by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com
Failing Forward by John Maxwell will guide you step by step in turning mistakes into stepping stones for success. It is emerging as a business classic text for bouncing back from setbacks.
Most everyone in the world who's achieved has a failure, set back, or major obstacle story. The average entrepreneur has 3.8 failures before they finally make it in business.
The key to overcoming setbacks is not so much about changing circumstances, but very much about how you respond and how much you will change yourself. This is one of the major differences between average people and achieving people.
Failing forward is changing your perception and response to failure to what would you attempt to achieve now. Failing forward is about taking responsibility, learning from each mistake, knowing failure is part of progress, maintaining a positive attitude, challenging outdated assumptions, taking new risks, accepting something didn't work and persevering.
Maxwell has a 15-step process for failing forward. The above was the first... changing your perception.
2. Re-define failure and success. Success is more about seeds you plant than rewards you reap. Redefine failure as the price you pay for success.
3. Tell yourself, I'm not a failure, I just failed at doing something. Get "you" out of the way. A failure does not make “you” a failure. Consider the seven abilities for failing forward. Achievers reject rejection, see failure as temporary, isolate incidents, keep realistic expectations, focus on strengths, vary approaches to achievement, bounceback.
4. Get moving, build momentum, maneuver mistakes, move on. Taking action removes fear.
5. Take responsibility where it is your fault. Be real, be honest with yourself, change, get going again. Wake up, but don't give up.
6. Don't let failure form outside you. Failure is an inside job. It's a state of mind--expect the best, remain upbeat, pursue solutions, believe in yourself, stay hopeful--keep a positive attitude.
7. Your past wants to hold you hostage. List the negative events in your life, then release them. Acknowledge the pain, grieve the loss, forgive the person, release it... say goodbye to yesterday.
8. Change your mind. See yourself clearly, flaws honestly, strengths joyfully, and strengths passionately. Win the self battle "to excel, do what you do well." Let others help in what you don't do as well.
9. Get over yourself--everyone else has. We punish ourselves, over play ourselves more than anyone can remember. Put others first, find out others' needs. Start giving of yourself.
10. Treat adversity as a friend. Adversity creates resilience, develops maturity, pushes you to greater performance, provides greater opportunity, prompts innovation, brings unexpected benefits, motivates. It's life's way of making you into who you need to be for greater success... in whatever that is for you.
Grasp the positive benefits of negative experiences. We over estimate the event and under estimate the process. Every fulfilled dream occurred because of dedication to process. Find the benefit in every bad experience.
11. Take risks. We avoid risks because of potential embarrassment, over rationalization, unrealistic expectations, unfairness, waiting for perfect time or inspiration. If at first you don't succeed, try harder. "I'd rather try something great and fail, than try nothing at all."
12. Make failure your best friend. Learn from it. What caused it? Was it really a failure? What success did I have? What can I learn from this? Can I turn it to a success? Who can help me? Where can I go from here? Learning is a change of behavior. So what action can you take now?
13. The top ten reasons people fail. Poor people skills; negative attitude; bad fit; lack of focus; unwillingness to change; short-cut mind set; relying on talent alone; response to poor information; no goals. Find your weaknesses and be willing to work on them. Use a friend for accountability.
14. The little difference between failure and success makes a big difference. Purpose fuels persistence, which you must have. Find compelling passionate purpose, eliminate excuses, develop incentives that motivate you, cultivate a die-hard determination. Write down your dreams, desires with compelling reasons, consider what could go wrong and personally commit to fight through every potential battle.
15. It is what you do after you get back up that counts. Create a new focus and plan to get back up and move forward. Create a new plan. Order your plans. Risk failing and take action. Welcome mistakes and willingly learn from them and change. Advance based on your character. Re-evaluate your progress constantly.
Develop new strategies to Succeed!
Stay determined, work according to a plan and keep getting up when knocked down. Get up, get going, get over it.
Be willing to be a constant problem solver. That's how you eventually get ahead. "Now, that you know how to fail forward, you won't have to give up either. Keep dreaming, and keep failing forward."
If a person would work on one step a week from these 15 steps, team with a friend, they can become a great over comer. Failing Forward is a superior resource for making come backs. More on Maxwell at:
www.maximumimpact.com
When things go wrong, we don't always have the answers to why. There are many things we can start doing to explain things to ourselves and others. The Hebrew writer had an interesting view on this:
"Think back on those early days when you first learned about Christ. Remember how you remained faithful even though it meant terrible suffering. Sometimes you were exposed to public ridicule and were beaten, and sometimes you helped others who were suffering the same things. You suffered along with those who were thrown into jail, and when all you owned was taken from you, you accepted it with joy. You knew there were better things waiting for you that will last forever." (Hebrews 10: 32-34, NLT)
And then the Apostle Peter also shares:
"Instead, be very glad—for these trials make you partners with Christ in his suffering, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing his glory when it is revealed to all the world." (1 Peter 4:13, NLT)
He acknowledged this as sharing with Jesus and we will see a wonderful joy through it as we Partner with Jesus. When you compare what the early Christians faced and some of our problems, ours may not seem as bad. But in other cases we may be facing some terrible circumstances in our lives, and we have comfort and direction in that others understand too.
Even beyond that, God Promises His very Spirit that overcomes all things. He promises the very Powerful Spirit that created everything to be there to assist us.
In all things, we always have Jesus Spirit right with us. Jesus said He will be with us Always. I believe the reason for the Spirit is whether alone, in trials, in undesirable situations, we cannot only know He is there but sense, feel, live in Spirit that Jesus Spirit is right there.
Paul reminds us that Christ lives in us.
With that in mind, and knowing that, we in faith have an irrefutable Power for overcoming anything.
How do we make that a living reality? Look at Hebrews 10.
1. We can spend time in the very Presence of God in meditation and prayer. In His Presence we receive His Spirit. His Spirit gives us strength to stand, take beatings if necessary, and to be powerful in action. Because His Spirit will then go before us. When we receive His ideas, His Spirit goes with those ideas we then carry out.
The opportunity is beyond explanation, but the discipline for getting absolutely alone in His presence is the hard part. If we can master it, its benefits will pour into our lives.
The promise: "we can boldly enter heaven's Most Holy Place because of the blood of Jesus. By his death, Jesus opened a new and life-giving way through the curtain into the Most Holy Place. ...let us go right into the presence of God with sincere hearts fully trusting him."
(Hebrews 10:19-22, NLT)
This is not a small thing. In the old days, man was killed in God's Presence in the Most Holy Place. Now, we have the privilege to be right there with God. This is highly significant... a powerful promise.
We can enter the very Presence of God, all of His Power for strength, ideas, peace, hope is made available to us. It is the secret to accomplishing anything, coming back from everything. But it doesn't stop there.
2. In Spirit, in the Presence of God, we get ideas for ourselves and to encourage others, and others who do this then encourage us. "Let us think of ways to motivate one another to acts of love and good works." (Hebrews 10:24, NLT)
So what happens there is we get incredibly great ideas, God shows us exactly what to do, and we get wonderful ideas for motivating others. We get help and it doesn't stop there, we in turn help others.
3. Meet and communicate to share these. Don't stop with the ideas but get together, call, email others and share with them, inspire them with what has come to mind from being in His Presence.
In faith move on this, because you got the very power of God
working on your behalf now,
and what you say to that person(s) will have wonderful results.... beyond your imagination!
What an incredible God Inspired system for inspiring others to greatness!
"…motivate one another to acts of love and good works. And let us not neglect our meeting together, as some people do, but encourage one another," (Hebrews 10:25, NLT)
When we meet with someone else who does this too,
we have a fireworks display of ideas, strategies, creative solutions of problems, a wise track to follow, and the Almighty Power of God the Creator at work going before us.
Jesus suffered a serious blow. He was captured and killed. But miraculously He came back from death. His mission was not defeated. He lived again and his mission was an overwhelming success. We too can come back from seemingly total defeat with a success story people can't stop talking about.
We have a miracle-performance formula for moving forward from failures, defeats, and discouragements.
Enter God's Actual Presence;
get His ideas, power and direction;
and meet, communicate with, pray with others
for a motivational and enacting force that is the most powerful force with us from anywhere.
This is the ultimate personal process for failing forward.
We do not then get discouraged or give up.
We press on in the face of anything knowing we share in the Love and Power of Jesus and we not only endure suffering, but will overcome it with great victory.... some day!
When faced in difficulty,
go into the Inner Chamber of Spirit,
and you will over come and rebound overwhelmingly!
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Saturday, November 25, 2006
Why You Should be Rich
by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com
Why did Donald Trump, the skyscraper developer billionaire, and the multi-millionaire, Robert Kiyosaki, jointly write,
Why We Want You To Be Rich?
They point out that Social Security and Medicare combined need $72 trillion to break even. If we add up all the equity in stocks and bond value we may have about $67 trillion. We are running a little short and keep pushing our national financial problems forward. Kiyosaki exclaims that we can't keep doing this. We can't expect the government to solve the mammoth problems our country is in financially.
There is one solution. That is that we all become rich. The gap from rich and poor is widening and we are heading to ending up like we were before we left Anarchical rule to find new hope in America. The middle class will begin disappearing and there will be two classes again. They feel it is possible for many to become rich. The government leaders don't run things. Rich people do.
With influence we can turn the ship to change course and save an economy and a mighty power from crumbling. What's lacking is education. We simply don't know how money works and how to make wealth. It is an educational problem, and they wrote the book to begin to educate us on how to do this. That's why they want you to be rich.
"Today more and more people must change the way they think about their finances and their financial future." (Donald Trump) The book is more philosophical and principle laden in approach. But it is their first step to re-educate and redirect how we think.
The problem: the national debt, shrinking dollar, massive baby boomer retirement and most without retirement provisions, the increasing rich and poor gap, Social Security and Medicare going broke, little savings, and most without any real world know how on how to build wealth.
So how do you make money?
The best solution is to leave entitlement out of your mind and all become business enterprising. Learn how to make money. Those who make money are skilled creative problem solvers.
The key concept is leverage... the skill in learning how to use a little to make more, doing more with less.
Learn focus and make one thing work.
Create a love affair with what you do... you naturally work harder and are more productive, learn on your own and enjoy growing when your are using your innate gifts and abilities.
Some things may be scary at first, but realize if you face what you fear, move out of your comfort zone, you will do more that will then make you be able to live comfortably.
What to avoid is passive investing and become active investors. Passive is investing money in a savings account, get a job, and just try to stay out of debt. Active investing is investing in time and invest in business enterprises, real estate and more advanced money multiply vehicles. It's more fun and makes a whole bunch more money. We have to move beyond the emotions of the fear of doing something to what will get bigger results.
Education is the indispensable factor for getting results.
Know well what you do and doing it as well as possible. If it's going to affect your life, you need to know as much as you can about it. It's how you spend your time that affects making money.
The Golden rules for making money: leverage, control, creativity, expansion, and predictability.
Leverage: The strategic use of others' resources including time, mental ingenuity, money, influence that can create returns for all involved. Strategic collaboration among many creates greater results for all of the many.
Control: In a job or mutual fund, you don't choose the level of return. Someone else determines that for you. You must be in control for how much you make. Owning a business venture, in real estate you can control your returns. Working and being in control of what you do is a rudimentary rule to wealth building.
Creativity: When you own, you can be free to create what you do that creates more value. In a business you can create a unique management team that fits your ingenious effort, or you can create a business model that produces more efficiently, or you can invent a brand that hits selective markets. As Trump mentioned he can look at a piece of land in middle of town and with creativity, make is a highly valued spot.
Expansion: With what you have, you can expand it to do more, be valued more, and grow more. You don't have to go ask permission, but you have the latitude to apply persuasion and return to others to get them to work with you. With a great idea, you can publish it and sell it to make money from many who buy it; with a business you can expand it to make money off many locations, add more products. Trump says, "Think Big, Think Expansion." Seeing what is possible and making it happen, being innovative and moving on your ideas.
Predictability: "It takes both sides of your brain to be successful. Taking control and being creative requires both financial education and experience."(Kiyosaki) The more you learn and have experience, the more you can predict your results. Risk becomes less risky with knowledge and experience. You can calculate effectively and do more with actual less risk.
They come back to education. The more you know and understand what you do, the more you can do with it. They talked about the benefit of experiences they had in life... parents, school, military, sports, business and then share three areas to make money.
To learn about business,
one way to start is to get involved in a good network marketing company.
Make sure they have a good training program, then you can carry these business principles over into other areas.
Start your own business.
They point out the best education is learning by doing. You get educated through the process. Franchises are good, if you can afford them, because they provide proven systems to follow.
Also, strongly consider acquiring business skill coaches to help teach you as you go.
Their favorite approach to building wealth, of course, is real estate.
Why We Want You To Be Rich also covers Kiyosaki’s prized Rich Dad, Poor Dad formula for wealth building. This addition makes this a nice comprehensive book of two notable views on wealth building… along with the noble cause to do it for good reasons.
Trump and Kiyosaki also offer a "think on paper daily motivational journal": www.WhyWeWantYouToBeRich.com
Trump’s web: www.trumpuniversity.com
Kiyosaki’s web: www.richdad.com
Andrew Carnegie, by David Nasaw (a new biography about Andrew Carnegie), reveals some interesting philosophies toward wealth in Carnegie's Gospel of Wealth.
He was one of the richest men in his day as a steel industry mogul in the late 1800's. He abhorred the wealthy who did not give their money away. People with money are the "trustees" for their communities. He said there is nothing special about someone being rich, but a responsibility to share his fortune with need. "The rich man who abjured his responsibility that came with his wealth-- of wisely administering it for the good of the community--did that community a grave disservice." Carnegie advocated the steepest inheritance taxes. "By taxing estates heavily at death the state marks it condemnation of the selfish millionaires unworthy life.... I would as soon leave my son a curse as the almighty dollar, and admit to himself that it is not the welfare of the children, but family pride, which inspires these legacies."
Carnegie followed John Wesley's teachings on being industrious and earning as much as you can, then after you have cared for your loved ones, use the surplus to contribute to those in need and communities at large. He said it's disgraceful to have money and not support those around you.
As a millionaire, he condemned other millionaires not bent on generosity and dispersing wealth while alive. "The millionaires wealth was not his to spend, but his to wisely give away. Rich men should be thankful they have the power during their life time to busy themselves in organizing benefactions from which masses of their fellowman will desire lastly advantages and thus dignify their own lives."
Having condemned as misguided, vain and selfish most of his fellow millionaires for not giving away their money during their life time, Carnegie's one regret was that he couldn’t give away everything during his own life time.
Why have wealth… look at Psalm 112
1 Praise the LORD!
How joyful are those who fear the LORD
and delight in obeying his commands.
2 Their children will be successful everywhere;
an entire generation of godly people will be blessed.
3 They themselves will be wealthy,
and their good deeds will last forever.
4 Light shines in the darkness for the godly.
They are generous, compassionate, and righteous.
5 Good comes to those who lend money generously
and conduct their business fairly.
9 They share freely and give generously to those in need.
Their good deeds will be remembered forever.
They will have influence and honor. (NLT)
With wealth used for noble, God-inspired purposes it is considered to be good. Good is a spirit of generosity, compassion and to things for right reasons.
When you have the compassion of man in your heart, wealth can serve excellent purposes and build rewards for us in heaven. What we see now will eventually be totally destroyed.
“In a single moment
all the wealth of the city is gone!
The ship owners became wealthy
by transporting her great wealth on the seas.
In a single moment it is all gone.
For your merchants were the greatest in the world,
and you deceived the nations with your sorceries.”
(Rev. 18: 17-20, NLT)
Wealth in the hands of corrupt or selfish people is considered one of the worst conditions to be in. What pride invests in will be totally annihilated some day. Because investing in just material things on earth will not have lasting properties.
Invest in Heaven's properties.
When contributing to the heart, someone's calling, and the plight of needs of men, it builds up credit for us in heaven.
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared.
And the sea was also gone, Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
(Rev. 21:1-4, NLT)
Jesus gave us the biggest insight to the benefits of those with wealth.
“Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.” (Luke 16:9, NLT)
John the Apostle elaborates on what Heavenly investments are while on earth: "If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in Christ in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?" (1 John 3:17, NLT)
When you see someone who is rich, don't resent that person, but desire to become rich yourself so you can serve good purposes. Desire to make friends with that person as God may use them to teach you some things that will help you.
When we use wealth for helping others, it builds an ever expanding network of friends. We take this with us. This brings eternal rewards and an investment in our eternal home.
When we live for riches in Spirit, and use what we have to assist in being compassionate, generous, thoughtful of others, we can create impact in the Kingdom of God.
Spirit is the true riches to be sought.
But wealth as one’s gift, a result of being industrious and using God’s gifts in us to the greatest degree possible, can be of great significance for building the true kingdom of God.
Everyone can be rich in Spirit,
some may be gifted in building wealth.
The Scriptures exhort us to whom much is given,
much more is required.
So Andrew Carnegie seemed on tract to believe that a great amount of responsibility rests on the shoulders of the rich to establish equality in people’s well being and the community. Being able to contribute our gifts to others is the greatest privilege we have in God’s Kingdom on earth and it is the beginning of our rewards for the Kingdom in Heaven we all will share equally.
"I will certainly bless you richly,
and I will multiply your descendants into countless millions...
Abraham was patient,
then he received all that God promised. (Heb. 6: 14-15)
"Do what is right and good.
Blessed are those who carefully do this."
(Isaiah 56: 1-2)
4spirit@gmail.com
Why did Donald Trump, the skyscraper developer billionaire, and the multi-millionaire, Robert Kiyosaki, jointly write,
Why We Want You To Be Rich?
They point out that Social Security and Medicare combined need $72 trillion to break even. If we add up all the equity in stocks and bond value we may have about $67 trillion. We are running a little short and keep pushing our national financial problems forward. Kiyosaki exclaims that we can't keep doing this. We can't expect the government to solve the mammoth problems our country is in financially.
There is one solution. That is that we all become rich. The gap from rich and poor is widening and we are heading to ending up like we were before we left Anarchical rule to find new hope in America. The middle class will begin disappearing and there will be two classes again. They feel it is possible for many to become rich. The government leaders don't run things. Rich people do.
With influence we can turn the ship to change course and save an economy and a mighty power from crumbling. What's lacking is education. We simply don't know how money works and how to make wealth. It is an educational problem, and they wrote the book to begin to educate us on how to do this. That's why they want you to be rich.
"Today more and more people must change the way they think about their finances and their financial future." (Donald Trump) The book is more philosophical and principle laden in approach. But it is their first step to re-educate and redirect how we think.
The problem: the national debt, shrinking dollar, massive baby boomer retirement and most without retirement provisions, the increasing rich and poor gap, Social Security and Medicare going broke, little savings, and most without any real world know how on how to build wealth.
So how do you make money?
The best solution is to leave entitlement out of your mind and all become business enterprising. Learn how to make money. Those who make money are skilled creative problem solvers.
The key concept is leverage... the skill in learning how to use a little to make more, doing more with less.
Learn focus and make one thing work.
Create a love affair with what you do... you naturally work harder and are more productive, learn on your own and enjoy growing when your are using your innate gifts and abilities.
Some things may be scary at first, but realize if you face what you fear, move out of your comfort zone, you will do more that will then make you be able to live comfortably.
What to avoid is passive investing and become active investors. Passive is investing money in a savings account, get a job, and just try to stay out of debt. Active investing is investing in time and invest in business enterprises, real estate and more advanced money multiply vehicles. It's more fun and makes a whole bunch more money. We have to move beyond the emotions of the fear of doing something to what will get bigger results.
Education is the indispensable factor for getting results.
Know well what you do and doing it as well as possible. If it's going to affect your life, you need to know as much as you can about it. It's how you spend your time that affects making money.
The Golden rules for making money: leverage, control, creativity, expansion, and predictability.
Leverage: The strategic use of others' resources including time, mental ingenuity, money, influence that can create returns for all involved. Strategic collaboration among many creates greater results for all of the many.
Control: In a job or mutual fund, you don't choose the level of return. Someone else determines that for you. You must be in control for how much you make. Owning a business venture, in real estate you can control your returns. Working and being in control of what you do is a rudimentary rule to wealth building.
Creativity: When you own, you can be free to create what you do that creates more value. In a business you can create a unique management team that fits your ingenious effort, or you can create a business model that produces more efficiently, or you can invent a brand that hits selective markets. As Trump mentioned he can look at a piece of land in middle of town and with creativity, make is a highly valued spot.
Expansion: With what you have, you can expand it to do more, be valued more, and grow more. You don't have to go ask permission, but you have the latitude to apply persuasion and return to others to get them to work with you. With a great idea, you can publish it and sell it to make money from many who buy it; with a business you can expand it to make money off many locations, add more products. Trump says, "Think Big, Think Expansion." Seeing what is possible and making it happen, being innovative and moving on your ideas.
Predictability: "It takes both sides of your brain to be successful. Taking control and being creative requires both financial education and experience."(Kiyosaki) The more you learn and have experience, the more you can predict your results. Risk becomes less risky with knowledge and experience. You can calculate effectively and do more with actual less risk.
They come back to education. The more you know and understand what you do, the more you can do with it. They talked about the benefit of experiences they had in life... parents, school, military, sports, business and then share three areas to make money.
To learn about business,
one way to start is to get involved in a good network marketing company.
Make sure they have a good training program, then you can carry these business principles over into other areas.
Start your own business.
They point out the best education is learning by doing. You get educated through the process. Franchises are good, if you can afford them, because they provide proven systems to follow.
Also, strongly consider acquiring business skill coaches to help teach you as you go.
Their favorite approach to building wealth, of course, is real estate.
Why We Want You To Be Rich also covers Kiyosaki’s prized Rich Dad, Poor Dad formula for wealth building. This addition makes this a nice comprehensive book of two notable views on wealth building… along with the noble cause to do it for good reasons.
Trump and Kiyosaki also offer a "think on paper daily motivational journal": www.WhyWeWantYouToBeRich.com
Trump’s web: www.trumpuniversity.com
Kiyosaki’s web: www.richdad.com
Andrew Carnegie, by David Nasaw (a new biography about Andrew Carnegie), reveals some interesting philosophies toward wealth in Carnegie's Gospel of Wealth.
He was one of the richest men in his day as a steel industry mogul in the late 1800's. He abhorred the wealthy who did not give their money away. People with money are the "trustees" for their communities. He said there is nothing special about someone being rich, but a responsibility to share his fortune with need. "The rich man who abjured his responsibility that came with his wealth-- of wisely administering it for the good of the community--did that community a grave disservice." Carnegie advocated the steepest inheritance taxes. "By taxing estates heavily at death the state marks it condemnation of the selfish millionaires unworthy life.... I would as soon leave my son a curse as the almighty dollar, and admit to himself that it is not the welfare of the children, but family pride, which inspires these legacies."
Carnegie followed John Wesley's teachings on being industrious and earning as much as you can, then after you have cared for your loved ones, use the surplus to contribute to those in need and communities at large. He said it's disgraceful to have money and not support those around you.
As a millionaire, he condemned other millionaires not bent on generosity and dispersing wealth while alive. "The millionaires wealth was not his to spend, but his to wisely give away. Rich men should be thankful they have the power during their life time to busy themselves in organizing benefactions from which masses of their fellowman will desire lastly advantages and thus dignify their own lives."
Having condemned as misguided, vain and selfish most of his fellow millionaires for not giving away their money during their life time, Carnegie's one regret was that he couldn’t give away everything during his own life time.
Why have wealth… look at Psalm 112
1 Praise the LORD!
How joyful are those who fear the LORD
and delight in obeying his commands.
2 Their children will be successful everywhere;
an entire generation of godly people will be blessed.
3 They themselves will be wealthy,
and their good deeds will last forever.
4 Light shines in the darkness for the godly.
They are generous, compassionate, and righteous.
5 Good comes to those who lend money generously
and conduct their business fairly.
9 They share freely and give generously to those in need.
Their good deeds will be remembered forever.
They will have influence and honor. (NLT)
With wealth used for noble, God-inspired purposes it is considered to be good. Good is a spirit of generosity, compassion and to things for right reasons.
When you have the compassion of man in your heart, wealth can serve excellent purposes and build rewards for us in heaven. What we see now will eventually be totally destroyed.
“In a single moment
all the wealth of the city is gone!
The ship owners became wealthy
by transporting her great wealth on the seas.
In a single moment it is all gone.
For your merchants were the greatest in the world,
and you deceived the nations with your sorceries.”
(Rev. 18: 17-20, NLT)
Wealth in the hands of corrupt or selfish people is considered one of the worst conditions to be in. What pride invests in will be totally annihilated some day. Because investing in just material things on earth will not have lasting properties.
Invest in Heaven's properties.
When contributing to the heart, someone's calling, and the plight of needs of men, it builds up credit for us in heaven.
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth,
for the old heaven and the old earth had disappeared.
And the sea was also gone, Look, God’s home is now among his people! He will live with them, and they will be his people. God himself will be with them. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain. All these things are gone forever.”
(Rev. 21:1-4, NLT)
Jesus gave us the biggest insight to the benefits of those with wealth.
“Here’s the lesson: Use your worldly resources to benefit others and make friends. Then, when your earthly possessions are gone, they will welcome you to an eternal home.” (Luke 16:9, NLT)
John the Apostle elaborates on what Heavenly investments are while on earth: "If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in Christ in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?" (1 John 3:17, NLT)
When you see someone who is rich, don't resent that person, but desire to become rich yourself so you can serve good purposes. Desire to make friends with that person as God may use them to teach you some things that will help you.
When we use wealth for helping others, it builds an ever expanding network of friends. We take this with us. This brings eternal rewards and an investment in our eternal home.
When we live for riches in Spirit, and use what we have to assist in being compassionate, generous, thoughtful of others, we can create impact in the Kingdom of God.
Spirit is the true riches to be sought.
But wealth as one’s gift, a result of being industrious and using God’s gifts in us to the greatest degree possible, can be of great significance for building the true kingdom of God.
Everyone can be rich in Spirit,
some may be gifted in building wealth.
The Scriptures exhort us to whom much is given,
much more is required.
So Andrew Carnegie seemed on tract to believe that a great amount of responsibility rests on the shoulders of the rich to establish equality in people’s well being and the community. Being able to contribute our gifts to others is the greatest privilege we have in God’s Kingdom on earth and it is the beginning of our rewards for the Kingdom in Heaven we all will share equally.
"I will certainly bless you richly,
and I will multiply your descendants into countless millions...
Abraham was patient,
then he received all that God promised. (Heb. 6: 14-15)
"Do what is right and good.
Blessed are those who carefully do this."
(Isaiah 56: 1-2)
Friday, November 17, 2006
Secrets of the Millionaire Mind... in Spirit
by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com
In Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, T. Harv Eker states we have a Money Blueprint and it affects our abilities to acquire wealth.
"When the subconscious mind must choose between deeply rooted emotions and logic, emotions will always win."
Our Blueprint is formed by
1. Verbal Programming... what we have heard about money (hearing)
2. Modeling... how parents viewed and handled money (seeing)
3. Specific incidents... an experience we had about money (experience)
To change our money blueprint we must change what we have learned that is contrary to building wealth. To do that requires:
First, be aware of how you think.
Second, understand how this affected you.
Third, disassociate your thinking with what created an adverse impact.
Fourth, declare your new money mindset.
And affirm this in your thinking by putting your hand over your heart, saying out loud your new affirmation about your attitude about money. Touch your hand to your head and say "I have a millionaire mind."
We must reset the blueprint to be the blueprint of those who have millions.
"Choose to think in ways that support your happiness and success, instead of ways that don't."
Eker outlines the wealth files in his book. Here’s a summary of the seventeen wealth files Eker lists that are the way of thinking to attract wealth.
Wealth File #1
Rich people believe "I create my life."
Poor people believe "life happens to me."
Wealth Principle: Money is extremely important in areas in which it works, and extremely unimportant in the areas in which it doesn't. When you complain you become a living "crap magnet." There is really no such thing as a really rich victim.
Wealth File #2
Rich people play the money game to win.
Poor people play the money game not to lose.
Wealth Principle: If your goal is to be comfortable, chances are you'll never get rich. But if your goal is to be rich, chances are you'll end up mighty comfortable.
Wealth File #3
Rich people are committed to being rich.
Poor people want to be rich.
Wealth Principle: The number one reason most people don't get what they want is they don't know what they want. If you are not fully, totally, truly committed to creating wealth, chances are you won't.
Wealth File #4
Rich people think big.
Poor people think small.
Wealth Principle: The law of increase states that you will be paid in direct proportion to the value you deliver according to the marketplace.
Wealth File #5
Rich people focus on opportunities.
Poor people focus on obstacles.
Ready, fire, aim is about taking action quickly and working things out as you go.
Wealth File #6
Rich people admire other rich and successful people.
Poor people resent rich and successful people.
Wealth Principle: Bless that which you want.
Wealth File #7
Rich people associate with positive, successful people.
Poor people associate with negative or unsuccessful people. Your mental energy affects circumstances in the same way. Negativity creates the undesired; positivity creates what you desire.
Wealth File #8
Rich people are willing to promote themselves and their value.
Poor people think negatively about selling themselves.
Leaders earn a "heck" of a lot more than followers.
Wealth File #9
Rich people are bigger than their problems.
Poor people are smaller than their problems.
Wealth Principle: The secret to success is not to try to avoid or get rid of or shrink from your problems; the secret is to grow yourself so that you are bigger than your problems.
Wealth File #10
Rich people are excellent receivers.
Poor people are poor receivers.
Wealth Principle: If you say you're worthy, you are. If you say you are not worthy, you're not. Either way you live into your story.
Wealth File #11
Rich people choose to get paid based on results.
Poor people choose to get paid based on time.
Wealth Principle: There's nothing wrong with getting a steady paycheck, unless it interferes with your ability to earn what you're worth. There's the rub. It usually does. Never have a ceiling to your income.
Wealth File #12
Rich People think both.
Poor people think either/or.
Wealth Principle: Rich people believe you can have your cake and eat it too.
Wealth File #13
Rich people focus on their net worth.
Poor people focus on their working income.
Wealth Principle: The true measure of wealth is net worth, not working income. Where attention goes, energy flows.
Wealth File #14
Rich people manage their money well.
Poor people mismanage their money well.
Wealth Principle: Until you show you can handle what you've got, you won't get any more. The habit of managing your money is more important than the amount.
Wealth File #15
Rich people have their money work hard for them.
Poor people work hard for their money.
Wealth Principle: Rich people see money as seed that can be planted to earn a hundred more dollars, which can then be planted to earn a thousand more dollars.
Financial Freedom: The ability to live the lifestyle you desire without having to work or rely on anyone else for money.
Wealth File #16
Rich people act in spite of fear.
Poor people let fear stop them.
Wealth principle: Action is the bridge between the inner world and the outer world. It is not necessary to get rid of fear in order to succeed. Training and managing your mind is the most important skill you ever own.
Wealth File #17
Rich people constantly learn and grow.
Poor people think they already know.
Wealth principle: You can be right or you can be rich, but you can't be both. New files means new ways of thinking, new actions, new results.
Declaration: positively affirm each day a wealth file and put your hand over your heart when you do. Then point to your head and say...."I have a millionaire mind."
In the book, Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, Eker has exercises for each wealth file. These are worth doing and invaluable for making them really begin to work for you.
For more on making this part of your life check out:
www.millionairemindbook.com
where Eker has declarations, thoughts of the week, action reminders, and net worth tracking tools.
When our minds operate consistent with Spirit, we operate with the Mind of Jesus. The creator of all things…“God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.” (John 1:3, NLT)
“But we know that there is only one God, the Father, who created everything, and we live for him. And there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom God made everything and through whom we have been given life.” (1 Corinthians 8:6, NLT)
Jesus created everything. We share in that. When we operate as One in Him, we create with Him. How do we do that?
“Study this Book of Instruction continually.
Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey
everything written in it. Only then will you prosper
and succeed in all you do.This is my command—
be strong and courageous!
Do not be afraid or discouraged.
For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."
(Joshua 1: 8-9, NLT)
The mind and the Spirit must interrelate and be One in Spirit. The challenge is reprogramming our minds to be consistent to what Spirit already is. Spirit has all the laws, provisions, dynamics of God, who is Spirit, in it.
When we allow this to be transposed in our lives, we naturally carry out all the Law or principles of the Universe. But our minds have been conditioned by all of our experiences... what we have heard all our lives, what we have seen and model and what we have experienced. So we must intentionally work to change the way our mind works.
This is where the Bible comes into play and what Joshua recorded and what David says in the Psalms. “Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the river bank, bearing fruit each season.Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do."(Psalm 1:1-3, NLT)
If we meditate on the teachings of Jesus and principles of the Bible and ingest them into our minds, and function consistently with Spirit we then, as One in mind, heart, soul and Spirit, we then have the Power of All things going with us.
We can go boldly, and be strong and know with certainty that the wealth of the universe is at our disposal. When we do, and follow the Ways of God and Spirit prompting us(which we get when we meditate and pray) we are plugging into all the power of God... that then goes ahead of us. He gives us Spiritual intelligence and we get Divine strategies that see beyond, deep into, and through all circumstances.
When this directs us, we have all of Spirit, as One in us, all things will prosper and Great Power is with us.
And what is true success?
Oswald Chambers defines it in My Utmost for His Highest (Nov. 15).
“The true test of a saint’s life is not successfulness but faithfulness on the human level of life. We tend to set up success in Christian work as our purpose, but our purpose should be to display the glory of God in human life, to live a life 'hidden with Christ in God' in our everyday human conditions.” (Colossians 3:3)
Meditating day and night is getting
The Actual Spirit of God fixed as One
in both the conscious and subconscious mind.
These Two
working as One
IS
where the power is.
To be One with ourselves, with Spirit, and then with someone else,
who does the same,
is very powerful.
This is the secret formula to see all the miracles of the Bible to be part of our every day life.
Meditate on the Instructions of Scriptures
and allow Spirit,
through prayer and meditation,
to become One in all of our daily functions.
…One Mind, One Spirit…
It takes effort and a personal discipline, a daily routine, but the rewards are more than worth the time and discipline required to live like this.
So Be bold, Be strong, for the Lord God of all the Universe
is with you.
4spirit@gmail.com
In Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, T. Harv Eker states we have a Money Blueprint and it affects our abilities to acquire wealth.
"When the subconscious mind must choose between deeply rooted emotions and logic, emotions will always win."
Our Blueprint is formed by
1. Verbal Programming... what we have heard about money (hearing)
2. Modeling... how parents viewed and handled money (seeing)
3. Specific incidents... an experience we had about money (experience)
To change our money blueprint we must change what we have learned that is contrary to building wealth. To do that requires:
First, be aware of how you think.
Second, understand how this affected you.
Third, disassociate your thinking with what created an adverse impact.
Fourth, declare your new money mindset.
And affirm this in your thinking by putting your hand over your heart, saying out loud your new affirmation about your attitude about money. Touch your hand to your head and say "I have a millionaire mind."
We must reset the blueprint to be the blueprint of those who have millions.
"Choose to think in ways that support your happiness and success, instead of ways that don't."
Eker outlines the wealth files in his book. Here’s a summary of the seventeen wealth files Eker lists that are the way of thinking to attract wealth.
Wealth File #1
Rich people believe "I create my life."
Poor people believe "life happens to me."
Wealth Principle: Money is extremely important in areas in which it works, and extremely unimportant in the areas in which it doesn't. When you complain you become a living "crap magnet." There is really no such thing as a really rich victim.
Wealth File #2
Rich people play the money game to win.
Poor people play the money game not to lose.
Wealth Principle: If your goal is to be comfortable, chances are you'll never get rich. But if your goal is to be rich, chances are you'll end up mighty comfortable.
Wealth File #3
Rich people are committed to being rich.
Poor people want to be rich.
Wealth Principle: The number one reason most people don't get what they want is they don't know what they want. If you are not fully, totally, truly committed to creating wealth, chances are you won't.
Wealth File #4
Rich people think big.
Poor people think small.
Wealth Principle: The law of increase states that you will be paid in direct proportion to the value you deliver according to the marketplace.
Wealth File #5
Rich people focus on opportunities.
Poor people focus on obstacles.
Ready, fire, aim is about taking action quickly and working things out as you go.
Wealth File #6
Rich people admire other rich and successful people.
Poor people resent rich and successful people.
Wealth Principle: Bless that which you want.
Wealth File #7
Rich people associate with positive, successful people.
Poor people associate with negative or unsuccessful people. Your mental energy affects circumstances in the same way. Negativity creates the undesired; positivity creates what you desire.
Wealth File #8
Rich people are willing to promote themselves and their value.
Poor people think negatively about selling themselves.
Leaders earn a "heck" of a lot more than followers.
Wealth File #9
Rich people are bigger than their problems.
Poor people are smaller than their problems.
Wealth Principle: The secret to success is not to try to avoid or get rid of or shrink from your problems; the secret is to grow yourself so that you are bigger than your problems.
Wealth File #10
Rich people are excellent receivers.
Poor people are poor receivers.
Wealth Principle: If you say you're worthy, you are. If you say you are not worthy, you're not. Either way you live into your story.
Wealth File #11
Rich people choose to get paid based on results.
Poor people choose to get paid based on time.
Wealth Principle: There's nothing wrong with getting a steady paycheck, unless it interferes with your ability to earn what you're worth. There's the rub. It usually does. Never have a ceiling to your income.
Wealth File #12
Rich People think both.
Poor people think either/or.
Wealth Principle: Rich people believe you can have your cake and eat it too.
Wealth File #13
Rich people focus on their net worth.
Poor people focus on their working income.
Wealth Principle: The true measure of wealth is net worth, not working income. Where attention goes, energy flows.
Wealth File #14
Rich people manage their money well.
Poor people mismanage their money well.
Wealth Principle: Until you show you can handle what you've got, you won't get any more. The habit of managing your money is more important than the amount.
Wealth File #15
Rich people have their money work hard for them.
Poor people work hard for their money.
Wealth Principle: Rich people see money as seed that can be planted to earn a hundred more dollars, which can then be planted to earn a thousand more dollars.
Financial Freedom: The ability to live the lifestyle you desire without having to work or rely on anyone else for money.
Wealth File #16
Rich people act in spite of fear.
Poor people let fear stop them.
Wealth principle: Action is the bridge between the inner world and the outer world. It is not necessary to get rid of fear in order to succeed. Training and managing your mind is the most important skill you ever own.
Wealth File #17
Rich people constantly learn and grow.
Poor people think they already know.
Wealth principle: You can be right or you can be rich, but you can't be both. New files means new ways of thinking, new actions, new results.
Declaration: positively affirm each day a wealth file and put your hand over your heart when you do. Then point to your head and say...."I have a millionaire mind."
In the book, Secrets of the Millionaire Mind, Eker has exercises for each wealth file. These are worth doing and invaluable for making them really begin to work for you.
For more on making this part of your life check out:
www.millionairemindbook.com
where Eker has declarations, thoughts of the week, action reminders, and net worth tracking tools.
When our minds operate consistent with Spirit, we operate with the Mind of Jesus. The creator of all things…“God created everything through him, and nothing was created except through him.” (John 1:3, NLT)
“But we know that there is only one God, the Father, who created everything, and we live for him. And there is only one Lord, Jesus Christ, through whom God made everything and through whom we have been given life.” (1 Corinthians 8:6, NLT)
Jesus created everything. We share in that. When we operate as One in Him, we create with Him. How do we do that?
“Study this Book of Instruction continually.
Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey
everything written in it. Only then will you prosper
and succeed in all you do.This is my command—
be strong and courageous!
Do not be afraid or discouraged.
For the LORD your God is with you wherever you go."
(Joshua 1: 8-9, NLT)
The mind and the Spirit must interrelate and be One in Spirit. The challenge is reprogramming our minds to be consistent to what Spirit already is. Spirit has all the laws, provisions, dynamics of God, who is Spirit, in it.
When we allow this to be transposed in our lives, we naturally carry out all the Law or principles of the Universe. But our minds have been conditioned by all of our experiences... what we have heard all our lives, what we have seen and model and what we have experienced. So we must intentionally work to change the way our mind works.
This is where the Bible comes into play and what Joshua recorded and what David says in the Psalms. “Oh, the joys of those who do not follow the advice of the wicked, or stand around with sinners, or join in with mockers. But they delight in the law of the LORD, meditating on it day and night. They are like trees planted along the river bank, bearing fruit each season.Their leaves never wither, and they prosper in all they do."(Psalm 1:1-3, NLT)
If we meditate on the teachings of Jesus and principles of the Bible and ingest them into our minds, and function consistently with Spirit we then, as One in mind, heart, soul and Spirit, we then have the Power of All things going with us.
We can go boldly, and be strong and know with certainty that the wealth of the universe is at our disposal. When we do, and follow the Ways of God and Spirit prompting us(which we get when we meditate and pray) we are plugging into all the power of God... that then goes ahead of us. He gives us Spiritual intelligence and we get Divine strategies that see beyond, deep into, and through all circumstances.
When this directs us, we have all of Spirit, as One in us, all things will prosper and Great Power is with us.
And what is true success?
Oswald Chambers defines it in My Utmost for His Highest (Nov. 15).
“The true test of a saint’s life is not successfulness but faithfulness on the human level of life. We tend to set up success in Christian work as our purpose, but our purpose should be to display the glory of God in human life, to live a life 'hidden with Christ in God' in our everyday human conditions.” (Colossians 3:3)
Meditating day and night is getting
The Actual Spirit of God fixed as One
in both the conscious and subconscious mind.
These Two
working as One
IS
where the power is.
To be One with ourselves, with Spirit, and then with someone else,
who does the same,
is very powerful.
This is the secret formula to see all the miracles of the Bible to be part of our every day life.
Meditate on the Instructions of Scriptures
and allow Spirit,
through prayer and meditation,
to become One in all of our daily functions.
…One Mind, One Spirit…
It takes effort and a personal discipline, a daily routine, but the rewards are more than worth the time and discipline required to live like this.
So Be bold, Be strong, for the Lord God of all the Universe
is with you.
Thursday, November 09, 2006
Deliberate Practice... secret to greatness
by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com
What it takes to be great?
According to Fortune magazine, (10/30/06),
“What it takes to be great”
takes "deliberate practice."
Deliberate practice is a discipline about learning more on your own initiative. "The evidence we have surveyed... does not support the notion that excelling is a consequence of possessing innate gifts."
"There's no evidence of high-level performance without experience or practice." It is a consistent constant personal program to develop skills in an area. It is constantly looking at everything you do and thinking of ways to do it better. And it "goes beyond the current level of competence, provides feedback, with high levels of repetition."
In their new book, Fortune: Secrets to Greatness, the Fortune editors compiled numerous short personal stories of acclaimed successful people..."advice from the World's top CEO's and Entrepreneurs."
Michael Dell, Dell Computer's founder, was fascinated by the computer in high school. He bought an Apple II, took the whole thing a apart, learned how it worked, and began buying old computers and upgrading them for his friends. He learned while doing phone sales to sell newspapers for the Houston Post, that most of his sales came from those just moving in the area or newly marrieds. So he went to the county court records and collected all the new married names and began calling them. His sales skyrocketed.
Combining his computer rebuilding wizardry with sales prowess, his rebuilt computers continued to out sell his locations. He constantly was moving and renting out larger offices. He constantly was exploring how to put together a better PC according to what his customers wanted and searched out effective market methods. This is an example of deliberate practice.
It is done regularly with a goal and plan to improve targeted areas in one's life. Fortune: Secrets of Greatness shares those who are successful but constantly work to improve themselves( personal business skills) and re-tool their business model. This two-part emphasis propelled many to greatness over time.
How do you practice business?
"Instead of merely trying to get it done, you aim to get better while doing it." Always be working on "mental models of your business--pictures of how elements fit together and influence one another."
"The striking, liberating news is that greatness isn't reserved for a preordained few. It is available to you and to everyone." And it takes practice, practice, practice.
Refer to Fortune, Oct. 30, 06, and their new book Fortune:Secrets of Greatness.
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/10/30/8391794/index.htm?postversion=2006101915
In the classic Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki says we become rich, above average, by systematically building assets that produce revenue. This revenue then pays expenses.
When income is used to pay expenses we mount up liabilities such as mortgage payments, taxes, interest. This method does not produce wealth. The core of the Kiyosaki plan is to build assets that pay for things. When our assets grow, it can pay for more, consequently we create wealth. Assets that produce wealth include:
Businesses (that we own and have others run),
stocks, bonds, mutual funds,
income-generating real estate,
notes (IOU's),
royalties from intellectual property (music, scripts, patents),
and any thing else that has value, produces income or appreciates and has a ready market.
What limits wealth growth is working for the owner,
paying the government (taxes)
and paying the bank (interest).
Build assets.
To protect yourself, incorporate so liabilities do not fall on your personal shoulders. Your place is to control assets that your corporation owns. The Golden Rule is he who has the Gold Rules.
His big lesson is to work to learn, don't work for money. Those who treat all experience as personal education will gain lessons for stronger future wealth building.
i.e., Deliberately Practice.
Note Kiyosaki's website as he has over 30 title spins of Rich Dad, Poor Dad.
http://www.richdad.com/
The Apostles in the New Testament deliberately practiced living Supernaturally. They saw their kingdom greater than the earth and invested in assets that kept their value forever.
Those who walk in Spirit continually Crave Infinite Greatness.
In Spirit, no matter where you are, you know there is more.
“All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. Acts 2:42
This life of discipline (stalwart devotion) produced enormous return, creating everlasting assets in the Kingdom and they lived in unprecedented power. Although they had about 3 years of direct observation of Jesus and practice before this power came into their lives.
This power included having all needs met among them,
living a life of sharing all things in love with each other…
investing in each others efforts with what they had and what was needed.
(With this method they grew exponentially.)
They miraculously healed people on a regular basis and many continually came to live the life of the Way(as they called themselves.)
They studied relentlessly and reviewed over-and-over the principles of Jesus and Spirit-based teaching. Their daily discipline (deliberate practice) included:
--Studying to improve their Spiritual lives to stay steady in Spirit and get better.
--Interacting with others and each sharing what the Spirit was saying to others. So impressions in Spirit were cross-taught and it expanded their growth.
--Having lunches with each other, and interacting with each other.
--Constantly celebrating the new life they lived in Spirit.
--And spending a lot of time in prayer where the original power of Spirit came into their lives to do great feats.(Acts 2)
What caused the explosion of power to came into their lives is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles.This record says they were continually in Prayer. Prayer included Worship and interacting with the very Spirit of God. (Acts 1:14)
Spirit power is something that Deliberate Practice produces great benefits to the one who practices this… daily, regularly and a personal plan.
Andrew Murray had a plan for this in Prayer Power. Geffry Fields, Jesus is Us, summarized this practice in Prayer routine.
Hints for the Inner Chamber of Spiritual Power
1. As you enter the Inner Chamber, focus first on what the Power of Spirit is really about.
Take 5 minutes to think on all the creative, unique, spectacular things the very Spirit of Jesus has done and can do.
2. Prepare for prayer by contemplating on the Scriptures from the Bible. Prayer... Murray defines as a dialogue....time listening, responding, interacting, asking, listening, reviewing, asking, writing, pondering, etc.... it's interactive.
(Psalms, the Prophets from Isaiah to Malachi, Jesus teachings are great faith builders.)
For this time, read until you find the verse that totally captures your imagination, gives you a spark of faith, makes you want to grab it and run with it.
Note: E-Word Today Daily Bible reading plan...
http://eword.gospelcom.net/bible/today.htm
3. When you feel you have put this faith word in your heart, then turn to praying. Praying again is conversation, knowing the Inner Chamber of God's very own Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, is taking it all in, and all the thoughts and impressions you get then, are Jesus literally talking to you. Take a note book and begin writing down what you ask Him for... be specific and "definite" as Murray says. Carry this with you, make notes in it daily, date it and note when you see the answer materializing.
Seeing it before it happens as if it is, has already happened is very powerful.
4. As we pray for ourselves, include what others want also. Begin seeing what friends, spouse, others are asking for, to happen for them too. See them as God sees them and pray for the Greatness in their lives as the Spirit of Jesus would want to see in them.
5. Then seal it... know the Inner Chamber controls the world around it and what you have meditated on, see happening through your eyes of faith and vision, see all this as in motion and now happening. Remind yourself through the day, this has been sealed in the Inner Chamber. The very Most High presence of God Himself, outstanding presence of Jesus in you, has taken in this matter.
It is sealed, done, on its way. When you leave your quiet meditative times with this fixed in your thoughts the Spirit comes dramatically alive in you. He walks along side us in our lives with an extra set of confidence, boldness accompanying all we do. (Prayer Power by Andrew Murray, Whitaker, 1998)
Note: Jesus is Us, "Our Body... Jesus’ Spirit lives there," for the full article
http://jesusisus.blogspot.com/2005/06/our-body-jesus-spirit-lives-there.html
Deliberate Practice builds Spiritual assets.
"And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness... secret riches.
I will do this so you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel,
the one who calls you by name.”
(Isaiah 45:3, NLT)
“Store your treasures in heaven,
where moths and rust cannot destroy,
and thieves do not break in and steal.”
(Matthew 6:20, NLT)
The Apostles deliberately practiced and stored up treasures that never go away.
If we follow the disciples’ discipline
we will have Spiritual Greatness expressing It-self through us.
We will have love, friends, family
and a never ending trail of resources follow us.
Keep examining the Scriptures, reflect on them, stay in prayer, master the discipline of prayer and the secrets of Spirit will be revealed to you!!!
Then share with others what the Holy Spirit is teaching you and the mysteries of Heaven will be revealed to you here on earth. The “all-knowing knowledge” of Spirit will direct all you do. Live in Spirit, listen to Spirit and you will be Super-natural in your performance. And you will begin to see Spirit in Power working in your life every where.
Those who walk in Spirit continually Crave Infinite Greatness.
The authors of Secrets to Greatness said greatness is not about innate ability but one’s diligence in practice, to practice strategically, deliberating an area of life where someone wants to perform exceptionally well.
So, you, everyone can be exceptional with Spirit ability and Spiritual Power as part of your life. Follow the strategic practice methods of the Disciples of Acts.
Your life will be filled with incredible, inexhaustible Acts as well.
Deliberately practice…
and watch your invaluable assets grow… forever!
4spirit@gmail.com
What it takes to be great?
According to Fortune magazine, (10/30/06),
“What it takes to be great”
takes "deliberate practice."
Deliberate practice is a discipline about learning more on your own initiative. "The evidence we have surveyed... does not support the notion that excelling is a consequence of possessing innate gifts."
"There's no evidence of high-level performance without experience or practice." It is a consistent constant personal program to develop skills in an area. It is constantly looking at everything you do and thinking of ways to do it better. And it "goes beyond the current level of competence, provides feedback, with high levels of repetition."
In their new book, Fortune: Secrets to Greatness, the Fortune editors compiled numerous short personal stories of acclaimed successful people..."advice from the World's top CEO's and Entrepreneurs."
Michael Dell, Dell Computer's founder, was fascinated by the computer in high school. He bought an Apple II, took the whole thing a apart, learned how it worked, and began buying old computers and upgrading them for his friends. He learned while doing phone sales to sell newspapers for the Houston Post, that most of his sales came from those just moving in the area or newly marrieds. So he went to the county court records and collected all the new married names and began calling them. His sales skyrocketed.
Combining his computer rebuilding wizardry with sales prowess, his rebuilt computers continued to out sell his locations. He constantly was moving and renting out larger offices. He constantly was exploring how to put together a better PC according to what his customers wanted and searched out effective market methods. This is an example of deliberate practice.
It is done regularly with a goal and plan to improve targeted areas in one's life. Fortune: Secrets of Greatness shares those who are successful but constantly work to improve themselves( personal business skills) and re-tool their business model. This two-part emphasis propelled many to greatness over time.
How do you practice business?
"Instead of merely trying to get it done, you aim to get better while doing it." Always be working on "mental models of your business--pictures of how elements fit together and influence one another."
"The striking, liberating news is that greatness isn't reserved for a preordained few. It is available to you and to everyone." And it takes practice, practice, practice.
Refer to Fortune, Oct. 30, 06, and their new book Fortune:Secrets of Greatness.
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/10/30/8391794/index.htm?postversion=2006101915
In the classic Rich Dad, Poor Dad, Robert Kiyosaki says we become rich, above average, by systematically building assets that produce revenue. This revenue then pays expenses.
When income is used to pay expenses we mount up liabilities such as mortgage payments, taxes, interest. This method does not produce wealth. The core of the Kiyosaki plan is to build assets that pay for things. When our assets grow, it can pay for more, consequently we create wealth. Assets that produce wealth include:
Businesses (that we own and have others run),
stocks, bonds, mutual funds,
income-generating real estate,
notes (IOU's),
royalties from intellectual property (music, scripts, patents),
and any thing else that has value, produces income or appreciates and has a ready market.
What limits wealth growth is working for the owner,
paying the government (taxes)
and paying the bank (interest).
Build assets.
To protect yourself, incorporate so liabilities do not fall on your personal shoulders. Your place is to control assets that your corporation owns. The Golden Rule is he who has the Gold Rules.
His big lesson is to work to learn, don't work for money. Those who treat all experience as personal education will gain lessons for stronger future wealth building.
i.e., Deliberately Practice.
Note Kiyosaki's website as he has over 30 title spins of Rich Dad, Poor Dad.
http://www.richdad.com/
The Apostles in the New Testament deliberately practiced living Supernaturally. They saw their kingdom greater than the earth and invested in assets that kept their value forever.
Those who walk in Spirit continually Crave Infinite Greatness.
In Spirit, no matter where you are, you know there is more.
“All the believers devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, and to fellowship, and to sharing in meals (including the Lord’s Supper), and to prayer. Acts 2:42
This life of discipline (stalwart devotion) produced enormous return, creating everlasting assets in the Kingdom and they lived in unprecedented power. Although they had about 3 years of direct observation of Jesus and practice before this power came into their lives.
This power included having all needs met among them,
living a life of sharing all things in love with each other…
investing in each others efforts with what they had and what was needed.
(With this method they grew exponentially.)
They miraculously healed people on a regular basis and many continually came to live the life of the Way(as they called themselves.)
They studied relentlessly and reviewed over-and-over the principles of Jesus and Spirit-based teaching. Their daily discipline (deliberate practice) included:
--Studying to improve their Spiritual lives to stay steady in Spirit and get better.
--Interacting with others and each sharing what the Spirit was saying to others. So impressions in Spirit were cross-taught and it expanded their growth.
--Having lunches with each other, and interacting with each other.
--Constantly celebrating the new life they lived in Spirit.
--And spending a lot of time in prayer where the original power of Spirit came into their lives to do great feats.(Acts 2)
What caused the explosion of power to came into their lives is recorded in the Acts of the Apostles.This record says they were continually in Prayer. Prayer included Worship and interacting with the very Spirit of God. (Acts 1:14)
Spirit power is something that Deliberate Practice produces great benefits to the one who practices this… daily, regularly and a personal plan.
Andrew Murray had a plan for this in Prayer Power. Geffry Fields, Jesus is Us, summarized this practice in Prayer routine.
Hints for the Inner Chamber of Spiritual Power
1. As you enter the Inner Chamber, focus first on what the Power of Spirit is really about.
Take 5 minutes to think on all the creative, unique, spectacular things the very Spirit of Jesus has done and can do.
2. Prepare for prayer by contemplating on the Scriptures from the Bible. Prayer... Murray defines as a dialogue....time listening, responding, interacting, asking, listening, reviewing, asking, writing, pondering, etc.... it's interactive.
(Psalms, the Prophets from Isaiah to Malachi, Jesus teachings are great faith builders.)
For this time, read until you find the verse that totally captures your imagination, gives you a spark of faith, makes you want to grab it and run with it.
Note: E-Word Today Daily Bible reading plan...
http://eword.gospelcom.net/bible/today.htm
3. When you feel you have put this faith word in your heart, then turn to praying. Praying again is conversation, knowing the Inner Chamber of God's very own Spirit, the Spirit of Jesus, is taking it all in, and all the thoughts and impressions you get then, are Jesus literally talking to you. Take a note book and begin writing down what you ask Him for... be specific and "definite" as Murray says. Carry this with you, make notes in it daily, date it and note when you see the answer materializing.
Seeing it before it happens as if it is, has already happened is very powerful.
4. As we pray for ourselves, include what others want also. Begin seeing what friends, spouse, others are asking for, to happen for them too. See them as God sees them and pray for the Greatness in their lives as the Spirit of Jesus would want to see in them.
5. Then seal it... know the Inner Chamber controls the world around it and what you have meditated on, see happening through your eyes of faith and vision, see all this as in motion and now happening. Remind yourself through the day, this has been sealed in the Inner Chamber. The very Most High presence of God Himself, outstanding presence of Jesus in you, has taken in this matter.
It is sealed, done, on its way. When you leave your quiet meditative times with this fixed in your thoughts the Spirit comes dramatically alive in you. He walks along side us in our lives with an extra set of confidence, boldness accompanying all we do. (Prayer Power by Andrew Murray, Whitaker, 1998)
Note: Jesus is Us, "Our Body... Jesus’ Spirit lives there," for the full article
http://jesusisus.blogspot.com/2005/06/our-body-jesus-spirit-lives-there.html
Deliberate Practice builds Spiritual assets.
"And I will give you treasures hidden in the darkness... secret riches.
I will do this so you may know that I am the LORD, the God of Israel,
the one who calls you by name.”
(Isaiah 45:3, NLT)
“Store your treasures in heaven,
where moths and rust cannot destroy,
and thieves do not break in and steal.”
(Matthew 6:20, NLT)
The Apostles deliberately practiced and stored up treasures that never go away.
If we follow the disciples’ discipline
we will have Spiritual Greatness expressing It-self through us.
We will have love, friends, family
and a never ending trail of resources follow us.
Keep examining the Scriptures, reflect on them, stay in prayer, master the discipline of prayer and the secrets of Spirit will be revealed to you!!!
Then share with others what the Holy Spirit is teaching you and the mysteries of Heaven will be revealed to you here on earth. The “all-knowing knowledge” of Spirit will direct all you do. Live in Spirit, listen to Spirit and you will be Super-natural in your performance. And you will begin to see Spirit in Power working in your life every where.
Those who walk in Spirit continually Crave Infinite Greatness.
The authors of Secrets to Greatness said greatness is not about innate ability but one’s diligence in practice, to practice strategically, deliberating an area of life where someone wants to perform exceptionally well.
So, you, everyone can be exceptional with Spirit ability and Spiritual Power as part of your life. Follow the strategic practice methods of the Disciples of Acts.
Your life will be filled with incredible, inexhaustible Acts as well.
Deliberately practice…
and watch your invaluable assets grow… forever!
Friday, October 27, 2006
Destined for Greatness
by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com
The Richest Man Who Ever Lived is about the principles of wealth and happiness that the King Solomon of Israel lived by... the richest person in his era. "Solomon reveals that the 'laws of living' invisibly govern all aspects of life" according to Steven K. Scott. "They still exist and they will govern your flight."
Scott's acclaim to success is that he was very unsuccessful, failing at every job he had in the first seven years of his job life. Then going from making less than half the average income to $7 million a year now. By 30 he was on his way to the success track financially. He learned there was more that just money…the wisdom of Solomon applies today. Happiness in life is a greater virtue than having it all. Thus his tag line about his book... the Secrets to Success, Wealth, and Happiness.
The key to wining every race is diligence. "Diligence is a learnable skill that combines creative persistence, a smart working effort rightly planned and rightly performed in a timely, efficient, and effective manner to attain a result that is pure and of the highest quality of excellence."
"Even a child is known by his doings." Proverbs 20 :11.
Solomon's steps to bring diligence into your life:
1. Wake up to Reality
"Get up from your sleep, poverty will come on you like a bandit and scacrity like an armed man." Proverbs 6:9-11
2. Define your Visions
"Without a vision, the people perish." Proverbs 28:19
3. Effectively Partner
"Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed." Proverbs 13:22
4. Pursue Wisdom; Build your Life upon it.
"How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver." Proverbs 16:16
The activity that creates extraordinary success is outlined by Scott as a vision mapping process. This is a hallmark quality of Scott's works. "Vision is a precisely, clearly defined goal with a detailed plan and timetable for achieving." Along with a plan comes "hope... a well-founded and confident belief that a specific vision (goal, desire, or promise) will be achieved or fulfilled within a specific amount of time."
The vision mapping process, which he accredits to his turnaround to great accomplishments, includes....
1. Write a clear precise description of your dream
2. Create a goals page with specific and intermediate goals
3. Create another page for a single goal and label "goals to steps," along with intermediate goals, list the steps you need to take to reach the goal.
4. Next take any complex step and list the tasks you will need to do within that step.
5 Then assign completion dates to each step and tasks for the steps. Now you need to complete each task, one at a time, in the time line you set.
This focus brings the dream into a working plan and you have mapped a plan to get it done. He is very emphatic to write all this down, and stick to the plan in accomplishing it, or revise as needed. Having a Vision Mapping Journal gives you a sense of value in this process. This is where success is, the fulfillment you want is maintained in anything you attempt.
This is where diligence comes in. Stay diligent in doing what will bring your vision into reality. Now you have hope as you can see it, and see it becoming into reality within a certain time line.
The "great accelerator" to accomplish anything faster is by partnering. "A partner or counselor is anyone who can provide needed insight, advice, wisdom, or any practical help for the effective achievement of a specific project, goal or dream."
This is essential to great accomplishment. You must align with partners. Every super achiever in history of man has used an accelerator to achieve his dreams. Partners have undeniable benefits and are essential in daring to accomplish anything above average. But he cautions one on the importance of picking the right partners. As wrong partners can be worse than none at all.
Take care to avoid the Wrong Partners, watch for: Lack of integrity, a quick temper or deep-seated anger, foolishness, someone who offers a lot for a little, excessive use of flattery, inclinations to gossip or exaggerate, a disregard for rules, regulations, laws and personal boundaries. Picking partners is important, but picking the right partners is equally important.
Happiness roots lie in
being grateful,
eliminating a sense of entitlement in your thinking,
weeding out envy,
and living wisely.
There are four qualities that make you invaluable:
Kindness and
Truth(honesty)
"Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around
your neck: Write them on the tablets of your heart." Proverbs 3:3-4
Generosity-- the quality that gives receives more than it gives.
"One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed." Proverbs 11:24-25
Graciousness-- The attribute that raises you up in the sight of others.
"A gracious woman gains honor." Proverbs 11:16
Scott continues to cover how to resolve conflicts, how to make friends with enemies, and the value of having relationships you build and can count on… again reciting the Wisdom of Solomon throughout.
What will "booby trap" success... greed.
When you want it all and go to all costs regardless of who it hurts or hinders in the process, it will eventually come back to do you in.The Richest Man Who Ever Lived is a powerful, concise book. Steven Scott offers his Vision Mapping Journal on his website:
www.stevenkscott.com
Brian Tracy said if we do one thing every day toward something important to us we will be amazed at what will start to happen over time.
Pursue the greatness of Solomon.
It is within our capability and with Power of Spirit in our lives, if we choose to use the power of Spirit in our lives.
"The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy." Psalms126:3
Solomon was a person of greatness and all through the Psalms the idea of God doing great things was frequently attached to those who placed their faith and trust in the Lord.
We are all called to greatness... to do great things. And with God's Spirit, He uses us to do great feats. God doesn't want us to be defeated. He wants us to do great feats with Him. With God's Spirit working through us, we can expect and we should look to do great things.
As Scott points out in Solomon’s life, there is a path to great accomplishments.
It goes back to the vision in your heart, we call faith. What you see in your heart “that's great,” is it something God is edging you to do? Think great feats. If we don't, we easily fall back to thinking de-feat. Our lives are about victory... not defeat.
All who live in the Spirit of Christ are Victorious!
With wisdom we can accomplish much more than our personal abilities. Jesus said in faith it would be done to that level. Faith is having a very positive vision of God with us accomplishing it. It goes beyond us and to His realm of power and ability. Jesus said that even greater things will happen to you than you can imagine. We will do even greater things than Jesus, Jesus announced to us.(John 14:12)
We need to set our sights higher. We have God's transforming power at work in us, at our disposal around us. Greater is the one in you than anyone in the world. (1 John 4:4)
The world is limited.
With Spirit, what's possible is unlimited power.
Indeed our destiny is one that is to be Super-natural.
In Spirit all things are possible and we should all strive for Great Feats... Bury defeat in the trail of dust behind us. Get on with the Doing of it.
Get started to do what the Spirit directs you to do each step along the way. So many times, Dr. J. Robert Ashcroft put emphasis on that “it’s in the doing.” Faith is action on the vision, the steps Spirit gives you to do. In faith advance with the vision in your hearts for greatness.
Be diligent with the doing of the steps toward the vision on your heart. He will tell you the steps and proceed, do it, and get it in motion.
Ask The Spirit of God, Spirit will give you inside Spiritual intelligence.
Be diligent in pursing greatness using the gifts he is putting in you that are Supernatural in their level of performance.
See it, Believe it, and be Diligent in doing it!
Live to do great feats. Leave the valley of de-feat and look to the mountain of magnificent feats.
Feats of Greatness in Spirit!
Live in Universe-Creating Power of God we are privileged to tap in to.
Indeed, you are destined to do Great Things!
4spirit@gmail.com
The Richest Man Who Ever Lived is about the principles of wealth and happiness that the King Solomon of Israel lived by... the richest person in his era. "Solomon reveals that the 'laws of living' invisibly govern all aspects of life" according to Steven K. Scott. "They still exist and they will govern your flight."
Scott's acclaim to success is that he was very unsuccessful, failing at every job he had in the first seven years of his job life. Then going from making less than half the average income to $7 million a year now. By 30 he was on his way to the success track financially. He learned there was more that just money…the wisdom of Solomon applies today. Happiness in life is a greater virtue than having it all. Thus his tag line about his book... the Secrets to Success, Wealth, and Happiness.
The key to wining every race is diligence. "Diligence is a learnable skill that combines creative persistence, a smart working effort rightly planned and rightly performed in a timely, efficient, and effective manner to attain a result that is pure and of the highest quality of excellence."
"Even a child is known by his doings." Proverbs 20 :11.
Solomon's steps to bring diligence into your life:
1. Wake up to Reality
"Get up from your sleep, poverty will come on you like a bandit and scacrity like an armed man." Proverbs 6:9-11
2. Define your Visions
"Without a vision, the people perish." Proverbs 28:19
3. Effectively Partner
"Plans fail for lack of counsel, but with many advisers they succeed." Proverbs 13:22
4. Pursue Wisdom; Build your Life upon it.
"How much better it is to get wisdom than gold! And to get understanding is to be chosen above silver." Proverbs 16:16
The activity that creates extraordinary success is outlined by Scott as a vision mapping process. This is a hallmark quality of Scott's works. "Vision is a precisely, clearly defined goal with a detailed plan and timetable for achieving." Along with a plan comes "hope... a well-founded and confident belief that a specific vision (goal, desire, or promise) will be achieved or fulfilled within a specific amount of time."
The vision mapping process, which he accredits to his turnaround to great accomplishments, includes....
1. Write a clear precise description of your dream
2. Create a goals page with specific and intermediate goals
3. Create another page for a single goal and label "goals to steps," along with intermediate goals, list the steps you need to take to reach the goal.
4. Next take any complex step and list the tasks you will need to do within that step.
5 Then assign completion dates to each step and tasks for the steps. Now you need to complete each task, one at a time, in the time line you set.
This focus brings the dream into a working plan and you have mapped a plan to get it done. He is very emphatic to write all this down, and stick to the plan in accomplishing it, or revise as needed. Having a Vision Mapping Journal gives you a sense of value in this process. This is where success is, the fulfillment you want is maintained in anything you attempt.
This is where diligence comes in. Stay diligent in doing what will bring your vision into reality. Now you have hope as you can see it, and see it becoming into reality within a certain time line.
The "great accelerator" to accomplish anything faster is by partnering. "A partner or counselor is anyone who can provide needed insight, advice, wisdom, or any practical help for the effective achievement of a specific project, goal or dream."
This is essential to great accomplishment. You must align with partners. Every super achiever in history of man has used an accelerator to achieve his dreams. Partners have undeniable benefits and are essential in daring to accomplish anything above average. But he cautions one on the importance of picking the right partners. As wrong partners can be worse than none at all.
Take care to avoid the Wrong Partners, watch for: Lack of integrity, a quick temper or deep-seated anger, foolishness, someone who offers a lot for a little, excessive use of flattery, inclinations to gossip or exaggerate, a disregard for rules, regulations, laws and personal boundaries. Picking partners is important, but picking the right partners is equally important.
Happiness roots lie in
being grateful,
eliminating a sense of entitlement in your thinking,
weeding out envy,
and living wisely.
There are four qualities that make you invaluable:
Kindness and
Truth(honesty)
"Do not let kindness and truth leave you; Bind them around
your neck: Write them on the tablets of your heart." Proverbs 3:3-4
Generosity-- the quality that gives receives more than it gives.
"One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed." Proverbs 11:24-25
Graciousness-- The attribute that raises you up in the sight of others.
"A gracious woman gains honor." Proverbs 11:16
Scott continues to cover how to resolve conflicts, how to make friends with enemies, and the value of having relationships you build and can count on… again reciting the Wisdom of Solomon throughout.
What will "booby trap" success... greed.
When you want it all and go to all costs regardless of who it hurts or hinders in the process, it will eventually come back to do you in.The Richest Man Who Ever Lived is a powerful, concise book. Steven Scott offers his Vision Mapping Journal on his website:
www.stevenkscott.com
Brian Tracy said if we do one thing every day toward something important to us we will be amazed at what will start to happen over time.
Pursue the greatness of Solomon.
It is within our capability and with Power of Spirit in our lives, if we choose to use the power of Spirit in our lives.
"The LORD has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy." Psalms126:3
Solomon was a person of greatness and all through the Psalms the idea of God doing great things was frequently attached to those who placed their faith and trust in the Lord.
We are all called to greatness... to do great things. And with God's Spirit, He uses us to do great feats. God doesn't want us to be defeated. He wants us to do great feats with Him. With God's Spirit working through us, we can expect and we should look to do great things.
As Scott points out in Solomon’s life, there is a path to great accomplishments.
It goes back to the vision in your heart, we call faith. What you see in your heart “that's great,” is it something God is edging you to do? Think great feats. If we don't, we easily fall back to thinking de-feat. Our lives are about victory... not defeat.
All who live in the Spirit of Christ are Victorious!
With wisdom we can accomplish much more than our personal abilities. Jesus said in faith it would be done to that level. Faith is having a very positive vision of God with us accomplishing it. It goes beyond us and to His realm of power and ability. Jesus said that even greater things will happen to you than you can imagine. We will do even greater things than Jesus, Jesus announced to us.(John 14:12)
We need to set our sights higher. We have God's transforming power at work in us, at our disposal around us. Greater is the one in you than anyone in the world. (1 John 4:4)
The world is limited.
With Spirit, what's possible is unlimited power.
Indeed our destiny is one that is to be Super-natural.
In Spirit all things are possible and we should all strive for Great Feats... Bury defeat in the trail of dust behind us. Get on with the Doing of it.
Get started to do what the Spirit directs you to do each step along the way. So many times, Dr. J. Robert Ashcroft put emphasis on that “it’s in the doing.” Faith is action on the vision, the steps Spirit gives you to do. In faith advance with the vision in your hearts for greatness.
Be diligent with the doing of the steps toward the vision on your heart. He will tell you the steps and proceed, do it, and get it in motion.
Ask The Spirit of God, Spirit will give you inside Spiritual intelligence.
Be diligent in pursing greatness using the gifts he is putting in you that are Supernatural in their level of performance.
See it, Believe it, and be Diligent in doing it!
Live to do great feats. Leave the valley of de-feat and look to the mountain of magnificent feats.
Feats of Greatness in Spirit!
Live in Universe-Creating Power of God we are privileged to tap in to.
Indeed, you are destined to do Great Things!
Saturday, October 21, 2006
The Difference Maker... Attitude
By Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com
The difference maker in life is your Attitude.
In The Difference Maker, John Maxwell takes you on a track to make your attitude your greatest asset. He shows you where you get your attitude, what it cannot do, what it can do and how to make your attitude your biggest asset. Maxwell then spends a big part of the book in the Big Five Attitude Obstacles.
Attitude... "inward feeling expressed in outward behavior." People project on the outside what they feel on the inside through attitude. It all is formed from
personality (some from your DNA strands);
what's around you...your decisions based on your environment;
the expression of others as to what took mental lodging
based on what someone said about you;
self-image in how you choose to see yourself;
what you experience and your response to that experience;
adopting behavior of peers;
and lastly your belief framework of your thought life and its influence on you.
All this goes into play in forming attitudes as well as your choices in forming emotional adjustments to them.
"The longer you live, the more your life is shaped by your choices." Early on in life conditions affect us, but as we progress through life conditions affect us less. We rely more on choices we previously made due to conditions. This is where we get "attitude."
Your attitude cannot substitute for competence (skills, competence must be developed), for experience, for facts, for personal growth. You must have experience first before you can benefit from experience.
You can't keep a good attitude automatically. It must continually be nurtured and re-booted to the configuration you "choose." Say everyday... "Today, I am going to have a great attitude."
What can your attitude do for you?
It will make a difference in your approach to life, your relationships with people, how you face challenges, and be the difference maker in everything you do.
Maxwell then leads you on the track for making your attitude your greatest asset.
1. Take responsibility for your attitude. Don't defeat yourself, better yourself with choosing the right attitude.
2. Evaluate your present attitude. Identify problem feelings about yourself, your feelings toward others and problems with how you are thinking.
3. Desire to change. It's your choice and you must make it.
4. How you think. You made choices long ago, you can change some of them.
5. Program good habits to your thinking. Observe your thinking, change what you need to, and consistently "choose" the right track.
6. Manage your attitude daily. Review the day, evaluate, restructure where you need to, and keep putting on quality experiences (reading, friends,events) that promote the attitude that makes positive differences.
The second part of The Difference Maker discusses the
Big Five Attitude Obstacles and how to overcome them. They are
Discouragement (decide to bounce back and not quit);
Change... is hard but learning to make new adjustments leads to personal growth and enlargement of fullness in life;
Problems... look at them as wake up calls for creativity and focused change are birthed from them;
Fear... 95% of fear is baseless, confront it, beat it, and you become stronger because of it.
Failure... learn the lessons, renew the right attitudes, move forward, never give up and keep growing. Failure is the most powerful penetrating force in "making the grade" in life's lessons.
"Success each day should be judged by the seeds,
not the harvest reaped."
Choose to be a difference maker in your life and in others. Maxwell's website:
http://maximumimpact.com/
What was Jesus' attitude?
"For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, and others will approve of you, too. So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up." (Romans 14:17-19. NLT)
Our attitude in Jesus Spirit is of goodness, peace, joy. In how you look at things, think with the attitude of what good you can do, stay in peace and do not react hurriedly, allow the Spirit to simmer within you and allow joy to well up in you.
Our place is to build up... do good, use wisdom, seek spiritual insight, Spiritually in-depth perspectives of people. If in our business relationships, we build up, help to gear up, spur on, charge up, we could produce perpetual Spiritual energy, power, substance that builds God's Kingdom. We are to lift people up and spur them on to do great feats for the kingdom of Heaven.
What for?
Because your ultimate attitude is one of promoting harmony, understanding, tolerance among every facet, group, business-style you encounter, and build harmony among diverse people and business groups.
Take on this attitude of Christ, the great Apostle Paul says. Sculpture it into your life. The great apostle defined this attitude of Jesus for us. It is reflected in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5) and Jesus salutation (John 14-17). He summed it up in Philippians 2:
"Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another,
and working together with one mind and purpose.
Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others.
Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.
Don't look out only for your own interests,
but take an interest in others, too.
You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you.
Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights
in a world full of crooked and perverse people." (NLT)
Then the Apostle Peter continues to add:
"Finally, all of you should be of one mind.
Sympathize with each other.
Love each other as brothers and sisters.
Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.
Don't repay evil for evil.
Don't retaliate with insults when people insult you.
Instead, pay them back with a blessing.
That is what God has called you to do,
and he will bless you for it.” (1 Peter 3:8,9, NLT)
Why?
"So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin. You won't spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God.” (1 Peter 4: 1, 2, NLT)
It’s all about you doing the will of God through your life.
Be anxious to the will of His heart in you, the will, passion for what the Spirit beacons you to do... regardless of the personal cost to you. What we think we have on earth will be diminished some day, and what we will have forever will be in Heaven.
And the promise, the absolute promise is for the Heavenly reward. It is great and incomprehensible now, beyond explanation now. But too great that our minds and imaginations can't even get a faint glimpse of it.
Go after this, in faith go for the greatest reward, including new bodies from the resurrection of the greatest majestic splendor, and keep this attitude, the one of Jesus, in all you do and especially in completing the Divine plan for you in this life.
For how to program Spiritual attitudes, note:
Jesus is Us by Geffry Fields
“The Practical Side of Living Jesus Spirit”
http://jesusisus.blogspot.com/2005/07/practical-side-of-living-jesus-spirit.html
“Our Body… Jesus Lives there.”
http://jesusisus.blogspot.com/2005/06/our-body-jesus-spirit-lives-there.html
Develop His Attitude and fulfill through you God’s Purpose
through His Spirit in and around you.
4spirit@gmail.com
The difference maker in life is your Attitude.
In The Difference Maker, John Maxwell takes you on a track to make your attitude your greatest asset. He shows you where you get your attitude, what it cannot do, what it can do and how to make your attitude your biggest asset. Maxwell then spends a big part of the book in the Big Five Attitude Obstacles.
Attitude... "inward feeling expressed in outward behavior." People project on the outside what they feel on the inside through attitude. It all is formed from
personality (some from your DNA strands);
what's around you...your decisions based on your environment;
the expression of others as to what took mental lodging
based on what someone said about you;
self-image in how you choose to see yourself;
what you experience and your response to that experience;
adopting behavior of peers;
and lastly your belief framework of your thought life and its influence on you.
All this goes into play in forming attitudes as well as your choices in forming emotional adjustments to them.
"The longer you live, the more your life is shaped by your choices." Early on in life conditions affect us, but as we progress through life conditions affect us less. We rely more on choices we previously made due to conditions. This is where we get "attitude."
Your attitude cannot substitute for competence (skills, competence must be developed), for experience, for facts, for personal growth. You must have experience first before you can benefit from experience.
You can't keep a good attitude automatically. It must continually be nurtured and re-booted to the configuration you "choose." Say everyday... "Today, I am going to have a great attitude."
What can your attitude do for you?
It will make a difference in your approach to life, your relationships with people, how you face challenges, and be the difference maker in everything you do.
Maxwell then leads you on the track for making your attitude your greatest asset.
1. Take responsibility for your attitude. Don't defeat yourself, better yourself with choosing the right attitude.
2. Evaluate your present attitude. Identify problem feelings about yourself, your feelings toward others and problems with how you are thinking.
3. Desire to change. It's your choice and you must make it.
4. How you think. You made choices long ago, you can change some of them.
5. Program good habits to your thinking. Observe your thinking, change what you need to, and consistently "choose" the right track.
6. Manage your attitude daily. Review the day, evaluate, restructure where you need to, and keep putting on quality experiences (reading, friends,events) that promote the attitude that makes positive differences.
The second part of The Difference Maker discusses the
Big Five Attitude Obstacles and how to overcome them. They are
Discouragement (decide to bounce back and not quit);
Change... is hard but learning to make new adjustments leads to personal growth and enlargement of fullness in life;
Problems... look at them as wake up calls for creativity and focused change are birthed from them;
Fear... 95% of fear is baseless, confront it, beat it, and you become stronger because of it.
Failure... learn the lessons, renew the right attitudes, move forward, never give up and keep growing. Failure is the most powerful penetrating force in "making the grade" in life's lessons.
"Success each day should be judged by the seeds,
not the harvest reaped."
Choose to be a difference maker in your life and in others. Maxwell's website:
http://maximumimpact.com/
What was Jesus' attitude?
"For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. If you serve Christ with this attitude, you will please God, and others will approve of you, too. So then, let us aim for harmony in the church and try to build each other up." (Romans 14:17-19. NLT)
Our attitude in Jesus Spirit is of goodness, peace, joy. In how you look at things, think with the attitude of what good you can do, stay in peace and do not react hurriedly, allow the Spirit to simmer within you and allow joy to well up in you.
Our place is to build up... do good, use wisdom, seek spiritual insight, Spiritually in-depth perspectives of people. If in our business relationships, we build up, help to gear up, spur on, charge up, we could produce perpetual Spiritual energy, power, substance that builds God's Kingdom. We are to lift people up and spur them on to do great feats for the kingdom of Heaven.
What for?
Because your ultimate attitude is one of promoting harmony, understanding, tolerance among every facet, group, business-style you encounter, and build harmony among diverse people and business groups.
Take on this attitude of Christ, the great Apostle Paul says. Sculpture it into your life. The great apostle defined this attitude of Jesus for us. It is reflected in the Beatitudes (Matthew 5) and Jesus salutation (John 14-17). He summed it up in Philippians 2:
"Are your hearts tender and compassionate? Then make me truly happy by agreeing wholeheartedly with each other, loving one another,
and working together with one mind and purpose.
Don't be selfish; don't try to impress others.
Be humble, thinking of others as better than yourselves.
Don't look out only for your own interests,
but take an interest in others, too.
You must have the same attitude that Christ Jesus had.
Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you.
Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights
in a world full of crooked and perverse people." (NLT)
Then the Apostle Peter continues to add:
"Finally, all of you should be of one mind.
Sympathize with each other.
Love each other as brothers and sisters.
Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude.
Don't repay evil for evil.
Don't retaliate with insults when people insult you.
Instead, pay them back with a blessing.
That is what God has called you to do,
and he will bless you for it.” (1 Peter 3:8,9, NLT)
Why?
"So then, since Christ suffered physical pain, you must arm yourselves with the same attitude he had, and be ready to suffer, too. For if you have suffered physically for Christ, you have finished with sin. You won't spend the rest of your lives chasing your own desires, but you will be anxious to do the will of God.” (1 Peter 4: 1, 2, NLT)
It’s all about you doing the will of God through your life.
Be anxious to the will of His heart in you, the will, passion for what the Spirit beacons you to do... regardless of the personal cost to you. What we think we have on earth will be diminished some day, and what we will have forever will be in Heaven.
And the promise, the absolute promise is for the Heavenly reward. It is great and incomprehensible now, beyond explanation now. But too great that our minds and imaginations can't even get a faint glimpse of it.
Go after this, in faith go for the greatest reward, including new bodies from the resurrection of the greatest majestic splendor, and keep this attitude, the one of Jesus, in all you do and especially in completing the Divine plan for you in this life.
For how to program Spiritual attitudes, note:
Jesus is Us by Geffry Fields
“The Practical Side of Living Jesus Spirit”
http://jesusisus.blogspot.com/2005/07/practical-side-of-living-jesus-spirit.html
“Our Body… Jesus Lives there.”
http://jesusisus.blogspot.com/2005/06/our-body-jesus-spirit-lives-there.html
Develop His Attitude and fulfill through you God’s Purpose
through His Spirit in and around you.
Saturday, October 07, 2006
The Power of Nice
by Dale Shumaker
4spirit@gmail.com
The Power of Nice by Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval is about how to conquer the business world with kindness. Short and to the point, it shows that nice is a spirit of strength and not a concession to weakness. It is a powerful force when lived out sincerely in the business world.
The authors own The Kaplan Thaler Group, ranked as one of the fastest growing advertising agencies in the U.S. Being in an industry noted for its cut-throat ways, their treatment on how "nice" is "power" is thought provoking. After the first peruse through their book, I found myself thinking on this concept and consciously applying it more throughout the day. It was making a difference even on the short term. Nice becomes contagious and you start a chain reaction among your own encounters in the day.
Being Nice Benefits.
A few benefits of nice according to Linda and Robin are "being nice and placing other people's needs on the same level as your own will get you everything you want."
"Nice is luckier in love." Low key caring type people have fewer divorces.
"Nice makes more money." In positive nice-filled workplaces, studies
revealed more increases in revenue.
"Nice is healthier." Volunteers, who do good, live longer than those who don't.
The Six Power of Nice Principles
1. Positive impressions are like seeds.
What you do that is nice is like a seed. Over time it is likely to grow and spread and you will see the fruit of it.
2. You never know
Some people you are nice to without knowing who they are, "you never know" who you may be talking to and what the outcome may be. Sometimes you will be surprised who you were nice to, or what happened in a chain of events from that person that eventually came back to you.
3. People change
As life goes on people change... who they are, what they do and where they may come into your life again. So who you are nice to now may be someone very strategically important to you later.
4.Nice must be automatic.
If it is not who you really are, and it is superficial, it can have a reverse effect. Insincere nice is as bad as not nice. The true test is your spontaneous reaction to something and if it is a natural sincere response of real, honestly caring about the person, who ever it is, you are being nice to.
5. Negative impressions are like germs.
Like the nice seeds that grow and produce nice fruit in the future. Negativity festers like a bacteria that brings disease to your life later on. Be extremely conscious about the environment around you, and don't infest it with un-niceness.
6. You will know
In some cases, many miles from home, you could be rude or un-nice to someone you think you may never meet again. But you will know and it will affect your subconscious thinking on other things. Nice knows the truth and you will know.
These two nice girls continue with other ways being nice has a powerful influence in all you do. You can make a bigger pie by helping others get their share (work others into your deal), pool resources (customers,contacts) and expand your team, spread the wealth (being stingy is not nice when so many help), share the credit (all ideas, successes include parts of others; give others credit too). By making the pie bigger, more people are included and the better off you are.
Help your enemies. One interesting approach is not to “get even” when some are not nice to you. But instead help those not nice to you. Linda and Robin share instances where a competitor was using "not nice" methods in competing for the same client. They responded by avoiding criticism, and not talking down the person. Instead they stuck to putting their best foot forward and doing their best work and letting the client judge. They were nice to their competitor regardless and even complimented true strengths.
This attitude and approach is making them stand out from the pack because it is a fresh breath of air in a sometimes vicious, highly competitive world. It is gaining for them the fame and fortune they are now experiencing.
Nice guys (girls) do win... LInda and Robin are proving that. For more on being nice check out
http://www.thepowerofnice.com/
and these nice girls' website
http://www.kaplanthaler.com
The USAToday review:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/books/reviews/nice.htm
It is so amazing how the theme on being nice in the Power of Nice reflects the principles of kindness as a core expression of those who live by Spirit. The principles of kindness are the power of Spirit and it carries a power stronger than words. It can change the hearts of the hard hearted and heal the emotions of the dejected.
Being kind to someone when you yourself are down cast in your own emotions, heals one's own emotions.
An idea has circulated in our culture on doing random acts of kindness. It is powerful and has a ripple effect on ones own emotions and the emotions and actions of others.
The Apostle Paul in letters to several fellowship groups of Jesus Way kept pounding on this point. He said numerous times:
"Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you." (Ephesians 4:32, NLT)
"Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love." (Ephesians 4:2, NLT)
"Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. You must make allowance for each other's faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others." (Colossians 3:12-13, NLT)
The origin of kindness is in love.
"Love is patient and kind.” (1 Cor.13:4)
Kindness is the essence of who God is, the very character, nature of God's Spirit.
It is who God is. God is Love (1 John 4:18).
Those who allow His Spirit to control their very being, their mind, heart, emotions are of God's Spirit. Kindness is all of these actions.
Love is Spirit, God is Spirit, God is Love.
When we live in God, in Spirit, in Love, we are kind.
It is who we are.
Not an intellectual awareness, but a lifestyle of spontaneous, inadvertent response to what is going on around us. When Spirit is us, kindness is us.
It creates a reciprocal effect in our actions,
a ripple effect to all we do, in all our dealings with everyone... both the important and unimportant people. In kindness, there are no unimportant people. It ripples everywhere, from everyone, to surprisingly delightful conclusions.
Just being unkind to one unheralded employee can cause a ripple affect throughout a whole company. And it will unexpectantly come back to you. But when something bad happens, you may wonder... where did this come from. But then think of the last time you may have been unkind, to even someone unknown by others. (You may have thought it was an unknown act of unkindness.)
Being kind to the least in your associations can create a positive ripple effect throughout the whole mass of people... in and outside of the organization. We ripple to others what just happened to us last.
We can create positive ripples of kindness. The best way to create this effect naturally, is to be it. Be a kind person.
You must have God's Spirit in you, dominating you, the preeminence of you.
Be Spirit. Be kind. Be Love.
... and then it will almost effortlessly move from you and then surround you. The benefits of nice will be there.
The response to anything should first be... "I will be kind"
and then go from there.
Be Spirit,
and you will be kind... automatically!
"Be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving in the same way God has forgiven you."
Being nice, being kind, loving people is Power!
4spirit@gmail.com
The Power of Nice by Linda Kaplan Thaler and Robin Koval is about how to conquer the business world with kindness. Short and to the point, it shows that nice is a spirit of strength and not a concession to weakness. It is a powerful force when lived out sincerely in the business world.
The authors own The Kaplan Thaler Group, ranked as one of the fastest growing advertising agencies in the U.S. Being in an industry noted for its cut-throat ways, their treatment on how "nice" is "power" is thought provoking. After the first peruse through their book, I found myself thinking on this concept and consciously applying it more throughout the day. It was making a difference even on the short term. Nice becomes contagious and you start a chain reaction among your own encounters in the day.
Being Nice Benefits.
A few benefits of nice according to Linda and Robin are "being nice and placing other people's needs on the same level as your own will get you everything you want."
"Nice is luckier in love." Low key caring type people have fewer divorces.
"Nice makes more money." In positive nice-filled workplaces, studies
revealed more increases in revenue.
"Nice is healthier." Volunteers, who do good, live longer than those who don't.
The Six Power of Nice Principles
1. Positive impressions are like seeds.
What you do that is nice is like a seed. Over time it is likely to grow and spread and you will see the fruit of it.
2. You never know
Some people you are nice to without knowing who they are, "you never know" who you may be talking to and what the outcome may be. Sometimes you will be surprised who you were nice to, or what happened in a chain of events from that person that eventually came back to you.
3. People change
As life goes on people change... who they are, what they do and where they may come into your life again. So who you are nice to now may be someone very strategically important to you later.
4.Nice must be automatic.
If it is not who you really are, and it is superficial, it can have a reverse effect. Insincere nice is as bad as not nice. The true test is your spontaneous reaction to something and if it is a natural sincere response of real, honestly caring about the person, who ever it is, you are being nice to.
5. Negative impressions are like germs.
Like the nice seeds that grow and produce nice fruit in the future. Negativity festers like a bacteria that brings disease to your life later on. Be extremely conscious about the environment around you, and don't infest it with un-niceness.
6. You will know
In some cases, many miles from home, you could be rude or un-nice to someone you think you may never meet again. But you will know and it will affect your subconscious thinking on other things. Nice knows the truth and you will know.
These two nice girls continue with other ways being nice has a powerful influence in all you do. You can make a bigger pie by helping others get their share (work others into your deal), pool resources (customers,contacts) and expand your team, spread the wealth (being stingy is not nice when so many help), share the credit (all ideas, successes include parts of others; give others credit too). By making the pie bigger, more people are included and the better off you are.
Help your enemies. One interesting approach is not to “get even” when some are not nice to you. But instead help those not nice to you. Linda and Robin share instances where a competitor was using "not nice" methods in competing for the same client. They responded by avoiding criticism, and not talking down the person. Instead they stuck to putting their best foot forward and doing their best work and letting the client judge. They were nice to their competitor regardless and even complimented true strengths.
This attitude and approach is making them stand out from the pack because it is a fresh breath of air in a sometimes vicious, highly competitive world. It is gaining for them the fame and fortune they are now experiencing.
Nice guys (girls) do win... LInda and Robin are proving that. For more on being nice check out
http://www.thepowerofnice.com/
and these nice girls' website
http://www.kaplanthaler.com
The USAToday review:
http://www.usatoday.com/money/books/reviews/nice.htm
It is so amazing how the theme on being nice in the Power of Nice reflects the principles of kindness as a core expression of those who live by Spirit. The principles of kindness are the power of Spirit and it carries a power stronger than words. It can change the hearts of the hard hearted and heal the emotions of the dejected.
Being kind to someone when you yourself are down cast in your own emotions, heals one's own emotions.
An idea has circulated in our culture on doing random acts of kindness. It is powerful and has a ripple effect on ones own emotions and the emotions and actions of others.
The Apostle Paul in letters to several fellowship groups of Jesus Way kept pounding on this point. He said numerous times:
"Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you." (Ephesians 4:32, NLT)
"Be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other's faults because of your love." (Ephesians 4:2, NLT)
"Since God chose you to be the holy people whom he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. You must make allowance for each other's faults and forgive the person who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others." (Colossians 3:12-13, NLT)
The origin of kindness is in love.
"Love is patient and kind.” (1 Cor.13:4)
Kindness is the essence of who God is, the very character, nature of God's Spirit.
It is who God is. God is Love (1 John 4:18).
Those who allow His Spirit to control their very being, their mind, heart, emotions are of God's Spirit. Kindness is all of these actions.
Love is Spirit, God is Spirit, God is Love.
When we live in God, in Spirit, in Love, we are kind.
It is who we are.
Not an intellectual awareness, but a lifestyle of spontaneous, inadvertent response to what is going on around us. When Spirit is us, kindness is us.
It creates a reciprocal effect in our actions,
a ripple effect to all we do, in all our dealings with everyone... both the important and unimportant people. In kindness, there are no unimportant people. It ripples everywhere, from everyone, to surprisingly delightful conclusions.
Just being unkind to one unheralded employee can cause a ripple affect throughout a whole company. And it will unexpectantly come back to you. But when something bad happens, you may wonder... where did this come from. But then think of the last time you may have been unkind, to even someone unknown by others. (You may have thought it was an unknown act of unkindness.)
Being kind to the least in your associations can create a positive ripple effect throughout the whole mass of people... in and outside of the organization. We ripple to others what just happened to us last.
We can create positive ripples of kindness. The best way to create this effect naturally, is to be it. Be a kind person.
You must have God's Spirit in you, dominating you, the preeminence of you.
Be Spirit. Be kind. Be Love.
... and then it will almost effortlessly move from you and then surround you. The benefits of nice will be there.
The response to anything should first be... "I will be kind"
and then go from there.
Be Spirit,
and you will be kind... automatically!
"Be kind, tenderhearted, forgiving in the same way God has forgiven you."
Being nice, being kind, loving people is Power!
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