Think To Succeed

As man thinketh in his heart, so is he: and as he continues to think, so he will remain (proverbs 23 vs. 7 paraphrased). In other words, the outcome of a person’s success or failure in life is as a result of his or her ability to think. That is why your enemy’s number one target is the arena of your thought. He knows if he can control and manipulate how you think; he will be able to control and manipulate your entire life. Even the bible warns us to guard our heart with all diligence…, permit only harmonious thoughts in your mind that are compatible with your aims and aspirations.

We must be extremely careful not only about the things we capture with our eyes but also the things we think about. It is the kind of food we take in daily that determines how we grow physically, and the same applies to our mind. The things we think about, the books we read, seminars we attend, these things will help our minds to grow in a positive way. Robert Collier said “the great successful men in the world have used their imagination, they think ahead and create their mental picture, and then go to work materializing that picture in all its details, filing in here, adding a little there, altering this a bit and that a bit, but building steadily”.

The managing director and C.E.O of Pod of Diamond Limited (Pod Taxi) Phillip Oriabure, who now has a patent on the mobile digital LED SCREEN, had a picture of what the LED SCREEN would look like; its quality, its purpose, and he materialized it. Today the Pod Taxi is everywhere in Lagos State. You can do something greater than this, but first you have to “THINK”, have a picture of what you want to do, pursue it and you will be amazed at the result you will get. Even as the sky is wide enough for all the birds in the world to fly at the same time, so also is the world big enough for everyone to excel. You have to think to excel. David Oyedepo said “if you don’t think, you will stink”. The only way your life can be different from what it is now is to change the way you think. When you maintain a strong focus on your intention and desire over a reasonable length of time, you will ultimately achieve your aim in life. All achievers are focused and detail-oriented.

Have a mental picture

Having a mental picture of what you want to do is very important; it gives you an insight of how your proposed work would look like. Before a business man goes into business he already has a mental picture of what his business would look like, the amount of profit he wants to gain. It is the mental picture that you hold that will keep the destination in your mind, while your thoughts design the route through which your efforts can be properly channeled. Have a mental picture of a successful business, being at the top of your game. Have a mental picture of your career and the effect it will have on people, have a mental picture of your dream school, the level of your success in life. It’s not just enough to have a mental picture; you need to work towards it to make it a reality.

Feed your imagination

Sometimes people get inspired when they see people doing what they love doing best, they become enthusiastic and motivated by this act. When I see young speakers delivering a speech I become inspired and want to do better than I think I have done. It applies to all fields, as a speaker who wants to be successful at what he does, has to feed his imagination with the right materials. Get the tapes, audios; books of top speakers – doing this will help you develop in that area. Kids feed their imagination with the things they hear and see on a day to day basis (cartoons, songs, posters, photos, and things all over their bedroom walls). Surround yourself with your future. Find people who are doing what you would like to do, listen to them, feed off their imagination and enthusiasm. Stay around your peers and even people above you, who you think are good and successful, learn from them. It is when you feed your mind with positivity that positive things will come out and the same goes around.

Take action

If you have got the two steps correctly, what you need to do is to take action. Don’t just fold your hands and wait for manners from above. For you to succeed you have to take action towards your plan. If you don’t take action, your dream will remain a reality in the invisible world. According to Newton’s first law of motion “all objects remain in a state of rest until a force is applied”. We should not be content with the internal – having a mental picture and engaging in positive thoughts. Effort should be made in the direction of bringing all these from the invisible realm to the physical. This could only be achieved by taking action. Thomas Edison said “success is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration”.

Concentrate your mind on what you need to do and do everything you need to do to be as successful and result-oriented as you ought to be. Great accomplishment in life are never a product of luck, but a product of deliberate and disciplined choices that is backed up with affirmative choices.

Perfecting your Imperfection

The father of the amazing airplane- Lear Jet was Bill Lear. An inventor, aviator and business leader, Lear held more than 150 patents, including those of the automatic pilot, car radio and eight track tapes (you can’t beat them all). Lear was a pioneer in his thinking, and in the 1950s, he could see the potential for the manufacture of small corporate jets. It took him several years to make his dream a reality, but in 1963, the first Lear Jet made its maiden voyage, and in 1964 he delivered his first production jet to a client.

Lear’s success was immediate, and he quickly sold many aircraft. But not long after he got his start, Lear learned that two aircraft he’d built had crashed under mysterious circumstances. He was devastated. At that time, fifty five Lear jet were privately owned, and Lear sent word to all of the owners to ground their planes until he and his team could determine what had caused the crashes.

As he researched the ill fated flights, Lear discovered a potential cause, but he couldn’t verify the technical problem on ground. There was only one sure way to find out whether he had diagnosed the problem correctly. He would have to try to recreate it personally- in the air.

As he flew the jet, he nearly lost control and almost met the fate of the two pilots. But he did manage to make it through the tests, and he was able to verify the defect.

This great inventor perfected his imperfection, he went back to drawing board, to find out the cause of the problem and how to resolve it, and he verified the defect. There are times in our lives when things are not going as planned, we need to go back to our drawing board and find out the cause of the problem and proffer solutions to it.

There are stories of men who failed in the cause of inventing, but yet they still did not give up until they’ve perfected what they started. Thomas Edison (scientist) who tried 10,000 times before he could come out with the right formula that produced the electric bulb. God has endowed you with talents, skills, to do certain things that others can’t do, all what is needed is nurturing. Ed Macaulay said “just remember that if you’re not working at your game to the utmost of your ability, there will be someone out there somewhere with equal ability. And one day you’ll contest with each other, and he’ll have the advantage”. Practice what you know how to do best and you will see the reward, it could be dancing, singing, or any legitimate activities you find yourself doing.

HOW TO PERFECT YOUR IMPERFECTION

1.       TRAINING

Training is the act of teaching a person to perform a particular skill well. I could remember before I started singing I was told by my instructor to abstain from some certain food and other things that could hamper my voice; this was part of the training I need to undergo. For you to be a good athlete requires training, it also applies to all fields. It is when crude oil becomes refined petroleum that it has greater value. Training is all about practicing the necessary skills to achieve the competence in the art. The attainment of excellence is time consuming, but I will advice you to be ready to take the time. Constant practice is one of the secrets to becoming masterful at anything.

2.       CONCENTRATE AT A PARTICULAR GOAL

I call this the ability to minor on the minor and major on the major. If you give it what it takes, you will get what you want. The perfection of every art is time consuming. Therefore, you need to concentrate your attention and time to the achievement of a singular purpose. All that Christiano Ronaldo does is to play football; all other activities are delegated. Jack of all trade is a master of none. But jack of one trade is a master of one. You can get to the top with your skills if you stay focused on perfecting your skills.

3.       DON’T RELENT

A person who has a strong desire and thirst for the attainment of excellence does not relent in taking consistent action towards his desire . Success in life is all about taking actions towards the desired direction. After being inspired, you must take action. It is action that translates inspiration into success. If you don’t get it right the first time, try the second time, if you still don’t get it right try again. Keep working it until it works. Just like Bill Lear who had to fly the jet just to perfect what he started, also Thomas Edison who tried 10,000 times before producing the electric bulb that we are all enjoying today. Do you think your voice is not good enough? Or what you’re doing right now is not producing the desired result? Don’t relent; keep working on it until there’s a positive result.

My greatest desire is that anybody that reads this piece will strive for a greater change in what he or she is doing.

Michael Masterson said “there is one secret to becoming masterful at what you do. And that is to

            Practice… and then

            Practice… and then practice

            Even more