The Temptation of Success

Here is an exert from a great book that I read called Joseph:

"This message is addressed to the successful, to the up-and-coming executive, to the man or woman on the way to the top of the heap, to the individual who is experiencing the benefits of and favor of God, to the person who is reaping the benefits of increased PRIVACY and TRUST.

Adversity (hardship, affliction or misfortune) is sometimes hard upon a man, but for one man who can stand prosperity, there are a hundred that can stand adversity.

The temptations that accompany prosperity are far greater (and far more subtle) than those that accompany adversity."


Point: It's good to fight for success, but when you're becoming successful or have reached success, you better watch out, because the "temptress" is waiting toward the top of the ladder. Planning a way to knock you down.






A tentação do sucesso


Aqui está um trecho de um ótimo livro que eu li chamado "Joseph":

"Essa mensagem é destinada aos bem sucedidos, aos executivos ambiciosos, ao homem ou mulher a caminho do topo, ao indivíduo que está vivenciando os benefícios e as bençãos de Deus, às pessoas que estão colhendo os frutos da PRIVAÇÃO e da CONFIANÇA.

A adversidade (sofrimento, aflição ou azar) às vezes é difícil para um homem, mas para cada homem que consegue vencer a prosperidade, há cem homens que vencem a adversidade.

As tentações que acompanham a prosperidade são muito maiores (e muito mais sutis) do que aquelas que acompanham as adversidades.

Moral: É bom lutar pelo sucesso, mas quando você está se tornando bem sucedido ou alcançou o sucesso, é melhor você vigiar, porque a tentação está esperando no topo da subida. Planejando uma maneira de te derrubar.

DO you believe you can?????

What's your biggest limitation? 

What's your biggest fear?

What's the biggest threat that you face?

What's the scariest thing you know?

It's not death,

pain,

loss

or tragedy. 

The most disastrous force that exist, outside of evil itself

is a subtle enemy called DOUBT. 

Whether it's doubt about God or doubt about self,

it distracts, paralyzes and kills dreams and dreamers. 

So watch out!

Do you believe you can do something?

Do you have faith that God is with you?

Are you ready to fight and pay the price for what you want?

So go ahead, dive in. 

The mountain doesn't look so big from the top. 

Say NO to them

Listen, it doesn't matter who it is... if someone is advising you to do something that will hurt you, you need to tell them NO.

Our life is made up of each and every decision we make. Each decision is like a seed we are planting on very fertile soil. So even if you think it was just one, it can still develop into something big over time. You can't afford to follow bad advice. That is why you should be careful who you go to to seek advice. If they are not a reliable source (and when I say reliable, I don't mean someone who will say what you wanna hear, I mean someone who will tell you what's right), don't trust their advice.

I have been hearing more and more disappointing stories of young people who were persuaded by people they should have been able to trust, to do something horrible, something that would definitely bring them down. And why did they do it, because they thought that they could trust that person. It's just not worth it. It can be the person you love the most, and if what they are saying is completely wrong, you have got to make a choice to not follow it.

At the end of the day, you only live once, and why destroy the one life you have, because of someone else's bad advice.

Where there's smoke... There's fire

I posted a comment on my wall on Facebook two days ago that seemed to get a lot of feedback, so I decided to go a little deeper into it...

The comment said, "where there is smoke, there is fire".

I can't tell you how many times I have tried to avoid the reality of this statement. I always try to look at people and circumstances through the best lenses. I try to give people the benefit of the doubt, and see the bright side of things. But sometimes you just can't do that.

For example, if you feel a strange pain in your body, and you know that is not something that is normal, you would not be smart to ignore it. Maybe something is wrong, and you could avoid worst complications later, by simply checking on it now. Another example, if you see your son, daughter, wife, husband, etc. acting weird, and you know how they normally behave, you would be a fool not to ask some questions. If you are in your room sleeping and you smell smoke coming into the room, SOMETHING IS WRONG! You need to do something. If you are ironing clothes and start to hear sparks from the socket and then smell burning, are you going to keep using the iron? I could go on and on for days. But the point is, if deep down inside you have a strong feeling that something is wrong... It probably is.

Don't judge or draw conclusions without facts, but be alert and be aware. And check the situation thoroughly. What's the worst that can happen? Everything end up ok. Great, you lost nothing. But if something was wrong, you may catch it before it is too late.

So remember, if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck... It's "probably" a duck!