stick with the PROCESS!

After the launch of our maiden edition of Effectual Magazine, I felt invincible like I was able to do anything.  It seemed that all the pain and toil and planning had paid off and nothing was ever going to go wrong again!

This feeling lasted exactly three weeks because; something happened that I hadn’t thought about.  Immediately after the launch people were calling from all kinds of places to request for the magazine.  The least number of copies they asked for was twenty.  By the tenth day, practically all the copies were out of our hands, and I said to myself we have arrived!

You can imagine my dismay when three weeks later they started to return the magazines, most of them the exact number of copies they collected!  We started to receive reports like, people said it was too expensive; people don’t know the magazine so will rather spend their monies on what they already knew! And even excuses as ridiculous as (and this was from churches) ‘the Pastor’s wife also wants to publish a magazine, and so would not allow for what might be a competition to her own mag, that is yet to be published, to be sold in the church! Waoh! I felt I should pack up the office and go back home.

We had invested so much money and it seemed we were never going to be able to sell the mags!  To make matters worse, my staff was beaten even before we started! As soon as the mags were returned, they started to look for new jobs because; to them it meant that the business was going to collapse soon.

I know if you are trying to live your dream you must have your own version of this story!  And I also know that some of us have given up or are at the verge of giving up because of this snag.

The truth is that moments like this will definitely happen in the course of living your dreams, sooner than you expected actually! 

But let me tell you what is on the flip side, as it happened to me!  After going around discouraged for a while it dawned on me, that I must keep going!  I realized that the only thing that I can do now is find a creative way of marketing the mag and keep doing what I was doing!  I resorted to ensuring that my content remained great and I sent out as many complimentary copies as I could.  Today three years later!  I can say that our market share is increasing by the day.  There is still so much we have not captured, but we are a long way from where we started.

If you will persevere and understand that dreams are for the long haul and never short term, then you will find the will to remain where you are and get going until you hit gold. 

I heard a story long time ago of a man who was contracted to break a rock into pieces with a hammer, and he was at it for months, it seemed to him that he had only been able to chip at the rock in bits so after eight grueling months, he gives up and abandons the work.  A day later a little boy comes playing around the rock and kept kicking his ball against it, by the sixth kick, the rock breaks in two and oil starts to gush out. 

The owner of the rock gives the boy a percent of the proceeds because he broke the rock open.  The truth was that all the while the man was hammering at the rock it was giving way from inside out.  He gave up too soon and so lost his reward.

If you will persevere and stick with the dream, you will reap the reward that lies within it.  Remember, God will not call you to non-profitable work.  Remember, it may seem hard, but if you stick it out, your day will come… nevertheless.

Love you lots,

SistaB

Take Ownership!

 

Hi there, It’s great to connect here again.  On the last post I talked about getting a car, and how the picture in my mind determined which car I settled for in the end. 

I’d like to bring to your notice something about the post that you might not have noticed, and that is the fact that even though the car had not been bought yet, at the point the events narrated in that story were unfolding, I kept referring to it as ‘my car’.  Why did I keep referring to a car that I was yet to buy or pay for as my car?

The answer is the subject of today’s post, which is taking ownership of that which I had seen in my mind.  Once you have been able to clarify in your mind, the picture of the future that you desire, the next step will be to begin to own it and affirm that ownership.  By the time I knew what brand of car, model and options I wanted, I began to tell my friends, whenever our conversations drifted to cars, what my car looked like.

It became impossible to persuade me that any other car was better than the one I wanted.  I kept referring to it as my car, and I just kept affirming the fact that it was the car I was going to get.  The issue wasn’t just bragging around about a picture I had seen, instead it was getting my mind to believe what it was that I wanted and the more I affirmed it, the more possible it became to me.

Now there have been other times when I saw a picture of something I should be doing, especially where ideas are concerned and the more I claimed ownership and talked about it, the clearer the process became to me.  The future is dependent on the choices that we make on a daily basis, and when a picture forms in my mind, I choose to make it mine and the more I think about it, and accept responsibility for it (which is what ownership is about) the easier it becomes to work the process.

The more I claimed the car as mine, the more I realized that it was going to be paid for, and that I will also have to take care of it, by the time I got it and all that.

Taking ownership of a picture before manifestation provides you with the time to think the working process through and take responsibility for it.  So rather than refer to that idea as just that business idea refer to it by your brand name, and see how it feels.

Another reason why ownership is key is the feeling of having achieved your dream, even before you start to work it out. There is a euphoria that hits you when you can own an idea or picture enough to see yourself when it has been concluded.

Till next time, I know February is on the roll and it seems that you are been left behind, remember it is not of him that wills or of him who runs; it is the Lord who shows mercy.  If you begin to do your bit now, you will make it… nevertheless.

Love you lots

Sistar B

See The Picture

Now that you know what your value is and you are beginning to understand the possibilities that are contained in this year, can you see it?  There is a power that is present in the ability to see in clear pictures what your life is meant to be this year.

In Genesis, Abraham came before God and wanted to know if he was ever going to see the achievement of his dream to become a father.  The answer God said was in his ability to see. If he is able to see, then he will be able to apprehend.  In Jeremiah, God asked Jeremiah what he saw and by the time he described to God what he saw, God said, ‘You have seen well.’

What this means for me is that it is possible to see and yet see wrong.  Most people look at the goal and the only thing they are able to see, is how hard it will be to achieve it.  Yes, what they see is correct, because processes can be terrifying and stressful, but to what end?

Others see with a limited view, God said to the Prophet Isaiah, to tell King Hezekiah to strike the ground the number of times he wanted victory and Hezekiah struck only three times; he couldn’t see beyond God fighting for him only three times, and that was all he got.

Before I got here, I always saw the things that were not going to happen. I never could see what will happen; I was dreaming backwards!  And a lot of people still dream backwards.

The truth is that whatever it is that you are afraid will not happen is a possibility but because you carry a power within you, the picture you see is the picture you will have.

My Coach, Coach Anna McCoy challenges us, to Dream Out Loud and for me this is seeing, in pictures, the end result of my application to the goal.  A couple of years ago, I wanted a new car, but I wanted it black, inside and out.  I wanted an American specification, so I could get maximum options.  When I told a friend that was my dream car, he did import one into the country and since it was the same model that I had said I wanted, he thought he could sell it to us at a cheaper price.

But there was something wrong, the car was the wrong color, it was a European specification and so had limited options.  Even though it was on offer for less than what all the others were going for, I knew it wasn’t my car because I had seen my car in my mind’s eye and this wasn’t it.

It didn’t mean that the car my friend had imported was not good quality, it just wasn’t my car.  When you are able to see the picture of your future and you are able to visualize it, recognizing it when it shows up will be easy.

You don’t want to go through this year, end up at a goal and not feel the euphoria of achieving your dream, because it isn’t what you were looking for.

Our power thought today therefore, is that we need not to just say what it is we want, we must be able to see it, paint a mental picture and let it guide us to the dream.

Love you lots,

Sista B

PS: Should you have questions please call +2348029056642

Value

Last post I talked about the extra principle, as regards your purpose.  I talked about finding your purpose from the things which you already know and come easily to you.

Let’s move on from there to explore, what constitutes EXTRA.  If you remember, I said we should move away from doing ordinary things, to finding a niche for the things we are already doing and excelling at.

Extra is VALUE.  Now value for me is anything I possess that puts me ahead of the pack.  For the purposes of today’s post, Value will be what I bring to the table that others do not have.

Take another look at yourself and ask, ‘what do I bring to this business relationship that others don’t have?’ Every relationship is about creating value, what will make your dream fly is the value it creates.

Value begins with an idea, and an idea is borne out of a problem or need.  Value is an ability to resolve issues that others face, and men are always looking for value adding individuals to relate with and with whom to partner to birth their own dreams.

After identifying the value you will bring to the table, it will help if you put together a workable plan to bring this value to bear on your relationships and business.  There is also, a need to identify who can best help you bring this value to the fore.  What this means is that not everyone you come in contact with or not everyone in your life is required to push your dreams.

There are specific people that have been ordained to help you birth your value adding potential. An ability to recognize them and find out what they have to contribute will help eliminate time wasters and dream killers.  Define your relationships with these individuals when you come across them.

A lot is usually lost because we fail to define our relationships and stick to the processes by which we will get there.

Our power thought on this post is to be able to discern those who are called to travel the road we are traveling with us, so we can isolate those who are not.  It will push your dream and vision a great deal if you understand that the people in your life ought to add value to your dream.

I know sticking with the plan and thinking up a value adding idea can be hard work.  But remember that it is not of him who wills nor of him who runs, it is the Lord that shows mercy.

If you spend time enough in the presence of God, your idea will fly, because it will be borne out of what he speaks to you. 

In spite of what it is that may not be working right now, remember that there is a Value inside of you waiting to be released and if you will identify it and work the plan, your Value will come out nevertheless.

Sista B