Direction, Balance and Belief – What You Need to Succeed in Life

Success means many things to many people.  It cannot be given an absolute definition. However, Glenn Bland, author of Success! The Glenn Bland Method: How to set goals and make plans that really work, suggests that all success consists of three pillars – direction, balance and belief.   In explaining these pillars, Bland writes:

Success consists of three things if you are gain a true understanding:
1.        Direction – Setting your sights on the things that are worthwhile in life and then establishing a plan to continuously work toward their fulfillment and accomplishment.
2.        Balance – Keeping the proper perspective about every area of your life.  Staying in harmony with nature's law which produces perfect balance.  Balance in all things brings about happiness.
3.        Belief – No man will become successful who does not possess belief.  The greater his belief – the greater his degree of success.  Successful men are believers!

A person with direction, balance and belief will become successful in life. This week, I want you to consider the extent to which you have direction, balance and belief in your life.  If it is little (and it does not satisfy you), I urge you to start working at increasing it.  If it is a lot (and it satisfies you), I urge you to work at maintaining it as long as it continues to make you successful in life.  After that, you will need to increase it.

An Athlete's Pride

I spent most of today rambling through more than 50 pages of motivational sports quotes and among them I found one titled ‘An Athletes Pride.’ The quote intrigued me so much so I instantly thought to share it with you as today’s post. I hope that you are intrigued with the quote as much as I was and you find others to share it with.

An Athlete’s Pride
"I'm a high school player. I'm a team player. I play with my friends and with some of my enemies, but I respect everyone when it comes to my sport. I know I'm not going to get a multi-million dollar contract to play professionally. I know I may not even get my name in the paper. I play for love of the game. For the pride and honor, for the blood, sweat and tears it takes to make the team, to earn the spot, to win the game. I play because I can, I play because I know that my life would be empty without the sport I play. I would have a lack of everything my sport gives me... integrity, courage, talent, fearlessness, pride, strength, stamina, will, and the heart of a champion. If I didn't play, I would lose a part of me. I'm an athlete. I'm a girl. I'm a champion, not because my team always wins, but because when we don't, we learn from our mistakes. We try to fix them, and most of all because we have fun. I have built lifelong friendships and memories because of my being an athlete. I leave everything on the field or court and continue to push myself. I am never happy with second place, but I have learned to accept it. I have learned to get over and through my anger and be the athlete and player I have always dreamed of being. I don't play for my parents, for my family, for my friends; I don't play for my coach or my teachers or my school. I play for myself but when I'm playing I represent them. It isn't about winning or losing, but I hate to lose. I won't settle for a tie, and I am not satisfied with 100%. To play, you have to sacrifice everything, your body, your time, your sweat, blood, and tears, everything... for your team. I am a player, and athlete and a champion, not because I know what it is like to win, but because I know what it is like to lose. I know what it is like to feel the anger and pain that comes along with "second best." I have been that girl with tears in her eyes, walking out to receive the second place trophy and clapping as the other team, my opponents, receive the first place one. I know what it is like to lose, to win, to want to quit, to want to cry, to not want to get up. I know what it is like to hear the cheers and yells for you. I know what it is like to feel the pressure of everyone on your shoulders, and I know what it is like to choke under that pressure. I know what it means to be an athlete, a true player, and that is why I play. I AM AN ATHLETE, A CHAMPION, A TRUE PLAYER."

Playing the Game of Life
‘An Athlete’s Pride’ makes us understand the athlete’s source of satisfaction in her game. Life in general and the specific areas of your life – your family life, your professional life and your public life – have similar sources of satisfaction. If you look at it closely enough, you will discover that one of the greatest metaphors for life is athletics.

Now, ask yourself the question, ‘How am I playing the game of life?’ and more specifically, ‘How am I playing the game of life?’

Can you take the exact words of ‘An Athlete’s Pride’ and use them to refer to your life in general? Can you take the exact words of ‘An Athlete’s Pride’ and use them to refer to your family, professional life and public life?

If you can, then I would like to congratulate you? If you cant, I’d like to urge you to consider using ‘An Athlete’s Pride’ as the benchmark to which you begin to develop satisfaction in your life – in general as well as your family, professional and public life specifically.

The Wicked Servant's Lament

Like the new widow
Mine was the window
I watched life pass by
Dreamt of one day being the passer by
“But what if you loose it?
What will you gain from using it?
Put it on the shelve
Keep it known to yourself,”
The devil played his tricks in my mind
Now I’m left behind.
All things come to an end
And mine was my life’s end!

Comment – To fulfill the mandate that God has given us to exercise rulership over the earth we must make use of all the gifts and talents that He has given us. We must not allow fear, worry, procrastination, false hope or any other negative force to stop us from using our gifts and talents. When we do not use them, we become ineffective in fulfilling the mandate that God has given us and He is disappointed in us. Do not think like the wicked servant. There is no gain in preserving and hiding your gifts and talents.

So little or So MUCH --- It’s Your Choice!

In 2 Kings 13:14-19, Jehoash, the king of Israel, approaches the prophet Elisha and requests him to deliver Israel out of the hands of the Arameans. The prophet responds by instructing the king to take a bow and arrow. The prophet then places his hand on the hand of the king and instructs him to open the east window and shoot. After the king shoots an arrow out the window, the prophet declares,

“The LORDS arrow of victory, the arrow of victory over Aram! … You will completely destroy the Arameans at Aphek!” 2 Kings 13:17

The shooting of the arrow towards the east was symbolic of Israel’s victory over the Arameans at Aphek. With the help of the Lord, Israel was going to completely destroy the Arameans at Aphek.

After declaring Israel’s victory over the Arameans at Aphek, the prophet goes on to instruct the king to take some arrows and strike the ground. The king struck an arrow to the ground three times and stops. After the king stops, the prophet rebukes the king in anger,

“You should have struck the ground five or six times: then you would have defeated Aram and completely destroy it. But you will defeat it only three times.” 2 Kings 13:19

Three strikes were not enough to completely destroy the Arameans: three victories over them would not obliterate them. Israel needed five or six victories over the Arameans to obliterate them. King Jehoash was not aware of this so made three strikes and stopped. If he knew that he needed five or six victories over the Arameans in order to obliterate them completely, I am sure that he would have made more than three strikes --- maybe seven, eight, nine or ten. Maybe many more!

So little or So MUCH --- It’s Your Choice!
Many of us are like King Jehoash in life. We are presented with the opportunity to do much in life but choose to do little. The year has just begun and many of us are still setting our goals for the year. As we set our goals for the year, we have the opportunity to set out to achieve so much or so little this year. The mistake that many of us will make is that we will set out to achieve so little.

Setting out to achieve so little includes creating solutions for current problems. It includes generating just enough money to make it to the next pay cheque. It includes planning for coming events and not beyond. Yet there are a few of us that will set out to achieve so much.

Setting out to achieve so much includes creating solutions for current and future problems. It includes generating enough money for today and a little extra for the future. It includes simultaneously planning for coming events and beyond them. Setting out to achieve so much is far much broader than setting out to achieve so little. You see beyond the immediate when you set out to achieve so much. When you set out to achieve so less you do not see beyond the immediate.

The reason why many people achieve so little in life is because that is what they set out to achieve. The reason why few people achieve so much in life is because that is what they set out to achieve. Are you among the many that achieve so little? Or are you among the few that achieve so much? You achieve what you set out to achieve. My hope is that you set out to achieve so much in 2011.

So little or So MUCH --- It’s Your Choice!

Be Inspired.