Five Ways to Be Ahead of Time

One of the greatest assets in life is time, one of the greatest delusions in life is still time and one of the greatest illusions in life is time.

The world is regulated by time, as far as life on Earth is concerned, it is timed, and every aspect of living is timed. The different categories of timing represent the diverse stages of life. In reality, time regulates seasons, seasons influence trends and trends regulate people. Thus everyone in life is either a time setter or a time checker.

Time setters are able to position themselves ahead of the time by following principles that propel them beyond the present time while time checkers follow time and are bound by the shackles of trends.

However, there are principles to follow if you desire to be ahead of time, below are five vital ones:

1) BE VISIONARY: 

What do you see? Vision is not the presence of sight, but the presence of inner sight or what you call INSIGHT. What you see for your life affects what you expect from your life and how you move in your life. Seeing beyond the present moment, gives you a glimpse of what the future can be and ultimately gives you the advantage to prepare for it. Vision propels you to move ahead of the present season and positions you ahead of the crowd.

2) PLAN. 

In advancing in life, the place of planning can never be overemphasized. You have envisioned the times ahead, then take one more step to plan your way to it. Ask crucial questions, meet strategic people, obtain the required skills and synchronize your life around your plan of the vision. Ask yourself, what does it take to get to my vision, how can I get there, where should I start, who do I need, how long will it take me to get to my vision. Be deliberate to get the right answers because they unfold your plan for the vision.

3) BE PASSIONATE. 

Passion is a fuel to purposeful living. One distinguishing factor in life is the passion we live it with. Passion keeps you moving even in the most harsh conditions. When you lose passion for living, you have lost life itself. Develop passion For the plan of your vision, and see the self limiting obstacles crumble in your face.

All through history, you will discover that the most outstanding people are the most passionate ones. These are men and women who are zealous of what they are doing, and they are not apologetic about their obsessions.

4) FORM A HABIT. 

To be ahead of the crowd, form vision sustaining habits. Be deliberate in cultivating habits that will naturally bring you closer to your vision. When you absorb great habits into your lifestyle, you automatically program your mind on what is important to you. One thing about habits are that they are hard to cultivate, and even harder to break. Consistency with these vision oriented habits gives you an edge over those that do not have them and places you on the right track for vision actualization.

5) PRAY 

Vision, plan,passion and habit are nothing without the hand of God. Prayer still remains the master key to unlocking the future. When you pray and Access God, your vision crystallizes in your spirit and you start living it out in the now. Hearing from God is an acid test to the success of every vision. Moreover, visions are birthed in the place of prayer, and prayer, brings God into every vision, plan, passion and habit. Don't make praying your last option, rather the first. Prayer simplifies complicated matters and builds your faith, which is crucial in vision actualization, especially the big ones. Therefore, the bigger the vision, the more praying is involved.

Finally, understand that life is in seasons, but you can change the season by influencing the time through these principles.

DON'T JUST WATCH TIME... 

SET YOUR DESTINY TIME...

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Self Explanatory

People just keep on hurrying along. From one project to the next, to a new house, a new relationship, a new job, another vacation; to 'something different'. People are forever busy organizing, planning, making sure that everything keeps going well. This juggling act continues day-in, day-out... and again, another season, another year has passed. Many people have long since activated next year's calendar. The next summer vacation has already been booked! People quite often don't talk about their hurried lifestyles. It just keeps piling up and their calendar gets filled to overflowing. The very young are especially prone to having full activity planners. There is definitely a need to express oneself, to just talk, open up to someone and unwind, but there doesn't seem be any time for that.

Do you still have time for a talk? There is always something, an activity, in other words, a reason why that's not possible... busy, busy. Fortunately, it will soon be Christmas again, 'good times'!

People talk to me about their experiences: "When I talk about 'it', I have lost, or will lose, my balance. Then I will no longer be able to control myself and lose my grip."

Or: 'I have given off all kinds of signals but I'm not being heard. I did actually say it, but it wasn't heard. Nobody listens to me. I probably haven't been clear enough. These feelings tend to grow over time and come to control me, which turns these feelings into fixed images and so appear to become exclusive. It's like a barrier is being thrown up and then I don't know how to break through anymore. It is a weird vicious circle that somehow or other I do know, also from experience, can be broken, but right now I don't know how or when. It is becoming a pattern in my life. I really would want to be invited for it, or that someone creates a circumstance, a climate. There should be somebody there who listens to me. Who listens in a way that makes me speak. Because there are always reasons not to express myself, not to approach, call or mail the other person, or (I know, really old-fashioned) to simply write a letter." Many people find it much easier to deliver a positive message, to just casually remark that you have experienced, bought or done something nice, funny, or enjoyable, rather than to give voice to a sad or impressive feeling.

When you are not satisfied about how you experience yourself there is often something that holds you back. Something that throws you back on your individuality, on yourself, into your own environment, into isolation. It would appear like you don't feel the need for other people and you begin to withdraw into yourself. Shutting yourself in, turning inward, while the need to be 'together' is actually quite strong. This need, however, is dismissed as 'Oh well, the seasons are changing, it's a period in which I'm vulnerable and sensitive.' Or: 'Leave me be, this is just the way I am.' Or 'just take me as I am.'

It is precisely the people who say that, who make these statements, who don't want to be left alone. They want to sit quietly together and somebody to 'really' listen to them. They want to think and talk together about their experiences without the need to solve absolutely anything. Just reflection in moments of cherishing, realisation and silence.

Strange, isn't it, to speak in silence! 

Many, many people speak in silence. Just listen to yourself. You hold many, long conversations with yourself in your 'internal language', in your musings. The conversation with yourself is worthy of being shared with others. With people who really and sincerely want to be with you. With those people who want to talk with you without imposing themselves or wanting to shoulder your thoughts. There are people who really take an interest.

These conversations are often moments of insight and growth. Really personal, intimate and precious moments. Experiences that you later look back on and feel warmly about. Those kinds of evenings that seem to fly past; "is it this late already... ?'

Then you will find the words, know why and when, and it will make no difference what is being said. Then it will come from within and it will feel just right. Everything that comes spontaneously from within yourself is good, is of value. Then it will come naturally. To not yet fully know but still, somehow, know inside. The other person fosters that knowledge through listening and the conversation, which gives you space. Space to speak and be heard at multiple levels. Then you will automatically speak your own language. This also applies to entrepreneurs, managers and executives. But also to doctors and relief workers. That is the language that many others would also like to hear from you. Real words are self-explanatory.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/9511225

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4 Ways to Expand Your Strategic Thinking

Leading a company isn’t easy. On the one hand, a leader needs to keep a pulse on the heartbeat of the organization today while, on the other hand, maintaining a vision for tomorrow. Essentially, he or she has to be in two different places mentally. I don’t know about you, but it’s challenging enough for me just to be in one place (that’s a joke).

To deliver at the leading edge, you must think at the leading edge, and that means thinking outside your comfort zone. Nobody gets any better thinking the same way they always have, and insanity, according to Einstein, is doing the same thing over and over but expecting different results.

As mentioned in a previous column, bridging the gap from executor to strategist can be a quantum leap (mentally) for some people. Many will fall short -- hitting every branch on the way down.

We all know technology-inclined people who were great programmers but, once they were promoted into a more strategic role, relied too much on what earned them that promotion. In other words, their subject-matter expertise coupled with a lack of guidance in their transition made them fall prey to what they already know, so they become micro-managers -- the bane of every employee’s existence.

While strategic thinking isn’t something that can be honed overnight, there are ways to broaden the aperture to see the whole forest rather than just a few trees. Here are four:

1. Offer a drop box for ideas.

Create a space where people can express suggestions, recommendations and observations to be shared with the group. Pixar called its version of this the Brain Trust -- a place where team members collaborated without emotion, pooling together disparate ideas and colliding them to create the whacky creatures that appear in its movies.

Alex Bogusky of Made Movement said it best, "Ideas are a natural outcome of an engaged mind. If your team isn’t having ideas, it’s a sign that something else is wrong.”

2. Think one level higher.

For every individual or team-level decision, consider the ramifications for the organization. How does the decision to cut salaries impact not only employees, but the trust they have of the company? Its brand? Its culture? There are always higher level considerations, internal and external, to account for. 

3. Dig deeper.

Ask powerful questions that unearth greater insight. Don’t settle for a surface-level explanation such as, “We’ve always done it this way.” In pushing for more detailed answers, be sure to frame your inquiry as wanting a greater understanding of the rationale behind the thinking rather than an explanation of it.

Nobody likes the feeling of judgment found in explaining themselves, so position your inquiry as a question rather than a command, such as, “Can you help me understand the thinking behind this?” rather than simply asking, "Why are we doing this?"

Of course, you’ll probably be thinking to yourself, “This is ridiculous. I can’t believe this guy works here,” but save that for your inner monologue.

4. Find a role model.

You can always enlist the support of a mentor or coach to help broaden your strategic thinking. Mentors offer guidance according to their subject-matter expertise. Coaches extract personal insights from within so the person reaches that awareness him or herself. Either way, to broaden your thinking you need somebody to incite a new perspective to consider -- that’s what learning entails.

The more you grow your thinking, the more you grow. Thoughts induce feelings, feelings lead to decisions and decisions spur behavior.

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/251963