THE POWER OF YOUR MIND; THINK AHEAD.

 The fact obviously remains indisputable that an effectively planned future if not perfectly, still exhibits great pointers that distinguish a fulfilled life. It is on this note that I wish to speak on this topic; The Power of your Mind, Think Ahead.

  The topic is themed around the fact that the actions we take today would to a very large extent influence the shape of our future. The question now is; how well do you understand the effects of the presence in the shape of your future? How prepared are you to shape your future for good now?

  Over the years, I have come to
realize that one of the weak points of man is his failure to plan ahead. We just take life the way it comes, and many times unprepared to make life take us the way we are. This weakness is resultant of our failure to acknowledge the power of our minds.

  Therefore, the power of your mind if allowed has the potential to prepare you for the future. Your mind has the power to envision a future of your desires and also provide you with the driving force to bring into reality the visions and desires created by it..

 The mind is a part of a person that makes a man able to be aware of things, to think and to feel. Simply, your mind is your ability to think or reason. Now, if a man’s mind is his ability to think and reason, then the mind is naturally endowed by God to think, reason, or simply plan for the future. This makes it obligatory that for you to fulfill the whole essence of your state of human hood; you must employ the usage of your mind to plan ahead.

  So many times, I see people towards the end of their lives living their  lives as if the past 30, 40, 50 years of their lives had been a waste. Some of them go as far as saying if they had done this or that, things might have been different. An elderly man was speaking to me sometimes ago, and after everything, he said; ’that was my mistake, and I don’t want you to make that same mistake, so start making plans now’. I was touched by those words of his because I knew deep down within me that deep down within that man, he wished he could go back to the past and get things done the right way. The sad fact for him was that once the past is gone, it is gone forever. !!!

  Here we are, still at the foundation of our lives with a chance to shape our future the way we want. Ever since that day, I decided that I was going to plan the type of man I wanted to grow into, and the type of future I want as an individual.

  We are still youths, at the beginning of the real battles of life! Now is the time we have the ability to prepare for our future! Now is the time when we still have the power and strength to shape our destiny! Now is the time when our spirits can still be invigorated as best as it can, because a time would come when your steps now would start having impacts in our future. We have a chance to do our best and live a life of satisfaction in future, not a life of regret.

  Let us take this example; A football team wanting to go for a match unprepared and intending to play against a prepared team. Most definitely, the prepared team would win the unprepared team. After the match when the coach of the unprepared team comes to the realization of the fact he might have won the match if he prepared his team well, it would have been late….The best such a coach can do is to regret the past and advice others not to make such mistake...The 90 minutes had gone, and gone forever. Here we are, still at the period before our ‘90 minutes match’ with a chance to prepare hard for the task that lies ahead.

  According to Napoleon Hill; ‘We create our future by what we dream, as they are the children of our souls, the blueprint of  our ultimate achievement.!

  How many of us sited here today have ever sat down to say. ‘This is where I see myself in the next 5, 10, 20 years? Have you discovered the man the dwells within you?

  A carpenter would not construct a good furniture without planning, just as a lawyer can not effectively defend a court case without planning, nor can an architect or engineer construct a structure without planning ahead. Neither can you as a man outstandingly scale through the challenges of life without planning.

  Since your mind is the most important tool in planning, The question is that; What do you think with your mind? Do you see yourself as been limited by opportunities? Or, do you see yourself flying high above the limits of the sky?   

  Let me read you this inspirational poem;

         As a Man Thinketh

 If you think you are beaten, you are

 If you think you dare not, you don’t

 If you like to, but you think you can’t, it’s almost certain you won’t

 If you think you’ll loose, you’re lost.

 For success begins with a man’s will

 It’s all in the state of mind.

 You’ve got to think high to rise

 You’ve got to be sure of yourself before

 You can ever win a prize.

 Success don’t always goes to the stronger woman or man

 But sooner or later the one who wins

 Is the man who believes he can..

   Therefore you must empower your mind to see the future now, and plan toward it.

  The most important thing I want us to realize is that we are still at a period of our lives when we have a chance to shape the way our lives would be forever. So many old men and women or adults in the bigger world today are suffering today not because of their environment, but because of the structure of  future they’ve molded for themselves while they were young.

I think the question we should be asking ourselves now should be; how can we make use of our minds to dream/plan the future?

  You can effectively plan for the future through some of these means;

1)      Look into yourself, search and discover your inner man, your hidden passions and your own unique abilities. It is only when you know what you are good at that you can know the direction your life is best suited to go.

 Today, I see many destined great men who live or posses a low standard of living simply because they have failed to reach an agreement between their profession and their potentials.

For example; a poor or unaccomplished musician who is an excellent calculator has a chance to make it in life if only he builds his future around a profession that utilizes his calculating skills. Likewise, an unaccomplished engineer who has a melodious voice has a capacity to make it in life if he moulds his future around a profession that utilizes his melodious voice.

The problem these people have is their failure in reaching an agreement between their profession and potentials. You must ensure that what you do excellently well which is your potential contributes in one way or the other to your profession.

2} Also, work with achievable dreams. Dream high quite alright, but plan your future along the realistic path of achieving them.

    For instance; Nigeria ’s dream to become one of the 20 largest economies in year 2020. We need not just focus on year 2020, rather that dream should have plans in regards to its gradual stages of achievement. We should be able to say by 2013 we would have done this, by 2015 we would have done that, and hopefully by 2020 our dream would become a reality.

   My point here is that when we plan ahead, we should also device achievable procedures for the realization of such dreams

3} Write down your dreams. Writing your dreams down has a way of giving you this sense of commitment and seriousness towards the realization of such dreams. The more you see them, the more you get propelled to work towards them.

4} Believe in yourself. Only when a man believes in himself can he achieve anything in life. Who you become is mostly a product of who you think you are. Therefore, if within you, you doubt your capability, then its going to be difficult for you to achieve your dreams. If you do not believe in you, then who should? Confidence is a key point in the success stories of great men, so be confident and believe in yourself.

5} Also of great importance is the fact that you should build a fertile foundation for your dreams…Read wide now, study hard, read about your aspirations, and build a wide range of knowledge about who you intend to grow into in future

6} Most importantly, put God ahead because he is the all sufficient who knows the past, present and events that would unfold in countless centuries yet to come.

Before I conclude, I want to give these quotes;

>You have to see it before you see it or you will never see it!

>The greatest investment in the future is a godly influence in the presence.

Finally, I would conclude by saying; Successful people were successful because they pursued something. Those who pursue nothing catch nothing, but those who pursue things see many things. You can only possess what you pursue. Those who have no goal go nowhere. Therefore, think and dream big for you are a picture of your future.