It’s 2018 and with the arrival of a new year comes new opportunities to accomplish your goals – start a business, stop arguing with your spouse, leave a dead end job, or even rediscover your relationship with God – we all have a vision of what we may want in life.  Frustration comes when we recognize the gaps between what we may want in our life and what we may actually be creating.

Our society has become obsessed with the quick and easy way to get results, but history has shown that nothing great has ever been achieved without someone making a commitment.  Choosing to make a commitment requires enormous internal strength, along with the ability to keep commitments in spite of cyclical emotions, but many of you feel weak because you’ve been defeated by personal struggles over the years.

Ask a personal trainer where core strength originates and you’ll learn stability is central to developing your body.  Personal trainers coach their clients to stand a certain way, with feet solidly planted, and rest the muscles that you intend to workout most.

Life is certainly no different – how you carry yourself matters, your foundation matters, and taking a moment to rest during various seasons equally matters.  It’s not that you’re weak, it’s because you’re unstable.  But I believe in God’s promise that He will bring strength from your weakness.  Therefore your strength has never left you, but you must believe in yourself.

Imagine a clear picture in your mind and continue to believe someday “I Will.”  We are what we believe!  We must visualize our wants, desires, and goals.  Unwavering faith in your vision is what separates achievers from dreamers.

Successful people refuse to be broken.  I have experienced anger, frustration, resentment, depression, grief, and fear – we all have experienced these emotions at one time or another.  They immobilize most people.  Successful people have failures, but they control their response by using failure to improve.

How do you respond to crisis and setbacks?  I view them as opportunities.  I learn substantially more when I do something wrong, than when I do it right.  A crisis is simply part of the learning process – part of the process that builds and strengthens our character.

Yes, I struggle with frustration and anger when I make a mistake.  Yes, I get down when things do not go the way I planned, but I refuse to stay down.  My grandfather used to tell me, “people do not drown by falling into the water; they drown by staying there.”

Yes, being successful means being the target of criticism.  Many people have failed to imagine a vision for their life or achieve their goals, so they are disheartened, hurting inside, and they feel better when they steal the dreams of others.  Sadly many of the people around you do not want to see you do well.  If you want to be strong in 2018, then you cannot keep leaning on weak people.

I know many people with plans about what they intend to do, but the trouble is they never implement their plans.  These people are successful in theory, but a vision without action is just a dream, a wish.  I too often hear, “next week, we plan on doing this,” or “next year we are going to get started on that.”  Do it now, take action!

Brace yourself, this is the year of stability, focus on becoming stable in every area of your life – financial, relationships, spirit, body, and community – which I believe will unleash God to deliver on His promise of prosperity in every area of your life.

But even more fundamentally, check your ambition in 2018 and explore your underlying desire for prosperity – its necessary you seek to be a blessing more so than simply to be blessed.

Happy New Year!