BREAKING THE CYCLE OF FAILURE

Main text: Luke 5: 1- 11 NKJV

One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret,^[a] the people were crowding around him and listening to the word of God. ² He saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their (they have given up)nets (plural). ³ He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon,(Jesus will single you out today! It is God’s plan that you distinguished, not loss among the crowd, he called you to sanctify you (set apart, different, distinguished, honored etc.) from now on, you shine differently from others) and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. God always like to be first; put God’s need above your need and you will be amazed how quickly he will supply your need. Remember the widow of zarephath.

⁴ When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, (dream bigger, go deeper) and let down the nets (plural) for a catch(singular: a window of opportunity is opened once, how you take advantage of it really matters. It is only a catch that heaven just released but your responsibility is to come with nets. You remember the poor widow of the prophet in 2 Kings 4? What was the prophet’s instruction? Go and borrow empty pots, borrow not a few. When all the pots were filled, the flow seized. Opportunity missed is opportunity transferred not loss. In my study, I discovered that God distribution wealth to all is based on 4 things 1. Ability2.Opportunity 3. Ability 4. Accountability. POOR means passing over opportunity repeatedly. Once you miss it, it is transferred to your neighbor. You loss is someone else profit; you pain is someone else gain. The race is not to the swift, victory in battle is not to the strong but time and chance happens to it all. Let someone say time & chance. Being at the right place at the right time with the right person with the right help!Today is the last you will means your chance for success in Jesus name!).”

⁵ But Simon answered and said to Him, “Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing (excuses; stop explaining failure. The earnest of the creation waiteth for what? Is it the explanations of the sons of God? What? Their manifestation! It is your time to manifest in Jesus); nevertheless at Your word (let’s clap for Peter. Is he not a man of faith? At your word; because you say so. What word of God has been revealed to you? Move at the word; for your word is a light to my feet and lamp to part. Love the word; learn the word; listen to the word; lay the word in your heart; study it, speak it, store it, share it. So I speak by the word of God, the cycle of failure is broken in your life) I will let down the net ( here peter revealed his little faith. I was impressed with him but now I am disappointed. Do you know how many times we disappoint God when we doubt. Paul asked a question in Galatian 3: 3 ‘ Are you so foolish? Beginning by the means of the spirit and trying to finish up in the flesh. It is foolishness to be gingered and motivated in a meeting like this and then you leave here and do nothing with that you heard. The instruction was let down the nets but Peter has been so discouraged that after he was moved by the word he limited his performance).” ⁶ And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net (singular) was breaking. ⁷ So they signaled to their partners  (we soon how partnering favors growth; how the kind of friendship you keep either limit or lifts your chances in life)in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. ⁸ When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, “Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!” ( countervalueing; he disqualified himself.)

⁹ For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; ¹⁰ and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, “Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men.” ¹¹ So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him.

30 CAUSES OF FAILURE

ü  How many of these are holding you back?

ü  Unfavorable hereditary background. There is but little, if anything, which can be done for people who are born with deficiency in brain power. This philosophy offers but one method of bridging this weakness—through the aid of the Master Mind.

ü  Lack of well-defined purpose in life. There is no hope of success for person who does not have a central purpose, or definite goal, at which to aim. Ninety-eight of every hundred of those whom I have analyzed had no such aim.

ü  Lack of ambitious to aim above mediocrity. We offer no hope for the person who is so indifferent as not to want to get ahead in life, and who is not willing to pay the price.

ü  Insufficient education. This is handicap which may be overcome with comparative ease. Experience has proven that the best-educated people are often those who are known as “self-made or self-educated.

ü  Lack of self-discipline. Discipline comes through self-control. This means that one must control all negative qualities, period. Before you can control conditions, you must first control yourself. Self-mastery is the hardest job you will ever tackle. If you do not conquer self, you will be conquered by self.

ü  Ill health. No person may enjoy outstanding success without good health. Many of the causes of ill health are subject to mastery and control (overeating, negative thinking, overindulgence, lack of physical exercise, improper breathing).

ü  Unfavorable environment during childhood. “As the twig is bent, so shall the tree grow.” Most people who have criminal tendencies acquire them as the result of bad environment and improper associate during childhood.

ü  Procrastination. This is one of the most common causes of failure. Most of us go through life as failures because we are waiting for the “time to be right” to start doing something worthwhile. Do not wait. The time will never be “just right”.

ü  Lack of persistence. Most of us are good “starters” but poor “finishers” of everything we begin. Moreover, people are prone to give up at the first sign of defeat. There is no substitute for persistence.

ü  Negative personality. There is no hope of success for the person who repels people through a negative personality. Success comes through the application of power, and power is attained through the cooperative efforts of other people. A negative personality will not induce cooperation.

ü  Lack of controlled sexual urge. Sex energy is the most powerful of all stimuli which move people into action. Because it is the most powerful of the emotions, it must be controlled through transmutation, and converted into other channels.

ü  Uncontrolled desire for “something for nothing.” The gambling instinct drives million of people to failure.

ü  Lack of well-defined power of decision. Men who succeed reach decision promptly, and change them, if at all, very slowly, and changed them frequently and quickly. Indecision and procrastination are twin brothers.

ü  One or more of the six Basic Fears. Fear of poverty, criticism, ill health, loss of love of someone, old age, and death must be mastered before you can market your services effectively.

ü  Wrong selection of mate in marriage. This is the most common cause of failure. The relationship of marriage brings people intimately into contact. Unless if this relationship is harmonious, failure is likely to follow. Moreover, it will be a form of failure that is marked by misery and unhappiness, destroying all signs of ambition.

ü  Over-caution. The person who takes no chances generally has to take whatever is left when others are through choosing. Over-caution is as bad as under-caution.

ü  Wrong selection of associates in business. We emulate those with whom we associate most closely

ü  Superstition and prejudice. Superstition is a form of fear. It is also a sign of ignorance. Men who succeed keep open minds

ü  Wrong selection of vocation. No man can succeed in a line of endeavor which he does not like. The most essential step in the marketing of personal services is that of selecting an occupation into which you can throw yourself wholeheartedly.

ü  Lack of concentration of effort. The “jack-of-all-trades” seldom is good at any. Concentrate all of your efforts on one definite chief aim.

ü  The habit of indiscriminate spending. The spendthrift cannot succeed mainly because he stands eternally in fear of poverty. Money in the bank gives a very safe foundation of courage when bargaining for the sale of personal services. Without money, one must take what one is offered, and be glad to get it.

ü  Lack of enthusiasm. Without enthusiasm, one cannot be convincing. Moreover enthusiasm is contagious, and the person, who has it, under control, is generally welcome in any group of people.

ü  Intolerance. The person with a “closed” mind on any subject seldom gets ahead. Intolerance means one has stopped acquiring knowledge.

ü  Intemperance. The most damaging forms of intemperance are connected with eating, strong drink, and sexual activities. Overindulgence in any of these is fatal to success.

ü  Inability to cooperate with others. More people lose their position and their big opportunities in life because of these fault, then for all other reasons combined. It is a fault which no well-informed businessman or leader will tolerate.

ü  Possession of power that was not acquired with through self-effort. Power in the hand of one who did not acquire it gradually is often fatal to success. Quick riches are more dangerous than poverty.

ü  Intentional dishonest. There are no substitutes for honesty. One may be temporarily dishonest by force of circumstances which one has no control, without permanent damage. But, there is no hope for the person who is dishonest by choice.

ü  Egotism and vanity. These qualities serve as red lights which warn others to keep away. They are fatal to success.

ü  Guessing instead of thinking. Most people are too indifferent or lazy to acquire facts with which to think accurately. They prefer to act on “opinion” created by guesswork, or snap-dash judgments.

ü  Lack of capital. This is a common cause of failure among those who start out in business for the first time with sufficient reserve of capital to absorb the shock of their mistakes and carry them over until they have established a reputation.

YOU CAN SUCCEED

ü  “What the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve” (Napoleon Hills)

o   Everyone has the ability to achieve a set goal. I believe you have achieved a goal in the past. Each time you achieve a goal, an inner confidence is generated in you that you can never be beaten by that challenge again. The confidence is called Task confidence. This is the confidence you need to achieve subsequent goals in life.

o   There are four categories of people in life:

•  The Losers 
•  The Moderate Achievers
• The Higher Achievers
• The perceived Genius

ü  Which class do you belong? However, all these four have within them the ability to achieve great things; but what makes the difference is what each of them did with his potentials;

o   They conceive different ideas;

o   They dream different dream;

o   They make different commitments;

o   Deep down in their hearts, they make different promises.

o   You can navigate the ladder of excellence from being a loser to a genius if you will take the required action step from now. However, four deadly factors can hinder you from climbing to the top of this ladder if you allow it;

ü  . Negative programming of the mind this is a feeling of weakness, incompleteness, and incompetence due to an incorrect negative information accumulated in the mind over time. The source might be from family, friends and foes; the books you have read, past experiences, what your lecturer said etc.. Therefore, clear out the garbage from your mind and imbibe the correct information about your true ability.

ü  . Counter-valuing oneself this is willful disqualification of oneself from his greatest possibility. Abraham Maslow said, "We all have within us the impulse to improve, an attraction towards actualizing our true potential and possibilities. But there exist in us a factor that makes us turn our back on our greatness and run away from the great possibilities which God has outlined for us, just like Jonah ran away from God". Who should be the best if not you?

ü  Incorrect conceptualization this is the way we conceive God and ourselves. You are permitted to only achieve what you conceive and believe. Hence, we are limited in the life by the way we view God and ourselves. Those who know their God will be strong and do great things.

ü  The fear of failure some are too repulsive to aiming high for the fear of falling. You will attract whatever you respect or fear. Robert schuller said you do not need a dime to dream. Therefore, stretch your imagination and see the magic your mind can wield if you allow it.

ü  Say, "I can do all things through Christ that strengthens me"

TEN "Ps" FOR ACHIEVING A GREATER ACADEMIC STATUS

• Develop and maintain a POSITIVE PERSONALITY i.e. cultivates self-esteem and personal confidence. Get the 'I AM' and 'I CAN' mentality. Do not disqualify yourself; who is best qualified if not you?
•  Have a definite PURPOSE i.e. set a specific academic target. The target you set is controlled by your personal definition of success. Set achievable and reasonable but mind stretching goals.
• Understand the PRINCIPLES of the game. Know what it takes to pass each course and what the lecturer wants. Find out the winning formula i.e. what works.
•  Make necessary PREPARATIONS for success. Start taking necessary actions from now. Have an action plan with short-term action steps. Do everyday something that will lead you to the ultimate goal.
• Appraise and appreciate the PROFITS for having an excellent result. Rewards motivate. That is, what will I gain if have excellent result? Keep this reward in view everyday; it will re-fire your desire.
•  PERSIST despite any pressure to dive up.
•   You must be ready to pay the PRICE. For every rise, there is a price; before gain is pain. if you know what a gain, the price will not be too high to pay.
• Resolve to PRESS ON. There are levels before the best level. if you settle for the less, you will never get the best.
• Belong to a winning PEER group. Pair up with people who bring out the best in you. Have the 'I NEED HELP' attitude. Be willing to share the credit for every achievement because no one succeeds alone.