. He had time to think out all the details and nothing escapes his thought. He did the necessary research and made the right contacts. He had opportunity to weigh options and pick the best alternative. His job was to plan and he did it with all his might.

Though we do not have the luxury of time and singleness of participation like this king, it will help if we plan our success journey as seriously as the king did. Think of it, having a plan for your life. A road map that help in shaping your decisions and actions. It brings uniformity and coherence into your decisions and actions. You are taking decision and acting on different areas of your life but following the same road map that leads to one end – the ultimate goal of your life.

The life which is unexamined is not worth living –Socrates

Dare to examine your life now. Set goals to achieve by time. Set yearly goals. Set five years goals. Set ten years goals. Set goals for different areas of your life. Set goals for your personal development. Set goals for your career development. Set goals for your finances. Set goals for your social life. Determine what you want to achieve within a specific period and how you want to achieve it.

Take note of your starting point. Identify your gifts, talents and resources. Be conscious of your strengths as well as your weaknesses. Plan around your strength and work out how to complement your weaknesses. Pencil down those who have similar purpose and vision as yours and determine how you will link up with them directly or indirectly for mentor-ship.

To plan your life is to walk through your life in your mind and write it down. It is seeing each step you will take in the future. It is seeing how you will take the steps, and where you will take the steps.

Planning your life is living your life in your mind. It helps you to anticipate possible challenges and their solution even before you take the first step.

Planning propel you to action. Actions bring the vision to reality!

NUGGET ON PLANNING                                                                                                                          

1. Your purpose came from God. Your vision is received from God. Your strategy must be inspired by God. “With all your heart you must trust the LORD and not your own judgment. Always let Him lead you, and He will clear the road for you to follow.” – Proverbs 3:5, 6. CEV                                                                   

2. Your purpose must be cast in stone. Your vision must be upgraded once it becomes a reality. Your plan must be flexible, ready for revision as occasion demands. Review your plan periodically, as the future is subject to changes not envisaged. “Don’t brag about tomorrow! Each day brings its own surprises.” – Proverbs 27:1. CEV                                                                                                                                 

3. Your planning must be based on researched facts and information. Read relevant books and listen to counsel from experienced mentors who understand planning and your area of interest. “Where there is no guidance, a nation falls, but in an abundance of counselors there is safety.”                                        – Proverbs 11: 14. NRSV                                                                                                                            

4. Your plan is useless without action. Your actions will not produce the desired result without the favor of God. You must therefore back every action with prayer seeking God’s favor and help. “We humans make plans, but the LORD has the final word. We may think we know what is right, but the LORD is the judge of our motive. Share your plans with the LORD and you will succeed.”                                           – Proverbs 16:1-3. CEV                                                                                                                                                     

HOW FAR CAN YOU SEE?

How far you can see determines how much you can achieve. And what you can become. Your vision is important if you plan to be successful in life. But the issue of vision is usually the last thing attention is given to when success is being considered. Yet it should be the first. What you see is what you become! 

The eagle is a bird known for its ability to see an object from a very far distance. An eagle can clearly see a rabbit from 300m above the ground and 1km away from it. Its eyesight is very sharp, four to five times stronger than that of human. Eagles have binocular and monocular vision. They can focus on two areas in each eye at the same time. They can see forward and sideward - and slightly backward. This is spectacular!

One of the factors that give the eagle its uniqueness as a predator and a glamorous bird is its vision. No prey escapes the eagle and nothing catches it unaware. It always has all things in view. Nothing escapes its notice. It is successful in hunting because it sees ahead, clearly.

As vision is important to the success of the hunting expedition of an eagle so it is important to the success of man in life. A speaker once said, ‘success starts with a vision. The race of life is a race to fulfill vision’. What you pursue depends on what you see.

What do you see when you look at a cob of corn? Do you see food or a farm? What you see will determine what you will do with the cob. If you see food, the corn will definitely land on your plate, get chewed in your mouth and digested by your stomach to give you energy for the day. And the undigested, evacuated into your septic system or if you are in Africa, into a bush somewhere, mixes up with the soil to serve as manure for a visionary farmer.

The man that see a farm, will plant the corn as seed on a fertile ground, tend it and in three months get enough corn to eat, sell and plant again. He will probably become the employer of the man that saw the corn as food in one or two years!

Vision is everything for a leader. It is utterly indispensible.

 Why? Because vision leads the leader.

 That’s a statement made by John Maxwell in his book ‘Leadership 101’ which I found to be very true. A successful man is a leader. A leader is a visionary man.

What do you see when you look at yourself?

What do you see when you look at your future?

What do you see when you look at your environment?

What you see determines your success and your fulfillment in life. You need to have a vision for your life. Make it an urgent matter to get a vision for your life. A vision that will inspire you. A vision that will turn your juice on. A blind man does not know where he is going except he is led. He becomes dependent on the one who leads him. Without your own vision you are dependent on others’ vision to live. You will always be in others’ shadow. Is that how you want to live your life?

Get a vision for your life, now!

CASTING A VISION

While standing guard on the watchtower, I waited for the LORD’S answer, before explaining the reason for my complaint. Then the LORD told me: “I will give you my message in the form of a vision. Write it clearly enough to be read at a glance. At the time I have decided, my words will come true. You can trust what I say about the future. It may take a long time, but keep on waiting – it will happen!”                                          – HABAKKUK 2:1-3 (CEV)                                                                                                                           

1. You have to stand guard on the watchtower, asking God for a vision for your life. He knows your tomorrow; He has a plan for you. ‘I will bless you with a future filled with hope – a future of success, not of suffering.’ – Jeremiah 29:11 (CEV)                                                                                                             

2. You must wait for the LORD’S answer. You must listen for his voice; you must hear what He will say to you. ‘Let me hear what God the LORD will speak, for He will speak peace to His people, to His faithful, to those who turn to Him in their hearts.’ – Psalm 85:8 (NRSV)                                                                        

3. You must write the vision clearly. What you hear God say you must write clearly, first on your heart and then in indelible ink. You must not forget it. It will guide you; it will inspire you; it will strengthen you. As you read it periodically, it will help you put things in their proper perspective. ‘Then the LORD said to Moses, “Write this as a reminder in a book and recite it in the hearing of Joshua: I will utterly blot out the remembrance of Amalek from under heaven.” – Exodus 17:14 (NRSV)                                                          

4. You must know that the vision is for an appointed time. So, you must believe it and run with it. You must be determined and persistence. Whatever might be the situation, you must endure till you see the vision become a reality. ‘and you will be hated by all because of my name. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.’ – Mark 13:13 (NRSV)