In two thousand and seven I received a phone call from a real estate guru who asked me to fly out to Las Vegas and produce a series of DVD's he would market to his clients. As a consultant to the major real estate firms in the U.S., his audience was made up of brokers, not agents. Once set up to film I motioned "action" and his first spoken words were, How many of you, when you graduated from high school or college, said I want to be a real estate broker. Not one of the sixty brokers raised their hand. After a brief moment of silence Mr. Casto said, That's what wrong with our industry. All of you are stuck on Plan "B" for life. He went on to explain how most people just settle with a job for a number of reasons never really taking the time to discover their true passion and plan for life offering more than just financial prosperity. His honesty was refreshing. He encouraged the group to find their plan "A".
There is a famous quote by Yogi Berra; When you come to a fork in the road, take it. Almost everyone laughs at first hearing, but the amazing truth is most people don't take either fork. They settle. They wait for others to make the decision for them often motivated by short term gain. Ask yourself a tough question. What ONE thing have I always dreamed of doing or being but have not accomplished it? There are obviously short term goals you may have accomplished but what about a long term plan for life; occupation, calling, etc.? We know God has a plan for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11); but what is it? How do we know we are not living Plan "B"?
What is it that prevents most people from discovering and living Plan "A" for life. Is it the lack of resources, opportunity, location, knowledge, or lack of skills? No. They are common excuses for failure or for just giving up. Every successful person experiences those environmental issues. The answer is your character. It is not what's around you that prevents you from succeeding but what's within you. It's all about your character. Booker T. Washington said Character is Power. He is right. Character is made up of personal attributes (thinking and believing patterns) like exercising vision, making quality decisions, developing important disciples, being aware of the His desires for you, applying compassion at disappointing times, committing to the vision when we should have given up, and exercising courage when defeat is certain. These are the inner motivating forces that carry you across the finishing` line. Character is built. Character cannot be bought. So discovering and achieving Plan"A" for life requires developing certain missing character attributes; persistence, patience, growing, learning, work, knowledge, and most importantly, vision. Applied character attributes are needed to find God's planned for your life; the character attributes of Christ. We must develop these personal attributes for a prosperous and successful life (Joshua 1:8). I would like to share a bit on the character attribute of Vision derived from one of the most famous passages in the Bible.
Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 5:3). The word poor in this passage is depicting a beggar on the street. It coveys the idea that the beggar has nothing and knows it. The way into the kingdom of heaven is to know your spirit is lacking without the union of the Holy Spirit; we all need a savior to provide eternal life. You have to develop the vision that there is nothing you can do with human power to earn entrance into the Kingdom of Heaven. Most people rely on self motivated attributes: self confidence, self reliance, self esteem. Jesus teaches, not about earthly personal assets, but of the reliance and confidence of totally relying on Him for everything. The vision is one of humility and the need, as a child, to depend on our heavenly Father, as we have with our earthly fathers for provision and protection. Develop the character attribute of vision to rely on God for everything especially His plan for your life now and for eternity. You may ask how do you begin to discover His plan?
The journey from this point forward is to accept all that you have experienced; good and not so good. Realize all of past events will be useful in what God has planned for you ahead. To help you discover Plan "A" there are number of questions to answer that will direct you down the correct path. Here are a few: What do you believe God desires you to achieve ten years from today? I was given a vision forty three years ago to produce movies. My wife on the same day, in another city, received the same vision and off we went, as an electrical engineer and an art major. At the age of thirty three God convincingly impressed me to make movies. I am now seventy six and we have our first signed contract with a major movie studio to produce a redemptive documentary and feature length film about America's most infamous jewel thief Jack Murf the Surf Murphy. Forty three years. It was a process of taking one step at a time beginning with photography, then video, learning the craft of screen play writing, etc. It was not the developed skills that got me to God's plan for my life but the character attributes of Christ I developed along the way like exercising vision, making quality decisions, developing important disciples, and being aware of our Father's desires as Jesus did. We committed to God's vision when we should have given up, and exercising courage when defeat was certain. Just like the beggar on the street I realized I had no skills or training to make a movie and I knew it. We trusted His vision and took one step at a time learning and acting in faith; now I encourage you to do like wise. I am sure God will get you to Plan "A" faster than it turned out for us. I guess He knew I would be a bull dog with His vision.
I have written a book with my wife to help most people stuck on Plan "B" to begin to discover Plan"A" and I would like to provide it to you free (digitally). It is from The Articles of Transformation series designed as workshop with Personal Discovery Sheets and inspirational videos. If you know of anyone that needs a new start, not sure what's ahead, or is discouraged with failure, please pass the link along to them. You will change their lives as we have helped others over the past forty years with the series. All that is required is your first name and email address. There is no better time than now with the pandemic restrictions to read this book and fill out the personal questions that will provoke you to think and examine your station in life. There are plenty of people who need your help so pass this on. That might just be part of Plan "A" for you! Click Here for your free book and artistic videos.
Visible Light is a Ministry in the Kingdom of the Arts and Media.