3 Top Secrets of Super Stars

INTRODUCTION

Being good or bad is not necessarily in what we do, but in who we are. Your nature determines you actions. While your actions define your personality, your nature defines your character. Personality can be faked; character cannot.

To be a Super Star is to be a Christ-like example of happiness and success. To be truly happy and successful in life, your personality and character must be in harmony. This harmony of personality and character is what is referred to as integrity. Therefore, Integrity is when your thoughts, intentions, words and actions are in harmony with God’s Principles and Purposes.

Integrity is based on the awareness, understanding and living in the consciousness of three (3) key things every moment of your life:

1.       Your Fountain

2.       Your Function

3.       Your Focus

YOUR FOUNTAIN

This is your source. This is where you derive and draw your meaning, your very existence from. A tree-soil relationship gives a good picture of this. The soil supports the tree; and the soil remains whether or not the tree is planted in it. The tree gets its nourishment from the soil; therefore, the quality of the soil determines the quality of the tree. The deeper the tree penetrates the soil, the stronger the tree, and the longer it grows. However, the tree can get nothing from the soil unless it is planted.

-          Who is your source of inspiration?

-          Where do you get your energy from?

-          How do you get renewed when you are down and dry?

-          How do you regain your strength when you are wounded and weak?

-          From where do you derive meaning for living?

He who lacks inspiration is set up for frustration.

What to do with your Fountain

i.                     Spend time with your fountain

ii.                   Trust your fountain

iii.                  Tell others about your fountain

The Significance of your Fountain

i.                     Inspiration

            Your source is to you energy as oxygen is to all life.  Traversing through life daily is just enough to cause you heartbreaks and breakdowns. But being in tune with your source ensures that you are always spirited, spurred and sane.

ii.                   Ideas

            Your fountain imbues you with ideas that are beyond you. When you keep in touch with your source and focused on your purpose, you will tap into a realm of illumination that ordinarily you never would have believed you have the capacity to birth. 

iii.                  Intervention

            Many issues of life are generally without the physical realm of existence. To rely on the physical alone is to set up yourself for failure and frustration. Your source comes in handy to offer you help. And by living in harmony with set laws, makes your external conditions sync with your thoughts.

iv.                 Importunity

            Your relationship with your source also gives you the energy and strength to persist and persevere as you navigate through the sea of life, despite all storms. With your source,

a.       You have an encouragement to hold on

b.      You'd have an assurance that all will be well

c.       You'd have an unusual Peace of mind

v.                   Invincibility

            Your source gives you not just grace to persist but power to forge through. As you understand and lay hold of this power,

a.       You develop courage

b.      You gain coverage

c.       You take charge

d.      You fuel your passion

e.      You become indispensable

vi.                 Implication

            Your source determines where and how you end your life. Every religion teaches that there is an afterlife. How you spend your afterlife - or bluntly put, your eternity - is all a function of  whom or what you make your source. I will love to offer you the One and Only True Living God - The Creator of the Heavens and Earth.

vii.                Importance

            As you relate with your source, each of your roles in life begin to unfold to you as you grow through life. Your relationship with your source will also determine the quality and extent of your understanding and fulfilling your specific roles in life. How you live in relation with your roles is largely dependent on the effectiveness of your relationship with your source. 

            Below are some of your relationships and roles in life:

RELATIONSHIP	ROLE
Spouse	Husband/Wife
Children	Father/Mother
Parents	Son/Daughter
Siblings	Brother/Sister
Employer	Employee
Subordinates	Boss
Equals	Colleagues
Church/Charity organization	Brethren
Source/Fountain	Son/Daughter
World	---Figure this out---

YOUR FUNCTION

Your function, as defined here, is your unique role and distinctive purpose to the world. It is the unique problem you are solving for humanity and that gives you the greatest fulfillment as a person. At this point, too many people miss the mark. When we lose sight of or are ignorant of our function, we become conditioned and controlled by events, environment and expectations of others. Life becomes full of struggles and sweats. We lose the joy of work, the sense of meaning, and the infinite store of power that becomes realized and released when we focus all of our resources on a major definite purpose.

Truths about your Function

     When you  realize your function, you'd have

i.                     Inward Peace

ii.                   A sense of fulfillment

iii.                  A willingness to sacrifice

Leading Questions to Discover your Unique Function

a.       What issues, problems or needs around you touches you most?

b.      What do you do that gives you so much sense of fulfillment?

c.       What meaningful activity do you often lose track of time doing?

d.      Who are your role models?

e.      If money were not an issue, what one thing would you commit your entire life to?

f.        What is your deepest and innermost desire?

g.       What are your unique gifts, skills or talents?

h.      What do those closest to you say about your uniqueness, personality and character?

i.         What do you sense in your conscience or spirit that you are to be?

YOUR FOCUS

This is your goal. This is what you are out to achieve. Your function defines who you are to be, your focus determines what you are to do. It is useless focusing your resources in achieving what you don’t intend to be. Do not pretend to be what you don’t intend to be.

What is a goal?

-          It is something worthwhile you desire to achieve.

-          It is a great status you yearn to attain.

-          It is a price possession to crave to acquire.

-          It is an enviable end you seek to arrive.

Benefits of Goals

a.       It helps you to clarify exactly what you want amongst many alternatives

b.      It helps you to develop your willpower

c.       It helps you to focus all your resources only on those things that are important to you

d.      It constrains you to set conducts and standards for yourself and abide them

e.      It helps you to keep score of your progress

f.        It helps you to develop a heart of gratitude

g.       It infuses you with a sense of confidence and competence

How to Set a Goal

1.       Be Selective

·         Set goals that are in line with your functions.

2.       Be Sensitive

·         Your goals should not contradict sound principles and moral values.

3.       Be Specific

·         Set clear and concise goals

4.       Be Strategic

·         Set goals that you can measure. Give yourself Performance Indicators.

5.       Be Sensible

·         Set goals that are both attainable and realistic.

6.       Be Sequential

·         Set goals that can be broken down into bits.

7.       Be Spiritual

·         Set goals that would stretch your faith, and make you rely on God for help.

  

Conclusion

We are meant to be and to do all God wants us to be and do. But we must be connected to God to understand fully what He wants us to be. And be committed in taking practical steps to do what is necessary of us. To be continually relevant, you must never, never disconnect from your source.

Your Connection Determines Your Contribution.

For your speaking, writing and training needs, please call +2348064980357, +2348096001659 or send an email to deleayobankole@gmail.com

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Ayo Bankole: An International Keynote Speaker, Insightful Preacher, Creative Writer, Leadership and Productivity Coach, and Corporate MC. He has spoken on several platforms - from schools, churches, business organizations to gatherings of all classes. He is the President of Barnabas International, and Principal Coach, SOAR Academy. He designs websites for leisure. He is based in Lagos, Nigeria.

Keys to Building A Productive Workforce

Why is The Workforce Also Called Staff?

Staff is a tool that is used by shepherds in guiding their flock or herd towards a defined and desired destination. It can be used as a rod of correction if the sheep goes astray, or a tool to draw it near and part it on the back should it conform.

As a staff to the shepherd, so is the staff to the CEO or Business Owner. He has a defined and desired end for establishing the company. And like every vision, it is usually too big to be accomplished all alone. Let me put this to your face: if your vision is such that you can accomplish all alone, you’d never go far. And I promise you, that vision will die long before you are dead physically. Without people, your vision will surely perish.

You need people to manage your resources in achieving your vision and fulfilling your mission. But here is a caution: you must know the kind of people to employ, and the right way to deploy and deal with them.

Qualities of Hirable People

i.     Hire a staff that has a purpose close to yours. The more divergent the purpose, the farther apart you will travel.

ii.   Hire a staff with a great attitude. Attitude is everything. The attitudes that are key to your survival are learning, work, core beliefs and values.

iii. Hire a staff with a heart for service. Check their volunteer profile. If they are not used to service, they may have a real issue adjusting to work environment, especially if the job is people-oriented.

iv.  Hire a staff that is excited about life. You can never hire frustrated people and be first-rated. Below are some intolerable qualities of frustrated people:

a.   They are never content with life.

b.   They are ardent complainers.

c.    They find it hard to make their own decisions without environmental, cultural or emotional influence.

d.   They are quick to spot the wrong, and would never commend the good.

e.   They are generally insecure.

f.     They usually feel they are older than everyone else.

g.    They believe and confess that life is unfair.

h.   They blame every other person except themselves.

i.     They always believe the grass is greener on the other side.

j.    They seize opportunities to castigate, dominate or intimidate others.

k.    They would normally demand respect rather than earn it.

l.     They never have sound personal convictions.

v.            Hire a staff with a well-formed identity. This is especially true if you are recruiting for a leadership position. People with low self-esteem are usually disasters.

vi.          Hire a staff that believes in you and your mission. How passionate is he about working with you?

vii.        Hire a staff with a high Productivity Quotient (PQ). What will make your organization to stand the test of time is the collective PQ of your staff. (For more information on ProductivityQuotient^TM (PQ) and how it affects your organization, please call +2348064980357, +2348096001659 or send an email to deleayobankole@gmail.com )

You will know these things if you conduct a proper interview. The eye contact, the hesitations in answering questions, and the nudging in your heart are pointers to a hirable staff. If your conscience does not agree with someone don’t hire him. That disagreement will soon fester beyond condonation, and you may need to make another decision – fire him!

Types of Fear || Why do we find it difficult to take action?

DISTRACTION: THE ENEMY OF ACTION

Distraction is anything that takes away your attention from what you are doing or thinking about. A lot of us have very good intentions, high hopes, and great dreams. But slowly and stealthily, we seem to let these dreams and hopes slip us by. We literally lose the battle in our minds. The ‘enemy’ helps us to take our attention off what we want, and concentrate instead on what we don’t want.

But who the heck are these enemies? Let’s try to identify a few of them:

1.    Past Programming

The normal (but vicious) cycle is to go to school, get a ‘real’ job, and settle down. When we have dreams that break this cycle, it becomes a struggle: both within and without us. Objections begin to arise. And before we know it, we follow and flow in the ‘rat race’. Like the popular saying, “Let’s do it like it’s always been done, so we can get the result we’ve always got!” But the big question is this: how has it always been?

2.    Past Experiences

Often, we tend to be haunted by our past if we’ve not dealt with it. When we seek to attempt something in which we seem to have failed before, a voice rises up in our heads: ‘Are you sure it won’t be like before?’ Let me share a personal experience: I once had a botched relationship. Though I have forgiven myself and moved on, whenever I consider the subject, I hear a voice asking: ‘Are you sure it won’t be like the last one?’ but I have learnt to convert this to a strength; to consider my motives, vision and values and check if they are in sync with hers.

If not well handled, our past can break us and push us out of the race of life.

3.    Prime of Life

Many realize what they could or ought to do but conclude in their hearts that they are too old to do anything about it. “How can I learn to play a musical instrument again at 50?” “I don’t have the energy to run any business now that I am 60!” “Pursuing passion is for the young. It’s mere youthful exuberance! When they become old like us, they will know we also tried it. Nothing works in this country.”

4.    Pasting of Hope

Hope is the fuel of hope. Hope helps one to be optimistic despite challenges. Hope keeps your gaze on the brighter side of life. Hope keeps you ablaze, aglow and alive.

But when hope is lost, life is lost. And without this life, this vital force, this energy, no matter how excited or motivated one may be, he can never do anything positive and meaningful. Like an excited proton (positive charge), it will eventually attract an electron (negative charge) and return to the resting state (ground level).

5.    Purposelessness

There is no point motivating a purposeless person. It’s like a gun in the hand of a 4-year old. What do you expect him to do with it?

6.    Panic

Or say FEAR! I consider this to be the greatest enemy of action. It is the opposite of faith, or trust. So, we can see the word DISTRACTION is made of two words: DISTRUST and ACTION. Fear makes you distrust the outcome of your actions and keeps you immobilized. It expresses itself in one of the following ways:

a.   Fear of Failure: What if I try and it fails? How do I get myself back?

b.   Fear of Ridicule: won’t people jeer me? Won’t they say I’m proud and arrogant?

c. Fear of Isolation: I would be on my own if I try. It’s better to flow with the crowd. Why should I lose all my friends and connections?

d.   Fear of the Unknown: what will happen if I try now? One bird at hand is worth two in the bush. The devil we know is better than the angel we only we hear about.

e.   Fear of Rejection: will people accept me? Won’t I be pushed around as if I’m nobody?

f.     Fear of Success: What if I succeed and fail again? And won’t my success make me look arrogant and phony. Besides, all successful people are cheats.

g.    Fear of the Future: what does tomorrow hold for me? Let me just live one day at a time.

h.   Fear of Incompetence: Am I capable or competent enough? May be I should wait and acquire more knowledge before I try! While it is good to know, this statement is usually borne out of fear. You will never realize how much you know until you try.

i.     Fear of Connection: Who do I know that can help me, or that I may ask for help?

j.    Fear of Consistence: Will I have enough energy or resources to continue if I start? When faced with challenges, will I be able to hold on?

k.    Fear of Completion: can I finish this thing even if I start it? Will I ever live to reap the rewards if I start now?

l.   Fear of Commitment: Won’t this bind me to something and take away my freedom? Will I still be able to do things the way I’d always wanted to?

We are all a product of our past habits. What we’ve done before we may likely do again. To see a different and brighter future, we must jettison dysfunctional and deterrent habits, and embrace progressive and promoting ones. We must feed our minds with the right information to think right. And as we think right, we feel right, and act right. King Solomon said, “As a man thinks in his heart so is he.” Find out what God has said about you and your future. Meditate on it till you have an assurance in your heart that what is said of you is true. Trust is the only antidote against rust.

Friend, you can change your world by taking the right steps today, however challenging it seems. Feel the fear and act anyway. Your success story is the next to be told. I long to hear from you.

I believe in you!

Ayo Bankole: An International Keynote Speaker, Creative Writer, Leadership and Productivity Coach, and Corporate MC. He has spoken on several platforms - from schools, churches, business organizations to gatherings of all classes. He is the President of Barnabas International, and Principal Coach, SOAR Academy. He designs websites for leisure. He is based in Lagos, Nigeria.