Wednesday 14 March 2012

Laying the Foundations for Success


Laying Foundations for Success
As you step into 2012. I trust your ducks are in a row. I have always said that there are people that fail because the situation did not give them options then there are others that fail by default. There never was a plan to succeed so when we say they have failed its not really failure its that they never even attempted anything worthwhile.
The Bible tells us in Habakkuk 2 from verse one that you must right the vision down on tablets of stone. In other words the vision must be set permanently and clearly so it can be read and prompt a reaction in the reader. You cannot run passionately and accurately if you are not clear about what you are running for. Forgive me if I sound like a stuck record on this vision thing. My father raised me up to understand vision, when he got to talk about it was as if someone set him alight. That same passion about vision came on me and changed my life. I have seen hundreds of lives changed more by the discovery of God-given vision than by months of preaching.
King Josiah’s life was totally changed when the royal scribe read to him the book of the prophets and they stumbled across a prophecy that was a couple old hundreds years old. The prophecy mentioned him by name and said there be a young man from the house of David Josiah by name who will.... When he heard the words read to him he discovered his passion and reason for living. He tore his cloths went on a fast and was on fire bringing transforming to the nation.
How clear is your assignment and destiny? Is 2012 another wasted year before it even begins. Is your life a waste already or are you living life by design? Are you running after the God vision, or are you just existing?
Here are some simple steps that you can follow that will help you add value into your existence, I do this all the time at the end of each year reviewing what was accomplished the previous year against the set goals. I know that successful hours make successful days which in turn make successful weeks, months and years and this results in a successful life.
As a life coach I often come across people who hope that success comes like the lotto, you get a lucky number and hey there it is success on a big 2 by 4 check and cameras flashing everywhere. Well sorry to burst your bubble, there is more to it than that. In the workbook that we have been distributing we help you go through the 8 principles that are foundational for succeeding in any goal you set for yourself. The challenge often with people is that they often lack the personal motivation to follow through with each step so that they see personal success and of course that is the difference between those that make it and those that don't. Which one are you? Follow these little steps and build a hunger for success in 2012.
1. Set Goals
You need to have goals that your mind and spirit can focus on and pursue. This will include all the necessary areas IE. Relationships, money, career, family, study and so on... Do you have clearly written SMART goals? We recently did a goal setting exercise with our grade two daughter, she found it interesting and amusing. But she came out with a lot more clarity than I have seen in some adults.
To get this right think of your vision and ask yourself the question ''What do I want to achieve?'' right the answers down and you will be close to getting some goals.
Be personally accountable for your own success. You are your greatest asset, if you do nothing no one else can.
2. Write them down clearly
Become disciplined about writing things down. One of the greatest challenges for darker skinned people is we do not like to read and write. All our white friend have somewhat of a library in their homes and few of our darker counterparts have libraries. Why is this so? We do not have a high value on documented wisdom therefore we do not see the importance of writing. God says write the vision. An unwritten vision is not a vision at all.
3. Set good relationships
Get some good motivational people around you people that elude some energy and passion for life and achievement. You need people that will encourage you, rebuke you celebrate you and empower you. If your vision is worth pursuing it will need people around it to make it happen. Become an expert at spotting the kind of human resources you need to fulfill your vision.
Peer relationships, mentorship relationships, and destiny relationships
Accountability relationships all these are important. Can you put a name to each area of a person who has become that to you?
4. Visualize yourself succeed
Take time often to sit and savor the taste of success until you can clearly see that failure is not an option. See yourself hold the trophy, or the title deep. See yourself sitting in that office. See success not failure its inside you already think it through put the action plan into place and go out there and get the trophy.
You cannot achieve what you cannot see. You have to visualize the desired result and sooner or later it will manifest.
Hang around some success so you can develop a taste for it, you will not settle for anything less.
5. Stay motivated
Finally ensure that you keep up the fire of inspiration and motivation. Stay up death and positive about the vision. Nehemiah tells us the joy of the Lord is out strength. Joy will sustain you and make you creative in doing the set vision. There will be moments when you feel you will do the vision next week then on another you feel like it will never happen. Keep your eyes on the vision. A vision that does not inspire motivation and passion is a weak one you might need to look at it and pray and let God re-fire your vision. Let me close by giving tips on staying motivated about your goals.
Know what inspires and motivates you
-Reading
-Seeing
-Talking
-Thinking
-Reading the vision aloud to yourself will help you.
-Watching some good success film
By the way the module on Success Paradigms 101 is still available on special offer. Ask for yours now and we will send it to you.

Build the dream


Build the dream
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?