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Guest post by The Real Deal Neal

So many times Christians go to church, sing and shout praises to God and read spiritually potent verses like “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” or say things like “He is the great physician” and so many other comforting and spiritually uplifted verses. However, to what at times seems like a mystery, like a man who watches himself in the mirror and in a twinkling of an eye forgets his resemblance, his complexion, his posture, as soon as he leaves the compound of the church, begins to say things like “I am not sure if I can do that” or “this is too hard for me” or “I can’t afford that” and things to this effect. Every time we subscribe to the fatalist opinion that we can’t do this or we are not capable of doing that, we hurl an insult to God, who made us in the fullness of his love.

Success depends on your level of faith

As a Christian success is your birth right. Your heritage is to stand tall, firm and unbending. You march not in the footsteps of Esau, but a long procession of faithfuls recorded on the pages of Biblical history – from the noble Abel to John meditating in his last days on the isles of Patmos . We are rebels, a peculiar people, yet we behave, so many a times, like a people who are unaware of their pedigree, behaving as a wondering generality, mixing and mingling in thought and action, in words and deeds, as a people operating under the absence of divine providence.

Christ came that we could have life, life most abundantly. An abundant life now, and an abundant life around the banquet table, where we will have the glorious opportunity to lay our hands on the good things before us. So, if you have a dream, if you are entertaining a fantasy, do not give up, nor give in. God will not give you a dream without giving you the ability to fulfill it. Most importantly, if a good dream comes to you, it is not your dream, it is God who placed it on your mind and you should work at it with all diligence. Michel Angelo once said “The greater danger for most of us is not that our aim is too high and we miss it, but that it is too low and we reach it.”

Michel was right. We need to think BIG. The Bible tells us in Romans 12 that we should transform, not conform. Whatever you do, whatever you do, do not conform, TRANSFORM!  As a Christian your aim should be to the affect the area in which you operate, to move and motivate your circle of influence to a higher good.

Success depends on your ability to create relationship capital

Relationship capital is a concept we hear so little about. It is essentially the ability to influence others without the use of money or power. There are some great men in history who have influence the world to change because of their capacity to create relationship capital. Martin Luther King, Gandhi, Mandela, Paul the Apostle, Benjamin Franklin (although he was wealthy) all had something special. Why does Will Smith and Oprah Winfrey do well across race and time? They have that relationship capital quality that makes an individual transcend race. It is the quality that Obama seems to possess.

In the scripture we are told to fellowship with one another. The result of true fellowship is relationship capital. When you listen to someone’s burden, rejoice in their success, support them with their aspirations – you are essentially developing yourself as trustworthy and a natural leader. Remember, real leadership is letting your light shine by your attitude towards others. Maya Angelou, that wise and skillful poet once said, “Long after people forget what you said or did, they will remember how you made them feel.”

Success depends on positive thinking

You are what you think about. What your body achieves physically is a direct result of your mental thought. In Philippians 4:8 Paul’s writes “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. To keep positive thoughts in action, you must study to be approved. Read your Bible daily, or if you are always on the go keep an audio CD like The Bible Experience (a full dramatize version of the Bible) in your car, and allow good words to enter your mind and flush out the negative thoughts.

Change your thinking and you will change the direction of your life!

Success depends on your ability to set goals and pursue them

Rockefeller once said, “perseverance is the single most important thing in business”. This is partly true, for without goals you are doomed to fail. Goals give you a direction and a sense of purpose. Solomon had a goal of building God’s temple, Nehemiah had a goal of building the wall and Jesus had a goal of the redemption of the world. You must have goal. If you don’t, someone else will have one for you. Guess what they have in mind for you?

Go on. Take it up a notch. With the right thoughts and a mustard seed of faith firmly resting in your heart, the whole world is your province.

The Real Deal Neal owns HUNTSVILLE PR, a web design and web development company helping people do business online.

Image: Francesco Marino / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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