STAYING FOCUSED

How many things can you focus on at the same time? In order to be correct, your answer must be, “one!” If you are not sure, then try focusing on more than one thought at the same time, or on more than one object at the same time. It simply is a physical impossibility. The trick is in the meaning of focus, and in the fact that focusing on anything is not easy, especially for long periods of time.This, like so many other physical realities can greatly positively impact our ‘spiritual’ lives. My today’s devotional recommends focusing on God as a means of taking our eyes off our circumstances. That is as true as it is true that focusing on the Devil will help to take our eyes off God’s solution to our problems. The point is that focusing and its benefits are neutral. It does not matter what you focus on, you cannot focus on something else at the same time.We therefore have two challenges. The first is learning to focus, and the second is choosing the right thing or person on which to focus our attention. It is a good idea to address these two challenges in reverse order, simply because the second is the easier to overcome. Every follower of Christ knows that we should place our focus on Jesus. Many of our hymns and choruses remind us of this.
“Turn your eyes upon Jesus.
Look full in His wonderful face.
And the things of this earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.”
The bigger challenge is, how? How do we learn to focus on Jesus. A good place to start is to recognize that we have a problem. Most of us who have not as yet attained “prayer warrior” status, will testify that soon after we begin to pray, the tendency is to fall asleep. The disciples of Jesus would understand what I am talking about. Then we can consider the many times that our thoughts, words and actions clearly indicate that, we were not focusing on Jesus. So let us move quickly to some recommendations.
It is a good thing to begin with a growing desire to focus on Jesus. It is in my best self-interest to focus on Jesus, for then I place myself in the best possible position that I could ever be in to enjoy the best that God offers me. Putting it simply, it makes maximum sense for me.With the desire in place, the thoughts and the actions begin to line up. The more time I spend thinking about Jesus, the more I will feed and reinforce my desire to focus on Him. Since focus is all about concentration, focus is a function of time. Concentrating on Jesus is something that I must do every hour and every minute of each day. Fortunately, we have some help, because, although we cannot see Jesus, we have His Word. A good place to start is Philippians 4:8 – “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”Praying, or just simply talking to God is another vital ingredient. Meaningful relationships always include dialogue… and dialogue is always at least a two-way interaction. Again, God Himself will help us to pray when we fall short. Romans 8:26 tells us, “In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans.”My favorite strategy is praise. This is where I get to give God thanks for who He is and for what He has done for me. This is where I get to count my blessings, and name them one by one. This is where I get to tell God how much I love Him, not because I am such a great lover, but because He first loved me (1 John 4:10). And then I acknowledge that love is a two-way street, and because I love God because He first loved me, He requires of me that I love others also, just as He loves me. (1 John 3:16). Somewhere along the line as I enter His gates with praises… I graduate into worship… something best experienced.Finally, it is in practical acts of love that we cement our relationship with Jesus. We do not “work in” our salvation, but we are expected to “work out” our salvation (Philippians 2:12). We are not saved by our good works, but we are saved unto good works (Ephesians 2:10). The day will come when Jesus will say to us, “‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me. (Matthew 25:40)Focusing on anything for a long period of time is hard work, but there are “tricks in every trade”. Focusing in Jesus is one of the easier “trades” to learn. When we begin with a genuine desire, He jumps right in, and helps us achieve that desire. And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.

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Uhanan Mimi

OUR DEEPEST FEAR

“Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”- Marianne Williamson

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Uhanan Mimi

A MATTER OF CHOICE

Life is just a matter of making choices perhaps the right ones. When we analyze any area of our lives we can simply scale it down to decision making. Being successful, motivated, healthy, frustrated,unhappy are all matters of choice. Each of our lives depend solely on the choices we make. We choose our current state of mind, state of emotion and state of well-being. No one should have that much power over you to make you choose how you should feel or react.When we begin to see how simply life can be just by the choices we make we no longer subjugate ourselves to others. When we take control of our own lives, decisions and emotions we can become more content and less anxious. We give people too much power. Too much power over our past, future and current state. By constantly letting others control who you are meant to be or remind you of who you used to be...you let go of the decision to live.

“Whatever you decide, don't let it be because you don't think you have a choice. “Part of making a good decision is just making a decision. You can't always sit and weigh the pros and cons. There just isn't time for that. Making a good decision means sticking with your choice and dealing with what comes with it. Being able to deal with the consequences—that's making a good decision.” ..Now that's living life.― J.X. Burros

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Uhanan Mimi

DEALING WITH DISTRACTIONS

Distraction is attraction to anything or anyone that is not consistent with your goal. The solution to negative distraction is to focus on positive attraction, as the magnetic composition of our bodies and our thoughts will always attract and be attracted to something and someone. Distractions result in many people failing to achieve their goals. The Christian walk is no exception. From my Today’s devotion,We are invited to deal with distraction that takes our eyes and minds off of Jesus, His Word and His calling. In order to better understand distraction, we need only to understand “attraction.”The Online Dictionary of Etymology tells us that both the late 14th century French word “attraction” and the Latin word “ attraction em” were originally medical terms that meant “absorption by the body” and then “action of drawing to”. By the 17th century, the meaning extended to magnetic and eventuality to personal qualities.An attraction is therefore anything or anyone that draws you to itself, catches and holds your attention, and absorbs your interest and time. When we find something or someone attractive, we are saying that person or thing is an attraction and is attracting us.
But not so fast! Is it not true that what attracts you might not attract me? Whether it is sports, movies, food, clothes, human physical structures, architecture or almost anything else, what attracts some people will not attract others. Since that is so, we are forced to agree that the power of something to attract your attention is given by you, the person who is attracted. Why does the same pornographic movie attract one person, and makes the next person vomit? The answer can only lie in the fact that the two people are different. The attractive power in pornography, as in everything else, is derived from the person who is attracted. It is true that like attraction, beauty lies in the eye of the beholder.
So let us turn the searchlight on to where it needs to be focused on ourselves. John 14:30 in the Amplified Bible Commentary quotes Jesus. “ I will not talk with you much more, for the prince (evil genius, ruler) of the world is coming. And he has no claim on Me. [He has nothing in common with Me; there is nothing in Me that belongs to him, and he has no power over Me.]” Temptation is attraction to the wrong thing or person. “But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” (James 1:14-15)If you have not as yet surrendered your life to the Lordship of Jesus Christ, you face a major crisis of being eternally separated from God. This crisis can be averted only through inviting Jesus Christ to forgive you of your sins and to take up residency in your life. Full stop. However, as Christians we must , by the help of the Holy Spirit, daily work on strategically creating a mental, physical, emotional, social and spiritual environment that will attract “all things that pertain to life and godliness” (2 Peter 1;3)
To do this is simple, but will take lust-like desire, time and patience. Consume your daily limit of 24 hours in constructively fellowshiping with other Christians, reading and studying God’s Word, praying, and confessing your sin to God, and to one another where practical. Earn money to support yourself and help those in need. Love your neighbor as you love yourself, and everything else of which God approves. Viciously abhor that which is evil. Cling to that which is good. Do this over and over every day until it becomes a habit. You will feel the attractive power of sin and evil become weaker and weaker in your life, as the Devil finds less and less in you that belongs to him. More and more you will find that what used to distract you, becomes nothing more than a trivial irritation before it hibernates indefinitely.
“Turn your eyes upon Jesus.
Look full in His wonderful face…
And the things of this world will grow strangely dim…
In the light of His glory and grace!”

Thoughts from Dr Perspective

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Uhanan Mimi

GRATITUDE

Taking the time every day to recognize what you’re grateful for helps keep things in perspective. Gratitude carries you through the tough times, and gives you the strength to surpass the stress of challenges.Reflect on your family, your friends or the place where you live, and the satisfaction they bring you. Think about your good health and your mental or physical talents. Consider the pleasure you received from a phone call with a friend or a laugh you shared with your family.Look back on small and large moments – the affection of a friend, your success,or a deep and fulfilling partnership. These are all things that nourish gratitude. And, gratitude makes life worth living!

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Uhanan Mimi

ACHIEVING YOUR GOALS

Follow the road map of life.”The best way to achieve your goal is to have one in the first place!As obvious as it sounds, there are plenty of people who have no real goal in life. When asked, they’ll answer that their aim is to “be happy.” But what does that really mean?To achieve what you want in life, you need to set goals. If you don’t have direction, you have nothing to aim for. Without a target, you are shooting blanks into the wind. Real desires are solid, not nebulous and vague. How can you hope to achieve if you have nothing to shoot for?Be definite! Set well-defined goals. As you do, you will discover a map to a better life. It doesn't matter if these goals are small, at first. They are still goals, and when you achieve them, you can move onto the next one with a sense of confidence.Set an achievable goal, today, and relish journeying toward your destination!
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Uhanan Mimi

TURNING MISTAKES INTO OPPORTUNITIES

“Mistakes are opportunities.”
Making mistakes are an integral part of living, learning and growing as a human being. We all make mistakes!The question is, what do you do after the blunder? As a child, if you were made to feel like a failure, you most likely feel inadequate and often give up. If you were told that mistakes were inevitable and you were encouraged to try harder the next time, you probably have a better attitude.If you feel depleted and defeated after a setback, make up your mind today to change your mind-set. Realize that mistakes are lessons in disguise. They’re your chance to make better decisions the next time armed with knowledge you didn't have before.
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Uhanan Mimi

ON FRIENDSHIP

Our friendships mirror ourselves.

You can’t choose your family, but you can choose your friends. So, how helpful are your friends to self-growth?Are they supportive, encouraging you to strive and achieve? Do they provide a sanctuary of love and warmth when the world becomes cold and bitter? Do you love them with all your heart and is that love reciprocated?Or, are your “friends” not really friends at all? Is there a tinge of jealousy when you succeed? In hard times are they unavailable, only to reappear once the crisis is past? Do they spend their time with you talking in negative ways about others? If your friendship experience is the former, then you are indeed blessed. If it is the latter, now is the time to take stock of the negativity that you are allowing into your life.Release your relationships with negative draining people. Choose friends wisely and your life will be filled with love.
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Uhanan Mimi

CONSISTENCY

“A life consistent with your values makes you secure, confident and strong.” What do you believe in? What do you stand for? In other words what are your values?Values lie at the very heart of all you do as a woman, because values create the core of your personality and character. Only when your values are clear and you honor them, can you experience consistent self-confidence and self esteem.Think about what’s important to you. Ask yourself, “What do I value?” “To what do I aspire?” and even “What do I despise?” Honest answers to these questions make you secure, confident and strong.Do you live a life consistent with your values? If not, make changes until you can answer, “Yes!”
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Uhanan Mimi

THE POWER OF COMMITMENT

Until you are committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, and ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans:That the moment you definitely commit yourself, then Providence moves too.All sorts of things occur to help you that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events, issues from the decision will work in your favour, all manner of unforeseen incidents and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would come your way.Whatever you can do, or dream you can,Commitment has Genius, Power and Magic in it. Begin now.Happy New Year
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Mimee PK

FOCUS ON YOUR VISION

The sooner you focus on your visions, the sooner they will thrive.” We all know women with big ideas that can’t seem to make them materialize. Are you one of these women? Big ideas and grand visions are never enough. They must be accompanied by a sharp focus. When you focus on your visions, you gain a sense of personal power, a feeling that you are taking control of your life. Both self-respect and self-esteem get a definite boost, as you learn to consciously stay focused on the positive results you seek. Don’t waste another day! Stay true to your visions and never lose focus. Before you know it you will be living and breathing your dreams
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Uhanan Mimi

LIFE LESSONS FROM AN EAGLE

My mum has a great fascination with eagles. She loves to observe them, study them and teach others about them. If she spots one, she makes sure we all stop to watch in wonder, as we see them soaring in flight or perched on a tree.One of the most profound life lessons I've learned from the way of an eagle, is how to respond in the storms of life: I can choose to get sour or soar.

An eagle rises above the storm

Our lives are truly more defined through the storms of adversity than during the days of frolicking in the sunshine. My human nature would prefer the ease of blue skies and sunshine, but my spirit loves the outcomes of a good battle when I have chosen to rise to the challenges of life in a hard place.

James actually refers to the battle as a gift!“Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way.”  James 1:2-4

When the storm clouds roll in and the rain begins to fall, most birds head for shelter, but not an eagle. It flies directly into the thunderstorm and it sets its wings to be carried by the thermal currents rising high above the storm. You won’t see it flapping its wings–you will see it glide smoothly, seemingly effortlessly and at great speed.My human inclination causes me to want to run and hide when challenges slam me, and to flap my wings frantically. However I have been learning that the strength to soar only rises in the winds of adversity, and so I am learning to embrace the storm.Every great victory comes after a great battle, and the secret to overcome is only found when I lock my wings in place and allow God to take me to new heights as I soar in His supernatural ability.I love those moments when I realize, “I can do this in Him–I was born for this.”When He carries me upward on His wings, my perspective and gaze is heavenward; there I can see things as they really are, not as they seem. 

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Uhanan Mimi

LIFE LESSONS FROM A DONKEY

This is story of donkey which teaches you a lesson. One day a farmer’s donkey fell down into a well . The animal cried piteously for hours as the farmer tried to figure out what to do. Finally, he decided that animal was old and the well needed to be covered up anyway; it just wasn’t worth it to save the donkey.He invited all his neighbors to come over and help him. They all grabbed a shovel and began to shovel dirt into the well. At first, the donkey realized what was happening and cried horribly. Then, to everyone’s amazement he quieted down.A few shovel loads later, the farmer was astonished at what he saw.With each shovel of dirt that hit his back, the donkey would shake it off and take a step up.As the farmer’s neighbors continued to shovel dirt on top of the animal, he would shake it off and take a step up. Pretty soon, everyone was amazed to see the donkey step up over the edge of the well and happily trotted off !

MORAL
Life is going to shovel dirt on you, all kinds of dirt. The trick is to shake it off and take a step up. Each of our troubles is a stepping stone to higher success.We can get out of the deepest wells just by not stopping, never giving up ! Shake it off and take a step up
Remember the five simple rules to be happy.
Free your heart from hatred – Forgive.

2. Free your mind from worries – Most of it never happen.
3. Live simply and appreciate what you have.
4. Give more.
5. Expect less from people but more from God.

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Uhanan Mimi

SUCCESS

The greatest desire of every human being is to attain success in every aspect of their life; be it in the home, in one’s career, academics, finance and other areas. Everyone wants to do well. However, one common factor that both the rich and the poor have in common is the ability to fail. Everyone is bound to fail in something in life.
But you can choose how to react to that failure. Whether you get up, clean yourself up, move on and try to achieve something substantial, or you decide to stay behind to lament and mourn over lost glories, is what makes you who you are today.
My main reason for writing this article is to help you get up and move on after a downfall; help you realise your hidden potentials and maximise them in order for you to be successful. It is to help you to fail your way to success.
Abraham Lincoln is a practical example of someone who failed his way through life. He was a man born from a poor family, a man surrounded by sorrow. Lincoln’s mother died at age 9, his elder sister died at age 20 during childbirth, his first love Ann Rutledge died, his son Edward died of tuberculosis, and his other son Thomas died of heart failure. His life shows that you can’t control where you start but where you end. Lincoln ended up being who many people consider best President of America because of the abolishment of slavery and other deeds. Many great men and women of course, are made from troubles, problems and sufferings they go through. My dad always says to me “What doesn't kill you makes you stronger”. However, many of us don’t want to strive or suffer to get to that point of happiness. We all want a smooth road without challenges. In my opinion, there is nothing like a smooth road in life. I think one of the most essential things we lack is patience. We are never patient enough to realize and make our dreams come true. Let me share a story with you: A man spent millions of dollars buying equipment for digging gold in a particular area of land which he also bought. He dug, and dug, but still didn’t find the gold so he finally gave up, sold all the equipment and the land area which gold was meant to be to another man and went on to another project. But the new owner began to dig and surprisingly gold was found 4 inches away from where the other man had stopped digging. He made millions of dollars from it. The first man lacked patience. Patience is one of the key factors for a successful life.
One man I admire for his patience and persistence is Les Brown, an African-American motivational speaker. I was lucky to hear the story of this great man when he came to Nigeria for a seminar. Mr. Les Brown’s life is more complicated than most of you reading this, and indeed myself as well. Brown and his twin brother Wesley were dumped by their biological mother on the streets, but a woman picked them up and took care of them. Les was always called the dummy twin, even nicknamed ‘D.T’ because Wes was more brilliant and more friendly. One day Les’s teacher asked him a question and he couldn't answer; all his classmates started shouting and telling the teacher, “No sir! He’s not the brilliant twin, he’s the dummy twin,” and Les said to the teacher “Yes, I’m the dummy twin” and the teacher replied, “People’s opinion about you shouldn't be your reality”. This stuck with Les and from that day on he realized he could shape his own destiny.
Now Mr. Les Brown is a multi-million dollar motivational and inspirational speaker & author of books like Live Your Dreams, the famed audio book, The Power of Purpose, and It’s Not Over Until You Win: How to Become the Person You Always Wanted to Be, No Matter What the Obstacle. Mr Les Brown is a man that I would say failed his way to success. It doesn't matter how bad academically you are nor how financially unstable you are now nor how dumb other people consider you to be. Success is on the way, so far you continue and strive to be the best in whatever you do because your failure is the failure of millions of people.
How can we help ourselves become better, you ask?
Hold on to your dreams. Robert Hiyosaki said in his book “The Conspiracy Of The Rich” “Take away a man’s dream and you take their life. Make sure you keep your dream alive because dreams are the windows of your soul.
Maximize your talents because life is a market place where you have to trade what you have to get what you want.
Have a goal, dream & desire because in life something has to drive you to what you are seeking out of it.

Keep away from demeaning friends. Your life is like a rainbow with different colors and you should know by now that those who don’t add more color to your life of rainbow, don’t only crawl away from them, walk away, runaway and, if you have wings, fly away from such people.

Pay Attention. ‘If you want to be somebody, if you want to go somewhere, in life all you have to do is pay attention.’

Read inspirational books. Books that will boost and elevate your life because you are moulding your tomorrow based on what you read today.

Some say life is too hard; here’s my advice to them: ”I believe that life is a journey often difficult and sometimes incredibly cruel, but we are all equipped for it only if we tap into our talents and gifts and allow them blossom”.On the road to success,

Age is not a factor because you are never too old or young to set another goal or dream a new dream. An example is Ted Williams, a 54 year old man found on the streets of America. ‘The Man With A Golden Voice” got a video of himself speaking on Youtube and today he has done several voice-overs for American TV shows. At the moment, he is struggling with addiction, but hey!, the road to success isn’t smooth, and our choices do have consequences.

Gender is not a factor if you do not define your goals by your gender. If you are a woman and you believe it’s a man’s world, it’ll continue to be because you already have that mindset. A great example to look up to is Oprah Winfrey. Who would have thought that an African-American woman would rise to global prominence? She’s one of the richest women in the world and moves with likes of the Obamas and the Clintons.

Religion is not a factor. Neither is height. A local example is Aki & Pawpaw, the Nollywood acting duo. They’ve managed to succeed in the Nigerian movie industry irrespective of their height.
Disability is not a factor - Stevie Wonder and our very own Cobhams Asuquo are practical examples. They were born blind, but that didn’t stop them from getting what they wanted out of life – solid careers and building families of their own.
Beauty is not a factor. Some complain, “I am not beautiful/handsome. My eyes, ears and nose are too big,” etc. Such people are not going to move forward because they believe they are not presentable.
Life is all about risks and risks are also meant to be taken to be successful at times. Remember life would throw things at us that seem rather unfair, but you can fail your way to success by maximising your goals and doing everything you possibly can to walk the path of success.
Stay Inspired
Uhanan Mimi