Travails and Triumphs of Great Destinies (4)

i.             If Your Destiny is Great, You Will Need God’s Intervention

There are some things we can accomplish on our own, using the power God has given us. But there are other things we cannot do on our own, which require God’s intervention. Your God-ordained destiny is one of such things that require God’s intervention.

The Bible says: “A man can receive nothing except it be given him from heaven” (John 3:29). God is the holder and moulder of destinies. He holds every destiny in His hands. He lifts common people and makes them uncommon people. He changes bad destinies to great.

God is in the business of repairing destinies. Any destiny that is marred or mangled by satan and his cohorts are effectively remoulded by God.

God transforms a sinner to a saint. He converts a murderer to chief apostle. He reconstructs a thief to a disciple. He makes an evangelist out of a drunkard.

Only God can actually transform lives. Irrespective of your current status, God can take you from there to a higher status. Jabez was a man whose destiny was marred by satan. He had a sorrowful destiny and was named thus.

But Jabez craved for a positive change. He called upon God to enlarge his coast. God turned his sorrowful destiny to a happy, prosperous and enviable destiny.

Times of travails are times when some people give up. They look at their situation and they conclude that it is hopeless, that there is nothing they can do about it. Obviously, we cannot change our circumstances by own power. But we can turn to God, the moulder of destiny, to change our circumstances.

In times of travails, what you need is God’s intervention. If it appears you can’t bear the travails, call upon God. If things are beyond your control, call on God. You don’t have to be a prayer expert to obtain answers from God. If you can simply and fervently say this prayer, “O God, help me to be the best that you want me to be,” God will intervene and turn things around for your good.

Until I come your way soon, go and pray your way through to victory!

PS: part five of this article will come your way soon. Watch out for it and make sure you don’t miss it!

Waxing Stronger: Lesson from Microsoft

When last did you visit the blogger version of my CFVL blog – www.centreforvictoriousliving.blogspot.com? If you haven’t been visiting this blog, then you might be missing some fresh juicy news. On September 3, 2013 (just recently), I inserted a backlink (courtesy blogger.com platform) which contains several links leading to several platforms of renowned mass media that feature fresh news about Apple, Google and Microsoft, three of the most successful corporations in the world.

Looking at the impact these behemoths are making on the lives of humanity, we cannot but endeavour to keep abreast of the latest development occurring within these corporations. On the top right side bar of this very blog, you will find these links under the title: NEWSREEL.

I personally visited this blog to read news about those three corporations on September 4, where I came across latest news about Microsoft Corporation, which really inspired me greatly. The news I read is that Microsoft has purchased Nokia, makers of mobile phones, which is another multi-national corporation.

Although some analysts are already predicting a debacle on the part of Microsoft for taking the step to purchase Nokia corporation, one fact is certain: no corporate body embarks on restructuring (merger and acquisition) with the hope of failing woefully.

When you look at corporate restructuring from the legal aspect and the terms of agreement involved, you will agree with me that business integration, whatever form it may take, is not a joke. Corporate restructuring, be it Merger and Acquisition, Take-over, Purchase and Assumption, Spin-off, or Cherry Picking has one goal in view, which is consolidation, expansion and greater business boom.

Every business or corporate restructuring is well planned and well calculated. The “directing minds” of corporate bodies embarking on restructuring are not novices. They are competent persons who think before they act. But this however does not mean that a well planned and well calculated corporate restructuring will bring instant success. As Robert Schuller, founder of Crystal Cathedral, a Christian ministry said: “Success is never certain; failure is never final.”

Due to unforeseen circumstances, a well planned and well calculated corporate restructuring may experience setbacks and wobble, but based on the good plan and good calculation, it is impossible to fail totally.

This is the angle which some pessimists who labeled themselves as analysts always ignore. Pessimists always focus on the negative and so they hardly consider the positive side of any undertaking. The fact is: no one can completely predict the outcome of a venture. The pessimists are wrong for always expecting the worse.

You have not given it a try yet and you quickly conclude that it is impossible. Things may turn out well if good plans are made. But to conclude that a venture will fail in the face of good planning and good calculation is to be extremely pessimistic.

Pessimism is the bane of many a mediocre. A mediocre is an incurable pessimist because he believes nothing can ever turn out well, even though he has never tried it. Dear friend, how can you, in the face of proper planning, conclude that you will fail? Have you tried it before? Even if you have tried it before and you have failed, it is not a guarantee that you will fail if you give it another try.

History is replete with people who tried and failed many times but who later became successful. Even if you think you will fail, you may not fail. With proper planning, you are more likely to succeed than to fail.

Plan Well

If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. The issue is not whether you will succeed or fail; the issue is planning. Many have programmed their lives on failure so much that no matter the amount of possibility an idea may hold, they find it difficult to believe that the idea can be actualized.

Some are held down with fear of failure. They won’t plan because they are afraid of failure. They won’t act because they fear they will fail. They prefer to remain in their comfort zone, no matter how uncomfortable they may be, to trying something and fail.

To achieve great success in life, you must summon up the courage to step out of your comfort zone and pursue your heart’s desires provided your heart’s desires do not violate the laws of God and men. Ignore the hypocrites who attack prosperity preachers. We all want to prosper. No one wants to live and die a pauper.

I know and believe that God who created you didn’t create you a failure. He wants the best for you and has endowed you with the wherewithal to achieve great success in life. What God expects of you is to put to use the natural abilities He has given you in order to “exercise dominion over the earth.”

How can you conclude that you will fail when you have not put your God-given potentialities to use? You don’t have to be afraid of failing. Failure is nothing but a process. If you are afraid of failure, you are not likely going to achieve great success in life. The fact that you tried and failed does not mean you are a failure. It is when you quit trying that you become a failure.

It is however worthy of note that you can minimize failure. The way to minimise failure is to plan. The importance of planning cannot be overemphasized. If you can plan, the chances are, you will reduce failure to the barest minimum. Planning involves thinking and strategizing.

You sit down and think of steps you will take to achieve your set goal. You figure out the amount you will allocate to executing your venture. You will as well think of problems that might likely come up and think of what to do to solve those problems. Reduce all your plans to writing. Each day as you go about your activities, keep reading through your plans in order to put you in the mood to do something to keep moving forward.

Execute Your Plan

It is not enough to have a great plan. It is equally important that you execute your plan. A plan does not execute itself. You don’t become successful until you execute the plan you have made towards achieving your set goal. Planning and strategizing is one half of your effort towards achieving your set goal. The other half is execution.

The importance of execution cannot be underestimated. It has been said that a poor plan well executed is better than a great plan poorly executed. While it is important that you sit down to plan and strategise, it is equally important that you go all out and execute your plan.

Just as corporate restructuring requires thinking, planning and strategizing, everything you wish to achieve in life requires thinking, planning and strategizing. Never embark on any project without taking time to think, plan and strategise.

If it is going to be, it is up to you. You don’t have to be pessimistic about life. And you should not allow negative, pessimistic people to truncate your ambition. Anything you want to do, you will always find those that will say “it is impossible,” or that will say “you will fail.” But the fact is, success is never certain. You may or may not succeed when you give it a try. And even when you fail, failure is never final. You can still try again.

Never allow the fear of failure to hold you back from giving your best to any venture you embark upon. It is your ability to keep trying until you succeed that counts. The inspirational word for you is that nothing is impossible for the person that is willing to keep trying without allowing discouragement to terminate his/her journey to the top.

Keep demanding great things for yourself and keep thinking, planning and strategizing. Like Microsoft, you will keep waxing stronger and stronger and victory will always be yours everyday of your life. Till I come your ways soon, start doing something today, no matter how little to move you forward on your way to achieving greater success!

PS: part two of this article will be coming your way soon. Watch out for it and make sure you don’t miss it!

Function Under Your Unction

A fish lives and thrives in the water. A fish cannot live and thrive when it is out of water. In fact, when a fish is out of water, it will be greatly restricted. And the worst is: the fish will not live long. Within a short time, it will die.

Similarly, man lives and thrives on land. Man cannot live and thrive when he chooses to live in the water. Any attempt to stay long in the water can spell disaster to man. A man who tries to stay under water for too long will drown. This is because man is not created to live and thrive under water.

Locate Your Habitat

All the nutrients you must absorb in order to function optimally are in your habitat. The oxygen you need for your survival and sustenance can only be found in your natural habitat. There is a great lesson to learn from this analogy of animals’ natural habitat: God created you to function under the unction that he poured on you.

If you try to function under the unction that is not meant for you, you may never excel in life. Some domineering parents will want their son/daughter to become a doctor, engineer, lawyer or an accountant. Fine! It’s good that you have good intentions for your children. It’s good that you guide them on the path to success.

But one truth you must not lose sight of is that while you can guide your children on what they are capable of becoming, you cannot really dictate to them what they should become. If you do, you will be leading them to the dungeon of mediocrity.

This is one mistake some parents make. A parent who is a doctor or engineer may want his son/daughter to take after him. But if the profession is not the son’s/daughter’s greatest strength and ability, he/she may find it difficult to cope with his studies and practice. Like a fish taken out of water, they may not be able to function optimally.

Knowing Your Unction

David was an “anointed” musician. While a shepherd boy tending his father’s sheep, he was always playing the harp. He was also a valiant boy. While tending his father’s flock, he had killed a lion and a bear.

But in spite of his strength and valour, he was not really known. What brought him to limelight was his great ability in playing the harp. At a time when a talented musician was needed, it was David that was recommended. He was not initially recommended for his bravery, he was recommended for his ability to play the harp.

You may be multi-talented. You may have the ability to do several things well, but it is one or a few of these abilities that will launch you to limelight. It is therefore advisable that you concentrate on doing what you know best to do.

People will know you for several things you can do very well. There were many things David did not know how to do. He didn’t concentrate on those. He concentrated on those he was gifted to do.

THIS IS THE SECRET OF ALL GREAT MEN: THEY FUNCTION UNDER THEIR UNCTION. David was not only a brave man; he was also an “anointed” harp player. In fact, it was his music talent that brought him from the bush to the palace.

The problem with us is that we strive to major in our minor. Instead of majoring in our major, we major in our minor. When we see others excelling under their unction, we try to copy them without sitting down to figure out whether we have the unction to function there. A fish does not strive to function outside its natural habitat. It effortlessly functions under its own natural habitat.

THE KEY TO SUCCESS IN LIFE IS TO FUNCTION UNDER YOUR UNCTION. IT IS OUR FAILURE TO FUNCTION UNDER OUR UNCTION THAT IS RESPONSIBLE FOR OUR MEDIOCRE PERFORMANCE. THERE IS NO WAY YOU FUNCTION UNDER YOUR UNCTION THAT YOU WILL NOT EXCEL.

We may admire and learn from those who are excelling under their own unction, but we don’t have to copy them or try to be like them. A fish does not strive to be like an elephant nor does an elephant strive to be like a fish.

Just as a fish cannot strive on land, so also an elephant cannot strive on water. Sure, an elephant can swim, but it cannot remain in the water as long as the fish does. They have their separate natural habitats and each function under its own habitat.

This analogy teaches us lessons about greatness in life. YOU DON’T BECOME GREAT BY STRIVING TO BE LIKE OTHERS. YOU BECOME GREAT BY LOCATING YOUR UNCTION AND FUNCTIONING UNDER IT. The truth is: there is divine unction on every person. And it is under our divine unction that God expects us to function. When we function under our respective unction, we will be living in our natural habitat. It is when we live in our natural habitat that we will be fulfilled.

How to Locate Your Unction

It’s not difficult for a fish to locate its natural habitat nor is it difficult for an elephant to locate its own natural habitat. But unfortunately for us humans, who are the most intelligent and the crown of God’s creation, we find it difficult to locate the habitat for our greatness. But this ought not to be so. We are creatures of massive intellect.

Passion is a Pointer

David was a passionate instrumentalist. He played harp with passion. He played harp so well that he was described as a “cunning player on an harp.” Even when he became the king of Israel, he still sang a lot and encouraged people to sing praises to God with musical instruments.

Passion can be a pointer to the place of your unction. Now, let me give an illustration: buy a live fish and put it in an empty container for about five minutes. Watch how it suffocates for lack of oxygen. But after the five minutes has lapsed, pour clean, sparkling water into the container that you put the fish. Watch how excited and lively it becomes.

The same thing applies to us. We are most dispassionate and perform below ebb when we try to function under other people’s unction, but we become very passionate when we function under our unction.

What are those things you are passionate about? What are those things you love doing so much that even if no one pays you to do them, you are happy doing them? What are those things you can keep doing day in, day out or year in, year out? What are those things you are doing that people are praising you about? Take up your pen and start jotting them down.

After that, read all that you have written and select one or a few of those that you are most passionate about and which you find very easy to do. Both passion and excellence go together. You are most likely going to excel in those things you are passionate about.

Don’t be carried away by other people’s unction. RESPECT GOD’S UNCTION ON YOU AND SEEK TO FUNCTION UNDER IT. EVERYTHING YOU WANT IN LIFE INCLUDING, BUT NOT LIMITED TO, FAME AND FORTUNE WILL COME TO YOU IF YOU CHOOSE TO FUNCTION UNDER GOD’S UNCTION ON YOU.

It is ridiculous they way some people strive to achieve success, fame and fortune without giving thought to the need to function under their unction. You don’t become great by copying or striving to be like others. YOU BECOME GREAT BY FUNCTIONING UNDER YOUR UNCTION. IT IS THOSE THINGS YOU ARE MOST GIFTED TO DO THAT YOU SHOULD FOCUS ON. IT IS THOSE THINGS THAT YOU KNOW BEST TO DO THAT WILL EARN YOU FAME AND FORTUNE.

If you are a secondary school student wishing to study medicine or law in the university, you need to first sit down and consider your unction – what you understand very well or what you can do very easily. If your results show that you always score low marks in science subjects, but score very high in Arts/Social Science subjects, you may find it difficult if you choose to study Medicine. But if you choose to study Law, you will find it easier than Medicine.

There are exceptions of course. There are instances where students may be exceptionally good in virtually all the subjects. To such students, it is advisable that they study a course that they are most passionate about. You can only excel in a field that you are most passionate about.

Dear reader, there is a unique divine unction on you. There is no one that is not endowed with unlimited potentialities. With these potentialities, you can achieve any goal you set for yourself. These potentialities are the unction God expects you to function under. But you see, you cannot function under all the unction. You can only select the one or the few that you feel you are most richly endowed with.

Like the fish, you cannot thrive under other people’s habitat; you can only thrive under your own habitat. Your unction is your habitat. This is where you will have all the material, financial and spiritual resources you need to be successful and fulfilled.

Seek to function under your unction today. Forget about other people’s unction and concentrate on God’s divine unction on you. Everything you want in life is tied to God’s unction on you. Begin to function under your unction now and you will be victorious now and always. Till I come your way soon, go and live victoriously!

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “BUT YE HAVE AN UNCTION FROM THE HOLY ONE, AND YE KNOW ALL THINGS.” – I John 2:20

Building a System that Stands the Test of Time

For every business, there is a profit motive. So, apart from selling quality product or service, the successful entrepreneur is also concerned with how he can maximise profit without compromising quality.

Unfortunately, however, most businesses die soon after they are set up. Research conducted years ago revealed that more than 80% of businesses do not survive the first five years of their operation.

Reasons? Well, there may be many reasons for failure of many businesses, but in this article, I shall be discussing five reasons I have observed recently:

1.   Saturated Market

A saturated market is a market where you find too many suppliers competing with each other in meeting the demand of few consumers. A lot of people enter into a business simply because they see many people doing the business. But obviously, it is not easy for a newly set up business to thrive in a heavily competitive market. The solution could however be:

a.   It is either you map out a strategy for surviving the first five years of operation; or

b.   You enter a market where demand outstrips supply. In such a market, the demand for the product or service is so high and constant that the present suppliers find it difficult to meet consumers’ demand.

When you are operating in this type of market, consumers are much more likely to buy your product or service without YOU making much effort looking for customers.

c.   For most, if not all businesses, you cannot keep offering bad product or service and hope to survive or thrive in the business.

There is no way you can convince an unsatisfied customer to buy more products or services from you in future when the product or service you sell to him makes him unhappy.

Similarly, an unsatisfied customer is a ‘bad advertiser’ of your company. Once you sell any person a bad product or service, he goes around telling people who care to listen that you sell bad products. This will go a long way in affecting your business.

To stand the test of time, let people know you for the high quality product or service you render.

2. High Price

When it comes to pricing, you can hardly beat customer to it. Customers are very mindful of their hard-earned money and many of them would not buy any product until they go round to find out the prevailing market price of the product they want to buy.

If your product price is far higher than the prevailing market price, the chances are, you may not find many customers buying the product from you. Therefore, you need to avoid over pricing your product. Always charge reasonable price for your product or service so that you can stand the test of time in the market.

 3. Waste

Little things, they say, matter. As far as your business is concerned, the little money you make from your business regularly counts a lot. Aggregation of the little earnings makes a huge amount.

To thrive in your business, you must develop a strategy of ensuring that those little money you earn constantly from your business are not embezzled, siphoned or wasted.

I visited a business centre sometime ago at Sky Memorial in Wuse Zone 5, Abuja (November 2011) to print a two-page document and I was surprised that their price is not only low,  I was also issued a receipt for that little N60 transaction for the two-page document. Instead of charging N100 per page, they charged only N30 per page, and they issued me a receipt for it!

Holding the receipt in my hand, I began to wonder why they should issue receipt for such little transaction. It then occurred to me that this is a way of curtailing waste and embezzlement as well as being accountable.

Sometime ago, I also visited the Abuja office of one of the most successful lawyers in Nigeria. This lawyer has many lawyers working for him. As I stepped into the premises, I saw a notice placed at a very conspicuous place on the entrance to the storey building which grabbed my attention.

The notice is a strong warning to clients which says: DO NOT GIVE YOUR MONEY TO ANY LAWYER.

As I ponder on this warning, I came to the conclusion that this warning is a way of covering the loophole of fraud, and ensuring that the business thrive and stand the test of time.

If your business must thrive and stand the test of time, you should invent a strategy aimed at curtailing waste and embezzlement. Don’t just rely on your staff, set up a system of accountability and try to cover every loophole and prevent your business from sinking.

4. Build a System

Business is all about building a system. System here implies putting things in place so that your business will continue to thrive even when you are away for some time.

System varies from business to business. A large establishment may require complex system for it to thrive. A simple system may suffice for a small supermarket. For instance, all that is necessary to run a small supermarket is to employ one or two honest and intelligent salesgirl or sales boys who will put price tags on all the products they sell, provide trays in which shoppers place all the products they want to buy and then issue receipt upon payment.

These days on the Internet, many businesses are run on autopilot. While the internet marketer is fast asleep, his blog/website continues to make money for him round the clock. People buy products on his blog/website and pay on the spot, while the products are sent to them online or via courier service as the case may be.

For your business to thrive and stand the test of time, work hard to put up a system that will continue to generate income for you even when you are way for some time. Strive to build a system today. And until I come your way soon, go and live victoriously!