Elisha

There is a story in the Old Testament about Elisha, who eventually became the Prophet that was taught by Elijah and took Elijah’s ministry after his death. Anyway, while Elisha was waiting to be anointed as a prophet he was a farmer who would plow his field on a daily basis. He followed behind his ox plowing his field and dreaming of better days.

Now, as we all know, oxen are not known for their brain power; in fact oxen are known to be dumb. Hence the phrase “dumb ox”. So why was Elisha following behind something that was dumb?

Can you ever find your potential following something that is dumb? I don’t think so. Well it wasn’t until Elisha broke his plow to form an alter and sacrificed his oxen and placed the oxen on the alter, that Elisha broke free of his rut and found his true calling.

Are you stuck in a rut? You may want to evaluate if you are following behind something or someone that is “dumb”! Be COFFEE BEANS today and change the world!

Potential

I have been pondering the concept of POTENTIAL. There were many definitions, but the one I embraced is as follows: “existing and ready for action but not yet active”. Wow! How many folk spend their whole lives “existing and ready for action and then die not yet active”? What a tragedy!

Maybe the world is as chaotic as it is because more of us have never put into action our “existence” or our “readiness”. If you are on hold, put yourself into action today to realize your POTENTIAL. If you are waiting for a sign; the right time; the right dress; the right significant other; the right job; the right pat on the back; the right kind word; the right, the right, the right -— stop waiting and PUT YOURSELF INTO ACTION so that you can realize your POTENTIAL!

Don’t waste your life waiting to be active; embrace and release the potential that is inside of you TODAY!

Affirmation

I have been thinking a lot about AFFIRMATION. What principles do you use to AFFIRM you on a daily basis? Do you use the judgment and comments of others or do you have Life Affirming skills that you have internalized? What I mean by this is that YOU on a daily basis should tell yourself what a GREAT person you are! You are a GREAT Person because:

You have a wonderful and powerful spirit inside of yourself;
You are able to DREAM of a better tomorrow;
You are able to reach for the STARS and not lament that you landed on the MOON;
You are a child of the universe;
You make meaningful contributions just by existing; and
You are loved!

Negative energy and the people the energy fills will seek out positive-energy-filled people like us, so don’t let them drain your POWER, PEACE and AFFIRMATION. In the immortal words of Chaka Khan:

“When your heart is free it's easy to make a decision. When your head is clear, you know you have good judgment. When your life is turning topsy turvey and you have no reason for what’s disturbing you, remember these words...
Keep Your Head Up/... don’t walk away from all that’s hurting. Find your power because you know you are strong. Make that step and it will help you along!”

Time Management

Time management books often deal with how to focus your time and energy to obtain the biggest effect for the least amount of expended energy. This concept is termed “efficiency” and in fact Winners are always efficient, so that their time and energies can be focused in investing in themselves. Working long and hard doesn’t mean working smart.

To reach your true potential we are advised to focus 70% of our time and energy on developing strengths. That is, spend time focusing on what you do well as opposed to what you do wrong. To put this into practice you have to believe that you have value regardless of what your detractors might want you to believe.

That is not to say that constructive feedback from your supervisors and peers that is provided to give guidance that assists you in meeting the requirements of your job should not be heeded. Work related feedback should never affect your self worth and if you find that it does then perhaps you should evaluate what you hold dear. Feedback about job performance should be used to improve your job performance and should not be used to define you as a person unless what defines you as a person affects your job performance in a negative way.

Likewise, 25% of your focus should be on new areas of your life that have never been explored. Spend time thinking about how you might want to grow and change. The pursuit of personal betterment will keep you young and energetic. There are always new horizons to explore. Avoid getting mired in the clay of past accomplishments. It takes courage to explore new vistas but this courage is what Winners have.

Focus 5% of your focus on those areas of weakness that allows you to make bad decisions so that this pattern can be broken. Nobody is entirely free of weaknesses and sometimes just admitting that you have them and enlisting the help of others can get you the help you need to shore up your weaknesses.

Challenge

When we face the challenges of life, the process we follow to adjust to or overcome the challenges is perhaps more important than the outcome of the challenges. The definition of challenge in the English language is a demanding or stimulating situation which requires ingenuity and “stick-to-it-ness” to fashion a solution. Someone once said, that if the task at hand was easy then everyone could do it but the challenge is yours because you are uniquely equipped to handle the challenge! So when difficult situations, people or events come your way, embrace the challenge because a blessing will be yours after you have overcome the challenge and moved forward.