As you continue in your self-discovery journey you will discover that there are thing that you do almost naturally because your personality and your gift set fits in perfectly to that. If you are able to focus on these natural traits and develop them you will find an area where you will excel. The Bible says ''a man's gift will make room for him and take him before great men” it also says “see a man who is diligent in his business; he will not stand before obscure men'' You ability to discover your gift set and area of assignment and work on it will bring you success and fulfillment.
The discovery of your gift set is the discovery of your life assignment. When you discover the dream you must build it and develop it. The principle of concerted cultivation is needed in Africa. Many young people go through life without ever really discovering themselves or without cultivating their gift set until it is a notable gift that causes them to stand out. I often say going to work is one of the most disheartening things to ever do; you must work hard at going to your assignment not to work. I see so many workers that are not happy, why should they be happy when they are going to work. The discovery of your destiny is the discovery of fulfillment.
Concerted cultivation simply means I discover what I am set to do and I invest time, effort money and other resources with the intent of getting some returns out of the gift. In Africa we mass produce people and give them the same education the same time the same information. We do not take time to know what is in a person with the purpose of developing people into areas of specialty. This means if you do not cultivate the giftings that are in you no one else really cares about you. You need to deliberately discover and develop yourself as an individual. If you do not enroll in an institute that will help you in this area or become a member of a good church that will work on you and develop you in a well-rounded way you will have to jump in the worker queue for the rest of your life.
One on the reasons I took on life coaching as part of my portfolio I realized that I had to give people more than pulpit ministry if they were to succeed. Life coaching has always been a passion I just did not see it that way, pastors need to equip people for living life on earth as much as we do that for heaven. Paul in a way was a coach to Timothy he helped bring the best out of him and that’s what coaches do. You need someone to read you life and help you interpret some of those things that are still a mystery.
I have two interesting personal coaches in my life and I appreciate their role very much. The first one focuses on my giftings as a person and he helps me focus those so that I am more effective as a pastor. He has assisted me with personality profile tools that have given me a clear picture of who I am and why I am. The second coach causes me pain but I love it, he is a fitness coach who makes me sweat and groan. As I do what they call “boxercise” I am getting fitter and stronger. I have always wanted to do all these things but when you do not have a coach who pushes you and helps bring the best out of you the motivation is low. My third coach helped me in a holistic way to come out of the broken home paradigm and become the great leader that I am. This is my pastor, a great man in so many ways. He brought the best out of me by teaching, training, rebuking, correcting, loving and encouraging. I would not have made it this far with him and I am eternally grateful for the input I have from him.
This brings me to the big question or set of questions that you need to answer for yourself. Your ability to answer these questions will determine your level of success.
What is my personal vision?
What giftings do I possess that will position me for success?
What personal development program should I put myself on that will enhance my chances of becoming an outstanding person in this area?
Do I need a personal coach to enhance my proficiency in the desired area of success?
Coming from a typical black family back ground I can confidently say that its easy to grow up and neglect some key factors in your life that would have made you more successful in life. I was fortunate to go to what was called a “group A school” where there was about 45 black people. It exposed me to a new way of thinking. I developed a confidence and a healthy sense of entitlement. There is a difference between people that went through the process of concerted cultivation and those that don't. Those young people that were developed stood out in the sports field and the academic field. They had the CV that was full of accolades and awards. Leadership seemed to come naturally but it was because of concerted cultivation.
I encourage you to look at each of these questions and answer them as well as you can, this will help you know yourself better and be able to plan your program moving forward. In order to build the dream and make it a reality you have to take these steps seriously. Having a coach helps because he is not as concerned about you comfort as he is about your success and significance.
I recently started a company “Success Paradigms 101” that is designed to offer you tools that are affordable, user friendly and effective. These tools give you an opportunity to take your place among the great, we believe that we can help you make it happen but you have to have the desire to win. Watch this space for more details and we get ready to launch fully in March 2012. If you have not yet gotten your free foundational tool the Success Paradigms 101 module send your request to pastortich@pwmi.co.za and I will gladly send it to you. To see more of what it’s all about follow this link http://youtu.be/b2L_8CPmUM4
Remember build your dream no one else will, we are all busy building our own dreams. At Success Paradigms 101 our dream is to build yours.
Are you developing yourself?
