You can never be ready

courtesy flickr.com

Welcome and Compliments of the season to you all.  I had the opportunity of going out of my neighbourhood today and it dawned on me that the season has crept in on us somehow which also quickly reminded me that the year is spent.

As I thought about how fast it seemed the year has gone, and I wondered what it is that I can specifically say I did this year 2011 worth celebrating, I came to the realization that yes, there is a lot that I was able to accomplish this year by the grace and mercy of God.  However, I also quickly realized that if I stayed too long on that route I may be wasting precious time.

It all reminded me of a conversation I had at the weekend, where someone said to me that he didn’t do much because he was preparing.  He said to me that in the field where he wants to live his dream, you have to be very skilled to succeed, and as far as he is concerned, he needs to be sure that he is perfect before he steps out.  According to him, it was the reason he didn’t try to start at all in 2011.  He is waiting to ensure that he has everything together.

I told him his reasoning made sense, but was curious to find out if he has now acquired enough knowledge and skill to be able to start next year, and his response was “No, I still need to take so and so course as well as do this and that research before I can start.”  At this point I was curious, what is this dream that is so specialized?

And he told me he wants to start a restaurant.  “Good!” I said, “But can you cook at all?” He said yes, both Nigerian and continental dishes.  He can bake and knows how to make some natural drink or the other.  It was at this point it dawned on me that this person wasn’t trying to acquire skills, he was afraid to start.  Because I have been to a lot of restaurants where the owners have no idea how to boil water!  While this is not the best way to launch a dream, it is also important to recognize that even when you possess all the skills, you will never be able to get it all done on your own.  That is the point of the labour force, isn’t it?

As this year rolls to an end, if we spend too much time analyzing what we didn’t do instead of celebrating what we did and making plans for what we want to do next year, it will be a case of setting ourselves up for failure.  On the other hand if you didn’t start at all this year, because you will prefer that everything was set and in place, I have bad news for you, it is never going to be perfect.

Perfection is not and should never be the goal. Let the goal be to step out and make a difference, yet learning every step of the way to keep improving on ourselves.  I have learnt so much just waking up everyday looking for how best to serve my dream to my allocated constituency, than I could have learnt in any formal training environment.  Life has a way of training you and ensuring you acquire the needed skills even when you don’t enroll in a formal school.

The count down has started, and as much as you want to improve on what you already know, are you using what you know right now?

I was asked this morning what my plans are for 2012, and all I can think of is to find a way to serve more people with what I already know.  One thing I can assure you though is that while serving that number there will be hours and hours of training.

To end this post, please allow me bragging rights for a few minutes.  Effectual the “Power Digest” that we publish made it into the cloud this weekend.  This has taken our very small and personal vision GLOBAL, and for that I am very grateful to God.  Now we can serve you beyond the limits of distance and time. Just log on to www.magcloud.com and do a search for Effectual Magazine.  Download and enjoy and don’t forget to send me your comments and feedback.

From my heart, warmed with love and gratitude, I wish you a very merry Christmas and Happy New Year ahead.

God bless you.

Sistar B

TIMING IMPACTS ON YOUR DREAM

It was one of those days when I just have the urge to go book hunting.  For me books are treasures and a good book should be hunted. I therefore don’t go to bookstores and leave in a hurry; I go there and stay awhile. I go through every aisle until I find the book that speaks to me.

On this fateful day, one of the books that spoke to me was Woman Act Now by Coach Anna McCoy.  I bought a copy and I came home, even in the car I had started to read.  I knew this was a great book, and most of the principles contained therein were principles by which I was trying to conduct my life.  The book impacted me so much that I started to tell others about it.  I called the bookstore and told them they had a treasure in that book.

Incidentally, I had also just come to the realization that even though I was already training to be a Coach, I needed a Coach myself.  I had researched a lot of Coaches online and was contemplating contacting a couple.  One morning I realized that I had not prayed that God should send me a Coach, I had specifications and one on my list was that I wanted a Christian Coach… so I prayed.

So during a conversation with someone a few days later I remembered the book and I started to talk about it again, in the middle of this conversation, I suddenly felt the impression to contact Coach Anna McCoy and I did send a mail that day.  You will not believe how that effort has yielded a return and is still yielding returns… just scroll down to pictures from ROTH 2011 and you will understand.

Even though there was nothing certain about whether she was going to respond to me, it turns out that she had been told that it was time for her to launch into the nations and she was waiting for an opportunity.  My mail came at this opportune time and the rest, as they say, is history.

How was I to know that she was even ready in her mind to come to Africa?  Even though I cannot quite prove this, I doubt that if I had made this connection a year or two before, that she would have been open.

To live your dream and excel, Timing is extremely important.  You have to be sensitive to the timing of your dream.  John Maxwell in his book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership says “when the right leader and the right timing come together, incredible things happen.”  The issue of timing in walking your dream cannot be over emphasized.  Timing is both a difference maker and a deal breaker.

I have seen one of my children blossom tremendously just because we allowed something happen within the right time. I have seen families grow and expand because the time was right. I have seen businesses excel because of great timing.  The man, who sold his shares two days before the stock market crashed, has timing to thank for his success.

Your dream may be important, but until you can discern timing, you may not be able to excel in living it. 

I know you will make it and I know you will take action in the right time, for those who have yet to even begin living their dream however, the right time for you is NOW because it is only if you move now that you will have to discern what the right time is in a few months.

Make great timing your friend… you will make it NeverTheLess, I promise.

Hugs

Sistar B