One of my favorite people is Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Motors. Why? Because of his vision, resolve and accomplishments. In discussing SpaceX before the first successful launch, he estimated that he had “a 10% chance of reaching orbit starting out.” When people told him he would fail he said, “we probably will fail” but it “was worth trying anyway.” SpaceX completed the fourth launch successfully after the first three failed and became the first private company to send people into orbit. Post-success when asked if he thought about giving up although he felt that his likelihood of failure was so high, replied, “I never give up.” Elon’s passion is to inspire future generations to pursue space, so it was worth the risk to “move the needle forward.” His expectation to move the needle forward fueled his passion and manifested his dream.

Many years ago, before migrating from Trinidad, I was challenged to a foot race against another guy around my age. We got down at the starting line when we heard, “On your marks.” At “Set” we adjusted to get ready to bolt and then came “Go!” I shot ahead of my competitor so quickly off the line that after the race I was told that he was looking around to see where I was. Unfortunately, I expected him to pass me even though I was in front and unwittingly began to slow down. Before we crossed the finish line, he passed me and won. Yes, it was a tough lesson.

The bible tells the story in John 4:43-54 of an official who asked God to “come and heal his son, who was close to death.” Instead, Jesus told him that his son will live. Here is the interesting part. The man believed Jesus and left because he expected his son to be healed. Indeed, his son was healed the moment Jesus spoke the word.

Is it possible that the shortfall in the quality of your life today is because of the expectations you exhibit? What would happen if you changed your expectations to endorse the dream you have or particular result you want? We learned that with expectations, the right action follows and the chance of achieving the desired end is extremely high. So, it is worth a shot to tweak your expectations, don’t you think?

When deciding to offer a product or service, you have multiple options. You can choose to build on or improve upon an existing concept like Microsoft did with software. Or you can choose to pursue one where no other business exists, like Redbox did with movie vending machines or Apple did with the iPod. This is called the Blue Ocean strategy.

When you use Blue Ocean, you dominate that space because nobody else is competing against you.

Interestingly, if you improve upon an existing product, you can still thrive if you bring something unique to the space. This is called your value proposition. No wonder there are so many successful pizza establishments around the country. Within a 10-mile radius of where I live there are at least fifteen of them.

Have you ever thought about pursuing a business idea but noticed that it already exists? Do not let that stop you. Or you did not pursue your idea because you figured that surely someone else already created it although you did not know if that was indeed the case. Again, do not let that thought continue to deter you. Your idea may be so unique that it is what the market needs but does not know it yet. It may even be a Blue Ocean strategy.

Do not doubt your instinct, ability, or ingenuity. Because God has a divine purpose for your life, you do not know if that purpose is hiding a few dominoes away from you starting the first domino by making the first step.

Now, go out there and pursue your business idea – start that first domino.

According to WorldHistory.org, “the principle of Yin and Yang is that all things exist as inseparable and contradictory opposites, for example, female-male, dark-light and old-young.”

The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy, mentioned that the earliest Chinese characters for yin and yang were found in inscriptions made on “oracle bones.” In these inscriptions, yin and yang simply describe natural phenomena like weather conditions, especially the movement of the sun. “There is sunlight during the day (yang) and a lack of sunlight at night (yin).”

According to the earliest comprehensive dictionary of Chinese characters, yin refers to “a closed door, darkness and the south bank of a river and the north side of a mountain.” Yang refers to “height, brightness and the south side of a mountain.” These meanings of yin and yang originated in the daily life experience of the early Chinese. Peasants depended on sunlight for lighting and their daily life routines. When the sun came out, they would go to the field to work; when the sun went down, they would return home to rest. This sun-based daily pattern evidently led to a conceptual claim: yang is movement and yin is rest.

Two of my takeaways from this study was everything is interconnected with an opposite and, there is a time for one to shine and the other to be in the shadow.

The bible teaches that there is a time for everything. So, when you find yourself in a cloudy season tempted to believe that things will not change or to give in to despair, do not.  Conversely, when things are going well and you are tempted to think that your future success is inevitable, prepare for and “protect the downside,” as Sir Richard Branson said.

Let us strive to be aware of the time of day we are in and be disciplined enough to act like we know that the night follows the day, and the day follows the night.

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 says,

To everything there is a season,
and a time to every purpose under the heaven:
A time to be born, a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted;
A time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;
A time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;
A time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;
A time to get, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;
A time to rend, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;
A time to love, and a time to hate;
A time of war, and a time of peace.

Dr. Matthew Walker in his book “Why We Sleep” noted that there is a purpose for why we dream. He teaches that it promotes emotional and mental health as well as problem solving and creativity.

Carl Sandburg once simply stated that “nothing happens unless first we dream.”

Whether we dream unconsciously or consciously, it promotes our well-being. There is a businessman who while he was young lost his dad. This shook up his world. He became delinquent and turned to drugs. After a while he decided to get into sales. He did not start off well but when he decided to treat it like a profession, he began to excel. Eventually, he decided to create his own courses with the goal of revolutionizing the sales industry and to be known locally and abroad. Today Grant Cardone is known around the world as an author, speaker, marketer, investor, and salesman. He was also featured in Undercover Billionaire, a show put on by Discovery Channel to show that you can build a business from nothing in America today. Grant’s rise started with a dream.

Do not give up on your dreams. Do not give up on the dreams of your children. Place your dreams in God’s hands for the best result for you.

Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans (Proverbs 16:3).

When you are finished changing, you are finished.

– Benjamin Franklin

The world constantly spins on its axis, so it is constantly changing its position. Every year, the seasons change. The human body replaces its cells regularly and scientists have determined the speed at which it is done. According to Scientific American, “about 330 billion cells are replaced daily, equivalent to about 1 percent of all our cells. In 80 to 100 days, 30 trillion will have replenished – the equivalent of a new you.” In other words, whether we notice it or not, want to accept it or not, change is always happening around and in us.

Conversely, some things remain the same and give us stability. Even though the world is constantly spinning, the rate of rotation and its axis remain the same. Even though the seasons change they are the same seasons, and they happen around the same time yearly. Even though our cells are changing our features remain the same. We still end up with one nose and two eyes.

The consistency and rhythm of these constants enable us to better accommodate the change that growth in ourselves requires. To fight change or growth within ourselves causes us more damage than the growth itself. Could you imagine if a toddler decided that he did not want to grow anymore, so he was going to continue sitting in a car seat? Not only would it be hilarious to watch but it would be pointless and even painful for him.

We all have areas in our lives which provide us with the stability we need. We say a prayer before our meals, go to church, volunteer, exercise, have a healthy breakfast, get a good sleep, meditate, read, listen to music, spend time with loved ones or any others we use. Yet there are areas in our lives that we know we need to change. Let us take the step or better yet, take the leap. Then let us keep going.

The inability to change, progress, or grow can result in stagnation. Stagnation rejects realizing one’s full potential.

– Arapahoe Tim

Face your change with courage.

Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you, he will never leave you nor forsake you (Deuteronomy 31.6).