The Wilderness

I just read the story in the Bible of Jesus’ baptism by John the Baptist and then soon after He goes into the wilderness for a 40 day fast. John Maxwell comments that this experience reminds us that at least part of His preparation for ministry came from His wilderness experience, which I find very interesting. Jesus for me is the ultimate leader and one can only aspire to be just like Him. We all want to achieve success regardless of whatever field we find ourselves in and to be successful, one has to be in a leadership position at some point, so that they can truly influence their followers. So one should ask themselves what their ‘wilderness’ is. How are /have you prepared yourself for the success that is coming your way? Everyone wants success but are they truly ready for it? Do you have the blueprint in your mind to be successful and maintain it? If you don’t, then clearly this wilderness experience is necessary for you to prepare yourself. ‘Then Jesus was led up by the spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil’ (Mt 4vs1). First thing to note is that He was led. Even the Son of God needed the assistance of the Holy Spirit to carry out His mandate, what more us, mere mortals? As a leader, I don’t know about you, but I believe in God and firmly believe that whatever level of success that I reach as a leader, it is meant for the glory of God. So the first port of call of my wilderness is to invoke the Holy Spirit to be a guide in all my preparation. And in all honesty, it makes things a whole lot easier. It goes on to say that Jesus fasted for 40 days and 40 nights. TJOOO!! That’s sacrifice right there. In your wilderness, what sacrifices are you going to make to ensure that your dream becomes a reality? What associations are you going to give up and take up? What old habits are being evicted? So the devil, cunning as he is had some interesting offers for Jesus and attempted to lure Him into worshipping him. Jesus was tempted to be self sufficient by being offered bread. When you are given an offer that seems so good for your sustenance, but morally wrong, do you take it up? Jesus was offered to become a stunt man and be popular and refused to abuse his powers. Are you using your gifts for the right reasons or for personal glory? Jesus was tempted to take a short cut and be powerful. Are we willing to go the long way round when there is always a seemingly short cut? These are things that you need to consider when you are still in your wilderness so that you get your priorities straight. I like to also look at the wilderness as those times in your life when you recollect on what you have achieved and now want to take things up a notch and the key elements here are prayer, sacrifice and mastering your trade. Take some time and be in the wilderness so that you are truly prepared for success when it comes.

The Slight Edge

I just came across the cliché adage, ‘easy come easy go’ and I’m going over and over it in my mind. I never realised how true that statement is, what comes easy, goes easy! A lot of people say to me that I am a typical example of an overnight success. In other words, I sprung out of nowhere. This may seem true, but truth is nothing comes out of nowhere and that is why I need to introduce you to the Slight edge philosophy by Jeff Olson, which I have been living but never realised it and once you are conscious of it, you can make decisions regarding your time that will change your life forever. The slight edge is simply about the simple disciplines that if done consistently over time will yield the biggest accomplishments. So what you do on a daily basis, on an hourly basis have a direct impact on the outcome of your future. So what does that mean? If I slack today it will reflect tomorrow and the reverse is true. Olson also talks about how your philosophy creates your attitude, your actions, your results and therefore creates your life. So I thought to myself, What is my philosophy and how will that create my life? I also came to the realisation that success is a process not a destination. There are things that you have to do consistently in order to arrive to that destination of success, if at all it is ever there, because if you are a normal human being, nomatter how successful you may seem, you just feel you can do better, at least that’s how I feel. Napoleon Hill, in ‘Think and Grow Rich’ says “there is one quality which one must possess to win and that is the definiteness of purpose, the knowledge of what one wants and a burning desire to possess it.” Many of us underestimate the importance of a purpose but that will define your life in a big way. It will define what you are doing right now and whether you should keep doing it. It will define the friends you keep and who you associate with. It will define every intrinsic detail about your life. What is also key to Napoleon’s statement is that one must have a burning desire to fulfil that purpose!! HAAA! Do you know how painful a burn is? When you have a burning desire to do something, nothing can stop you! Do you know what you want and are you burning to win? So you have decided what you want out of life and have mapped the way forward in how to fulfil your purpose. Great, now we are moving. Harness the power of habit. Ovid says nothing is stronger than habit. Do things consistently over time to get results. If you want to lose weight, jogging once a week won’t help, but if you do it daily and over a long period of time, you yield results and keeping fit becomes a habit. Sow and act, reap a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny. Harness the power of completion. Don’t start things you don’t finish. Once you are in motion, remain in motion. There is an old Chinese proverb that says ‘be not afraid of going slowly; be afraid of standing still.’ BUT…also realise that all these can also be negative, sow bad habits reap bad results, so watch the kind of habits that you are taking up. I will conclude with some more profound knowledge that I got from this book. Your habits come from your daily activities compounded over time and your activities are a result of the choices you make in the moment. Your choices come from your habit of thought which are the product of your thinking which comes from the view you have of the world and your place in it which is…YOUR PHILOSOPHY!

Fancy meeting you here!

I took a trip down to SA a while back by road and bumped into an old friend on the coach. Well not really an old friend, but I taught his son when I was still a teacher at Eaglesvale (yes I was actually an assistant teacher at one point in time). So we had plenty of time to chat and we discussed nearly everything under the sun. Then we got a bit personal and started talking about the number of marriages that have broken down as a result of lack of finances and that led him to tell about how his own marriage had gone through the same process. He was a “change money” during the time when Zim was going through the crazy economic saga! He actually left formal employment to do that full time and made lots of money during that time, bought fancy cars, and the works. What he overlooked was the fact that this was temporary and did not plan ahead for a rainy day. So his family was now used to a certain quality of life and reducing standards was not an option. Some would argue that a change in financial status should not affect anything, but I am not sure if the quality of marriages these days can sustain such difficulties. He understood what effect a change in income would do on himself and his family. So when things hit the fan and the US dollar was introduced, he hit rock bottom, as expected. He tried going back to formal employment but there was no room for such. It was a crazy time. He was honest with his spouse and told her the status quo and his plans to alleviate the family from this predicament, and through her love for him she held on. It was this faith that his wife had in him that gave him the determination to make sure that he would put bread on the table that kept him going and eventually he did, he started car sales and has been doing pretty well with that. What I liked about this ordeal is how honest he was with his spouse, and even though he had no cent, he had a plan and that’s what every man should have, whether or not he has a family. As women, we have so many systems that groom us for the household and how to be “good wives” like the dreaded kitchen parties and all, but there is not much that is there for men. There is the assumption that the man will know what to do. My mum mentioned the other day that there is this sudden generation of men that don’t have proper knowledge on how to manage their lives, how to plan for the family, and how to manage finances and as a result cannot take up the role as the head of the family. Without a good leader, a team, no matter how good the team members may be redundant. I just pray for a new generation of Godly men that plan accordingly for their families, thus allowing the family members to flourish without hesitation.

Random

I attended a Woman Excel conference, which by the way, I was a bit reluctant to do, as I thought it would be just another gathering for rich women to make us budding entrepreneurs feel inadequate. This conference has actually changed the way I think and the way I do things. So I had to blog about it to share some of the random thoughts that I jotted down throughout the conference. Please note these are random things that I jotted down. The first speaker was Shereen Shereni (Zimbabwean) from Coca Cola, Kenya. She emphasised that when people come into your space, they have to adhere to your rules, so that you don’t bend over backwards too much and you remain on top of the situation. We all encounter problems but some problems will never be solved, but you have to just make a decision about them. Instead of focussing on problem solving, build on strengths and talents to initiate growth. Any gifting is an area of joy and joy is a weapon of warfare. Christianity is not an excuse for lack of performance. Perform well in whatever area of giftedness you have. She ended with profound words from Aristotle, “ We are what we repeatedly do, therefore excellence is not an act but a habit. The next speaker was Tsitsi Masiyiwa, Capernaunn Trust and wife to Strive Masiyiwa. What stuck in my head was the fact that the key to drive change is through the spirit because we are spirit beings in a body. We change things in the realm of the spirit. Business is a means to an end. God creates opportunity for us to get into business so that we use whatever platform that we can to share His goodness. Businesses are established so that the church of God is empowered. Success is planned, it doesn’t just happen. Our own Minister Dr. Olivia Muchena also had a few words to share. She urged women to seek, know and understand the Zimbabwean economy so that we can identify and exploit gaps. She emphasised how unique Zimbabweans are and urged us to seek what our comparative advantage is. She also emphasised the need to have masses of women in decision making positions. Her presentation left a question in my mind; what can we do about our resources locally and how can they empower us? The last and most anticipated speaker, but certainly not the least was Dr. Cindy Trimm from the USA, an anointed woman of God. Without wasting time, she hammered on the importance of discovering your purpose. Why live as a copy of someone else when you can be your original? The only one qualified to be me is me! She also echoed Tsitsi’s sentiments that once you understand the spirit realm, then you can revolutionise the nation. Walk away from the common to be uncommon. Aloneness is different from loneliness. Aloneness is the absence of a person and loneliness is the absence of a purpose. Your thoughts are the primary conduit. Your thoughts are the primary conduit to manifestation so change the condition of your thoughts because you are one thought away from living your destiny. What you speak, you give permission to exist. Your history does not have to be your destiny and destiny is connected to decision making. Do not lie about your capabilities. That is why some are stuck in the situations that they are in. Ask the right questions to get the right answers. Poverty is not lack of money but lack of access to information...did you hear that? Poverty is not lack of money but lack of access to information. Money does not rule the world, information does. Financial wealth is about access. The soul prospers by information from the word. My definition of success has changed as she defined success as fulfilment of your purpose! If God is going to prosper you he has to introduce you to a problem. A problem is a divine announcement that bigger things are coming. Your life will resemble those you assemble. Change your relationships to change your life. Faith is heaven’s currency and can be exchanged for anything you want. On mentorship she said people can never take you where they have never been themselves. Identify people who are where you want to go, and follow suit. Are we ready to be self sufficient? Are you self sufficient? Many women are not ready to leave an abusive relationship because they are not self sufficient. Whether you have a man or not, just be self sufficient. The bottom line is, whatever God has provided for you, it is enough. This is the first conference I have attended in a long time (if ever) that has targeted the issues I have been longing to be addressed. From the panel itself, this was very appropriate. They wove issues of God and applied them to practical business settings and it hit home because these were women’s experiences. So instead of me being jealous of these rich, successful women, i now understand why they are where they are and what it took to get there. What was more profound for me was that earlier that week, before my I got the invitation to go the conference, I had prayed to God asking how best to restructure my business for maximum profitability, and bamm! This conference was the answer. I hope you have learnt a thing or two as I obviously couldn’t write all that I learnt, and please note, this was only day one!!!