“Vision without execution is just hallucination.”
BY ANTHONY ROBBINS
“In essence, if we want to direct our lives, we must take control of our consistent actions. It’s not what we do once in a while that shapes our lives, but what we do consistently.”
FINE FACES, EMPTY HEADS!
DON’S DESK, AFOLAGBADE OLAJIDE.
Seconds roll into hours Clock steadily ticks Time not waiting Degree and marriage dominates their subconscious
Zero ambitions, Ambitions massacred by boys and mascara, Playing and eating away their future at a world of flora, Liabilities to unsuspecting husband morons,
Zero values Values traded with sweet words Rounding up empty heads on bed in quick oscillations Clothed in mundane gyrations
Faces murdered Appearing literally fake, face been made Nature been killed Faces been tortured
Sugar in the daddy, You call him sugar daddy, You drink and it sweetingly sweetens your taste buds, Your situation really piteous,
Been a lady A gold-plated avenue to challenge the limits Breaking records Been the difference
The society needs your molding hands And your intelligent minds A necessity in developing nations Be that virtuous lady of great grandiloquence
Your beauty turn heads But your dullness make right thinking men cry Your gargantuan ego should die Replaced with humility and virtuousness
Don’t be stupefied by mundane things Be exemplified in the things of the spirit No guy wants a fine face on an empty head Or a lady always waiting to be fed?
Oh! My ink just parched, When you see a way, a will must have existed, Make yourself valuable everywhere Now my pen needs a nap my dear.
ANNOTATIONS ON FIRST-CLASS STUDENTS
AUTHOR: IREBAMI TAIWO
I wake up this morning thinking about the friends who have made impacts in my life. I remember my friends who are “first-class students.” I sit down to think about the things their lives preach. The values they uphold that have made them outstanding in their pursuit of academic excellence. I am very grateful to this set and do not shy away from it.
Their lives constantly remind me of the mastery of the act of discipline. They know it to the core and practically apply it to everything I have seen them do. Brian Tracy says that without discipline, no success tip or key will work.
One of them, Akodu Michael, an acquaintance of seven years, disciplines himself to read even when not convenient not because he wants to read but because he must read. I can vividly remember when he started to discipline himself to play the guitar every day. It was very difficult at first, but he disciplined himself to practise a little longer and at the end of the day, it paid off.
They know how to work ahead of time while others are lazing around thinking there is still time to get a job done. A quote in one of John Maxwell’s books says, “The wise does at once what the fool does at last.” These people are always the first to finish an assignment. They do not wait to copy from the others. They solve different questions and would go to any length to look for the solutions to the ones they do not know their answers.
If you think these set of people are not sociable, that they do not know the vogue happening around them. I introduce you to Femi Abraham, a friend who plays the drums, knows many secular musicians and is addicted to Linda Ikeji’s blog. He is also a FIFA certified referee who does not joke with football. He is sociable but when it is time for his books, he does not joke with it. He would go as far as the bush and other unthought-of places to read.
I can also remember they hate this word- “I would do it later.” To them it sounds like the “F” word. If you have assignments, why not do them now. Do you want to read up a course? Do it now. Since this set start to do their work early enough, they get things done better and faster.
Another thing is that they learn by teaching others. They gladly teach anything they know, they believe so much in learning by teaching. I can remember in my 300 level first semester, in almost all our courses Femi painstakingly tutored all of us in the level. These were the times, he could have decided to read or revise his books, and rather he devoted those times to teach his mates.
These set of students believe in the supremacy of God and they do not at any time fail to acknowledge his wonderful works.
Afeez is a 400 level veterinary medicine student who has made me believe veterinary medicine is tougher than human medicine. He is a devout Muslim who does not joke with his prayers. If his busy schedule during the day does stops him from his prayer, he makes it up in the night.
I also realise that these set of students harness the opportunities than other fellows. Most of them are on one or more scholarship scheme. For me, I would not get to know on time or if I knew, the nostalgia would lead me to register late.
They also subscribe to journals, online or print relating to their field of study.
I have noticed these traits about first-class students. Each of us can make conscious efforts to conjure them in order to make our lives and relationships better.
COMPETITION
Author Unknown
I was jogging this morning and I noticed a person in front of me, about 1/2 a kilometer. I could tell he was running a little slower than me and I thought, good, I shall try to catch him. I had about a kilometer to go my path before I needed to turn off.
So I started running faster and faster. Every block, I was gaining on him just a little bit. After just a few minutes I was only about 100 yards behind him, so I really picked up the pace and push myself.
You would have thought I was running in the last leg of London Olympic competition. I was determined to catch him.
Finally, I did it!
I caught and passed him by. On the inside I felt so good. “I beat him” of course, he didn’t even know we were racing. After I passed him, I realized I had been so focused on competing against him that I had missed my turn. I had gone nearly six blocks past it. I had to turn around and go all back.
Isn’t that what happens in life when we focus on competing with co-
workers, neighbors, friends, family, trying to outdo them or trying to prove that we are more successful or more important? We spend our time and energy running after them and we miss out on our own
paths to our God given destinies.
The problem with unhealthy competition is that its a never ending cycle. There will always be somebody ahead of you, someone with better job, nicer car, more money in the bank, more education, a prettier wife/gf, a more handsome husband/bf, better behaved children, etc.
But realize that “You can be the best that you can be, you are not competing with no one.”
Some people are insecure because they pay too much attention to what others are doing, where others are going, wearing and driving.
Take what God has given you, the height, weight and personality. Dress well and wear it proudly! You’ll be blessed by it. Stay focused and live a healthy life.
There’s no competition in DESTINY, run your own RACE and wish others WELL!.
WHY DID GOD CREATE ME?
By Jide Afolagbade
Loud silence engulfs the room totally overwhelmed by darkness penetration born at the end of night’s gestation.
Silent echoes of time as the drums of morning is heard afar. Voices rang in my ears like a loud tecno phone and as I begged sleep to please come and saturate my abode, so I can breathe in the beauty of peaceful rest. A voice kept asking me questions;
Who am I?
Why did God create me?
What am I to do in this earthly cosmos?
For gone are the days when my momma would ask, Olajide what would you like to be? Wiggling about in the living room would hum tunes of how much of an Engineer I would like to be. The word ‘be’ ringing in the air as it signifies the future. Unconsciously the future kept staring at me in my today as every minute unfolded.
Time is a gossiper, it silently whisper the unspoken words of change awakening you to the reality of your person as against your mundane wish of castles built in the air. Knowing one’s purpose of living is as essential as living itself.
With great respect quite post-humously to Abraham Lincoln he said; “the number of years lived is not as important as the amount of life in those years”. The greatest tragedy to haunt man is not death but to be alive and not know why.
No matter how healthy and robust your bank account is, it is not a testament to a successful life as the impact you make with that robust account matters more. From creation God manufactured you as a product designed to meet a need and profer a solution to a particular problem. If there was no heat in high tropic climates, a fan would not have been designed.
See to it that there is a solution you profer easily and comes to you naturally. You rush at it before sunrise and linger there after sunset. Its the beauty of purpose and influence yielding dividends of affluence.
In answering all those questions that voice asked me, it was all embedded in God’s purpose of my creation. Find yours!
GOD HAS SEEN YOUR FUTURE AND IT IS GOOD!
By Joseph Prince
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At the end of 2004, during one of our services, the Lord told our church this: “I your God have gone ahead of you and I have already been to your future. I have seen it. And I declare that it is good.”
Although this word was given through me to our church, I believe that it is not only for our church, but also for every member of the body of Christ.
I tell you, when God declares your future good, it will be good! It will be filled with many wonderfully good days!
So what do you do when the Lord tells you that you are going to have a good future loaded with His blessings? You prepare for it! In other words, before the blessings come, before the increase comes, He wants you to enlarge the place of your tent and stretch forth the curtains of your dwellings.
For example, if you are believing God for a child, start reading books on babies and preparing the baby’s room. In fact, prepare to have more than one child. Start looking for a bigger place for your family for God says, “Enlarge the place of your tent, and let them stretch out the curtains of your dwellings; do not spare; lengthen your cords, and strengthen your stakes.” Get ready for expansion!
My friend, God wants you to get ready, and expect such favor and increase in the days ahead that “you shall expand to the right and to the left, and your descendants will inherit the nations, and make the desolate cities inhabited”. (Isaiah 54:3)
Because God has declared your future good, know that you stand on favor ground today. Expect good things to happen to you. Expect to see the favor of God on you and your family. Expect the blessings and increase of the Lord. Expect many good days to show up in your life!
Thought For The Day
Get ready for expansion because the Lord has been to your future and He declares that it is good!
GUESSING GAME
Bible Reading: Isaiah 46:3-10
To whom will you compare me? Who is my equal? Isaiah 46:5
IN THE MOOD for a quick guessing game? Let’s try it.
You already know that a pattern is a form or a model that’s imitated in making something else. For example, you may use a pattern to make a dress. You may use a cookie cutter to make cookies in a certain “pattern.” Right? Well, let’s play a guessing game about different kinds of patterns. Circle the answers you think are correct.
1. The pattern for the shape of an airplane is
a. the shape of an ocean vessel.
b. the human body.
c. the body of a bird.
2. The pattern for a duck hunter’s decoy is
a. Donald Duck.
b. Daffy Duck.
c. a real duck.
3. The pattern for everything that is “good” and “right” is
a. individual opinion.
b. human tradition.
c. the nature and character of God.
You probably don’t have to be told that the shape of an airplane is patterned mostly after the body of a bird, and that the pattern for a duck hunter’s decoy is the shape and coloring of a real duck. Similarly, the pattern for everything that is “good” and “right” is the nature and character of God.
In other words, we should not compare our behavior to what our friends do to figure out whether we’re doing right or wrong. We shouldn’t compare our actions to what our government says is OK. God is the only true pattern for what’s right and what’s wrong. He is the one we should compare our beliefs and behavior to because his goodness and righteousness show us what is good and right.
It’s simple. If a thing’s like God, it’s right. If it’s not like God, it’s wrong. As long as God is your pattern for right and wrong, you can’t go wrong. Right? Right.
REFLECT: Have you ever tried to figure out right from wrong by using some pattern besides God? Have you ever tried to measure your behavior by your feelings? by what “everyone else” is doing? by what your friends or teachers say? by something else? How do those “patterns” measure up when compared to God?
PRAY: “Dear God, please help me to remember that you are the only true pattern for what’s good and right. Help me to always compare what I think and say and do to you and to become more and more like you every day, as your Spirit helps me.”
How to Overcome Being a People Pleaser
There is only one remedy I know of to avoid being a people pleaser and that is learning to follow the leading of the Holy Spirit in all we do. That is one of the most exciting things about being a Christian.
As believers, the Holy Spirit lives inside us. He desires to lead us in everything we do, from how we handle our finances, to the type of job we have, to the house we live in, to what we do or don’t do for others. He does not want to just be involved with the spiritual side of our lives; He wants to be involved with the natural side of our lives too.
I love what Romans 7:6 says: But now we are discharged from the Law and have terminated all intercourse with it, having died to what once restrained and held us captive. So now we serve not under [obedience to] the old code of written regulations, but [under obedience to the promptings] of the Spirit in newness [of life]. What Paul is saying is, when we follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit, we experience newness of life—peace, joy and contentment—that cannot be experienced when we live under the “shoulds,” the “oughts,” the obligations and the expectations of being a people pleaser.
It All Comes Down to One Thing…
Motives… Why are we doing (or not doing) something? Are we being motivated by fear, personal gain or a sense of obligation? Are we being motivated by a desire to be in control, accepted or seen? These are all the wrong reasons for doing something. Our motive for doing anything should always be because God has prompted us and we want to please Him. Following the leading of the Holy Spirit means we are motivated by the fruits of the Holy Spirit, such as love, kindness and goodness. What the Spirit leads us to do or not do, He will give us a peace about.
Remember, whatever you and I do, if we will do it as unto the Lord, our lives and the lives of others will be blessed. If you help a family member, do it as unto the Lord. If you visit with relatives, do it as unto the Lord. If you work in the nursery at church, do it as unto the Lord. If you are getting dressed, washing the dishes, driving to work, cutting the grass, or going to the grocery store, do it as unto the Lord.
In other words, with everything you do, do it with the motive of pleasing God. The result will be a new measure of joy and enthusiasm in your life—even in the everyday, ordinary things.
I encourage you to shake off the way people think or feel about you and just begin to do what you feel God wants you to do. If you need strength in this area, and I think we all do, pray and ask the Lord for His grace to follow after His voice instead of the pressures and demands of others. That you may walk (live and conduct yourselves) in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him and desiring to please Him in all things…(Colossians 1:10).
How to Tell If You’re a People Pleaser
By Joyce Meyer
Whatever may be your task, work at it heartily (from the soul), as [something done] for the Lord and not for men, knowing [with all certainty] that it is from the Lord [and not from men] that you will receive the inheritance which is your [real] reward. [The One Whom] you are actually serving [is] the Lord Christ (the Messiah). —Colossians 3:23,24
One of the most freeing things that I have learned in my years of walking with the Lord is how to break free from being a people pleaser. Now, I am not talking about living a healthy, unselfish life where we make the needs of others a priority. I am talking about a pressure to perform—an unhealthy drive to be accepted and approved by others. It is a desire so strong that it influences and controls the majority of our decisions.
I call this needing an “approval fix.” Like an addict who “needs” a certain drug, people pleasers have a need to be liked by other people. And when they can’t get their “fix”…watch out! The “withdrawal” symptoms kick in and they become unhappy, depressed and even angry.
How do I know this? I used to be one!
Here’s how to tell if you’re a “people pleaser”:
First John 2:27 says, “But as for you, the anointing (the sacred appointment, the unction) which you received from Him abides [permanently] in you….”
Are You Honest with Others?
One of the greatest signs of being a people pleaser is not being completely truthful with others about who we are. We say we like things we really don’t like. We go places and say we are enjoying it, when in reality, it is the last place on earth we want to be. And we nod our heads in agreement to things we don’t feel right about in our hearts. Instead of telling people the truth about our desires, feelings and thoughts, we develop a pattern of telling others what we think they want to hear in order to remain accepted. There are also times when people are dishonest about their true thoughts and feelings because they are trying to keep the other person “fixed” or happy.
Ephesians 4:15 says, God wants us to grow up, to know the whole truth and tell it in love … (The Message). Verse 25 goes on to say we are to …put away all falsehood and “tell your neighbor the truth” because we belong to each other (NLT). And in Colossians 3:9, we are told, Do not lie to one another, for you have stripped off the old (unregenerate) self with its evil practices . I think it is pretty clear: God wants us to be truthful with each other at all times in a kind and considerate way.
Do You Do Things Out of Duty or Desire?
Another big indicator that we are people pleasers is that we do things out of a sense of duty instead of desire. In other words, we do something for someone because we feel obligated, or it is expected of us—we are afraid if we don’t do it, others will get mad at us or think badly of us. But doing things because we feel forced to do them or are fearful of being rejected is doing things for the wrong reason.
Now, please understand that we do not have to want to do everything we need to do. There are some things that we are required to do, and if we don’t do them, problems develop. I may not want to or feel like cleaning my house, but if I never clean it, things will become disorganized, out of order, and very stressful. You and I may not want to do the laundry, but if we never do it, we will eventually run out of clothes to wear.
So there is a balance in this area that God will help us find. We just need to remove the pressure and expectations from others so that they do not feel obligated to do something for us. In the same way, we need to get out from under the pressure and expectations of others to do something for them.
Are You Constantly Sacrificing Your Own Legitimate Needs?
God may not show you the complete picture of what He’s calling you to do before you even get started. But He will guide each small step that you take.
Let’s look at Numbers 9:18. It says, “At the Lord’s command the Israelites journeyed, and at [His] command they encamped. As long as the cloud rested upon the tabernacle they remained encamped.”
I love that they didn’t try to go where God wasn’t leading them. Just imagine how much better our lives would be if we did the same thing!
You know, it’s not the end of the world when we make a mistake or get thrown off track because God will always help us fi nd our way back. Don’t let your mistake mark the end of the road, but rather a road to a new beginning.
Think what a beautiful thing it will be to look back at your life and remember the journey you’ve had with God; to celebrate the ways He has worked in your life.
I want to share a bit of my journey with you because if you can see where I started in comparison to the ministry you see today, you’ll realize: There’s no way it could happen without God! But with God, all things are possible.
Do you remember those bubble trailers from the 1950s? Every time Dave and I see one of them, it really takes us back because in the early days of our ministry, that’s how we carted our ministry equipment around with us. Our crew was just me and Dave, and a guy who could sing and play guitar.
We held small meetings in St. Louis, Missouri. And when God said to go north, south, east and west, we got really bold and went to north St. Louis, south St. Louis, east St. Louis, and west St. Louis. We took that little trailer as far as it would go. And when we got up to 100 people in a meeting, it was like, Wow, God! This is incredible!
I wanted to share that with you because in the beginning, when God starts you on His path, it’s hard to see the enormity of His vision for your life. If you choose to follow that vision, you’ll be met with plenty of opposition, but you will never regret following God.
In fact, the only thing we ever have to be concerned about in life is, Am I following God?
If you feel something strongly in your heart, step out and find out.
Don’t let other people make your decisions. Follow God’s destiny for your life. Find what’s going to fulfill you—and start embracing all that you’re meant to be in Christ. Choose boldness!
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