LESSONS FROM THE LIFE OF QUEEN ELIZABETH II

On Thursday, 8th September, the longest reigning monarch in Britain’s history passed away. She was in her night season, and death was always imminent in that season. Queen Elizabeth II reigned for 70 years and 214 days. She was a fantastic woman who left a great legacy for the British people and the world.

Permit me to use this piece to thank God for her life and pray for her family and nation. I also stand as watchmen to pray for the new King and Prime Minister.

Most importantly, we must take lessons from her well-lived life and emulate such values in this world and our time.

We all have to think of how we want to be remembered. And in your lifetime, live in a way that will positively affect those around you. Below are ten (10) key lessons, we can learn from the rich legacy she has left for the United Kingdom and beyond

1. Her faith: What I loved most about this remarkable woman was her faith in God and Christ. In her lifetime, she stood for God. She was the defender of the Christian faith that defined this nation. She recently said, “The teachings of Jesus have been the bedrock of my faith.”

In the 1950s, when the then Tele-Evangelist Billy Graham came to this nation, it was recorded that the queen would seek a private audience with Him to learn more about Christ and strengthen her faith.

2. Her prayer life: It is said that the queen prayed every night before bed and attended Church every Sunday. I believe that her prayer for this nation has kept this nation amid their disobedience to God.1 Thessalonians 5:17, Colossians 4:2, Ephesians 6:18

To me, she was a Prophetess. How she knew her days were ending and moved to Balmoral (her favourite place) days before her passing, I guess, will remain a mystery.

Secondly, how her prayers saved this country from being ruled by a foreigner who does not know the God she served, coupled with staying alive to give the seal of approval to Liz Trust as the new prime minister before dying a day after, will also remain a mystery.

But for us who are watchmen in prayer, we will understand that she was an overseer over this nation.

3. Grace: The grace of God was evident in her life. I believe she was a woman who had grace in view all her life according to Romans 12:1. It takes grace to become the longest-serving Monarch in British history.

Ernest Hemingway once described courage as “grace under pressure.”

To be head of state in 15 realms and head of the Commonwealth (54 nations) is pressure. Yet because of God’s grace, she did not fail in her duties.

4. Her steadfastness: Through wars, civil disturbances, Political turmoils, family woes, and more, she remained steadfast. 1 Corinthians 15:58

5. Purpose: She defined her purpose early and set herself to fulfill it. A few years before becoming a queen, Elizabeth made a vow. She said:

I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.”

Later, during her 25th year of reign, she mentioned:

“When I was 21, I pledged my life to the service of our people, and I asked for God’s help to make good that vow. Although that vow was made in my salad days, when I was green in judgment, I do not regret nor retract one word of it.”

6. Leadership and service: She was a definition of the true meaning of Servant Leadership. Her purpose alone made her a leader to the world. Like Christ, she sought to serve. Mark 10:45 (NLT)  “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve others and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

7. Giving: The mystery in life is this; one has to find himself and lose it to the world. As I said last week, life is measured by how much you give. John 3:16

In her lifetime, she helped raise an estimated 2 Billion dollars and supported 600 charities.

8. Be Open to change: In 1961, Queen Elizabeth took to the floor to dance with Kwame Nkrumah, King of Ghana. Dancing with a Black man in 1961 was no minor deal. She also fought (albeit behind the scenes) against South African apartheid when Ronald Reagan and Margaret Thatcher did not come out against it. 

 Elizabeth II has never stopped learning and adapting.

“Change has become a constant,” she remarked in 2002. “The way we embrace it defines our future.”

9. Faithfulness in marriage: The queen could not have achieved so much without her husband, Prince Phillip. Elizabeth also kept the vows she made on her wedding day in 1947, remaining married to Philip Mountbatten for 73 years until his death in 2021.

In an age in which disloyalty and divorce are common, she never flagged or faltered in her devotion to her husband. On celebrating her Golden Jubilee, she called the prince my strength and stay.” Theirs was a long marriage based on love and friendship that should inspire all wedded couples.

Let marriage be held in honor (esteemed worthy, precious, of great price, and especially dear) in all things. And thus let the marriage bed be undefiled (kept undishonored); for God will judge and punish the unchaste [all guilty of sexual vice] and adulterous.” Hebrews 13:4 (AMPC) 

10. Prayer for the new King, Prime Minister, and the nation. The atmosphere is shifted with the death of the queen. She has left a legacy that needs to continue. Pray for wisdom for those in authority now to learn from the queen and emulate these lessons from her.

A LEADER’S COMPETENCE VRS CHARACTER (The Case of Boris Johnson)

The issue of competence as against character is one of the fearest arguments in Leadership cycles. The argument usually is about which of the two qualities are the most critical trait for a leader? Does a leader’s competence comes first or vice versa?

This week, with the untimely resignation of the UK’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson, one cannot fathom but ask, what caused his untimely political demise? Was it a matter of incompetence, character, or both?

I would love to hear your thought on this matter.

Competence involves a leader’s qualifications, skills, and ability to get results.

On my account, Boris Johnson has demonstrated a string competency approach to leadership.

On the other hand,

character has to do with a leader’s integrity, attitude, honesty, discipline, and more.

In 2019, Boris secured a crushing victory over Labour, winning 364 of the 650 seats in the house of Commons. He successfully led this country to secure an excellent Brexit deal from the European Union after Theresa May resigned from her post as the then Prime Minister. During the Covid 19 pandemic, we can credit him for steering the country through such a crisis. The way and manner in which he handled the Ukraine Crisis and more depict his competence.

However, these successes above were not enough to keep him at No 10. I believe Boris’s untimely resignation can be attributed to his character in office and not his competence.

For instance, his integrity and attitude were questionable when it was discovered that while the country was on lockdown during the height of Covid 19, he was hosting a party at Downing Street. As a result, for the first time in UK politics, the Police were investigating the government.

What broke the camel’s back was when he promoted the Conservative lawmaker Chris Pincher after complaints of sexual misconduct against him. A spokesman for Johnson said he was aware of some allegations against the former whip Chris Pincher.

This further led to questions about the former Prime Minister’s attitude and integrity, leading to about 60 of his ministers resigning in 48 hours. This triggered his resignation and the possible destruction of his legacy.

In conclusion, a good leader needs both competence and character, but to be honest, a leader’s character is more important than his competence. Leadership always says that;

“Your competence will get you a job, but your character will determine how long you stay on the job. It is your attitude (character) that will always determine your altitude.”

My advice to future leaders is this: clearly, the ideal combination is high competence and high character but if you have to choose when it comes to a leader, we’d advise you to vote for character.

Kofi Amoateng
(Life Coach, Entrepreneur, Author & Pastor)

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Six (6) Strategies For An Effective Lifestyle.

A strategy is what I am willing to do in order to get what I want. Being effective is about getting maximum results or productivity.

Proactive people are value driven.

So in effect, what I want to share with you is about what you can do in order to get maximum productivity in your life physically, spiritually, emotionally and psychologically.

There cannot be an effective strategy if you do not want something. The question therefore is, WHAT DO YOU WANT OUT OF LIFE?

1. Have a Vision: A very important component of your strategy to be effective is vision. Having a vision is really key to your success at the end.

A vision is a clear mental picture of what you want out of life or simply a better tomorrow that give you a sense of what is possible.

Someone once said, “there are so many things that catches my mind but only a few catches my heart.” Develop your vision around the things that catches your heart to become it in the long or short term.

No matter what happens, decide to respond positively.

2. Be proactive not reactive. Proactivity is taking responsibility for your life, organisation. It is taking initiatives no matter what happens or do not happen around you. Proactive people are value driven. They have a vision of things and weather rain or shine, they move forward to do it.

Reactive people blame others for everything. They allow their feelings, circumstances, conditions the physical and social environment to affect their decisions.

If you are to be effective, strategically take responsibility for your life. No matter what happens, decide to respond positively. The Word responsibility simply means, you have an ability and only you can respond to it.

3. Put first things first. Prioritise your life. Don’t do things any how and don’t live things to chance.

4. Be discipline
: We live in a time of fast acceleration. Everyday things are moving fast. In the areas of fashion, technology and medicine, one cannot afford to be slow or indiscipline.

Discipline comes from the Word disciple which is the root word for learning. Discipline therefore simply means devote yourself to learn.

Devote yourself to learning to become the best version of yourself.


5. Talk less and Listen more.
Research suggests that people who talk too much shut up their thinking capacity. People who talk too much achieve less and usually end in trouble.

Two fellows must be on the same boat to have fellowship.

It is mostly the empty barrel that makes to most noise. A minute of talk is worth more an hour of talk. The key to generating ideas necessary for your effectiveness is in thinking and listening more than you speak.

Your friEND determines your END.

6. Relationship: Strategically consider your friends. This is so important because your friEND determines your END. It is wrong to have fellowship with people who are not going your direction. Two fellows must be on the same boat to have fellowship.

Here at Purpose Achieving Life, we Train, Coach, Counsel and Mentor. Join our growing organisation today.

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MIND YOUR HEALTH (MENTAL HEALTH)

Mental health issues are on the rise in most part of the world today.
In the UK alone, we lose around 6,000 people a year to suicide related issues. This means, We lose a man to suicide in this country (UK) every 90 minutes.

You can only imagine the human, social and economic impact this is having in families, schools, workplaces and communities. The damage is enormous.

We lose a man to suicide in this country (UK) every 90 minutes.

With the advancements in technology, medicine, and communication in the last 50 years, one cannot fathom but ask,
1. Why in the midst of improvement in socio economic structures, there are so much problems, instead of making life easier.

2. Why do we seem to be making more robot’s and machines but we cannot control our minds and lives?

I will leave you to share your thoughts on these questions and more but this is what I will say, our modern day systems are designed to train people to live life from the ‘outside in’ whereas man is created to live life from the ‘inside out.’

The vast majority of mental health cases are avoidable with people been helped to DISCOVER THE MEANING OF LIFE EARLY in order to live a more fulfilling life.

our modern day systems are designed to train people to live life from the ‘outside in’ whereas man is created to live life from the ‘inside out.’

Living a true and meaningful life goes beyond amassing Wealth, becoming Popular or achieving High Social Status.

This is why we strongly recommend the Purpose Achieving Life Organisation to you. An institution that trains and equips you to discover your primary purpose in life and move forward to succeed in your endeavours.

Join us today. Enrol on our coaching programme.

BECOMING A PERSON OF DISCOVERY

Discovery is important for people that are on the road to intentional growth. It is accepting constructive criticism and applying a different perception that may help your condition. The world is changing so fast nowadays. There are a lot of discoveries in many aspects of life during a short time. The one who wants to gain more control over his life needs to be updated always.

The greatest among you must be like a child.

The key to learning is finding out more about what you don’t know and making a commitment daily to learn, grow, meet people and keep learning. Jesus Christ one day heard His disciples arguing among themselves about who was the greatest among them. Upon hearing them, he called them and said this to them, “The greatest among you must be like a child.”

By saying this, what He meant was not for one to possess the spirit of a child but gave us one of the key principles and advice you do not have to forget from today. To become a person of discovery, one must have the mindset of a child.

When you were a child, you honestly thought your dad was the richest man on earth. You believed that whatever you wanted, he would buy for you. Today I am a dad and I see the same thing in the eyes and mind of my children. Sometimes I do not have the means but when I see their level of confidence and belief in me, I try hard never to disappoint them.

The more that you know, the more that you know that you don’t know and the more that you know that you don’t know, the more that you know that you want to know.

This is the mindset we ought to have; to see opportunities and think without limits. One that seeks to discover and agrees that I don’t know it all but willing to learn and improve. It was John Maxwell that said, “The more that you know, the more that you know that you don’t know and the more that you know that you don’t know, the more that you know that you want to know.”

In other words, to influence others, you must become a person of discovery. Everything that makes or will make mankind great is covered. For anyone to ever dream of becoming great requires you to uncover what is covered. Greatness is not hidden from you but for you and it is only people of discovery who find it and move forward to maximise it.

Greatness is not hidden from you but for you and it is only people of discovery who find it and move forward to maximise it.

Make a choice today to become a person of discovery. Drink from good books, learn from others but don’t become them. Become who you are created to be because you are unique and special. No matter who you want to become today or in the future, it begins with this simple yet powerful principle; become a person of discovery.

A TENACIOUS SPIRIT

We live in a microwave society where people want things here and now. Because of this, they give up just before success. The only way you are going to succeed is by holding on. Too many people quit right before they get to become successful.

I call this failure at the edge of a breakthrough or success. They are people who give up just a little too soon. In both life and business, I have discovered that a lot of people start well but only a few people end well. Does this reflect your life? Are you in a current position that you need encouragement? Or just maybe you know someone who is at the edge of giving up? No matter your position or condition, this article is written to help you.

When a seed is sown, it usually takes time to harvest. This is life’s principle and principles don’t change no matter the season or the time and you need to understand that, it takes time to harvest. Good things don’t come quickly, it comes over time and just as it is wisely said, all is well that ends well. What matters most is in life and even in business not how you start but in how you finish.

To succeed, you need a tenacious spirit.

To succeed, you need a tenacious spirit. One that doesn’t let go or give up. The kind of spirit that keep pushing and pushing until something happen. It is being consistent and always having faith. It is having the determination to succeed at all cost.

A story of a widow in the Bible who needed help from an unjust judge is a great example of having the spirit of tenacity. It is recorded that, this widow came to this judge who neither feared God or man to help her get justice against her adversaries.

At first, he would not but when the woman kept on coming and bothering him, he changed his mind to help her get what she was looking for so that she would stop bothering her. Luke 18:1-8 (emphasis added). This poor widow is a great example of tenaciousness.

It was Mia Hamm, a gold medallist in the women’s football team who said, “I am building a fire and every day I train, add more fuel. At the right time, I light the match.” Such is another great example of tenaciousness.

It takes a tenacious spirit to continue in the sight of sceptics and bulldoze your way through a mountain of doubt into a testimony of victory.

Sometimes along the road, we know that we need to be where we need to be. However, we encounter test and trial when we are stopped by a huge mountain in the way. Options are that you turn back and choose a route that goes somewhere other than the original intention or you blast a hole in the mountain and make a way that takes you there.

It takes a tenacious spirit to continue in the sight of sceptics and bulldoze your way through a mountain of doubt into a testimony of victory. Always remember this, “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; 9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.” 2 Corinthians 4:8-9.
This is the mindset of tenacious people.

Have a tenacious spirit.

A LEADER’S GREATEST RESOURCE

We don’t need more time; we need more energy as leaders. Now, I know many of you leaders out there may be wondering why energy and not time because for too long, we have been conditioned to think that time is our greatest resource.

Let’s face it! Whether your twenty-four hours is going to yield results or increase productivity will be more dependent on how much energy you can put it more than anything else. So energy is what makes the difference in your twenty-four hours. Without energy, you definitely are guaranteed time but not productivity or results as a leader.

Without energy, you definitely are guaranteed time but not productivity or results as a leader.

Energy is as a result of passion. It is one of the major assets a leader can have because a sense of energy and passion create the kind of purpose that drives performance. When passion and purpose come together, it gives birth to a winning plan for your day, week, month and certainly a fruitful year in the life and organisation of a leader.

Energy is measured by the rate of power in you. That is to say, to have more energy, you must have more passion for what you do. This is why you don’t need to work or lead in areas you are not passionate about.

“We can create energy, or we can sap energy out of our people and out of our organization.”

The law of energy says that it is neither created nor destroyed but it is transformed. In order words, a leader who has the energy or even the lack of it will over time transform the lives of those around him because it is contagious. In order words, it can be transferred to the people and organisation that one leads.

Nothing sucks than a leader who does not have passion in what he does. Not only may this be frustrating but it ends up weakening the people around such a leader. So you see how your passion and energy can make a whole lot of a difference in what you do.

Just like Noel M. Tichy said, “A leader is never ‘energy-neutral.’ You are either giving people energy or you are sapping it from them.” And Richard H. Lenny, the Chairman and CEO of Hershey Foods, affirms what Lenny says, “We can create energy, or we can sap energy out of our people and out of our organization.”

So it is worth asking, as a leader, are you creating energy or sapping the energy out of the people you are leading? If you may be sapping energy from your workers or people you lead, then check your level of passion. You can do this by integrating your legitimate needs, desires and talents.

You can’t get more time but you can get more energy.

Always know that as a leader, you can’t get more time but you can get more energy. Get more energy, fire and passion in your life and witness a drastic change in your organisation. It is time to unleash the energy factor in you.

Gifted To Be Great

Recently, I had a rear opportunity to host and present a copy of my book “Alive For A Purpose” to our LORD MAYOR of Bradford and also share a bit of how the Purpose Achieving Life organisation is helping to shape people especially youths in the city and beyond.

As I reflect on this great encounter within me, I am being reminded of how true the book of Life is when it says, “A man’s GIFT will bring him before Kings/Important people.” Proverbs 18:16

On the hand, I am also reflecting on how GIFTED we all are yet many are those who neither Discover their GIFT nor find it but treat it as a hobby.

Your talent is God’s gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God. –Leo Buscaglia. 

Sad will be the day when some of us will be reminded of how great we could have become had we paid a little more attention to what we carry today. It is not too late to find and value your GIFT. Your life is a gift to the world. Be the gift that you were born to be.

How many of us are staying in mediocrity because of fear? You have the opportunity today to make a decision to find yourself and strive to become the real you. Never let your fear decide your future. Don’t let your fear of what could happen actually make nothing happen.

Your life is what you think it should be.

As a man thinks so is he. You are what you think. If you don’t like what you are, then you should change the way you think.

What you think is more important than what you do.

So think positive, think win-win no matter what. Always know that all things are working together for your good. Feed your mind with the right information. As I always say to myself, just because a thought comes to me does not mean that I should think it. There is greatness within you waiting to be unveiled to your generation so wake up and step up.

This is why we have set up the Purpose Achieving Life Group so that we can help awaken the giant within you. We help individuals, groups, small and medium-sized organisations to discover purpose to fulfil potential.

Always remember that you are gifted to be great.

Contact us today.

 

Breeched

In 2013, the Lord blessed my home with a beautiful new baby (Ephraim). Before the birth of this baby, I vividly recall the pains my wife had to endure. I remember at one point the Doctors had to check again the positions of the baby to ensure a normal delivery. After hours of contractions and delivery pains, it was discovered that the baby had breech for a couple of hours.

A breech birth is a birth of a baby from a breech presentation, in which the baby exits the pelvis with the buttocks or feet first as opposed to the normal head-first presentation.

In lay man’s definition, a breech birth is when a baby is folded up in the mother’s womb. This can cause a major disability to a child.

One major risk is cerebral palsy which is simply an effect to the spinal cord of a person rendering a patient disabled for life. Glory be to God our baby came out fully functioning in every area of his body and growing very well.

As I witnessed this process, it also dawned on me of people who may not be breached by birth but breeched when it comes to purpose in life.

Life without a definite purpose is like a breech child incapable of functioning effectively in life.

Death is not the greatest tragedy in life. It is having a life but not knowing why you are alive. Is this not true of some people we know or even ourselves?

Waste has become the order of the day for many who live in the life of plenty.

Without purpose, life has no meaning, life becomes an experiment. Today, the pursuit of materialism has become the beacon of the day but the truth is, you may have access to all the new things in life and yet miss out on purpose. A lot of people have successfully earned a means of living but have failed to identify their meaning to live for. Mankind is long on life but short on purpose.

I believe that God is calling mankind to purposeful living daily especially in these last days. You are a solution to this world and you must manifest. You have been qualified to respond to the call on your life. God has already decided your assignment in life, only you can discover it.

I can assure you of this, you are still alive because God is counting on you to fulfil what you have been pre destined to do. Do not even allow your mistakes to deny you your destiny. Your mistakes are not even more powerful than your purpose.

 

The question is, WILL YOU CHOOSE YOUR CHOSEN DESTINY?

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PURPOSELESSNESS

Have you noticed how from industrialised nations to third world countries, the world has become an incubator of stress, frustration, depression and emptiness? We are failing today because of PURPOSELESSNESS; a situation where people fail to discover and live out Gods original purpose for their lives.

The value of life decreases and the quality of existence diminishes when a generation loses its sense of destiny and purpose.

Maybe these research findings will help to wake you up.

In a study in a U.S university, when sixty students were asked why they had attempted suicide, 85% said the reason why they had was that life seemed meaningless. More importantly, however, was that 93% percent of this student who suffered this lack of primary purpose were from socially active, achieving academically and on good terms with their families. (Richard Leider 2007).

This goes to mean that, the problem in this generation is not a means of living but a meaning to live for.

In another study in the U.K, it has been discovered that life is meaningless for three in ten young people. If this is true, then the future of our economies and nations are in serious trouble.

Recently, another research in the U.K suggests that only 30%-40% of people love what they do daily. This means that almost 60% or even more people do not love their jobs and this is a serious problem. If people do not love their job and only do it because of money or materialistic purposes, then what kind of nations or life are we building?

Note that I am not emphasising that money is not good. What I mean is there is something that comes before money; there are things money cannot buy.

The main problem is PURPOSELESSNESS. This is the kind of world you live in today whether you believe it or not. I want you to personally ask yourself sincerely this question;

  • DO I LOVE WHAT I DO FOR A LIVING?

We need work and not Job. When what you do is work and not seen as a job, you do things in love before any other thing. This is why people need to locate their primary purpose as against secondary ones.

Based on various researches from Europe to America and the rest of the world, you will discover some of the reasons why this generation is failing. Some of the reasons for this rust out syndrome you will discover in this world today. I will list them for the purpose of this article but encourage readers to get hold of one of my books and get more information.

  • Failure to connect with our Maker
  • Change in worldview
  • Faulty path reliance
  • Ignorance
  • Focusing on weakness instead of strength

And much more.

To understand your purpose, one needs to also comprehend what purpose is not. What do I mean you may ask?

  • Purpose is not your wishful thinking
  • Purpose is not your six to six kind of job (death)
  • Purpose is not manipulating people
  • Purpose is not in your appointments
  • Purpose is not your destiny
  • Purpose is not looking for back doors when life becomes tough.

Why fail while still alive. As long as you are still breathing on this planet, you have a purpose ready to be discovered because you are missing in action until you do. To find more details to these points above, contact us or purchase a copy of the book Alive for a Purpose.”