Success Built on a Moral Foundation

All successful people say that success is based on hard work. That if you work really hard and work harder than everyone else you will be successful. I do not necessarily agree with that. There are people who work hard all over the world every day and struggle putting food on the table. What I do believe is that success is built on a foundation that is morally sound. When this foundation is, laid success will look different from what the majority expects. 

To begin building a moral foundation you must be a person with integrity. I define integrity as you and your word being one in the same. You are not a person who is wishy washy because you do what you say and you say what you do. This, of course, is based on moral soundness. Meaning that you do what is right regardless of the cost. To add to this, you must also be concerned about others. You will be a person who realizes that you cannot get to where you are going without the help of others and in doing so you bring them up as well. You must also be a person of character. By this, you must focus on build yourself into a person who is the same regardless of where you are and who you are with. Building one's character requires that you take an honest look at yourself and face the real you. Then begin the demanding work of dealing with your character flaws and reinforcing the good about you.

Success is not just working more hours or dedicating more effort to a project. What success is, is the building of a moral foundation where you look to succeed by being a person of integrity so that others around you know that you and your word are one in the same. People will rest in the fact that you are not a chameleon but that you are true to yourself and others at all times. This foundation also rest on knowing that your success is based on others around you so you focus on making those around you better as well. So maybe I got it wrong. Success does require hard work it is just centered on building a moral foundation.

Character Key of the Day: Live Life

Learn to live life and enjoy it for what it is. Do not be so consumed with trying to live such as earning money, paying bills and all of that other stuff. Of course we have to do all of the mundane things but you should not get so caught up in the mundane that you forget to live. Even if you are at a job you do not enjoy do the things you do enjoy when not at work and if possible try to find a job that encompasses your passion. Enjoy family and friends because life is nothing without them and without them memories cannot be made. Pursue your passion with intensity and let success be the pursuit of your passion and not money or fame. We all have one life to live and the choice to live it to the fullest or just make do. Live life!

The Illusion of Power

 

     Through out history all over the world people have chased after power and have often used all kinds of means to attain it. This quest for power has lead to wars, the deaths of many as well as the oppression of many people. In our society, power can come in many forms such as through possessing a lot of money, position (government, politics, business, etc.) and physical. Even through the imagination of man he has created characters such as Superman and other comic book characters to satisfy his longing for power. The problem with attaining power in any form requires that you must work even harder to keep it because of the fact that others want what you have.

     What is true power?  I believe that if one has real power then no one, regardless of who it is, can deprive you of it. True power is not found in money, position or physical means but is actually based on a different set of rules that few have come to master. In order to have true power it must come from within and it must be realized and not acquired. Power is based upon realizing who you are and developing yourself so that you are in the position walk in your destiny. Having true power enables you to control your own destiny instead of others controlling it for you. Just like supporting a cause isn't support until you invest time, money and effort into it, you must have skin in the game to obtain true power. All one has to do is look at great people of history who had true power and they all had something in common. They knew who they were, developed it and had skin in the game (made a sacrifice). With true power, you can be an employee but get paid what you think you worth instead of settling.

     True power can only come from within and it never seeks to dominate others but instead causes others around you to improve. You be willing to invest in yourself and make the sacrifice of doing the hard work of looking within and dealing with the good, bad and the ugly. Never have a false sense of who you are and learn humility and meekness (strength under control). Dealing with who you are on the inside while at the same time developing your talents and gifts will cause you to become a very powerful person, which is someone who writes their own story and controls their own destiny.

Going Where You Have Never Gone Before: Doing New Things for Different Results

     You may have heard the definition of insanity which is, "Doing the same thing but expecting different results."  So many people get into this rut and feel like there is no way to get out which can be very frustrating.  As a result, a person might think they are doing something different but it is actually the same thing.  So if that is the case, how does someone do something different to get different results?  I am so glad you asked. In order to do something different does not mean coming up with a new idea or scheme to reach the level of success you are looking for.  It actually means that your thought process has to change in order to achieve different and more specifically better results.  Ideas are great and wonderful things but if the idea is not carried out using the right plan and strategies all you have is a good idea. So in order to go where you have never gone before requires you to be willing to get out of your comfort zone.  Here are some steps you can use to help you achieve different results:

1. Read- The wonderful thing about reading is that it is the quickest way you can expose yourself to different ideas and ways of thinking.  You don't necessarily have to spend money traveling to attend conferences or workshops.  You can read books, magazine articles, blogs and numerous other publications.

2.  Networking- Associating with others who are like mind as well as others who are where you want to be is invaluable.  Networking can help to keep you motivated as well developing contacts that can help you in your journey.  One area of networking can your local Chamber of Commerce where weekly or monthly networking events are often held.

3. Conference/Workshops-  Although it may involve some travel and possible participant fees, conferences and workshops are great ways to hear directly from experts who are successful in their fields and are willing to share knowledge.  Conferences and workshops are also opportunities to network and build key relationships

4. Life Coach- Working with a life coach is a wonderful way to have someone help you to break out of your rut and do something new to get different results.  A life coach can help look at what you are doing and provide you with feedback so you develop new ways of thinking. They can also help you overcome any mental blocks you may have that are preventing you getting to the next level.

5. Study Successful People- By studying successful people, you can see what road blocks in their lives they had to overcome to achieve success.  It will help you to see that they are regular people like you and had challenges they had to overcome.  One major thing you learn is that successful people think differently and see the world in a different way.  You will also see that successful people look at failure in a different way than others.  They look at failure as feedback and use as a spring board to get to the next level.

    Success can be yours for the taking but you have to be willing to get out of your comfort zone.  Having a good idea and simply working hard is not enough but you have to be willing to do new things to get different results which is done by learning to think differently.  This can be challenging because at the end of the day the thought of falling flat on your face is not attractive and can discourage you from moving forward to success.  Once you get out of your comfort zone and achieve the success you have been looking for you can go on to teach and encourage others who where you are at now.

Know What You Don't Like

Finding that place in your life where you are doing what you want to do and are successful at it can be tough.  Especially when you hear or read about someone who is successful and they just enjoy what they do so much.  Quite often people will live their lives in a reactive fashion and end up taking jobs out of necessity with the results being that they are miserable.  The key to avoiding this pitfall is to do what you are passionate about and as you may have heard when you do what you love it is not work.  But how do you find out what you love and are passionate about? 

A good place to start with is to find out what you do not like.  Doing this will help you to eliminate things you are not willing to do and help you to focus on finding your passion.  For example, if you are looking at working with children as a passion you can look at the age groups you know for sure that you do not want to work with.  You can also look at subjects, grade levels, setting and many other things to eliminate.  When you discover these non-negotiable things you know what to avoid because wouldn't it be such a waste of time to prepare for something you do not like?  Here is one thing to keep in mind.  Sometimes you might have to do what you do not like in order to do what you do like.  There are times when sacrifices have to be made in order to get to where you want to be.  It might mean going back to school even though you hate school to get the required credentials or you may be at the right company but have to work hours that you do not like until the right moment comes along.  This is where having a vision or a goal in place will keep you motivated in doing what you need to do.  At the end of the day in order to be happy and do what you love find out what you like and what you do not like.  Then focus on getting rid of what you do not like so you can focus on what you like. 

Experiencing Growth Pain

As a parent it is always interesting to see your children grow and go through all of the stages of development.  Some of it is amusing to experience while some of it can be down right painful.  I remember experiencing growth pains in my legs as I grew taller.  It was not all that enjoyable because I did not understand the reason for the pain until my mother explained to me what was happening.  I can also remember the emotional growth pains I experienced wanting to be my own person and making my own decisions.  Although we are now adults we still experience growth pains.  Growth is a constant in life and if we ever stop growing we start to experience death and with growth there sometimes comes pain. This pain has a purpose and when we realize this we can begin to focus on the end result instead of the discomfort.  Many people often give up during the growth process because the pain and discomfort is too much to bear which is a travesty because many times the finished line was very close.  Learning how to endure to the end is key to allowing the growth process to work because life is a long distance race and not a sprint.  Focus on your vision and most of all never lose hope and keep the faith. 

It is Better to Give than to Receive

In our society we mostly look for what can benefit us or get us ahead because we think of that as a part of success.  What is it that actually gets us ahead in life?  It is actually a simple answer but a complicated thing to do.  The answer is giving.   Anyone who has become wealthy or has obtained any type of success is really due to what they have to give.  It really does not matter what arena you are in it is a matter of giving something that is worth something of value to someone else.  When you come to understand this and also understand the fact that we are all interconnected you can begin to find success.  The key then is to have something of value that adds to others lives where they benefit from it rather than you.  Success for you then becomes a natural by-product rather than the end goal.   The statement, "It is better to give than receive, " takes on a whole new meaning.  To give something of value that adds to others lives requires that you have to be invested in whatever it is that you give to others.  What you want for yourself  is going to be what you want for others.  Not giving because you want to do a good deed so that you can feel good about yourself or any other motivation.  That is when success becomes a by-product of what you offer rather than the goal.  This will be true whether you are in business or any other venture.  The law of reciprocity then takes effect in a totally different way because you begin to get for yourself what you wanted for others.  So remember it is always better to give than to receive.

The Purpose of Disappointment

I am reflecting on a message that I had preached two weeks ago. I find that the more that I learn about the Lord the more I don't know. At the church that I pastor we began having a service just for the core group since we began on 1/21/07. I have been doing a series on Leadership called "What a Leader must Be, Know and Do." On this particular Sunday I was dealing with how a leader must know how to relate to those that he or she is serving. I stressed that God has made us a blessing so that we can be a blessing. I also stressed that if you look at it most of the blessings that we receive have come through a person since the Lord works through man in order to accomplish his will on earth. That's pretty interesting. Man partnering with God to accomplish his will on earth. As I was reflecting on what I had taught it occurred to me that even though the blessing may have come through a person we are still not to depend on them but God and Him alone. I also discovered that if people did not disappoint us we would never really turn to God. This is very simple and not even deep at all but it was very liberating. As a pastor of a new church with very limited resources and having to depend on people to support this new work it can be very disappointing at times wanting to more but being very limited. The disappointment that I feel sometimes makes me second guess myself at times not seeing the progress that I would like to see. I have come to the conclusion that the measure of a church and its ministry is not in numbers or buildings but rather it is in how relevant the church is to the community it serves and how efficient that church is in serving that community. As I work in my adopted community I see so many needs but I feel so helpless at times. This disappointment I feel makes me cry out to the Lord even more and rely on Him more as well. Maybe this isn't about launching a new church. Could it be about me learning to rely on him as we carry out the great commission?