“IMPOSSIBLE” IS JUST AN EXCUSE!

I welcome you dear friends to the second half of 2014. My prayer is that it would be for you a better and more fulfilling half. You will end the year 2014 well! You will finish strong, in Jesus name!

My encouragement to you today comes from a book I’ve been reading the past few days. It is written by a very good friend of mine, Gbenga Sesan and it is titled In My Own Words.

“1 minus 2 is impossible until you know the answer. In my elementary school, we were told that it was impossible to subtract a higher number from a lower one. The unanimous answer, in the rare moments the questions was asked, was a loud “impossible!” But a few years later, in secondary school, I was taught that if a higher number is subtracted from a lower number, I will have a negative number. It was no longer deemed impossible simply because we knew better than when we were in primary school. How many times in life are we almost tempted to call certain things impossible? If you could just learn more about the problem, you will soon come to terms with the fact that “impossible” is just an excuse we give when we do not have enough knowledge to tackle a problem. The answer may be strange, but every problem has a solution…. 1 minus 2 is not “impossible”; you only need to gain enough knowledge to know the answer.”

What do you call “impossible”? Go ahead, acquire enough knowledge and tackle the problem. Impossible is nothing! And with God on your side, nothing shall be impossible unto you! I do hope you find this encouraging and motivating as I have, as we enter the final half of the year. You will succeed!

WHAT DO YOU SEE WHEN YOU LOOK AT PEOPLE?

Years ago as an undergraduate, I took a summer teaching job. Whenever I entered the classroom I always took a bow and greet the students as “ladies and gentlemen”. One of the students asked me why I did that one day. I answered her, “Because I see you not as what you are right now but as who you will be years down the line!”

“When I see people, everyone, every human, I understand that I am in the presence of greatness. Maybe potential greatness, or greatness unpolished, or greatness unfound, but every person has the ability.” (Kat Cole) I concur! Every human being carries the imprint of the Almighty.

This quote inspires what I’m sharing with you today, dear friend. Don’t just see people as they are; see them as they can be. So much more important for those of us who have a responsibility for others, whether as parents, bosses, pastors, teachers, heads of department, etc., in any leadership capacity. That is why I wrote the book That I Look Like A Beggar Does Not Say I Do Not Have A Throne! And it is why I volunteer to train and mentor under-privileged kids at Paradigm Initiative Nigeria’s Ajegunle.org project. It’s also why I’ve made it part of my life’s work to build a leadership center for youths where they can be trained and given an opportunity to discover and develop their innate potential for greatness.

Everyone you see is pregnant with destiny. Beneath every face is a precious person loved and valued by God. Respect that always. Never look down on anyone except you want to help them up. Look within your sphere of influence and do something to help someone today. You will succeed!

WHY QUIT?

(10 GOOD REASONS TO FINISH WHAT YOU’VE STARTED)

Are you tempted to quit on that project you’ve started? Maybe you’re building a business, learning a skill, reading a book or writing one; taking a college course or a qualifying exam. Then, don’t!

Maybe your motivation is sagging or the obstacles are wearing you out. Do not quit yet. Let me encourage you to finish whatever it is you have started. Here are ten good reasons for you to consider. I refuse you to be a quitter!

Reason 1: It pays to finish. This life only celebrates a finisher. Monuments are not erected to quitters but finishers. Mockery is the only reward for uncompleted projects (see Luke 14:29).

Reason 2: God does not reward uncompleted assignments and abandoned projects. Only finishers are rewarded. Heaven is a city for “him who overcomes”. (See Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 26; 3:12, 21) If you can finish, you have won. With God finishing is winning!

Reason 3: Only completers are saved (Matthew 24:13). Starting is no big deal. Anyone (within a reasonable margin) can start anything. But it takes people with the spirit of excellence to follow through and finish what they have started. And only such people are rewarded with success in life. Stick-to-itiveness is the mark of champions. “Endings are better than beginnings. Sticking to it is better than standing out.”(Eccles. 7:8 The Message)

Reason 4: What you have spent so far is more than what you have left to spend. What you have left to take would not be as much as what you have taken so far. What you have left to sacrifice (in time, money, energy, effort etc.,) is not up to what you have sacrificed till here. Do not quit now and at this point, what it would take to complete the journey is less than what have brought you this far.

Reason 5: If you quit midway, you are only as good as a non-starter. If you quit now, your story will be buried in the cemetery of non-achievers. You would be addressed as a ‘could-have-been’. So, don’t quit!

Reason 6: The obstacles left for you to surmount can’t be as great as the one you have conquered – the fear of starting (inertia)!

Reason 7: The regret of “How I wish I’d finished it” is not to be compared to the joy of “I finished it after all”!

Reason 8: If you do not finish, it shows you lack the quality essential to success in any endeavor – the power of follow through. If you must quit, quit quitting! Quitters don’t win because quitting is anathema to winning.

Reason 9: If you quit now, what will be your gain. You would have lost everything you have invested in this project so far, plus, you would have learnt all those lessons in vain.

Reason 10: Don’t quit, not now, not ever! There is no glory in quitting. Neither is there any shame in winning no matter how long it takes you. Completers are winners any day. There is no shame or failure in finishing. Every athlete who breasts the tape is a winner even if he/she comes in last! Finish, no matter how long it takes you. “Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.”” (Luke 9:62)

Have you ever been tempted to quit? Would you share your experiences with us here? You will succeed!

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YOU CAN TALK TILL YOU’RE BLUE IN THE FACE, BUT PEOPLE KNOW IN THEIR GUTS IF YOU REALLY CARE ABOUT THEM. – BRIDGET HAYMOND

THOUGHTS TO CHEW ON

OUR BIGGEST BARRIER TO SUCCESS IS NOT LACK OF RESOURCES BUT LACK OF BELIEF. – UNKNOWN