Category: Leadership

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Inspiration Leadership

WALK THE TALK!

WALK THE TALK!

Chip & Joanna Gaines who have a TV real estate series in USA have a viewership of 24Million. They recently shared their story and I thought of the subtle power of influence as they were taught to walk the talk of faith!

Chip a contractor, and Joanna, a designer, work together to renovate old homes into something new and beautiful. But it’s not just the work they do that sets them apart. It is the way they relate with themselves and others that make the viewers see the difference in them. Chip mentioned how they have been surprised about the impact of their faith through the show.

THE INTRODUCTION

Chip’s introduction to Jesus was through the Billy Graham ministry. His mum was a committed believer who worked for the publishing company which published Billy Graham’s books.

He also attended college with Billy Graham’s grandchildren. When he spent a week at their home, it was their father, Danny Lotz, who began to take Chip under his wing. Danny discipled and mentored Chip, teaching him how to live more like Christ. ‘Danny was not a pastor but was influential in showing me how to live out my faith even in a secular environment. He impacted my life by spurring me to shape my choices with faith and to walk in my faith,’ said Chip.

Chip went ahead to say “I learned so much from Danny, and he always spoke so highly of (Billy Graham). He said Billy Graham talked the talk and walked the walk. So, to this day I think about talking the talk and walking the walk because of Billy Graham and Danny Lotz.”

Years later, Chip and Joanna who was also a believer married. They had a store and sensed God wanting them to close it and start a renovation business. They did and not long after, a production company signed a deal with them for a TV renovation show that now has millions of viewership.

THE SCRIPTURE

As I read the story of this couple and the way they credited their faith to helpful influences and discipleship; I could not but remember the word that says

‘..so that you will walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, to please Him in all respects. Bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. Col 1:10

This programme gives them the opportunity to model Christ to the world. They have both been taught to walk their talk and now they get a chance to reflect the same to their world.

How about you? How are you walking your talk and influencing your world by your faith? Live your life daily with the intention of helping someone see your good works, come closer to God, and glorify your father in heaven.

God is on your side!

( you can read the interview of Chip & Joanna Gaines directly : https://billygraham.org/story/how-billy-graham-brought-the-gospel-home-to-chip-and-joanna-gaines/)

For a similar blog post, read here

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Leadership

HE STARTED RUNNING!

HE STARTED RUNNING!

Glenn Cunningham was known for his running, but that was not something he got to by design but by accident. He started running because of his accident.

When he was 6 years old, Glenn and his older brother Floyd were badly burned in an accidental fire in their schoolhouse. Floyd died from the burns, and doctors thought that Cunningham’s legs were so badly burned that they would have to be amputated.

HIS JOURNEY…

Slowly—over a period of months, hard work and determination —Glenn’s legs began to function to the astonishment of the doctors. After he began walking again, he made another discovery. That it hurts when he walks but not as much when he ran.

For the next six years, he just ran rather than walk! Before long, young Glenn Cunningham was known throughout the community for his running. Because he ran everywhere. He once said, “I didn’t move 10 feet without breaking into a run. I ran and ran and ran.” By the time he was 12, Glenn—running despite having legs that were still riddled with scars—was outrunning everyone in his age group in his town.

He went on to run track at his school, becoming a mile-runner . In his last school race, he set a national record, running the mile with a time of 4 minutes, 24.7 seconds. He eventually went on to run nationally, set records and also represented USA in the Olympics.

His legs remained deeply scarred and throughout his life, he would have to massage them and spend time doing long warm-up exercises in order to maintain circulation. He couldn’t run smoothly because of his scars but he compensated with endurance and strength. His injury led to his recognition.

THE WORD OF GOD

This story reminds me of what the bible says about God using the disadvantages of life for our good. Just as it was with Joseph’s life. Read the scripture here

“You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. “ Genesis 50:20

God is able to turn every situation around for good. Glenn’s situation was sad, yet from that difficulty came a new found gifting and strength which took him to a height he may never have experienced but for his tragedy.

Wherever you are in your life right now, understand that God can use it to accomplish His purpose.

God is on your side!

PS: You can read more about Glenn Cunningham here)

PPS: You can read my previous blog post on paying attention to the small things

 

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Leadership

FIGHT FOR YOUR BRIGHT FUTURE!

FIGHT FOR YOUR BRIGHT FUTURE!

Earlier on this week, a mega church pastor shared his story at a training that inspired me to write this piece. The story highlighted how you need to fight for your bright future. The fact that God promised a great future does not mean there will be no need to fight for it.

When he was 15 years of age, he got a prophesy over his life. The prophesy stated that God was going to use him as a mouthpiece to speak across the world. After the meeting, he ignored the prophesy because his interest was in music and he had his band. He probably thought his future was in music.

HIS MELT DOWN

A few weeks later, he picked up his guitar to sing, only to realise he got his note wrong. Everyone around started laughing and making fun of him. He was so embarrassed by that event that he decided he was never going to do any public facing activity again.

A couple of years later, as he was still wallowing in self-pity and following through on his decision never to appear in public again he got a report from his English teacher. The report states that he was so poor at communication and not fit to speak English in public. The report knocked him further back and he got increasingly despondent. Not only was he upset with his situation, but he was also upset with God.

That summer, there was a youth conference and he decided not to go. The evening he made the decision, his youth leader called to ask if he was coming to the conference and told him God wanted him there. This was the beginning of his restoration with God. Despite the challenging events that have come his way in life, today he is a pastor of  30,000 member church in Melbourne Australia. He also preaches across the world just like God said.

LESSONS LEARNT

It’s interesting that he never had the setbacks until after the word came. God’s word has warned us about such situations

‘But they have no root in themselves; they are short-lived. When pressure or persecution comes because of the word, they immediately stumble.’ Mark 4:17 (NIV here)

Note that persecution comes because of the word and its intention is to cause you to stumble so you do not become all the word of God said you will be.

When God sends you a word, learn to fight for the manifestation because your future is dependent on it. Ensure you stay within a healthy environment where the seed of the word is nurtured, and you can stay rooted in His word.

Irrespective of where you are now and what you are going though, fall back on the word God has spoken to you because your future is bright, and God has great plans for your life.

God is on your side!

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Leadership

TOO BUSY TO HELP

TOO BUSY TO HELP

 

Are you too busy to help? Today’s story led me to asking this question of myself.

A young executive was travelling hurriedly through a certain street when he saw a young boy running down the alleyway. The executive slowed his car down in irritation but to his surprise, a brick hit his beautiful car. He was shocked and terribly upset.

The executive disembarked and checked his car to see a dent on it. He approached the young boy who rather than run off, came closer to get the attention of the executive. The executive asked, ‘why did you hit my car?’ and the boy said; ‘sir, I am so sorry, but my little brother has just fallen off his wheelchair and has hurt himself. He is currently under the wheelchair and I cannot lift him nor the wheelchair off. Please do come help me.’

Suddenly, the executive’s attention was no longer on his car or his busy schedule. He hastily went along with the boy to the place where the younger brother laid under the wheelchair and lifted the boy back into the chair.

THE LESSON

As the older boy thanked the executive but still worried about the car, the executive advised the young boy not to worry and shared the great lesson he had learnt from this incident. The executive jumped back into his car but decided to leave the dent on the car as a reminder for himself.

The lesson learnt by the executive was, ‘not to go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention.’  The lesson made me examine my heart. Am I too busy to help others?

GOD’S INSTRUCTION

The bible says

And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. Hebrews 13:16 (Check out the NET translation here)

Never allow yourself get too busy or too self-focused to notice the people and the challenges around you. God in His word warned us not to forget to do good – which means it is possible for us to get too busy or insensitive to the needs of others around us.

Keep on doing good and keep on sharing as God is well pleased with such sacrifices of time and resources.

PS: Check out a similar post here

Categories
Inspiration Leadership

ARE YOU STILL HUNGRY?

ARE YOU STILL HUNGRY?

Last weekend, my son Asher told me how he was excitedly looking forward to a UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) match between one of the most famous faces of the game, Conor McGregor and Dustin Poirier. The result got me thinking of this topic of hunger and sustaining a high level of hunger after a level of success in life. So, are you still hungry? (by the way, If interested, you can get more details of the fight here)

After the tournament, the well-loved Conor McGregor who was expected to win the match lost. As Asher and I chatted about the match, I asked him; why do you think the gentleman lost this match? To which he said – ‘I think the hunger he had when he wanted to succeed is different from the level of hunger now that he has succeeded and that surely reflected in the match and the result.’ These words got me into self reflection and I share the same question with you today, Are you still hungry?

To put things in perspective about this gentleman, he’s a very good fighter who can win tough matches on his feet, but there were other good fighters before in the UFC and none of them have ever reached this kind of fever pitch following this gentleman has.

Why was Conor McGregor special as a UFC fighter?

From my findings, I gathered

Firstly, UFC fighters do not really promote their fights very much. They do not have much charisma. Many of them are reluctant to get into verbal confrontations, but Conor was different. He is like the Mohammed Alli of UFC, truly a world class fighter and a big talker.

Secondly, he had a strong drive and desire to be successful. He looked at the success of Floyd Mayweather and wanted to be as successful, so he went for his dream with a huge level of hunger and drive. Conor achieved his goal but then the question now is going on to the next level. How does he remain hungry enough to keep going after success? When you have experienced a level of success, how do you make sure you are still hungry?

Vision make a difference

It takes a conception of a new vision and a new WHY to keep going after you have achieved what is deemed as success. This will surely require you to have a dream that is beyond what you can get for yourself. In my opinion, a bigger vision that is other centric helps you keep your drive going.

Lets look at what God said about vision:

‘Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he that keepeth the law, happy is he.’ Proverbs 29:18

Everyone needs a sense of a strong vision or WHY to keep going and be happy. Whether you are already successful or still striving for success. Having a vision that is beyond you and your comfort always helps with life long dreams and keeps you consistently hungry.

How do you do that? The following question will help: why am I doing this? Who will it benefit? When I achieve my immediate goal, what else? How will God be glorified by my result?

These few questions will help you and I stay the course on the path of lifelong victory. Do not loose your dream or your drive because there is still more after success; so stay hungry.

God is on your side!

PS: You may read one of my older blog post showing how to win in the battles of life here

Categories
Leadership

HOW TO BE HAPPY!

HOW TO BE HAPPY!

I read a story I find inspiring and thought to share with you today. I know this story and lesson will bless you

“An old man lived in the village. The whole village was tired of him; he was always gloomy, he constantly complained and was always in a bad mood. The longer he lived, the viler he became and more poisonous were his words. People did their best to avoid him because his misfortune was contagious. He created the feeling of unhappiness in others.

But one day, when he turned eighty, an incredible thing happened. Instantly everyone started hearing the rumor: ‘The old man is happy today, he doesn’t complain about anything, smiles, and even his face is freshened up.’

The whole village gathered around the man and asked him, “What happened to you?” The old man replied, ‘Nothing special. Eighty years I’ve been chasing happiness and it was useless. And then I decided to stop chasing happiness and just enjoy life. That’s why I’m happy now.’”

The old man’s life and perspective of happiness changed the day he made up his mind to see the pursuit of happiness differently.

God’s word says

‘Happy are the people whose God is the LORD!’ Psalm 144:15

Your happiness is never going to be in the amount of work you do, the wealth you acquire or the wisdom you display. It will always be dependent on your knowledge of God.

God has made provisions for you to be happy, take time to discover and enjoy it. Your fulfillment will come when you get to know God, His plans for your life and choose to live based on the plans He has for you.

You deserve to be happy and you can be happy but the secret is in making God the Lord of your life – that is allow Him lead, direct and care for you, submit totally to Him.

God is on your side!