The secret of success

Many successful people and celebrities regularly get asked by admirers what is the secret of their success. Funny enough, I haven’t heard any of them ever answer by saying: It’s not about interest but intent.

The word “intentional” has become a popular word among successful people I know in business as well as in ministry. Don’t waste their time, don’t expect them to wait for things to develop, and don’t think they will settle for “Whatever.” These people don’t believe in just taking chances, they believe in making the most out of a situation ahead of time. As the New Year rolls in, they already have a plan, they have a mindset, and one thing they will not apply in their daily existence is the philosophy of “Bahala Na Ang Diyos.”

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Be intentional with the time you spend with people.

Half of our time is spent in “meetings.” The cold indifference of the term “meeting” has destroyed half of our human interactions. You go into a meeting with the same impersonal character of a computer, the agenda of a bill collector with no regard for human condition, and the impatience of a timekeeper. Even sadder is that selfishness and self-interest have become the motivating spirit in most “meetings,” even among people who belong to the same family, the same company, government or church.

People walk-in with an “I” attitude backed up by a “my list” with the primary intention of saying their opinion, getting what they want, and if need be shooting down others with no guilt whatsoever. They don’t think in terms of each and everyone’s concerns and conditions because they really truly are full of themselves. You all work for the same company, for the same boss or owners, but you’re often busy tearing up each other to the detriment of the organization you are trying to grow or contribute to. How stupid is that? That’s not competition that is annihilation or cannibalism. You may be intentional about your goals, but are they the right goals as well? Are you intent on success or internal destruction?

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I have a paperweight with this phrase pasted on it: ‘Don’t keep one eye on the temptation while praying not to be tempted by it.”

Many people set out with goals on the New Year, but end up as epic failures simply because of the company they keep, trying to sustain a mythical balancing act in their “work/life balance” or failing to sustain or “fertilize” their positive choices or goals. When I quit smoking in July of 1991, I did it with a vengeance. I threw out all the ashtrays in the house, pulled out all the cigarette lighters and ash trays in the cars, actively avoided being with smokers and refused to enter establishments that allowed smoking. You don’t just decide to, you radically act on it.

At the beginning of every year, our church, Victory Christian Fellowship initiates a church-wide fast for five days. For non-fasting individuals this would seem as radical behavior, but actually it is an intentional act to purge our bodies from the holiday feasting, an intentional act to elevate our spiritual form over our physical desires, and an intentional time set aside to focus on God and on prayer. It’s not “fun” but many if not most of us look forward to it because of the life-changing experiences that we witness. Being intentional requires effort, sacrifice, and sometimes difficulty, but being intentional also produces great results.

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There was a time when people gave out desktop inspirational one-year calendars that contained a verse, a phrase that was meant to make you feel good each day. Since I didn’t get one this year I’ve decided to search and select specific sites on the web that are dedicated to “inspire” people. The point is to surround your self with inputs or influence that sustain or reinforce what you believe or what you want to achieve. As they say, “If you want something you have to want it so bad that you eat, sleep, dream of it.” I don’t subscribe to the idea of pushing yourselves to obsession, but even fighter jets need to “lock on target” in order to accomplish their mission.

You need to inspire yourself, allow others to inspire you, and let the world show you that what you want to do can be done. At a spiritual level, the Bible is the mother lode of testimonies, on a physical plane seek out the people who’ve done it or overcome the challenges you face, and on the web there is an abundance of positive inspiration on just about every subject matter. Music too can be inspiring as you work.

One site I’ll be subscribing in has to do with real life stories and content about experiences of Christians, documentaries, even news coverage on miracles and good news in general. Another site is wholly dedicated to physical fitness in spite of handicap real or imagined. It is a site that inspires people to transform their bodies and their minds in order to accomplish the goals they were set to do. A third site is all about the positive or real life experiences or testimony of leaders and achievers sharing their views on different topics beginning from the environment, the dignity of labor, being a working student, confidence, bullying, etc.   

To start out the year, I leave you with this bit of thought on positive thinking:

“Finally brothers and sisters, 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”(Philippians 4: 8).

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