We Are All Meant To Shine

I came across a powerful quote from the book A Return To Love, I trust this will empower you as it did me. "You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people wont feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; its in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." Marianne Williamson

Powerful words indeed, now read the message below out loud, only this time I have tweaked it a little to really make it personal:

"I am a child of God. My playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people wont feel insecure around me. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; its in everyone. And as I let my own light shine, I unconciously give other people permission to do the same. As I am liberated from my own fear, my presence automatically liberates others."

Let me leave it right there.

Lessons from my life

I have come to realise that what I go through, no matter how hard it may seem, is for my development and growth. The battles I have won in life have qualified me to be where I am today. Secondly, when I look back at some of the battles, I realise that I wasted valuable time stressing about the situation, the effect of the stress is that it weakened my resolve and confidence which meant the battle dragged on longer than it should have. The key here is that when the problem comes, take a step back and go have a look at all your past successes, remind the warrior in you what he/she is capable of, that builds your confidence and prepares you to go into battle with a winner's attitude, if you use that approach you will have already won most of the battle. Mr B

Mastering Your Gifts and Talents - Part 1

One of the things I love most about life is that each and every person is unique, we are all born with different gifts and talents and our experiences in life along with our education further helps develop this uniqueness. What excites me about this is that if we all have a natural talent then that means all of us have something we can be great at! I'lll let that sink in for a while...

The people who are enjoying themselves the most, the people who are making serious money out there are the people who are great at something, look around you, there are examples everywhere. Some of us look at these people and can't help but be jealous, some look at them and are happy that some people have actually managed to make a success of their lives, the group that benefits the most are those who look at successful people and think "if they can do it, so can I! What can I learn from this success story? what must I change in my own life to achieve the results that they are getting?"

The biggest challenge we face in this regard is that the world we live in puts more value on education and the acquisition of skills than on the mastery of our personal gifts and talents. So in all likelihood you are stuck in a job you have no passion for because you are not using your gifts and talents. Trust me when I say you are not alone, this is a problem worldwide. Let me qualify my statement, an international research company called Gallup has been doing research on employee job satisfaction across the globe for years, I came across their 2013 report and it revealed that overall, only 13% of workers are "engaged" meaning they:

• feel engaged by their jobs,  
• feel a sense of passion for their work,
• have a deep connection to their employer,
• spend their days driving innovation and moving their company forward. 

63% are “not engaged,” meaning they:

• are unhappy but not drastically so,
• they’re checked out, they sleepwalk through their days at work watching the clock for knock-off time,
• put little energy into their work doing just enough not to get fired. 

24% are "actively disengaged" meaning:

• they pretty much hate their jobs,
• add no value to their jobs,
• deep down hope to get fired so they can have an excuse to leave without resigning,
• always cause drama by acting out and undermine what their coworkers accomplish.

The last two categories added up means 87% of workers worldwide are not happy with where they work! That is messed up, it actually explains why in most cases one receives such poor customer service. The above makes it clear that not only are the majority of people stuck in jobs they don't want to be in but they are also getting paid peanuts to stay there! Who in their right mind would agree to such a deal? The answer is you and me, we agree because the world teaches us that this is the way things are done and so we neglect our gifts and talents to go work at jobs we hate only to be paid peanuts at the end of the month...its time to change the direction of your life. 

Be on the look out for Part 2 of this series where I will be sharing more insights on Mastering your Gifts and Talents.  

Take Charge of Your Finances - Part 1

FINANCIAL FREEDOM FOR ALL!

Through research and my own life's experiences I have come to understand that the difference between success and failure on any situation lies purely in how people think. In the bigger scheme of life, people who succeed differ from those who fail by how they use time, their minds, opportunities, their gifts/talents and skills. When you take the time to learn how to change your thinking and become a better thinker, you are investing in yourself. The easiest thing to do is blame the difficulties we find ourselves in on other people, while this in fact should be the other way round because our external circumstances are a reflection of what is happening in our minds.

To illustrate let us look at a child raised in a township. The environment they grow up in tells them this everyday "you will never amount to much, poverty is part of who you are, whats the point of being serious about school/life, at best you will one day own a house in the township and if you are lucky government will give you an RDP house, the only people who are successful are the drug dealers, tavern owners and those that are gang related" etc. etc. Ultimately this child will in all likelihood not bring financial freedom to his/herself or to their family and thus the cycle of poverty goes on generation after generation.

As much is this is the reality for the majority in South Africa I have seen people, having been raised in utter poverty, take their lives and turn them around to become multi-millionaires. The question them becomes how? How does one take their current state and turn it around for the better? The truth is that anyone can get wealthy, you just need the knowledge and capacity to acquire and manage your finances, getting rich is a science that can be learnt and applied by anyone who is willing to put in the effort. You have the same right and opportunities to get as wealthy as you want but the problem is that most people are too lazy to be wealthy. People want the money but they are ultimately not willing to do what it takes, they would rather spend their time dreaming about winning the lotto or watching soapies, in fact most South Africans know more about what is happening regarding the saga on Generations  than they know about establishing an investment portfolio!

The bottom line is that whats keeping you from getting wealthy is the following: EXCUSES. Whatever you say to justify poverty and lack in your life is an excuse, if you are not willing to do what it takes to change your circumstances then you must accept the whatever life gives you. According to Napoleon Hill, the consequences for not taking full control of your life include ill health, living a life of fear and worry, indecision and doubt, frustration and discouragement throughout life, poverty, lack and a whole flock of evil consisting of: envy, greed, jealousy, anger, hatred and superstition. These are consequences not options, they become your reality whether you like it or not and they happen to those who refuse to take full responsibility over their lives and use their minds to the fullest.

Its time to stop the excuses and get to work on changing your life, its going to take time and effort because opportunities come to those who are prepared. You must come to the realisation that Nobody is going to do it for You, this is your life, this is your time to shine. Are you ready to change? The fact that you have read this far indicates to me that you are, if that is the case then let me tell you where to start:

• First and foremost you have to know what you want, clearly define it, write it down, this is what is called your vision, it is what you want to do, what you want to have, the legacy you want to leave behind
• Take that vision and surround it with pictures that bring visual identity to it, your dream house, your dream payslip, the orphanage you want to establish etc., this is what is called a vision board, put it somewhere visible to you daily, spend time looking at it everyday and visualise your future life, close your eyes, feel the emotions, taste the food, smell the leather in your new car, see your children playing in your new house, live your dream, do all this in your mind daily.
• Take stock of where you are right now by rating yourself from 1 to 10 on each of these areas: Career/Business, Health, Family and Friends, Romance, Personal Growth, Spiritual Growth, Leaving a legacy and Finance
• Take each of the areas and write down your top 2 goals to improve the score you've got and write 10 action steps you will take to make the goals a reality, put the action steps in order of priority and start by executing the first action steps immediately

I have given you a practical exercise to do, its not complicated, just do it and do it diligently, when the goals for each area are achieved set new goals because there is always room to improve. On a parting note, please read these two books, Rich Dad Poor Dad by Robert Kiyosaki and Think and Grow Rich by Napoleon Hill. You have just begun a journey that is going to change your life, enjoy the ride!

You were born a Winner!

When you were conceived you were the winner of a race with 250 million other sperm cells. Miscarriage claims between 10-34% of pregnancies and you survived. 5% of the children born never make it beyond 5 years old, you made it. You've been beating the odds all your life,  its about time you realised what you really are and that's a WINNER. You have everything you need to take yourself to the next level, everyday you are presented with is an opportunity to re-invent your life! One of the biggest mistakes you can make is allowing other people's opinions on who you are and what you are capable of limit you. Make a decision today to extinguish all negative words spoken over you that you have come to believe, break all the excuses and limits you have set for yourself. You are FREE TO BE YOU. Stop trying to be NORMAL. Mr B

Die Empty!

One of the most challenging teachings I have ever sat under was from Dr Myles Munroe, if you don't know him please do yourself a favour and do some research on his work. His messages predominantly speak to Discovering the Kingdom, Purpose and Leadership. I think he is said to have written over 70 books so you will definitely find something to read from his offerings. In one of his messages Dr Myles Munroe speaks of dying empty, I have put some of his thoughts below, after reading the following piece of writing ask yourself if today was indeed your last day on this earth can you safely say I have poured myself out, I have done that which I was born to do, I have fulfilled my purpose?

The wealthiest place on earth is not the oil fields of Iraq, Iran, Saudi Arabia or Kuwait, it’s not the diamond mines of South Africa, Zimbabwe or the Demoractic Republic of Congo. The wealthiest place on earth is the CEMETERY, the grave yard. You may wonder why is the graveyard so wealthy? Its because in the cemetery are books that were never written, paintings that no eye will ever see, the graveyard is filled with music that no one has ever heard heard, the cemetery is filled with poetry that no one will ever read, ideas that will never be reality, the cemetery is filled with great men that died as alcoholics and drug addicts, it’s filled with powerful women that died as prostitutes, it is filled with dreams that will never come to pass, it is filled with businesses that will never open. 

What a tragedy, every time I pass by the cemetery I always think, if I could mine this place like they do gold I’d be a rich man. For those of you who know me, I am passionate about the youth…the reason I took time to write this article is because every time I see the young I see a candidate to add to the wealth of the cemetery. I can’t imagine the cemetery would rob us of the magazine you want to publish, the music you want to produce or the books you want to write. I want to see the young die empty. I want you to go to the grave yard, young man, young woman finished. I want you to die like Jesus. Go to the grave yard as nothing but an empty carcass. 

You should not die old but die finished. I want you to die like the apostle Paul, Paul says,”I have the race and finished my course.” Then he says,” I have been poured out like a drink offering, every drop of me is finished. Therefore I am ready to die.” You should not die until there is nothing left for you to do. Die empty. That’s why God is interested in your life. It’s not you that he wants to save, it’s what you are carrying.

Let Your Light Shine!

Surely you can see that there is a problem with waking up early everyday to go spend 8 hours in a job you have zero passion for, having to impress a boss you dislike, working with colleagues that are always eagerly waiting for the opportunity to stick a knife deep in your back...its time for change, take back your life, choose to get out of that toxic environment, you have GREATNESS in YOU! Let you LIGHT SHINE! Mr B