Here is the secret to a successful life

1. LIVE FOR A PURPOSE:

- You were placed on this planet at the right time for your specific purpose.

- The greatest tragedy in life is not death; but a life that doesn’t know its purpose.

- God has prepared you over the years for His ordained purpose ahead of you!

- He didn’t need to experiment with you in His creation. He meant business

2. DEVELOP POSITIVE SELF IMAGE:

-Think and talk positively about yourself; Believe in yourself. Your self-perception becomes your reality! Beware; lest you become your own prophet of doom

-Be a Winner, Not a Loser (Be Neither Self-pitied; Nor Arrogant)

-Discard limitations put on your way by detractors. Your poor background is non-consequential to your success        

-You are basically what you think you are. You are a victor if that is what you think you are. (I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me: Philippians 4:13.) 

-Caleb of Numbers 13:30 “We are well able” (Caleb silenced the people before Moses and said “We should go up and take possession of the land, for we can certainly do it” 

3. CULTIVATE STRONG DESIRE TO SUCCEED

- Be a risk taker for a good cause. People who succeed in life are the risk takers who are not afraid to fail.

-Walk by faith. Break out of your Comfort zone and shun FEAR. (Do you need to see the entire stairway or engineer’s report to climb on a lift or aeroplane?)

-Failing is part of the package of success and those scared to fail end up doing nothing. It is better to try and fail than to do nothing and succeed, in doing nothing.

-But it is only those who try, who succeed. It would be unusual for one to be consistently persistent and fail to succeed 

4. DEVELOP PERSONAL GOALS (Concrete for the Short Term and more general for the Long Term)    

- Plan and think as though you will live for ever, but live each day as though it is the only day you have to live. Do not procrastinate unnecessarily.

- Redeem time (My 8 years in wilderness). Work hard and don’t live under the illusion of good luck; a windfall coming your way (Dispute exists be

- Think so big that anybody hearing your plans would believe they are bound to fail unless God was in them. For this reason, invite God into your plans. AIM AT THE SUN; THOUGH YOU MAY ONLY LAND AT THE MOON

5. DO WHAT YOU LIKE AND LIKE WHAT YOU DO!

-  Is it really true there are no jobs in Kenya ?

Do jobs pop-up or are they created? If created, are they created by Angels or by people like you and me? Must jobs only be created by governments and foreigners? 

-         Don’t hang on a job that you do not like; complaining perpetually

-         Give yourself fully to your work or quit. That way you maintain your dignity. Your previous employers will give an account of you.

-         Offer voluntary service; and prove you deserve a job

-         How dependable are you? Will you stand up and be counted among those who cannot stand evil at work?

-         How about creating a job for yourself and others?  The issue is not lack of capital. The issue is lack of initiative! Advise unemployed youth to pick people’s telephone and electricity bills and pay for them for a commission.

  

6. SEEK TO PERFECT YOUR PEOPLE SKILLS (HUMAN RELATIONS SKILLS)

-Meet Everybody In Life With The Assumption That They Are Inherently Good; Innocent; And Loving; Unless Proven Otherwise

  

7. FORGIVE YOURSELF AND OTHERS 

- Great people don’t hold grudges. They forgive themselves and forgive others for the mistakes and hurts of the past. DO NOT FORGIVE 7 TIMES BUT 7 TIMES 70

 -Drop the baggage of remorse; guilt; & pain and move on with life. This way you will be able to walk light hearted by letting bygones be bygones.

-It is not evil to be angry; anger can even be a gift but only if used appropriately. DON’T LET THE SUN GO DOWN IN YOUR ANGER

8. BE PRINCIPLED AND MAINTAIN YOUR INTEGRITY  

- The shortest way to self destruction is trying to please everybody you meet in life (Let your YES mean YES and your NO mean NO. Be clear with your position.

- Avoid corruption; go extra-mile by sacrificing  

- How much can you be trusted? Can you be taken for your word?

- How about your moral integrity? To what extent do you control the desires of your flesh for the sake of your integrity, and your faith?

- The way you assert yourself is as important as the message you are communicating.

- Remain confident despite errors which do not spell the end of the world (who doesn’t make mistakes?)   

- Be prudent as you push for your rights

Overlook ridicules (boot-licker; not ‘smart’ enough - people in Africa are known to be those who work least and earn most).

                                                                                                     

9. SHUN MEDIOCRITY AND SEEK TO BE THE BEST THE UNIVERSE HAS EVER GIVEN TO THE WORLD

- Whatever you choose to do, do it well

- Be open to learn; admit what you do not know. Seek for wise counsel but don’t consult forever. Make your decision and take responsibility over it

- Shun complacency & ‘arrival culture’ in life.

- Sharpen your talents by undertaking further studies if you can – Fulltime; Part-time; Parallel; Open Learning; Distance Learning; E-Learning; whatever. Read more to catch-up with the latest technology/information

- Doing your best has a price tag called sacrifice. Sacrifice short term gains for long term goals.

- Put extra hours into your work (e.g. working at odd hours)

- Don’t miss opportunities: They come dressed in overalls and they look like work (many avoid)

10. IT IS MORE BLESSED TO GIVE THAN TO RECEIVE 

-Be generous to those who stand in need. You will gain more by giving than by receiving.

-But don’t dish out handouts and make people dependant and irresponsible.

- According to Winston Churchill that: “We make a living by what we get; but we make a life by what we give.”

- Great people seek to build the capacities of others by giving them wings to fly; even if they fly away from us. We are not blessed for our own sake, but to bless others. They may not thank you but that’s not important. The universe will thank you. The most important thing in life is not the structures we build, but the lives we change

11. SAVE AND SAVE REGULARLY

- It is not what you get at the end of the month that will make difference in your financial life, but what you keep aside, what you save.

- To enable use save, you need to spend your finances wisely. Don’t be reckless in your spending.

- Make loans an enemy in your life. Unless unavoidable. You don’t want to be perpetual borrower; but perhaps a lender.  Part of God’s faithfulness is to grant you what you pray for: to be a borrower or a lender! Deuteronomy 15:6: “For the Lord your God will bless you as He has promised, and you will lend to many nations but you will borrow from none”.

12. FIND ENCOURAGERS TO SHARE YOUR DREAMS WITH

- People who know you well and accept you as you are. 

- Do Not Expect Everybody To Love You When You Begin To Soar-up To Your Vision like an Eagle; you become a target of hunters.

- Surround yourself with people who lift you up- not put you down. Most likely those are people with their own dreams too! (Listen to critics though. They sharpen you)

- Dodge the hurdles put on your way by detractors.  MICHAEL JORDAN ADVICES “Obstacles don’t have to stop you. If you run into a wall, don’t turn around and give up. Figure out how to climb it, go through it, or work around it”.

- They want you to give up; throw in your towel and join them. Then, and only then, they will leave you at peace and not bother you (Dr. Myles Monroe)

13. DEPEND ON GOD AS YOUR SOURCE OF STRENGTH  

-He will order your steps, And everything you touch will prosper (Pslm 1:1-3)

-Do not put your hope in the number of connections you or your relatives can make. Connections may be important but approach them with the attitude that God is using people to make your way

 (Jeremiah  17:5-8: “Cursed is the one who trusts in man, who depends on flesh for his strength and whose heart turns away from the Lord…But blessed is the man who trusts in the Lord, whose confidence is in him. He will be like a tree planted by the water that sends out its roots by the stream. It does not fear when the heat comes; its leaves are always green. It has no worries in a year of drought, and never fails to bear fruit.”

Proverb 3:5-8: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes, fear the Lord, and shun evil…)”

14. FINALLY, WORDS OF WISDOM FROM

Bishop Abel Muzorewa (A Former Prime Minister of Zimbabwe )

• -People  may be unreasonable, and self-centered;

BUT, LOVE THEM ANYWAY

• -If you do good, people will accuse you of selfish motives

BUT, DO GOOD ANYWAY

• -If you are successful, you will have few genuine friends

You will win many false friends and true enemies

BUT, SUCCEED ANYWAY

• -The good you do today may be forgotten tomorrow

BUT, DO GOOD ANYWAY

• -People with big ideas may be pulled down

By others with no ideas

BUT, THINK BIG ANYWAY

• -What you spend years building, may be destroyed overnight

BUT, KEEP BUILDING ANYWAY

• -Some people who need help, may attack you when you help them

BUT, HELP THEM ANYWAY

• -Give the world the best you have; and you’ll be kicked in the teeth

BUT, GIVE THE WORLD THE BEST YOU’VE GOT ANYWAY

AND MAY GOD MAKE YOUR DREAMS COME TRUE