Leave Your Village Part Three

In the last two articles I took you through the journey through ‘passover’, a ‘makeover’ and ‘crossed over’ stages. Today you are ready to takeover. In the last article I wrote “When you crossover you need a specific toolset and unique set of skills to deal with uncertainty and the unfamiliar” This is the import of this article which focuses on ‘Takeover’
Takeover has to do with the behaviour set , skill set, tool set and mental set that makes you flourish in the new territory. Not every child of Israel who went into Canaan possessed their own piece of land. Not everybody who is given necessarily receives. The hand that gives must be met with the hand that receives. The end game in believing is possession. Takeover is about becoming a possessor. It’s the turning of your dream into reality.

Takeover Stage – ‘Go In’

For the children of Israel the 40 year journey in the desert was not a stroll in the park but it was in search of their promised land. It would be have been tragic for Israelites if after leaving Egypt, crossing over the Red Sea and their makeover into a ‘mean war machine’ they had still remained as slaves with nothing to their name. They had to takeover! Let me quickly share the Takeover set of behaviours, skill set and mental attitude:
Skill Set and Tool Set – Takeover is a game of finesse and panache. In the wilderness the children of Israel were used to manna. It was all hunky-dory. However in Canaan – ‘the manna ceased’ – they had to learn a new skill set: animal and crop husbandry. Once you leave your village you need a new set of skills to survive in town. Develop a new skill set. Each year I have to improve myself because the environment is dynamic. In the last two years I became a Certified Prosci Change Expert and a Certified Neurolinguistic Programming (NLP) Practitioner. I am building a strong ‘war chest’ of skills and competency ‘tool set’ to dominate or takeover every sector I operate in. Empires of the future are empires of the mind – are you building your skill set?

If you want to improve in your career, business or ministry you need to be learning ALL the time. Each stage of your progress requires a new skill set to unlock and to sustain it. The difference between your current and the next level in your job, business or ministry is in a new skill. Apple, the US maker of iPad, iPhone, Mac and iPod is continuing to define and redefine the post Personal Computing (PC) era by using its unique corporate competencies to develop revolutionary products such as the recently launched ‘resolutionary’ 4G iPad 3.

Behaviour Set – Takeover is a game of strategy. There is‘deliberateness’ about taking over. Like a mother pregnant with child, when you are pregnant with purpose you are selective of what and how you do things. You are strategic. Joshua led the children of Israel in the takeover of Canaan. He was a smart leader. Joshua sent some men on a spying mission in order for him to draft the right takeover strategy. He gathered enough “takeover target intelligence” or information. He then organised the children of Israel into regimented bands before executing a well timed and coordinated takeover strategy of Canaan. The key lesson is that you need to be calculative and wise in gathering key information of what you want to takeover and then you implement a clinical and swift takeover strategy. I wrote an article in 2011 on Takeover Mentality (see http://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=495780833197) where I shared at length on how to deal with “strongholds, kings, giants and beasts” when you want to takeover.

Mental Set – Takeover is a game of faith. Believe you can and you will! Faith is the confident assurance that what you hope for is going to happen. Faith demonstrates to the eye of the mind the reality of those things that cannot be discerned by the eye of the body. Faith marks the boundaries of how much you can receive or possess. There was an old man called Caleb who was 85 years when they entered into Canaan. He didn’t ask for a small piece of land – he asked for a whole mountain at that age! This is the attitude that you must have – dream big. Think of taking over whole nations, industries, professions, towns. Launch into the deep. You don’t have to launch your net into the shallow where you see everything happening. Just launch into the deep waters of faith…the big fish are found in the deep waters.

Hold your nerve – stay focused until you takeover.

Leave Your Village Part One

As a coach and mentor one of the things I have learnt is that personal transformation is a journey and not an event. However along this journey there are defining moments or events. A lot of people fail to make the transition from one level of success to the next because they fail to read these key stages. The world abounds with stories of people who did not get great opportunities but made great of the opportunities life presented them. An opportunity of a lifetime exists in the life of that opportunity. The secret is in understanding times and seasons.

There is a simple story in the Bible in Mark 8: 22-26. Jesus encountered a blind man. He took this man ‘by hand’ out of his village. The first time after being laid hands upon this man could see ‘man like trees’. The second time around his sight was completely restored. Jesus then told him not to go back to village. I want to share the 4 vital stages of personal transformation for your success. These stages are Passover, Makeover, Crossover and Takeover in that order.

Passover Stage – ‘Go Out’

Jesus took the matter of this blind man literally into his own hands, by leading him out of the village ‘by hand’. In order to progress in life you need to leave your village. Village represents familiarity, limitations, little exposure and limited vision. Village is not necessarily a place but is also a state of mind. Village is a place of surrender and condemnation. In Africa the old, retired, sick, rascals and hopeless folk are send to the village. The children of Israel once stayed in a village called Egypt for over 400 years until a time to ‘passover’ came.

In order for your career, marriage, ministry, business or project to flourish you need to leave your village. A village or cradle mentality makes you a slave to the familiar, daily grind and routines. In order to experience growth you need to break out of the familiar and go out of your village. For some your job, industry or country has now become your village while others the village is in the mind – you want to stick to the knitting and you think there are sharks out there. This year dare the undared, try the untried, venture into the unknown, blaze the trail, go out, break out – passover!

Makeover Stage – ‘Go Under’

Your mind-set determines your life-set. To upgrade your life you need to upgrade your mind. You may come out of the village, but it’s also important for the village to also come out of you. Your mind needs to go under some transformation. Jesus did a bit of ‘surgery’ on the man’s eyes laying hands and spitting on them. Some scales which were blinding the man had to come off so he could see clearly. Once you come out of the village you need to do a mental and physical makeover. When the children of Israel left Egypt they were used to saying “Boss, yes Master, I am a humble servant, I am a slave”. In the wilderness God wanted to get Egypt out of them and change their slavery mindset. You cannot continue to wear village clothes in town; neither can you walk like you used to do in the fields. Change your style!

There are simple makeover tips such as changing your talk – your talk determines who listens to you. Dress the way you wanted to be addressed. Change how you walk, because it determines where you walk and who looks at you. Urban decorum and etiquette demands a certain finesse and deportment different from a village context. For example while it’s okay to brag about having killed a rabbit in the village, in an urban context this may be frowned upon. In conclusion I want to challenge you to do a self assessment of some of the ‘village’ or cradle mentality elements which have been limiting your progress. You may have passed over from unemployment to a job, but for you to now go to the next level you need to do a makeover. Is it self-evident that you are now ready to assume significant responsibilities and have outgrown your current position? Transition from village to town. Mental transformation is a key element in the journey towards achieving lasting results in life. Without a complete mental makeover you will not be ready to Crossover and Takeover…to be continued…/

Strategy To Conquer 2012

2012 has now come. Do not go through the year, let the year go through you. Dictate the pace. Determine the activities. Command the issues. Be in charge. This is your year. A season once came when God wanted to usher his Israel into the Promised Land. Joshua was the commander. God gave Joshua a simple strategy – he was going to use his MOUTH, HEART, HEAD and HANDS to conquer Canaan. It worked and still does. I would like to unpack Joshua 1:8 and share some ancient wisdom relevant for you today.

Confession Brings Possession

“This Book of the Law shall not depart out of your MOUTH…,”

It matters what you say. Say right. Use your MOUTH. The children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for many years because of their mouths – they complained too much. You can build or destroy yourself by the words you speak. The worlds were framed by the word. In the beginning God spoke things came into being. It therefore stands to reason that words are the building blocks of your life. Death and life are in the power of the tongue – speak life! You shall declare things in your life and they will be established because words have creative power. This year master your tongue.

Meditation Leads to Gravitation

“…you shall MEDITATE on it day and night…”

It matters what you think about. Think right. Use your HEART. Feed your spirit with the right thoughts. Marinate your heart with images of your desires. What you meditate on gravitates towards you. Your thoughts create a force field of possibilities and opportunities. Ideas, innovation, creations are all products of thoughts. Brood over your thoughts. Incubate your ideas. Pray over them, speak the word over them and soon they will hatch. Guard your heart for out of it flows the issues of life.

What You Watch, You Can Match

“…that you may OBSERVE…”

It matters what you understand. Understand right. Use your HEAD. Joshua was told that he was to “observe” to do. The word used here – “observe” also means to understand; to figure out; mark, protect, preserve or reserve. Like a watchman or sentinel look after your ideas and meditations. As you watch you gain exceeding amplitude of understanding to navigate forests and evade predators. Observation brings preservation. A farmer understands the soil because he has observed it for some time, just as a seaman will understand the seas because of observation over some time. Master your game. Observe…

“…and Do”

It matters what you do. Do it right. Use your HANDS. The ultimate pillar in the strategy given to Joshua was execution. Many people dream but few execute. This year means different things to different people. If you like the script then join the cast – what’s your part? It’s not enough to make slogans if there is no execution. Your MOUTH, HEART and HEAD will direct your HANDS in what to do. Thoughts must become words, words must become ideas and ideas must become actions.

I encourage you to read your Bible, locate yourself in the word. Appropriate the promises of God concerning you. Feed your spirit with materials that inspire you to become the person you were created to be. Your life is a product of your words, meditations, observations and execution.

This is your year!

Steve Jobs: Turning A Basket Case into A Show Case

On 5th of October 2011, co-founder of Apple passed on aged 56. He was hailed by friend and foe as a global icon who impactfully transformed multiple industries with his creative genius. In telecoms he gave us the iPhone, in music the iPod, in personal computing the iPad. An “i-conic” impact! I celebrated Steve Jobs while he lived and therefore it’s not my wish in this article to extol his virtues to fulfil mourning decorum but to share a few reflection points.

Excuses Don’t Change Your World

Steve Jobs was born out of wedlock to a Syrian immigrant father in America, adopted at birth by foster parents, a university drop out, fired from a company he had formed and lived with a rare form of pancreatic cancer for almost 10 years. In spite of such a constrained circumstances Steve Jobs changed the world. What is your excuse? His story echoes that of one Moses a ‘basket case’ who became the deliverer of Israel from Egyptian bondage. In the last 10 years of his life, Jobs virtually transformed Apple from a bottom tier hi-tech company to the most valuable technology company in the world.

Steve Jobs illustrates the ability of human beings to transcend challenges. He was fired from Apple and was in the ‘business wilderness’ for about 10 years. During that period Apple lost market share and money. Dell and Microsoft were leading and raking in the billions. Without going into detail, Apple was for years a David and Microsoft was a Goliath. Steve Jobs was rehired by Apple and transformed the business with game changing products such as the Mac, iPod iPhone and lately iPad. Steve Jobs grew the business from USD5 billion in 2000 to USD350 billion when he handed over to his successor in August 2011. To give you perspective, this is more than the value of Microsoft, Dell, Hewlett-Packard and Nokia all put together. Terrific!

Never Change Your Message

To change your world and your condition you need to be fully persuaded in what you believe in. Steve Jobs was ‘brave enough to think differently’, bold enough to follow through his ideas believing he could change the world. When competitors were going for making cheaper products, Steve Jobs decided to go for expensive products. His conviction was profoundly simple – make a great product, put it before a customer and they will open their wallet. This is brave in a world which puts a premium on cost cutting and cheap to push volumes.

A pastor who does not believe in their message is like a parrot, a teacher who does not believe in their material is making a recital, just as a salesman who does not believe in their product is no different from a clown in a circus. Moses could not lead the children of Israel to the Promised Land until he was convinced that bondage was not the right place for God’s children. Never compromise your message to please people or to go with the wisdom of the crowd.

Garments of Passion and Personality

Your greatest asset is not your education, job title or size of car or office. Steve Jobs brought his passion and personality into Apple products. He turned simple products into “rock stars” He did not create the MP3 player, but gave it personality when he created the iPod. Neither did he create the tablet computer, but through the iPad, he redefined the concept of personal computing using a tablet. Images of an emaciated Jobs launching iPad 2 just shows the passion this man had for the products he created. You cannot talk of “Apple’s Jobs, but about Job’s Apple”. He earned the naming rights through his actions, not because he was a co-founder. Your actions must be clothed with the garments of your passion and scented with the perfume of your personality. Has your organisation, ministry, community or friends come to now know the typical “you-sque” performance. Passion and personality are not techniques or tools; they are about who you are.

Dreams Never Die

A man called Lazarus lived during Jesus’ time. One day he died. Jesus who was a family friend was told and only came four days after his death. As Jesus arrived everybody was wailing and Jesus wept too! Beloved Lazarus was dead. Oh no. But Jesus had other ideas. He decided he loved Lazarus too much to let him die. So he did the unthinkable and declared, “Lazarus come forth” The dead Lazarus resurrected. Wow. This is pregnant with lessons on how to resurrect your dreams. Lesson One – Dreams Don’t Die Lazarus was the hope of his family. He was beloved of Jesus that is one instance in which it’s recorded that “Jesus wept” Jesus could not accept that the one he loved so dearly could die. The key lesson is that love is the fulcrum upon which the levers of faith move your dreams. The love Jesus had for Lazarus would never give up on him. How much passion do you have for your dream? Is your love tank full enough to last the distance? Lesson Two – Never Listen to Wailers For every dream there are wailers. These are people who are ready to help you bury your dream. They will sing songs of lament the day your dream dies. They will usually weep more than you do. Jesus did not regard wailers – he saw them but ignored them. If he had listened to them he would have been filled with fear. Jesus was thick skinned. The key lesson is never listen to wailers where your beloved dream is concerned. Lesson Three – Compose Yourself Jesus arrived when Lazarus had been dead for four days. Surely he must have been stinking and in a state of decomposition. The best way to face a decomposed state is to be in a composed state. There was no drama around Jesus. He worked his way through the chaos of wailers and did not cringe at the stench of dead Lazarus. It doesn’t matter how stinking your situation is – just be composed and just declare “Dream come forth!” Lesson Four – Your Dream Hears Your Voice Let me put my imagination to work a little. As the wailers wept for dear Lazarus, I imagine one mourner must have cried, “Lazarus please wake up. How can you live Mary and Martha your two sisters alone?” But alas he did not wake up. It took Jesus to just declare “Lazarus come forth” and come forth Lazarus did! The key lesson is your dream only hears your voice. It therefore stands to reason that if God has given you a dream, the life of that dream is connected to you. Speak to your dream today. You can reinvent, repackage, reorient and resurrect every dream. Your dream could be your marriage, business, idea, job or relationship. You are back!

Executing Your Dreams

This is now the 8^th month of the year. At the beginning of the year, you had a great plan with a clear vision, specific timelines and deliverables. Today as you read this you may be frustrated and probably thinking the plan wasn’t so good after all. Hold on, there is no need to go back to the drawing board. I want to share with you a most remarkable story I read over the weekend and gleaned some useful keys to execution. There was a man who was paralysed for 38 years. He lived by a pool which was called Bethsaida. This pool had healing powers. An angel would come periodically and stir the pool – if any sick person jumped into the pool at that time, they would get healed. This man for 38 years desired to be healed. Jesus turned up one day and saw the man. All the man could tell Jesus was “There is nobody to help me into the pool”. He was looking for a pity party. Jesus responded with three verbs: “Stand up, pick up your bed and walk” The gap between wholeness and 38 years of lameness was in ACTION!

The difference between those who leave dreams and those who live dreams is in execution. Many dream few execute. Many desire and few perspire. Action must now succeed where words have failed. Action is the spark in your dream. I want to share with you four principles critical to executing your dreams.

Principle One – Change Your Mentality

The lame man had a dependency mentality. For 38 years he was waiting for someone to help him get into the miraculous pool. It never happened. He could have made his wait much shorter if he had thought of ways of getting into the pool. Execution of your dream is one thing you can never delegate. Your dream hears your voice and understands your body language. What YOU can conceive YOU can achieve. You have the power to turn your dreams into reality. If your mind is operating old limiting software, there will soon be an “execution crash or failure” Have a “can do” mentality. Yes you can!

Principle Two – Change Posture

Position determines possession. The man had been sitting for 38 years. Jesus asked him to change his posture – “stand up!” Execution sometimes requires that you change your methods. If you are a fisherman, changing your posture may mean lowering your nets to the deep end in order to catch a net breaking and boat sinking catch. In business if you are not getting the results, changing posture may mean changing the structure.  If you pitch a tent in one place for too long you rob yourself of the thrill of discovering new opportunities. Changing posture at a personal level may mean visiting new places, changing your route to work, changing your wardrobe, changing your routine. Breaking your routine engages different side of your brain and can stimulate new ideas, even ‘aha’ moments. At a very practical level you get to meet new connections who may just connect your dream.

Principle Three: Change Your Focus

You become what you behold. For 38 years this man focused on his inability to get into the pool. He had a deficit inquiry than appreciative inquiry approach to issues. He looked at what was not working rather than what could work.  He chose to wallow in self pity. What you focus on gets done. A great lesson in focus is from the biblical Abraham – he never focused on his impotency or the barrenness of his wife Sarah. He focused on the promise of God that he would be “Father of many nations” It came to pass! Positive focus is the force that turns dreams into reality. If you focus on each of your goals just for 15 minutes every day, you will achieve results by end of the year (money back guarantee!)

Principle Four – Action, Action and Action

Action is the bridge between your dream and reality. It is instructive that Jesus did not make a hell shaking prayer or sing a powerful hymn for this lame man to be made whole. He gave a simple command – stand up, pick up your bed and walk. 3 verbs! Therein rests the greatest key to executing your dreams – action. I want to persuade and cajole you to turn the great ideas from thin paper to thick action. That song must be sung. The book must be published. That business must get busy. The project must get off the ground. If you so ardently desire to achieve your dream, then you must show us your faith.  Faith is a verb, show us your works, and we will show you your faith. Rise up, pick up your ideas and fly!

 

Unbundling Your Assets

In this series, we have been focusing on how to ‘Unlock Your Value’ in order to make a difference in this world. You are a bundle of blessing waiting to be unpacked. A divine endowment was deposited into your life. It is evident in the beauty of your thoughts, spirit, ideas, meditation and imagination. This endowment is the divine equity in your balance sheet. There is no deficiency, insufficiency, high gearing or inadequacy on your life’s balance sheet. God took care of all your life’s business. He has front end loaded you with His blessing. O boy when you talk of ‘His blessing’ you are talking of the whole Deity being tabernacled in your hood. His blessing is about His sufficiency becoming your sufficiency. You are complete in Him.  You are loaded – filled with the fullness of God. Hallelujah!

Let me hold a mirror and just show you who you are in a few words. You are endowed with amazing talent, great personality, incredible skill, awesome spirit and vast knowledge. Friend that’s all you need to rock this world. I am your witness and can testify that there is much more in you. The day you were born some called you a ‘bundle of cuteness’ others called you a ‘bundle of greatness’. However for the world to experience your beauty and glory, you must be unbundled. Let’s unpack this in the following principles:

Unbundling Principle One: Create

If businesses do not create value they destruct or destroy value. A few years ago Nokia was the king of the mobile phone market. Over the years its value has been locked in creating a phone for everybody. The business is no longer exciting and is losing money and market share. It’s very simple to understand – it’s because they use the Symbian operating platform, which has now been overtaken by Android, Blackberry and iPhone operating systems.  In order to once again unlock their value, they are going to dump their trusted Symbian and embrace the Microsoft Windows Mobile platform. In one stroke they will once again create value by leveraging the popular Microsoft platform. Time and space will not allow me to look at the strategic upshot of what Nokia stands to achieve, but suffice to say this is a strategic master stroke!

The key lesson in the example of Nokia is that there are certain past accomplishments which can easily become an encumbrance and limit progress. Holding on to past achievements can rob you of the sweetness of present victory. God created the first Adam and realised He wasn’t good enough hence created a superman – the last Adam, Christ who is matchless. The destruction of the old, leads to the construction of the new. To unbundle your assets you need to let go of limiting behaviours, negative attitudes, narrow mindsets and warped philosophies which are contrary to your progress. I can’t define these for you, but as you read right now, they are being defined in your heart. You know better. Start to create new ideas, ways of doing things and imagine solutions. God the Great Imaginarian and Creator deposited this creative ability in you. If you are not creating you are destructing. Everything you come into contact with must change because you came. Create!

Unbundling Principle Two: Multiply

You are a divine masterpiece. A miracle in motion. The possibilities in you are unfathomable. When God created you, He gave you a simple mandate, which was:  “..be fruitful and multiply”. The word “be” is an imperative implying that God can’t demand of you what He didn’t deposit in you. This was what God intended for you. The law of first mention states that whatever God said the very first time about something was His original intention. Being fruitful and multiply was what God said first about you. God can’t ask of you what He didn’t put in you. In creating you, He wanted you to be fruitful and multiply. Multiply is a compound word –‘multi’ means many and ‘ply’ means layers.

You are supposed to live a multi layered life. Let’s break it down. Going to an 8-5 job is a single layer. Having one business or branch is a single layer. Having one church assembly is a single layer. Having one revenue stream is a single layer. Multiply! Never allow job descriptions, grades, geography, laws, policies, industries or organisations to box you. Brother Sower, are you advocating for chaos and anomie? No friend, just inspirational dissatisfaction – that you do not accept current limitations and boundaries. I want you to raise the bar.

This is your time. The world is waiting for your unbundling (manifestation). It waited for Bill Gates and Steve Jobs. It’s now your time. You have something in you for which they have been searching. Nobody can take it away from you. Just give your best to every opportunity. Every deed must be a finished product. Your every act is a glimpse of the greatness in you. Manifest!

Sweat Your Assets

In the previous article Unlocking Your Value, I briefly shared that businesses unlock their value by sweating their assets. These assets include among others material, human, financial, intellectual resources. Your life too has a number of assets which are: your talents, personality, hands (skills), your heart (passion) and your head (knowledge). These are the assets in which God has deposited your keys to a successful life. I want to share a number of insights on how you can sweat these assets. To sweat your assets means to maximise the value you can get from your skill set, personality profile and knowledge set.

 Stir Up Your Talent

Businesses and organizations have a core competency – what they are really good at. This is what gives them a competitive edge. MacDonald’s core competency is convenience and Nandos’ is flame grilled chicken, yet they are both into fast foods. Core competency is a talent – it’s what separates you from everybody. Talents are like a fire, if you don’t fan them they will lose their flame. If you don’t use it, you lose it. You need to keep you gift ablaze by exercising it. To get an edge in life, you need to do that which nobody else does better than you. What are you good at? What are you known for?

Each one of you is gifted and graced in a particular area. Your gift is your area of strength and competency. This is what gives you the ‘in the zone’ feeling or the state of being in ‘your element’. You will get the most astounding results when you play to your strengths. You succeed the most when you live life according to how you are wired. A fish is gifted in swimming. It would never do well in flying. When you keep your gift ablaze soon people will come and see the brightness of your light or just bask in the warmth of your glare.

 Know Too Much About A Little

Talent is so specific and narrow. Tiger Woods is a prolific golfer, never mind his off the course misadventures, of which none of us should judge him – we must intercede for his salvation. His short game is not as good as his swing or long game. He has mastered his swing and fully understands the physics behind the swing. He is good when he is using the driver to swing the ball. He practices his swing by hitting 1000 balls on the driving range. This is why he has a prolific under par – he hits the least number of balls (birdies or eagles) to get a hole. He plays to his strengths.

For the non golfers let’s use an example from soccer. Barcelona’s Lionel Messi is a prolific soccer striker. I doubt he would be a good defender like Chelsea’s Ashley Cole. Messi doesn’t have to be all over the pitch to be successful – he focuses on getting behind defenders and putting the ball in the net. The best sermons are not those preached with too wide scholastic erudition, but with simplistic depth. I worked in consulting and the best consultants where those who had narrow depth (knowing too much about a little). What do you know?

The plant which yields the most fruit is not the one which spreads its branches the widest, but the one which sends its roots the deepest. Your seeds of greatness are hidden in your hands, heart and head. Don’t try to do, just be. You are not a human doing, you are a human being. It’s not about what you do, but who you are. Just be yourself – sweat YOUR assets.

Unlock Your Value

Have you ever looked at yourself as an asset? This is the way God looks at you. When you were created, you were loaded with so much value. This value is hidden in your talent, personality, passion, skills and the experiences you go through. Let me quickly use an illustration to make the point. The value of a business is in its underlying assets. The assets are the physical assets, intellectual property (IP), goodwill, products, competencies and unique capabilities. It is when a business “sweats” these assets that value is unlocked. In some instances businesses undertake an “unbundling” exercise in order to unlock value.

For example a few years ago a major hotel group in Africa decided to “unbundle” and list the hotel business separate from the properties in which the hotels are housed. The shareholders now make money in two ways from the hotel business and the rental income from the properties themselves. Hidden value has been unlocked! The important point is that the value is already there – its hidden waiting to be unlocked.

To unlock value means to accentuate hidden strengths and unique capabilities. It also refers to unveil what is already in you. How then do you unlock your value? There are a number of keys:

Key One: Strategic Relationships and Divine Connections

In order to unlock your value you need strategic relationships or divine connections. Years ago the McDonald brothers where struggling with their business. They met one man called Ray Kroc who came and unlocked the value in their business to give us the McDonalds Fast Foods that is now all over the world today. A strategic relationship!  In the Bible, there was an Esther in the palace, a Boaz in the field for Ruth , a Jonathan in the palace for David, a Rahab to hide the spies,  a Joseph in Egypt during a famine. These are divine connections which unlocked the destiny of nations. You also need divine connections in order to unlock your value.

Key Two: Insight and Revelation

Steve Jobs, the iconic founder of Apple, has an uncommon gift of insight. Through revolutionary products such as iPad, iPod and the Mac, Jobs has added a game changing dynamic in the personal computing industry.  He has the ability to see beyond the obvious and unlock value. Insight is the ability to see beyond your five senses. Businesses that are driven by insight are always a step ahead of their competitors. The same is true for any organisation – leaders with insight see beyond the horizon and lead their organisations to the “Promised Land”.

One profound example of how revelation can unlock your value is the ancient story of Joseph. Joseph had an ability to interpret dreams. This revelation of dreams caused him to become a Prime Minister in Egypt – yet he was a foreigner. Insight and revelation makes you see what only is in you – “in-sight”- that which nobody else can see. Its hidden, hence is only seen by revelation.

Key Three: Mentorship

In Greek mythology, Mentor was asked to train King Odysseus’ son Telemachus. The training then later became ‘mentoring’ as others from the trade guilds were being ‘mentored’ . In the Bible Adam was mentored by God. Other prominent mentoring relationships include Elijah and Elisha, Paul and Timothy, Jesus and The Twelve. Mentoring is therefore as old as creation. It is God’s appointed way of unlocking value. A mentor is someone who gives you roots so you have a firm foundation and strong sense of heritage upon which to build your success. A mentor gives you a roadmap to show you the big picture; they reveal where you are; they show you what roads to take; and they tell you what roads to avoid. Lastly they give you handles so you know how to deal with issues in life and wings so you can soar and fly on the wings of their experience. Mentors are also door openers and connectors. They unlock something in you.

This is your season of unlocking your value. It’s your midwife season when you must birth something – ideas, businesses, projects, results.

Words Frame Your Worlds

I was talking to my brother in law about how our words shape our worlds. He shared how he once saw a car parked at a garage and he just said “I will buy this car and paint black, and inscribe Knight Rider at the back”. Two years later he bought that car and he still has it – its painted black and is inscribed “Knight Rider”  He  once told his friends that he was working at a top advertising agency when he was not working there at all. A month later he got a job in that company! The words we speak have creative power. In fact Hebrews 11:3 tells us that “ …by faith we understand that the worlds were framed by the word of God”.  God spoke and it became! Let there be light, and there was light. Let the skies be filled with birds of every kind, and it was so.

Reorganise Your World

In the beginning the earth was without form. It was just a chaotic mass. The picture was not beautiful. However God spoke His word to ‘frame’ the chaotic mass. Deep darkness covered the earth, but God spoke light into existence and a frame of light covered the earth. Words reorganised the landscape of the earth to give us the beauty we see today. There could be disorder, a mess, chaos or lack in your life today? You can speak your way out of the situation. If the bank account is in negative balance, you can declare that “my account is overflowing”   If there is sickness in your body you can say “I am bubbling with health”. This sounds like a simple solution to life’s complex problems. But that’s the way it is – profoundly simple!

Words Create The Context of Your Life

I recently read the autobiography of America Civil Rights leader, Rev Dr Martin Luther King. What a powerful man of his generation. He was graced with exceptional leadership gifts. Yet his life was cut out at such an early age. As I read his book, I picked up in more than five instances how he would speak ‘prophetically’ about his own death. I couldn’t help but feel that he should not have predicted his own death. His words framed or created the context of his own premature death.

Words are spiritual. They create a reality. If you want to be the CEO of your company in a few years time, you better start speaking it now. Start framing the kind of life you want by using your mouth. Do not snare yourself with negative words. If you say I am going to get into trouble you will surely get into trouble. There is magnetic force field created by our words. This force field is based on a principle – therefore it can work for or against you. Positive words will create a positive forcefield. Financial markets use this principle – one positive word from an opinion leader can create a bull run on the stock market, even without any fundamental basis. In psychology there is the labelling theory, which follows this same principle – if you label something good it will be good. Another sociological principle – the self fulfilling prophecy – if you expect things to turn our bad they will turn out bad. Create a positive context for your life. This year be so expectant.

Prophesy over your politics, economics, business, children, marriage, ministry or job. Start today to speak words that are positive, words that are seasoned with grace. Be an encourager. Only speak good news, and not be a bearer of bad tidings. What we see now did not come from things that can be seen. This is the essence of faith – the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Call things that are not as though they were. Something might not be so comely but by faith just say  “Oh, this looks so beautiful”, then it will be beautiful.  Your words must be backed by faith – speak what the eye of faith has seen, so tomorrow your hand can receive the fruit of your mouth.