subscribe, view past issues  and  Get Releasing Kings The Price of Success Most of us have heroes or role models whom we consider successful. Last week we discussed the role of passion in finding our personal calling or purpose in life (Passion is in Fashion). This week we want to make it a little more practical and outline seven simple steps you can use to make your dream come true. My premise is that it is very possible for you and me to experience personal success. In fact, it is the will of God for us. A coaching module is linked in EXCEL to help you through the seven steps. The Lord gave him success in everything he did. Gen 39:3 NIV The warden paid no attention to anything under Joseph's care, because the Lord was with Joseph and gave him success in whatever he did.  Gen 39:23 NIV Whatever he does prospers. Ps 1:3 NIV Avoiding Success - Most of us have experienced what the Bible calls dead works, where we sincerely give ourselves to God’s plan and later find out God wasn’t really in it. The net result is that believers often retreat into the emotional space of not trying again (failure is too painful). Some go so far as to pretend that God does every good thing; it’s all Him and we don’t really do anything. These are spiritual pacifists who focus on miracles and the supernatural, but still avoid personal involvement. And there is a third camp where believers try to do the right thing out of the integrity of their heart, absent any expectation of God’s presence, guidance, or any involvement from Him. I simply want to suggest that we can clearly understand God’s purpose for our lives, and that we can understand his will, both generally and specifically as it pertains to us. Secondly, we can expect Him to walk with us in revelation and miraculous intervention “on occasion.” The bottom line is that we can clearly know God’s direction. It is our responsibility to try as hard as we can to bring that plan to fruition. God is not retreating from the miraculous, and we are not retreating from works. “Spirit-filled” and “Spirit-led” mean we tap our own heart’s desires with diligence, determination, resolve, purpose, willpower, patience, commitment, and persistence. Success is the result of God and me each doing everything we can. Thomas Edison said, "Genius is 10% inspiration, 90% perspiration." Lazy hands make a man poor, but diligent hands bring wealth. Prov 10:4 NIV Diligent hands will rule, but laziness ends in slave labor. Prov 12:24 NIV The sluggard craves and gets nothing, but the desires of the diligent are fully satisfied. Prov 13:4 NIV The plans of the diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to poverty. Prov 21:5 NIV You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance  2 Tim 3:10 NIV The price tag – The cost of success is trying as hard as you can with the Spirit of wisdom and revelation… with the eyes of our heart enlightened (Eph 1:17-18). You and I are the riches of God’s glorious inheritance. Our Father wants us to successfully possess our land. So, we are not just working hard, but we are wisely focused on the specifics of our unique personal calling. We all go through approximately the same progression of events, finding that sphere in the Kingdom where our anointing and success reside. Here’s the progression. The Progression from Desire to Destiny – What makes people successful? They are really just like us. They are simply the ones who have tried to define their dream and tried to implement it in real life in a way that makes money and makes a difference in the Kingdom. We can do the same. I’ve attached a coaching module in EXCEL containing seven worksheet templates and references for more information on each of the following areas. Please download it for your personal use. The steps below summarize the seven topics. 1.    Purpose and Vision – Write down your life purpose. Why are you here? What is the activity that reflects the deepest desires of your heart, your core character values, the area of your personal passion, and your talents, skills and abilities? Write it down in a paragraph. From Pew to Purpose and Stewards of Glory 2.    Goals – with your life’s purpose in mind, what are your goals for the major areas of your life (God, family, vocation / ministry, finances, health, and play). Write them down in the past tense. Goals that Overflow 3.    Heart Boundaries – Most of us have boundaries in our hearts that represent vows from our past which have cemented into ceilings for our future. Changing the beliefs in our hearts about our own identity and potential is a key step of inner healing before we can go to the next level. From Poland with Love 4.    Afformations – If we set some lofty goal associated with our life purpose, our mind immediately starts coming up with a list of reasons why it won’t work. If we simply phrase our “affirmations” as questions, we can then meditate on the reasons why those things will come to pass. These “afformations” give our mind a constructive job that builds us up. Afformations 5.    Cash flow – Putting our finances in a monthly cash flow format is an essential part of integrating our life plan with reality. Whether it’s personal finances or business finances doesn’t matter. We are stewards of the destiny God has given us and we all have to navigate the real world of making money and converting some of it to ministry. Creating wealth is a spiritual discipline. How Cash Flows and Your Spiritual Wealth Thermostat 6.    Schedule – Most of our goals should translate to specific activities that can be put on a schedule with an end date. Planning your next months of achievements goes a long way toward making your life purpose real.   7.    A Business Plan – If you treat the stewardship of your life like talents God has given you, making a written plan is an important step in getting your dream off the ground. Writing things down is also a key ingredient in moving your heart’s desires into a real life destiny. Write Your Business Plan For Kings, “failing to plan” is “planning to fail.” Success is your destiny. Failure is a life of mediocrity, living from paycheck to paycheck while your heart is yearning for something more. It really is a prison and Lord really is knocking at our door with an invitation to something great. Peter was sleeping between two soldiers, bound with two chains, and sentries stood guard at the entrance. 7 Suddenly an angel of the Lord appeared and a light shone in the cell. He struck Peter on the side and woke him up. "Quick, get up!" he said, and the chains fell off Peter's wrists. 8 Then the angel said to him, "Put on your clothes and sandals." And Peter did so. "Wrap your cloak around you and follow me," the angel told him. 9 Peter followed him out of the prison, but he had no idea that what the angel was doing was really happening; he thought he was seeing a vision. 10 They passed the first and second guards and came to the iron gate leading to the city. It opened for them by itself, and they went through it. When they had walked the length of one street, suddenly the angel left him. Acts 12:6-10 NIV   PS: the video version of this newsletter is also available. We're Dancing   John and Sue     www.Releasing-kings.com   Desire to Destiny is available now at our store along with reviews. Not sure what your dream is? This book will help you pull the curtain back on your future. Newsletter – If your newsletter comes incomplete (filtered), you can always catch the latest version in our archive along with 200 others. 1800+ people from around the world get Kingly encouragement from our weekly newsletter. Invite a friend to subscribe – they will be blessed. How to Start a Small Group – Kings are increasingly getting involved in Bible study or mentoring groups to facilitate their “Release.” Here are some helpful suggestions www.Releasing-Kings.com/Starting-a-Group.html. We’ve also updated our Vision Brochure with graphics to show how to become a King and how you can help Release Kings. Lastly we’ve created a guideline to help you take your dream to the next level by considering the elements of a business plan. See Write Your Business Plan and a Free Management Library for many other helpful resources. French Translation – Releasing Kings is now available in French thanks to the efforts of Cees Bakker and Support Ministries in the Netherlands. In France, copies can be obtained from Editions Menor or Librairie Chretienne CLC. The Title in French is “Libération des Rois pour le ministère dans le monde du travail”. Cees is also the guy who made the Dutch translation possible – available through his website. He can be contacted for Releasing Kings conferences in France and throughout Europe. Other language websites – Ukraine http://releasingkingsua.com/ Poland http://www.releasingkingspl.com/ Face Book – I’m posting more information on Face book at http://www.facebook.com/john.garfield1 PS: I want to recommend some follow-up reading. Who is God by Harold Eberle provides the best explanation of a more relational view of God. It’s must reading that connects our perception of God with everyday life. Releasing Kings for Ministry in the Marketplace takes that foundation into marketplace ministry and the entrepreneurial nature of Kings. Fruit in the marketplace naturally springs out of sound doctrine. Desire to Destiny – Takes the foundation and marketplace ministry and puts them in the context of seven practical keys or stages of growth you can apply in your own life. You’re invited into the vision to release Kings; communicate the message, make the money, and do the mission. The Message - Our first goal is to get the Releasing Kings message into the hands of the messengers that will carry it... do it, preach it, teach it, example it. The Money - The second goal is to help Kings break out of poverty by networking them with practical opportunities to prosper. We want to introduce them to the right people, the right opportunity, and the right financial approach. The Mission - Network Kings with opportunities to mix business and missions. Accomplish the great commission through the marketplace and occupy the Seven mountains of: business, media, arts & entertainment, education, family and government in addition to the church. See video #1 and video #2 ____________________________________________________________________ You can get your copy of Releasing Kings for Ministry in the Marketplace or Desire to Destiny at 1-800-308-5837 (or) www.releasing-kings.com