Marketplace Convention Part 2-Leadership

In my earlier post, its important to understand the importance of a person's character and the need for building relationships as an ongoing basis. we understand that it takes character to sustain the level of influence and power in our lifes. knowing this as the fundamentals, we move on to Leadership. we're created to take dominion. in the beginnings, Adam was told to take dominion over the land God created and every living creature on earth. it still bewilders me that Adam was able to name and stand before every living creature and name them.

many speakers this days talk about the power of the mind. indeed the mind is a powerful tool and thus, we need to be able to utilize it properly in order to bring about the influence we want. Our Thought-life that determines our success. it is what determines our thinking; likewise to one's home, and it will determine the environment we will grow and live in.

determining the foundations, we got to be spontaneous about it. the only way we can be spontaneous is when you're prepared for it. Preparation comes when there's order. Therefore its important to be organized so that you can respond quickly and spontaneously. this is an area many leaders and managers lack. its crucial as order brings consistency -> security -> stability.

*Side note: every compromise we make is due to lack of trust in god. the basis of every idolatry; be it money, sex, fame and real idols, are because people find comfort and some forms of answer from these for temporal solutions. we got to move from short term to long term and it takes a high level of faith to trust God because majority of the time, its against Norms. my opinion, Who Cares!

Therefore, if you're already in a position of influence/power, you're a role model whether you like it or not. And thus a high level of self-control is expected of you. A constant test of leadership is on your ability to keep your cool especially under pressures. An important thing is NEVER get your ego involved which even myself fail on several occasions. A renown figure, Moses, failed in this area because he was frustrated with the Israelites (if you read in Numbers 20). He failed to obey due to his frustrations and thus brought God to his level infront of the Israelites because of unbelief, pride and anger. as you read on, Moses didnt manage to enter the promise land. therefore, if you cant have the character, consistency and spiritual discipline, do not be a leader.

Many people chooses to grow on a pace where after a period of time, they take a break or rest. later the simply go back to the starting point and start climbing again like a triangle. This is a vicious cycle because this thing becomes a comfort zone. if you plot it on a graph, it will look exactly like a person's heartbeat or a normal economic cycle of ups and downs. is this the way you may ask? definitely not! Growth should move a way that there're no plateaus, learn to pace yourself and never rest for too long, keep on moving, like a staircase where u move slowly on the horizontal line and rise again when you're ready to move on the vertical line. We live life on levels and experience life in stages

take extra care when entering any business dealings even with the closest people you may have. ensure that there's a contract, rather than a relational or mutual agreement because the contract protects the relationship. If there's a monetary change of hands based on Trust (w/o contracts), be sure that you're ready to lose it. Remember to have the level of wisdom and shrewdness as a serpent BUT not its values and character.

Earlier, we discussed about the importance influence and the need to influence others and build relationships with opposing values. although we seek the above but yet, we should never, i emphasize, never impose your values, personal consecration on others. the essence here is never stumble others. this is the difference between having standards and being legalistic where the former speaks about being not rigid and is flexible. Rigidness breaks. allow your personal consecration to shine!

We should rest but not allow it to become a period of inactivity.
**EBB & FLOW - A recurring & rythemic pattern of coming and going; declining and growth.**
(Life and Business is about Ebbing and flowing, an upward movement of growth despite times of decline)
We all go through various Seasons in life and this is a constant cycle we all have to experience:
-Summer (Productivity) : our gifts/talents/abilites flourish - "Fruitfulness"
-Fall (Transition) : Change from a state/condition to another - "A time of struggle"
->Gifts/Talents/Abilities are hidden and underestimated
->Allows us to re-examine/re-evaluate our true motives/motivation UNDISTRACTED
->Why? our gifts/talents/abilities can blind us and become something we go after instead
->It allows us to focus on our character, deepening of character.
-Winter (Rest) : Purifying of faith, strengthening of character, conserving of energy, preparation fo future; not a place of inactivity but helps us look forward to the future.
-Spring : Time of New beginning, New growth, New Birth

therefore barrenness does not equate death, as long there's life, it will become fruitful again!
Wilderness is your friend because its a place of solitude, refuge, reflection and rest. its a place of Fall and Winter season. Ebb & Flow. the Flow prepares us for a time to Ebb. Life is not simply about Spring time but the four seasons where one goes from Summer->Fall->Winter->Spring.

Its always Ebb & Flow...

Lastly, a small note is that, leaders will and need to understand the Power of Goal-setting. i won't elaborate on this part, no reasons given :p but remember that movement does not equate progress where most people makes this simple mistake. this matrix where the environment and programs/activities both envelop people as the heart of all plans, goals.

Remember, the choices we make in life is going to cost something and mean something.

*i hope this series on Character and Leadership will assist you in life and help you progress in your ministry and career. ultimately, i believe one should create a legacy for himself/herself because we want to leave behind something people will remember us for. People will only remember 2 things, the good and the bad you've done. Life progress in levels and arrive in stages. Your Attitude will determine your Altitude. Many thanks to Dr A.R. Bernard and Dr Kong for your constant new revelations and words of wisdom that have brought me to where i am today. i'm still constantly learning and indeed information/knowledge is power. Character and Wisdom is indeed the key of balance.