Wednesday 22 May 2013

COMMITMENT



<> You are either committed or you are a criminal.
Luke 9:62
And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.
There's a difference between interest and commitment. When you are interested in doing something, you do it only when it's convenient. 
When you are committed to something, you accept no excuses, only results - Ken Blanchard
*** Until your desire for something aligns with your reason for the thing, your commitment to that thing will be weak - Emmabel

COMMITMENT:
Is the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause, activity, etc.. 
It is also known as a pledge or an undertaking. 
A commitment is never supposed to be broken, if it is broken; that means it was never a commitment rather was just a pretention and lying.
Judges 12:3
And when I saw that ye delivered me not, I put my life in my hands, and passed over against the children of Ammon, and the Lord delivered them into my hand: wherefore then are ye come up unto me this day, to fight against me?

<*> What you commit to, you lose your life for.
** What can take your life, you have given your unbroken commitment.
** No commitment. No involvement.
** We cannot be sure of having something to live for unless we are willing to die for it - Ernesto "Che" Guevara

<*> In life, only those with a no matter what it takes attitude take the spoils of victory. Those with core commitment.
They will give their all to get their desired result.
They will either find a way or make one.

** An Army General had said once that: "It's  fatal to enter any war without the will to win it".
** Half hearted efforts are a waste of time and resources. If you are going to do it, then do it.

** Top people with core commitment may get into troubles but they bother less. They are Never scared.
** The reward of any action is in finishing it.
** “Commitment unlocks the doors of imagination, allows vision, and gives us the "right stuff" to turn our dreams into reality.”


THE LAW OF NO EXCEPTIONS. 
Top people will not create a room for alternatives once they have committed to something. They stick with it all the way. No excuses, no retreat, no surrender.
<*> Commitment is sacred. If you break it once, you'll break it again. Commit without retreat.
** True self discipline is the height of core commitment. Keep your disciplines.
** Commit your self to those daily discipline that will bring you to your dream goal.

*** “If you had started doing anything two weeks ago, by today you would have been two weeks better at it.”
<*> A great business leader once said:
"...the basic philosophy, spirit, and drive of an organization have far more to do with its relative achievements than do technological or economic resources, organizational structure, innovation, and timing. 
All these things weigh heavily in success. But they are, I think, transcended by how strongly the people in the organization believe in its basic precepts and how faithfully they carry them out." 
*** (from Thomas J. Watson, Jr., A Business and its Beliefs - The ideas that helped build IBM).***
As true as this is for the success of a corporation, it is even more so for the individual. 
The most important single factor in individual success is COMMITMENT. 

<*><*> Commitment ignites action. 
*** To commit is to pledge yourself to a certain purpose or line of conduct. 
*** It also means practicing your beliefs consistently. 

TWO FOUNDATIONAL CONDITIONS FOR COMMITMENT:
1. Having a sound set of beliefs.
*** There is an old saying that says; 
"Stand for something or you'll fall for anything." 
2. Faithful adherence  to those beliefs with your behavior.
<*> Commitment is better described as,
" Persistence With Purpose". 

Ecclesiastes 9:10
Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might; for there is no work, nor device, nor knowledge, nor wisdom, in the grave, whither thou goest.

** Commitment is doing what you set out to do.

Many successful business people are hailed as visionary leaders. 
On careful inspection they are found to be individuals who hold firmly to a simple set of commitments, usually grounded in beliefs such as, 
"the best product money can buy", or the highest possible customer service". 
It is the strength of these commitments, religiously followed, that led to their business success.

*** Commitment is a two-way street. You only get it if you are willing to give it.
*** What you give commitment to will commit in turn to you.

JESUS' LIFE IS A GOOD EXAMPLE OF TRUE COMMITMENT.
}}= Dying for the world was is commitment.
}}= What was going to stop Him from dying, He distracted.

Marriage is about commitment, leadership is about commitment, 
starting a business is about commitment – success is about commitment.

TEN COMMITMENTS OF BUSINESS. (Brian Tracy).
1. Commitment to values – this is your core, if you work with commitment to your values, you will work your hardest.
2. Commitment to goals – successful people set goals, but setting goals is nothing if you don’t stick with them.
3. Commitment to action – every single day you need to commit an action towards your goals.
4. Commitment to continuous improvement – it’s about being your best and maintaining integrity and pride.
5. Commitment to excellence – remember the rhyme from school? “Good, better, best, never let it rest – ‘til your good is better and your better best.”
6. Commitment to your business – always ask yourself “Is this the best thing for the company?”
7. Commitment to your promises – did I mention integrity earlier? Let me say it again. Integrity.
8 Commitment to your team – the people who work for you need to know that you stand behind them.
9. Commitment from your team – dedication from the people you work with and who work for you will give you the power you need to drive results.
10. Commitment to your customers – commitment to your customers is like commitment to your business because without your customers, you have no business.
So – where do you stand on commitment? 
Do you think you have commitment phobia? 
What do you need to succeed?
One of the first things is commitment.

STORY:
This is a true story about the commitment of a little boy.
It concerns a family of parents with a young girl of around 11 years old and a boy of around 9 years old.
The young girl was very, very ill, in fact she was dying of a rare blood-related disease.
She urgently needed a blood transfusion, however she had an extremely rare blood type and there was no blood available at the hospital.
The only match that could be found was her young brother; he was the only source immediately available.
So the doctors and the parents took the little boy and explained that his sister was dying and that she needed his blood to keep her alive.
He had always been very close to his sister so he looked a bit sad as he thought about it. Then he quickly said okay.
So he was immediately whisked away to the operating theatre very, very quickly and was soon hooked up to all the necessary equipment.
As he was lying there with his mother next to him, he turned to his mother and asked her "Mum will it take me long to die?"
It was then that his mother realised how brave her son truly was for they had asked him to give his blood to his sister and he thought they needed all his blood.
It took a young boy less than 30 seconds to make, what was in his mind, a life or death decision to save his sister and then to commit to that decision.
In practice of course it never happened. It was his understanding of what was going to happen.
Indeed they both grew up to be very strong and very happy.
That is a level of commitment and motivation that we should all aspire to especially when we are looking to start a new business.
If you are serious about starting, or maybe you have already started. Think for a moment how committed you are to making your business work.
For although you are not being asked to die for your business you are in fact laying down a part of your life one day at a time for it.
Because I believe that it is your level of commitment and desire to succeed that will determine the ultimate success or otherwise of your ambitions.
Like the little boy you do not need to give your all, you only have to be prepared to give your all.
BE COMMITTED TO YOUR COURSE AND THERE'S NOTHING THAT CAN IMPEDE YOU.


Wednesday 15 May 2013

OUT LAST YOUR CHALLENGE



 Luke 9:62
And Jesus said unto him, No man, having put his hand to the plough, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.

<> If you started it with conviction, then finish it.

A CHALLENGE:
Is a call-out, calling into question, confrontation, dare, daring, 
A demand for explanation, 
A demand for identification.

<> A challenge is not an attack, it's a contest. 
<> Life in its own is a challenge, face it.
<> A storm on the sea will eventually calm down. Yet only those who remain afloat during the storm will be able to move when serenity comes. So, stay afloat.
<> Quitting in the face of a challenge seem the easiest to do, but it's never the most rewarding. It is the most regretting.
<> When you cannot win over your challenges, then outlast them.
<> If you stand out in the rain long enough, you will eventually see the rainbow.
<> ``Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.''. Never worry for it makes your trouble double.  

>> KEEP SWIMMING.
Genesis 17:1
And when Abram was ninety years old and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto him, I am the Almighty God; walk before me, and be thou perfect.

All Abraham needed to do was to just play his part and watch everything fall into place.
The challenges of life will play their part in your walk of destiny, you play your part. Face it.


STORY:
Two frogs fell into a deep cream bowl. One was an optimistic soul. But the other took the gloomy view.
We'll drawn, he lamented without much ado, and with a last despairing cry, he flung up his legs and said goodbye.
The other frog said, "I CAN'T GET OUT BUT I WON'T GIVE IN." 
I'll just swim around UNTIL my strength is spent, then I'll die the more content. 
Bravely he swam to work his scheme. And his struggles began to churn the cream. The more he swam and fluttered his legs the more the creme turned into butter. He finally stopped on top of the butter, and hopped out of the bowl.

LESSON; IF YOU CANT HOP OUT, KEEP SWIMMING AROUND!

<> Tough times never last, but tough people do. ~Robert H. Schuller.
<> The ultimate measure of a person is not where he/she stands in moments of comfort, but where he/she stands at times of challenge and controversy. ~Martin Luther King, Jr.

<> "Take into account, that great love and great achievements involve great risk." What you love will always cost you something.
<> "If you want the rainbow, you gotta put up with the rain."
<> "Life's challenges are not supposed to paralyze you; they're supposed to help you discover who you are."
<> "Always behave like a duck-keep calm and unruffled on the surface, but paddle like the devil underneath.".
<> "All things work together for good to those who love the Lord, and to those who are the called according to His purpose."
<> "It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.".
<> It was Albert Camus that said, "In the midst of winter, I finally learned that there was in me an invincible summer". 
<> There's the heat inside you that no cold can quench. Face the challenge on your life and you'll melt it off.
<> "Perseverance is not a long race; it is many short races one after another".   Walter Elliott

Saturday 11 May 2013

BE RESOLUTE, HAVING NO ALTERNATIVES


Esther 4:16
Go, gather together all the Jews that are present in Shushan, and fast ye for me, and neither eat nor drink three days, night or day: I also and my maidens will fast likewise; and so will I go in unto the king, which is not according to the law: and if I perish, I perish.


<> The law of the land is the limitation of its inhabitants, but somebody's got to lift it.
<> Queen Esther would not submit to the law of the land, which restricted the queen from coming into the king's presence uninvited.
When she knew what she wanted and went for it unreservedly, the law which stopped others gave her way.
Since she had no plan be, her unreserved energy was channelled towards winning, and she did.
<> Where there is no plan "B", plan "A" would just have to work.
<> You would not succeed in anything thinking what you'll do if you failed.
<> Until Your desire for something aligns with your reason for the thing, your commitment to that thing will be weak.
<> In life, only those with a no matter what it takes attitude take the spoils of victory. Those with core commitments.
They will give their all to get their desired result. They will either find a way or make one.
<> Until you will to win, you might not find a way to win.
*** An Army General had said once that, "It's  fatal to enter any war without the will to win it".
*** Half hearted efforts are a waste of time and resources. If you are going to do it, then do it.

STORY:
Many years ago, a war General engaged in a battle had to make a decisive decision to ensure his success. He was about to send his army against a powerful enemy. He got his soldiers with equipments into boats and crossed over to the enemies country. Once they got there, he ordered that the boats be set on fire.
Addressing his men before the first battle, he said, "You see the boats going up in smoke. That means that we Cannot leave these shores alive unless we win or we perish. They won.
<> Leaders live by choice, not by accident.
<> Until you are firmly decisive, you will be unstable in your life's pursuit.
BE COMMITTED TO WINNING.

Thursday 9 May 2013

YOU CAN'T BE DREAMING ALL YOUR LIFE. DO THE DREAM!






John 13:27
And after the sop Satan entered into him. Then said Jesus unto him, THAT THOU DOEST, DO QUICKLY.

<> You have dreamt long enough, Now Act.
<> A boy dreams what a man does.
<> THREE STAGES OF LIFE.
a. The boy stage. At this stage, he dreams.
b. The man stage.At this stage, he does.
c. The grey stage.At this stage, he dreams of what he's done.
>>> So, a boy doesn't have all the time to stay dreaming. A time comes, he's got to act or do his dream. 

*** “Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. 
Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.” 
H. Jackson Brown Jr.

*** Things may come to those who wait, but only the things left by those who hustle - Abraham Lincoln.

Deuteronomy 2:3
Ye have compassed this mountain long enough: turn you northward.

Deuteronomy 2:3 (HCSB)
You've been traveling around this hill country long enough; turn north.

<> Don't get things wrong, movement is not action.

*** A little knowledge that acts is worth infinitely more than much knowledge that is idle.

TAKE ACTION!!
Action Defined;
>the manner or method of performing: 
>a thing done.
>the bringing about of an alteration by force or through a natural agency
>an actor's or speaker's deportment or expression by means of attitude, voice, and gesture 
>the accomplishment of a thing usually over a period of time, in stages, or with the possibility of repetition
>behavior, conduct, initiative, enterprise
>engagement between troops or ships combat in war.