WHAT'S THE PLAN FOR A MILLION DOLLARS?

Let's say that someone is so benevolent that they would write you a check of one Million Dollars. Would you be happy? Of course you would.

Here is the catch though...(there always will be a catch): All that this philanthropist wants to see is a breakdown of how well you will use that bounty to generate more income over a period of time. He does not want you to go and prepare that plan, he wants you to show it to him...right now!

The plan must be well broken down to the detail: The projects, the resources, the time-frames, the people, the projected revenues...the works.

Question: Would you qualify?

Do you have a plan to spend use this?

Think about that. I mean, let's really think about that. Do we seriously think about this stuff? I am not just talking about a Million Benjis here...your level might be different than mine. Let's say your dream of a financial windfall is USD 50,000. Would you still qualify?

Here is the thing...I am ready to bet that cash has been eluding people because they have not been minding about cash. 

For the most part, people think about the money they do have, or what they can expect in terms of income. People seldom plan for dream cash down to the details...including me up to recently. Yet that is changing for me. If my goal is to be worth 10 Million Dollars, I need a plan on how to handle that cash.

1. How much is allocated for my projects (Assuming that the projects are already conceptualized)
2. How much is allocated for other people's projects (Assuming that I have a heart to help a certain group of people)
3. How much is allocated for investments (Assuming that I have in-depth knowledge of what kind of investments suit me. Refer to the article on Shortcuts here)
4. How much is allocated for the next generation (Assuming that I have a vision that spans my life-time to the next and the next)
5. How much is allocated to lifestyle (Assuming that I am prudent enough to schedule my joys)
6. How much is allocated to research (Assuming that I am progressive enough to invest in science and technology for the greater good of the world)
7. How much is allocated for other people's dreams (I will never forget the day Oprah gave cars and houses to several people both in her audience as well as those suggested through mails)
8. How much is allocated to spread the Gospel (Good news. It needs cash to spread it)
9. How much is allocated to nurturing the talents/ gifts of my children. (This goes without saying).
10. How much is allocated to building not just a home..but a house. 

The list is only as long as guess what? It is as long as your dreams. Which begs this question: What are your dreams? Are they documented? 

You see, those are the million-dollar questions that you need to ask yourself. Honestly, very many people do not have a dream financial figure. Chances are that they are afraid to dream...or do not have time to dream...or they have not made their dreams clear to the dregs of the details.

Your financial dream might not be millions of dollars. In fact, your financial dream is directly proportional to the purpose you want to accomplish in life. So do you know that purpose? You see, many people have this all backwards. People think about money (mostly not to an accurate figure), yet do not know what in the world they would do even with a fraction of that money! Isn't it any wonder that we do not see the money?

Our challenge today is to craft to the very dregs of detail, what we would do with our dream bounty of cash. If we can do this and look it over carefully, chances are that well below five years, that dream will become a reality.

True, isn't it?

SOMETIMES YOU NEED A GENEALOGY TO SUCCEED

Few weeks back, the world was awash with news that the Royal Family in England had welcomed their newest royal baby. One would argue that the only thing that baby needs to be successful is to be born. On the same day that that baby was born, several others around the world also made entry into our world...in total obscurity...well at least to the world media.

My question would be: Is there any major difference in terms of success between the royal birth and common birth? 

Well...isn't it obvious? The word here is guarantee. The royal child is guaranteed success because of the environment in which he will operate. Chances are that he might easily do well than the kids of common birth.

A gift to the world, born to succeed!

Yet that does not mean that other kids will not succeed at all. There are many common births that have registered unrivaled success, even much more than royal births. 

Sometimes, no...all the time, the thing that you need to succeed is a genealogy...son of or daughter of. In other words, what you need to succeed is to be born...guess where? In the human race!

That's it. All human beings, both low born or high born exist not to fail...but to conquer failure and succeed.

The madman on the streets,

The starving child in Ethiopia,

The barefooted child in Somalia,

The royal child,

The gifted,

The talented,

The skilled,

...

All those born of man are born to succeed. That's just it. The opposite just beats logic. Everything in nature is meant to thrive...and that's another fact.

What we do with this truth is what matters. Knowing this truth and walking in this truth is what creates a heaven and earth difference between the 7 billion people on earth, not where they were born.

True isn't it?

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SHORTCUTS AND SECRETS

“Life and nature abhor a straight line”—Anthony Robbins

The word ‘secret’ is one of the most used words in online marketing. “The secret to explosive sex”, screams one headline. “The secret to becoming a millionaire instantly”, beckons another. “The secret to having many followers”, another title would offer. No doubt these headlines and titles work. Inherently, we think that what works is hidden from our grasp. So anything branded a ‘secret’ has a potential of selling. It is true that things of value seldom lie on the surface, sometimes we have to dig deep to unearth them. It is also perfectly true that for the most part, what would be diamonds for us is often neglected with this notion of seeking the ‘hidden secrets’.

That is why many talents are neglected. That is why many personal gifts are always taken for granted, for they may appear to be as common as table salt. Indeed, it is true that familiarity breeds contempt! You are so gifted in writing that you do not know how valuable it is. To you, it just came naturally and you did not sweat for it. It therefore does not really interest you as diamond would. We tend to think that that which comes either through toiling and sweating or through uncovering a secret is what counts. And so for the most part, we neglect the obvious and follow after the subtle and after the grandeur.

Next to the word ‘secret’ is another word ‘shortcut’. Well, that word is not used openly. It has been sugar-coated by other words like ‘simple’, or ‘easy’, or ‘steps’. You would still find people these days using the word ‘Instant’ to sell. The amazing thing is that many people are attracted to such marketing drives, a host of them.

“Bullet points, step by step processes that are guaranteed to work overnight, proven shortcuts...

If it was easy, everyone would do it.

Worth noting that surgeons don't sign up for medical school because they're told that there is a simple, easy way to do open heart surgery.

It's not that we're unable to handle complicated problems, it's that we're afraid to try. The Dummies mindset, the get-rich-quick long sales letters, the mechanistic, industrial processes aren't on offer because they're the best we can handle. No, they sell because they promise to reduce our fear.

It will take you less time and less effort to do it the difficult way than it will to buy and try and discard all the shortcuts”.

—Seth Godin (In an article dated 17^th August 2013, 

The very philosophy of secrets and shortcuts is to circumnavigate time and processes! The reason as to why many people are attracted to shortcuts and secrets is because they could do without the process, but get the desire! Unfortunately, life never works that way! 

• If you are taking a shortcut, chances are that you are greedy
• If you are taking a shortcut, chances are that you are afraid
• If you are taking a shortcut, chances are that you are trampling your values
• If you are taking a shortcut, most definitely you are not growing, and chances are you will be back where you started sometime in the future.
• If somebody is prescribing to you a formula for success in which your involvement and control does not matter, you ought to shun it, it is a shortcut.
• If anything or anyone prescribes to you a formula for success that is purely monetary, you need to think twice, it is a shortcut.
• If anything or anyone promises you your wildest dreams ever over a record time, you need to think twice, it is a shortcut.
• If you do not have an intimate understanding of the process that you are undertaking, especially if it is being conducted by somebody else…and you also do not have an intimate understanding of that person, you are short-cutting.
• If you are joining a process just to sort you out on one aspect, and that project lacks vision, you might be short-cutting
• If the project you are involving yourself with does not have any legislation from the government of the day, you are short-cutting.
• Lastly, a shortcut can be seen from miles ahead if it offers to cover all your costs and losses. Only God Almighty has the capacity to do that.

The question you need to ask yourself is this: Am I on the right track or am I short-cutting? Think about that.

WHAT DOES BEING BLESSED LOOK LIKE TO YOU?

What does it feel like to be blessed? What does it constitute in your highest and wildest dreams? I have just been seriously thinking about it with soft, inspirational music playing in the background.

With tears stinging my eyes and as I let out several sighs, I have realized that to me, being blessed is totally different from what I have always been thinking on the surface.

To be truly honest, being 'blessed' is as personal as the 7 Billion people on earth. Yet we need to really know how that blessed life looks like. If you do not know, then most probably you will not attain it.

As I closed my eyes and started envisioning, I could see that great house that I have built, I could see my world class Rolls Royce parked outside. I could see myself flying from one continent to another being a blessing to others. I could also see hoards of cash that I easily have access to.

Then as I continued, I got even deeper, to a more meaningful state of being blessed. I saw myself with my kids retracing my steps to where I was raised. I took Ethan to the well in the village where I used to draw water each day. I remembered the days that we would long for rain so that we did not have to go fetch water.

Then I saw myself recounting of my ordeals of pain, fun, and triumph at several locations. I saw myself telling Ethan loads and loads of stories of my upbringing, each one of them laden with several lessons. Involuntarily, I started sobbing. I remembered of when I was barefoot for a decade and a half, with no inkling that I would one day have a child.

As I passed the lessons onto Ethan, I remember recounting to him that our parents meant so well for us kids while growing up...regardless of my misgivings of how they raised us up. I remember telling Ethan that he might feel the same way about me...but I want the best for him.

Then as I came back to the present, I realized what a 'blessed' life is to me, and this is it:

• When I have this awesome privilege to have a world-class marriage with my Bride...
• When I have this privilege to steward my kids to be mighty in the land,
• When I have this privilege to have a home full of love, care for each other,
• When I have this opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others,
• When I have the privilege to help people not only dream but achieve their dreams...especially kids
• When I have this awesome relationship with my Maker...

...to me, there is no more blessed life other than the above. To me, that is a perfect Life Signature

Notice that there are no gadgets mentioned...just relationships and values. SELAH! (Pause and think about that)

I am willing to bet $1000 that if you looked deeper, you will also realize that a blessed life for you will not be gadgets...but relationships and values.

Consider this: Do you remember longing so much for a certain thing? Do you remember how desperate you were that only if you got it, then you would be fine and blessed? Then it did come. What happened to you then? Immediately it was in your possession, that emptiness came....life moved on...and your deepest heart still longed for a blessed life. Sounds familiar? Yeah I know. It happens to me every now and then.

So I know you might be asking, "How can I know what my blessed life looks like?" I am glad you asked. Consider the following:

1. Start where you are. Document all your dreams.
2. Make it a habit to reflect, visualize and meditate upon them as if they already are.
3. Go deeper by asking yourself "Why do I want this dream?"
4. Document your answers.
5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 as many times as possible.
6. When you start having those selah moments...and sometimes when a tear or two comes out of your eyes...you might just have documented what a blessed life is to you.

Remember, 

• A blessed life is personal to everybody...it cannot be replicated. Consider Moses in the Palace.
• A blessed life is not centered on things, but on people and values.
• A blessed life does not mean that you cannot have gadgets and things...just that these are not the ultimate.
• The clearer you get to documenting your blessed life, the more inspired you become to attaining it.

Sniff sniff,

Selah!

YOUR 300-YEAR VISION: PART 2

"If a despot like Adolf Hitler can think of 1000-year reign, why can't you think of a goal that is gonna last 100 years after you have gone?" --Peter J Daniels

It is not a secret that a vast majority of people spend their entire lives seeking basic needs...and that is just it. A certain percentage who have moved out of that bracket are always seen as successful. They do not have to think about where the food will come from...they have their housing/rent already sorted...and they have already paid for their kids to go to school.

OK...so is that it? Is that all there is to life? Pay bills, circumvent challenges and go to the grave? I beg to differ. The very essence of Life Signatures is to matter to people..and today, we continue to look at how we can matter to people in more than four generations from ourselves.

We have already seen in the earlier post that the very intention of our existence was, and still is for eternity. Therefore, the very first thing that you need in place in order to impact 300 years from now is a life of purpose. 

The second thing that you need is a system of not only impacting the world with your purpose but also a system of preserving and passing on your vision to not only the existing generation, but also the one after it. The simple terminology is training!

Come to think of it...the information we know today has been passed down to us from the previous generation. A huge chunk of what we know today is not discovery in that it is new, it is revelation in that it has always existed!

But how did we know? It was passed down to us through stories, inspiring or otherwise.

The world today has afforded us serious technological advantages to preserve our values and pass them on to the next generation.

Honestly if your existence in the world cannot be identified 300 years from now, you will have not only misused technology to impact generations after you, you would have failed in leaving a legacy! The point here that we need to realize is that talking of impacting people 300 years from now does not necessarily need that we die like Jesus Christ did for them...

So after knowing your life purpose...the second most logical thing to do in tandem with living it is passing it down to your next generation. Granted, their purposes might be different from yours, but no doubt they will share some of your values and take inspiration from the comebacks you had and the lessons you recorded!

• My son and daughter can easily access all these thoughts of mine years from now...in fact even their kids and their kids can get access to this information. They can take a peek into my thought patterns, my hangups, my passion, my dreams and my mission. I can tell you this, that there is no better place for inspiration than the home. It is at the home that the next generation receive direction without question. Whatever I tell them is the gospel truth, it will shape their character, define their thinking patterns, and chart the course of their lives. The content of my vision, mission, purpose and values can be easily documented through blogging!

• I can record videos on YouTube that the next generation can easily access. Let's say that my passion is about designing legacies. Every time I have something special on this subject, all I need to do is quickly assemble a home-based studio and record. I can easily upload this stuff on my YouTube channel. This catch is that I am not doing this for the people around me today, but I am looking far ahead to the third and fourth generation benefiting from this.

• OK, have you seriously thought about sharing your social media passwords with the next generation? If you died today (God forbid, but you will die one day), can we access your tweets, blog, Facebook, instagram, and other relevant social media you have registered on. Here is the thing...some of the things most people are posting today will be read by their kids soon enough. Scary thought?

Let's use today's technology to preserve our vision, values and pursuits, failures, comebacks and lessons that we have learnt so that the people who matter to us in the next generation will have shortcuts!

HOW TO SEE 300 YEARS FROM NOW: PART ONE

"Why 300 years"? Someone is asking. "Why in the world should I stress myself in thinking 300 years from today"? Good question if you are not a visionary. Yet that question has an answer. You are only human. How in the world can you see 300 years from today? Well, the answer is that you most definitely can.

It is more than 2000, yes a whole whooping 2000 years since the resurrection and ascension of Jesus Christ...and the whole wide world is still impacted by Him. How about that for a Legacy? Yet was that his sole purpose on earth? To leave a Legacy?

Nope. His leaving a legacy is simply the end result, or the benefit, or the consequence of his core vision:

"I came to seek and save that which was lost" ~ Jesus Christ

If someone asked me why I came right about now...would I have an answer? Would I say it without batting an eye? Would I say it with so much passion that those who hear it would be energized by it? Would I say it with so much belief that those who hear it would want to be part of it? Would you say that you have an answer? Think about that the whole of today please.

I have never really tangibly thought about this subject until I heard Peter J Daniels speak. Of course he is passionate about leaving a legacy and an inheritance for our children's children.

But then again, I am the C.E.O of Life Signatures. I need to ask myself some pertinent questions. How long is a legacy? How many years should it take? Those are so bold questions that people seldom ask.

By the close of the day, I need to have a number etched in my mind of how long I intend my Life Signature to live.

For the most part...we only plan for our lives. I have for example my goals for all the 8 areas of my life for this year and for the next ten years. But pray tell me...how do we plan for our children's children? Give and take...we should have a vision for the next 300 years.

A 300-year vision is not about ourselves, it is about others

A 300-year vision is not about things, it is about values
A 300-year vision is not about productivity alone, but also about priority on what really matters
A 300-year vision is about passion, pursuit and purpose.

I am thinking, the longer I project and plan in the future, the more clear and true my life signature becomes. If  you studied the lives of people who have left an impact in life for long, you will find out something interesting about them. It is the same thing for each and every one of them.

1. They never really set out to leave a legacy
2. They had one thing in mind that they focussed on
3. They were totally and wholly abandoned to their cause and even staked their lives on it (some died for it)
4. They knew that they could not do it alone
5. They deliberately trained followers

So far, there is no doubt that more and more people are interested in leaving legacies. The question today is: How do I plan for the next 300 years?

It is much simpler than people think. 

First, the creator has put everything inside of us to impact millions for years. In fact, his initial plan was that we would live meaningful lives for eternity! So how is 300 years compared to eternity?

A 300-year vision is hidden inside of you. All you have to do is start asking questions about it. What is it? How can I unearth it? How will I know this is it? Believe me, those questions have answers. The tragedy of humanity is that we do not ask the correct questions.

Start looking inside of you (assuming that you have already acknowledged the Creator's intent for your life).

We shall continue these thoughts in a latter post. So...do you have a 300-Year Vision?

HOW TO BE A WORLD CLASS FATHER

Let's face it! Without a Father there is no life! All of creation is in existence because of a Father! Now, I know that we can have a debate till Kingdom come about creation and evolution...but common sense will tell you that life is generated from a Father.

The greatest crisis in the world today is the crisis of Fatherhood. We have absentee fathers by their droves. We also do have millions of fathers who are present but have no idea of how to be a world class father.

In Life Signatures, fatherhood is not a preserve of the male gender. A father is the source of vision. A father has life-giving potential inside of him. Naturally, fathers do not struggle to father a child. It is in them. In Life Signatures however, fatherhood does not not flow naturally, it flows with immense intentionality!

Pastor Alfred Kariuki

Today's post is brought to us by a great son, a great father of two, husband and missionary. I have known Alfred Kariuki Wamai for more than a decade now. He has inspired me so greatly, especially when he left Kenya to go to Zambia and father a Church which for now is in the process of fathering many more! Pastor Alfred is an ardent Chelsea Fan. You can find him on Facebook, Twitter, or at his Blog. He shares with us this powerful article on 'How to Be a World Class Father'. Enjoy.

How To Be A World Class Father

By Pastor Alfred Kariuki

Like a regrettable minority in my generation, I am privileged to have come from a very stable family. My Dad and Mum have been married for 47 years and are blessed with 6 children and 9 grandchildren. I admire and honor my father greatly and have learnt and continue to learn many life lessons from him. 

Pastor Alfie's Parents

In my mid-twenties, like the proverbial prodigal son, after a brief stint on the wild side, I returned home to my heavenly Father and experienced His radical and extravagant love for me. He placed me in the able company of my spiritual father, whom God has used and continues to use to shape me into the man I am today. I am eternally grateful for my heritage.

Besides drawing from the exemplary lives of my natural father and my spiritual father, I have also picked up an unusual characteristic from the life of Abraham, our father of faith, that I would like to share with you today as we look at "How To Be A World Class Father."

Pastor Alfie with his Spiritual Father, Pastor Don Matheny

In Genesis 26:18 we read that Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them. In his lifetime, Abraham had dug four wells: Esek, Sitnah,Rehoboth and Shibah. 

The rainy season in Israel, upon which the various storage systems depend, commences at the end of October and ends in the beginning of May. In Jerusalem, the average rainfall in forty one years up to 1901 was 25.81 inches, falling in an average number of fifty six days. Great efforts were made to supplement the natural water supply by the digging of wells and cisterns, which are numerous all over Israel. Wells were often of great depth. 

Job's well at Jerusalem, which is very old, is 125 ft. deep. Abraham was a pioneer in many ways and therefore had to dig his own wells to get his own water for himself, his family and his numerous livestock. Wells were usually a source of great strife. After Abraham died, the Philistines blocked the openings of the wells by throwing in sand and stones. They even changed the original names of the wells.

With his family and a friend

At the danger of going on a rabbit trail, have you noticed that life is like that? The world is full of 'Philistines' who will throw sand and stones and block the wells that you have worked so hard to dig. Sometimes they want to change the name of the wells you have dug. You have worked hard and have come to your "Rehoboth" meaning that the LORD has given you room to flourish in your chosen field. 

The Philistines however, change the name of your breakthrough well and instead of recognizing that the Lord is with you, attribute your success to witchcraft, or corruption or something similarly bizarre! Abraham, the father of faith, was willing to fight for his wells because he was the one who had dug them in the first place. 

The Pastor and his Wife.

The willingness to fight for your dream qualifies you for its achievement! Abimelech tried to snatch Beersheba from him but he made sure that they reached a covenant. Abraham did not wait for someone else to dig a well, then go, and beg for water. He did not wait to inherit someone‘s well. He dug his own!One life lesson I have learnt from Abraham on how to be a world class father is that, for the sake of my children, I need to dig my own 'well' and quit waiting on people to do everything for me. 

Put another way, I need to get my own water! In John 5:5, we read of a man who had been an invalid for thirty-eight years. When Jesus saw him lying there and learned that he had been in this condition for a long time, He asked him, "Do you want to get well?" "Sir," the invalid replied, "I have no one to help me into the pool when the water is stirred. While I am trying to get in, someone else goes down ahead of me."

Fathers, for the sake of your children and the legacy you shall leave behind, it is time to take your destiny into your own hands and 'dig your own well' until you get your own water. Dig until you get what works for you. Taking your destiny into your own hands is just a decision away. You need to decide, "I will not be pushed around". I will not be pushed around by 'Philistines' or by circumstances. I am going to dig my own well. I am going to create my own stage. After all Proverbs 13:22 admonishes us that a good man leaves an inheritance to his children's children. 

Alfred Kariuki is the Senior Pastor of Nelspruit Lighthouse Church and Founder of Arise Africa Ministries International. He has been in full time ministry since 1996 and in that time he has preached and ministered in more than 10 nations around the world. He has planted four churches within Southern Africa and is also committed to community development as a way of spreading the love and Gospel of Jesus Christ. Pastor Alfred resides with his wife, Edith and their two children, Shani and Shangwe, in the city of Nelspruit, South Africa.