There Are Secrets...Faith

Faith – The substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen. Hebrews 11:1

Make no mistake about it. This success secret, faith; is probably the single greatest distinguishing factor that separates those who get what they want and those who don’t. It separates those that literally change the world and those who ‘talk’ about changing the world. It is the hallmark of greatness that is easy to logically comprehend however its power eludes over 99% of the population. Why?

Let’s consider some people that epitomize its essence and power:

• Thomas Edison had it – He ‘knew’ that there was a solution to the incandescent light bulb. Even after thousands of failures while testing different options, he ‘knew’ that he would find the answer.

• Dr. Martin Luther King had it – He ‘knew’ that the day would come when we as human beings, and more specifically African Americans would be judged on the content of our character and not on the color of our skin. He ‘knew’ this even though he prophesized that he would not be here to see his inspired dream fulfilled.

• Walt Disney had it – He saw the realization of one of his many dreams, Walt Disney World in Orlando, FL completed “after” his death on December 15, 1966. It opened on schedule on June 1, 1971. To date, it is the most visited recreational park in the world.

• Michael Jordan had it – He missed over 9,000 shots, lost over 300 games, and was entrusted to take the game winning shot 26 times in which he missed. Despite these failures, as a result of his ‘faith’ in himself and his ability; he’s also won an NCAA, 2 Olympic and 6 NBA World Championships.

Faith is a characteristic that is easy to understand ‘after’ the fact of an accomplishment. The challenge is; that’s not faith at all. True faith is knowing the end result despite there being no tangible proof of its manifestation. If you really claim to have faith in yourself and what your intending to accomplish, then here’s a test for the strength in which you really believe it or not:

• When confronted with what seems to be a setback regarding your goals, do you get stressed out?

• When people share with you why you can’t do something do you get defensive and argue with them?

• If you’ve set a goal and didn’t reach it by the date you committed to, do you quit on your goal?

• When faced with adversity that challenges your worthwhile dream or goal do you get anxious and or nervous?

If you’ve answered ‘Yes’ to any of the above questions then I would encourage you to work on your faith. The best analogy I ever heard regarding faith was this. If you were watching a game in which you already knew the outcome, how exciting is the game? It’s not. Even if it was won at the last possible second in a ‘no way they are going to do this’ fashion, when you already know who wins you’re just watching the act of it play out.

Having faith in a predetermined outcome is exactly the same thing. When you ‘know’ you’ve already accomplished your goal even though it hasn’t physically manifested itself yet, then where’s the stress, defensiveness, quitting, and anxiousness coming from? It can only come from the opposite of faith…fear, doubt and worry. There are secrets to success…faith, in my opinion, is the greatest one. If you are like most people and are lacking in it then I would you suggest you find someone who has it, ask them how to they got it, and if they would teach you. Then have ‘faith’ that you will learn its power too!

Believe…