Attitude

During a leadership seminar I attended last Friday night in Canberra, Skip Ross talked about the importance of attitude. He says life and leadership begins with an attitude. The followings are his 10 points:

1. My attitude as I begin a task will affect its outcome more than anything else.
2. My attitude toward others determins their attitude toward me.
3. My attitude is the major difference between success and failure.
4. My attitude can turn my problems into blessings.
5. My attitude can give me an uncommon perspective on life.
6. My attitude is my best friends or my worst enemy.
7. My attitude, not my achievements, will give me happiness.
8. My attitude will change when I choose to change it.
9. My attitude needs continual adjustments.
10. My attitude is contagious.

Dynamic Living

Skip Ross is a very inspiring man. I have been listening to his "Dynamic Living" CDs which have made a difference in my attitude and perspectives in life.

He has a formula for living a joy-filled and happy life, which he calls "dynamic living". He said that we can all become all that we were created to be.

His formula is this: DL = (GGE + PS) x PSI

DL = Dynamic Living
GGE = God Given Equipment
PS = Principles of Success
PSI = Proper Self Image

The 10 principles of success are as follows:

1. Giving - whatever you give, you will receive.
2. Exclusion - Get rid of what you don't want, to make room for what you do want.
3. Creation - Decide what you want, define it clearly and write it down.
4. Visualisation - Get a clear mental picture of what you want.
5. Command - Whatever you speak becomes reality.
6. Action - Do it now.
7. Faith - faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.
8. Enthusiasm - Give everything you've got to everything you do.
9. Self-Discipline - Do what needs to be done when it ought to be done whether you like it or not.
10. Persistence - I will...until , never give up.

Delay Gratification & Patience

We are now certainly living in a generation that we want results straight away. In this day and age, we all want immediate gratification. We want to have things now faster than ever before.

Recently I have been learning quite a bit about the concept of delay gratification & patience. I learn that good things come to those who wait and it's worth it. However, knowing this concept and applying it to my life and ministry sometimes takes on a different perspective! I keep asking myself, 'why is patience so hard for me? Why do I want what I want, right when I want it? Why can’t I just sit back and trust the Lord’s timing over my own urgency?'

During a business seminar a couple of weeks ago, we played a game where some people were blindfolded. The leader tied a thick bandanna around their eyes and the people would be guided by an un-blindfolded partner through an obstacle course. The entire point was to learn to trust the teammate's voice and instructions. It's a lot like that in our spiritual lives. We, as Christians, are blindfolded. We can't see the entire picture. Our view is limited, and we're stumbling around, confused as to which direction we should go. And unfortunately, more often than not, we tend to ignore the voice of our Lord instructing us. We'll never cross the finish line by stubbornly insisting we can manage on our own. God sees the entire path before us. And we have to trust Him. Whether that means waiting, walking, crawling, taking baby steps, running, etc.

Fear Of The Lord

I have been reading the book of Proverbs lately, and I read a great quote about it from the one year bible blog: "Proverbs persists in confronting us with the urgency of coming to a decision regarding the fear of the Lord." That really got me thinking.

What exactly does the fear of the Lord mean to you?

Are You A Horse Or A Burro?

Horse: accepts every assignment, takes on all the work, says no to nothing, is very likely to burn out.

Burro: smarter than a horse, refuses to get into overload, if you put too much on the back on the burro he just sits down, he knows when enough is enough.

What are the pros and cons of each? Please let me know of your thoughts in the comment below.

The Rhythm Of Life

What is your rhythm of life? I have been reading and learning about it, and found that human beings approach life at different natural rhythms. These rhythms show up in many parts of life. They affect the way we feel on the weekends or how often we need a break etc. They affect how we feel in the mornings or at night times. They affect our mood and our attitudes on a daily, weekly perhaps even yearly and certainly for some of us at least seasonally basis. And more than anything they affect our schedules, and even control them.

Life Rhythm Theory says that our lives are affected by our thythm on such a sustained but less than obvious way. We may adopt or adapt to a different life rhythm for a season that may not be fully natural even if not wholly unhealthy. However, peak efficiency, energy and satisfaction in life are more likely to be achieved at the kind of life rhythm one “naturally” is aligned to. More often than not the problem is a matter of rhythm rather than pace. We have to manage the rate and sequence the beats of life come to us in a way that matches our internal ability to not only handle them, but harness them.

I also believe in the theory that it takes 21 days to form a habit. A few months ago, I started listening to helpful and encouraging CD's everyday for my personal growth. This may not seem that remarkable - but for me it is a new experience and rhythm of life, which really helps me a lot. I have also established new rhythm of saying hi and speaking to strangers (when the opportunity comes). Nothing amazing has happened yet with any of the people I see each day, but I'm amazed at the opportunities that have opened up to meet some great new people as a result of disciplining myself to establishing a new rhythm and by being open to meeting others whose lives will intersect with mine as a result.

What about you? What is your rhythm of life?

Miss Eagle

I had the privilege of meeting with one of my blogger friends Miss Eagle last week after a long time since I saw her last. We had a wonderful time catching up. Miss Eagle likes to say that she is a 'has been' or 'have been', but I found that she is a 'happening' lady. I really admire her heart for social justice, political insights, as well as spiritual sharing. I highly recommend that you read her blog.

Relationship Evangelism

"That day Jesus went out of the house and was sitting by the sea. And large crowds gathered to Him, so He got into a boat and sat down, and the whole crowd was standing on the beach." (Matthew 13:1)

Matthew 13:1 is such an ordinary statement that we would not think that there was any great spiritual principle in it, but This verse intrigues me. It tells me that if we want to lead people to Christ, we need to spend time where they are - on their turf!

One of the most common things said by Christians who know they should be sharing Christ more, is that they don't have any non-Christian friends. All their friends are church-friends. I believe there is a simple solution: to that problem - that is start spending time with non-churched people! To do that, we need to go where they are.

Like Jesus, I have been "out of the house" and gone into an environment where there are many non-churched people lately. In seminars, in their houses, in social settings, and on their turf! I have built the acquaintances into friends, I have been looking for ways to share with them in normal conversation what my relationship with the Lord means to me. I have also been learning to do as much listening as talking.

I am committed to go to people's lives, build redemptive relationship with them who need the Lord.

6 Keys To The Power Of Decisions

I find that decision making can be a complex phenomenon. Recently I heard a CD regarding the power of decisions, which include 6 keys:

1. Remember the true power of making decisions with massive action.
2. Realise that the hardest step in achieving anything is making a true commitment.
3. Make deicisions often.
4. Learn from your lessons of decision making.
5. Stay committed to your decisions, but cultivate the art of flexibility.
6. Enjoy making decisions.

What do you think of these 6 keys?