Why is it that many people believe in the future but few make it in the future? Why is it that upon the over 7 billion people on planet earth, not more than 5% of us are truly living the life they envisioned to live? The answer is simple: The future belongs to those who believe in it today! I have come to terms with the fact that the reason why few are successful is that they are ready to daily practice habits that failures feel lazy to practice. Below are four practices that people who want to achieve something worthwhile in the future pay the price to do.
SACRIFICE For The Future. You cannot say you believe in the future yet squander its fortunes today. The test for each one of us is to delay gratification. A man in the Bible called Jacob exemplifies what it means to sacrifice what you have today for tomorrow’s gains. He gave his brother a bowl of stew which could have satisfied him now in exchange for blessings in the future. He was successful at it. On the other hand, his brother Esau sold his birthright which carried all the blessings (future) to gratify himself with a bowl of stew (present.) Many of us have the Esau mentality. We sacrifice our future for fun and frivolities. Bishop Tudor Bismarck of Zimbabwe said at Greater Works 2011 at ICGC Christ Temple that ‘what you give your life to, give itself back to you.’ What you spend your money, energy, and time on determines what you get back in the future. There is so much unlimited potential in the future that you cannot afford to risk them for the limited gains of today. Think like Jacob and sacrifice for the future. (Read the account in Genesis 25:29-34 and an expanded teaching in Dr. Mensa Otabil’s book Buy The Future.)
INVEST In The Future. I never fully understood and grasp the opportunities in the financial market investments until my final year in the University. Three years of my productive life went down the drain without investing towards my future. The mindset was ‘get money, spend and ask for more.’ People who do not invest have one popular excuse: I don’t have enough money. Guess what, those who invest don’t have enough either. But the pull of the future pushes them to sacrifice their resources to invest for higher returns in the future. You cannot face the future when you are not financially sound. And you cannot become financially sound when you are not an ardent investor. Let me suggest a practical strategy I learnt lately from Brian Tracy’s book No Excuses: Save GH¢1 a day. With discipline, you can accumulate GH¢365 in a year.
GROW Towards The Future. How do you grow towards the future? I know the first thing that will probably jump at many of us will be physical growth. Quite contrary, I am referring to intellectual growth. People think, intellectual growth like physical growth, is automatic. They believe the more school they attend, the greater their intellectual growth. That’s half truth! In fact, true growth, the one which our educational system deprives us of, is personal and intentional. It must be worked at. The advantage of intellectual growth is that it positions you personally and professionally to take charge of the benefits of the knowledge economy. How can you grow? Life coaches strongly advise that one plans to read relevant books, listen to audio messages, and attend conferences and seminars in their fields of expertise. All these knowledge, when applied, places you in the forefront of your career in order to make significant impacts. The late American business guru Jim Rohn said that if you want to do more, you must know more. In other words, what you know determines how effective you become.
PREPARE For The Future. The secret to every good student making ‘As’ is preparation. How well you know a course is proportionate to the grade you get. Thus, for even ‘bad students’ they make sure that they utilize their last minutes to prepare. The people who believe in the future are just firm on preparation like the good student’s attitude towards preparation for a test or exams. In their book Zaphnath-Paaneah bestselling authors Albert and Comfort Ocran have one of the seven keys to wealth and influence being Cultivate Your Gift In Low Places. This is strongly informed to make people prepare and practice their gifts anytime anywhere before the day of performance. If you believe in the future, you must make preparation one of your daily habits. Benjamin Disraeli was right when he once said that, “The secret of success in life is for a man to be ready for his time when it comes.”
It’s my daily decision to habitualise the four practices above. Because the unbreakable truth is: the future is not years away but today away. If only I can master my today as they unfold, I can fully capture the future. Many people think they believe in the future but a carefully account of how they use their resources make them out. A believe in the future must translate into sacrificing for it, investing in it, growing towards it, and preparing for it. Radio personality Paul Harvey captured the spirit of this topic when he observed that, “If you don’t live it, you don’t believe it.” Live these principles and make your believe in the future a material reality not just a dream.
