the art and attitude of success

The Art and Attitude of Success


By

Emmanuel Smith

Emmanuel Smith

Lagos Literary and Arts Journal Imprintwww.lagosliteraryjournal.comxceedia limited (publishing)© 2011 Emmanuel Smith

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever without written permission, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.


CONTENTS

LIBERATE YOURSELF

DETOXIFY YOURSELF

INVIGORATE YOURSELF

RE-PROGRAM YOUR MIND

PURSUE YOUR GOAL

BREAK DOWN THOSE BARRIERS

FLY HIGH – VERY HIGH

GET YOURSELF AN ATTITUDE

SOW THE RIGHT SEEDS

GET YOURSELF A VISION

Appendix – What The Bible Says

Appendix – Success Worksheets

Emmanuel Smith

INTRODUCTION

These are difficult times indeed. Entire fortunes are

being daily wiped out as the world economies go deeper

into turmoil. Unemployment is rife and many people are

looking to the future with distress. But this is the world

economy, not God’s economy – because The Maker has

equipped each of us with the means to succeed and

prosper in spite of whatever is the situation in the world.

There are a few things though that we ought to get out of

the way before you dive deeper into this book. It is

important that we do this so that you can be able to

determine what you may hope to expect.

This Is A Book.

Yes that is correct. It is not a miracle machine; and

it will not instantly make you successful, just by reading

it. This is just a book – containing knowledge and very

little else. But, until you put the knowledge to work it will

remain just a book.


This Book Is Not About Me.

This is a book about how to use proven goal setting

principles in tandem with sound Christian motivational

doctrine to achieve life and financial goals. It contains

material from my personal experience both in secular

situations and as a Christian, from success stories of other

individuals around the world and also Biblical notes.

I have excluded my real identity from all parts of

this book. This is important because I do not want you the

reader to relate your expectation or achievement to mine.

On one part and in the off chance that we know one

another, it is my wish that you do not look at what I have

personally passed through and become overawed at how I

have survived it all, and be able to go on to do this much,

or look at what I have been able to achieve and it looks

impossible to you. My experiences are specifically mine,

and what has worked for me may not work for you.

However wisdom from God, and as given in the

Bible works all the time. It is my wish that you eventually

look up to God , and not to my experience. I offer this

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book merely as a guide to assist you navigate your way

through some of the rough channels of life especially

those concerned with finances and a choice of occupation.

And even though it shows you how to create a vision that

works, it does not seek to replace your God given vision.

I Have Been There .

Maybe you are at this moment thinking that you

have seen so much hardship in your life and you are

thinking - it is okay for him to write books ; he doesn’t

know what I am going through. ; think again. I can tell

you right now how wrong you are. I have passed through

it before. I have seen poverty, I have been hungry, I have

been homeless. I have seen rejection in all form that you

can imagine, I have seen frustrations. And even at the

worst time and places and in tandem with miscellaneous

misfortunes, I have been in grievous need of medical

attention. I have felt quite like old man Job might have

been luckier, and similarly wondering what it was I had

done to deserve all these. And for years on end I have

lived on a main diet of the scriptures:


35Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall

tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or

nakedness, or peril, or sword?

36As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day

long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.

37Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors

through him that loved us.

Romans 8: 35-37

This book is therefore also my testimony: God

lifted me ; took me from a situation of extreme hunger

amidst plenty and set me in the middle of a desert where

I was by His own hands, well fed. Does that piece sound

sensible to you ? If you’ve walked with God long enough,

you’d have similarly found that He rarely make sense –

but you’d better listen to him anyway .

I Have Nothing To Gain From This.

Now that may not be quite correct. What I meant to

say is that I am not asking you to become a member of my

church so that you can see how well I can preach. I am

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also not asking you to send a donation to my ministry. If

this book works for you, in that my God-given ministry

will be fulfilled.

What You Get Is What You Do.

This book is about rising up its depth and claiming

your desired place and purpose in life. It is a bite-size

book, not quite so filled with pages of action points and

motivational jargon such as you have probably read in a

dozen places and you are fed up with them. It is not an

exotic ‘spiritual’ book filled with mantras and stuff for

you to memorize and recite to yourself several times a day

while standing on your head. Read it quickly at first just

to enjoy it; then come back read it all over again, much

slower this time – to apply it.

About The Bible Quotes

I have liberally quoted from the Holy Bible . These

quotes are from the authorized King James Version (KJV)

the language of which some people may find archaic. I

have only used this because it is my preferred version; you


should free to substitute whichever you are more

comfortable with. Most importantly do read the quotes in

context and directly from the Bible so that you can have a

greater understanding of their meaning –for God reveals

to each of us individually.

This Book Cannot Help You If You Don’t Need Help

I reiterate: what this book contains will have no

more impact on than you permit it. What this means is that

if you are happy enough with your life, this book may be

of no use to you. However if you are in earnest search for

measurable goals, progress and achievements in your life

and you earnestly able to commit yourself to that search,

then, read on.

Emmanuel Smith

LIBERATE YOURSELF

20Then David arose from the earth, and washed, and

anointed himself, and changed his apparel, and came

into the house of the LORD, and worshipped: then he

came to his own house; and when he required, they

set bread before him, and he did eat.

21Then said his servants unto him, What thing is this

that thou hast done? thou didst fast and weep for the

child, while it was alive; but when the child was dead,

thou didst rise and eat bread.

22And he said, While the child was yet alive, I fasted

and wept: for I said, Who can tell whether GOD will be

gracious to me, that the child may live?

23But now he is dead, wherefore should I fast? can I

bring him back again? I shall go to him, but he shall not

return to me.

2 Samuel 12: 20-23


Now if you are not familiar with the Bible , you

may not quite understand the foregoing passage, but never

mind. The illustration is about a certain important king

called David, who fell into a situation which led him into

many days of sorrowing and asking God for mercy.

Until, one day, he stood, forgave himself of his mistakes,

and resolved to get on with life once again.

This chapter is not for everybody. If your life is

going exactly the way you want it, skip this chapter and

hop on to the next, because you’ll probably get nothing

from this one. This chapter is for people who are fed up

with being losers. It is for those who have fasted, moaned

and grieved long enough and need to stand up and say

‘enough is enough’. I will not cry for the rest of my life. I

intend to shake off this misery that life has afflicted me

with and press on forward. This chapter is for people who

have become lost in life and need to find themselves

again .

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How Do People Become Lost ?

Now, many of the suggestions that you will find in

this book may actually be so obvious that you will be

asking yourself why they hadn’t occurred to you earlier.

Yes, how do people become lost? The easy answer is that

you become lost by going in a direction which you never

intended. There are several ways this can happen but I will

mention the three most common:

1. You become lost by looking at the wrong road

map.

2. You become lost by following after some other

people without asking them where they are headed.

3. You become lost by wandering aimlessly in the

hope that by chance you will end up somewhere

nice.

It does not take a genius to tell you that if you are

navigating by looking at the wrong map, especially one

which does not even have your intended destination on it,

you are unlikely to get where you want to go. There is the

possibility that you may get to some other destinations

with similar sounding names or with similar climates ; but


will that be the same as reaching the destination that you

intended ? Absolutely not.

The second mistake is similar to the first. Some of us

just look at our friends and neighbors and because they

have some things that we desire, we follow them

wholesale. We make them our role models , even without

stopping for a minute to ask ourselves if also we want the

kind of troubles that they have in their lives, and which of

course they have kept carefully hidden from us. We seek

the same kind of work they do, seek the same kind of

social habits that they engage in, even seek the same kind

of food they eat. But all that we may eventually achieve is

to get to their destination and not ours; if we survive the

trip.

I stress the last bit because in this life every person is

specifically equipped for his or her own trip and not

someone else’s trip. If you want to cross the Sahara like a

Bedouin, better make sure you are equipped with a camel

and not a horse; otherwise stick to the fields. This

situation is prevalent amongst young couples, who seem

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more easily susceptible to permitting their selves to fall

under peer pressure of their friends and neighbors.

A man was traveling and stopped at an intersection.

He asked an elderly man, "Where does this road take

me?" The elderly person asked, "Where do you want to

go?" The man replied, "I don't know." The elderly

person said, "Then take any road. What difference

does it make?"

Now the third situation is even more common and

disastrous. I say so because there are far more persons in

this world wandering lost, not quite sure where they want

to go in life. They are the sort who jump aimlessly from

one sort of job to another job sometimes with completely

unrelated skill requirement, just because they need the

money, or they need the excitement or they need to be

able to pay their bills.

The truth of life is that if you are heading nowhere

in particular, you are quite certain to get nowhere

eventually; and you will get there weary, tired and fed up

with life. An aimless wanderer is also a disaster, a crime, a


distasteful statistic just looking for somewhere to occur.

This situation even though more often a teenage affliction

also manifests in persons experiencing extended

disappointments– long periods of joblessness, exam

failures, or similar especially exacerbated by

psychological abuse of a spouse or close relation. It is

however one of the easiest to quickly recover from.

What Are The Symptoms That You May Be Lost ? .

I know of a lady who had this annoying habit of

greeting all her friends “Happy Moan-day” , every

Monday morning. I think this quite summarizes her mood

and hopes for the rest of the week.

You know you are lost when life becomes so

uninteresting to you. For example you are in a wrong job

when Mondays are never days that you look forward to

with any kind of happiness and Sunday evenings fill you

with dread for the next day. You are lost, when joy has

almost completely disappeared from your life.

Other symptoms could be something like any of these

or even a combination:

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Is your health suffering without any visible cause?

Are you losing sleep and you can not figure out

why ?

Are your precious relationships degenerating and

there seems to be nothing you can do about it ?

Is your life generally going contrary to your

expectation and promise to remain that way?

The situation may manifest in several other dozens of

symptoms, none of which is ever pleasant either to the

body or to the spirit. Sadly the most common response

always has been to address the symptoms rather than the

root cause. For example a situation of continuously

deterioration health will usually drive many to persistently

seek medical attention or to abuse prescription medicine,

even though the solution may be simpler. I was able to

completely recover from a prolonged illness simply by

getting myself away from an unpleasant environment.

This is a serious matter indeed.


Your First Step To Getting Back On Track

A Christian lady once made the following entry in

her Internet diary :

Dear God, Please show me the right paths you would

have me follow. Sometimes, I'm not sure of the

direction I should go. I stumble and run into

roadblocks. I don't understand why things are not

going the way I think they should. Help me to see how

these roadblocks and detours are being used to

redirect my life. Thank you for your promise that "all

things work together for good to those who love the

Lord." Amen.

And when I read it I was touched in my spirit,

primarily because I saw that she has realized that she is

getting nowhere and has actually stopped to ask direction

from one who knows and from one who can direct

absolutely right. Whether she eventually got the direction

she desired , or actually condescended to followed the

direction she may have been given I do not know.

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When Bad Things Happen To You

Even more importantly , I was touched in my spirit

that she had actually thought that the “roadblocks and

detours are being used to redirect my life”. Now this

suggestion is quite common amongst believing Christians,

although in a negative way. When bad things happen to

some of us, and it does so for longer than we think it

should, we actually bring themselves to believe that it is

from God. This is never always true. God may permit

some piece of hardship into your life to toughen you for a

greater task that He has for you in the future , but the

mystery of this all is that we are rarely ever sure where

this hardship is coming from and whether it is from God.

The only way to remain assured is to remain plugged in to

God and listen for the voice of a father who will never

permit a dear child to perish unnecessarily.

“Roadblocks and detours are being used to redirect

my life”. In this small attestation, I saw the words of an

attentive Christian who has sometimes in the past met

with how God works His works. Indeed, He actually


closes some doors because He wants you to go open

another. Bit when faced with this sort of situation what do

many of us do ? We stand there and persistently knock on

the same door. And we punish ourselves with a rigorous

regime of fasting and vigils presumptuously before God.

And we bewail our misfortune and plead for God to blast

that locked door open so that we may enter therein and

“possess our possession”.

But what is God likely to do in such situations? A

loving father will of course keep the door locked, until in

your frustration you turn away and as you go away

disappointed He makes you to accidentally stumble upon

the new door to that new treasure trove which He had long

prepared for you and you had refused to go occupy it. And

surprise, the door even has your name on it already, and

in gold letters too !! Just fancy that.

An Attitude Of Proactive Follower-ship

To get your life back to what God has purposed it to

be, you need to ask God what you ought to do. How do

you do this ? Sometimes you will need to be proactive.

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Simply put, do not keep yourself locked in a room praying

all round the clock and expecting that God will come in

through the ceiling and show you a film about what you

need to go out to do. Note what the lady said :

“roadblocks and detours are being used to redirect my

life” . If you don’t get on the road you are unlikely to see

God’s roadblocks and detours and they are unlikely

redirect your life.

Time To Make Critical Decisions

But leave our dear Christian sister alone to her own

challenges , and refocus on yourself. If you found yourself

in a location which you didn’t like and it doesn’t look like

the terrain you’d want to be traveling in. what would you

do? Under normal circumstances if you had a road map

you would consult it. If you were lucky enough to have

one of those electronic gadgets which gives direction, you

will use it to determine your present position and to find a

route to your intended destination.

But you have probably been on this road for years,

moaning and grieving and either believing that God has


abandoned you or that you will soon find a way out of the

road or reach the end of it. Sadly though, it just remains

the same hard road that you have been traveling. Dear

reader; stop walking. No don’t pause or to slow down; you

must STOP.

What does this mean? It means that you must STOP

whatever you are presently doing and which is promising

to get you nowhere near where you would wish to be. If it

is a bad relationship , do something drastic about it; stop

it, call a family crisis conference if necessary. Do

whatever, but you must firmly agree with yourself that

things cannot go on this way. If it is a bad job, resolve that

things cannot go on this way with the one that you

presently keep and then proactively look for an alterative

that is nearer your expectation. STOP. Reassess your

situation.

Emmanuel Smith

DETOXIFY YOURSELF

Now that you have stopped and you have finally got

your own attention, it is time to do a deeper situation

audit. Grab yourself a comfortable seat and let’s proceed

with a few exercises. They are simple and may indeed

look bothersome. But if it means anything to you to you to

find your life again you certainly need to do them. Here

goes:

Your Most Notable Wrong Decisions

On a work sheet, put down the wrong decisions that

you may have taken in life to bring you to this present

location. Take your time and don’t rush this. Take several

days if necessary. I have included a sample worksheet in

the back of this book. Write each decision that you believe

has directly led you to your present situation – and also

why you think it has. Here is a sample list:


I did not complete school – It has made it difficult

for me to get promoted at work.

I married too early in life – It has saddled me with

family responsibilities in a way that I have been

unable to improve myself.

I smoke and drink in excess – It has made my

spouse always angry with me and reduced the

money available for family use . Also given me a

nasty cough; more money to spend in hospital

Etc , etc

.Now you need to be honest with yourself on these

exercises. There is nobody looking over your shoulder,

and all you are doing is making confessions before God.

Be bold. Be contrite. Be honest.

Your Most Notable Bad Influences?

Secondly, make a list of all the bad influences which

you know have brought you to this present position. This

includes friends and acquaintances, habits and pastimes.

Again I have a worksheet at the back of this book. And

as for the first , write how you believe each of these has

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directly led you to the present pass. Take as much time as

you need; this is a very important assignment, and I am

not looking over your shoulder either. Look at a few

examples

Fred - If not for him I would not have met my

girlfriend Lisa who keeps pestering me for money

and I give her even more than my family ever gets.

Bill – Always picking me up for a little drink at the

pub even though I don’t even like to drink beer.

Charlie – Always proposing a smart new way to

make money and I always lose my investment in

everything I get into along with him.

Etc. etc.

Your Most Quantifiable Failures ?

A Failure is an unresolved crisis such as in a

relationship or at work. Did your marriage fail because of

your lack of concern ? Did you lose a very precious job

because of your attitude? List them all – both the ones that

you could have prevented and the ones that were beyond

you. These lists are extremely important. Find a quiet


place; lock yourself in a room if necessary, isolate

yourself from all distractions and make a thorough list.

Take a holiday alone, from work and family if necessary.

After you are done take a few hours off and think

more on what you may have been missed out. Now go

back to the sheets, read the entire lists aloud to yourself

and be certain that each line is true. Agree with yourself

on this.

Don’t be afraid if this exercise leaves you empty

and almost hating yourself.

Forgive Yourself

Now for the most important task : take those pieces

of paper and BURN THEM.

What is the importance of this? By that symbolic

act, resolve to forgive yourself all those mistakes and

errors. Watch them burn before you. They are now gone,

reduced to ashes, and you are ready to begin a new life

without the old burdens. No, don’t keep them in a

cupboard to read next year ;burn them. And as they go up

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in flames visualize all those failures being destroyed. How

does that make you feel so far?

Alice: Where I come from, people study what they are

not good at in order to be able to do what they are

good at.

Mad Hatter: We only go around in circles in

Wonderland, but we always end up where we started.

Would you mind explaining yourself?

Alice: Well, grown-ups tell us to find out what we did

wrong, and never do it again

Mad Hatter: That's odd! It seems to me that in order to

find out about something, you have to study it. And

when you study it, you should become better at it. Why

should you want to become better at something and

then never do it again? But please continue.

Alice: Nobody ever tells us to study the right things we

do. We're only supposed to learn from the wrong

things. But we are permitted to study the right things

other people do. And sometimes we're even told to

copy them.

Mad Hatter: That's cheating!

Alice: You're quite right, Mr. Hatter. I do live in a topsy-

turvy world. It seems like I have to do something wrong


first, in order to learn from what not to do. And then, by

not doing what I'm not supposed to do, perhaps I'll be

right. But I'd rather be right the first time, wouldn't you?

- Alice In Wonderland

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INVIGORATE YOURSELF

5Behold ye among the heathen, and regard, and

wonder marvelously: for I will work a work in your days

which ye will not believe, though it be told you.

Habakkuk 1:5

Do you know what a prop is ? I will give you two

definitions.

In construction, a prop is a support placed beneath a

structural member to keep it from collapsing. Usually the

prop is a temporary support until the main structure attains

sufficient strength to stand on its own. But, it may sadly

become a part of the entire structure due to faulty design

or construction negligence , and in which case the

removal of the prop may result in collapse of the entire

structure.

In the dramatic arts , a prop is part of the stage

scenery or set . It is usually a piece of furniture meant to

give an environment to the main activity on the stage.


Like the construction prop it is just a piece of temporary

item , which should be changed when the scene is over

and retired. When the props remains forever in place ,

something is wrong with the play; and when the prop

begins to attain greater prominence that the actors , a

nightmare is certainly in progress.

Has Your Life Been On Props ?

Previously , I asked you to make some lists. If you

revisit those lists again in your mind you will realize that

they are filled with persons , objects and situations which

you have been employing as props to your life; and which

you think you can’t do without. It may be an amorous

affair, a bad habit, a bad friend, an unprofitable business,

unnecessary expenses and so on. And even if today you

determine that for the sake of progress you must separate

yourself from them you may find your mind filled with

panic. How are you going to survive without them? And

when you eventually decide on the needful, and you vow

to rid your life of all those unnecessary props, you may

feel quite naked and lifeless already.- rather like a bunch

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of dry bones. Don’t be afraid, they are just props and not

supposed to perpetually support you.

Wake Up Your Dry Bones

Ezekiel, (“God will strengthen”), was one of the

most important prophets mentioned in the Bible. One of

his most famous prophecies was the vision of the dry

bones. In this vision God led him to a valley which

contains lots of dry human bones. Then God asked

Ezekiel if he believed the bones can live again as human

beings.

1 The hand of the LORD was upon me, and carried me

out in the spirit of the LORD, and set me down in the

midst of the valley which was full of bones,

2 And caused me to pass by them round about: and,

behold, there were very many in the open valley; and,

lo, they were very dry.

3 And he said unto me, Son of man, can these bones

live? And I answered, O Lord GOD, thou knowest.

Ezekiel 37:1-4

In response God gave him authority to order the dry

bones to come to life once again; and he did. The result


was that even as he watched, the bones came together and

became again covered with muscles , flesh and skin. And

them breath came into them, and they stood up as living

people.

4Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones,

and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of

the LORD.

Ezekiel 37:4

Do you know that you also have the power to speak

life into your problem situations? Do you know that you

even have greater power to rebuke your failures and tell

them to follow you no further ? Now in your mind,

address those props and say to them words such as these :.

You unprofitable business, I separate myself from

you.

This unprofitable relationship, I separate myself

from you.

This bad habit I will conquer you.

And so on …..

Declare with boldness; declare with force; declare with

a sense of urgency. This is an important step for

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overcoming them, and you will find yourself feeling

stronger already in your spirit even immediately after you

have made these declarations. They are afterall situations

which had a beginning. And having traced your way back

to their beginning you know their weak spots as much as

they know yours. Their roots merely on your mind and

your insecurities; cut them off.

Love Yourself Once Again

Remember how you did feel as a child ? You were

surely looking eagerly forward to the future with the

feeling that nothing was impossible to you. Having burnt

your old burden of guilt, shame and failure consider

yourself as that child to whom nothing seemed impossible.

Imagine that you are now a completely new person; learn

to love the new you. Start speaking kindly to yourself

every day as you would speak to a child whom you love

so much.

In a Paris opera house, a famous singer had been

contracted to sing, and ticket sales were booming. In

fact, the night of the concert found the house packed


and every ticket sold. The feeling of anticipation and

excitement was in the air as the house manager took

the stage and said, "Ladies and gentlemen, thank you

for your enthusiastic support. I am afraid that due to

illness, the man whom you've all come to hear will not

be performing tonight. However, we have found a

suitable substitute we hope will provide you with

comparable entertainment." The crowd groaned in

disappointment and failed to hear the announcer

mention the stand-in's name. The environment turned

from excitement to frustration.

The stand-in performer gave the performance

everything he had. When he had finished, there was

nothing but an uncomfortable silence. No one

applauded. Suddenly, from the balcony, a little boy

stood up and shouted, "Daddy, I think you are

wonderful!" The crowd broke into thunderous

applause.

We all need people in our Lives who are willing to

stand up once in a while and say, "I think you are

wonderful. If nobody is doing it for you, do it to yourself.

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RE-PROGRAM YOUR MIND

4Again he said unto me, Prophesy upon these bones,

and say unto them, O ye dry bones, hear the word of

the LORD.

5Thus saith the Lord GOD unto these bones; Behold, I

will cause breath to enter into you, and ye shall live:

6And I will lay sinews upon you, and will bring up flesh

upon you, and cover you with skin, and put breath in

you, and ye shall live; and ye shall know that I am the

LORD.

7So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I

prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking,

and the bones came together, bone to his bone.

8And when I beheld, lo, the sinews and the flesh came

up upon them, and the skin covered them above: but

there was no breath in them.

9Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind,

prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith


the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath,

and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.

10So I prophesied as he commanded me, and the

breath came into them, and they lived, and stood up

upon their feet, an exceeding great army.

Ezekiel 37 :4-10

Those your dry bones can likewise live again. Like

most people you probably have an ongoing negative

monologue playing in your head – and you don’t even

know it. Your subconscious is possibly filled with

negative chatter, comments and perceptions about yourself

and you don’t even realize this.. Start replacing those

negative messages with more positive ones. As often as

you can, say positive things to and about yourself.7So I prophesied as I was commanded: and as I

prophesied, there was a noise, and behold a shaking,

and the bones came together, bone to his bone.

Ezekel 37:7

I am forever inspired by a lady whose Internet blog

I read ever day. And they are always filled with so much

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appreciation of self and God that I am ever encouraged to

read this her open diary. This was her entry for today:

“Today? I Know I will Make it..I know I can Stand..My

Life is In His Hands!!! Thank you Father...Be

Encouraged, Be Motivated, Stay Focused...Much

Peace, Joy, and Love...Good Morning Friends ..It's

Going to Be GLORIOUS day !!!

Call it self delusion if you like; call it foolishness if

you like ; call it whatever the negative chatter going on in

your mind asks you to call it if you like. In any case I

found her daily train of though a marvelous inspiration

and find myself thinking about her : If I could wake up to

half as much encouragement that comes from this woman

to herself ever morning , nothing can be impossible to

me.”

Sadly most of us never do wake up to such

encouragement. We have learnt to accept the negative

opinion of others – spouses, friends, peers, bosses, and to

live by those opinions. Many of us are defeated in spirit

even before we take a single step out of our homes , and


we return home at the end of the day wondering why we

are without any positive accomplishment.

Command Good Things Into Your Life

Yes, very few things may end up impossible to you too

if you desire so. Look in the mirror and prophecy good

things for yourself every morning and as often as you are

able to.

Prophecy health to your aching body - My body, all

is well and any illness inside you I command it to

vanish.

Prophecy increase to your business – My business,

you will prosper ; and any obstacle to this I remove

in Jesus’ name.

Prophecy happiness into your relationship –It will

remain well with my family, and any evil that seeks

otherwise ,I command you to perish even now as I

speak.

Prophecy greatness to your children and loved ones

– My children will be great, and any force that

seeks otherwise I neutralize it in Jesus’ name.

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Prophecy peace into your city and neighborhood –

It will today and everyday be well with my country.

All the powers of evil working against this shall not

prosper.

Prophecy joy into your soul – My soul be in the

peace that God is with you; even as you are with

God.

Man of God; woman of God; child of God… prophecy:9Then said he unto me, Prophesy unto the wind,

prophesy, son of man, and say to the wind, Thus saith

the Lord GOD; Come from the four winds, O breath,

and breathe upon these slain, that they may live.

Don’t stop at that; compliment yourself for every

little thing you do right. You are your own best friend and

should always remain so. If you are unable to love

yourself, you cannot meaningfully love anyone else and it

quite unlikely that anyone else will love you. As you make

self compliment an habit, complimenting other people

becomes so natural and unaffected. Praise yourself when

you do something well, even if it may be to other people a


completely insignificant task. To millions of other people

in the world , that your insignificant achievement might be

a monumental victory. Look in the mirror and give

yourself compliments.

“Can you believe I read a book in one day; isn’t

that great ? “ Now that doesn’t look like much if it was a

book of this size , but do realize that there are millions of

people all over the world who are unable to manage that

little feat either because of physical disabilities or because

of their lack of education. Find things about yourself that

you actually do admire or see value in, and compliment

them. Remember ; if you cannot love yourself nobody

else is likely to.

Tell Yourself How Good You Are

Emphasize your positive traits more frequently. We

often have the tendency to focus only on the negative

while ignoring the positive, especially in respect of our

character traits and capabilities. What are your significant

positive traits? Spend a few minutes each day

acknowledging and emphasizing your positive qualities.

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“You know I am a really fantastic cook; my family tell me

that all the time”

As you keep emphasizing the things you’re good at,

you’ll get bolder about finding out what else you can do

well – and probably discover that you’re capable of a

whole lot more than you ever realized. Now did I ever tell

you to stay clear of people who do nothing else than

continually emphasize your failures? Such people are

poison to your spirit ; much dangerous than poison to your

stomach. If you are in a relationship which is dominated

by this attitude, I can’t see you fleeing fast enough

because for you doom is certain. Flee, flee for your life.

Props Can Still Trip You Up

Again it is time to do a bit of rewind on your life.

Remember those props; how did they get there? How did

they become so prominent in your life? How did going to

the pub every night become so important to you? How did

that secret lover become so central to your life? How did it

become like if you didn’t live in that town or

neighborhood, you’d rather not be alive? How did those


props become so critical to your existence ? Surely there

was a beginning. This is a serious matter. Do grab a seat

again and do a rewind on your life. Try to trace the exact

moments that you came in contact with that prop , because

you certainly were never born with them.

For example, admit it, you began smoking because

your friends smoked and it just went on thereafter to

become a habit. Now do you still have the same friends

and do they still smoke ? I doubt it. Then why do you still

smoke? If you do this exercise conscientiously enough,

you will find that it makes it easier to put those props

aside. They are actually not necessary to your life.

They are just props; meant to be discarded. But why

are they still in your life then? It is so easy to blame the

devil for this, even though the poor guy is innocently

about some more urgent business in Hell. No it wasn’t the

devil, nor witches either. The simple reason is that the

props are there because you have permitted them to

remain. And even though they may have crept under you

at a particular time as essential supports, you have

permitted yourself to rest wholly on them and failed to

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gain the necessary inner strength to get rid of them and to

begin to stand on your own.

An Attitude Of Purposeful Thinking

Before you can be able to totally rid yourself of a

yearning for these props even after you have set them

aside, you need to set about the task of gaining the

necessary inner strength. I used to smoke cigarettes,

unfortunately. Do you know why smokers find it so

difficult to give up the habit and keep returning to it years

after they have given up? The simple reason is that the

purpose for giving it up was never strong enough to start

with; and probably never as strong as the purpose for

starting the habit. If on the other hand a doctor says ,

“Hey, if you don’t give up this habit you will be dead in

two months…. And your children will suffer’ ; now this

gets the guy’s attention; if he is still sane enough to care

about his children. I certainly would not wish for my

children to suffer, and that should be strong enough a

purpose for me to give up smoking. Am I getting to you ?


You need to grab yourself some purpose –

something greater to look forward to as a reward in the

future.

What Do You Need To Achieve?

A teenager was asked : “How do you envisage the rest

of your life will be?”

He scratched his head thoughtfully.

“Well, I guess, I will first finish school; complete

university, get a job, get married, and have my own

family… and then I will grow old and die”

What are your current goals? What are your desires

for your life? If you don’t have any, create some

immediately. You cannot continue to drift aimlessly along

with the current.

Establish a life purpose for yourself. Go start with

one goal; any goal that moves you forward. Most

importantly, write down this goal. It is extremely

important that you write it down. . This simple mechanical

act makes your goal visible and tangible. Don’t make it

just an idle thought in your head.

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2And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the

vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run

that readeth it.

Habakkuk 2:2

Write it down so that you may be inspired to pursue it

whenever you read it.

Describe Your Goal.

You need to describe each goal in complete

detail .Make it as specific as possible. Don’t write your

wishes, write quantifiable goals and commitments. For

example let’s say my goal is to earn $10,000 per month by

a specified time. Now don’t go adopting this as your goal

also and probably thereby ensure your failure. I start

again, let’s say my goal is to earn $10,000 per month by a

specified time. But I certainly will not tell myself: “I

want to make a lot of money” . This is not the goal, it is

just a wish. “I want to make $10.000 monthly with my

business by December 31st . of this year”, makes it both a

goal, and also adds a commitment to that goal. My D-day

is December 31st .


Now that wasn’t so difficult was it? Remember to

congratulate yourself for getting this far because millions

of other people will probably have said something like

“what is the point ?” . But you have made a commitment

even if it is only on paper yet and you still have some

doubt that it can succeed.

Make It Visible

After writing this outline of your goal down don’t

forget to make it visible :

“….that he may run that readeth it.”

Here are some suggestions for keeping your goal and

commitment before you.

Write it on yellow note and stick it on your

computer, your refrigerator door …. any constantly

visible appliance..

Program your computer screensaver to randomly

scroll this goal to you.

Print thegoal in picture frames and keep it visible.

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If you’ve got a mobile phone with reminder,

program this goal into it so that it is shown to you

every morning.

Print your goal on your business card and put it in

your wallet.

Surround yourself with little reminders. This will

help you to stay focused on your goal and create a

clear mental image of what you want.

Why do you want to achieve those goals?

A farmer had a dog who used to sit by the roadside

waiting for vehicles to come around. As soon as one

came he would run down the road, barking and trying

to overtake it. One day a neighbor asked the farmer

"Do you think your dog is ever going to catch a car?"

The farmer replied, "That is not what bothers me. What

bothers me is what he would do if he ever caught one."

Many people in life behave like that dog who is

pursuing meaningless goals.

Of what relevance is that goal that you have set? It

is sweet to always have a goal at the forefront of your


mind. However you will soon run out of the energy to

pursue it if you are unable to put a strong enough reason

behind the goal , rather like the guy who resolves at the

beginning of the year to stop smoking, is sneakily

smoking again in the toilet merely a couple of months

after . If you have quite wisely set your own goal rather

than resolved to earn $10,000 per month just like me, why

do you want to achieve that goal you have set? Come on,

you must have some reasons. And it is those reasons and

how strong they are that will determine whether you will

actually achieve your goal or not.

Failure to answer this important question will result

in lack of motivation to pursue the goal. In other words

those goals will remain just dreams, which you may

eventually end up propping with alcohol or habitual

dishonesty. Back to square one , isn’t that right ? Back to

a new set of replacement props.

Conduct A Goal Audit

Grab yourself a seat again; take a piece of paper and

answer this question in writing: Why do I want to

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achieve this goal? If the reasons are not convincing

enough, I am afraid you are not likely to succeed.

Again for example, why would I want to earn $10,000

monthly by the last day of this year? Here are some of my

own reasons.

I want to be able to afford a house in Europe

I want to be able to get a better car

I want to be able to pay my child’s college fees.

I want to be able to holiday in the Bahamas

List every single reason. Not only that, list the benefits

alongside the reasons. Make a strong case to yourself for

desiring and getting that money. The longer and more

detailed your list is, the stronger your motivation will

likely be.

Therefore : I want to be able to afford a house in a

quiet part of Europe , where I can find a quiet place to do

my writing. As a benefit I can possibly be able to improve

my output and possibly my income from my writing, as

consequence.

Read your reasons aloud to yourself, and declare them

as often as you are able ; make them a prayer if you wish.


If possible create some posters and hang them on the wall

to keep yourself focused and motivated, though I wouldn’t

strongly recommend that last bit though, except you are

living alone; else all you may do is make your family

think you need to see a psychiatrist. But I am sure you

understand what I am trying to say :work yourself into an

obsession about that goal.

Identify Where The Ditches Lie On The Road Though

Primarily a goal may not be achieved because of two

reasons:

It is not a meaningful goal. It is a shallow dream

that addresses an immediate or fashionable desire

and may be actually harmful to the person, to

people around them or to the larger environment.

The benefits are simply quite hazy and not

quantifiable. Some goals seem so directed to an

altruistic purpose that they just blow in the wind -

lifeless and seemingly without direction. Nobody

around can key into them or actually assist to

actualize them.

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Make it about the money

A feast is made for laughter, and wine maketh merry:

but money answereth all things.

Ecclesiastes 10:18-20

Okay, you may be one of those folks who actually

hate money. You think money is evil and should be

handled only by animals. No problem with that, only you

will need to find a stronger motivation. On the other hand

it is often easier to instantly create a greater sense of

urgency for your goals by focusing on the ways your

financial situation, or the finances of your goal projects

will be impacted by your success . . . or failure. I am not

suggesting that you make monetary gains a motivator

because it is in fact often one of the least effective of all

motivators over the long term, especially with galloping

inflation. In the short time though and if your current

financial resources are less than adequate it can certainly

be a powerful kick out of bed every morning. An empty


http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Ecclesiastes+10:18-20&version=KJV

bank account, overdue bills and a family is indeed a very

great motivator .

"I can't believe that!" said Alice.

"Can't you?" the queen said in a pitying tone. "Try

again, draw a long breath, and shut your eyes."

Alice laughed. "There's no use trying," she said. "One

can't believe impossible things."

"I dare say you haven't had much practice," said the

queen. "When I was your age, I always did it for half an

hour a day. Why, sometimes I've believed as many as

six impossible things before breakfast."

- Alice in Wonderland; Through The Looking

Glass.

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PURSUE YOUR GOAL

18Where there is no vision, the people perish: but he

that keepeth the law, happy is he

Proverbs 29:18

How can you be sure that you have set a goal that

has a good chance of being successful? The best way is to

make your goal a life pursuit – create a vision.

What is the difference between goal and vision? I

am almost able to hear you ask that question, since both

are about one or about several pursuits. The easiest answer

to this is that while a goal tends to be in anticipation of a

personal reward , a vision is more encompassing.

As an example when I started to write this book,

my goal was to complete it within two months, even while

saddled with running a business. However along the way I

did acquire a larger vision which is to employ the book as

a foundation for creating a worldwide network of persons

assisting one another to translated create and actualize life

goals and visions . I would be led to deduce therefore that


a goal is a short term objective while a vision is a lifetime

pursuit. If you are a believing Christian , I would think

though that you should rather go in search of a vision.

But let us leave vision aside for a while. The

purpose of this book is to enable you sustain or improve

your future income, so let’s get back on track. Having

created a goal, which you are reminding me is to earn

$10,000 per month by the last day of this year, how should

I set out to actualize it ?

Take Stock Of Your Resources

For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down

first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to

finish it?

Luke 14:27-29

You do have at least one or two things which you

can do almost effortlessly . Everybody does; look inward

for it. Every one of us was created with some unique

abilities or talents. Seek those talents first – if you are not

sure ask yourself, ask your family, ask your friends, then

ask yourself several times more. And if your goal does Emmanuel Smith

http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Luke+14:27-29&version=KJV

not include them, go grab that seat again and draft fresh

goals which do.

You definitely need to assess what resources you

have that could enable you achieve that goal which you

have set. Resources are not merely about money. Having

the money to finance a business could in fact be actually

negative to success especially if you are throwing the

money after a business to which you are not completely

equipped with the skills required to run it. What related

skill resources do you have? Mind you however, that

skills are not only the things that you are good at but also

things that you can learn. But start from your natural skill

or gift .

Do A Skills Audit

Grab a seat once again, and get out your trusty note

pad.

Make a list of the things you are naturally good at,

as well as the things you’ve become good at

through repetitive effort. In fact this is an exercise

that could actually make you see what sort of


business or career you are best suited for. Don’t

overlook any skill, if you are good at making good

salads, or training mice how not to eat you out of

the home, list those too. Use the worksheets at the

back of this book.

When you have listed everything you can, look over

your list and consider whether any of these skills

and talents might be marketable. Can you make a

living selling salads? Of course you can; a lot of

supermarket suppliers do !

Go on, determine how possible it is to use any of

those skills to provide something of value to others,

and which they will be happy to handsomely reward

you for? Don’t rush through this exercise; let it take

days if necessary. Most importantly though, don’t

fantasize. Nobody is likely to pay you a lot of

money to shine their shoes for instance. Take your

time with your list. It would take me several weeks

won’t it ? Remember I am trying to get an idea of

the work that would make me $10,000 a month by

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the end of this year, and that kind of money doesn’t

grow on trees does it ?

Okay let me be more helpful. I will suggest a bunch of

skills which I will separate into four categories. Do feel

free to add your own entries to any of the categories. See

as follows :

Data and Information skills. People Oriented Skills

Administration

Managing finances

Mathematical

Planning and organizing

Working with computers

Advising

Caring for people

Counseling

Customer service

Demonstrating and

presenting

Managing and supervising

Motivating

Negotiating

Sales and persuading

Teaching and instructing


Ideas skills Practical skills

Analyzing

Artistic and creative

Designing

Languages

Performing

Researching and

investigating

Writing

Building and assembling

things

Food handling and

preparation

Operating vehicles

Physical activity

Repairing and maintaining

things

Working with animals

Working with plants

Working with tools, machinery

and equipment

Working with your hands

You don’t have to belong to all of the groups, but find the

ones that are near enough to your skills.

After doing this, it is time to do some honest self-

assessment:

Which on your list is your strongest skill?

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Which skills do you feel most comfortable

with ?

Which of the skills would you happily do first

thing in the morning and deep into the night ?

Are any of your other not so strong skills

marketable and can they be enhanced or

strengthened by further training ?

What Do You Enjoy Doing ?

In these times a single skill will rarely improve your

chance to earn more money to any appreciable extent, and

you will find that you may have to combine two or more

skill groups to have a skills set that will command

achievements which are more than just ordinary. If any of

the skills on your list are not things you truly ENJOY

doing, cross them off the list and do not consider them any

further. What’s left on your list? Again, if you find items

that do not absolutely thrill you but they do interest you

though, consider ways to expand and develop them

further.


I enjoy writing, so I was definite that my plan must

include this skill else it will probably be an unenjoyable

pursuit. That skill therefore naturally came at the top of

my list.

Put It All Together.

Now that you’ve identified some of your strongest

passions and interests, look again at those groups. Do you

see any connections or patterns between the skills you

listed? For example supposing you have Practical skill of

Working With your hands and also Ideas skill of being

Artistic and creative ,the following occupation may

suggest for your goal.

Baker

Clothing Designer

Hat Maker

Jeweller

Shoemaker

Tailor/Dressmaker

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This is not an exhaustive list. Talk to some friends,

research on skill sets for different occupations, and create

a new list of possible jobs that would fit your skills and

personality. Have fun doing this.

Okay you may again use me as your guinea pig in this

exercise . I love writing, I like motivating and counseling

people, and I am a technology enthusiast. I could see

myself in the future choosing from the following list, in

order to fulfill my goal to earn $10,000 by the end of the

year:

Writing and publishing books on personal

motivation

Establishing a life skill development center

Writing books which explain technology, for

novices.

There are truly huge possibilities here. In fact, I could

expand the list further :

A technical writer assisting companies to create

manuals for their products and processes.

Writing and selling self and business development

guides.


You Need To Create A Market Advantage

Your own lists will also be populated with a lot of

possibilities if you look deep into them ; but you do need

to narrow down to the best choices for yourself. I would

need to narrow down to the choices that has a good

chance of making me $10,000 per month. How do you

know which of these choices qualify? Simple, they will

primarily be the ones which will so much excite you and

fill your mind with so much fresh ideas on how to present

them in newer ways.

Remember though that to become a huge success

over all the millions of other widget sellers ,you need to

do it differently; add some extraordinary features. You

will need to create for yourself a market advantage. My

market advantage would be that I know how to make

difficult subjects easy to read and to understand. Tap into

the huge new world market which has been created by

technology through the Internet and mobile devices. How

can you get them to work for you? How can you create a

widget that can be sold through a mobile phone for

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instance ? That is an example of a market advantage ; go

find yourself one.

Henry Ford hired an efficiency expert to go through his

plant. He said, "Find the nonproductive people. Tell me

who they are, and I will fire them!"

The expert made the rounds with his clipboard in hand

and finally returned to Henry Ford's office with his

report. "I've found a problem with one of your

administrators," he said. "Every time I walked by, he

was sitting with his feet propped up on the desk. The

man never does a thing. I definitely think you should

consider getting rid of him!" When Henry Ford learned

the name of the man the expert was referring to, Ford

shook his head and said, "I can't fire him. I pay that

man to do nothing but think - and that's what he's

doing."


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GET YOURSELF A VISION

3For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the

end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it;

because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

Habakkuk 2:3

Finally I will try to explain the importance of

seeking after a vision rather than a goal. Primarily a goal

tends to be personal and short term, but a vision is more

far reaching and divinely inspired. When a goal succeeds

it is for the reason your immediate surrounding may be

affected and enriched. A vision is capable of affecting the

entire world.

Now don’t get confused yet; a vision is not so

complicated a phenomenon. I will give two definitions

which are relevant to this book:

1. Vision is the act or power of anticipating that which

will or may come to be.

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2. Vision is the stated aims and objectives of a business or

other organization.

A vision can be therefore described as God’s program

for your life – a statement which summarizes your aim

and objective on earth. In contrast, goals are tasks that you

determine for yourself based on your own desires.. So

where do you get a vision from then? My suggestion is

that to obtain one you need to go ask God for it. I am told

also that there are two important facts about a vision:

1) Your vision must come from God. There's a

difference between setting your own goals and

having a God-given vision.

2) Your vision will be connected to a certain field.

God may call you to the field of medicine,

education, finance, real estate, or some other field.

But mark you, God will most likely previously equip

you with the training for that vision.

What this also tells me is that the vision that you get

will rarely be self serving, but to be of blessing to others.


How Would You Want To Be Remembered ?

Now how do you go about creating a vision ?

About a hundred years ago, a man looked at the

morning newspaper and to his surprise and horror,

read his name in the obituary column. The news

papers had reported the death of the wrong person by

mistake. His first response was shock. Am I here or

there? When he regained his composure, his second

thought was to find out what people had said about

him. The obituary read, "Dynamite King Dies." And

also "He was the merchant of death." This man was

the inventor of dynamite and when he read the words

"merchant of death," he asked himself a question, "Is

this how I am going to be remembered?" He got in

touch with his feelings and decided that this was not

the way he wanted to be remembered. From that day

on, he started working toward peace. His name was

Alfred Nobel and he is remembered today by the great

Nobel Prize.

I would say , a personal vision should primarily be

about what you will wish to bequeath posterity. How you

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will want to be remembered. Even though it will come

from within you, I have found little hope to engage in

huge plans without involving God in the process . For me

it will remain just a poor goal and probably no more than

a foolish dream. I don’t know what works for you though.

The knowledge that visions cannot be realized outside the

will of God encourages me to stick to my divine help

principle. I remain firmly convinced God gives you a

vision to serve His plan and not for you to become

popular, even though that will eventually arise as a

consequence. Look at all men of vision; observe their

ways and see how humble they usually become. When

they lose that humility, destruction of that vision is often

swift and brutal.

What Visions Can Be Counted Valid ?

A vision does not always fall in line with an

altruistic pursuit though, and may actually appear self –

serving but eventually it’s impact is always widespread

and often far beyond the progenitor could ever imagine.

Let us as an illustration look at the visions of two persons ,


Bill Gates the entrepreneur and Mother Teresa the do-

gooder.

The Vision Of Bill Gates

Early on his life, it was clear that Bill Gates had

more than average abilities especially in mathematics and

science. His parents recognizing this sent him to a private

school, where Bill Gates was first introduced to

computers. It was here that Bill Gates and his friend Paul

Allen began to develop the talents that would lead to the

formation of Microsoft seven years later.

In 1973, Bill Gates signed up for one of Harvard’s

toughest math course. He did well but his heart was much

occupied with what computers could be made to do. In

December 1974, both Gates and Allen recognized that the

home computer market was about to explode and that

someone would need to make software for the machines.

Gates called MITS (Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry

System), the makers of the personal computer Altair, and

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told the company that he and Allen had developed a

program that could be used on the Altair.

The MITS arranged a deal with Bill Gates and

Allen to buy the rights to their program. Convinced that a

new software market had been successfully created ,Bill

Gates dropped out of Harvard and Microsoft was formed.

Guided by the belief that the computer would be a

valuable tool on every office desktop and in every home,

they began developing software for personal computers.

Bill Gates created an operating system for computers

when IBM was the market leader. Requiring an operating

system that would run their personal computers more

effectively ,IBM was willing to listen to Bill Gates' claim

that Microsoft that they had something a lot better. He

was asked to create an exclusive operating system for

IBM computers.

Shrewdly he bought a program that was not quite so

popular and modified it for resale to IBM, thus effectively

earning a lot of money without putting in much effort.

Meanwhile, Bill Gates still guided by the belief that the


computer would be a valuable tool on every office desktop

and in every home, was shrewd enough not to give the

full potential of the operating system to IBM, and because

of ensuing agreement alone, Bill Gates made millions in

royalty from all the computers that use his operating

system- all those millions of computers which he had

envisioned would be in every home all over the world.

The Vison Of Mother Theresa.

Since her early years Mother Teresa (Agnes

Gonxha Bojaxhiu ) Agnes had been fascinated by stories

of the lives of missionaries and their service in Bengal,

and by age 12 was convinced that she should commit

herself to a religious life. Her final resolution was taken

on August 15, 1928, while praying at the shrine of the

Black Madonna of Letnice, where she often went on

pilgrimage.

She left home at age 18 to join the Sisters of Loreto

as a missionary. After taking her religious vows, she chose

to be named after Thérèse de Lisieux, the patron saint of Emmanuel Smith

missionaries, but because one nun in the convent had

already chosen that name, Agnes opted for the Spanish

spelling Teresa.

She took her solemn vows on 14 May 1937, while

serving as a teacher at the Loreto convent school in

Entally, eastern Calcutta. Teresa served there for almost

twenty years and in 1944 was appointed headmistress.

Although Teresa enjoyed teaching at the school, she was

increasingly disturbed by the poverty surrounding her in

Calcutta.

On 10 September 1946, Teresa experienced what

she later described as "the call within the call" while

traveling by train to the Loreto convent in Darjeeling from

Calcutta for her annual retreat. "I was to leave the convent

and help the poor while living among them. It was an

order. To fail would have been to break the faith."

Mother Teresa began her missionary work with the

poor in 1948. She adopted Indian citizenship, spent a few

months in Patna to receive a basic medical training in the

Holy Family Hospital and then ventured out into the

slums, joined in her effort by a group of young women


and laid the foundations to create a new religious

community helping the "poorest among the poor". She had

no income and had to resort to begging for food and

supplies. Teresa frequently experienced doubt, loneliness

and the temptation to return to the comfort of convent life

during these early months. She wrote in her diary:

Our Lord wants me to be a free nun covered with the

poverty of the cross. Today I learned a good lesson.

The poverty of the poor must be so hard for them.

While looking for a home I walked and walked till my

arms and legs ached. I thought how much they must

ache in body and soul, looking for a home, food and

health. Then the comfort of Loreto [her former order]

came to tempt me. 'You have only to say the word and

all that will be yours again,' the Tempter kept on saying

... Of free choice, my God, and out of love for you, I

desire to remain and do whatever be your Holy will in

my regard. I did not let a single tear come.

By 1996 though, she was operating 517 missions in

more than 100 countries. Over the years, Mother Teresa's

Missionaries of Charity grew from twelve to thousands

Emmanuel Smith

serving the "poorest of the poor" in 450 centers around the

world.

Privately, Mother Teresa experienced doubts and

struggles over her religious beliefs which lasted nearly

fifty years until the end of her life. Analyzing her deeds

and achievements, John Paul II asked:

"Where did Mother Teresa find the strength and

perseverance to place herself completely at the service of

others? She found it in prayer and in the silent contemplation

of Jesus Christ, his Holy Face, his Sacred Heart."

A Vision From God Does Not Make You Invincible

Regardless of the strongest of vision, you are still

no more than human. A vision from God does not make

you immune to the disappointments and doubts that the

rest of the world regularly feels.

How did Jesus feel when betrayed in the garden of

Gethsemane ? How did He feel when with a huge cross on

his shoulder he is whipped all the way to Calvary hill ?

How did He feel nailed to the cross and for hours in

excruciating pain ? Could your vision ever be stronger


than what He had ? I doubt it. The body may suffer and

die, the soul cry , the spirit feel horribly tormented , but a

vision remains steadfast .

Emmanuel Smith



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Emmanuel Smith

SUMMARY

This is a small book. You have probably read

similar , most of which at the last page makes you too

weary even to put the instructions into action. That is why

I have made it small. I will in fact further make it smaller

by summarizing the content into a couple of pages , so

that you can easily determine what sections you want to

go back to re-read ,to get yourself going .

Chapter 1 – How do you know whether your life is on

course or not? It is often quite easy to find

out if you know the tell-tale signs. Give your

life an audit.

Chapter 2 - If you are convinced that you are going

wrong in life, it is necessary to do rid

yourself of the pains .Examine all your bad

decisions , influences and quantifiable

failures. Decide to forgive yourself.


Chapter 3 - Many of those things and persons which you

had previously relied on are nothing but

unnecessary props. Resolve to get rid of

them.

Chapter 4 - Begin to build up your spirit by speaking

good things to and about yourself. Set a

purposeful goal and make plans on how to

actualize it.

Chapter 5 - Take inventory of your skills. Decide which

ones you will need to actualize your goal and

what new skill you will need to learn.

Chapter 6 - A reaction is always a natural result of an

action. Examine those obstacles which could

hinder and completely halt you progress, and

deal with them.

Chapter 7 - It is now time to start implementing your

plan; but how positive are you about success

and how well prepared are you for failure?

Pursuing a goal is a lot like war, and you

need to make contingency battle plans.

Emmanuel Smith

Chapter 8 - Success requires an uncommon attitude, or in

fact several of those attitudes. Get yourself a

brand new routine and earnestly forge ahead

with your goal constantly in sight.

Chapter 9 - It is a natural law is that you cannot sow

oranges and harvest apples. Similarly, to reap

money you mist needlessly sow money.

Chapter 10 - Always having a goal is important; but

having a vision is more life-fulfilling . How

would you like to be remembered? Learn

how to create a vision that will crown your

life.


Emmanuel Smith

WORKSHEETS

Emmanuel Smith

MY WRONG LIFE DECISIONS

MY DECISION HOW IT HAS AFFECTED MY LIFE


BAD INFLUENCES

WHAT / WHOM HOW THER HAVE AFFECTED MY LIFE

Emmanuel Smith

QUANTIFIABLE FAILURES

WHAT I DID HOW IT HAS AFFECTED MY LIFE


MY SKILLS

PROFICIENCY

MY SKILL DESCRIPTION

Excellent Good Fair Needs More Work

Emmanuel Smith

POSSIBLE OCCUPATION

OCCUPATION MY SKILL REQUIREMENTS


STATEMENT OF MY GOAL

MY LIFE / IMMEDIATE DESIRE IS

DATE BY WHICH IT MUST BE ACCOMPLISHED

FOR WHAT PURPOSE MUST THIS GOAL BE ACCOMPLISHED

WHAT ARE THE CONSEQUENCES OF MY FAILURE

Emmanuel Smith



TO MAKE A DONATION





DIRECT PURCHASES




AFRICA & ASIA

To make donations and purchases from African and Asian countries please contact [email protected]


Emmanuel Smith

the art and attitude of success

Education