How To Gain The Proper Perspective In Your Life

 

 

How To Gain The Proper Perspective In Your Life

 

 

Have you ever noticed that when you are worrying about a certain thing in your life, seeing someone else enjoying himself or herself can really feel annoying?

It seems that some go through life having such a good time that they appear naive and immature. People can clearly enjoy their lives and it can appear to us as if they don’t have a worry in the world. But the truth is that they have made a choice to have that attitude.

What Is Your Outlook On Life Today?

Do you wake up every morning to embrace the day? So many people allow their circumstances to dictate their lives. They don’t realize that they have been given free will to choose how they want their day to be. We can make a decision every morning to rejoice and be glad for the day that the Lord has made (Psalm 118:24).

The Bible encourages us to constantly put on a fresh mental attitude. When we wake up in the morning we can make that first choice to focus on good things (Philippians 4:8). We can choose to be grateful for and excited about the day.

It is too easy to let our responsibilities and the pressures of life cause us to drift into negative thinking. Negative thinking weighs us down, causing us to lose our joy and enthusiasm. Before we know it, we stop appreciating our friends and family, and begin to doubt that they are for us. And soon, we may even think that the entire world is against us.

Negative thinking makes the small things seem tremendously large, until we are living in constant worry and frustration.
If that is how you feel today, take heart because your life can be different. You can take off that garment of heaviness and put on a garment of thanksgiving. You do this by making a choice to engage your will; you can choose to have a new outlook on life.

Everyone faces difficulties and huge challenges. We all have obstacles that seem impossible to overcome. The difference between those who are able to rise above their adversities and those who are mired in them is their attitude.

What Are You Thankful For?

A key to enjoying your life is finding things to be thankful for every day. Make a list. Write down all the good things in your life. Review it each day, every morning, before you leave the house. This will help you focus on the many treasures that fill your life, and it will give you a positive perspective and a grateful heart.

We all have things to be grateful for, but sometimes our perspective becomes distorted and we fail to recognize and focus on those good things.

I think we all have one or two friends who have a tendency toward a negative perspective. They are always having a bad week. Their children are always sick, they are almost always late for work and the list goes on and on.

No matter what season of life you are in, you must deal with the temptation to focus on the negative. Make no mistake, we all choose where to place our focus. Those who have the richest perspective on life choose to be happy and content with what God has given them and to trust Him in those things that are truly difficult.

Compare the Proverbs 31 Woman to Eve

The Proverbs 31 woman seemed to have it all: she was diligent, faithful, content and she ran a huge household without murmuring. She totally enjoyed her life.

Compare the Proverbs 31 woman to Eve. She was a woman who truly did have it all. She was living in the most gorgeous situation ever with the perfect man by her side. Then the day came that she chose to focus on one negative thing, which was the only fruit tree from which God had told her not to eat. She couldn’t focus on all the other fruit she was permitted to take.

The more she looked at the forbidden fruit, the larger it became in her mind. She allowed the one negative in the garden to twist her perception of the entire garden. She magnified that one forbidden thing until it was so large in her thinking that she couldn’t see anything else.

What Are You Magnifying?

When you magnify something, it doesn’t actually change the size of the object, it simply changes your perspective of the object. When you hold a pen or something in your hand and stretch your arm out in front of you, the pen seems small compared to your surroundings. But when you pull the pen in nearer to your eye, it appears much larger.

In fact, when you hold it close enough, you aren’t able to see anything else. So often in life, our difficulties and challenges seem so much larger than they actually are, simply because we are holding them closer to us than necessary. But when we have the right perspective, those same difficulties become much more manageable.

What’s the point in choosing the negative? It’s like swimming against the current – it makes everything a struggle. An improper perspective will drain your energy and vitality. It will sap the fun and joy right out of your life. Your life was meant to be enjoyed. You weren’t created to constantly struggle and be in perpetual discouragement.

I am always amazed how my perspective changes when I have a grateful heart and choose to count my blessings.

To Sum It Up

To keep the right perspective, we must magnify the right things in our lives. When I come up against challenges, I remind myself of all the great things God has done for me and will do for me. I begin to thank Him for allowing me to know Him; I thank Him for my family, my husband and my children. I thank Him for my awesome church family and my pastor.

It’s all a matter of perspective.

Wise choices will watch over you. Pro 2:11 NLT
You can subscribe to The Daily Choice which is a SPIRITUAL Devotion
that helps you to make the right choices in your life!

 

 

 

Powerful Secrets To Discovering The Life You Were Born To Live

 

Powerful Secrets To Discovering
The Life You Were Born To Live

by Olga Hermans

 
 

Have you ever thought about the fact that there is no other person in the whole world that can fulfill what you are meant to do? There are two directions you can take. One is to press on with God. The second is to run back to something that you know is secure. But you will never be what God wants you to be if you turn and run.

Only if you choose the plan God has for you will you be able to fulfill your divine destiny.

Did you know that God created you to solve a problem? Why did you buy a car? Because it solved a transportation problem. Why do you watch the news? It solves an information problem. Why did God create you? To solve a human problem. You were created for a specific and very special purpose and to solve a specific problem on earth.

Are you ready to discover it?

So, you are not here by accident. God has qualified you to be the perfect solution to someone; He planned you, and nobody else can be like you.

Nobody else can do what you do. You are unlike anyone else on earth. God is not a duplicator. He is a Creator.

You alone are absolutely perfect and genetically accurate for solving a specific problem for somebody on earth today.

To discover the life you were born to live requires your total focus. Somebody said once that the only reason men fail is because their focus is broken.

How important is your focus? Jesus encouraged His disciples to keep their focus on the Kingdom of God. He assured them that their financial provisions and everything they needed would be produced through absolute focus upon Him.

Your focus is very important, because a broken focus will destroy your dreams. The moment you are distracted from what you are created to do, it will create a lot of tragedies and disasters in your life. I am telling you this because I have experienced this personally in my own life. I made some good choices in my life and some bad choices. But, you know what? It doesn’t matter. God loves to restore our lives.

He is about to do that and if you want Him to do that for you; He will!

Discovering the life you were born to live requires time, more than you realize. It requires preparation time. God gave you time and you might have exchanged your time for things that don’t matter to your life. You need to eliminate the things that God did not specifically tell you to do.

Your life requires your participation. Nobody else can complete it for you and nobody else can pursue it for you. It makes me sad when I listen to people who blame their circumstances on others. Husbands complain about their wives and women complain about their husbands.  We should never complain about things that we tolerate and permit in our lives. So stop blaming others for your personal decisions.

Never forget that your present circumstances in your life are there because you permitted them. And because you tolerate them; you breathe life and longevity into them. People sabotage themselves by doing things contrary to what they believe and contrary to what they desire to achieve.

You see, the moment you don’t tolerate your present situation anymore; you start creating a different future. Nothing will really change in your life until you cannot tolerate it any longer. You see, God never intended for you to depend on everyone else to step up to the plate and make a homerun.

Certainly, hindrances occur. It is common that relationships can slow us down, demotivate and discourage us. Everybody has experienced a connection with someone who at first seemed to be a blessing but then turned out to be a burden. But you have chosen your friendships! And the quality of your relationships that you have chosen reflects and reveals what you respect the most in life.

I have read some biographies of great men and women of God. One thing that always stood out to me was that they took personal responsibility for their own actions, decisions, and the tasks necessary to reach their goals and dreams.

Again, never forget that it is you who has chosen the present. And it is you who can keep it or change it. You may complain, whine, and gripe for the rest of your life. But you have chosen the environment surrounding you. You have accepted it. You have embraced it. You have refused to walk away from it. So stop finding fault with it.

You must grasp this.

You must decide the conclusion of your life that you desire. You must decide to run your own race. You must grow the kind of harvest you desire. This is why complaining must stop. You are responsible for your situations.

Are you deeply disturbed and uncomfortable with your life right now?

If you are; here are four questions to ask yourself that can move to a place where you are in charge of the life you were born to live.

1. What one decision would you make if you knew you couldn’t fail?
2. What one thing should you eliminate from your life because it holds you back from reaching your full potential?
3. Are you on the path of something absolutely marvellous, or something absolutely mediocre?
4. Are you running from something, or to something?

Your destiny requires your own personal choices and appropriate actions.

Will you do it? I would love to help you with my eBook plus action guide that I have written especially for you.
check it out here.

The Responsibilities of Responsible People

The Responsibilities of Responsible People

by Olga Hermans 

 

 

Do you like gong to the movies? Just a week ago my husband and I went to see the movie “Courageous”. We were very, very impressed. This movie is advertised as a powerful motion picture about police officer dads who struggle with their roles as fathers.

The men in the movie have to face their biggest challenge, which is fatherhood. Being a “good enough” father doesn’t cut it when tragedy strikes and the faith of these four men is tested. When secrets are revealed and life becomes unbareable, they must draw closer to God and their families to survive.

Have you ever been in a place like that? I sure have and at the moment it wasn’t fun, but after some time when I was able to look back I could see my inner growth and how I made progress in many areas of my life. You know, you only can make progress when you take responsibility in your own life. You will be able to manage others when you are able to manage yourself first.

That is where responsibility comes in. Adam Mitchell, the main character in the movie first had to take responsibility for his own life before he was able to reach out to others.

Being responsible is something a lot of people don’t know much about. A faithful person is a responsible person. To be responsible is to give account or to be dependable.

Reliable friends who do what they say are
like cool drinks in sweltering heat–refreshing! Pro 25:13

NO wonder Solomon said this person is “as refreshing as a cool drink in sweltering heat” A responsible person is one who can be trusted. These kinds of people are hard to find, but when we find them we will notice that they are different than the average person; their motives are totally different.

 

Here are 2 of the elements RESPONSIBLE  people have:

1. They are motivated because they feel responsible; because they want to be trusted, they are willing to prove themselves. These people are driven by certain ethics and principles that they will fight for.

For example, abortion is an issue that may not affect us or our family, but we may fight against it and be willing to risk our friendships or reputation without any personal benefits.

These people are fixed; they have a firm foundation that they live by. They are people of value. They take pride in being strong and they don’t care if they are different.

2. They are motivated because they feel responsible to keep going.

For example, someone who is a millionaire several times over and has all he will ever need to go fishing or traveling for the rest of his life, but instead, he or she keeps on working every day and may even undertake something totally new and keep on going.

Some people may see that as greedy, but this person simply enjoys being responsible and likes to be an achiever. These people may do what others say can’t be done, simply for the sake of accomplishment.

Being responsible is more than making a commitment. It is a desire or an inner force that holds them accountable to themselves. They do things for the sake of getting them done or for the enjoyment of seeing them done.

Being responsible just for the sake of being responsible will make you a great servant. Jesus was a true servant. He had nothing to gain for himself. He gave up His reputation to build His name. He was humiliated and rejected to gain our trust. He was truly and purely motivated from within.

He saw what we were, and took the responsibility of making sure we got the opportunity of being what we could be. It cost Him something, but He now has earned the greatest name ever in history of mankind, and also in the world to come.

The Father sent Him on a mission because He knew that He was responsible and could be trusted. He was and still is as refreshing as cool drinks in the sweltering heat of a hot summer.

We too, have to make a choice to be willing to be responsible to achieve our dreams and our destiny. We have to set a good example. It is so very important because people believe a lot more of what they see you do than what they hear you say. So, take the responsibility to set a good example.

Living responsibly in our society is a big job. I think we should watch ourselves a little more and not be a hypocrite. Author and speaker John Maxwell says everything rises and falls on leadership. I believe that. What about you?

My Question to you is: Do you consider yourself a responsible person? How well are you currently applying this principle in your life?

 

Finding Your Passion – How to Get Motivated in Life

 

Finding Your Passion – How to Get Motivated in Life

by Olga Hermans

 

 

Everyone today seems to be busy. Ask just about anyone how they are and they will respond, “Busy.” And it’s no wonder. Roughly 78 percent of women with children aged between six and seventeen work outside the home. Many people spend their lives trying to climb the ladder of success only to find when they reach the top; their ladder was leaned against the wrong building all the time.

In other words, people are passionate, but passionate about the wrong things. God never told us to be busy. He told us to be fruitful. We are making a big mistake if we associate being busy with being successful. Many marriages have been destroyed because one or both partners are too busy to spend time with each other.

Many people lose their health because they are addicted to life in the fast lane. They don’t rest properly and eventually their body breaks down under the strain of nonstop activity. I have believed that lie at one time. I thought the busier I was, the less time I had to even hear from God concerning what His will was for me. I had a plan and I was working my plan. I was diligent and passionate, but my passion was in the wrong place.

Just being busy doesn’t mean anything; it definitely doesn’t mean that you are successful. It means that you are busy, that’s it!! Have you heard this little story about the woodcutter? He was very strong and asked for a job with a timber merchant and got it. The pay was really good and so were the work conditions. For that reason the woodcutter was determined to do his best. He wanted to be a success on his new job.

His boss gave him an ax and showed him the area where he was supposed to work. The first day the woodcutter brought 18 trees back. “Congratulations,” the boss said. “Go on that way!” Very motivated by the boss’ words, the woodcutter tried harder the next day, but he could only bring back 15 trees. The third day he tried even harder, but he only brought back 10 trees. Day after day, no matter how hard he tried, he was bringing back fewer trees.

I must be losing my strength, the woodcutter thought. He went to the boss and apologized, saying he could not understand what was going on. “When was the last time you sharpened your ax?” the boss asked. “Sharpen? I had no time to sharpen my ax. I have been very busy trying to cut trees.”

You might have heard this story before, but it is a very good reminder for us to not make the mistake of being too busy to do the things we need to do in order to be a genuine success. This is also a good place to check our motives again. You see, we cannot impress God with how much we do or with what we do. He is interested in our motives; why we have done it and it must be very good, Godly reasons.

We shouldn’t do things to impress people and to be admired. These are not good motives. Doing things just to please people is not always the right thing either. We are told to strive to please others, but not to live to please others. Rom. 15:2-3 That’s a big difference!

Let me tell you this: If you don’t learn to follow your heart and the spirit of God, you will always live under pressure. I just wrote an eBook on prayer where I describe how that works. I think it is one of the most important things that we have to learn, to follow the Holy Spirit in our lives. That is the very reason why God sent him to us. John 16:13

If God says “no”, then you must say “no,” no matter how much you are pressured by others to say “yes.” Likewise, if God is saying “yes,” then we must say “yes,” even if the world is saying “no!” The devil is a thief and a liar and one of the things he thoroughly enjoys is stealing our time. Time is a precious resource God has given us. Each of us have a certain amount of time allotted to us, and once we have used up any portion of it, we can never get it back.

Do you find yourself complaining a lot about everything you have to do? If so, you should inspect the fruit of each thing you are putting your time into. I can guarantee you will find a lot of your activities are not helping you fulfill your destiny.

The devil can make you feel guilty about not doing something you have been asked to do. The should’s and ought’s in life can be very domineering. Everybody wants you to do their thing. They have plans and want you to to help them fulfill them, but they are probably not concerned about whether or not you are fulfilling your purpose. Make a decision today about whether you are going to live for people or for God.

The next time you feel really tired, ask yourself what is the cause. If you’re tired from putting forth effort that is helping you fulfill your God-ordained purpose, then be happy. If you are tired from running around in circles being busy, but going nowhere, then repent and make some changes in your schedule so you don’t keep repeating the same wasteful cycle. You make your schedule and you are the only one who can change it.

People are frustrated when they are not fulfilling their purpose. If you are not able to focus your passion, you will have no energy; it will drain you. We all can get caught up in an emotional hype that has absolutely nothing to do with our purpose in life. Don’t make the mistake of wasting your life and having nothing but regrets to look back on.

Tell us how and where do you find your passion? How do you know you are on the right track?

You can subscribe to The Daily Choice which brings an encouraging message 5 days a week to your inbox by clicking here

 

Your Heart Needs Attention

Your Heart Needs Attention

by Olga Hermans

 

Today there are more than half of our young people in the world living in single-parent households during their childhood. This creates a sense of abandonment and rejection in their lives. Yet God desires for each and every one of us to be whole and fully restored to how He created us to be.

One of the signs of an abandoned heart is that people refuse to look at personal problems and personal responsibility. When was the last time you looked at the attitudes and conditions of your heart? Whether you realize it or not, many of these were established by your childhood environment and carried into adulthood.

Your life experiences affect your heart. They definitely have an effect on how you make choices for your life.  And you probably will find it difficult to make decisions, because it is difficult for you to look ahead and see your future. When you are able to spend time with a good family and a great church family as well, your heart has time to recover. But hurts, bitterness, and lies will produce problems in your heart.

As you renew your mind to God’s Word, your heart will open up again to the good things of life. When you start making the necessary adjustments in your life, the problems in your heart will fade and you will begin to experience positive results.

When you know that your life is on target with God, you only need to make some small changes to keep going and continue to grow, increase, improve and prosper.

Let’s say for instance, you are driving from Vancouver to Dallas. You know, it is all the way south, but you need to make some changes to stay on course, like changing roads now and then. But you know, that you just have to keep on going to get there and not to stop and not give up, because that is the way to get there right?

If you have made some really bad decisions and wrong choices in your life; you better stop your car and change direction, and find the road that will take you to God’s best for your life. Most people have made some bad decisions, but that doesn’t mean we should stay there. No! There is always a new start waiting for us.

Sometimes you have to make more than small adjustments, you may have to do a U-Turn and get serious about life changes. I want you to know, it is never too late. It is never too late to turn around and set your life on the right foundation. Stop sabotaging your life and stop tolerating that your life is running on an almost empty tank.

The “roots” of your heart produce positive and negative results.

…looking diligently [becoming aware, plugging in, learning] lest anyone fall short of the grace of [or live below God’s will, His grace, His blessing]; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled. Hebrews 12:15

Bitterness means “a bitter root…producing a bitter fruit.” Springing comes from the Greek work phuo meaning “to puff or blow” or “to swell up.” Defile means “…to taint” or “contaminate.” A bitter root from negative circumstances in life swells up and contaminates our hearts. Take this motto: “Don’t get bitter; Get Better”!

You gotta watch those roots

How is it possible that a married couple still divorces after being together for many years? It is because a root springs up. Why do people get in debt and poverty when they know that God wants them to prosper? That specific root came up.

Why do we accept to be depressed and discouraged when we are full of the Spirit of God and know the joy of the Lord belongs to us and the peace of the Lord is ours? A root defiles our hearts. It keeps us from God’s best.

Roots grow below the surface. We are able to see the trunk, leaves, and branches on the conscious, surface level. When you renew the spirit of your mind to God’s best for your life, you are willing to dig up the negative roots and move toward a healed, whole heart.

The roots of your life, all those issues in your life; they predict your future. It will never work when you keep covering them up, ignoring and denying them. There will be a moment in your life, where you will have a big garbage dump of issues that you knew you had but never wanted to deal with.

Have you ever seen those acreages where truckload after truckload has been dumped “until it is full”. Then they decide to cover it up with beautiful grass and everybody sees “a beautiful park”. It looks so nice on the surface.

But then after some years, people in the neighbourhood begin to experience some ails and physical problems. After some research, methane gas is found and it came rising up through the grass. So, a complicated system of piping needs to be built to deal with the problem. The gases are gathered and burned off so the gas will not escape into the atmosphere. Why? Because they didn’t want to deal with the garbage issues from the beginning.

Your Life Needs to be Detoxified

Sure, you can cover the garbage of your past, but it will never be able to heal your heart. When you go places or go to church on Sunday, you may look nice, but gases are rising from the surface below and you know it. There are personality disorders. You love the Lord, you are on your way to heaven, but you still cannot get your relationships right. You trust God, you believe in God, you work hard, but you still struggle financially.

Maybe you believe the bible and you quote Scripture, but you cannot serve others or get close to them. You feel lonely, isolated, and separated. You call yourself a Christian, but you do not have time for your children, you talk disrespectfully about your husband, and you gossip to your neighbors.

We can look good on the outside, but the hurts, pains, and problems of our past are bringing up gases. There is a tendency to blame others and point the finger. We want to say, “It’s that spouse who left me,” “It’s that guy who raped me,” “It’s that parent who rejected me.”

Certainly they had a part to play, but you have to decide right now if you want a whole, healthy, healed heart.

Let Your Spiritual Roots Spring Up

God has always been there for you; He always gives you opportunities to be healed and to deal with the issues in your heart; those roots in your heart. Wake up and become aware of what is going on, on the inside of you. Make that choice not to hide what you cannot hide anyway.

We all have seen those roots that grow through the cement and sometimes can even tear a road to pieces; that is how powerful they are. No matter what you put on top of them, they will spring up at any given time. They have a way of coming up when you least expect them. Make a choice to determine not to ignore them or even deny them.

Our habits and attitudes are linked to a root system in our lives. In the natural, sometimes you can pull up one root and realize it has gone way over to the other side of the yard. It is not so easy to get rid of.

Likewise, in the spirit realm, we must begin to look below the surface of our lives.

You can subscribe to The Daily Choice which brings an encouraging message 5 days a week to your inbox by clicking here

 

Prayer: The Breakfast of Champions

Prayer: The Breakfast of Champions

By: Olga Hermans

 

“If I fail to spend two hours in prayer each morning, the devil gets the victory through the day.
I have so much business I cannot get on without spending three hours daily in prayer.”
~ Martin Luther

Prayer is the backbone of a successful life and many successful people know that very well. They take their time to be still and envision their day together with the Lord. Effective prayer will cause you to soar like an eagle in God’s plans for you.

I know people who are successful who will give credit to God, because they know that their success came from the time they spent early in the morning with their maker.

Let’s look at these points once stated by my late Pastor Billy Joe Daugherty. Why Early Morning Prayer would you say?

1.   Jesus did it

Jesus set the example for us in prayer. He got up early in the morning and found a place where He could be alone to start His day with prayer. So, if Jesus started his day with prayer, how much more do we need to start out with prayer? He taught us to go in our prayer closet; wherever your place is, is not important, as long as you can settle your heart in front of the Lord and receive from Him for the day that is ahead of you.

2.   The way you start something has a great effect on the way it ends up

If you start out communing with the Lord, there is a big chance that you will be in communion with Him throughout your day. The way you start out can have a definite effect on the way things will look in the end. When a sailboat starts out, the way the sails are set determines the direction the boat will go. The way you set your sails at the start of your day determines the course you will follow during the day.

3.   When you pray early in your day, you will get an attitude adjustment!

It has been said many times that attitude determines altitude. The pitch of an airplane determines how high it will fly. The nose needs to be turned upward to fly higher, right? It’s the same with or lives. If we haven’t set our lives in the right direction, we will continue to fly on a straight course and never gain any altitude. But when we start out by setting our affection on God, something happens and we begin to climb higher and higher.

4.   It is important to start your day with prayer because many interruptions come in the middle of the day.

You can pray through your schedule each day. Pray though each thing that you know is going to happen. Ask the Lord for direction and prioritize your activities. Many people jump out of bed, run for breakfast, go to work and sometime in the middle of the day, they might think about God. But then they might not, because their schedule is so demanding.

5.   When you are hungry for fellowship with God, you will take time for early Morning Prayer.

Some people work night shifts, which makes it difficult for them to start early in the morning. The key, however, is to set a time, preferably at the start of your day whatever that timeslot might be for you. Families are wonderful and your spouse might be the best thing for you, but there is just something about having a quiet time with the Lord. If you spend time with Him, you will be on top.

6.   Just as you would fill your gas tank before you start out on a trip, you need to fill your mind with God’s Word and prayer before you start your day.

Then you are prepared for the reversals, emotional situations and bad attitudes that you may encounter during the day. All the frustrations and hassles we face could be because we haven’t won the battle in prayer before we started the day. Problems arise and demands come up, and sometimes there is more demand than there is of you! You need to fuel up on the Word and prayer before you start your day!

7.   In Exodus 16, the Lord told the children of Israel to get their manna before the sun got hot on the ground.

Manna is Living Bread and that is Jesus. That means to get a fresh word from heaven from the Word of God before you start your day. There is just something about getting up early to gather your manna at the start of the day.  People who don’t set their sails on God early in the day many times forget about Him during the day, and they go in the power of their own flesh.

8.   When you start your time of prayer with praise to the Lord, you will receive revelation, instruction, inspiration, strength, peace, deliverance from temptation, refreshing and restoration.

People faint and become weary when they do not wait upon the Lord in a time dedicated to prayer. When people talk about how weary they are and how difficult their spiritual life is, they actually say that their prayerlife has ebbed away. Isaiah 40:28-31 tells us clearly that those that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. They will exchange their weakness for the strength of God.

9.   Giving God the first part of your day is part of the spiritual law of giving the first fruits. If you give God the first part of your day, He will multiply time back to you.

Trust GOD from the bottom of your heart; don’t try to figure out everything on your own. Listen for GOD’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he’s the one who will keep you on track. Pro 3:5-6

God will guide the path you take if you pray over it. But if you don’t acknowledge God and ask for His wisdom, He could be standing right in front of you with the answer to every problem you are facing, but you are too busy trying to solve your own problems and trying to make things happen in the flesh.

God wants to speak to you in early Morning Prayer. If you take time to listen, you will hear God speak.

When the gate of your day is guarded with prayer, the devil won’t be able to gain entrance into your life because you will be alert to his tactics. Without early morning prayer, however, people’s minds and spirits aren’t that alert to the voice of God.

But when you get up early in the morning and God speaks to you at the start of your day, it will carry you, guard you and keep you on course. I, myself, have experienced both; there were times in my life that I skipped my time with the Lord early in the morning and there is that time that I love to go in front of the Lord and open up my heart to receive from Him and leave all my cares of the day with Him. The latter is the best of course.

God will never condemn you; He loves you no matter what you have done; He is always there for you. For me; I live each day with the understanding that if it were not for God’s unconditional love and grace, I would not be where I am today.

Let us know and share with our readers how you set your time with God. Be an encouragement to others, because that is what we need. Thank you so much for doing that.

You can subscribe to The Daily Choice which brings an encouraging message 5 days a week to your inbox by clicking here

 

 

The moral and ethical side of wanting to make a lot of money in business

 

You Are in For A Treat!!

 

Today I am honored to bring a post by my coach Sandi Krakowski to the table. She has boosted my life and my business in many ways beyond what I could have ever imagined. She is a no-nonsense teacher and knows how to keep you on track. Meeting her and hooking up with her has been one of the best choices in my life. There is always a challenge when you read one of her posts or attend one of her business calls. So today I want to bring that blessing right here on The Choice Driven Life. Let us know how much you enjoyed today’s post!

This article was first published in A Real Change. To receive your own FREE “Make More Money With Your Blog” training, go to ARealChange.com and claim your free coaching class NOW!

The moral and ethical side of wanting
to make a lot of money in business

By:  Sandi Krakowski

In today’s economy, many people are looking for a small business as a way to supplement or replace a lost income. Some even desire to replace a current working income because they are not enjoying the current condition of Corporate America. Having your own business that operates virtually online has become the path to ‘dreams come true’ for people who would have never thought of doing so in the past.

As we’ve had the opportunity to coach many new and aspiring business owners one of the first things I ask of my clients is WHY are they wanting to work online and run their own business. Unanimously, the common answer I always hear is a desire to make more money.

When someone wants to make more money there are a host of challenges that arise that many new business owners are not prepared for. Something I’d like to shed some light on is the fact that desiring to make a lot of money in business is not only a great moral desire but also a very ethical desire.  One of the reasons creating a lot of money in business is both ethical and moral is that in order to succeed in business you must work on more than just learning new marketable skills.

The CEO must work on becoming a better person who can run, manage and create a large business. As a matter of fact this is one of the biggest things that a business owner must do to be successful and it is the place where success separates from mediocre. In other words, many aspire to succeed; few will walk the road it takes to get to where they’re dreaming of being.

One very prevalent thing new business owners are facing as they seek to build a company is that most people believe that building a big business is inherently bad. Many think they have not been influenced by the things that are directed towards the attack of wealth and business but the reality is there is a long term ripple effect that has been building up for years that makes it a big challenge to move forward in prosperity as a business owner.

Rabbi Daniel Lapin shares in his book, “Thou Shall Prosper”

“Understand that it is very unlikely that you have not been at least slightly impacted by the culture’s slander of business. For those doubtful of how successful the campaign to discredit the worthiness of business has been, Business Week featured a cover story entitled, “Too Much Corporate Power” Sept 2000 that quantified American attitudes toward business with polls

72% of Americans agreed that business has gained too much power over too many aspects of American life.
Only 47 percent agree that “in general, what is good for business is good for most Americans” (down from 72% in 1996)
66 percent agree that “large profits are more important to business than developing safe, reliable, quality products”
Only 27 percent thought that business had “fair and reasonable prices, relative to their profits”

While certainly admiring the achievements of many of today’s wildly successful young entrepreneurs, many Americans have become conditioned to distrust the morality of business. “

If as a society we distrust the morality and ethical value of growing enormous profits as a company it is a natural law of success and wealth that we will struggle to increase our own personal wealth as a business owner until we rectify this on a personal level. To see if you happen to have such judgements and skepticism of company growth and the rich, ask yourself if you’ve ever made comments about those “Big deep pocketed executives who are only out for themselves” or have you given into popular opinion that the “Rich should be taxed because they can afford to cover the rest of us who are struggling.” Judging and distrusting the rich is a huge error if you aspire to increase your own personal wealth.

Daniel Lapin continues with this profoundly disturbing but truthful statement-

“Here is the message that the culture is broadcasting: If you cause unbearable pain to others while in pursuit of your sexual pleasure, you will find understanding and sympathy. However, if you are a businessperson causing even the slightest tinge of discomfort to others while in pursuit of profit and wealth, you will immediately and unconditionally be condemned as immoral.”

As I coach one on one with many clients and in groups with 40-80 clients at a time, I have become very painfully aware of how many people are not only judging the rich they are nearly terrified to break out of the set pattern of our culture and will unconsciously do anything they can to prevent themselves from being successful. The occurrence of procrastination increases, the reasons for not moving forward rise and the extenuating circumstances that prevent one from really working as hard as they can and giving it their all come in more flavors than even ice cream. Sadly, most people who say they want to make more money have never even considered let alone truly given intense thought to the moral and ethical side of making money.

When we add in the dignity and morality of business, the reality of inviting real mentorship into your space and getting to know oneself at a deep level, most people grow so uncomfortable they will stop before acquiring any level of success. If they do move forward, once the realization that they must drop the idol of perfection, learn to know and act on what is coming in the future and really do what it takes to succeed in business on a daily level, most people will succumb to what they’ve always known. They recoil and take the ‘well worn path’, even though it’s really a place of misery and distraught and the argument and war against wealth continues, full steam ahead.

My friends, did you ever dream in a million years that you are actually fighting a moral and ethical war when you seek to increase your own personal wealth, grow a big company, create jobs for many people and provide for those who cannot provide for themselves? Success is far more than a dream, it’s something that in order to achieve you’ll need to truly get over lesser things and grow as the Champion you were designed to be.

I’ll never forget when God had a heart to heart talk with me and told me to STOP worrying about what people think of me. He told me that it was far more than getting over my insecurities and fears of what people thought of me. It was greater than being concerned about the judgements that they had against me. He said that I had entered the realm that was in war for quite sometime before I even got there and while I certainly am not at the level of many big high level corporations, I had entered the rank of battle that many company owners know nothing about because they quit far too soon.

I want to challenge you today, to ask yourself why you want to make more money in business. Is it merely to increase your own personal net worth? And if it isn’t just for your own personal satisfaction and consumption are you willing to make a commitment to not only build a business, but become a NEW you?

Wealth will require the following equation.   

Increased Wealth =  The New You – The Old You

This equation was first presented to me in Daniel Lapin’s book and it really gave me an enormous breakthrough. The concept of getting new friends, a new mind, new ways of thinking and doing things is not a mere suggestion for those who wish to get a raise on a job, it’s an absolute requirement if you desire to create a entirely new future for yourself and your family. The New You will attract new opportunities, it will increase your confidence, you’ll make more money and more people will be attracted to you because of this. In other words, to acquire more money you CANNOT stay the same, stay who you are or continue to live as you do. It will require that you work on far more than merely new learning skills. Anyone who tells you to get new skills is really short changing the equation of real wealth creation- get a new YOU for a new life and a new bank account is the reality you’ll end up with.

Lastly, because it is a moral and ethical thing to make more money, I have another challenge to present you with today. Here is it. It is perfectly acceptable and kosher for you to ask God to help you to make more money. It’s perfectly acceptable for you to ask God for more money in general! If you are comfortable with prayer, go ahead and include a request for prosperity in your prayer time. What you are truly asking for my friends, is an increased opportunity to serve your fellow human beings and make an impact to benefit others.

That… is what A Real Change is all about.

Sandi Krakowski

 

Sandi Krakowski is a Mompreneur, Coach, Strategist & Mentor, Online Marketing Expert, Speaker, Writer, Copywriter. Mindset & Marketing For Small Biz Owners.  Her unique talent is as a “Back To Basics Step By Step Business” expert who currently serves more than 150,000 clients in over 136 countries. Her systems help the average business owner as well as big corporations get extra-ordinary results quickly. She has a track record for her ‘bringing it into action’ processes that company owners find easy to implement with quick results. She has been working online successfully for the last 14 years and built 11 successful companies ranging from eCommerce to Direct Sales to a Copywriting Firm, Marketing Business, Consulting, Coaching, Info Products and her current business A Real Change Int’l.

Step Up To The Plate, It’s Your Destiny to Hit a Homerun

 

 

Step Up To The Plate, It’s Your Destiny to Hit a Homerun

by Olga Hermans

 

Do you know what it takes to make a homerun? One thing is sure, you need to be in good physical condition. Winners will lift weights and work out to be at their best for the regular season games. This kind of physical conditioning is a part of spring training, but it continues throughout the rest of the year. Even during the off season, a ball player must continue physical conditioning for top performance.

We all know what most people do in off season; the pressure is off and temptation hits us. We even might get into some bad habits like getting lazy, eating too much junk food and things like that. Christians have off seasons too; the seasons that come after great victories. Maybe you finally got out of debt or your business rose to that level that you have been waiting for.

The thing is though that we cannot stop training in off seasons, because we cannot afford to be out of shape when a curve ball comes blasting our way. The most devastating injuries occur when we become complacent about the things of God because the pressures of life are off for awhile.

When we experience sickness in our bodies, we can end up on the sidelines and if the devil has his way, he will do his best to put us out of the game completely. When we are critically sick we can use the scriptures and release our faith of course and that is all good. But if your life is going in the wrong direction, without a life change you will be sick again.

God has put within us an immune system to fight off enemy particles in our bodies. This system is designed to destroy destructive germs and negative cells, such as those that cause cancer. The immune system sends out chemicals and positive cells to fight and destroy bad ones. When the immune system is worn down, diseases (enhanced through anger, strife, fear, unforgiveness, bitterness, depression, loneliness and similar negative emotions) gain access into the body. Taken from “The 7 Pillars of Health” by Dr. Don Colbert

So, here are several life changes you can make to bring your spirit, soul and body back into alignment in order to step up to the plate to hit that homerun again!

1.   Reset Your Priorities

You can make a decision to have your priorities right. The Bible says clearly that we shouldn’t lean on our own understanding but acknowledge God and He will direct our path! Prov.3:5-6 Let’s face it: God is much smarter than us 🙂

2.   Adjust Your Schedule

You can decide, “The Kingdom of God is going to be first in my life”. Start the day with giving God your very first moments of the new day. When you do that, you prayers are so much more effective and they will cause you to soar like an eagle in God’s plans for you.

3.   Relax in Faith

We are told to cast all our care upon Him, for He cares for us 1Peter 5:7. The God of Israel never slumbers nor sleeps, why then should we stay awake all night worrying? Psalm 121:3-4. Cast your cares upon the Lord and relax in faith. Once you have given something to Him, do not take it back again. He is well able to handle anything that comes your way.

4.   Rest in the Lord

Some people are so uptight they make coffee nervous! You can decide, “Lord, I will rest in You and lean on Your everlasting arms.” Hebr.4:9-10. We shouldn’t overlook the need for natural rest. God made our bodies that way. A good night’s sleep can go a long way toward relieving stress, increasing mental alertness and giving you physical stamina for all the tasks of your day.

5.   Laugh

Many people are standing up on the outside, but they are lying down on the inside. Depression will cause you to lie down on the inside and it will hinder the proper functioning of your immune system. Learn to laugh at your own mistakes and do not be afraid to share the humor with others in a light-hearted way.

6.   Eat the right foods

Replace fried foods (those heavy in fat and high in cholesterol) with fresh vegetables, fruits and whole grains. Drink plenty of water and ease up on sugary soft drinks. We cannot make a “god” out of eating. It is all right to enjoy food, but we ought to have enough sense to eat things that will not cause health problems.

7.   Exercise

In Bible days, Jesus and his disciples did not hop in a chariot when they wanted to go somewhere. They walked everywhere they went. What we call exercise today was their normal way of life. Find exercises you like and stay with them. Schedule them into your day just like you would an appointment.

8.   Forgive

This is a biggie; many people think it is hard to forgive their abusers or their enemies, but the truth is that it is much harder on you NOT to forgive. You are binding yourself up to the enjoyment and fulfillment of your life. Unforgiveness will block the power of God from working in you. It is time to repent and get all that negative stuff totally out of your spirit, soul and body.

When you make a choice to do what is necessary to get into a good physical condition and staying that way even in off-seasons, you will be prepared at any time to step up to the plate and hit a home run. You will be alert, ready, and strong enough for the circumstances.

My Question to you is: Are you willing to take these steps serious? Tell me and the other readers what you are going to do about it and which step is it that you have under your belt already? Thank you for doing so.

You Can Live the Satisfied Life

 

Living the Satisfied Life

by Olga Hermans

 

Have you ever thought about what it is that brings true satisfaction and fulfillment in life? How you can find that contentment that will last longer this time? We clutter our life with so much meaningless work and activities that it is easy to lose sight of the way that God has meant your existence to be. He designed us and it is up to us to discover the life we were born to live.

Life is meant to be enjoyable, fulfilling, and satisfying; there is so much more to it than just existing or struggling or even surviving. I just have been watching a teaching from Dr. Don Colbert and he said that things/material possessions only produce 10% happiness. Personality makes up about 50% and 40% comes from how we think, our actions and reactions. I thought that was very interesting, because we think, in our way of living, that things bring us the satisfaction that we desire so much.

Truly happy people have found that fulfillment finds its source deep within and is largely unaffected by external surroundings or material possessions. The world however thinks totally different; the world is always pulling us to buy this and do that and most of the times, we fall into that trap.

Several years ago, a U.S. news magazine conducted a survey, questioning people in various income categories. People with an annual income of $25,000 were asked how much money it would take for them to live “the American Dream.” The average answer was $54,000 annually. The same question was asked of people making $100,000 annually; their average answer was $192,000.

What do the results of this survey tell us? Until we come to the understanding that living satisfied comes from our heart and the way we think; our mindset, we will always think that we need more things in our way of living to reach our goal in life. A very rich man once answered the question of how much it takes to be rich with “just a little more”. That is what most people think “just a little more.”

Benjamin Franklin said it his way, “To be content makes a poor man rich and discontent makes a rich man poor.” To really enjoy a life of fulfilment on a daily basis, we need to have our eyes on the right source.

To enjoy this kind of fulfilled life on a daily basis, it is important for us to look to the right source. People around us and even our best family and friends cannot give us what we truly crave. People will always disappoint us, because we humans are fickle. We should never seek approval of others, material possessions or status because they are not meant to be in our days to give us that kind of lasting satisfaction that we think we so desperately need.

Oh yes, there is that superficial sense of satisfaction that can come from all kinds of sources, but that is not the kind of satisfaction that you are looking for, because they are always unpredictable and short-lived.

To be “satisfied” can be defined as the sense of having enough or doing enough; to be content; or to experience fulfillment and gratification. The problem is though that the average person never thinks or feels like has really reached that point of having done enough. That is why we need to have a close look at our perspective in life and to get a grip on the source of real fulfillment and lasting satisfaction.

Can you imagine how fulfilled your life with Jesus can be? His love and joy and abundance are living on the inside of us. Jesus isn’t fickle or inconsistent; He is always the same. He is the only person that you really can depend on. When we put Him 1st place in our life and we center our lives in Him, we become happier and stronger and on top of that we become much healthier in all areas of our way of living.

We have a better outlook on our way of living and because we feel so much better and feel fulfilled, our relationships flourish. Everything gets better, because our focus is not on other people but on Jesus who always causes us to triumph in every situation.

That is the key, that for a lasting satisfied life of fulfillment we need to become deeply connected with an intimate relationship with God. The person who created us to love us no matter what; the person that has experienced that is truly satisfied in the Lord because he understands that God is the only reliable source in his way of living. The only source that of true fulfillment, abundant provision, and lasting security.

This is how The Apostle said it:way of living

    …For I have learned to be satisfied with what I have. I know what it is to be in need and what it is to have more than enough. I have learned this secret, so that anywhere, at any time, I am content, whether I am full or hungry, whether I have too much or too little. I have the strength to face all conditions by the power that Christ gives me. Phil. 4:11-13

Paul tells us that we need to learn to be satisfied and that it is an attitude that we need to practice. You know, look at the children; they are never content on their own. They always want something new. Marketers know this for a fact; they place the goodies for the children on a lower eye level just for them. We as mommies have to tell them that they cannot get everything they want, right? Children aren’t satisfied with what they have; they want what they don’t have.

Sadly enough many people are still the same when they grow up. Teenagers almost always give in on peer pressure; they want to have the latest thing in the store because “everyone has it.” Far too often, that same childish behaviour carries on into marriages. Some people will always live with that constant feeling of dissatisfaction because of the things they don’t have.

There are far too many people who want to “keep up with the Joneses” and want to have the latest fashion and the latest gadgets or the newest car even. This dissatisfaction robs people’s joy and clouds their lives with discontentment.

Paul talks about attitude of contentment in First Timothy 6:6 (AMP):

“[And it is, indeed, a source of immense profit, for] godliness accompanied with contentment (that contentment which is a sense of inward sufficiency) is great and abundant gain.” Paul describes contentment as a sense of inward sufficiency. It is to be our source of immense profit.

Read again what Paul says in Philippians 4:11: “Not that I speak in regard to need, for I have learned in whatever state I am, to be content.” This same idea is also found in Hebrews 13:5: “Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’”

A satisfied life comes forth when we live from the inside out; when we can see it on the inside it will automatically show up on the outside.

When we center ourselves in Him, we discover the depth of Jesus’ love for us, and this brings the fulfillment we long for. It is from this point that we discover the power and security of living a contented way of living. As you become clearer about how you want your life to look like and about who you are in Christ, you will watch it come to pass in your own life and that is the true satisfied life.

The moment we are content and at peace with God, we can be at peace with ourselves. His peace brings confidence, no matter who we’re with or how intimidating someone may seem.

Question: What are the things in your life that keep you back from living your life with contentment and satisfaction? Please share with us and the other readers.

You can subscribe to The Daily Choice which brings an encouraging message 5 days a week to your inbox by clicking here

Ways to Success: The First Step Is to Stop Procrastinating

“Nothing Is So Fatiguing As The Eternal Hanging On Of An Uncompleted Task.” ~William James


Ways to Success: The First Step Is to Stop Procrastinating

by Olga Hermans

 

Many times I have heard people tell me they are just “waiting on God.”   While it sounds very spiritual, self-sacrificing and honorable, I also find that more often than not it’s just a politically correct way of procrastinating or justifying indecision.  Instead of gathering information, creating a plan, and taking action, they can comfortably hide out in a theological wilderness with all the other Egyptians while doing nothing.

Am I speaking to you? We all have been there and done that. Many of us are in a position where we need to make a change. Yes, we know that creating change may not come easily, because our mind tends to view anything different as dangerous.

Our mind likes to hold on to things that it knows from the past. Let me tell you, if you are holding on to things of the past, it’s impossible to receive something fresh and new. Just let go. Way too many times our past has a hold on our future.

Many times in my past there was that one thing that kept me from being productive in my life. It shouldn’t have to be. Even to the point that I was almost paralyzed because I had made mistakes in the past.

But then again there was also a time in my life that I felt I was paralyzed because of past success which was holding me back in a certain state of “resting on my laurels.” Have you ever been there?

Until the time came that I started to invest in myself and started to do things daily; I started to pick myself up to get going and move forward to accomplish something that was a benefit not only to me, but also to the lives of others.

I absolutely needed to let go of the past; all those things in the past started to bother me to the point that I didn’t have any desire to do anything. Almost to the point that I felt really lazy and sluggish and I didn’t want to move forward.

Friends started telling me that there were so many people out there who needed to hear what I had to say; that they needed my talents, my abilities; that they were looking for me to encourage them in their life. I remember the moment that I started to believe them and my life started to flourish because my focus wasn’t on me anymore, but I decided to start to serve people.

You see, the moment you decide to get into the “people business,” your life will change. People in need wouldn’t care that my life hadn’t been perfect. Welcome to the human race!

This was the reason why I kept procrastinating and procrastinating; what a foolish thing to do to if I think about it now. Just wasting time away by not believing in myself, thinking so lowly of myself, always thinking the best of other people but never thinking of myself that I could do something worthwhile. That is who I was.

People often say something like, “If I only would know what to do, then I would…” The truth is that if you make a choice to make a move things will start to fall into place.

I have heard someone say once: “you cannot steer a parked car”. That means that we first have to put the key in the ignition, turn the key and start the car before we can steer the wheels.” That principle works the same with our life.

If your life is or was like that, let me tell you what worked for me, will also work for you:

Here we go:

Make a plan that you work on daily. Start to visualize and talk about what you would like your daily life to look like, the direction you want go, the place you want to live, what kind of business you want to do.

You also should avoid those dream robbers, they always come around when you finally start going. Many dreams get robbed by negative thoughts and feelings. The biggest dream robbers are people who like to come and tell you why things cannot be accomplished or why you in particular don’t qualify for that certain thing that you are trying to accomplish.

Just don’t spend any time with people who try to rob your dream. You can ask God for the right people to come into your life; who build you up and not tear you down. There are people out there that are waiting to receive what only YOU can give them.

Take care of your dream and nurture it, keep your dream alive at all cost. Treat it as a newborn baby. Then, you need to grow it and implement things step by step. You will see a difference coming soon enough.

Then, you need to write it down!

The Bible tells us to “write the vision down so that those who read it can run with it.” This is the moment where you need to be bold. Write all the things down where you see yourself in 3 months, then six months and in a year. If you can see yourself in 5 years, write it down and even in 10 years. That is how a vision statement starts. Keep it in front of you all the time and envision yourself with everything that you have written down.

The Bible also tells us that people perish without a vision. You need a road map to see where you are going. If you don’t know where you are going, you will never know that you arrived. You will miss out on all the excitement, because when you arrive at a place there is always that feeling of fulfillment and satisfaction.

Then the moment is there to ACT

Procrastination is the enemy. Ask yourself this question, what would you do if money were no object? This is a moment where you can let your imagination take off, take all the breaks off. What would you be doing in this world that needs you and is crying out for your talents and gifts?

You can do that right now. Dream, plan and write it down and then take a few baby steps that don’t have to cost you anything except time and energy on your part. These are the things that most people don’t want to do, did you know that? I have on my white board here in front of me, “Just Do It!” Once you have taken the first step, you will be glad you did it.

Let me ask you 3 simple questions:

What are your greatest three concerns that cause you to not go forward with your dream? And then ask yourself, “How would God answer to those concerns”?

  1. What simple steps can you make today that declare, “I’ve started”?
  2. If money were no object, what would you be doing differently?
  3. How many hours a week are you presently giving to meditating, envisioning, planning, and praying about your vision?

Please share your answer with us by making a comment; others will love to read what you have to say.
It might be your very first step!

You can subscribe to The Daily Choice which brings an encouraging message 5 days a week to your inbox by clicking here