Why You Must Overcome Laziness

Years back in secondary school; I often participated in the track and field events; most notably long jump and 3000 meters. As at that time I was a teenager and of course it was for the fun of it.

             I learned however, over the years that no one finds inspiration to do a 3000 meters race where there is no prize at all for the winner. The reason is because the 3000m is a tiring race to participate in; and only the promise of an award would keep an athlete on the track in such a race for such a long time.

            Life is a pretty long adventure. And guess what, there is a prize at the end of it. However, only those that will dare to stay on the track for that long, and perhaps to the end, will obtain the prize.

            In 1 cor. 9:24, Paul the apostle speaking by inspiration said “know ye not that they which  run in a race run all, but one recieveth the prize, so run, that ye may obtain…”

            Paul readily notes here that at the end of every race, there is a prize to obtain. That’s for sure. Note also that life is a race and you are not designed by God to be a spectator in this race. You are not made to stay out there and cheer up those in the race. God's intention for you is that you’ll be a participant in the race. The implication of that is; you have a chance of obtaining the prize. Don’t settle for less; you’re not meant to be left out. There is no partiality with God as long as you play your part.

            But Paul state clearly that …“so run, that ye may obtain”. In other words, you cannot obtain without running and you cannot run without obtaining as well. Either way, you must run.  

            We talked about planning in the previous chapter as paramount to your success. However, plans not pursued are of no good. How do I mean? I mean taking action! Stand up and put your plans to work.

            You sit down to plan, but you must stand up now and act. Planning without action would make a dreamer frustrated. Many have dreams, a few have gone ahead to create plans for accomplishing those dreams, and a few yet have gone the extra mile of taking action.

            You can’t afford to sit there and wish for things to happen simply because you have big goals. It is your action that differentiates you from the beggar on the street. You may be a graduate wearing nice coats, but if you don’t act on your dreams and plans, you‘re no different from a beggar. Don’t die a camouflage.  

            Habakkuk 2:2 has become a memory verse among Christians today. It’s a shame however that like it is called, “memory verse,” it remains stuck only in their memories and the brain cells that store those memories. Very few people actually act accordingly.

             “…write a vision, make it plain upon tablets, that he may run that readeth it”. Many have had visions and nice goals (through deep thinking). Many others have made plain upon tablets their goals (that is; well drawn-out plans). Only few however are actually running with their vision. Only few are taking action. That’s why only few are "obtaining".

            You will only have your laziness to blames if you don’t succeed. Stop folding your arms and saying “there is no capital to start up the business I want to do”. There are several ways to raise capital. You only need to sit down and think, then stand up and act. Capital is not really money; capital is the state of your mind backed up with diligence. Show me a diligent and positive thinker, I will show you a man who must succeed no matter what?

            Don’t fold your hands and say “nobody is willing to give me the support I need”. If you stand up, you will attract people. It’s only laziness that repels people. Wise and calculated action makes a man attractive to potential helpers. Your problem is not money or people. Your problem is your own laziness.

            In Hebrews 12:1, the latter part of it, the Bible says”…. Let us run with patience, the race that is set before us”. It would be shameful to leave this world when your time is up without making undeniable impact. Only your great accomplishment however can put you on the list of those that made impact; and only giant strides (defined by deliberate and audacious actions) can help you to those accomplishments.

            This is a wakeup call. Too many are asleep. You are not moving forward and the reason is because you are still asleep. Remember the four lepers at the gates of Samaria. I talked about team in chapter 1. There was the risk of dying on getting into the city, but they knew they would still die of hunger if they remained where they were. Then they said to themselves and I paraphrase; if we don’t go for the fear of dying, we will still die here, so why don’t we go anyway? We will go, they said. We will take actions. We will not sit here and fold our arms. We can’t just die here! So they entered into the city, and they did not die. Rather, they returned with plenty.

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Radicality: Key to Dominion

     An Excerpt from my book "The Covenant of Protection"
       Life has no room for passive people. Only radical believers can taste victory in this world. The devil, like we said in the first chapter, is a resistor of the saints of God. Therefore, the saints must be spiritually violent enough to emerge with victory.

     In Luke 16:16, Jesus differentiated between the pre-John and the post-John era. He said “The law and the prophets were until John, since that time, the kingdom of God is preached and EVERY MAN PRESSETH into it”.

     Jesus was saying, before John the Baptist, everyone lived by the dictates of the law as administered by the prophets of old. But since John’s era till now (and we are in the post-John era), there is a new approach to Christianity. What is this approach? The Kingdom (the power we enter into by accepting and walking in Christ Jesus) is preached; and everybody must PRESS (radically and violently) into it.

      Jesus meant to say that in this era, every believer can be powerful only if they can be rugged enough; and only people who possess a strong spirit can enjoy this benefit.

     In Matthew 11:12, Jesus tells us the nature of this Kingdom. He said “And from the days of John the Baptist until now, the KINGDOM (POWER) of God suffers (Allows) VIOLENCE (Radicality) and the VIOLENT take it BY FORCE”.

      Jesus is saying, this kingdom allows violence. So the power given to us in John 1:12 is not a gentle one, it allows violence. So when a believer is spirit filled, the devil cannot mess around him or her.

     Radical people don’t watch what they don’t want. They press their way out of shame and reproach. The man in John chapter 5, that was at the pool of Bethesda for 38 years wasn’t moving forward because he lacked the motivation and courage to press his way out of struggle.

     You must be radical, because your enemy is also radical (Job 1:7, 1 Peter 5:8). You cannot afford to remain slack in this race. Jesus himself was so radical; He whipped the devil out of those who turned the temple into a market place in John 2:14-16. Spirit filled people are tough on the devil, so the devil must always leave them alone.

Why You Should NOT be Afraid of being Different

You are at your possible best when you do things differently from others; as long as they are the right things. Most times, people hate you not just for being different, but because they are so jealous of what you stand for and they can't meet up.

Maintain Your Difference: Its a Right Mindset

A different approach is not possible without a different mindset. If you want to do things differently from the crowd, you need to think differently from them. Not only did David separate himself physically, he also separated himself mentally. He wasn’t thinking like others were thinking. He wasn’t afraid of the same things that scared them off. He wasn’t moved by what moved them. 

When everybody in Israel was afraid of Goliath, he stood tall and said “since I could kill a lion and a bear in the bush, I can bring down Goliath” (1 Samuel 17: 34-36). That was a totally different mentality. It wasn’t David’s physique that killed Goliath, it was his mindset. He was probably the smallest physically, but was obviously strongest mentally. He first won the battle in his mind before he won in physically.

When late president Umoru Musa Yar’Adua stepped into power in 2007, he announced that he came with a seven point’s agenda that was supposed to transform Nigeria. And make no mistake, these agenda were good and in fact, if properly implemented, they would have helped the development of Nigeria a great deal.

However, something crucial was missing in that agenda. There was no program in place to transform the mindsets of the citizens that will ultimately culminate into generational transformation.

The average Nigerian already has a negative mindset. He believes that due to the fact that the government is corrupt and that money is hard to come by, prosperity is also not possible unless one has to get involved in bad practices. He believes that nothing can work well in any sector of the country’s economy anymore. And he has also conditioned his mind to believe that if he will ever be prosperous, then luck will really need to be on his side. This is bad for personal development.

What am I saying? If there must be a positive transformation in our lives, societies, states, nations, regions and even the world at large, then there must first be a reasonable transformation going on in our minds and in the minds of all people across the nations of the world

The Fundamental Secret of Endless Prosperity

I want you to realize that just as success comes, it can be taken away from you if you don’t know how to maintain it. You have to know how to keep bringing success and being successful. Many become successful but never remain successful because they don’t understand the principle of the “flowing river”.

          The reason why river water remains ever fresh is because it flows. It’s not stagnant. Stagnant water smells. It spoils. Many people's success has become a smelling success because it does not flow. You have to allow your success flow otherwise you will soon turn it into a failure.

          You might be wondering, “What does he mean?” This is what I mean: Learn to give back if you want the streams of success to keep flowing in your life. When you let go, you create room for more to come in. Those who don’t give back, never grow up in accomplishments.

          You are not rich because you have several millions in your account. You become rich when your million start to affect other people’s lives positively. It’s all about impacting lives with your wealth. It’s often said; “if you eat alone, you will die alone”.

          While that statement might sound to you like a resolution of defeat or a consolation by a poor man, you have to look at it from the other angle; from God’s angle. The book of Proverbs tells us that “there is he that scattereth, yet increaseth…”

          If you want to increase, you have to scatter first. You have to give. You have to be a blessing to others around you. Stingy people never get to the heights. If they manage to get there, they soon start crumbling. Most of the foundations we see around the world today are owed by rich men. They understand this principle that “if I must get richer, I must keep reaching out to others”.

          That’s what I mean when I say “let the river flow”. Start cultivating the habit of blessing others even in your low estate. That’s what will take you to the “high estates” of life.

          While I was a student in the university, the Holy Spirit said to me one day “you’re not to keep anything you have, let it flow to others, that’s the only way to enjoy endless flows”. It makes a whole lot of sense. It is often said that “the pipe that allows water to flow through it will never lack water itself”.

          Start thinking beyond yourself and start thinking about others. Start affecting lives. Start influencing others.  Start reaching out. That’s the key to sustainable blessing.

         

Why Bad Choices Kill: & How to Make the Right Choices

Every Choice Has a Consequence

Emerson Fosdick said “He who chooses the beginning of a road chooses the place it leads to”. Every choice leads to a destination. When you make a choice in life, you have chosen the start of a road and the consequence is that you’ll end up in the destination where the road leads.

If you are in Abuja for example and you move toward the road that leads to Lokoja, you have automatically chosen Lokoja as a destination even though you’re still in Abuja. That’s how it is with life. If you start attending a music school today, the consequence in that sooner or later you’ll end up a musician. Similarly, if you register for a law program today, the consequence is that you’ll end up a lawyer. Every choice has a consequence and you have to be aware of that.

If you choose a particular way of life, you’ll soon find yourself at the tail end of it. For example, if you choose to be a drug addict today, you’ll soon end up in jail or even a rehab center. The jail is the destination for those who have chosen to be drug dealers and addicts. If as a lady, you choose to live a wayward life, you might soon start nursing children that don’t know their fathers.

If you choose the beginning of a road, you have chosen the end of it. So it’s necessary to find out the consequences of every decision before you take it. Remember, like I mentioned earlier, you cannot blame anyone except yourself for your choices and the resultant consequences.

Choose Only What Is Required

Next, you must learn to choose what you need, not what you want. Every assignment has specified needs. There are specific things you need to fulfill purpose, and you must go for need rather than want. Choices must be need based not want based.

Every stage of your life has its own requirements and you must be aware of the requirement for each stage in order to make the right choices. Stop trying to get by all means what you need for the next stage when you haven’t put in place all you need for the stage you are in right now.

Why is an 18 year old boy in 200 Level looking for a wife? He doesn’t need a wife at that particular stage of his life. What he needs is to focus on his education and come out with the best grades he possibly can. You have to know what you need and when you need it.

It’s just like the story I told earlier about Mary and Martha. Martha was concerned about what she wanted but Mary was concerned about what she needed. Jesus was however quick to draw Martha’s attention to the importance of focusing on what she needed, rather than what she wanted.

Action Validates Choices

When you have made a choice and you don’t act on it, you reduce its value. Choices are worthless without relentless actions. Arnold Glasow said “ideas not coupled with action can never become bigger than the brain cells they occupy”. When you take steps, your choices become reality. When you hesitate, they remain mere ideas in your head. We can therefore conclude that the value of your choices is defined by the steps you have taken to bring them into fruition.

Although you have chosen to enroll into a law program, you don’t become a lawyer by sitting on the couch all day, growing fat. You have to attend lectures, do your assignments, write a series of test and exams and scale through several huddles. It is action that validates choices.

You cannot fulfill destiny without taking giant strides. If you wanna be a giant, you must dare many things. If you don’t dare it, you can’t have it. Remember it is not enough to have an intention. It’s not even enough to make a decision. You must get up and make it happen. 

Secret of The Greatest Leader who Ever Lived

 No one led better than Jesus did. He had many secrets; but this one struck me most:

JESUS INVESTED IN PEOPLE OTHERS HAD DISMISSED

Never underrate anyone

“But He answered and said, I am not sent but unto the lost sheep of the house of Israel” (Matthew 15:24).

“…for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance” (Matthew 9:13b).

Leaders see potentials. There is potential in every man. Everyone created has possibilities to achieve greatness. Smart leaders help others to harness those possibilities.

When you consider the words of Jesus in the verses above, it’s clear what his target was as a leader, and what he expects us to do to become outstanding leaders.

First, you must know that Jesus invested everything he could in people others had considered unfit. He welcomed those others had dismissed. He was friend to the abandoned. He was companion to the desolate. That’s genuine leadership. He identified the weak and made them His best friends.

Notice His words; “…I am not sent but unto the lost sheep”.  He came for the lost, the inadequate, the weak, the ones whose heads were bowed in shame, the ones covered in reproach, etc. Those were the ones He was bothered about.

In the second verse above, He said “…I am not come for the righteous…” That is, His assignment wasn’t for those who were already up and doing. He came to help those who were regarded outcasts, unclean and unwanted. He invested all his time and energy in making such people great.

Let’s see the story in John Chapter 8 again. A prostitute was brought before Jesus. Then the Scribes and the Pharisees (who probably thought they were perfect) asked Him; “now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou?”(Verse 5).

Then Jesus answered; “…he that is without sin among you, let him be the first to cast a stone on her” (Verse 7). He did not give anyone a chance to condemn another person. His ministry was for those regarded as condemned. He never condemned anyone! He uplifted everyone he came across.

Zacchaeus was a man people regarded a sinner (Luke 19:7). But Jesus chose to go spend the night in his house. As a result, there was a lot of murmuring by the other people who considered themselves more adequate. “And when they saw it, they all murmured, saying, that he was gone to be a guest with a man that is a sinner”.

There was a blind man named Bartimaeus. He was a road side beggar, a popular one but a much despised one. One day, Jesus was passing by and the man cried out to Jesus for help. Others asked the blind man to shut up and stop disturbing the other people.

They regarded him as unfit in the society. In fact they assumed that Jesus would not want to have anything to do with that poor, retched blind man. They thought he would focus his attention on the rich and influential in the society.

Jesus however disappointed them. He stopped walking and asked that the man should be brought to him. In summary, the blind man returned healed. Jesus did not dismiss him just because he was inadequate. He turned his inadequacy to adequacy.

This is a big lesson for most leaders. If you are a pastor for example, stop giving special treatment and praying special prayers for the rich and influential people in your church just because they give you fat offerings. If you treat the rich specially, to the neglect of the poor, then you are a failed leader, a bad example and a disappointment to God. Jesus came for the weak and as a good leader, your focus should be to ensure the inadequate ones among your followers are lifted so they can become what God has destined them to become! 

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Friendship; Not by Force: How to Choose Right

Just as magnet attracts metals, gifted people attract company –everybody wants to associate with them. However, every friend has a different motive. Not everybody comes to you for the same purpose or for a good purpose.

There are two categories of people that want to associate with every gifted person. You should be aware of them so you can make the right choice of friendship.

Category 1:

The Company that Kills Dreams:

Anyone that reminds you of your limitations is not worth your time and energy. Everyone has limitations, but good company energizes you to overcome those limitations, and not otherwise.

Apostle Paul said “…a little leaven leaveneth the whole lump” (1 Corinthians 5:6b). One bad friend can make you despise your true potentials. When people come around you, listen to them for the first 5 minutes. If all they inject into you is negativity, run!

Anyone that does not appreciate the gift of God in you shouldn’t be in your life. Never marry a woman that doesn’t believe in you. Don’t marry a man that makes you feel like trash. You have great potentials and you need only those who can see it. One cube of sugar can change the taste of a cup of tea. Similarly, one friend can make you either bitter or sweet. The choice is in your hands.

Category 2:

The Company that Stirs Up Your Potentials

Friends are instrumental to how well you are able to maximize your talents. There are people that believe in you, look for them and keep them close.

There are people with great potential who always think positive. They always strive toward success. Those are the ones you should hang around. People who aren’t serious with their pursuit of vision should never remain your pals.

Passion is contagious. I love hanging around people who are passionate about their own dreams. Their passion inspires me to remain passionate about mine; so I always look out for them; -I love them for a company.

I used to have a roommate in the university by the name Roberts. Roberts is an exciting young man to be with. He’s a dreamer and he loves the company of dreamers. He’s also a goal setter who is relentless in creating strategies for his goals. He hates the company of people who act otherwise.

During our time together, we robbed minds a lot. You could see in the both of us, fearless young guys who were ready to dare anything. We were unstoppable. We didn’t believe in impossibilities. To us, everything was possible. We inspired each other and it's really helping in our pursiuts. 

The Test of Company

Check What They Say: Good Company speaks right. They discuss ideas. They discuss goals. Bad Company discusses people –they gossip.  Someone said: “great minds discuss ideas, average minds discuss events and small minds discuss people.”

Also, many people are complainers. Complainers never achieve anything; they give every reason why nothing is appropriate. They’re never satisfied. Such people will only make you a mediocre. A man’s words are expressions of his thoughts. The mouth speaks from the abundance of the heart. I can tell how you think in 5 seconds when I hear you talk.

Check What They Do: As the popular saying; “actions speak louder than words.” You can tell when a company is right or wrong by their actions. By their fruits you shall know them (Matthew 7:20).

Find people who are always taking bold steps; not those who are doing nothing. Jesus needed disciples; but He went after people who were already engaged in something meaningful. One time He went after some fishermen. Another time He called on a tax collector. He never sought after idle men. An idle man will always remain the devils workshop.     

The easiest way to fail is doing nothing and making no effort. If you don’t want to fail, ignore idle company. It simple!