Attitude Revolution

Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference. – Winston Churchill

Our attitudes are important factors in determining how far we get along our success paths. Your attitude is the way you think and feel that affects your behavior. So in effect it is not merely what you think but the way you think.

King Solomon reckoned that, “As a man thinks in his heart so is he.” Mahatma Gandhi expounded on this by stating that, “Keep your thoughts positive because your thoughts become your words. Keep your words positive because your words become your behavior. Keep your behavior positive because your behavior becomes your habits. Keep your habits positive because your habits become your values. Keep your values positive because your values become your destiny.”

Ultimately, your thoughts do two things. First they show you who you really are. When in doubt as to who you are, do not go as far as asking for people’s opinion. Simply search through your thoughts. Second, your thoughts determine who you will become. Your thoughts are to your life what the steering wheel is to a car – it determines the direction.

To develop a great attitude, take careful note of your manners. Young folks think it is old school to say sorry when wrong, please when they need help, or thank you when they are helped. These simple manners affect our attitudes immensely. Also, you should identify people that have threaded the path you are on and follow. Mentors help us ensure we don’t make the behavioral mistakes they made. Finally, be present. Be there when you are needed. Do not miss out on opportunities to be a part of worthy ventures.

You can change everything by changing your attitude to a positive one. 

Spiritual Revolution

Believe me a man cannot even see the kingdom of God without being BORN AGAIN. – Jesus (the Christ)

We all have two pairs of eyes (that’s my way of expressing it) – the outer set of eyes that we can all see and an inner pair that we cannot see. With your outer set you have access to the physical environment. Your eyes feed you with up eighty percent of the information you have. Though very important, your outer eyes are very limited to the things that presently exist.

With your inner pair of eyes sight has no boundaries. You can see what no one else can. You have access to limitless information. It is with your inner eyes that you see the future. Joseph was seeing with his inner eyes when he declared to his family, “Look I have dreamed another dream … the sun, the moon, and the eleven stars bowed to me,” when they were mere wandering shepherds. Martin Luther King (Jnr) saw with his inner eyes when he proclaimed, “I have a dream that one day my four little children will not be judged by the color of their skins but by the content of their character,” though what his outer eyes saw was racial prejudice and discrimination. With these men and many others that have experienced inner sight I can boldly say they had a glimpse into the Kingdom of God.

For your inner eyes to see a future yet covered, you need a spiritual revolution. You need a complete and dramatic change in your inner person – your spirit. In the words of a carpenter, Jesus (the Christ), you “cannot even see the Kingdom of God without being born again.” You must have a complete transformation, a change that is not short of existing for the first time all over again.

Being born again means the second you never existed prior to the revolution. Your prejudices and biases, your desires and inklings, your habits and comfort zones, all have never existed.

A spiritual revolution is, indeed, an awesome experience because it empowers you on your inside. You will suddenly be able to affirm that, “I can do ALL things through the anointing (empowerment inside you), which strengthens me.”

In addition, it sets up for an all-involving success. By this I mean the whole of you will be a part of your success story. You will identify and make consistent progress in your unique success path and you will experience what King Solomon meant when he said, “The [success] path of the righteous is like the morning sun, shining ever brighter till the full light of day.” 

Knowledge Revolution

When you know better you do better. – Maya Angelou 

It is said that, “What is worth doing is worth doing well.” I really question this one-directional thought line. What happens when the folk in question does not know how to do the thing that is worth doing? His ignorance will not let him do it well.

There is probably nothing more incapacitating than ignorance. An uneducated mind is severely restricted by walls that can easily be broken. It is by far easier to exploit a man of his rights and worth if, in the first place, he does not know what those rights are!

In his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, the revolutionist, Nelson Mandela, wrote: “Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farmworkers can become the president of a great nation. It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another.”

If you would travel far and successfully on your success path, you must undergo a knowledge revolution. Your mind must be educated and liberated so it can live. How much do you know about your field? Have you increased in your knowledge in the past two weeks? What about the past month? Most advanced level graduates have never picked up a book within or outside their fields since they left school.

A knowledge revolution changes your outlook to the world. Gradually you will see things differently. Biases you have will be challenged. You will be pushed beyond your limits in every area. It will unlock you to endless possibilities that exist in the world around you and beyond.

A knowledge revolution begins by your acknowledging that you do not know it all. Greek philosopher, Socrates, said, “The only true knowledge is in knowing you know nothing.” When you have the “I-know-it-all” attitude you shut your mind from receiving further education. On the other hand when you know that there is still more to know, the window is opened for the fresh air of new knowledge to flow in.

In addition, revolutions are the children of specificity of purpose – focus (if you may). Zero-in on few specially selected areas and invest your time and resources on building your knowledge base therein. 

Responsibility Revolution

Because each one shall bear his own load. – Paul (the apostle)

Children do not have a sense of responsibility. They do not wake up in the morning thinking, “How will this day go and what will I do to achieve my goals?” They live carefree lives. Their basic design tells them that they should, and indeed need to, depend on someone else to do whatever it is they should do. Their feeding is handled, clothing is covered, and health isn’t a concern. Why worry when someone else will worry for you?

This is all well and good – even cute – as long as it is done by children. A problem exists when people old enough to bear their responsibilities depend on someone other than themselves for life’s necessities. A lot of young adults feel they should still depend on their parents or guardians to survive. This is, in part, not the fault of these young adults. The problem begins when parents in a bid to give a better standard of life for their wards cripple their wards’ responsibility muscle. A parent must know when to withdraw help and leave their wards to live their own lives. It is at this point that the young folk will experience a responsibility revolution.

To develop in personal responsibility you must realize that you have a life to live. Time is passing you by; wake up and live. You are responsible for your own life. Your parents are not, your friends are not, and God is not! You and only you are responsible for the outcome of your life. Your family, friends, and God will help you but that is where it ends. The buck stops with you. Whatever decisions you make are yours and yours alone.

Second, if you would have a responsibility revolution, you must learn to fail. This is because responsibility is an “On the job” activity. I motivate my students not to be afraid of failing. I tell them that they cannot succeed if they cannot ever fail in the training field. Learning to become a success is like learning to ride a bicycle. One universal denominator is that you will fall off the bicycle. But, (if you eventually learned to ride) you stood up, picked up the bicycle and tried again. You repeated this cycle so many times that you at this moment can’t say exactly at which point you learned to ride. The same principle applies to success. 

Do You Want a Revolution?

A revolution is not a bed of roses. A revolution is a struggle between the future and the past. – Fidel Castro

          Our world has experienced countless revolutions through the ages. In recent times we have witnessed the Log Revolution in Croatia, the Tuareg Rebellion in Niger and Mali, the Green movement in Iran and, more recently, the Arab Spring. It is obvious from history that revolutions are a part of human community.

Revolutions create platforms for change. Every revolution begins out of the desire to change something. Without a mind for change revolutions are out of place. In addition, they are a generational thing – as political activist Abbie Hoffman says, "... a revolution is a perpetual process embedded in the human spirit." There always come a generation that becomes uncomfortable with the norm. They see a future that cannot be achieved if things remain exactly as they are. They understand that to create the future they want they must change the present.

As it is with societies so it is with individual lives. To make the progress you envision you must create drastic changes today. Without these changes the future is impossible. There are four revolutions you need to have; a spiritual revolution, an attitudinal revolution, a responsibility revolution, and a knowledge revolution.

A spiritual revolution sets you up for an all-involving success. By this I mean the whole of your being joins in the process. You will not feel successful, irrespective of your outward attainments, without a spiritual revolution. A spiritual revolution sets you free. Makes you feel limitless.

An attitudinal revolution begins with a change in your thoughts. You are an embodiment of your thoughts. Your thoughts do two things – they show you who you are and reveal to you who you will become. In addition, a revolution in your attitude will make you change your participation in worthwhile ventures. You will no longer remain passive but will become active. It will then build your character. Character, it is said, is developed in the stream of life – as you relate with people daily.

A responsibility revolution exposes you to the fact that you are responsible for your every action – Everything you do is your fault. It changes your expectations toward people because you see that nobody is responsible for you.

Finally, a knowledge revolution expands your mind. An expanded mind is one with broader capacity. You are able to understand more, to do more and indeed be more.

Do you want a revolution?