12th January, 2022.

START THE YEAR ON THE RIGHT FOOT Pt.12

Phil 3:13 Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead,

DEVELOP A CONSISTENT SUCCESS ROUTINE

I read about a successful basketball player sometimes ago. He had a daily training regime of making 500 throws. While playing, he can find the net from almost anywhere on the basket ball pitch because he had mastered it in training. What he did daily in private training translated to success in public games. I heard from a preacher that Smith Wigglesworth had a daily habit of reading the bible every 45 minutes. Little wonder why raising the dead and raw manifestation of God's power was common in his ministry. E.W. Kenyon had an open bible in different parts of the house. He read a few verses of scripture anytime he entered any of the rooms in his house. That was the secret behind the great scriptural insight he had. I read in a book that the late Arch Bishop Benson Idahosa of blessed memory doesn't step out of his house until he prays for four hours. That was his daily routine.

You may have come across the name 'Demosthenes' in books or in writings. He was an orator in his days. He was, recognized as the greatest of ancient Greek orators, who roused Athens to oppose Philip of Macedon and, later, his son Alexander the Great. His speeches provide valuable information on the political, social, and economic life of 4th-century Athens. Demosthenes trained himself as an orator. He also studied legal rhetoric. However, he was born with speech defect and a bad body stature which prevented him from getting gymnastic education. Demosthenes built an underground study where he exercised his voice, shaving one half of his head so that he could not go out in public. Plutarch says that Demosthenes had a speech defect, “an inarticulate and stammering pronunciation” that he overcame by speaking with pebbles in his mouth and by reciting verses when running or out of breath. He also practiced speaking before a large mirror. That was his routine. Most people only know him as a great orator, only few pay attention to the fact that in secret, he trained with pebbles in his mouth.

Success in any endeavour is predictable. What you do daily is a pointer to the result your life will produce. Results aren't produced in a day, result is a product of daily habit cultivated over time. When you see any man that is outstanding in his field of endeavour, check his daily routine. We'll only achieve success in our goals for the year if we succeed in developing daily habits that will contribute to the overall goal. Success in anything is not sudden. Don't just admire success, study the daily habits and routine of men and women who have succeeded, that's where their secret lies. This year, cultivate healthy success habits or routines and be consistent with them.