On The Path Of Winners BY BAYO OGUNMUPE Preparation Draws Success To You

On The Path Of Winners

BY BAYO OGUNMUPE

Obasanjo

Preparation Draws Success To You

GOD allows us to suffer in order that we may discover that He is the rock at the bottom. Gideon faced an army of 135,000 troops with just 32,000 men. And 22,000 of them left the battlefield and went home when Gideon offered them the option. In his mathematics, Gideon thought there was no way they could win. But then, God explains: The people who are with you are too many for me to give Midian into their hands, for Israel would become boastful, saying, “My own power has delivered me,” Judges 7:2. There it is again, the age old battle of ego that we all fight daily. It is why the Lord’s Prayer ends with: Thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory for ever and ever, Amen,” Mathew 6:13.

  Where does our power come from? From God of course. Who should the glory for our successes go to? God! How long does this arrangement last? Forever. God had to break Jacob of self-sufficiency so that the “Israel” within him could be born. Sometimes, God had to bring you down before raising you up. Moses was the meekest man on earth. But it took forty years of living as a shepherd in the wilderness to detoxify him of pride and get him submitted to Jehovah. Only then was he ready to stand before Pharaoh and perform miracles that demonstrated, Jehovah’s power which vindicated Moses.

  Failure does not mean being a wimp, inferiority complex or having a case of low self-esteem. Thus, being broken-hearted means praying to Jehovah unceasingly.

  We don’t always know the reason for our trials. But God revealed to Paul the reason for his problems. It was to keep him from being exalted, 2 Corinthians 12:7. Success can intoxicate and intoxicated people aren’t known for being trustworthy.

  What happens when you get a thorn in your flesh? It hurts and disturbs. Which is why you let everything go while you focus on removing it. Three times Paul prayed for God to remove the thorn but God had another plan. Jehovah is at His strongest when we are at our weakest.

  On discovering that God’s power in his life was tied to his affliction, Paul responded, “I am content with weaknesses, hardships and calamities. For whenever I am weak, then I am strong “2 Corinthians 12:10. Therefore, if its for my good, bring it on Lord! If you have a thorny person in your life from whom you have prayed to be delivered and it hasn’t happened, maybe, God wants you to experience His grace and power through that person. But you won’t experience this until you move from pain to praise. This is the meaning of Bible’s sacrifice of praise of God, Hebrews 13:15. A sacrifice means something has to die on somebody’s altar. So if you want to experience God’s grace, you must be willing to die for your beliefs. The willingness to die for his beliefs raised Nelson Mandela above his contemporaries.

  However, a powerful technique in changing your mindset is visualization. If you looked up visualization online, you will find numerous pages from motivational gurus shilling the idea that you can achieve your wishes through the simplicity of picturing your achievements in your head. Accordingly, if you see yourself achieving your goals, you eventually will.

  While there is scientific evidence backing this theory but this is buried beneath countless pages of Internet salesmen. These people have been touting it as a method of turning impossible dreams into reality. But visualization transforms your thinking by training you to change your thinking, feelings so that you can change your behaviour.

  However, many people wrongly believe they can simply sit and picture themselves into earning fabulous salaries, then wait until their world is raining green. But making visualization work for you is a practice that takes plenty of time, work and patience. You cannot just pull up images in your head and think of attaining your goal. You must take time to learn the right techniques and practice everyday.

  Your brain is a fascinating organ that executes millions of processes daily. To change your mindset, you must study the methods of visualization, then practice them. Find a suitable method for you. The meditation approach is easier. Begin to explore your ideal life, your ideal money situation and focus your breathing and thoughts on living these your dreams. Don’t let your mind wander. Practice visualization consistently. Think of what you want alone. Allow yourself to get lost in the physical feelings of your dream so that your brain can carve these images. Those images will create pathway, that will eventually bring you what you want. Your brain will grow increasingly alert to your wants and what you need to do to render your dream into a reality. Do this everyday and you will gradually start thinking differently about success, money and achievement.

  Our champion this week is Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigerian general, diplomat and statesman. Born in Abeokuta, Ogun State of Nigeria in March 1937, Obasanjo was the first military leader (1976 – 79) in Africa to hand over power to civilian rule. In 1999 he was elected president. He served two terms (1999 – 2007).

  Obasanjo joined the army in 1958 and rose rapidly through the ranks. During the Nigerian Civil war (Biafra secession – 1967-70) he headed the Third Marine Commando that was instrumental in ending the fighting. After the assassination of Brigadier-General Murtala Muhammed in 1976, Obasanjo his deputy became the head of state.

  As leader, he emerged an influential statesman, pushing forward Muhammed’s time-table for civilian rule. Over the next decade, he worked as a diplomat, holding positions in the United Nations. As a vocal critic of Sani Abacha who seized power in 1993, Obasanjo was imprisoned in 1995 charged with plotting a coup against Abacha.

  Following Abacha’s death in 1998, Obasanjo was released and drafted by the dominant People’s Democratic Party to contest and win the Presidency in 1999. As Nigerian civilian ruler in 15 years, he sought to alleviate poverty and curb corruption. But he only succeeded in introducing the global system of mobile communication to Nigeria. However, what marked him out as an outstanding leader is his courage. This he has just demonstrated yet another time by criticising President Goodluck Jonathan through a letter he wrote accusing the president of running an administration neck deep in corruption. But his best option is to score another first through leading the opposition to wrest power from Jonathan in 2015.