Enemies Of Success

Let me warn us here briefly against some enemies of success. Factors that are inimical to progress.
One is trying to do many things at a time. Saying ‘no’ especially to the good in order to concentrate on the best is a good way to achieve excellence. Your ‘no’ may offend some but at last many will celebrate with you. Be a river that has a goal than a swamp that tries to go everywhere and ends up getting nowhere. Achievers believe the doctrine of elimination and concentration. Don’t be somebody that is everywhere, yet nowhere. Knowing a thousand and one things does not make one a successful man, but knowing one particular thing and doing it better than others. Intensity is better than extensity. Focus is the master key to the golden door of success. The most important step in our walk of life is the next one, and the part of the long road that should concern us most is the section just in front of us.
Again, do not fear ‘change’; it is the unchangeable law of increase. You cannot become what you are destined to be by remaining what you are. The secret of successful change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new. Don’t be ashamed of change. Everything changes. Only the Ancient of days does not change. Make the change to appear as a gradual improvement on the old, this will make it to be welcomed by you and others. Making a direct and sudden turnaround may attract resistance. Note that change is good but is not easy. And if done in a haste may have devastating effects.
Limiting your vision to yourself is another big obstacle to success. Heaven is your source and strength of your life, so plan big enough. It is written: not by might nor by power but by My Spirit…. If the Almighty must be involved in your plan, it must be big enough to require a miracle. The Creator who gives threads to the spider that spins the web is your source. Nothing is done by man alone. “Without me” said He, “you can do nothing” Depending on yourself leads to limitation; depending on people leads to frustration; cease from men and look above you.
Be also selective of those who advice you. Two classes of people that will fail are: those who take advice from everybody and those who take advice from nobody. Do not take an advice just because it came from an elderly person. Some elderly people have been blinded by old age and their knowledge is obsolete. The adage that when an old man dies a library is lost is not always true. Do not be deceived by the old prophets who have lost their vision or still living in the yester-years. But you should not neglect them because their head may not be as empty as you think. You may need their knowledge of the ancient landmarks. Before you criticize them, listen to them. You have not seen up to one quarter of what they have seen. Young Samuel learnt from old and backslidden priest, Eli, how to respond to the Voice that called him. A wise man that neglects the wisdom of a foolish man will soon make a public show of his own foolishness. None has it all and none lacks it all. I also advise the elders to always try to update their knowledge. We know that immediately the food in a plate finishes, the status of the plate changes to dirty plate. Don’t let your plate be empty. Keep people eating from it. He who fails to sharpen the edge of his axe will require more energy in doing his cuttings, and develop blisters. Let your knowledge grow with your years. Do not be a fossil. Prove that you have retired but not tired.
Do not allow others to take you to where they are going. Be sure of where you want to go and insist on it. It has been said that, those who stand for nothing will fall for anything. Keep off from people with negative vision. Guard access to yourself. Qualify those who enter your arena of life. You are better off spending time alone than spending it with people who will hold you down with their negativities. When you associate with the right people the best comes out of you, and if you get wrong people out of your life, the wrong things will stop happening. He who wants to go far may go with many; but if he wants to go fast, he should go alone. The less you associate with negative people, the more your life will improve. Anything we will do on earth, we must do with people. To succeed therefore in it, we must learn good relationship. You are bound to fail if you don’t have courtesy, but apply caution. You must not give much time to all callers. Not all that call in to you must be courteously received. Not everyone that looks good to you is good for you. Evaluate the people in your life. Not everyone is meant to stay. The creator did not say he created a companion but a helper. Any companion that is not a helper does not worth your company; separate. There are many people I love sincerely but they cannot be my friends Do not allow people who are not so busy as you are to make inroads upon your time. Learn to use your time well. Time is one resource that is not in abundant supply. Everyone no matter how great or small has been given same amount of hours each day. What you do with yours is what makes the difference. Remember that there is no extra time.
The service we do to others is the rent we pay for our room in this great house called earth. Do it cheerfully and your neighbours will appreciate and patronize you.
Be careful not to match on people while pursuing success. And also do not block other people’s way so that nobody will block your own. And provided you have followed the right path, do not allow people’s opinion of you to deter you or dissipate your energy. Failures are experts in discovering one’s alleged wrong source of income. They love success but hate successful people. An old adage said that the child who fetched firewood more than others is often accused of fetching it from the evil bush. Your enemies and those who are jealous of your success will believe this against you, because when you hate someone, it is easy to believe the worst possible things concerning him. Look ahead of you, because it may be a hocus-pocus designed to distract you so that you will fall into a pit and loose all you are carrying and suffer the taunts of a successful rival. Whenever you make a mark in life, you must attract erasers. Envy also creates silent enemies. Envy creates silent enemies who are experts in pull-him-down (PHD) syndrome. These give bites that go deep before it is noticed. They do not know that strengthening the weak by weakening the strong is a failure. Nevertheless, what makes a man a criminal is not the number of criminal charges brought against him, but the truth in the charges. Don’t try to explain yourself to people, because those who love you don’t need it, and those who hate you will not believe you. Silence is the best answer to someone who doesn’t value your words.
But if your big bunch of firewood is truly from the evil bush, be sure that the consuming fire will surely consume you and your firewood. Getting what you want is a bigger tragedy than not getting it, if you apply a wicked means to succeed, or if that which you want contains a hidden evil. You are a looser with gold medal. Such a success is a disaster waiting to happen. All labours of this life end in nothingness if eternal life is not gained. Better is a little with righteousness than vast revenue without justice. The sting of a guilty conscience gives no rest day and night. Many people live with a burden of guilt, and it leaves a disastrous impact on them and people around them. A sense of guilt is a useful resource only when it stimulates correct and respectful conduct and favourably getting along with others. It is good when it is a symptom of an alert conscience that serves for self-censure and so prevent failures and lack of morals.
One young boy once told me that working hard to get money belongs to the Old Testament idea. That in this new generation, with their New Testament idea, they make enough money working or not working. That even those who are working don’t rely upon their work for money. This idea is devilish and dangerous, avoid it. Human labour, with divine favour leads to success; follow it. Whatever you are pursuing in life outside the Creator, you will certainly come back home hungry. A covetous man though may have enough to sink him, yet will never have enough to satisfy him. Let all things be done decently and in order. True wisdom does not jump protocol. Zeal without protocol is chaos. Even Elshaddai does not break any lock, he is not lawless; rather he opens it with the master key himself alone handles. Consult him. The way of holiness is so straight and plain that the simplest minds cannot go astray if they constantly follow it. Never for a moment attempt to help yourself out of a problem by a falsehood or a questionable act; keep in the middle of the high way of truth and integrity. If the worst of ills could be avoided by wrong doing, we should in the very attempt, have fallen into an evil worse than it. Every criminal enterprise carries the seed of it’s own eventual deconstruction. Nature abhors dishonest gain and knows how to deal with it from the inside.
In genesis, remember nemesis Even as I have seen; those who plow iniquity and sow trouble reap the same. By the blast of the Most High they perish and by the breath of His anger they are consumed. Even if sin is forgiven, there are consequences. You cannot make your brother cry and be not guilty. Those who make others to cry must be made to cry. The best way to be free from grief is to never cause grief to others. Those who destroy others to gain favour shall meet destruction at the point of their success. The roaring of the lion, the voice of the fierce lion, and the teeth of the young lions are broken. The old lion perishes for lack of prey, and the cubs of the lioness are scattered. Better is the poor who walks in his integrity than one perverse in his way though he is rich. But be assured of this, that he who fears the Almighty and walks in righteousness will never be put to shame. He is their strength in time of trouble. Ishmael comes cheap, by whatever means; he brings sorrow at the end. Isaac may take time to come but at the end he compensates for the waiting. It is better to fail in a course that would eventually succeed, than to succeed in a course that would eventually fail.
Let me say one more thing before we close this chapter. Avoid thoughtless spending. Let a wise purpose underlie every expenditure. Before buying anything, ask yourself: do I really need it? Can I afford it? It is honourable to wear a stethoscope but an engineer does not need it. Buy only what you need and can afford. Money is hard to make, but it is harder to save. But you must save or you will never grow financially. To hold money without spending it is a form of maturity you must achieve. Practice self control, not parsimony. Make your budget and respect it. It was savings that saved Egypt in the days of Pharaoh and Joseph. Learn to save, using pay yourself first (pyf) method. When you establish and maintain a systematic program of savings, you are investing in your future. Anyone that neglects the future, and spends all that he earns, be it much or little, let him wait for lack and hunger at some future time; for it will surely come. Frugality builds a solid future. The comfort of many families depends upon the proper saving and spending of their little coins. Set a target for annual savings.
Laconic approach to the subject matter of this paragraph created much lacuna which may take many pages in our future publication.
IT SHALL BE WELL WITH THE RIGHTEOUS
-BKC YAHKA