I cannot do it alone!

On Sunday morning, I walked past a certain place where there were TV screens that were airing a show that was going on for a Sunday morning service. This was not an everyday service but it was one that hit me very hard on this particular morning. There was a Sunday service going on that was being hosted by the Anti-Stock Theft Service unit; this is one of the arms of the Kenya Police. I was struck so much by the sight of many police men in uniform praying and praising God together. This scene brought to mind Psalms 127:1, “EXCEPT THE Lord builds the house, they labor in vain who build it; except the Lord keeps the city, the watchman wakes but in vain.”

I am currently reading the One Year Bible, and the passage for today was looking at the story of Josiah, a young man who became king of Judah at the age of 8 years old, and the bible says 'He did what was right in the eyes of the LORD and followed the ways of his father David, not turning aside to the right or to the left'. I loved what was written about his life even at the age of 16yrs; that 'he begun to seek after the God of his ancestor David'. As I read this, I wondered to myself 'What would an average 16year old teen in Kenya be focusing on in their life?' Josiah devoted his life to learning the laws of the Lord and obeying Him. This led to great success during his lifetime.

These two lessons just showed me one thing; I cannot do it all alone. In my life, I need to connect with God and draw strength from my relationship with Him. He is the one who gives us the ability to become prosperous…truly prosperous!!!

You can trust Him!

Psalms 11:4

"the Lord is in his holy Temple;

      the Lord still rules from heaven.

   He watches everyone closely,

      examining every person on earth"

I was sitting in a bus this afternoon stuck in traffic, when I decided to read this Psalm. I was sitting infront, next to another young man and an old driver on the other end. As I read through this whole Psalm, talking about the righteous being preserved by God, I started looking at these two gentlemen seated next to me. The thought that came to mind is that 'God is also watching these two closely, examining them while on the earth'. Across the road, there were some hawkers trying to sell dolls, some foodstuff, others children mercandise....and yes 'God is also examining these ones' was the thought that came to mind. Despite all their hustles and endeavours to put food on their tables, despite them not being aware of that fact, the almighty God was watching their every move and minding about them.

This thought was very soberning to me today; God watches me very closely and he examines my every move. This is a very comforting thought and at the same time sobering. On the one hand, God is always watching over me and He protects me. I do not need to fear about the things that will happen in my life because I know that He has a good plan for my life. As long as He watches over me, His plan for my life will come to pass. On the other hand, I need to be careful in the things that I do. Since He is watching me closely, I don't want to do things that will make Him sad.

My encouragement to you today is...God is watching over you; therefore you can trust Him with your every move. He has great plans for your life!

50 New Rules of Work

1. You are not just paid to work. You are paid to be uncomfortable – and to pursue projects that scare you.
2. Take care of your relationships and the money will take care of itself.
3. Lead you first. You can’t help others reach for their highest potential until you’re in the process of reaching for yours.
4. To double your income, triple your rate of learning.
5. While victims condemn change, leaders grow inspired by change.
6. Small daily improvements over time create stunning results.
7. Surround yourself with people courageous enough to speak truthfully about what’s best for your organization and the customers you serve.
8. Don’t fall in love with your press releases.
9. Every moment in front of a customer is a moment of truth (to either show you live by the values you profess – or you don’t).
10. Copying what your competition is doing just leads to being second best.
11. Become obsessed with the user experience such that every touchpoint of doing business with you leaves people speechless. No, breathless.
12. If you’re in business, you’re in show business. The moment you get to work, you’re on stage. Give us the performance of your life.
13. Be a Master of Your Craft. And practice + practice + practice.
14. Get fit like Madonna.
15. Read magazines you don’t usually read. Talk to people who you don’t usually speak to. Go to places you don’t commonly visit. Disrupt your thinking so it stays fresh + hungry + brilliant.
16. Remember that what makes a great business – in part – are the seemingly insignificant details. Obsess over them.
17. Good enough just isn’t good enough.
18. Brilliant things happen when you go the extra mile for every single customer.
19. An addiction to distraction is the death of creative production. Enough said.
20. If you’re not failing regularly, you’re definitely not making much progress.
21. Lift your teammates up versus tear your teammates down. Anyone can be a critic. What takes guts is to see the best in people.
22. Remember that a critic is a dreamer gone scared.
23. Leadership’s no longer about position. Now, it’s about passion. And having an impact through the genius-level work that you do.
24. The bigger the dream, the more important the team.
25. If you’re not thinking for yourself, you’re following – not leading.
26. Work hard. But build an exceptional family life. What’s the point of reaching the mountaintop but getting there alone.
27. The job of the leader is to develop more leaders.
28. The antidote to deep change is daily learning. Investing in your professional and personal development is the smartest investment you can make. Period.
29. Smile. It makes a difference.
30. Say “please” and “thank you”. It makes a difference.
31. Shift from doing mindless toil to doing valuable work.
32. Remember that a job is only just a job if all you see it as is a job.
33. Don’t do your best work for the applause it generates but for the personal pride it delivers.
34. The only standard worth reaching for is BIW (Best in World).
35. In the new world of business, everyone works in Human Resources.
36. In the new world of business, everyone’s part of the leadership team.
37. Words can inspire. And words can destroy. Choose yours well.
38. You become your excuses.
39. You’ll get your game-changing ideas away from the office versus in the middle of work. Make time for solitude. Creativity needs the space to present itself.
40. The people who gossip about others when they are not around are the people who will gossip about you when you’re not around.
41. It could take you 30 years to build a great reputation and 30 seconds of bad judgment to lose it.
42. The client is always watching.
43. The way you do one thing defines the way you’ll do everything. Every act matters.
44. To be radically optimistic isn’t soft. It’s hard. Crankiness is easy.
45. People want to be inspired to pursue a vision. It’s your job to give it to them.
46. Every visionary was initially called crazy.
47. The purpose of work is to help people. The other rewards are inevitable by-products of this singular focus.
48. Remember that the things that get scheduled are the things that get done.
49. Keep promises and be impeccable with your word. People buy more than just your products and services. They invest in your credibility.
50. Lead Without a Title.

I encourage you to share + discuss + debate these with your team and throughout your organization. Within a quick period of time, you’ll see some fantastic results.

Keep Leading Without A Title.