Best Success Secret II: God's Direction

A man’s heart plans his ways, but the Lord directs his steps. ­– Solomon David

Can you but love people who know how to plan? It is interesting working with such because it seems every advice you give yields good results. You can help anybody who has a plan get to where he desires to. What can you do with a plan-less folk? You cannot push him. You cannot motivate him for greatness. You cannot direct him because which way will you direct a traveler who has no idea where he is going?

Irrespective of my best intentions in guiding someone with a plan to his goal God does it beyond all imagination. He specializes on giving the right direction at all times to the person with a plan. God will tell you what steps to take, what turns to make, what foot to put forward next. He will guide you to the best stocks to buy, when to buy and when to restrain yourself.

It is God’s desire to guide you to heights beyond the limits you have imagined. Interestingly we find it difficult to believe. We often see our goals as ours. We think on a straight line that because if our hearts have conceived the vision then we must find our way through to it. With God in the picture it isn’t so by any stint of the imagination. He desires to guide you as you take one step and then another toward a vision. “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you saying, “This is the way; walk in it,”” says an envoy from God.

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If you desire God’s direction in accomplishing your plans you must do your part by;

1.     Having a plan

2.     Acknowledging God’s place in your plans

3.     Pursuing goals that would be of benefit to others

4.     Overcoming crippling fear

5.     Taking steps in faith

6.     Obeying the last instruction received exactly as it was instructed

There are certain pointers I have identified through which you may know that God is leading you:

1. Breakthrough ideas you haven't thought of pop-up into your mind
2. You find help from people at times and places you never imagined to find them
3. You coincide with opportunities that suit perfectly with your inherent gifts, talents and skills
4. You encounter bigger burdens that move you to act

Best Success Secret I: Planning

A man’s heart plans his ways, but the Lord directs his steps. ­– Solomon David

The quote above outlines what may be the best success secret of all time. It shows two things that will ensure a person achieves his goals; your plan and God’s direction.

A colleague once wrote me a request that he wanted to work with me and help me accomplish the goals I have set. I appreciated his interest in my work but replied that he sends me his personal vision, dreams and goals set. I could have jumped on the opportunity of making my goals more achievable because of his input but I know two things; he would be no good to me if he has no personal goals, and the person who will help you achieve anything worthwhile must first know how to plan his own life.

          A plan is an outline of how a vision will be achieved. It tells, in detail, how a person will get from point A to B. It breaks down goal pursuit into simpler steps. To make effective plans every time you try, ask yourself the following questions:

1.     What do I want to achieve?

2.     Where am I at the moment in reference to my goal?

3.     What resources do I have at my disposal?

4.     Who can help me?

5.     How much time do I have?

6.     What are the small steps I can take today that will move me closer to achieving my goal?

7.     When do I begin?

The answers to these questions are the framework for your plan. As you answer them you begin to see what it will really take to achieve your goal and if you have what it takes at the moment to achieve it. I believe that it doesn’t matter how far a person is from his vision, he can achieve it if he has a plan that clearly tells how to achieve it.

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When you have outlined your plan you step out in faith that your plans will work. It is at this time that the second ingredient to your success recipe – God’s direction gets rolling. We will deal with that in the next article.