Check the fruit

Check the fruit                                                                              010411

                When we plant fruit trees we do it for the fruit that they bear. A person who plants a mango tree expects mangoes after some time. There is usually a problem if the tree fails to produce mangoes. This is the reason why Jesus cursed one tree when He did not find fruit in its expected season.

                There are many things that are happening these days that make it necessary for you to be very careful. There are individuals whose lives are producing fruit, alright, but it is not clear whether the fruit is genuine or not. Some of the fruit they promise is exactly what you need at this time in your life. But there is danger if you just pluck from the tree and eat without checking first. This is because, unlike trees, humans can produce different kinds of fruit. They may claim to produce sweet fruit when actually it is bitter; or to produce oranges when it is actually lemons. You only get to know after you have tasted the fruit. The problem is that some of the ‘trees’ produce poisonous fruit. When people eventually realize this it will be too late.

                Most people cannot identify a fruit tree by looking at its leaves. There is a chance of deception as well when the trees are similar as is the case with citrus trees like lemon and orange trees. You only get to know which is which when they bear fruit. Some people, however, seem to be deceived easily and pay for a whole batch of the fruit produced by a certain tree before they ascertain whether it is capable of producing fruit or not. Even if it bears fruit, they cannot tell whether it is bitter or sweet. This is dangerous in that there is usually no time to recover after you realise that the product is not what you bargained for.

                It does not matter how much the tree promises you, wait until it produces fruit for a couple of seasons before you are satisfied that it is a good tree. Its fruit may look juicy and healthy but make sure it is not poisonous before you take a bite. There is wisdom in waiting. Sometimes the poison is slow acting. You take a big bite and wait for a reaction and nothing happens in a week and you are convinced the fruit is good for you but only to find out later that it is poisonous when the effects eventually catch up with you a month or a year down the line.

                Jesus warned His disciples sternly about people who claim to be His followers. He told them not to trust quickly but to wait until they started producing fruit. His argument was that a good tree is not capable of producing bad fruit, and a bad one will not produce good fruit either. It does not matter how long the bad tree tries to convince everyone that its fruit is good for them; soon it will be discovered for what it is. There are a number of things that you can check to make sure the tree you are dealing with is genuine or fake.

1. Check the speech.

The Bible says that even a fool is considered a wise man if he keeps his mouth shut. Only when he begins to speak does he show his foolishness. It is so with all people. If you listen careful to what they say both in public and in private you will discover who they really are. From the abundance of their heart their mouth will soon speak. No matter how much someone tries to hide his/her character, he/she will eventually show it in speech one day. It is important, therefore, that you watch as much as you can that the individual says before you take everything they offer. If you decide to skip this vital step you will find that as time goes on you will find it difficult to believe anything negative that other people will tell you about the individual. It is your responsibility to check that the individual’s speech is consistent with who they say they are.

2. Check the works.

There are many people who are good at pretending to be who they are not. For some time they get to make everyone believe they are saints. But as time goes on what they do in the dark finds itself in the light. This is because people cannot hide their true behavior for long. If an individual claims to be holy, check their actions especially in private. They can claim to be one thing but they cannot sustain it for ever. Sooner than later, they usually find themselves behaving in a different way to the picture they want to portray. Do not rush to believe every individual who portrays him/herself as good. Give them time to prove it and with time their speech or actions will tell the true story.

3. Check response when there is a mistake.

When a man makes a mistake he either apologises or blames someone else. The man who takes the blame and genuinely apologise is probably genuine. If the individual keeps making mistakes and blaming everyone except themselves then you have a deceiver. One who keeps making mistakes and apologizing is not good either. Make sure it is not in them to make mistakes daily. Otherwise you will have serious problems. The fruit is the best indicator when it comes to the type of person an individual is.

The power of three

The power of three                                                                          270311

The triangle is the strongest shape in that when one side is compressed the other two help to carry the burden by undergoing tension. Somehow the force that is applied on a triangle gets distributed and the shape can take greater forces than any other, or any combination of shapes. It is for this reason that the girders that make up roof structures or bridges are made using triangles. It is the strength found in triangles that make tall tower or pylon construction possible. It is no coincidence that there are three states of matter; solid liquid and gas; or that man is divided into soul, spirit and body. There is stability and strength in the number three.

When the enemy comes, according to John 10 vs. 10, he is not done until he steals; kills and eventually destroys you. When He steals he just takes away some things that are useful to you and you do not get the privilege of using them. This is the first and easiest part of the devil’s destruction business. Things that are stolen are easily replaced if you realize that they are missing. After stealing he wants to kill some things in your life. Dead things are not productive and all he wants when he kills is to render you as unproductive as possible. Dead things cannot live again and at this advanced stage of attack he makes you ineffective. Once the killing has happened, his next mission will be to destroy. Destroyed things cannot be used again. If a plant is dead you can use the wood for furniture or firewood. There are many things that can be used when they are dead but when destruction is complete the things so destroyed cannot fulfill their purposes again. That is the plan of the enemy; to steal, to kill and to destroy. If all three happen in any individual, the individual will be useless indeed, unless restoration from the giver of life occurs.

There are three things that have been sighted as the destroyers of men; wine, women and wealth. A man who indulges in one or two of these things is probably safe but he who is obsessed with all three is bound to be destroyed thoroughly in the end. If you look at the number of great men who failed to fulfill their mandate you will find that most were destroyed by women. Samson was the strongest man who ever lived. He was so strong that he could carry the gate of a city up the hill and leave it there. This is not like the sliding gate at the entrance to a house or a business premises. It was the gate to the city. He, however, did not last long because he had a love for women that eventually led him to his death. The men who indulge in alcohol find themselves making crucial decisions in their drunken stupor, which usually backfires. In the end they cannot perform to their best potential. Alcohol abusers who also like women are in danger of contracting S.T.I.s and the HIV virus. The lovers of money can do anything to gain wealth. Some have killed just to get more money. If lovers of money also drink, then they gain courage to do anything to get money. This usually leaves them in more danger than ever. The wisest man who ever lived says that, “Wine is a mocker, strong drink is a babbler. He who indulges in them is not wise.

There are three things that remain; faith, hope and love. Faith is the substance of things hoped for. Without hope there can be no faith. Hope is needed for faith to be effective. Love is also needed for where there is no faith there is fear. But there is no fear in love, meaning that there is faith in love. We have faith that those we love will come back safely from the journeys they travel. When you have one of these and not the other two you will not get the full benefit of the three things that remain after all else is gone. In the same way, the destroyers cannot fully destroy you if you do not have the full set.

In all areas of life there are three things that you can look at and get benefit from. If the three are destroyers do not let any of them into your life to be safe. Any three that are beneficial you make sure you acquire at all cost. When you have the full set you are assured of blessings without measure. It is your homework to look for other things that operate in threes and make sure you shun them or you take them into your life depending on whether they are helpful or destructive.

Why I Choose To Be an Optimist

Why I Choose To Be an Optimist                                                                200311

                A pessimist thinks that things are going to come out bad and is surprised when they come out good. An optimist, on the other hand, expects things to be good and they do most of the time. There are many people who are pessimists and proud of it; I choose to be an optimist instead, and here are three reasons why.

1.       Research has shown that ninety percent of the things we worry about never happen.

I can spend my whole life worrying that something bad is going to happen to me, but I have a ten percent chance of success. Most people do not put their money where the chances of success are as low as twenty-five percent but still worry themselves to death because of things that are more likely not to happen.

I have said that if you left the clothes on the line and delay going home for some reason. You can choose to worry about some thief coming to take the clothes or to enjoy yourself until you get home to find out if they are still on the line. If there is no way of telling someone to take them off the line then the thief will come and steal whether you are worried or not. If he/she does not realize there are clothes on the line, then you will find the clothes on the line. It is not worrying that will keep them there or cause them to be stolen. These are independent events. Worrying will not change the results. I choose to be optimistic in such situations because there are greater chances of me being right.

2.       Optimists make life easy for everyone.

If you have lived with a pessimist you know how the atmosphere in the house is always negative. Pessimists are always looking for something to go wrong and when eventually something goes wrong they say they knew it would be so. All the time you learn to look forward to some imaginary disaster. This may take time to come and meanwhile everyone is miserable. When it eventually turns up the ‘confirmation’ makes everyone look forward to the next disaster, never mind it may come in three months. This is a miserable way of living.

An optimist, on the other hand, looks forward to something great happening. Many great things happen everyday and they look forward to seeing more. Their mood is always good and they share it with everyone. These are the people who are pleasant to meet. Every time you call them they leave you feeling great. I want to be such a person but there is no hope of succeeding if I am a pessimist.

3.       Pessimists bring a lot of health problems upon themselves

It is no secret that those who worry a lot end up with health problems like ulcers and hypertension. The pessimist is always thinking about something bad that is on the way and in the end he/she develop a health condition. The health condition becomes another area which causes worrying and soon all things deteriorate. There is a better way to live. It is called optimism. It does not mean you sit down and wish nothing bad happens. You expect the best from every situation and refuse to worry about things until they become reality. If the bad things happen, then you think about what you can do to correct them. You only worry about them as long as they are around not before.  That way you do not burden yourself with things that you may never experience.

Optimism is a choice. You have to decide to be positive about things that happen. It takes work, however. Pessimism is easy. Anyone can see the bad side of things. But then, anyone who focuses on the bad side ends up in hospital with more things to worry about and a continually deteriorating situation. Why not choose to be an optimist beginning today. You owe it to yourself. I choose to be an optimist instead of a pessimist.

Keep Checking Your Compass                                                                130311

 

            Those who sail know that there is need to constantly check their compass since this instrument tells them whether they are in the right direction or not. This is the reason why every sailor has to learn how to use a compass before they can go out to sea. Ability to use this instrument makes a difference between life and death for the sailor and all with him.

The difference between sea travel and road travel is that in road travel there are landmarks that you can constantly refer to when travelling and these can be used to tell the current position in relationship to the desired destination making it easy to progress in the required direction. Not so with sea travelling; there are no trees or mountains to direct you. Even if you are making no effort to move, you may find yourself drifting away due to the wind that often blows. What with storms that sometimes cover the sun; you may never know whether you are headed east or north.

            Life is like travelling at sea in more respects than one. Those that have travelled ahead may not leave landmarks for us to see. Even if we do exactly what they did, we may never get to the same destination. It is this lack of pointers that brings the need for us to constantly check our compass to determine where we are and in which direction we are going.

            When a storm strikes at sea, the ship is usually  forced to go off the course that the sailor wants it to follow, hence the need to sit down and use his/her experience to check the position of the ship and from there, mark out a course to where he/she wants to go. It is often in life that the pressures of the day make us unaware that we are drifting away from the direction that we are supposed to go.

            The reason why it is important to keep checking whether you are in the right direction is that if by any chance you drift off 10 degrees from the right direction, you will, as time goes on, find yourself going farther and farther away from the place you want to go. If you keep travelling in a straight line for a thousand kilometres you will find yourself about one hundred and eighty kilometres off the mark. This is a long distance but at the start it does not seem to make a big difference. The danger of being a small angle off the route is that you may never get to notice you are getting lost. For some distance you will still be able to see those in the right course. When you eventually realise you are lost, you may be in a position that makes it difficult to find the correct direction and if you are at sea, remember, there are no landmarks to direct you.

            As young people, we have to quickly learn the art of constantly checking the direction on the compass because it will be more vital as time goes on when we take over the reins and go sailing on our own. As young children we may have had chances to make choices but generally it was the adults who had the responsibility of directing the ship. As we grow old we will slowly be asked to take care of directing the ship until the responsibility eventually lies squarely on our shoulders when we go out of the 'nest' and become independent adults, looking after our own families.

            There are a number of questions that I believe can help us to check our direction effectively:

            Who Am I? This is a very important question because when it is effectively answered it will guide us on what we should do at that particular time. The answer to this question changes constantly as we do our daily duties. One moment you are a child the next you are a brother or sister or a student or an employee, depending on where you are or with whom you are. If at every time you choose to quickly determine who you are then the next set of questions become easy to answer.

            Where Am I? This is an important question in that it gives you the bearings of your current position, a prerequisite if you will be able to chart your way to the desired destination. Again this depends on the answer to the first question. You will definitely be in different positions as far as your relationships with different people are concerned. If you know your position then you are ready to answer the next question.

            Where Am I Going? As an individual there are different destinations that you are striving to reach in your various positions that you occupy in life. As a student you may be aiming for a distinction while as a child you are aiming to please your parents by being an obedient child. You have to know where you are going if you will get there. Someone said that if the ship is going to no particular harbour, it will end up at some other harbour anyway. If you are not planning to go somewhere you will still find yourself in another place, usually an undesirable one. If you are drifting in any direction that life wants to take you then no wind is the right wind. Have a clear picture of where you want to go so that you can make the necessary effort to get there.

            How Am I Going to Get There? You just have to map a strategy to get to your destination if you will eventually get there. There are many among us who have lofty goals in their minds but these do not often materialise because of lack of a plan. The sailor uses maps and a compass to make sure that the ship reaches its destination. This is important because the storms that come along the way will not hinder you if you have a picture of where you want to go and how to get there.

            When Am I Planning to Reach My Destination? This is a critical question to ask because it gives you a sense of urgency in accomplishing what needs to be done. It would be frustrating if you were sailing to a faraway country to ask the captain when you are going to reach the place and only be told that he does not know. When a ship leaves the harbour, the captain has a rough estimate of arrival dates. These may change due to difficult or favourable weather patterns but a day will be there when the captain intends to arrive at his/her destination. As individuals we need to have time frames in which to accomplish what we need to achieve or become.

            If you answer these questions effectively it becomes easy to remain within the right track. For example, if you are an employee who is at the lowest rung in the leadership of the company and hope to rise to the top, you may consider hard work and faithfulness as the way to achieve your goal in the next five years. Working hard on improving your academic qualifications may improve your chances of reaching your goal. If you do this in every area of your life then you have a great chance of success since a sailor who constantly checks his/her compass will never get lost.

There is no substitute for experience

There is no substitute for experience                                                           060311

 

                If you look at job advertisements in the paper you will find that most of them require the applicants to have experience in the relevant field. The interesting thing is that there is no school of experience where you can enroll and spend time acquiring this experience. You have to find it in another place. This tells us that those who get the jobs are most probably people who are doing something at the time of applying.

                Many young people refuse to do anything that is not related to the degree or diploma that they acquired because they think it is a waste of time. They feel degraded if they have to do a manual job after graduating with a first class degree. The important thing to remember, however, is that to get the job that you trained for you need to have experience, and that experience is difficult to find because the first job you look for is looking for experience even though your degree is weeks old.

                Most companies that offer graduate traineeship courses take the raw graduates and let them go through every department in the company to make sure they are acquainted with the happenings of the company before they let them do what they trained for. Most of these trainees express their frustrations everyday to their superiors because they keep doing everything else except what they trained for. This is because they do not understand an important principle in the work environment.

                A manager who only knows the managing principles without knowing the system he is managing is an ineffective one. The decisions he/she makes at the top affects everyone in the system and it is better if he/she understands what that decision means to everyone. If the manager has worked with the cleaners and the accountants and every other department in the company, he/she will make decisions understanding their impact at every stage. That is why, even though you are an engineer they take you to work in the accounts department for some times because the company system is one even though it has many parts. The experience you gain from working in a field that is not your area of specialization will eventually work to your advantage. You can only be experienced when you are doing something.

                There are many people who enter big companies doing the least job but end up in managerial positions because they appreciate that the end of a matter is more important than the beginning. What is important is to be in the system in the first place. Companies usually advertise for posts internally and only advertise outside if there is no one internally qualified enough to take the post. If you are waiting outside hoping to get a break into the company while you have no experience you will be disappointed because the break may never come. You have to get experience first.

                If there is a company you want to work for that does not have the post you are dying for at the moment, consider offering to work in any other department in that company. The only openings may be for cleaners. If you take that up and do your best there, someone will soon notice and your promotion may come sooner than you expect. I know people who have applied for jobs using their O’ level certificate only to produce their degrees when posts were advertised internally. Of course the management is surprised at such antics but if you were humble enough to work hard in a job that you are overqualified for, they will think you will be a good candidate in the field where you are qualified. If you become effective again in that area then you will rise through the ladder of the company quickly. It is only for those who do not mind getting experience in a field which they did not train for.

                Experience will be asked for when you look for the job of your dreams. If you are wise you will take up every available job and use it as a stepping stone to your next better job. That experience at a higher post can be used to secure even higher positions. All this is possible because without experience you are unemployable.

                Consider finding for yourself a job that does not need experience. These are the least jobs in most institutions. Work hard like your life depends on it. It is difficult for company directors not to notice someone who works hard. Soon they will be looking for openings in other areas where they can give you more responsibilities. Your promotion comes easier if you work hard in an unpleasant job.

                The reason why companies insist on experienced applicants is that they can always get a reference from your previous place of employment. If you work hard at whatever you do, no matter how insignificant it seems, you will be in a position to get a better job than the one you ave right now. If you are not yet employed, you can get the best job by starting at the bottom of the ladder. Work hard there and soon you will be at the top. It may take time but there is no rising to the top if you do not have experience, and there is no school of experience around here.

Understand the season you are in

Understand the season you are in                                                            270211

                “Seasons come and seasons go”. These are the words of a song we used to sing when we were young. Every time a new season comes and before a new one comes and takes over. In its turn it goes and another takes its place. The cycle repeats itself as time progresses. These seasons are very important, if only to break the monotony that would result if all year round we were to have only one season.

                It is important to know what season is prevailing at any given time if you are going to be relevant and effective. If, for example you were to plant your tomatoes just before winter in an area prone to frost, you would most likely experience disappointment because tomatoes are easily destroyed by frost. If you planted peas at the same time, however, you would experience a good harvest because they grow well in winter. The crop’s development is, therefore, not dependent only on the fertility of the soil in which it is planted but on the season in which it is planted.

                If you are in business, selling clothes, you have to buy clothes that are relevant for the season. It is true that some people buy clothes for the next season, but these are in the minority. Most people buy winter clothes in winter and summer ones in summer. It is, therefore, foolishness to order, and fill your clothes shop with sting tops and vests in winter because most people will be looking for jerseys and jackets. You can have them in stock for the few who buy out of season clothes but at any time you have to stock the clothes that are relevant for the season.

                In everything you do, you have to bear in mind the season you are in. If it is winter you must do what is profitable in winter. Some tree species appreciate that there are times when water is plenty and they grow leaves then and make as much food as they can in this season. When winter approaches, where there are limited supplies of water, they shed all the leaves as a way of conserving water. During this time, they use the food that they will have made in good times, since they cannot make any food without their leaves. This ability to do what is relevant for the season makes it possible for these plants to survive even the worst winters.

                Some animals hibernate in winter as a way of conserving energy. During this time they only move when necessary but they are asleep most of the time. Ants store food in summer for the cold season when moving around may be impossible. They, somehow, understand seasons and their consequences. If plants and animals appreciate the changes in seasons and prepare adequately for each season, we have to do better than them.

                Some seasons are planting seasons where all you have to do is work, work, and work. There is usually very little to show for all the work that you do. It does not mean, however, that things will remain the same. Soon you will get to the harvest season where you will enjoy the fruit of your labour with very little work. If you choose to relax during the planting season, however, you will find yourself starving when harvest time comes because you cannot reap without sowing.

                It is important to check every time for the prevailing season since seasons change so rapidly, so that you do what is relevant at the time. If you do not check you may find yourself doing what was profitable yesterday but not today due to changing seasons. It is also important to note that your financial life may be in a different season to your social life. The fact that you are multi-faceted means you have to look at each area separately and do what helps you be effective in that area. The drought in one area should not be allowed to affect other areas that are in a season of plenty. If all is going well in your studies you have to keep it this way. If you allow the bad things happening in your relationships to affect your studies then you will have serious problems. Treat the different areas as separately as possible except, of course, if you want to be encouraged by the good happening in another area.

                Seasons come and seasons go. There are certain things that you can only do in certain seasons. If you do not notice the arrival of these seasons you will fail to do what can only be done in these passing seasons. This means if you do not constantly check what season you are in you will end up missing on crucial opportunities. Always check what season you are in. Find out what you have to do to get the greatest benefits from the prevailing season. If you are constantly aware of the season at hand you will always be productive in your life.

Be A Good Source of Light

Be A Good Source of Light                                                                    200211

The moon is very useful to us in that it provides light when the sun is not available to do so. It is important to appreciate that the moon does not produce any light; it just positions itself in such a way that all the light it receives from the sun is reflected in our direction. How much of the light we receive depends on the position of the moon relative to the sun. If it is the same side as the sun, we can only see a little of the moon, hence we receive a little light; but if it is the opposite side, we receive more light.

The moon does not have to produce light to be a good supplier of light. In fact there are a number of bodies that produce light of their own that cannot make the night as bright as the moon does. Stars are actually bigger than the moon but they are so far away from us that a million of them cannot produce as much light as a half moon. It is usually not a question of whether you are the source of light or not. You have to supply sufficient light where it is needed either by being the source or by reflecting enough.

There are many places where light is needed. There are places where you can be the source of light and supply enough to meet the need there. Other times you have to be content being only a reflector of light. There are a number of conditions that have to be fulfilled if you are going to be a good supply of light.

1.       Supply enough light where you are the source

If you call yourself a source of light, you have to supply enough. If you are not supplying enough then you are irrelevant. It does not matter that you are the only source of light that is available. If you do not meet the needs of those around you, you are as good as not there.

To supply enough light a source of light has to be either very big or very close to the area that needs to be supplied. What makes a big star not to supply enough light on earth is its large distance from us. If stars were closer they would supply more light than the moon can. You can only be effective and relevant in people’s lives if you are close enough to them to make an impact. The amount of light you produce at any given time may take time to change but your distance can easily be adjusted. Invest time in getting closer to the people you want to influence for the best.

2.       Be a good reflector

A mirror shows the reflection of your face better than a compact disc because of its smoothness. There are many glasses around but they will not reflect as much light because they are not as smooth as a mirror. Any material can be used to reflect light if it can be polished enough. There are a number of materials that cannot be polished by nature of their make up. But I have seen clay products that are polished so smoothly that they shine. Anyone can be smooth enough to shine some light onto others.

If your life has cracks and defects, I am sorry you cannot be a good supply of light. You may position yourself as well as you like but you will not make an impact in people’s lives. You will absorb most of the light if you are not ‘smooth’.

3.       Be visible to the source of light

A mirror may be a good reflector but you will not see your face if you do not look in it. The face and the mirror have to be positioned in such a way that your eyes see the reflection. The moon will only provide light if it is in the sun’s light. If it is hidden from this light, as happens when there is a lunar eclipse, it will not be a source of light at all. If you want to be a source of academic light, be seen in a place where academic work is happening. Be studying something so you can be illuminated before you can share some of the light with those who need it. If you want to be a source of spiritual enlightenment then be in a relationship with the God you represent. If you are not in His light you cannot reflect any of it to anyone.

4.       Make sure light is needed in that area

There are times when the moon is at its brightest but no one realizes its presence because it is day time. When the sun is out, no one needs the moon. It is in the darkest night that people appreciate the presence of the moon. If you realize that there are brighter light sources where you are, you can position yourself that you supply the light to where it is not available or wait till that place is in darkness; otherwise your light will appear irrelevant.

 Light is needed in different amounts in different areas. You can be a good source of light in your area by choosing to position yourself in such a way that you are visible to the source and be polished enough to reflect as much light as possible.

Choose To Be A Master

Choose To Be A Master                                                                       130211

                When students study at university for their first degree, they graduate with a Bachelor’s degree. This degree is usually general in nature and covers a wide range of topics. Most of the time, you will find that students from three or four different departments will be doing the same course. The bachelor’s degree is such that it covers a wide area in a specific field and gives guidelines to the students who want to pursue further studies so that they can choose one from among the several areas covered in the degree course.

                Not everyone studies beyond the Bachelor’s degree. In fact only a handful of the graduates take up further studies. But it is these few who become masters in their area of study. At Master’s level, the students choose to focus on a narrower area of study from their Bachelor’s degree. This specialisation gives them more insight into a smaller area and makes them experts. They do research on one area and make interesting discoveries, something that is not possible at Bachelor’s level. Their contributions to humanity are usually more than those who study at the lower level.

                In real life there are many areas where you can be effective. It is like studying at Bachelor’s level. You can do all things but you do not quite specialise in anything specific. If you were to be asked what you do, you would give a list of more than a dozen items. That makes you a bachelor and an ineffective one too. Those who make effective contributions to humanity are people who choose to focus on one area and keep learning about it until they become masters.

                If you have a headache, you probably visit a general practitioner. He/she knows how to treat general ailments and will do a good job with your headache. But if you need heart surgery or to have a brain tumor removed, I am sorry the general practitioner, useful as he is in other areas of medicine, will not be of help. The best he/she can do is to refer you to a heart specialist or a neurosurgeon. These things cannot de treated on a general level.

                There are many people who are satisfied doing things on a general level but they do not get as much from it as the specialists do. If your car has a problem and you want the carburetor fixed you better find a specialist. There are some general practitioners who will promise to do the special job at a low price but they usually end up messing things up. They do not get customers in the long run, because the customers they do a shoddy job for end up going away. If, however, you choose to go to a specialist for carburetors, you will get a perfect job done, but at a cost. The cost is usually higher than that charged by the general mechanics. It pays the specialist to specialize.

                You may be multi-talented and be able to do many things well, but it will be more rewarding if you choose to specialise in only one area. It takes more time to specialise in this way but in the end it will pay you more than many years of generalising can ever do.

                There are a number of things that you can do to set yourself on the path of specialising. Find one area in your life where you are very productive. Spend most of your time studying about how things work in this area. While you may do other things during this period of learning, make sure most of your time and efforts are directed in the area you want to specialize in. Over time you will start having ideas and solutions to problems that are unique. People will notice your unique way of doing things and they will look for you when they have a problem. It will take time, but in the end it will pay you more than generalising will ever be able to do.

                You can still choose to be a jack of all trades and a master of none. You will gain some respect from those you help, because they will be many, but you will not make a big impact, neither will you get much out of it. Those who specialise will be few, because it takes time and effort to do so; the same way that only a few people do a Master’s degree, but it is always worth it. In the long run, however, the specialist doctor will be paid more per patient attended than a general practitioner; a specialist mechanic will get amore per car serviced than a general mechanic. It does not matter what area you look at. The specialist gets more out than a number of general practitioners combined. You do yourself a favor if you choose to be a master in your own area of specialisation.

Position yourself for maximum effectiveness

Position yourself for maximum effectiveness                                              060211

            Technology these days enable us to watch what is happening all around the world live, thanks to satellite technology. These machines orbiting the earth are fed with information about something happening on one side of the earth and they reflect it in such a way that the receivers on the opposite side of the earth can receive these events as they happen. Due to such technology, we will be able to watch the cricket world cup games played in India as they happen.

            There are a number of factors that have to be fulfilled before pictures from other parts of the world can be viewed. Here are some of them.

1.         Presence of an aerial

As you read this article, you are surrounded by large amounts of radio waves carrying all sorts of information. If you do not have a radio receiver, however, you will never appreciate their presence. If you have a radio receiver and tune it to some radio station you will be able to enjoy the music or whatever programs they have on air. This ability to tune into a particular radio station is made possible by the presence of an aerial. An aerial is able to capture these waves and make the radio to decipher the message and convert it back to sound.

            For satellite communication, the aerial is also necessary. The aerial should be able to convert the coming signal into picture and sound. If the aerial is not present the entertainment that comes with the satellite signals cannot be enjoyed.

2.         The aerial must be connected to a satellite dish

            The signal that comes from satellite is so weak that the aerial cannot make use of it. The signal must be focused to one point using a dish. The dish is parabolic in shape, which means it makes all the waves that come from the satellite to fall on the aerial, (which is referred to as the LNB). Without the dish the signal is not strong enough to provide the sound and the picture.

3.         The direction in which the dish points

The dish must be pointing in the direction of a satellite that transmits the relevant signals. For effective communication, the satellite dish must point to the exact direction of the satellite. A slight deviation means the quality may be so poor, nothing effective will be received. If a signal from another satellite is required, the dish has to be moved so that it points in the required direction.

4.         Absence of obstruction between satellite and aerial

The signal from the satellite is so weak that a small obstruction between the receiving aerial and the satellite will make the signal too weak to be utilised. There has to be a clear view between the aerial and the satellite at all times. If there are heavy clouds or rain, the signal is usually disturbed. Channels become scrambled.

You are like a satellite system in more ways than one. For maximum effectiveness you have to satisfy a few conditions. First of all you must be sensitive to the needs around you. If you cannot detect these, you cannot solve the problems of the people you serve.

            Sometimes there is greater need for increased sensitivity because the signals coming in are not so clear. If you do not increase your sensitivity you may miss the signals and lose your effectiveness in the process. There must be no obstruction, whatsoever, between you and the people you serve, otherwise you will not be able to be effective in your service. Anger and unresolved issues place a barrier that makes it difficult to communicate with your clients.

            The most important thing is that you be positioned pointing in the right direction so that you get the best signal available. If you are positioned wrongly, even if there is a strong signal and the aerial is not obstructed, there is not going to be effectiveness. It is, therefore, very important to be properly positioned. Without this positioning you cannot be effective.

            There are many things in your life that will depend on your positioning physically, spiritually, mentally and financially. If any of these areas are wrongly placed, you will find yourself being ineffective in some area of your life all the time. You can look at your life closely and decide how best you can align your purpose to the prevailing situations so that you can be of maximum use. Your effectiveness seriously depends on your positioning.

Why You Must Focus On Doing Things Excellently

Why You Must Focus On Doing Things Excellently                               300111

            There is no substitute for quality whether you are selling a product or providing a service. What keeps customers doing business with one company for long periods of time is the assurance that the product they want is guaranteed, and at the best possible quality. There are many people who are talented orators who seem to grab every customer whom they approach but these customers do not seem to stay for long. These people specialise in talking but they do not follow up their talk with action.

            There are a number of reasons why you must focus on doing things excellently. Here are some of them.

           

1. Doing things excellently can become a habit - a good habit.

If you focus on doing things well all the time, it soon becomes second nature and there are a lot of good things that can come to you by simply being a dispenser of quality. When you have the habit of doing things well you will attract quality people in your life who will enhance your life in general and your business specifically.

2. Excellence will bring people to you.

Everyone wants to be associated with quality. It does not matter how expensive your service or product is, if it is value for money, customers will pay whatever it costs to have a quality product in their hands. There are times when people go shopping and are faced with the dilemma of purchasing an expensive but reliable product or a cheap but defective one. Most people go for the former. This is because a defective product means the customer will have to do shopping again sooner than later. And cumulatively defective products are more expensive than genuine ones.

           

3. Excellence will keep customers for longer.

There are times when things are desperate and customers buy the nearest thing on the market. There are service providers who take advantage of the desperate customers to serve them with sub-standard products. These customers get to study these products and know all the reasons why in good times such products should be avoided. The reckless business people see the boom in business as a sign that they can do anything with the customer and get away with it. The problem is that incompetence is as habitual as excellence. When good times come such a service provider will continue providing a service that is mediocre and unsatisfactory and in the end they get out of business.

            Do not be deceived when you get lots of business from a product that is defective. It means they know how your product is not to be trusted. When things get back to normal, customers will not buy your product even if you start producing standard products. Incompetence will kill your business in the long run.

4. Focusing on excellence means you do things right the first time.

If you set excellence as your standard, you will strive to do everything right the first time. This means you will spend your time effectively. Doing things wrong the first time and then correcting or upgrading later takes time and money. Besides, your products will always be associated with quality. All those you deal with will eventually appreciate your efforts and reward you by doing business with you for longer.

It takes time for people to associate your product with quality, but when they do they become loyal customers. For some time it seems futile to keep on focusing on quality products but a time comes when everyone will start talking about your product. There is no advertising better than that by word of mouth being spread by a satisfied customer. 

Since doing things excellently can be a habit, make an effort to develop this habit early while you are still young. Start with small things that are not as useful. Once you have this habit you will be able to maintain this character trait, and when you grow older you will reap the benefits that are only reserved for those who produce quality services and products can only.

Managing your habits

Managing your habits                                                                   230111

                Weeds are plants just like the crops you grow. If given a chance, however, they will thrive better than the desired crops. If you see weeds growing well in a piece of land, it means crops will also do well there. The difference is that weeds can flourish without any attention. On the other hand, lot of work has to be done if plants will do equally well.

                Everyone has some bad habits that he/she is trying to overcome. These are revealed at the beginning of the year when many people sit down to write their New Year’s resolutions. On the list are one or two things that must be stopped. These are the undesirable habits we are talking about.

                If you look closely in your life you will see one such habit that you do not want at all, but it keeps resurfacing every time. There is good news for you. The fact that a bad habit like that one is thriving in you means that you are fertile ground for good habit also. All that is needed is to manage your habits to make the good ones to do better than the bad ones.

                Weeds use different tactics to make sure they do better than the crops planted where they grow. The bad habits in us use the same tactics as well if you understand these tactics you can get rid of bad habits in your life. Weeds usually grow very fast so that they overshadow their rivals and get more sunshine for their growth. In doing so, they starve the crops of the much needed energy to grow. To ensure this, they have big leaves that will block sunlight from anything that grows under them.

Good habits, like the crops we grow, take time to develop. Bad ones on the other end grow faster. Soon they are taking the time needed for developing good ones. If you are not careful the bad habits will soon be taking all your time and strengthening themselves in the process. Every habit needs time to develop, and bad ones try to overshadow good ones by denying them the time to grow. If you want good habits to thrive, give them the time needed for them to grow. If you give time to the good habits, the bad ones will have no time to grow and dominate. You can starve bad habits of the attention they need and they will eventually die.

You have only twenty-four hours in a day and if you deliberately decide to schedule time for the habits that you want to develop, soon there will be no time for bad habits. That way you will slowly grow good habits at the expense of bad ones.

Weeds sometimes grow underground and show only a few leaves that they use to make their food. If you are not careful you will think that there are very few weeds in the field while they are busy finishing the nutrients for your crops. The impact of these weeds is difficult to appreciate because the damage is done out of sight. The damage is there, all the same, and something must be done about these weeds before they damage your crops. The way to go is to uproot them using a digging method. These are desperate moments and desperate measures are required to correct them. These weeds will not go by simple means like uprooting. They need you to go to the very roots and kill them from there.

There are habits that will need drastic measures to be removed. These will not go because you wish them away. Ignoring them will not help either. They will grow out of sight but when you see the effects later on, they will be so big you cannot ignore them. The time to act is when you see the few signs of these devastating habits. If you wait till the end there is no good habit that will grow in those circumstances. The best way to know such a habit exists is when all the good ones you try to grow seem to wither and die. Find the underlying habit that takes the nutrients away from your desired habits.

Weeds need to be removed constantly if you will win a war against them. They grow quickly and produce seeds fast. In one farming season you may find yourself fighting against the second generation of weeds. The best way to fight the war is to make sure these weeds do not produce seeds. It is an awesome task but that way you will be guaranteed of eliminating some species completely. Every time you enter the field, make sure you pull out one or two weeds. That way you will not give some of them time to mature. If you wait until the field is covered in weeds it may be difficult to remove them all in the scheduled weeding time. Look for bad behavior everyday and stop before it grows to become a habit that affects your life. This way you are in control. Once behavior grows to be habitual, you have to do more work to change it. You can manage your habits by destroying bad ones and encouraging the growth of good ones by giving them time to develop.

How to handle an Everest sized project

How to handle an Everest sized project                                                     160111

            When Brigadier Sir John Hunt, the leader of the 1953 British expedition to Everest was asked to summarise the reasons why they made it as the first team to reach the summit of Mount Everest, he sited seven reasons which I believe can be applied to any project that is considered big and guarantee success.

            It must be made clear that at the time of the climb of Everest there had been eleven expeditions sent to try and get information on Everest and eight of them had the definite mission of getting to the top. They tried and failed all these eight times with some so near yet so far. Just six months before the day of the ascent the Swiss team had reached within three hundred metres of the summit but failed to make it. Here are the seven reasons why Everest was concurred after over thirty years of trying.

            1. All those who climbed on Everest before the 1953 team

In saying this Brigadier Hunt was saying that without all the knowledge that they received from those who climbed the mountain before, it was going to be difficult to know what to expect and, therefore, impossible to make the necessary preparations. Many men had died on the mountain on earlier expeditions among them George Leigh Mallory who failed to return when he and Andrew Irvine attempted to reach the summit and apparently plunged to their death in June 1924. Only an ice axe was found later, marking the site of the accident. It was at their memorial service that a speaker pointed at a picture of Everest in the hall and declared, “Everest, we will climb you one day, because we can grow but you cannot”. It was this spirit that inspired one expedition after another to go back on the mountain, and bit by bit they gathered information that the team of 1953 used to make preparations and eventually reach the top.

            2. Planning

Of all the teams that went up the big mountains, none was as prepared as the 1953 expedition. The plans were drawn in detail well before they left for the Himalayas. They had planned to the letter what was going to be done at every stage. They had heard from the Swiss team about the problems likely to be faced and what to do to increase the chances of success. All the equipment was ordered according to this plan, and what a successful plan it turned out to be.

            3. Preparations

The team prepared thoroughly for the climb. They spent three weeks in the Everest region climbing to almost the highest peaks there so as to acclimatize. By the time they took the work to the real mountain they were already used to being at great heights, something that made them effective in all they did.  

            4. Excellence of equipment

The equipment that they used was designed specifically to suit their needs on the mountain. This made their stay comfortable and, therefore, they could carry out their tasks effectively. Their boots were lighter but warmer and resistant to freezing. The oxygen equipment was tested and redesigned to suit the conditions under which it was to be used. The tents were light but wind resistant. All this helped them reach the top.

            5. The Sherpas who carried their loads up the mountain

These are mountain men who live high in the mountainous Himalaya area and are greatly acclimatized to high altitude. These worked well under difficult conditions. It was them who carried many tones of equipment up the mountain; the equipment that these men used to get to the top. The team of thirteen who were on standby to attempt to reach the top could not carry heavy loads otherwise they would not have enough energy to reach the top. It, therefore, remained on these Sherpas to carry the bulk of the loads.

            6. The teamwork of the whole expedition

The team chosen was carefully selected according to their abilities apart from mountaineering proper. One was in charge of food; another on oxygen equipment used for climbing. Each one had a specific task according to the plan. Every member carried out their tasks without complaining. Others went on to take other responsibilities that they were not obliged to carry. They operated as a team throughout their stay on the mountain. The Sherpas who were carrying their loads also came in to compliment the teamwork and together they did the impossible.

            7. The favor of the weather

In the highest parts of Everest the weather is so severe that anyone found up there when it is at its worst will have no chance of survival. Some earlier teams failed to reach the top because the weather was too severe for anyone to climb. The 1953 team was fortunate enough to have clear weather when they had the right men in the right place. If they had arrived a week earlier or later the weather may have been different and the result may as well have been different too.

            When you have a project that seems to be too big for you, consider finding out from those who have ‘climbed the same mountain’ earlier. Use the given information to draw a plan that gives you details as much as possible about the things you will do. This means you do not waste time planning when the time for execution comes. There must be room, however, for slight changes on the ground. Follow your planning with serious preparations to make sure everything is going to work. Try the equipment to be used under similar conditions.

            To increase your chance of success, use the best equipment available for the task at hand. Make sure this equipment is available in the right quantities and specifications. Choose a team that can work together well under pressure. If there is no teamwork everything will collapse before reaching the top. All people in the team must be selfless enough to do things for the team and not for individual glory.

            When all these are in place you have to wait until you get the right conditions. This is the only thing you are not in control of. You have to pray that the conditions are favorable for the project to go through. If the economic or climatic conditions are not the best, the climax may never be reached, depending on the project at hand. It may take time to get the best conditions and all you have to do is to be ready to pounce when the conditions become favorable. This may take time depending on what you are out to achieve but it is worth the wait. You too can produce Everest type results if you keep doing things the way those who went up the mountain first did.  

The Value of Problems

The Value of Problems                                                               090111

            Most people cringe when they hear of yet another problem, but it is problems that make life tick. Every job is about solving one problem or another; some not as directly as others though. It is for this reason that we must value problems.

            All inventions and discoveries ever made were inspired by the desire to solve some existing problem. These men and women whom we call heroes today for discovering these solutions chose to face the problems that were there and tried to solve them. When they did they became heroes in the process. It is not those who shy away from problems who are great but those who face them head on.

            Problems usually do not disappear if we do not do something about them. For some time, they may go out of sight but they have a way of resurfacing at the most inconvenient time and place. When they emerge in this way the only thing to do is to face them, but it is usually not as convenient as it is when you address them when you are in control as far as when and how to solve them.

            There are many who have a tendency of sweeping things under the carpet. Soon the carpet is bulging in all places and causing those who try to walk on top to stumble and fall. When this happens the problems will once again become the centre of attraction because they cannot be ignored anymore. One way or the other problems are better addressed when they first appear.

            There are a number of ways of making sure that problems are valuable to you. The first is to realise that as long as you are alive you will face some problems. This will help you in the sense that you will always look forward to meeting the problems and this sort of prepares you for them. If you are prepared you do not panic when the problems arrive. In fact you can handle them with a level head because they do not surprise you as such. Once you realise that you are going to meet some problems somehow you are in a better position to solve them.

            When problems come your way, make it a habit to address them as soon as possible. This is because they do not go away on their own. If you keep them unattended you are giving them a chance to grow. A time may come when you have to handle many problems at the same time. Since one problem is usually enough to cause anxiety and stress, you are most likely going to be affected even more if you let problems accumulate until they are many. Solving problems as soon as they arise makes sure you are in a position to address one at a time unless, of course, if many of them happen concurrently, in which case you do not have control of events. Otherwise you will be assured of solving all your problems without being overwhelmed.

            When you address the problems that come your way, make sure you solve them as far as possible. A half solved problem is still a problem. It is like filling a five metre deep pit with soil until it is two metres deep. It is still a pit and as dangerous as a five meter one. You have to solve your problems until you are satisfied you have done your best. If there are any issues that will arise after some time you will address them as they come but make sure the problem is under control all the time.

            Problems have a way of strengthening you. If you face them head on they will give you the edge when other problems come your way in future. A tree that is planted and watered everyday may not appreciate that there are dry spells that come. When the watering is stopped the tree withers quickly. Because it is used to having plenty of water all the time, it usually loses as much as possible at any given time even in times of drought. For this reason such a tree dies quickly when drought comes. The same is true for individuals who do not want to face problems. They will be affected seriously when problem arise that they cannot run away from. They usually commit suicide when faced with what they call serious challenges.

            Ship builders use trees from mountain tops when making a ship's mast because it has faced windy conditions all its life. A tree from deep in the bush will not be able to survive the storms because it is shielded at all times by other trees. Endure the problems if you must but rejoice because these problems leave you a better person.

            Next time you have a problem in your hands appreciate the fact that it is one of the many that will come your way. Address the problem as soon as possible and as thoroughly s you can and because you will be a better person when the problem is over.

Prepare for the blessings that you are expecting

Prepare for the blessings that you are expecting                                         020111

            Happy New Year to you all! What a blessing to be found alive in 2011. I hope this year will bring to you the blessings that you expect. May it bring prosperity beyond your expectations.

            When some cargo is to be transported to some place by water transport, the boat or ship that is dispatched depends on the size of the river along which the goods are to be transported. If the goods to be transported are few, the smallest boat can be employed and all is well. If, however, large quantities of goods are to be transported, a larger vessel is needed, and a larger channel for the boat to fit in. The largest vessels are used to transport goods from continent to continent via the sea because there are no limits as far as the sea is concerned. It is wide enough and deep enough for any ship to travel.

            Water transport is used to move goods across big dams too. These vessels have a limit in terms of size because the dams on which they travel allow only a certain size of boat to travel comfortably. If the goods have to move through a river, the particular river has to always contain enough water to allow the boats to pass through; otherwise they get stuck in the sand. The river has to be deep enough and wide enough. If the river is small, it will allow only small boats, which will be able to carry only a certain amount of goods. If large quantities of goods are to be carried through a narrow channel then the small boats will have to do many runs through and in most cases only a limited number of these vessels can travel through at any given time since they may not be able to pass each other when travelling in the opposite direction.

            Your life is a destination of certain goods every time. The amount of goods that can come your way at any given time depends on the size of the river channels that you dig around you. If you have only small rivers around you, only small boats can come your way with limited resources. If you dig big rivers there is capacity for big vessels to bring larger loads to your port. A small channel compromises, not only the size of the vessels to come at any given time, but the number too. If your channel is one hundred kilometres long and allows only one boat at any given time, (because two boats cannot cross each other anywhere along the channel,) then it means for the duration of time when one small boat is bringing the few goods it can carry, you cannot hope to receive anything else. You have to wait for it to go back again the whole way before another one can come to replenish your supplies. If the goods brought are not enough to last until the next vessel comes then you are in trouble.

            There is hope in that the blessings that you want to come your way do not come via some physical river which you do not have control over its size. They come to you depending on your preparedness. It takes some time for a river to cut a channel deep enough for big vessels to come through. It may take a bit of time before you can receive the goods you want but you have to keep working at it. If you do not deepen and widen the channels, no one will do it for you. It is your responsibility to prepare yourself for the blessings you want.

            The areas you want the blessings to flow will determine the amount of work that you have to do. If you want academic rewards you have to increase your capacity in the academic sense. You have to spend many hours studying in order to get good grades. If you expect distinctions but continue to spend more time playing then you will not get the reward. The academic boats that can travel such a narrow channel will not be able to carry the distinctions that you want. You have to widen the channel and deepen it enough for big things to flow.

            If you want a promotion at work you have to work for it. The amount and quality of work that you produce should be commensurate with your expectation. You must have the papers that qualify you to occupy that position. If you do not do enough you may not be able to see the ship that you expect to come carrying your promotion because the channel that you provided is too narrow for such great things to fit in. Those who seek spiritual blessings will have to prepare themselves to work hard in the same way. Without this hard work there is no hope of receiving the blessings that you want.

            There are many things that could be yours this year if you work hard enough to prepare the way for these blessings to flow. What you will have depends on how prepared you are to receive it. Keep deepening and widening the channels.