2012 is no longer just around the corner but it’s here.  As humans when calendars change we seem to develop an attitude of reflection. Often times this attitude is accompanied by an acknowledgement of lessons that were learned in the past season.  Lessons that become a watery soup of “rules to live by” going into the next.

For me this is true and I wanted to take a few moments to detail six of the lessons that I  learned or was reminded of in 2011.

Fear Not: At first glance, 2012 seems to be a year that has people fearful.  Whether it’s the predictions of the Mayan calendar, the possible return of Jesus or the failure of the Eurozone people are finding reasons to be scared.  What I learned in 2011 is that fear is not fair.  It’s one sided.  It only looks at the possibilities of one outcome, usually the one that seems to cause us the most harm.  Fear is usually a liar too.  The things that fear has been telling us in the past usually never happen.  Most importantly fear is an emotion and as such it can be controlled. Just because you feel fear today doesn’t mean that you have to keep feeling it tomorrow.  For those of us who consider ourselves people of faith, think on these words: “God has not given us a spirit of fear; but of love, power and a sound mind.” - 1 Tim 1:7

Some people cant go: We all know it intuitively and have heard it said many times before: “some relationships are for a season, some are for a reason and others are forever”, yet it still hurts when we realize it personally.  2011 has taught me that the people you started 2011 with are not always the ones that will be with you when it ends.  It’s not a bad thing and it isn’t up to us to classify people, it’s just for us to know this is God’s way.  People in your life typically do one of four things: 1) develop you for what is coming 2) introduce a challenge or opportunity to go to the next level 3) reveal a deficiency in your life that needs to be fixed 4) accompany you on life’s journey and strengthen you when you need it.  In 2012 focus on creating quality relationships with people around you, invest the time necessary to do it.  But also let people play their role in your life.  Remember it was Judas who ultimately revealed Jesus as the savior.

Be legacy minded:  Legacy is purpose all grown up.  2011 has taught me that you have to have the end game in mind.  Never sacrifice your future on the altar of the present.  Choices when at all possible should be made with your long term goals in mind.  This implies a level of planning and foresight; things that take work and discipline. It’s important to be proactive with your own planning because things are always going according to a plan, either your own or someone else’s.  Other’s plans FOR you will be made with their limited knowledge OF you.  And for that reason they can’t be legacy focused.  You are the only one that can effectively plan for your future so do just that.  Most people don’t effectively plan their day, let alone a whole year or more.  Legacies are built and planned, they rarely just happen.

Focus on the details: Details are pesky; they are so small, intricate and seemingly unimportant.  For many of us we think in big graphic pictures.  We see things from a 10,000 foot view and place our value on the overall image.  But 2011 has taught me that the details are important too.  How many times have you seen a great idea lost in poor writing or speaking?  Many times the details that are missed can disqualify you from even pleading your case.  Those pesky details can give people a reason to not hear you.  They are smoky clouds blurring peoples vision of who you are and what you can do. To be successful in 2012 you must concentrate and remind yourself to focus on the details.  It just may be what separates you from the next level.

Do what you can…in excellence: You cant control what others think of you or how they see you.  What you can do however is your best.  Today It’s almost cliche; “do your best”, and unfortunately, “do your best” seems to be translated as “do good enough”.  2011 has taught me that good enough is rarely good enough. In fact good enough is at best average.  Doing good enough is what everyone is looking for.  Good enough keeps you where you are.  But being excellent is purposefully looking to offer more than what is expected. Excellence is a sign that you are ready for the next challenge, the next promotion in life, work and relationships.  In 2012 purposefully decide to be excellent. - Dan 5:12

Prayer works: Guess what? God is real and He answers prayers. God is sovereign and can do whatever He likes, however something seems to happen when we echo a written promise in His word to the world around us. Things tend to line up with that written promise.  2011 has taught me and people around me that when we pray in faith, we should expect things to happen.  If not, then why pray?  Prayer can be one of the most powerful tools we have to affect change in our lives and the lives of others.  When we pray God can heal.  When we pray God can provide.  When we pray God can move. When we pray God opens doors. But remember prayer isn’t a one time thing.  It isn’t a shot in the dark and hope type deal.  In 2012 let’s use prayer in a faith-filled, systematic and consistent way to make our lives look the way God designed them to.

Twitter: @waltward3

NormalisDead.com

Walter Ward III is a Jesus loving, sneaker collecting international finance guy mashed together with an eclectic philanthropist who loves 2 write & talk about world affairs, hip hop, relationships & business… Oh, And he likes to see you be your best too.

Go big or go home. Here are five reasons that you should just go after what you want and go after it in a big way.

1. The cost of a big dream, medium dream or a small dream is exactly the same; your life.  We all have the same amount of hours in a day and most of us have similar energy levels.  The only difference is what we do with it.  If you are gonna work, why not work on something that is worth while?  If you are gonna think, why not think of something that will bring you big results?  If you are gonna dream, why not dream of something uncommon that others never would?  It takes the same amount of energy and time to to do either…

1. The world is facing big problems and big problems demand even larger solutions.  And if you don’t dream those larger solutions up, others most likely will not.  The world needs hero’s now more than ever and that hero can be you.  The Bible says in Romans 8:19 that God’s creation is literally waiting for His children to be revealed. Further down it says that the earth is actually groaning for that manifestation.  Could it be that the planet is crying out waiting for you to solve one of it’s problems?  After all as children of God we should be looking to do just that?

1. Most people think small.  That means that thinking big is a rarity and causes you to stand out more.  Believe it or not; statistics say it is allot harder to ask 100 people for 10,000 dollars in funding for a project than it is to ask one key person for 1,000,000.  Despite that fact most of us (me included) would look for the 100. Sometimes the audacity of the task is exactly what you need to bring it to fruition.  In 2004 Barack Obama gave a 20 minute speech at the Democratic National Convention called: “Audacity of Hope”.  In that short speech, Obama simply outlined his ideals and beliefs about America.  He painted a big picture of what was possible for us, and in just those quick 20 minutes of thinking big…he went from obscurity to a household name and four years later would be the first African American President of the United States of America.

1. What you have been doing isn’t working.  Whatever you have done, it has only gotten you this far.  If you are happy with that, then stop reading right now.  But if you want more…if you sense that you haven’t yet peaked and you have more capacity for greatness then decide to think larger, plan bigger and desire more.  It’s okay, you deserve it.  God created you for greatness.

1. Shock and Awe. Things move so fast in our society now.  We are the MTV generation children.  We are used to information being desiminated in 5 minutes news bites and we are used to things constantly moving.  For this reason in order to break free of the clutter and catch our attention you have to be starkly different than everything or everyone else…this usually means big.  Do something on a grand scale.  Shock and Awe the world with what God has put on the inside of you.  A dream is just a dream until it is manifested.  What are you bringing to pass? Shock the world and turn it upside down.  We need you.  - Acts 17:6 
2. by: Walter Ward III