New Year's Message-Part 3: Structures for Dreams and Desires

There is a secret to creation. There is a reason as to why God created what he did and in the order that he did. In my understanding, anything that came prior to the creation of man was what you could call ‘side-shows’. Much like the supporting cast of the hero in many superpower story lines.

That is by no means demeaning the supporting cast. They are so crucial in that without them, the hero would be useless. I hope you get the point.

In 2014, how you and I apply this secret that God used in creation will determine whether we finish what we set to do or not. [Click to Tweet Please]

Many people, myself included are at this point in time writing/re-writing their goals or making new year resolutions. This is perfectly OK. I love the New Year because it shows us how many ‘second chances’ we can receive over a life time.

Think about how many second chances you have had ever since you were a teenager? And as you read this, think about this massive second chance that you have in 2014. (something to tweet)

To do things right,

To implement lessons learnt previously,

To reach out to your full potential,

To draw closer to your wildest dreams and desires

To live and love and matter, as Brendon Burchard would say.

The fact is that you can only make in impact in your life and indeed in the lives of others if you

• 1.      Know the secret of creation
• 2.     Apply the secret of creation.

Think about it…God wanted the whole earth to be filled with his sons and daughters at creation. Why didn’t he just create us all at once?

Well, if he did that, he would have deprived the world one of the most gracious gifts of life: the ability to grow, to learn, to expand.

So what did he do?

Simple.

God sat down and put some structures in place that will guarantee the fulfillment of his dreams. You and I today are living within those structures. We can corrupt them, ignore them or misuse them, but they will never change. Some of them are what people call the laws of nature. (Tweet this please)

If you intend to succeed in 2014, apart from identifying your passion, documenting your dreams and desires, it will be prudent if you had supporting structures in place to bring your ideas to fruition. (Tweet this please)

Think about it. Why in the world don’t we meet goals more often? Why do we always wait for another New Year to set the same goal over several years without attaining it? It is because we lack supporting structures to implement.

At the end of the day, the structures are more elaborate than the goals themselves:

• 1.      Routine: Just like God did not create 6 billion people in one second but let the ‘seeds’ do that job, you must crystallize the major goal into daily activities.
• 2.     System: This goes past the feelings and emotions. It is as simple as the timetable we used to set as kids in primary school for our spare time reading.
• 3.     Tracking: The structures you put in place must on a daily basis track what you have done in relation to what you had set to do. You need to document the deficit and explicitly explain why there was a deficit
• 4.     Rewarding: On a daily basis, what percentage did you achieve? What do you reward yourself for this achievement?

Let me guarantee you one thing: The person that will put down some structures to support his/her dreams and desires for 2014 is the one that is most prepared to be a finisher.

Once again, Happy New Year!

New Year's Message-Part 2: Desire

"The proof of Desire is Pursuit" --Dr. Mike Murdock

I think one of the most unfortunate things to happen to a human being is when they can no longer dream.

Desire is powerful. It is the attractor factor for anything we want to have, to do or to become, however big of small it might be! Tweet This Please

• ·         Without a dream, you reinforce the status quo even if you want it changed
• ·         Without a dream, you live in a dark and hopeless illusion
• ·         Without a dream, your very purpose in life is never realized
• ·         Without a dream, your potential in life (which is amazingly enormous) remains untapped
• ·         Without a dream, you are not just sleeping in life, you are actually dying
• ·         Without a dream, you are telling the world that you are no longer needed [Tweet This Please]

As we usher in 2014, I take this opportunity to address everyone setting goals and making New Year resolutions. I know.  I have been one of those who have seriously bashed people that make resolutions over the years.

Yet one thing comes to mind. Both the people that set goals and those that make resolutions operate from one standpoint: Desire! [Tweet This Please]

It is OK to Desire

I know of no human being that does not desire a thing or two. At the wake of the New Year, all of us have been given yet again another psychological start. We can start over with a clean slate. [Tweet Please]

The best way to do this is to exercise the power of desire. To desire is not to sin. The Bible says, “Delight yourself in the Lord and He shall fulfill the desires of your heart. Notice that God is OK with us desiring. Notice also that God did not suggest how many desires we can have. He did not limit us to the size and the numbers.

But God wants and is interested in fulfilling those desires. I know over the years that people might have given up desiring altogether…but I challenge you to exercise this power one more time. Believe me, you have nothing to lose.

My Desire Came to Pass in 2001

I will never forget the year 2001. I was freshly out of college staying with a family friend in Nairobi. One day I went to the shopping center to process some paperwork. I got to this institution that looked so awesome, so pretty that I longed to work there. I admired the guys working there and really felt insignificant in their eyes. I desired so greatly to get a job at that place. I must have said a prayer about it and forgot about it.

The important point however is that I acted on my desire. I can’t remember how long it took, but it might not have been more than 3 months that I was exactly where I desired to be. That was my first job and I can tell you that I am where I am because of the foundation that I built in my career.

7 Lessons about Desire

Here are some thoughts that are critical about desire especially in 2014:

1. 1.       It is OK to have desires: Go ahead and dream. How ‘crazy’ your dream is up to you. But let me tell you that if you feel it deep inside your gut, it is a valid desire.
2. 2.       Own the desire: Let the desire you have crystallize in your mind and heart. On a daily basis, we all have things that pass our minds that we would wish to do, have or become. To own a desire means that you capture it in your imaginations and declare it worthy of a pursuit. Mental accent only will not help.
3. 3.       Verbalize the Desire: In my case, I verbalized it to God. What would man do without God actually?
4. 4.       Document the Desire: I challenge you to purchase a notebook or get a place where you can document your desires, however crazy they are. Something happens when pen is put on paper and thoughts are immortalized…it seems so simple you can neglect it.
5. 5.       Desire Daily: Remember the emotions you had when you desired what you wanted? Every single day, make sure you think about this desire and replicate these emotions as often as you can.
6. 6.       Take an Action Step: You desire to be married? Apart from praying, you can also make room for your spouse. Quit hanging around guys that are not interested in marriage. Start seeing yourself as marriage material.
7. 7.       Remain Consistent: I think the reason why New Year Resolutions do not work is because we tend to pick other desires along the way…and drop the ones we were working on. If you wanted to be successful in 2014, I challenge you to get just one thing and stick to it until it is done or achieved.

If you have given up on desiring altogether, all is not lost. You do not need a job to desire a good house. You do not need money to desire success. Desiring does not come with any pre-conditions. You can desire without strings attached. Tweet This Please

Happy New Year!