The Law of Attraction – A Christian Perspective

On December 1, 2008, In Faith, Success, By Pastor Bobby

Quite some time ago I was introduced to the Law of Attraction, a wealth building program that promotes the idea that we can attract whatever we want in this universe and repel those things that we do not want in our lives. The Movie “The Secret” is credited with propelling this idea or system of thought into the mainstream of human experience.

The actual beginning of this modern day concept of the Law of Attraction is attributed to a gentleman who lived in the 1800. His name was Wallace D. Wattles. He wrote a book called ‘The Science of Getting Rich – The Proven Mental Program to a Life of Wealth.’  His primary motivation for his book and his system is ‘to get rich.’ If you were to read this book you would see that Mr. Wallace was under the same impression that most secular humanist are, still today. He was familiar with the myth that you must be poor to be pious. He was taught and was familiar with the teachings of the ‘church authorities’ that wealth breeds sin. He summarily rejects this idea but, instead of researching the truth, he dismisses all of the truth and attributes good things to an ‘Intelligent Substances’ which is ALL. He attributes this as a ‘Living Substance’ that not only is ALL but lives in All of us.

I wonder, if Mr. Wallace had taken the time to understand the true nature of ALL (God), would he have come to the same conclusion. This is my greatest contention with the majority of Christian teaching, then and now. We are taught that God wants us to be poor and not to be tempted with material things. I do not know where this is substantiated in Scripture. The Holy Bible I read tells me the exact opposite. God wants us to prosper as our souls prosper. He wants us to seek Him first. He wants us to diligently study His Holy Word in order that we might be good stewards of all that He gives us.

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Why I Changed My Mind

On November 16, 2008, In Success, By Pastor Bobby

Most people, the vast majority, do not realize that there is no separation between the spiritual world and the physical world. The only difference that might seem to be is our perception of either. People go to great lengths to convince themselves that there is only the physical world or that there is a huge gulf between the physical and the spiritual worlds. The fact is that this world is a physical manifestation of the spiritual world. Almighty God (The Supreme Spiritual Being) created everything that is. Refer to Genesis, Chapter 1 beginning with verse 1 and The Gospel according to John, Chapter 1 beginning with verse 1. Everything that exists in this physical world was manifested by God from the spiritual to the physical. Our enemy, God’s enemy, wants us to believe that all that is in the physical world is separate and unrelated to the spiritual world. Here is the misconception that has fooled too many. The worse part of this is that good Christian ministers perpetrate this false information without realizing it.

Christ and the apostles told us so many times that Christ lives in His believers. We are told that His Holy Spirit lives in us and guides us. When we look at this we can understand that the Creator lives in us, not far above us in some untouchable spiritual realm. The Presence of the Holy Creator of the universe resides in us. The power that created every physical thing that exists is living inside of each believer, not in a far off place called Heaven. Think about that. The POWER that created the world is inside of you, the believer. The Creation force, God’s Presence, is inside of each believer.

We must ponder the question, “Am I a physical being who occasionally has a spiritual experience?” or “Am I a spiritual being who is now having a physical experience?” In the first chapter of the Book of Jeremiah, God tells the prophet that He knew him before he entered his mother’s womb. When we realize that we are first spiritual beings (conceived in the mind of Almighty God), we are living now as physical beings and that one day we will exist again strictly as spiritual being, there is a different perception given us of the relationship of the spiritual world and the physical world. When we realize that we are primarily spiritual beings living inside a physical body in the company of the Holy Presence that was in Christ Jesus, we should see in ourselves the greatest manifestation to have ever taken place, God’s pure, unshakable and never ending love for us.

The Apostle Paul tells us in his Epistle to the Romans that the spirit and the flesh are constantly battling each other. The physical world and the one who usurped the dominion of the physical world from God’s creation, mankind, is desperate for us to forsake the idea that we are first spirit. His job is to alienate us from our true being, thereby stealing us from our Creator. We are told by Jesus Christ that the enemy comes to steal, kill and destroy. He comes to steal us from God, kill our spiritual consciousness and destroy our hope. It is the intention of the enemy of mankind to make us believe that we are powerless and impotent in spiritual matters. How absurd is that? Yet, the majority of people, especially believers, have fallen for that lie. How can we have the power of creation, the Presence of God, living in us and be powerless to cause change? Jesus told us that all we needed was the smallest degree of ‘faith’ (faith the size of a mustard seed) and we could move mountains. Yet there are poor Christians, sick Christians, defeated Christians and worse, deluded Christians who have fallen for the enemy’s lies.

The very first step to attracting everything that we could ever want or need is to change our minds, our mindset. Stop believing the enemy’s lies that you are powerless and that you must accept what he or the world throws at you. Start believing what God has told us. Start believing that He wants us to prosper as our souls prosper. Start believing that the Power of the Creator of ALL THAT IS lives inside of you. He has given to each believer a measure of faith. It is up to us to study His Holy Word, His Wisdom, to understand that that seed of faith, planted in our hearts, can be nurtured and can grow. As we learn the process of ‘growing’ our faith, we begin to feel the presence of the Creator in us. As we understand the principles that God has given us in His Holy Word, we begin to see a change in our lives.

Believers have been under the impression that to be pious they must be poor. It is not wealth that creates evil. It is man’s desire for wealth. This does not mean that you should not want to be wealthy. This means that you should understand that wealth is a tool that God gives us to accomplish His will. Wealth in and of itself is useless. It will not produce happiness. It will not produce health. It will not produce love. These things are gifts from God Almighty. As Jesus Christ instructed us in the 6th chapter of Matthew, we are to seek first the Kingdom of Heaven. When our focus is on God, He will grant us stewardship over His possessions. When we prove ourselves to be worthy of using His wealth for His Glory, He will give us increase.

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What Every Affiliate Marketer Needs to Know Part 2

On November 13, 2008, In Success, By Pastor Bobby

In the first part of this series we talked about getting started with Affiliate marketing. In every start up business we need to consider both effectiveness and expense. Let’s begin where we left off.

Article writing is a great way, although not the quickest way, to get your name associated with the ‘niche’ that you have chosen. If you spend 15 minutes reading articles about your ‘niche’ and 15 minutes per day writing an article about your subject, in 6 days you can submit 6 articles. That will soon add up to 24 articles per month and 288 articles in one year. You can increase this as you get more comfortable and knowledgeable about your ‘niche.’

You’ve created a nice blog and populated it with articles about your ‘niche.’ Good start! Blogs are great because of the freedom that you have to write your opinion. Be aware though that the objective is to get people reading what you write. Give information, information, information. Do not fill your blog with ‘ad copy’ for posts. Build trust first by giving useful information. The more that you give, the more your posts and articles will be accepted and even anticipated.

We mentioned the Search Engine spiders in Part one of this series. These are the clever little software programs that rush out onto the ‘net’ and look for ‘content.’ Content is the information that you post on your blog and in your articles. This is spider food.

Now another little secret. You started a blog on WordPress.org. It looks good and you’ve posted several articles. You’re off and running. Why not go to another Blog Community (Blogger, etc) and start another blog and simply spend a few minutes each day posting the articles (maybe with a little modification) that you have posted on your first blog and submitted to the Article Databases. Remember that our objective is not to simply sell a product but to sell your name as a trusted source of information. You are moving closer to the 3% winners circle.

After you have a little blogging time under your bely, now is the time to go out and search for Blog Directories where you can submit your blog(s) for listing in their directory. This also gives added exposure to your blog.

While we are on the subject of blogging, let’s look at another aspect of blogging that will also get us noticed. Commenting. As you search through the blog directories and Search Engines to find information to fuel you article writing and blog posting, leave positive comments on the blogs that you encounter in the same or similar ‘niches.’ Most blog owners want you to comment. It adds substance to their blog. Again, most blog owners do not mind your leaving an URL to your blog as long as it is NOT an overt attempt to ‘spam’ their blog with ad copy. They like for you to actually read their posts and make relevant comments. This also gives you an opportunity to have a one-way link back to your blog (another tasty tidbit for the SE spiders.)

After doing this, you should consider starting an enewsletter and letting people sign up for your newsletter on your blog. As your traffic increases, your readership increases. Visitors (potential customers) begin anticipating the ‘information’ that you give them. I would suggest that you use a verified opt in service for distributing your enewsletter. Get permission to send them your information.

eNewsletters are great and you can even sell advertising space after you have built a good list. We’ll begin discussing eNewsletters in another article. The important things to remember here are:

1.) research
2.) write
3.) post
4.) comment on other blogs.

You are on your way to building a good, substantial business. These are foundational steps. Every good business must be built on a sturdy foundation.

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4 Simple Steps Toward Becoming Successful

On August 14, 2008, In Success, By Pastor Bobby

The 4-step plan

So, how do we bring Solomon’s concept of diligence into our daily lives? True diligence takes time to acquire and also takes making a habit of diligent action in every area of our lives. There is good news though. It doesn’t take years or months or even days for us to start applying diligence to our endeavors. Solomon gives us his 4-step plan that we can use to quickly bring diligence to our jobs, our careers, our relationships, our marriage, our parenting and even our spiritual lives.

Read and study these steps diligently!

Step #1 – Wake up and smell the coffee!

Proverbs 6:9-11 (NKJV)

9 How long will you slumber, O sluggard? When will you rise from your sleep?

10 A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep—
11 So shall your poverty come on you like a prowler, and your need like an armed man.

One of the biggest deterrents to success is procrastination. So many people are stumped by the concept of time. “I’ll do it tomorrow.” This is a sentence that has cause the failure of many good intentions. We think that we have all the time in the world to accomplish what needs to be done.

How many overweight people have you heard say that they are going to start eating better and loosing weight next week? How many people have you heard say that as soon as they finish that last pack of cigarette, they are going to quit smoking. How many people say that they will do something when they can get around to it?

Now is the time for action. Now is the time to start. When we wait for a better time, we simply wait. I have even heard minister say that as soon as they get support for a ministry that they will begin. We must believe that when God gives us an idea for something, NOW is the time to start. He will provide what we need. He simply wants to see if we have the intestinal fortitude to start now.

Step #2 – Define your vision

In Proverbs 29:18 (KJV) Solomon wrote that, “Where there is no vision, the people perish:”

No matter what you are trying to accomplish, without a vision, there is nothing, no direction, no motivation or drive. It is of vital importance for us to define the vision that we have for whatever we want to accomplish. If you are in a situation in your marriage, define the vision that you have for your marriage. Set down point by point what you need to accomplish in order to realize the vision that you have for your marriage.

If you want to be successful in business, visualize that success. See yourself already successful in that business. Then set down, point by point what you need to do to accomplish that vision.

In Habakkuk we are given some very strong advice that supports what we are learning here.

Habakkuk 2: 2-3 (New Standard American Bible) “Record the vision and inscribe it on tablets, that the one who reads it may run.   3 “For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it hastens toward the goal and it will not fail though it tarries, wait for it; For it will certainly come, it will not delay.

Define the vision that you have, write it down and read it everyday without fail.

Step #3 – Effective Partnerships

In Proverbs 15:22 we are told that, “Without counsel, plans go awry, but in the multitude of counselors they are established.”

True diligence demands excellence in every endeavor. Each of us has talent in something; none of us has talent in everything. The wise man or woman always surrounds himself with people who are talented in different areas. When a successful Christian begins a project he should always seek the wise counsel of others and even form partnerships with them. But be advised; do not form partnerships with the foolish. They’ll cause your ruin.

Step #4 – Actively pursue Wisdom and build your life on it

Proverbs 4:7 (NIV) says, “Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom. Though it cost all you have, get understanding.” and

Proverbs 16:16 (NIV), “How much better to get wisdom than gold, to choose understanding rather than silver!

We must make every effort to become diligent students of God’s Holy Wisdom. We must pursue God’s Wisdom and focus on our relationship with Christ above everything else. We are told that Christ has been made wisdom for us and that we are to study to show ourselves approved in God’s eyes. Christ told us to seek first the Kingdom of Heaven and then all of the other would be added to us.

From this very moment you can begin to be a diligent student, a diligent worker in God’s vineyard, a diligent seeker of Christ and a successful Christian.

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Success Through the Parable of the 3 Servants and the Talents

On August 12, 2008, In Success, By Pastor Bobby

In the New Testament we are given several parables that Jesus used to reveal truths about The Kingdom of Heaven. The dictionary definition of the word parable is:

1. a short allegorical story designed to illustrate or teach some truth, religious principle, or moral lesson.

2. a statement or comment that conveys a meaning indirectly by the use of comparison, analogy, or the like.

Jesus used these stories (analogies) to reveal some profound truths to us, if we are diligent enough to ‘study’ and not simply read them for face value. The simplicity of these parables is profound in itself. Jesus knew that there would be those who would only understand the simple meaning of His parable. He was also aware that there would be those, diligent in their study of His Word, who could take the deeper meaning and apply it to their lives.

Let’s take a deep look at the parable about the three servants and the talents. Let’s understanding that ‘talent’, according to the dictionary means:

1. a special natural ability or aptitude: a talent for drawing.2. a capacity for achievement or success; ability: young men of talent.

3. a power of mind or body considered as given to a person for use and improvement: so called from the parable in Matt. 25:14-30.

4. any of various ancient units of weight, as a unit of Palestine and Syria equal to 3000 shekels, or a unit of Greece equal to 6000 drachmas.

5. any of various ancient Hebrew or Attic monetary units equal in value to that of a talent weight of gold, silver, or other metal.

This can be and should be applied to Christian daily life.

Matthew 25:14-2814 “For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them.

15 And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey.

16 Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents.

17 And likewise he who had received two gained two more also.

18 But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money.

19 After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.

20 “So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’

21 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

22 He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’

23 His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’

24 “Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed.

25 And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’

26 “But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed.

27 So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest.

28 So take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.

29 ‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.

30 And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’

The first of these verses (14) is a description of God’s attitude toward us. He has entrusted His possessions with us. He has also given us the ‘manual’ which instructs us what we should accomplish with that which He has entrusted us.

In The next verse (15) He has given an introduction to the way in which He sees each of His servants. He gave to each according to his abilities. This shows that each of us has abilities and God discerns our abilities. He knows each one of us.

In 2 Timothy 2:15, the Apostle Paul, writing to Timothy, illustrates to us the measure by which our abilities are discerned by God. “15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.”

In some translations it says be diligent instead of study. They are both correct and speak of the same thing. We are to study or be diligent to rightly divide the Word of Truth. The more that we study God’s Wisdom, the better we understand what He wants from each of us. The more we understand, the better we can accomplish that which He has given us to do.

When we see the dispensing of the talents, again we understand a little more. God gave the first servant 5 talent and the second servant received 2 talents. What could have been the discerning factor in the disposition of the talents? I see that the first student had demonstrated his abilities to his master by being diligent in everything that his master set him to do. His knew his master better and was obviously more adept at performing the duties that the master assigned him. This comes from diligently learning what would please his master. He had reached a different level of faith. (this will be another discussion of this parable)

The second servant was entrusted with less, only 2 talents. What can we infer from this difference? The second servant was more than likely diligent, but to a lesser degree that the first servant. He may not have been as observant and may not have done all of his tasks to the best of his abilities. He was, although, at a level of faith beyond the third servant.

The third servant, who I believe represents the majority of Christians and those who have not made a total commitment to faith, was given the minimum of talents. He may not have been as diligent in his efforts. He may have been the type of person who only does the minimum, just to get by. It is obvious that even though he had a superficial knowledge of his master, he was not learned in the higher aspect of his master’s character. He may have only known ‘about’ his master and had little knowledge of His true nature.

It is unfortunate but very true that the majority of Christians have little knowledge of their master. They have not put forth the effort to study and get a deeper knowledge of their Master’s character nor of His will. Of course, their belief has brought them to the Master’s house but their lack of understanding cripples their ability to perform as their Master wants.

Most Christians are content to settle for the table scraps. They are content with their own salvation and prefer to ignore the deeper understanding of their Masters Will.

This is really a two part analogy. One part deals with our willingness to do what the Master wants us to do with the talents with which He has blessed us. This involves our depth of study of His Holy Wisdom – our diligent study of His Holy Word. The second part of this analogy deals with the level of faith that each of us attains through our study. All Christians know ‘about’ God. A small few know Him personally.

The only way for a Christian to ‘know’ God is to diligently study His Holy Word. The more that we study, the deeper that we delve into His Holy Wisdom, the greater the revelation of who He is, given us by the guidance of His Holy Spirit. The more we study, the better we know Him and the greater our ability to ‘rightly divide’ His Word of Truth. This is expressed beautifully in the Amplified Bible – “Study and be eager and do your utmost to present yourself to God approved (tested by trial), a workman who has no cause to be ashamed, correctly analyzing and accurately dividing [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] the Word of Truth.

Through this we can see that the first servant had ‘proven’ himself in his master’s eyes. He was a diligent student, had studied the nature and character of his master and, through a higher level of faith, used everything as wisely as he could to increase that with which he had been entrusted, to the best of his abilities.

Even though the second servant brought about the same result as the first, he doubled his master’s money, he had only been blessed with a small portion. Why do you think this happened? He had not ‘proven’ himself to be able to handle more. He was given according to his abilities. He was on the right track but had not reached a higher level of faith.

Would you like to reach a higher level of faith? Would you like to be entrusted with more of God’s possessions? Become a diligent student of His Holy Wisdom. Study diligently to show yourself worthy of trust and increase your ability to ‘rightly divide’ [rightly handling and skillfully teaching] God’s Word of Truth.

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Why do 97% of Network Marketers FAIL?

On August 12, 2008, In Success, By Pastor Bobby

Why do 97% of people who try to make a living 9or a fortune) with Network Marketing or MLM fail miserably? The answer to this question is so simple, but we’ll get to that.

The problem is NOT entirely the network marketing industry, but, to a great extent, failure occurs because of the mindset of the people getting involved in network marketing and affiliate marketing. Most people have had little success in other areas of life. When they get involved with a network marketing business they already have a pre-established notion that they will fail, even if they are not consciously aware of it.

There are 6 attitudes or reasons that should be considered when trying to build a successful network marketing business. Here are 6 potholes in the road to success in network and affiliate marketing:

1.) The easy road to wealth.
There is no free lunch! Many people who are enamored with the idea of becoming wealthy think that, simply by signing up with a network marketing business or as an affiliate of a business, they have won the lottery. They buy their ticket and collect the money. No matter what the hypnotic hype implies, this is NOT how it works.

2.) They are told and believe that if they start at a higher level, they won’t have to work as hard.
Some MLM companies allow you to buy a higher status, which allows you to purchase products at a lower rate. This allows the rep to make a higher commission for each sale. Buying in at a higher level doesn’t replace good old fashion diligence! Starting on a higher level, simply put, means that you have invested more money, which means that you will have to work harder to recover your investment. Beginning in your company in a higher position does not mean that you have already built your downline, which is where your success lies.

3.) Falling for the promise that your up line will recruit people for you.
Waiting and hoping that your up line will give you new distributors will guarantee your failure. If you are with a company that has a binary compensation plan, then it is easy to get caught up in this mindset. It is not your up line’s job to build your business for you, unless they receive a matching compensation for the new recruit. This is rarely the case. Most likely when your up line gives you a few new reps, it usually is for their benefit more than yours.

4.) Laziness!
The hard to swallow pill, Laziness!” Building a business takes time and a great deal of effort. A half-hearted attitude will produce little to no results. Successful businesses have been created by diligence and a ‘success’ attitude.

5.) The Greed appeal
Anyone who looks at the ‘hyped up’ headlines in the MLM industry can see that the greatest majority of these headlines are outright lies or misconceptions. When closely scrutinized, these ‘tag lines’ are designed to excite the greed in the potential affiliate. The copywriters for these offers do absolutely nothing but bait those who are gullible enough to believe the outrageous claims of ‘wealth without effort.’

6.) Lack of proper training
Too often people are led to believe that they will be trained by their up line in the latest marketing skills to insure their success. Even with the best intentions, this is not usually the reality. As the number of Internet users grows (and it is growing exponentially) the technology is growing exponentially. What worked in the early days of Internet Marketing does not work today. The old techniques of ‘screaming your offer to anyone within three feet of you’ or ‘badger you family friends and strangers with your offer because they need your product but don’t realize it yet’ will only alienate everyone from you.

There is a fresh new attitude or marketing mindset that will bring success. Proper training and the willingness to work diligently to grow your business is a key factor in your success.

The 3% who are making an absolute fortune on the Internet have done this because of their nose-to-the-grindstone work ethic. They do not use the outdated, rehashed garbage that is fed to the multitudes of Internet Opportunity seekers. They use techniques that are tried and true and are very rarely shared.

The 97% failure figure of Network Marketing correlates with the 80% failure figure in the ‘brick and mortar’ world. 80% of all new businesses fail within their first year (for basically the same reasons.) Does this mean that no one should start a business? Absolutely not!

This means: 1.) research, 2.) plan, 3.) seek wise counsel, 4.) create within yourself an attitude of diligence, and 5.) prepare to work as hard as is necessary to realize your goals.

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Success is All in Your Mind

On August 11, 2008, In Success, By Pastor Bobby

How do you measure success? It’s probably not exactly the same for any two people. While athletes measure success by wins or their personal best, a business owner may measure success by the amount of money their business nets every year.

Successful Christians do not measure success by the amount of wealth or physical possessions that they acquire but by the depth of their relationship with Christ and the understanding of God’s Wisdom, The Holy Bible.

Regardless of how you measure success, it all starts in your mind…your subconscious mind, to be exact. While most people are familiar with the concept of the subconscious mind, few truly understand how to use its power to create the success (and happiness) that they desire. Remember that we are told in Philippians 2:5 (NKJV), “Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus,” and in Romans 8:6 (NKJV), “For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” All of use function on a physical level and our conscious mind. We also have the advantage of the influences on a spiritual level in our subconscious minds. What some call the subconscious, a successful Christian knows to be a powerful functioning spiritual mind influenced by ‘the mind that was in Christ’ or the Holy Spirit of God who gives us the power to succeed and offers us eternal happiness.

To take advantage of this incredibly powerful presence, you must first ready your subconscious mind for the success you are seeking. Without a clear, consistent “picture” of the results you seek, your subconscious mind can actually sabotage even your best efforts. Where do we get this consistent “picture”. We are able to form that picture through constant and diligent study of the Wisdom of God, His Holy Written Word.

Any time there is confusion, your subconscious will strive to help you achieve your goals. That’s why the more concise your goal and your mental image of its results, the better the chances you’ll achieve it. By focusing on the diligent study of God’s Word and a concise concept of what you want to achieve, you’re helping your subconscious mind with the help of the Holy Spirit of God to manifest that result in your physical reality.

It’s very important to monitor what you tell your subconscious verbally and silently. Most people are surprised to find when they actually start to “listen” to the words they use on a daily basis that they are issuing counterproductive “requests” to their subconscious.

Make sure to use positive descriptions when speaking aloud or to yourself silently about your goals. Instead of saying “I won’t be tempted anymore”, phrase your request in a positive way: “I am strong through the strength that Christ gives me.” Our words hold the power of life or death.

Also, it’s important to use a present tense, not a future tense like “I will be strong” as your subconscious takes everything literally. If your request is in the future, you will subconsciously think that nothing needs to change now. You, physically and spiritually, live in the present. “I am strong because I have the strength that Christ gives me.”

Be careful not to use negative words accidentally: such as “I’m not going to be poor any more.” Your subconscious mind doesn’t understand words like “not”, “doesn’t” or “won’t”. It will automatically delete those words from your request which will almost always create the opposite meaning and results of your goal!

There are many techniques you can use to create clear pictures of your completed goal. Most find that imagining a movie in their mind of what it will be like when you achieve your goal to replay in your thoughts to be very effective. For example, if you’re trying to wipe out your credit card debt, imagine yourself receiving statements from your credit card companies with a $0 balance on the payment section.

Remember, what you focus on expands. You must focus on Christ. “Seek first the kingdom of Heaven and then everything else will be added to you.” If you constantly see yourself overweight, or in debt, that’s what your subconscious mind will continue to create for you in your reality. Study and concentrate on the promises that God has made to you. It’s very simple and takes very little time to mentally produce a “movie” that gives your subconscious a clear idea of what results you expect. With consistent attention and effort toward what you DO expect, you’ll be amazed at the results you can create with your mind!

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Winning Every Contest – The Power of Diligence

On August 11, 2008, In Success, By Pastor Bobby

All of us, to some degree, have experienced the outcomes of some endeavor. It may have been horrible or just bad, or maybe mediocre or all right, or really good or great or absolutely fantastic. Too some degree, in my short 50 something years, I have experienced all of these outcomes. If you take a close look at some of the most successful people in history, you’ll learn that they also have experiences the entire spectrum of outcomes such as these. However, if you look at the area of their greatest endeavor, you’ll clearly see that all, without exception, win their goals by using one principle or skill that Solomon purports to be of the greatest necessity. When you study the success training Bible study, you’ll read that same concept (skill) repeated time and time again. When you study the lives of our founding fathers, George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Jefferson and other or study the lives of John D. Rockefeller, Henry Ford, Sam Walton, Walt Disney, Bill Gates and many others you’ll see this skill used without fail. This skill is so incredibly powerful that hardly any achievement is ever reached or accomplished without its use.

This skill, of which Solomon was convinced, is not a difficult skill to learn; yet very few learn it. The difficulty lies in its application. With all of the advertising and marketing done today, we are program to expect ‘instant gratification’. We want what we want and we want it now in abundance. We try things for a little while but if we cannot get the maximum return with the least effort, we give up and move on. This is precisely why there is so much money made by get rich quick scam artist. People today want to sit on the coach and have a magic business that just pours money into their bank account with as little effort as possible. Instant gratification with as little effort as possible is no different than play a lottery and very rarely rewarding.

This skill that has been the one key to success for many is as Solomon puts it ‘diligence’. The dictionary defines of diligence is – constant and earnest effort to accomplish what is undertaken; persistent exertion of body or mind. Often we are told that diligence is equivalent to ‘hard work’, but this is not necessarily true. Solomon helps us understand that diligence is ‘working smarter not harder’. I have a friend who is extremely successful and he always told me that success comes from working smarter and not harder. There are many out there in life who work hard all of their lives but never succeed.

Diligence is not a natural trait of human beings. Our natural drive is to get as much as we can, as quickly as we can with as little effort as possible. Diligence is an acquired or learned skill that takes ‘perseverance’, ‘dedications’ and ‘motivation.’

In order for us to fully understand what Solomon’s concept of diligence was we must look at his reference point. Solomon was involved in mining. His choice of a word that has been translated ‘diligent’ has its roots in mining. He even admonishes us to seek wisdom and understand as though we were looking for gold or silver (again a mining reference).

In Proverbs 20:11 (NIV) Solomon tells us. “Even a child is known by his actions,
by whether his conduct is pure and right.”

We see than diligence is not simply ‘perseverance’, ‘dedications’ and ‘motivation.’ It is also initiated by what is pure and right. When we take the example of mining we again can understand ‘pure’. We dig and dig and dig until we find a nugget of ore. We take that ore and apply heat until all of the impurities are burned away leaving the pure gold or silver. We can apply this to our study of success. We diligently study until we find that nugget of wisdom. By apply the heat that is generated by situations in our life, we burn away all that does not have a use until we are left with the pure nugget of wisdom that will give us the result that we need.

Diligence, therefore, is a learnable skill that is comprised of creative persistence, a ‘work-smarter’ effort that is rightly planned and performed in an efficient, effective and timely manner that results in pure and high quality of excellence.

Don’t let self-doubt enter in. At this point you may be thinking that you do not posses the qualities that are necessary to be a creative and persistent person. You do have these qualities. They are raw and possibly well hidden beneath the rubble of your life but they can be mined and refined simply by a little effort. You enemy in this physical world does not want you to succeed. Your success is to the glory of God and the ruler of this world does not want you to bring glory to Christ. He will be diligent in his efforts to discourage you. Be persistent and motivated by the purest of motivations – developing a closer relationship with Christ in order to learn and bring God glory through Christ.

Always remember that you are a member of the royal family of the King of Kings. You are a special creation of the Creator of the Universe. You were creates on purpose and with a purpose. Almighty God loves you dearly and not only wants you to succeed in life but also has given you the method and means. All you need to do is ‘study to show yourself approved in the eyes of God’.

Lets take a close look at some of the outcomes or rewards that you will realize by developing ‘diligence.’ It is natural for human being to see the path of least resistance. It is our nature to ‘go with the flow’ and not to ‘swim upstream’. Solomon understood that we need to be motivated to take a path that is not as easy as the one that we have pursued. He tell us that being truly diligent will bring us priceless rewards, while a lack of diligence will result in devastating consequences. Following is a list of some of the rewards that Solomon has listed for us as a motivation to become diligent. Before we begin with Solomon’s list, let me interject that the truest reward is a deep and personal relationship with Christ. That is the best reward that you will ever need and should ever want. As you continue through this success training you will begin to realize the absolute truth of this.

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Marketing Basics – Wise Counsel

On August 11, 2008, In Success, By Pastor Bobby

There are several concepts and misconceptions about marketing that need to be addressed before we get into the meat of this article. The basic concept of marketing is ‘the range of activities involved in assuring that you are meeting the needs of your customers and that you are getting a valuable response in return.’ One major misconceptions of marketing is that it is only ‘advertising your product or service.’ Even though advertising is important, it is only one component in the process of marketing.

We can define the essence of marketing as ‘understanding your customers’ needs and developing a plan that addresses those needs.’ By understanding marketing in this way, a business owner who has a desire to ‘grow’ his business can set the proper goals.

The most effective way to grow or expand a business is to focus on ‘organic growth.’ In order to understand ‘organic growth’, we need to realize that a business is a living organism. We can either let it fend for itself or we can determine what it needs to help it grow. By determining what the business needs we can thus determine what we need to do to make it thrive.

We should look at two basic components of marketing in order to get a better idea of the things that we need to create a successful business. The first component of marketing that we need to consider is ‘developing a marketing plan.’ The second component is the ‘ongoing promotion.’ One mistake that many business owners make is to create a product or service and immediately jump into an advertising campaign. When we define these two basic components, you’ll understand why this mistake can be a disappointing and costly one.

Developing a ‘marketing plan’ or ‘marketing strategy’ is essential to the well being of a business. The first step in creating a marketing plan is to do a little research and analysis. Don’t slap yourself on the forehead in exasperation. This is not as difficult as the name implies. It may take a little time but is well worth every minute.

Let’s begin by looking at a simplified explanation of ‘marketing analysis.’ We can apply two of Solomon’s Keys to Success at this point.

Proverbs 1:5 (NASB) “A wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel,” Wise counsel can be found in many forms. We should also remember, for those of us who think we know best, “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel.” Proverbs 12:15 (NASB) In a nutshell marketing analysis involves the following:

1.) Discovering our ‘market’ or the groups of potential customers that exist,

2.) Determining our ‘target market’ or which groups of customers that we prefer to serve,

3.) Determining the needs of our target market,

4.) Choosing the best products or services that might meet the needs of our target market,

5.) Determining how our potential customers might use our products and services,

6.) Learning what our competitors are doing,

7.) Determining the pricing formula that we should use and

8.) Deciding how we should distribute our products and services to our target markets.

Various methods of ‘market research’ are used to gather information about markets, target markets and their needs, competitors, etc. A little Internet research will reveal many sources of specific information. We must remember to target our searches. We do this by beginning from a broad area of possibilities and with each subsequent search we can get more specific until we have discovered as much as possible about our market in general and our target market. The resulting information will become our ‘niche’ market, our specific area of a market that is best for our product or service.

After having developed our marketing plan, we should look at our plan for ‘ongoing promotions.’ Our plan for ongoing promotion will include advertising, public relations, sales and customer service to name a few. These terms (advertising, marketing, promotion, public relations and publicity, and sales) can easily become confusing. These are terms that are often used interchangeably. However, they refer to different but similar activities.

Let’s look at a list of quick definition of each term.

1.) Advertising — presenting a product (or service) to potential and current customers. Advertising should be focused on one particular product or service. It is important to understand that an advertising plan for one product might be different from that for another product. Advertising is typically done with signs, brochures, commercials, direct mailings or e-mail messages, personal contact, website banners, etc.

2.) Promotion – keeping our product in the minds of our customer (product recognition). The ongoing activities of advertising and public relations are often considered aspects of promotions.

3.) Public Relations — ongoing activities to ensure the company has a strong and positive public image. This is often referred to as “PR.”

4.) Publicity — being mentioned in the media. This is always the review of someone else but can include news releases.

These are only a few terms that are good to learn. The health and well being of a business, your business, is truly determined by the amount of diligent study that you do and the application of the principles that you learn through study. To best know your product or service or customers or competitors, you must develop a sincere determination to be as diligent as possible.

Remember these few examples of Solomon’s Proverbs to help you develop a growing and successful business.

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