WHAT IS YOUR PERSPECTIVE OF SUCCESS?

Just like the popular illustration of half-filled and half empty glass of water of the diverse views of opinion on the same issue, so is human perspective of success. The world view of success is as numerous as the number of humans that inhabit this earth itself. So diverse is our perspective of success that the likes of Hitlers, Al Capones and Osama Bin Ladens of this world are heroes and models for some. Though our own perspective of success might not lead us to looking up to extreme characters like these, but it raises the issue of examining what we call success.

This post is not intended to spell out what an ideal perspective of success should be but to provoke us to take a second look at the path and direction in which we are investing our talents, gifts, time and resources. It will examine the common perspectives of success and leave us to identify where we slot into and see if that journey really is leading us to what our lives were created to fulfill.

One perspective of success that is most common is ‘possession is success’ perspective. The people with this world view believed the more possessions we have the more successful we are. They live their lives acquiring money, properties and investments. They do not do this merely to meet their needs but to have the sense of satisfaction and fulfillment. Ironically, it is never enough.

The positive thing about this perspective is that it gives some people the drive to create wealth. These people starts and build businesses to produce the needs of the community and provide sources of income for the people of the community. Starting, running and building a company is a risky and tasking job, it therefore requires high motivation to venture into any business. The high drive to make this businesses succeed; helps the people with this perspective to creatively overcome the challenges.

Men like Carlos Slim Helu, Bill Gates, Amancio Ortega, Warren Buffet, Larry Ellison (Forbes 2013) and millions of other men and women are in this category. These people have contributed to the development of the world in their various areas of specialties, meeting needs and helping people to use their skills and talents in self-actualization.

However, a negative side to this perspective is that there are people who believed this perspective and also believed the end justifies the means. To them the means of acquiring possession is inconsequential as long as they acquired it. These men are kingpins of organized crime and the various corrupt tyrants of the third world countries. According to Al Jazeera website “organized crime gangs dealing in fake goods, drugs, human trafficking and illicit wildlife trades earn nearly $90billion annually in east Asia and the pacific” siting a UN report. There are third world countries’ rulers who are richer than their poor countries.

They are the sources of heart wrenching misery in the world. The lives of men and women are being destroyed by drug addictions. Thousands of orphans, widows and widowers are being produced daily due to the senseless killings by organized crimes and wars instigated and financed by despots. Lives are being impoverished by the spreading of illiteracy, ill health and unemployment due to the corruption of government officials who misappropriates government funds. The greed produced by this perspective creates monumental failures.

The second most common perspective of success is the perspective of achievement. To these people our achievements level determines our success. These are the foot print in the sand of time people. They are driven by the desire to achieve great feats and climb to great heights in their fields. Possession is usually not their primary goal but some do acquire great wealth in the process of accomplishing their goals. But many do not and are still fulfilled and content with their achievements.

In this group, we have academicians, researchers, inventors, writers, musicians, artists and sports people. People like Albert Einstein, Thomas Edison, John Forbes Nash Jr, Jimmy Carter, Steven Covey, John C Maxwell, Wole Soyinka, Chinua Achebe and millions of others. They are the engineers of the modern civilization. Their achievements have raised the standard of living, thinking and behavior. They have raised the lid on the capacity of human ability, productivity and relationship.

Unfortunately also in this group are people who are responsible for catastrophic events and movements in the world. Guns, missiles and atomic bombs are inventions made possible by the achievements of brilliant minds. These have been used for much destruction in the world. Moral degradation pervading our society today is an offshoot of defective but applauded liberal philosophies, theories and works of arts. Racial theories have lead men like Adolf Hitler to plunge the world into a senseless war with loss of millions of lives. These and many more have brought disturbing and self-destructive trends into our modern civilization.

Another perspective of success which is not common but has been of great importance in the story of mankind is the “living and propagating an ideal” perspective of success. The focus of this perspective is living by an ideal of life and influencing others to live the same way. These ideals might be religious, social, economic or political. These are not theoreticians. They live these ideals and passionately canvass others to live it too. To these people acquisition of wealth and achieving a feat in life is not their primary goal.

Mahatma Gandhi lived a non-violent life and withstood the force of oppression and violence with non-violent means to gain independence for India. Martin Luther King Jr followed in this pattern to bring racial segregation to an end in America. Nelson Mandela did the same against apartheid in South Africa winning the love of both while and black. Mother Theresa lived a life of love and spread this love to the unloved in India and in the world. Billy Graham live a life of faith in Jesus Christ and spread this faith all over the world. Kenneth Hagins lived a life of faith and fellowship with the Holy Spirit and taught many how to do the same. These men and women and many others, by the ideals they lived and canvassed changed the course of nations and lives for the better.

However, in this group also are the likes of Osama Bin laden who lived violently and build a structure of violence which had continued to unleash violence and terror across the world. James Warren Jones aka Jim Jones lived in error and lead many astray, cumulating in mass suicide of his followers and their family at Jonestown, Guayana. These and many have done a lot in creating sorrow and destruction of lives in the world.

“The more aware we are of our basic paradigms, maps or assumptions… the more we can take responsibility for those paradigms, examine them, [and] test them…” Stephen R. Covey.

As you can see these perspectives of success overlaps and can come in infinite numbers of combination to produce different shades of perspective. It is also clear that none of the perspective is misuse proof. Each perspective has people who are producing negative results. It is also easy for one that is succeeding under a perspective to be viewed a failure by one who believed in a different perspective. It is therefore important that while we assess the opinion of others concerning our success journey in order to make use of those things that will help us fine tune our journey, we should be conscious of the perspective from which they offer those opinions. This is to ensure that we do not derail from our direction in life by using the perspective of others to assess ourselves.

A closer look also shows that having a perspective of success is not enough. There must be an ethical background which must be seriously considered, understood and assimilated into our perspective of success. We can be passionate about the path of success we are treading but we need to be aware of the result been generated by this passion. If the fruits are bad, it does not matter that the tree is in a beautiful garden. A poisonous tree remains poisonous. We must examine the results coming out from our success journey and ensure it is full of wellbeing and spreads wellbeing.

Now what is your perspective of success? What ethical background is it based on? What are the effects of the results of your success? When last did you check?

LIFE CHECK                                                                                                                                               

1. Examine your heart. You should be sure your spirit is regenerated and you are living according to your faith in Christ Jesus. Your regenerated spirit will receive wellbeing-generating life from God that will help you produce good results in your success journey. “Test yourselves and find out if you really are true to your faith. If you pass the test, you will discover that Christ is living in you. But if Christ isn’t living in you, you have failed” 2Corinthians 13:5 CEV.                                                                                                           

2. Examine the reigning principle in your mind. A transformed mind produces good result and blesses people in his area of influence. “A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out of the evil treasure bringeth forth evil things” Matthew 12: 35 KJV                                      

3. Start the process of change. Once the examination reveals you are not having a good effect on your environment turn to God and let Him change you. You can’t do it yourself. You need to present yourself to Him and ask Him to change you from within. When you are changed from within, it is easy to change other things. “Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord” Acts 3:19 NIV.                                                                                                           

4. Renew your mind. Our minds gathers information daily, most have corrupting influence over us. To checkmate this, we must continually read, study, meditate and confess the word of God. “Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is – his good, pleasing and perfect will.” Romans 12: 2 NIV.             

               

     

 

   

  

CAN YOU SURPASS YOUR ACHIEVEMENTS?

Success is not for those who are weak, it is for those with lion hearts. It is difficult to achieve set goals and even more difficult to sustain them. To surpass your achievement is, therefore, a herculean task. Anybody that has achieved any level of success in life will tell you how much hard work, determination, endurance, concentration and various forms of deprivation they had gone through to achieve it. Yet achievements have to be continuously surpassed to sustain success.

Yesterday’s achievements become stale in the light of today’s reality. If we rest on our achievements, soon we’ll realize we’re no longer relevant in the scheme of things. To be truly successful is to constantly surpass our achievements. The question then is how do we surpass our previous achievements so that we can sustain our success and remain relevant in our industry and community?

When we achieve a set of goals, we feel a sense of relief, accomplishment, enthusiasm and confidence. These are great feelings that help us in our success journey. However, these feelings feed on continuous achievements. Once we don’t achieve new goals, we starve them and they begin to wither. As this happens other debilitating feelings begin to set in. fear, insecurity and discouragement begin to prey on us.

We, therefore, must feed the positive feelings that help us on our success journey, especially enthusiasm and confidence. The way to do it is to make sure, no matter how small, that we are setting and achieving new goals. So, have you achieved a set of goals? Add new ones to them. Raise the stake. Set new standards. Decide to improve the package. Win more clients. Determine to achieve higher grades. Just add new achievable goals.

To surpass our achievements requires new skills. We cannot rely only on the skills we previously use. To surpass is to do it better. To do it better we need new tools. To use new tools we need new skills. Continuous self-development becomes a key aspect of our lives. It is usual for us to budget monthly for food, drink, cloth and other mundane needs of our lives. But only few of us include books, seminars and conferences in this budget.

We don’t have a reading culture. And when we read, we read gossip magazines and novels. We hardly attend seminars and conferences except the ones organized or paid for by our organizations. We don’t subscribe to our professional journals and hardly understand the new trend in our industry. If we want to be relevant in our industry and community, we must continuously develop ourselves.

Self-development will help us to acquire new skills and methods of operations. It will help us understand and take a stand on new developments and trends in our industry and community. To do this, we must cultivate a reading culture, reading materials that educate and build our capacity. At every waking hour, we must have a book that is teaching us something. Pay for and attend professional seminars and conferences. And put whatever you learn in such forums into practice. Go for higher formal education, not for the purpose of adding new certificates, though it could be of help, but in equipping yourself for greater responsibility. You want to surpass your achievements? Develop yourself continuously!

Sometimes all we need to surpass our achievements is to present the same thing in a different way. Creativity is an essential ingredient of success. Creativity is the ability to imagine different forms and hue. It is the ability to see the same situation in different light. Creativity is ‘seeing’ beyond what you see. Seeing differently what things could be. Not accepting things only as they are but seeking how they could be.

The most splendid achievement of all is the constant striving to surpass yourself and to be worthy of your own approval – Denis Waitley

Creativity is based on the use of our imagination. A lot of people think they do not have creative ability. Yet they exhibit creativity every day. Most of the time we perceive the aroma of food and we conclude that the food is tasty. This is the work of our imagination. The sense of taste has nothing to do with the sense of smell. Curry and thyme smells good but are tasteless! Everybody has the ability to imagine things but only few people use it intentionally and purposefully. Artists of various genres use their imagination purposefully. Scientist must use a lot of imagination to understand a lot of the concept they research into. In fact, great scientists are known to be great musicians, painters and sculptors.

Everybody can be creative. A businessman can be creative. An administrator, teacher, parent, politician and whoever can be creative. All we need to do is to intentionally imagine things differently from what they are. Set aside time to be alone or disconnect yourself from the world around you in a comfortable place and direct your thought towards a particular object or issue. Write your thought down no matter how foolish they might seem. You will be surprised how differently you’ll see things. Practice creativity in your daily endeavors and you’ll surpass your achievements.

Man is hardly an isolated system. We are affected, influenced and inspired by our environment and the people around us. To some extend our environment and the people we associate with determines our values, focus, inspiration and standards. Your present achievement level is partly based on the type and level of influence you’re receiving from your environment and close associates.

If you must surpass your present achievement level, you must open yourself to greater and better influence. Locate yourself in better environment and associate with people with greater vision, value, inspiration and achievements. As you see these people live at this higher level of achievements, it inspires you to do more. And if some of these higher achievers are leaders, they will invest in you and give you the necessary push you need to get ahead. You must include as part of your associates people that are higher in achievement than you. Don’t be a local champion!

Surpassing your achievements might be a Herculean task but as you begin to practice these principles, you’ll discover that you've grown so much that the hard task has become easy for you. Remember if success is easy everybody will be successful. Roll up your sleeve and let the work begin! 

SOARING HIGH                                                                                                                                        

1. What you look at consistently you grow into. If you must grow, you must be filled with what you want to grow into. Your senses, your mind and your heart must be filled with the image of who you want to become. Stay focused on those who are soaring high and you will continually be upwardly mobile. “But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.” 2 Corinthians 3: 18.                                                                               

2. Understand that you are totally dependent on God in your success journey. Don’t allow any level of achievements cut you off from your spiritual growth. There is a great tendency that your achievements will preoccupy you with legitimate activity which can cause you to pay less attention to your fellowship with God. If you allow this to happen, you have just cut off your real source of power for soaring high. Make your spiritual growth the underlying factor for surpassing your achievements. “I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase, so then neither is he that planteth anything, neither he that watereth but God that giveth the increase.” 1Corinthians 3: 6, 7.                                                                                          

3. Practice generosity. You must think in terms of giving more than receiving more. When your desire to soar high is motivated by the desire to give more, spiritual and moral forces are released to empower you. Motivation to increase through greed eventually destroys and does not bring the positive feelings required to sustain success. As you meditate on surpassing your achievements, think in terms of what you can give more. “There is that scattereth, and yet  increaseth; and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.” Proverbs 11: 24.                                                                                                        

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