Ask yourself these questions: Is my dream Audacious? Large enough to cast shade for others? Does it challenge me and challenge others to get involved? Is it measurable … so that individuals who are interested can find a place to join you on the route to your destination?
Success is for those who go it alone, but we find true significance as we include others in our dream! Remember, you are cutting a pathway through the forest, a highway in the desert for others to follow. You are created to promote possibility, pursue with excellence and synchronize strategies for the hope of humanity! http://bit.ly/1CvEBhG
I recall when my husband and I wanted to purchase a tent for Eurasia. We were excited because our mentor had been telling the people of the Ex-Soviet countries to purchase tents for evangelization and church planting. WOW! It looked like we had an idea from God. But when we met with our mentor, Dr. TL Osborn, his response to us was, “That’s not God.” Then he asked: “How many republics, nations, and regions are there in the ex-Soviet territories?” We knew the answer was a little over 100 – so our response to his question was easy, “We need 100 tents!” Immediately he responded by saying: “Now that’s an idea big enough for God to get involved with!”
We thought we had a big dream with one tent that cost $25,000, but we soon discovered that 100 tents made room for many organizations and people from around the globe to dream with us! Over 15 years later we now have 70 tents in that region and two small factories producing tents. If your dream is big enough, you can make room for others to join you in your dream! http://bit.ly/1CvEBhG
In the United States, 75% of health care dollars go to treatment of chronic disease. These persistent conditions are the nation’s leading cause of death and disability and these chronic diseases leave in their wake, deaths that could have been prevented, lifelong disability that could have been avoided, and an overall compromised quality of life! In addition, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that health care costs are escalating, and 7 out of 10 deaths among Americans each year are from chronic diseases. So, although many fear epidemics such as H1N1, SARS or Ebola—the reality is most deaths occur due to chronic health issues.
Chronic Diseases are often preventable and frequently manageable. In fact, many chronic diseases could be prevented, delayed, or alleviated, through simple lifestyle changes. The CDC estimates that eliminating three risk factors – poor diet, inactivity, and smoking – would prevent 80% of heart disease and stroke; 80% of type 2 diabetes; and 40% of cancer.
So let’s make a lifestyle adjustment. Today, adjust your foundation and your thinking. Eliminate these 3 risk factors: poor diet, inactivity and smoking and eliminate chronic disease in our lives!
The Prophet Isaiah said, “the fearful heart will know and understand, and the stammering tongue will be fluent and clear.” If you are fearful today, there are both practical and spiritual solutions available to you. You need to know that miracles are available today!
Regardless of your situation, today you can rise above whatever holds you back and discover that you have a friend with God! He will come to you today and reconcile what distresses you. Just say these simple words with me: come into my life, Lord, release me from the fear that holds me back.
Scripture: Isaiah 32:4
King George VI of Great Britain was known as the stuttering king and dreaded public speaking, a responsibility every monarch was expected to do often and well.
But as Germany threatened to invade England, King George rallied his strength, faced the people and found the resolve to inspire the nation as England declared war on Hitler. King George rose above his difficulties to lead a nation into war! With the help of Australian born speech therapist, Lionel Logue, he rose above his disability and courageously inspired a nation to action.
Is your dream transferrable? Who else will benefit from the majestic view of your dream? Is it motivational? Do you get excited about your dream? If you get excited others will also!
The following questions will help you clarify your dream by crafting a vision statement that identifies your destination, purpose and values. Remember these words: TRANSFERRABLE, MEMORABLE and MOTIVATIONAL.
- Does your vision statement identify where are you going?
- Does your vision statement define your purpose? Why do you exist?
- Does your vision statement convey your values? What principles guide your decisions or actions on your journey?
- Can your vision be easily captured by your audience?
- Is your vision memorable? Use action words and succinct sayings to convey your thoughts. Avoid clichés or overly used statements
- Is your vision motivational? It should be inspiring. If no one is excited about it you may not be effectively communicating! http://bit.ly/1bSPZ1P
If you had a bank that credited your account each morning with $86,000—but carried over no balance from day to day, allowed you to keep no cash in your account, and every evening canceled whatever part of the amount you failed to use during the day, what would you do? You would draw out every cent every day, of course, and use it to your advantage!
Well, you have such a bank, and its name is TIME! Every morning it credits you with 86,400 seconds. Every night it rules off as lost whatever time you failed to invest to good purpose. It carries over no balances and allows no overdrafts. Each day it opens a new account with you. If you fail to use the day’s deposits, the loss is yours. There is no going back. There is no drawing against tomorrow.
Scripture: “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:15
Have you thought about the importance of instilling vision in others? Let’s look briefly at three words: Magnetic, Magnanimous & Majestic.
Is your vision MAGNETIC? Is it attracting interest from others? Is it drawing resources to you? Regardless of your socioeconomic status, the world around you has extra resources looking to be employed, and your vision will provide a road map for resources and people to travel along! Ask yourself, “What am I attracting to my vision? Is it what I want? What I am expecting?”
The second word is MAGNANIMOUS – Are you generous of spirit? It will take quite a bit of generosity of spirit, time and talent to get you to your destination. The word ‘magnanimous’ means to be royal in nature, noble in character, capable of gracious behavior. Are you forgiving, charitable? Learn to think like nobility. You will need these characteristics when friends, family and those you have trusted fail you on the pathway to your dream! The result of being magnanimous is that you won’t sweat the small stuff. That’s what happens when you know who you are and when you know where you are headed! You are made for royalty! For destiny!
MAJESTIC—is your dream memorable? What value will it add to society and others? Is it quantifiable? What great results do you anticipate? How many people will you help? How much income will it generate? What great issue in society are you addressing? http://bit.ly/1Eyv40n
Hours before the opening night of a large mass miracle meeting in Africa, the evangelists we were told by the organizers, “Don’t expect to start on time! Here in Africa the opening night is just a test run where we work out our problems.”
Can you imagine? 75,000 people are preparing to gather. People are already standing on the field hours before the meetings are to begin! Yet, the expectation of a group of adult men was – ‘don’t worry if we don’t start on time, we never do!’ In other words, failure is acceptable!
Ask yourself a simple question: Where have I set the standard for my life? Is failure my expectation, or is overcoming the impossible where I set my goal in life?
How would you handle a situation like this if in one hour you were to address this crowd, and you had no lights and no sound? Action was required, so the 30 organizers were fired, and forty 14-year-old male volunteers were recruited from the crowd. Why? They had not yet experienced failure! They would climb where no one else would climb, lifting lights and scaling poles! Are you willing to scale insurmountable odds?
If those 40 boys had not stepped to the line, what would have happened that night? 75,000 people who came looking for hope, searching for a miracle, and expecting good news would have left disappointed! http://bit.ly/1NAmfV0
Quote: “The world will not be destroyed by those who do evil, but by those who watch them without doing anything.” – Albert Einstein
How do you overcome apathy? First we have to understand it! What is apathy?
They observe but do not act.
They know but they do not care.
They hear but they do not respond.
They think of themselves rather than thinking of others.
Are YOU a part of the collective ‘THEY?’ Helen Keller said, “Science may have found a cure for most evils; but it has found no remedy for the worst of them all – the apathy of human beings”.
How many destinies can be changed when we emerge from apathy to action? Consider it: wherever you are today, you have power to initiate change! It does not matter your sex, age, or culture!
Just as Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King, and Helen Keller overcame apathetic concern for their causes, you and I can discover renewed hope and expectation! Why wait? Let’s do it now! http://bit.ly/1NvFLQy
