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Archives For January 2014

Do you have what it takes?

Brad Stanton —  January 29, 2014 — 2 Comments

Paul Orfalea

Paul Orfalea

You think you lack talent? Take a look at a lot of the super high achievers who have much less talent than you. God has put in you everything you need to achieve all he has in store for you.

It is not a coincidence that you are reading this blog post. Many people have prayed that the right people will be drawn to this information and I pray often that it will help you enormously.

Paul Orfalea was born in Los Angles of parents who were Syrian Orthodox Christian. He had learning problems in school and ADD. Not a great way to start life. He was labeled a failure at an early age. But like many other people who have achieved great things in life, he found confidence and was able to work his way out of a life of mediocrity. Now he gives millions of dollars to charities and schools and helps many people.

Here are some excerpts from Wikipedia about him:

According to Orfalea, he was a woodshop major in high school, and his typical report card was “two C’s, three D’s, and an F.” Due to his dyslexia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Orfalea reportedly flunked two grades and was expelled from several schools. He later attended the University of Southern California. Despite being fired from a number of jobs, his family supported him in his determination to launch his own business. In later life he remarked on the subject of his handicaps, “I get bored easily, and that is a great motivator, I think everybody should have dyslexia and ADD.”

Orfalea decided to start up his own business while he was attending USC. With a $5,000 bank loan co-signed by his parents, Orfalea founded Kinko’s in 1970. His first store was a 100 square foot space adjacent to a hamburger stand in the Isla Vista neighborhood of Santa Barbara, California, rented for $100 a month. Orfalea began selling notebooks, pens, pencils, and the services of a copying machine at 4 cents per copy. Within ten years, Kinko’s grew to a network of over 80 stores across the country.

Kinko’s spread across the United States and internationally, and ultimately to more than 1,200 locations and 23,000 employees in 10 different countries. Orfalea put a high value on employee satisfaction, and Fortune Magazine named Kinko’s one of the best places in America to work for three years in a row. Kinko’s was acquired by Federal Express in 2004, with Orfalea no longer involved in the company’s business management. The company presently does business under the name FedEx Office.

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In success , , ,
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For answers to prayer, do this…

Brad Stanton —  January 28, 2014 — 9 Comments

amazing-planThe command prayer.

Prayer is sometimes more than just talking to God. Jesus told us to speak to the problem, to make a command.

You have to pray the way Jesus and all the people of God prayed in the Bible if you want results. Don’t do things the way you were taught by people, do what the Bible says. Faith is very important, as I have written about in many previous posts on this blog.

Jesus is our example. He was 100% man and 100% God. Since he was completely man he was our example. Our goal is to be like him. He prayed quite a bit differently than most Christians today pray. The disciples prayed like he did, they spoke out a command and people were healed. The prophets in the Old Testament also prayed like this, they spoke commands. He taught all his followers to pray this way, including you and me.

Matthew 17:20 Jesus said: “Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” My note—it may take months to develop this kind of faith. Memorizing Bible verses on faith and repeating them daily helps a lot. I have written other blog posts on this topic. Click on the “Prayer” link at the right hand side under “Posts by category” for more information or click here https://bradstanton.com/category/prayer/

Notice that Jesus said you must make a command and say “Move from here to there.”

Jesus healed a leper by saying “Be clean.” Luke 5:13. Jesus commanded the illness to leave. He spoke out a command.

Luke 4:39 Jesus spoke to the fever “So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them.” Jesus was not talking to God, he was talking to the fever.

Luke 7:14 Jesus said “Young man get up!” and a man was healed. Notice Jesus spoke out a command, he was showing us how to pray for people. His followers did the same thing in the book of Acts.

In Luke 8:53 Jesus spoke a command to cause a child to come back to life. “They laughed at him, knowing that she was dead. 54 But he took her by the hand and said, “My child, get up!”

Some prayers are just talking to God, but the kinds of prayers the followers of Jesus prayed for healing were not just talking to God. They gave a command that sickness leave the body of the person they were talking to. Acts 3:6 “In the name of Jesus, get up and walk!” Acts 14:10, Paul told a lame man “Stand up on your feet!”

Notice Peter spoke out a command in Acts 9:40 “Peter sent them all out of the room; then he got down on his knees and prayed. Turning toward the dead woman, he said, “Tabitha, get up.” She opened her eyes, and seeing Peter she sat up.”

The disciples spoke out a command and a man was struck blind to help him understand the power of God. Acts 13:11 “Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind for a time, not even able to see the light of the sun.”

Matthew 21:19 Seeing a fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. Then he said to it, “May you never bear fruit again!” Immediately the tree withered.

Jesus commanded a storm to subside. Luke 8:24 He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 25 “Where is your faith?” he asked his disciples.

In prayer ,
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6 steps to success

Brad Stanton —  January 27, 2014 — 3 Comments

Jentezen Franklin

Jentezen Franklin

Have you had difficulty achieving your dreams in life? Dreams of great relationships, getting out of debt, career advancement, achievement in sports, etc. Maybe you have an addiction to food, cigarettes, drugs, alcohol, laziness, sexual problems or anything else. Here are five steps to get out of the pit. The six steps are from Believe That You Can by Jentezen Franklin, but I have written it in my own words.

Thought

It all starts as a thought in your mind. You see the need to quit doing something or to start doing something else. You realize your life could be better than it is now.

Caught

Not only do we see something we want, we have to take hold of the idea that we really can get it. Many people would love to get out of debt, but they don’t believe it will ever happen, so they don’t even try to find a way to become more financially secure. Some would love to be a high level manager in their company, but they just don’t think it will ever happen, so they plug away at their boring job week after week, not doing the level of work they are capable of.

Bought

You have to pay the price for your dream. Decide to take a risk, try your best to do something you didn’t think you could do in the past. Maybe your old life is too boring. Step out on your idea. You have to believe that with God all things are possible. Matthew 19:26 “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.” Phil 4:13 “I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength.”

Sought

After you buy into dream you really get committed. You focus on it no matter what others say. You get in the habit of seeking it with all your heart. Ask yourself: “How bad do I want it?” That is a key. If you really want it, you will be willing to do what it takes to make it happen.

“How does one become a butterfly” she asked pensively
“You must want to fly so much you are willing to give up being a caterpillar.”
“You mean die?”
“Yes and no,” he answered. “What looks like you will die, but what’s really you will still  live”
—–From Hope For The Flowers by Trina Paulus

Got

Now you are there, you got the prize, or are starting to get the prize. Now you don’t have to suffer regret for not trying to accomplish your goals and dreams. Maybe you have gone a week without overeating. Even if you pig out one day, don’t worry about it. Don’t let it get you down, because sadness and regret will make it all the more difficult. Tell yourself that you are a winner and will not fail next time. The more you say it to yourself, the more it will become true. If you are a Christian, the Bible promises you that you are a winner, a conqueror (which means you can conquer problems). Romans 8:37 “In all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”

Taught

No success without a successor. Whom are you mentoring? When you teach something, it helps you really get it firmly in mind, to get it deep into your subconscious. This is a very important part of any goal, to teach others how to do it. Alcoholics Anonymous stresses that to overcome an addition it is very important to mentor others to overcome. When you teach it, you learn it much better and are much more likely to continue your success over the addiction or difficulty.

In Inspirational, success , , ,
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Wedding vows joke

Brad Stanton —  January 25, 2014 — 6 Comments

Elegant-Bride-and-GroomDuring the wedding rehearsal, the groom approached the minister with an unusual offer. He said to the minister “Look, I’ll give you $100 if you’ll change the wedding vows. When you get to the part where I’m to promise to ‘love, honor and obey’ and ‘forsaking all others, be faithful to her forever,’ I’d appreciate it if you’d just leave that part out.”

He passed the minister the cash and walked away satisfied.

The wedding day arrives, and the bride and groom have moved to that part of the ceremony where the vows are exchanged. When it comes time for the groom’s vows, the minister looks the young man in the eye and says, “Will you promise to prostrate yourself before her, obey her every command and wish, serve her breakfast in bed every morning of your life and swear eternally before God and your lovely wife that you will not ever even look at another woman, as long as you both shall live?”

The groom gulped and looked around, and said in a tiny voice, “Yes.” He leaned toward the minister and hissed, “I thought we had a deal!”

The minister put the $100 into his hand and whispered back, “She made me a much better offer.”

In Humor , , , ,
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Seeds of greatness

Brad Stanton —  January 23, 2014 — 5 Comments

cocoa tree

cocoa tree

Many years ago a young man in Ghana West Africa saw poverty in his village so he wanted very badly to bring about change and help his people. So at 16 years of age he decided to leave home determined to find some way to help his people. Seven years later he returned. His people saw him a long time before he reached the village as he walked down the road. They were very excited because they knew that since he had been gone a long time he must have something wonderful to share with them that would help them overcome their poverty and difficulties.

They ran out to meet him and shouted, “What did you bring?”

He silently put his hand in his pocket and pulled out three small seeds. Everyone was surprised, because they expected so much more.

“What are they?” they asked.

“They are cocoa seeds” he replied.

He planted the seeds and soon the three trees had multiplied to many. He had learned how to cultivate and take care of cocoa plants.

Now in Ghana cocoa is a major source of income for many people. Because one man planted seeds and knew how to take care of them, he changed his country forever and helped many people.

It sometimes takes a well-trained person to see seeds of greatness in other people. Maybe someone you know is not a good student and suffers because he just can’t make good grades. But maybe he can become a great writer, athlete, musician, model, actor or politician. Stephen J. Cannell failed the first grade, he also failed the fourth and tenth grades but he wrote many TV scripts for famous TV shows and eventually had over 2000 people working for him.

Charles Dickens failed many times to get his books published, but he kept trying and later changed the world by showing tens of thousands of people how difficult the lives orphans can be.

It usually takes a long time to achieve great things in life. Just like the cocoa plants took a long time to multiply to thousands of trees it may take a long time for the seeds of greatness to grow in you.

Don’t give up. Keep cultivating the seeds within you. If you don’t quit, someday you will accomplish the goals and dreams that God has placed in your heart. Remember Philippians 4:13 “I can do everything through Christ who gives me strength.”  Say that out loud five times a day and it will do wonders for you.

In Inspirational , ,
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