The Power of a Focus Mind

Psalm 119:37 "Turn my eyes away from worthless things;preserve my life according to your word"

Whatever gets your attention will get you. We move towards what we focus our attention on. So the more you thik about something, the stronger it takes a hold of you. Temptation begins by capturing your attention. What gets your attention will arouse you. So when you are focus on God, temptation loses its power on you.

Overcoming Temptation

1 Cor 10:13 "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it."

What this passage is saying is that temptation from the devil should not be of a suprise when it comes to you because you should be expecting it as being commonly familar and recognisable to you. You can't be tempted with new enticement except from what you expect will come from the enemy. So the devil has no real power over you because he can only tempt you with the same old common enticements, which is bearable and easily overcome. Imagine the enemy hitting you with the same weapon over many times repeatedly and never changing the attack strategy.

The more the temptation becomes familar to you, the more you study about it (e.g. know how often and when it comes, in what form, etc..), then the more you can bear and withstand against it and able to overcome any kinds of temptations. So having expectations and studying temptations and enticement that the enemy keeps throwing to you until you become fully familar with all its scheme, is the key to victory because by then God will have provide a way out of it.

A saying "Knowledage is power" and knowing the facts of your weakness and acknowledging it to God helps Him to provide you with a solution to overcome all things.

Developing the Leaders Within You - Chapter 2

Priority
To become a leader, one must learn to priorities what is really important in your life and begin to focus and act on those things that you value the most.

The Pareto principle applies particularly well in your ablity to priorites. This principle or also known as the 80-20 rule states that 20% of your priorites will give you 80% of your production, if you focus and spend your time and energy on the top 20% of your priorites. In other words, if you focus on the top 20% of your priorites and invest your time there, you will get 80% of all your need.

For example to get 80% productivity in your business organisation:

• Determine and find employees who are the top 20% producers.
• Spend 80% of people time with the top 20% producers.
• Spend 80% of development and training expense on the top 20% producers.
• Ask the top 20% to do on the job training for the next 20%

To get the list of the top 20% people, ask yourself this question, "If the person resigns or withdraws his/her support from me, what impact will it have on my life or organisation?" If you can't function without him/her, then that person is the top 15-20% of the name list. If you can function without him/her then that person is not the one.

It's about how smart you work, not about working harder.

How to priorties?

• What is required of me? What do I have to do in order to get my job done that no one else can do? Whatever it is, there must be put in the top high priority list. Distinguish between what I have to do and what I can delegate to others.
• What will give me the grestest return? M I doing the best in what I do that will receive good return?
• If you could live your life all over again, what could you do differently?
• Dilebrately neglect 80% of your unimportant priorities until you have done 20% of your top important priority lists
• Focus your attention on your priorities, because whatever gets your attention will get you and you will move towards what you focus your attention on.

Abuse - Too few employees are doing too many tasks.
Misuse - Employee(s) are doing the wrong things.
Disuse - Employee(s) are doing too little tasks.

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Developing the Leaders Within You - Chapter 1

What's the definition of leadership?
Leadership is about influence. Nothing more. Nothing less. The litmus test to see if a person is a leader is to find out if there are anyone following that person from behind. So if he/she who thinks is a leader but have no one following him/her is only taking a walk. To become a leader you must be an influencer to others and therefore the influence skills is essential attribute of a leader.

Leadership is the ability to obtain followers through your influence on others. For example, Adolf Hilter had his army backing him up in World War II. Jesus Christ had disciplines who followed Him and planted many churches soon after Jesus's death. Once you have a follower(s), work backward to figure out how to lead.

The issue today is that people think leadership is about obtaining a position of authority, rank title or role. Then once the person has arrived to that status quo, they soon become frustrated because of lack of followers. Then there are those who lack the proper title and don't see themselves developing the leadership skills.


How to become an influence person?
In order to lead others, one must learn how to lead him/herselves. Only when he/she is good at leading him/herself then he/she is ready to lead others. To lead yourself begin practicing your leadership of influence at home, whether it is with your wife/husband, kids, siblings, parents or other family members. Also begin to influence yourself like for example:

• Have you influence yourself to live a healthy life style? (e.g. do you exercise? have good dietry, etc)
• Have you influence yourself to get rid of any bad habbits/tempations? (e.g. quiet smoking, stop drinking, etc)

Reflective and practical questions

• What kind of an influence will you have with your own family members (e.g. become a better son, daugther, wife or husband)?

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Developing the Leaders Within You - Introduction

During this month of the New Year for 2008, I would like to begin my study on what it takes to be a great leader. My motive in writing this blog comes from my past disappointments in seeing, meeting and working with people for over 7 years in the IT industry, whom I thought were lacking some leadership qualities, which was a required attribute needed to get some project work completed.

I also have work with people whom I think were good leaders who had been my inspiration and role model. So I am not trying to discredit people who lacks leadership skills. Even I can admit that I need some improved leadership character in my life as well. So thus begins my research and pursue into studying leadership and hopefully applying what I've learnt into my own life.

One of a great motiviational speaker and writer who knows the subject of leadership very well that I will be listening to his CDs and reading his resources is Dr John C. Maxwell.

John C. Maxwell once said...
Leadership is not born but can be taught. When learning about leadership, one must first relaise that everyone is already somehow a leader themselves. For example a husband, who is the head of his family, mother/father parenting their kids, CEO, boss, managers, church leaders, etc..
Then you must know what the definition of leadership and the difference between leadership and management. Management is ensuring that the programs and objectives of an organisation is implemented. Leadership on the other hand is about casting vision & motivating people. People don't want to be managed but be lead. Who ever heard of world managers? Who has heard of world leaders? YES!

If you want to manage others, manage yourself well first. Then you will be readyand able to start managing and leading others.

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