What is That in Your Hand?

What is that in your hand? 

Exodus 4:2 So the Lord said to him, ‘what is that in your hand?’

Many times what we need to make progress is well within our reach yet we don’t realize it. In the scripture reference above, Moses was conversing with God concerning the deliverance of the children of Israel. He was showing how ill equipped he was to carry out the task when out of the blue God asks him-what is that in your hand?

Like Moses, each one of us has a few things within our reach which we can use to make progress on the things that need to get done but like him we are blinded to them and their potential. Moses had carried this rod with him for a long time and used it exclusively for taking care of the flocks. He didn’t know that this rod was capable of so much more if only he changed his perception of what it was. 

The very same rod that used to guide the flocks now was capable of working signs and wonders in the presence of pharaoh. On being stretched it parted the Red Sea. In the wilderness he used the same rod to strike the rock and it brought forth water. This rod was transformed into such a potent weapon when Moses looked at it differently. 

This is a challenge for you to begin looking at what you have in your hands differently. How much more are you capable of accomplishing if you change your perception of what you have with you? We waste our lives waiting for when everything will fall into place before we do what we need to do. The truth is things will never fall into place at the same time. You have to make do with what you have and make the most of it. 

So the question is what is that you have in your hands? What can you see around your life right now that can be put to great use? What do you need to change your perception about so it becomes capable of doing so much more?

In my upcoming book, Blessed to be a Blessing, I share a lot about the many things you have going for you which you can put to good use. Make sure to secure yourself a copy by letting me know through my DM.

Stewardship

What comes to mind when you hear this word? It is a very significant word both in the bible and in daily life. In the Bible, it is used to refer to someone who is left in charge of the affairs of another and expected to manage them as though the owner is present all the time. Management is an exercise of stewardship because as a manager you are expected to oversee the affairs of the concern given to your care on behalf of your appointing authority. 

There are two words in the Greek language that describe the word steward. The first one is epitropos which means a manager, foreman or steward. This gives you a clue about what this person’s responsibility is. I like the word foreman in this regard. On a construction site, the foreman manages the day to day operations of the project on behalf of the contractor. It is his responsibility to oversee the other construction workers and ensure they are delivering on their expectations. He makes sure they are supplied with all they need to do their job effectively. When the word is applied to governance it refers to a governor, procurator or guardian. In this sense, it is an administrative role charged with taking care of the government's business within a particular jurisdiction. It can be used to describe our regional and county commissioners in today’s government structure. 

The second word is oikonomos which is translated steward, manager or administrator. All these words boil down to someone who is entrusted with running the affairs of another entity and expected to do well in this regard.

Stewardship has been defined as the careful and responsible conducting, supervising and management of something entrusted to one’s care.

In Genesis 1:28 it is described as follows. Be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and subdue it. Have dominion over the fish of the sea, the birds of the air and over every living thing that moves on the earth. Good stewardship not only concerns itself with exercising dominion or authority, but it also begins with being productive and having a multiplying effect on what has been entrusted to you. Genesis 2:15 talks about man’s responsibility to tend and keep the garden in shape. A steward needs to have an ability to nurture that which has been entrusted to him and maintain its status. 

At the basic level, you need to take responsibility for yourself and all that has been entrusted to you. In my book Blessed to be a Blessing, I explore some of the things entrusted to your care and suggestions about how you can make the most of them all as the good steward you are expected to be. Make sure to stay alert and secure yourself a copy as soon as it is out. It is sure to be a great read. Call/text me on +254725832477 if you would like to order the Ebook version.

A winning Approach to Goal Setting

Acceptable Goal Setting.

It has been preached to us that SMART goals are the way to go when it comes to setting goals. This has been the default approach for a long time. I have used it myself all the time I am setting goals. It is a very effective approach and some of what I am going to discuss here will still capture elements of the acronym. Let me get a few things out of the way first before I delve deeper into the discussion.

There is no changing the fact that goals must be specific. If they are not specific then they do not mean anything. They are just statements of intent. Goals must also be measurable meaning they must be quantifiable in terms of size and magnitude. I am also persuaded that goals need to be achieved within a particular set timeframe lest they become wish lists or someday items. I have a problem with attainable and realistic because they are limiting words. Goals need to stretch and scare you. Attainable and realistic mean if you stretch just a little bit you will be there. That does not excite me at all. 

Winner’s Goal Setting.

How does Grant Cardone approach his goal setting? In his book ‘The 10X Rule', he suggests setting goals 10times bigger than you normally do and be willing to do 10 times than you do. According to him, we set our goals too low and put in too little effort and end up disappointed. 

Goals need to excite us and pump up our blood. They need to scare us when we think about them and achieving them. It is when we are looking for average results and an average life that we set attainable and realistic goals. We tend to dabble in attainable and realistic because we want to fly under the radar. When you start talking big, there is no way you will fly under the radar. Everyone will be watching you. Some will even take it upon themselves to keep you accountable. The mockery you will receive from others will drive you even more. If your goals do not scare your peers, be prepared never to rise above them. 

Attainable and realistic goals guarantee that you will live beneath your potential. 95 percent of us live beneath what we are capable of. It is a case of poor stewardship of our abilities and if you are religious I bet it is sinful. Why would any of us want to live beneath our capabilities? 

The exciting way to do it is to set big goals. There is a need for a shift in mindset from us so that setting big, scary goals becomes the norm. There are many reasons for this. What we think we need turns out never to be enough courtesy of the many variables that come about. When this happens, only those who had outsized goals will weather the storm. Big goals provide enough motivation for you. They inevitably make you realize that you have to step up your activity levels. Big goals hold our attention. When they are small or attainable with little effort, we tend to lose focus and drift into other more exciting things. The bigger and more unrealistic goals are and the more aligned they are to your purpose, the more they’ll energize and fuel your actions according to Grant Cardone.

If you must follow the examples of others, then be careful about those you choose to follow. You have a responsibility to set your goals against the benchmark of those who have achieved massive success. This way the goal is so scary you are almost sure you won’t attain it. Anytime you think your goal is easily within reach, the goal is not big enough.

As you do it, realize you have been raised, educated and conditioned by restrictions. You are more conscious of what you can’t do than what you can do. From our parents to our teachers, we have been taught to think in terms of limits, to be real. Whenever we looked like going too far out of line, we were punished and brought back into the fold. We have been taught moderation which isn’t a bad thing but still comes as a limiting mindset. It is possible even your environment at work tells you to play it cool. Maybe they sneer at the very idea of ambition. With a history of limited thinking, your default approach is ‘I need to be realistic.’ This means that a lot of times we are capable of so much more. Keep this in mind as you set your own goals so that you are challenged to target higher.

Advantages of Unrealistic Goals

They help us exploit our potential more often than not. Using up our potential is often a hit and miss kind of thing. One of the surest ways to improve our odds is to set unrealistic goals and commit to massive action to realize them. 

They also have a greater reward. If I achieve 30 percent of a small goal and 30 percent of a big goal in the same area, the results and rewards are surprisingly different.

Big goals motivate. We need to be in pursuit of big things to remain focused throughout the journey.

They also cushion you from inevitable shocks. When you achieve massive success, you stand a better chance of conquering shocks that come your way from whatever quarters. 

What will you do with your current goals? Are they big enough? Do they need a fresh look? What about your team’s goals? What is your takeaway from this post? Share in the comments below.

If you need someone to walk you through setting and tracking your goals going forward, feel free to DM me or comment below. 

A happy New Week.  Share Widely.