How to Succeed in Business (1)

“Know the state of your flocks.”                                           Pr 27:23 NKJV

Sheep and cattle have to be handled differently. Sheep require tending. They need clear boundaries for their own protection, not to mention the shepherd’s potential loss if they are devoured by a wolf or fall off a cliff. Cattle do just fine when they’re given good grazing land and left alone. What’s the point? To fulfill your dream, you must “know” the people you work with. Whether they’re partners or patrons, bosses or colleagues, clients or constituents, customers or critics, people need to be identified and managed according to their talents and their temperament. So what kind of people belong on your team? John Maxwell writes: “Some people have a dream but no team—their dream is impossible. Some people have a dream but a bad team—their dream is a nightmare. Some people have a dream and are building a team—their dream has potential. Some people have a dream and a great team—their dream is inevitable.” Moses needed Joshua; Naomi needed Ruth. The idea of the self-made person is a myth. Whether they acknowledge it or not, all successful people had help along the way. Only when you can admit that you need help, will you begin looking for it. And that’s a crucial step in achieving success. The next steps are knowing people’s strengths, communicating your vision to them in such a way that they buy into it, bringing out the best in them and rewarding them. Chris Hodges says, “A dream is a compelling vision you see in your heart, that’s too big to accomplish without the help of others.”

http://theencouragingword.wordpress.com/2012/09/20/how-to-succeed-in-business-1/

The Joy Is in the Journey

“I have come that they may have life…to the full.”              Jn 10:10 NIV

Sometimes when we achieve the things we strive for, we find they’re not very fulfilling. As we look back we realize that our greatest joy was not in the goal we reached, but in the growth we experienced on the way to it. Scientist Koichi Tanaka describes this phenomenon and how it can come about during the enjoyable pursuit of a dream. As he worked on trying to create an ion with lasers, he says: “I failed for weeks and months before I succeeded in making an ion. Why did I continue the experiment? Because I enjoyed it. It was fun for me to come to know something that I had never known before, and that fun enabled me to persist.” That persistence helped him to win a Nobel Prize in chemistry. You have the potential to make many wonderful discoveries in life, and none greater than what you discover about God, and yourself.

One leadership expert writes: “The pursuit of my dream has taken me out of my comfort zone, elevated my thinking, given me confidence, and confirmed my sense of purpose. My pursuit of the dream and my personal growth have become so intertwined that I now ask myself, ‘Did I make the dream, or did the dream make me?’ When your mind accepts a new idea or learns a new truth, it’s forever changed. And once stretched, it takes on a new shape and never goes back to its original form. When that happens, you experience true fulfillment. No wonder children’s book author Elizabeth Coatsworth said, ‘When I dream, I am ageless.’”

http://theencouragingword.wordpress.com/2012/07/15/the-joy-is-in-the-journey/

Living for Others

“Through love serve one another.”                                  Gal 5:13 NKJV

Jacques Cousteau, the famous French explorer, said, “If a man for whatever reason has the opportunity to lead an extraordinary life, he has no right to keep it to himself.” Jesus lived that way. He said, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep” (Jn 10:11 NKJV). To be like Him, you must live for something greater than your own interests. In his book Half Time: Changing Your Game Plan from Success to Significance, author Bob Buford says, “The first half of life has to do with getting and gaining, learning and earning. The second half is more risky because it has to do with living beyond the immediate.” By that he means living for a cause greater than yourself, and for others beyond yourself. The great men and women in Scripture were not great because of what they earned and owned; they were great because they gave themselves to people and causes that lived beyond them. Their dream was to do something that benefited others. Only a rare minority of people are able to hold closely to their dream to make a difference, and are willing to give up everything to make that dream come true. Of people like that it will never be said that when they died, it was as though they never lived. Their dream lives on after them, because they lived for others. And it was in living for others and not for self that they found their greatest joy and fulfillment. The poet wrote: “Others, Lord, yes others; Let this my motto be. Help me to live for others, that I may live for Thee.”

http://theencouragingword.wordpress.com/2012/07/10/living-for-others/

Questions About Your Vision

“The word of the Lord came…in a vision.”                        Ge 15:1 NKJV

God promised Abraham, “In you all the families of the earth shall be blessed” (Ge 12:3 NKJV). That’s a big vision! But God knew Abraham had the faith to embrace it. If you hate what you have to do in order to pursue your vision, something is wrong. Examine your motives. See if there are inconsistencies between who you are and what you’re trying to accomplish. Have you taken ownership of the vision? Do you have the heart for it? If pursuing your vision causes you to violate your values, then you need to get another vision. Maybe the problem is your attitude. (1) Are you too idealistic? You must accept the way your vision is unfolding, and change your expectations concerning how long it’ll take. Ninety percent of all disappointments stem from unrealistic expectations. (2) Have you stopped dreaming daily? You must let yourself dream a little bit every day, explore possibilities and embrace options. Be creative. Continuing to dream actually helps you to move forward. (3) Do you appreciate each small step of progress? One way to feel fulfilled is to celebrate each success. Recognize when you pass milestones. Thanking God for your progress will encourage you to keep moving forward. (4) Have you made personal growth your goal? The only way to fulfill a big vision is to grow with it. The bigger the vision, the bigger you have to be to achieve it. What is God revealing to you in your current situation? How can you grow? The greatest reward of pursuing a vision—is who you become as a result.

http://theencouragingword.wordpress.com/2012/06/30/questions-about-your-vision/

Be Willing to Change

“If anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”            Php 4:8 NIV

If you’re not moving closer to your dream, you may not be tenacious enough in your pursuit of it. And the key to greater tenacity is not necessarily working harder at the same things, but being willing to change. Change what? (1)Your thinking. Are you convinced you can’t succeed? Do you describe yourself and what you’re doing in negative terms? Are you afraid to get started because conditions aren’t favorable? Do you stop trying to move forward when you don’t have the resources you need? If so, you need to change your mindset, to break the cycle of negative thinking. (2) Your perspective. Do you have a short-term mindset? Are you expecting success in days, weeks, or months? The greater your assignment, the longer it’s likely to take. So recalibrate your expectations and create a more reasonable timetable for yourself; otherwise, you’ll live in frustration and defeat. That’s not God’s will for you. Paul’s desire was “that I may finish my race with joy” (Ac 20:24 NKJV). God wants you to experience joy in the pursuit of your goal. (3) Your ways. How are things going in your personal life and in your home life? Are you ready to deal with the habits and hang-ups that stand between you and success? What can you do today that will bring you closer to your dream—no matter how small the progress? Author and publisher Robert Collier says, “Success is the sum of small efforts, repeated day in and day out.”

http://theencouragingword.wordpress.com/2012/06/19/be-willing-to-change/

Are You Fulfilled? (3)

“I delight to do Your will, O my God.” Ps 40:8 NKJV

To keep your dream alive and find fulfillment in the pursuit of it, you must allow yourself to keep dreaming. God gave Joseph two dreams: in the first, other sheaves of wheat bowed down to his; in the second, other stars bowed down to his. Note, he dreamed progressively higher, from sheaves to stars. Most creative people intuitively understand the importance of dreaming as a process for inspiration, motivation and fulfillment. George Lucas, creator and producer of the movie Star Wars, says one thing that kept him and his colleagues going during the difficult times was this: “We were always dreaming of how it was going to be.” If you are not a naturally creative person, then you have to learn how to keep dreaming. And if you can do it with a sense of humor, that doesn’t hurt. There’s a story about a student riding a bicycle on a college campus. On his tee shirt was the message: “I am going to be a doctor.” On the bike was a sign that also had a message: “I am going to be a Mercedes.” That’s somebody who had learned to keep dreaming! Andrew Carnegie, who was a Christian philanthropist during the early 1900s, said, “If you want to be happy, set a goal that commands your thoughts, liberates your energy, and inspires your hopes.” In other words—keep your dream alive and it will keep you alive. When David said, “I delight to do Your will, O my God,” he simply meant you’ll find your highest fulfillment in doing what God put you on this earth to do.

http://theencouragingword.wordpress.com/2012/05/08/are-you-fulfilled-3/

Are You Fulfilled? (2)

“Do not throw away your confidence; it will be…rewarded.” Heb 10:35 NIV

Consultant Dan Sullivan talks about the difference between our “ideals” and our “actuals.” He says, “The ideal is a picture we create of future desirable events and situations that enables us to move forward in time. The ideal does not actually exist outside our minds, nor is it achievable.” Why? Because it depends on everything being perfect. Life is, at best, messy. It’s filled with surprises—both good and bad. If you need the ideal picture of your dream to come into being in order to feel fulfilled, you will never be fulfilled. That doesn’t mean you should cast aside your ideal vision. It is useful for helping you to establish goals, find internal motivation, and strive for excellence. However, you also need to temper it. Where idealistic dreams expect to be realized immediately, realistic dreams make you appreciate the time it takes for them to become a reality. Where idealistic dreams do not tolerate anything less than perfection, realistic dreams leave room for you to be human and imperfect. Where idealistic dreams set you up for disappointment, realistic dreams set you up for success. The man who never made a mistake, never made anything. Indeed, the man who never made a mistake probably gets his salary from the one who does. The reason God doesn’t whitewash His heroes in the Bible is to let you know that in spite of your flaws, He can use you to accomplish great things. You say, “But am I not supposed to work on my weaknesses?” Yes, but you’ll only succeed in what you’re called to do by working from your God-given strengths.

http://theencouragingword.wordpress.com/2012/05/07/are-you-fulfilled-2/

Are You Fulfilled? (1)

“In due season he will honor you with every blessing.” Ps 37:34 TLB

There is usually a huge gap between the birth of a dream and the achievement of that dream. The question you have to ask yourself is whether it will be a fulfillment gap or a frustration gap. If it’s a frustration gap you’ll be miserable most of the days you’re in it. And every day that you’re frustrated instead of fulfilled, you lessen the odds that you’ll be able to keep moving forward toward your dream. Author Seth Godin calls this gap between when you set out to do something and when you actually start to see significant results, “the dip.” The dip represents the adversity you must face, the learning curve you must go through, and the hard work you must be willing to invest between conception and realization. If the dip you are in seems to be a road without end, here are some Scriptures you need to stand on: “Don’t be impatient for the Lord to act! Keep traveling steadily along his pathway and in due season he will honor you with every blessing.” “Do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised” (Heb10:35-36 NIV). “So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal” (2Co 4:18 NIV). God has promised you more than just the fulfillment of your dream; He has promised joy in each step you take toward it.

http://theencouragingword.wordpress.com/2012/05/06/are-you-fulfilled-1/

Courage (2)

“Rise up; this matter is in your hands…take courage and do it.” Ezr 10:4 NIV

Pastor Andy Stanley writes: “I keep a little card in my desk that reads: ‘Dream no small dreams, for they stir not the hearts of men.’ More than once that simple statement has kept me from retreating from my dreams. I know from experience that it’s impossible to lead without a dream. When leaders are no longer willing to dream, it’s only a short time before followers are unwilling to follow. So dream! Dream big. Dream often. Somewhere in those random ideas that flood your mind, is one that will capture your heart and imagination. And that seemingly random idea may very well evolve into a vision for your life.” Every great accomplishment begins as a dream in someone’s heart. All things are created twice: first in your mind, and then in your life. Dreamers allow their minds to wander outside the boundaries of what is, creating a mental picture of what can be. They are not always the most talented or best educated—just the ones who refuse to put brackets around their thinking or limit themselves to what others have done. Doing this requires courage, lots of it! On the heels of every dream there’s a demon of doubt. No sooner is your dream conceived than your mind is suddenly filled with all the reasons why it may not work. And there will be folks around you who‘ll be quick to confirm those fears. In spite of that, you must forge ahead and dream; otherwise you’ll spend the rest of your life fulfilling the dreams of others. “Rise up; this matter is in your hands…take courage and do it.”

http://theencouragingword.wordpress.com/2012/04/29/courage-2/

You Can’t Do It Alone (1)

“I am not able to bear all [this] alone.” Nu 11:14 NKJV

One day Moses told God that the job was too big for him. So God told Moses to find seventy men with leadership ability. Then He said: “I will take of the Spirit that is upon you and will put [it] upon them; and they shall bear the burden…with you” (v.17 NKJV). Understand this: you will never fulfill your dream as long as you are unable or unwilling to get others to buy into it. Don’t think that because your dream is worthwhile, people will automatically line up to be part of it. It doesn’t work that way. The same dream that will bless you, can bury you if you don’t surround yourself with the right people. Moses said, “I am not able to bear all these people alone, because the burden is too heavy for me. If You treat me like this, please kill me here and now” (vv.14-15 NKJV). Don’t wait till you’re on the verge of a nervous breakdown or your family is falling apart before you reach for help. When God calls someone He always calls others to stand with them. So start looking around you. You may need just one person, or you may need many. Indeed, the greater your dream, the greater your team must be. But here’s the good news: the size of your dream determines the size of the people who will be attracted to it. If you have a big dream, you have even greater potential for good people to help you. What you need to do is connect with them, invite them in, transfer the vision and then turn them loose.

http://theencouragingword.wordpress.com/2012/04/02/you-cant-do-it-alone-1/