Success is in the Eye of the Believer

The word success is so often associated with finances, how much money you make and how many cars you have in your garage.  We look at people who we deem to be successful because of what they own and determine that for us to succeed we must make more money.  Granted, if your idea of success is to have x number of dollars in the bank or to drive a Rolls Royce, more power to you.  But sometimes, those people you look at with a wishful eye, aren't necessarily successful, they've just made a lot of money.  

Real success isn't based on money.  Real success is about the path you have chosen in life and what you are doing to arrive at the place where you can be confident that you have realized your goal. Too often we set unrealistic goals for ourselves and then grow weary when we don't reach them when we think we should.  Once we begin growing weary, we think our goals have become unreachable and we simply give up.

Successful people have these things in common: 1) They have a dream.  They know what they want out of life and where they want to end up.  They know what they want to accomplish. 2) They turn their dream into a vision. Successful people keep their dreams alive by continuously seeing them in their mind.  God told Habakkuk to write the vision and make it plain so that others could see it and run with it.  These people keep their vision ever before them so that they remain focused on where they are going.  3) They set goals along the way to the destination.  Without small accomplishments along the way, the dream seems farther away than it should.  The more you reach the lesser goals, the easier it is to continue pushing toward your dream. 4) They don't allow the opinions of others to sway their determination.  Their mind is made up and not subject to what other people think they should do.

No one can decide whether you are successful but you.  Only you know what is deep down on the inside, the dreams, and desires.  Only you can determine what you want to accomplish in life.  Nobody can do that for you.  People can help you reach your goals but they cannot determine your vision or level of success.  "But how will I know if I'm successful?"  When you have accomplished your goals; when you know that you are doing exactly what you were meant to do; when you are seeing your vision come to pass; then you will know that you have succeeded.   Now, if you don't believe in yourself or your ability to succeed, you won't make it.  It doesn't matter how much everyone else believes in you.  You have to believe in yourself.  You must see yourself as successful already.  You have to know that you have what it takes inside of you.  You can't be wishy-washy throughout the process of fulfilling your vision. 

Get With It! Your Dream Won't Wait Forever.

Good evening.  In my last post I talked about dreams.  We all have had dreams in our lives, some fulfilled and some unfulfilled.  A lot that we wanted to accomplish in life has fallen by the wayside for many different reasons.  Some dreams have been given up on because someone said something to get you to think that you were wasting your time.  They may not have intentionally hurt you but what they said cut you deep enough to cause you to dwell on their words until you decided that they were probably right and that you just needed to move on.  You may have given up because you weren't in a comfortable financial position and wouldn't be able to continue in your pursuit of that dream due to a lack of funds.  Maybe you gave up because you tried it once and it didn't work like you wanted it to so that was your sign to quit.  Whatever your reason for giving up on your dream, I'm here to tell you - ENOUGH!  It's time to step back up to the plate and get ready to swing your bat at the opportunity that is about to come your way.  It's time to dream again and the very first thing you need to do is make up your mind that 'Hey, I'm going to do this.'  Until you make that decision you may as well keep your seat because you'll never get anywhere.  Once you have made that decision, it's time for action.  Begin to set a plan in place to get you started on your journey.  Decide exactly what you want to accomplish and write it down where you have continuous access to it.  Focus!  If you don't know what you want to accomplish, you will not succeed in getting it done.  Next, formulate a plan to get from where you are to where you want to be.  You may not know all the details right off but you have to start working on it.  Don't worry if you have to take what, to you, seem like baby steps. It's totally okay to do that.  After all, babies don't just decide one day that they are going to run without going through the process of crawling and learning to walk.  Baby steps!  Just get moving. 

While you are making these plans, people are going to come to mind that have discouraged you in the past, maybe even made fun of what you wanted to do.  Cut them off!  That's right.  Do not listen to them any more.  If they aren't building you up, remove them from your vicinity.  Don't hang out with them.  Don't call them for advice.  Find some folks who will encourage you and motivate you to push through your struggles.  Those people are priceless.  Discuss your dream with them and allow them space to give you feedback.  God will bring people into your life that can help you fulfill your dream.  They can provide inspiration, emotional support, and sometimes even help in ways to propel you financially to the goal.  While you are working through your plans and receiving that encouragement and motivation, your steps in the process will begin to form a pattern that will let you know that you are on the right track.  Those baby steps will turn into bigger steps.  Your dream will begin to appear closer than it ever has.  Keep on pushing.  Don't give up.  Set smaller goals on the way to your dream.  When you reach those short-term goals, celebrate them.  That will boost your confidence even more for the rest of the journey.

As I mentioned in my last post, one of my dreams was to write a book.  Well, it has now been published and is on the market.  The title is "Out of the Shadows; From the Closet of Religion to the Light of the Kingdom."  It is available on Amazon and Createspace.com.  At one time I had given up on that dream because I felt that the task was too great and I was too unequipped.  But a man of God gave me the push I needed to get with it.  He advised me throughout the process.  I distanced myself from the nay-sayers and only listened to encouragers.  You can do the same thing.  So, let's hear from you.  What is your dream?

It's Time to Dream Again!

Everybody has dreams. Throughout childhood we have dreams of what we want to be when we grow up. Some dream of being doctors or firefighters or sports superstars. As we grow older our dreams change. Sometimes they wither up and die altogether. We face battles and trying circumstances which cause us to want to give up on our dreams and simply settle for where we are in life. But still, somewhere in the recesses of our mind, thoughts of those dreams we used to have still pop up from time to time. That signals us that there is still hope for us to fulfill our dreams before it's too late. Sadly, there are so many people who ignore those signals and give up. They stop dreaming. I've come to let you know today that it is time to start dreaming again. It's time for you to make up your mind that no matter what you've been through; no matter how much it looks like the odds are stacked against you; there is hope for you. You don't have to remain dreamless any longer. What is it that you really want to accomplish in life? It has been a dream of mine for a long time to write a book. I had pretty much given up because it just seemed like such a huge undertaking. But within the next few days my first book will be published and on the market. I had given up on my dream and it took one man to encourage me and give me the push I needed to get with it. That's what I want to do for you. I want to encourage you to pick your dream back up and get with it. I believe in you simply because you have taken the time to read this post. That tells me that there is something inside you that desires to do more and to be more. My next post will talk about how to do that. I will relate to you what it takes to carry on with your dream. So, until next time, be blessed.