Preparation precedes success

True success is never an accident. Really successful people, regardless of their field of calling never leave nothing to chance or luck. They have one characteristic in common, which is preparation. Prepare to succeed and success will follow you all the days of this year.
Conversely, failure to prepare is preparing to fail. Some argue that if God wants me successful He will bring it to pass anyway. But that thinking lacks scriptural support. God and you are co-workers. He does His divine part and you do your human part. This is the pattern of success we find in scripture. Even miracles must be prepared for.
For instance, Jesus commanded the multitudes to sit in groups before the miracle of multiplication of five loaves of bread to feed 5 000 men took place. This secret of success works for anyone, anywhere and anytime. It works for one thinking about starting a business or looking for employment, it works for someone desiring marriage and it works also for a student who wants to pass examinations.
But really how does one prepare to succeed? I will answer this important question with aspects of preparation derived from the Apostle Paul’s famous statement recorded in Philippians chapter three verses 13 and 14. It reads, “No dear brothers and sisters, I have not achieved it but I focus on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I press on to reach the end of the race and receive the heavenly prize for which God, through Christ is calling us.” The first aspect in preparing to succeed is knowing what you want to achieve. You cannot succeed in something that is not defined. The word “it” in Paul’s phrase “I have not achieved it” shows that he had a specific goal in mind. Do you know what you want to succeed in this year? If you do not know, then set goals for your life. Progress cannot be measured where there are no goals. 
The second aspect of preparation is knowing where you are currently. Paul knew what he wanted to achieve and he also knew that he had not yet achieved it. If you have already achieved all your life goals you do not need to prepare for them anymore. The truth is living people always have goals to achieve. So acknowledge that you have a goal that you have not yet attained and you need to work towards achieving it.
The third aspect of preparation is focusing on completing one worthwhile goal at a time. Focusing involves prioritising your goals. You cannot pursue all your many goals at the same time. By so doing you spread yourself too thin and may fail to achieve even one of them. Concentrating on one major long-term goal and a few short ones is advisable. But for you to focus on the needed goals you need to forget about your past failures, hindrances and reasons why you cannot achieve your goals. Instead you need to look forward to what lies ahead. This gives us a fourth aspect in preparing to succeed which is planning in advance. Plan how to achieve your goals. Gather information about the requisite things, skills and knowledge required to achieve your goals. Find out who can help you along the way and the kind of resources you will require.
The fifth aspect in preparing to succeed is developing a plan of action. The words of Paul ‘press on to reach’ have a tone of urgency and importance in them. They are verbs or doing words. The majority of people know how to set goals and to list them down in their order of priority. But they forget to implement their strategies in order to get results. They never take action toward those goals. Planning to record a song, to write a book, to start a business or to marry and fail to follow these plans with action has no positive results. It is a waste of time, effort and energy.
 Spiritually, some plan to pray longer, study the Bible more,  love others more, give towards God’s work more and to be punctual and consistent in attending church services. All this can be achieved but you need to work your plan. Take action; results do not follow plans, they follow action. Like Paul you will receive the prize only after acting on your plans.
You will be surprised how much success you will achieve this year if you plan your goals and work towards them in a conscious, dedicated manner.
Remember to acknowledge God in all your plans so that He may direct your paths to success (Prov.3:6).

 
– For prayer and counsel call 0772889766 or email mairos78@yahoo.co.uk