“Whatever your goal in life, it will require personal preparation to ensure its rapid fulfillment.”
“Every remarkable performance to come is the result of quality preparation.”
“Every great destiny is the product of great preparation.”

Example: The case of the airplane

• King David, according to the Bible, prepared himself by taking care of his sheep. He became a good “shepherd” and a great warrior, not only to defeat Goliath and keep Israel’s enemies at bay, but also to care for his people as a good king. He was the man after God’s own heart. (Books of Samuel, Bible LS)
• Even Jesus Christ prepared himself for more than 18 years, according to the Gospels (Bible LS).
• Cristiano Ronaldo trained so hard that his current performance surprises no one—everyone agrees he deserves it.

“To pray without planning is to play without knowing, to entertain oneself unconsciously. To plan without scheduling is to live in the woods, to get lost in the desert. To schedule without acting is to dine with the dead. Prayer alone makes you a burden to God, but prayer with planning makes you a partner of God.” Dr. David Oyedepo

To plan effectively, Koffi discovered four elements he considers non-negotiable:

• Planning (the process):
  A step-by-step walk toward accomplishing a specific task.
• Scheduling (the stages):
  The precise timing of each action to be taken.
• Seeking help:
  Searching externally for material resources that can be integrated into the planning process.
  Seeking help through prayer.
• Financial preparation:
  A man’s dignity naturally requires financial transactions. “Money answers all things,” says the Bible (Ecclesiastes 10:19), but that’s no reason to worship it.
  Koffi learned this lesson the hard way through the difficult situations he has faced so far (…).

THE POWER OF COMMITMENT

Koffi noted that to be committed simply means to take a stand for something.

“Give a man a purpose, and he will become committed.
Once committed, he will become creative.
Once creative, he will become productive.
Once productive, he will be crowned with success.
And when his success becomes remarkable, he will become a man of impact.”

Koffi realized that commitment cannot exist without having personal values and principles.
He concluded that discovering one’s core values is equivalent to having one’s personal constitution.
At first, this discovery made Koffi laugh, but it later struck him as deeply profound.
He understood that a human being unaware of their core values will stand for nothing—and will, instead, fall for everything.

Koffi added to his notes that having a personal constitution means clarifying the priorities of your priorities in life.
Like one of his mentors, Koffi decided to work on Benjamin Franklin’s 13 virtues, which he adapted to his own life to become a true man…

This text is an excerpt from the book “SCARS OF THE STARS: The Hidden Side of Fame (Volume 1)” written by Gildas S. TONOUKOIN.

We invite you to read the next article: “The 13 Virtues of Benjamin Franklin.”

Power Of Commitment.