LIVING YOUR DREAM

When Dexter Yager was first introduced to Amway in 1964, he was making 95 dollars a week and his wife was expecting their fifth child. Their Amway business grew quickly but soon leveled off. “My dream was too small”, he recalls. So Dexter enlarged his vision and moved his family away from their tiny home on the alley in Rome, New York to Charlotte, North Carolina. From that point onwards, there has been no looking back. Today, Dexter runs a multimillion dollar business and is a much sought after motivational speaker.

According to Dexter, part of being successful is pursuing your dreams. Dexter candidly states, “If you don’t have a dream, you are dead. Little dreams grow into larger dreams, but you have got to start somewhere. Some people find it hard to believe that such a successful man came from such a humble beginning. Dexter is well aware that there is a price to pay for building dreams and accomplishing goals. He has overcome his share of fears and discouragement in every area of his life to achieve the success he has today. He has learned over the years not to let small things get in his way. In his relentless quest to help others achieve their dreams, his biggest challenge has been to convince people that they are worthy to receive all God has for them. But they must dream big. “Remember,” he says, “without a dream a man will perish”.

Here in Cape Town I have met with two such men who pursued their dreams and are now living their dreams here in this beautiful city. In the coming days I will be sharing with you each of their stories.

Winning in the Game of life (Part VII)

SEIZE THE MOMENT

“There comes a time, a special moment in everyone’s life, a moment for which that person was born. That special opportunity when he seizes it, will fulfill his mission- a mission for which he is uniquely qualified. In that moment he finds greatness. It is his finest hour”.-  Sir Winston Churchill

I have come to realize that those who win in the game of life are those people who are always seeking for opportunities in life. Be it in business, in politics, in sports, or even in relationships and ministry. The opportunity seekers are the ones who make it. While everyone else may be sleeping, these people are always alert and ready to seize the opportunities before them. People who seek for opportunity will always prepare themselves for the same and when the opportunities come their way they are ready. They anticipate it and are ready to pounce on it once it shows up.  

While a whole nation was paralyzed by fear and that fear blurred their vision from seeing the opportunity right in front of them; one young courageous man called David, saw it, in fact it was so big to miss seeing. It was a Giant named Goliath, and when David saw his opportunity, he ran towards it and seized it and the rest as they say is history. That is what happens to those who see the opportunities before them. Instead of complaining and focusing on the obstacles before them, they see their opportunities and seize them. Someone has said that opportunities look bigger going than coming. Meaning that most of us realize a little too late the opportunity we have just missed. So open your eyes and see the opportunities that are there right before you.

It is not enough to seek for and see the opportunities before us, it is imperative that we seize them. According to Richard Branson of the Virgin Group, “You always have to be ready to capitalize on chances.” In leadership and in winning, nothing is more crucial than timing. If we fail to strike while the iron is still hot we will not be able to cut it. Twice in the New Testament the Apostle Paul admonishes us thus, “Making the most of every opportunity.”

We make the most of every opportunity that comes to us by seizing them. Being at the right place at the right time is very vital in life. Mordecai told Esther, “Who knows why you are in the Kingdom for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14). Like a good striker in the game of football, we must know how to strategically position ourselves, be at the right place at the right time in order to score. It doesn’t matter how well the team plays, at the end of the 90 minutes or the extra time, it is the team that made the most of the opportunities that came before them, however few are, that wins the game.

“Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.” – [Ephesians 5:15, 16]

Winning in the Game of life (Part VI)

Many times I hear of stories of some “great men” and they say that they are self made men, in other words their success is as a result of their own sweat. But really, there is nothing like a self made man. Like Galileo of old once said, “If I have seen far, it is because I have stood upon the shoulders of giants”.  You cannot succeed alone you need others. One is too small for significance.

The twelve chapter of Hebrew begins with these words, “Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses,” Seeing that we have such a crowd or cloud (for some people it’s the same) of witnesses, people who have gone before us; people who faced the same challenges that we are facing and even tougher challenges but refused to give up, we cannot afford to give up. In soccer we call it the twelfth man, which is the spectators, the cheering squad gives us that extra advantage that we so much need. Those spectators could be your children, both natural and spiritual, your fans even if it’s just your spouse, or even your coach and all those who believe in you. You need these people in your life to cheer you on as you run your race. It’s not just about you; it’s about others as well.

During the dark days of depression, there was a Pastor in Seoul Korea who because of the hard times was contemplating suicide. Things were so bad that he thought the best way was to give up and end his life. But as he was about to plunge himself down from his Church’s balcony, he had a voice telling him, “If you plunge yourself down from this point, you will begin a generation of people who will plunge themselves down”. In other words, he was going to start a generation of losers, people who give up. I’m glad he heeded to that voice and today he Pastors one of the largest churches in the world.

This morning I received my own personal copy of a book, “The success Kit” written by a young man who only a few years ago was on the verge of giving up on life and today is a founder of a group of companies. What could have happened if he gave up? What could have happened if the Heroes of faith gave up? There would be no cloud of witnesses.

There have been times I have felt like giving up in my marriage, but when I remember the many couples I have walked through even difficult patches in their own marriages, I cannot but soldier on. I have reached where I am today because of the several people that have had an impact on my life. Starting with my spiritual Father, the late C. Earl Stubbs (who has since joined that cloud of witnesses); my life coach, my best friend and buddy Pastor George of ICC, my wife who is my greatest cheer leader, and last but not least my spiritual and natural children whom I am an example to. I cannot afford to fail them. These are the people that have made me who I am.

Which people do you have in your life? Who is speaking into your life? Who are you impacting as you move along life’s journey? Remember, winning in the game of life requires other people in your life.

“Pay no attention to what the critics say: no statue has ever been erected to a critic.”

                                                                                                                     – Jean Sibelius

Winning in the Game of life (Part V)

One of my sons’ favorite Bible stories was the story of David and Goliath. It has become my favorite story too, because in this story, a young shepherd boy, against all odds becomes the hero by killing a nine foot tall Giant that had terrorized a whole Nation. 

This monster of a man had brought the whole nation of Israel to a stand still. Even the King, Saul was paralyzed by fear as this man taunted the armies of Israel. What Saul saw as an obstacle, and a big one at that, David saw as an opportunity. As someone once said, “David saw Goliath not as a threat too big to hit, but as a target too big to miss.” Winners see opportunities in every difficult situation while losers see only the obstacles. This is what we talked about last week; having the right perspective in life.

This week we want to look at another key element that is required of us if we are going to win in the game of life. And that is PASSION. Passion is everything; our passions are what make us come alive. The apathetic person (one lacking passion in life) is a pathetic person. Young David so much wanted to have a go at this Giant that even the discouraging words of his elder brother Eliab, could not stop him. Even the King tried to stop him by telling him, “You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are a youth, and he a man of war from his youth.” But the young lad David understood one great truth that we all have to know;

 “It’s not the size of the dog in the fight that matters, but the size of the fight in the dog that does”.

What is the size of the fight in you? In other words how badly do you want to win? This is what separates the boys from the men. The desire to win, passion is what separates the winners from the losers. According to Dr. John Maxwell, we all must answer three great questions in life:

1. What do we want?
2. Why do we want it?
3. How badly do we want it?

If you can answer those three great questions in life, then you are on the right track of winning in the game of life.

“Winning is not everything, but wanting to win is” – Vince Lombardi

Winning in the Game of life (Part IV)

Last week we a saw how important our perspective in life is if we are going to win in the game of life. The ten spies saw themselves as grasshoppers and the inhabitants of the land as Giants. But the other two spies, the minority, saw themselves and their situations differently. They were optimists; they admitted the facts before them but encouraged the people to go for it not withstanding the facts, the Giants in the land. They believed that they were well able to go in and possess the land in spite of the Giants there.

To them (the two spies), the Giants are what stood between them and their destiny. The Giants are the obstacles we constantly face when we set out to realize our goals. One valuable lesson in life is to learn to welcome difficulties and obstacles (the Giants) as valuable and inevitable on the way to success. These Giants come in different ways, they may be circumstances beyond your control or very influential people in your life who tell you what cannot be done and why it can’t be done.

Most of these naysayers judge as based on our past record or on our present realities. This past Sunday I was so blessed with the text that the preacher in my church used. He preached from Mark 10:46-52; the story of one blind Bartimaeus. This man so wanted to receive his sight that he shouted to draw our LORD’s attention. The crowd around rebuked him and tried to hash him down. But the more they tried to hash him the louder he shouted until he finally drew the Master’s attention. When He did, everyone who had been hashing him down suddenly became the ones who ushered him to the Healer and thus received his miracle.

Like that blind man, refuse to be cowed down by the crowd. Don’t listen to those who tell you, you can’t make it. See their opinions as indicators that you are on the right track. Ask any child and they will tell you the names of the two spies Joshua and Caleb. But you ask even the seemingly learned Bible scholars the names of the other ten and they will really have to scratch their heads hard to even name one of them.

And so when it comes to winning in the game of life you don’t have to be a democrat. Here it is not about the majority ruling but about you doing what you know is right even if it means standing alone like the two spies did.

“Your hashers will become your ushers.” – Pastor Paul Nzimbi

Winning in the game of life (Part III)

Someone once said that "you see what you are". One of the things that I have struggled with a long time in my life is that I have found my self most of the time being a pessimist rather than an optimist. They say that the difference between a pessimist and an optimist is that the former says that a glass is half empty while the latter says that the glass is half full when observing the same glass of water. The difference between the two is only in one thing, their perspective.

As we learnt last week, how we run the right race is as important as the race itself. We are to run with perseverance the race marked out for us looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith. Not only are we to run with perserverance but also with the right perspective. I want to emphasize the importance of having a proper perspective with a story from the Bible.

The story is about the Nation of Israel preparing themselves to enter into their promised land, into their destiny. Their Leader Moses sent out 12 spies each spy a Leader themselves representing one of the twelve tribes of Israel. Their mission was to go out and spy the land that they were to inherit bringing back with them tangible evidence of the goodness of that land. After accomplishing their mission, they all came back bearing the evidence of the goodness of the land. But ten of them gave a discouraging report about how there were Giants in the land and how they saw themselves as Grasshoppers in the sight of these Giants.

These ten were pessimists. Their perspective of themselves was the beginning of their fall. They failed to have the right perspective of themselves due to their grasshopper mentality. The quality of our thoughts determine our perspective in life and thus determine whether we will win or lose in the game of life. How do you see yourself? Are you seeing yourself as a grasshopper or as a Giant killer (notice I didn't say a Giant but a Giant killer)? Those who see themselves as grasshoppers lose the fight even before they start while those that have made it first saw themselves making it long before they actually made it. For us to win in the game of life needs us to undergo a personal transformation. Change must be inside out not the other way round. It is as you undergo that transformation