COMMUNICATION 360

COME ENHANCE YOUR COMPETENCE & BOOST YOUR CONFIDENCE

JOIN ME AND MY GUESTS AS WE ADD VALUE TO YOUR LIFE IN THESE PRESENTATIONS:

• Communication 101
• Writing Rightly
• Pubic Speaking and Presentation Skills
• Personal Branding and Image Design

REGISTRATION PACKAGE:

• A book on communication
• Certificate
• Coffee break

Kindly call 024 684 7254 for further information and registration. We will come to your location in Accra to register you when you call. Visit our facebook page facebook.com/worldofpednet for updates.

SIMPLICITY

SIMPLICITY IS NOT SIMPLISTIC

ONE person whose life and work has influenced me greatly is Pastor Mensa Otabil. I first came across him in 1997 when he started the Living Word television broadcast in Ghana. As a clueless teenager then, I wrote him off because I felt he was too boring a preacher. Every time I saw him on TV, I tuned off. I did this for some time until one day, somebody invited me to a church in the Eastern city of Koforidua where I lived then.

It was when we arrived at the church that International Central Gospel Church registered in my mind. That was the name of the church the person invited me to. Then it hit me that it was the same church that sponsored Pastor Otabil’s Living Word television broadcast and that he was the Founder and General Overseer of the church I had attended. At the church on that day, I found the worship and teaching that took place in an orderly setting relevant and inspiring.

From then on, I became an ardent listener of Otabil’s Living Word broadcast on TV and radio. I have read almost all the books he has written and I use his Living Word Devotional guide to assist my daily study of the Bible. When I relocated to Accra years later, I became a member of Christ Temple – the flagship assembly of ICGC where he serves as Senior Pastor. Why have I become such an avid fun of Pastor Otabil’s ministry? His simplicity. The simplicity of his ministry and orderly presentation of his sermons facilitates understanding of the scriptures, even for the most under-educated person. His simplicity has also given his brand of ministry a cross-over appeal in corporate and other non-Christian spheres. With his simplicity, he has built a world-class ministry and impacted many lives all over the world.

Simplicity is one asset that is often overlooked by a lot of people. Simplicity could be a powerful tool for success in personal, professional, corporate and national development. In your personal life, you can cultivate elements of simplicity. You can be simple and succeed.

SIMPLICITY IS PLAIN

IN its most ordinary explanation, simplicity means plain. Simple people are plain. They are not complicated. They are transparent. If you live a plain life, you don’t harbour skeletons in your cupboards. This helps you to practice integrity which is your capital for trust and confidence of people. If you simplify your life, you are likely to live an honest life.

It is difficult to trust a person who is not plain. When a people are not plain, they are likely to engage in shady deals. That is why in modern governance, transparency and accountability are seen as key pillars for good governance.

SIMPLICITY IS PRINCIPLED

PRINCIPLES don’t change. A commitment to live a simple life is a commitment to principles. When you devote your life to principles, it reduces uncertainty in your decision-making. Principles are your bases for the decisions you make. So anytime you have to make a critical decision in your life, all you need to do is to give recourse to the principles you subscribe to and there you go. Committing your life to principles reduces stress in decision-making. Simplicity is principled.

SIMPLICITY IS PRAGMATIC

SIMPLICITY makes you pursue things that are practical; things that work. If you want your life to work, pursue simplicity. Pursuing things that work does not mean doing easy things. It means you have the mental discipline to relax and think through complex challenges, break them down into smaller tasks and implement them in phases. That is simplicity.

If you want to reduce stress in your life, adopt simplicity. Be a pragmatist.

SIMPLICITY IS PRAYERFUL

PRAYER is a strategy for simple people. A person who prays connects with God. By connecting with God, you give Him permission to lift your burden so that you can rest in Him. When God carries your burdens, it doesn't mean you will have no responsibility or challenge in life. It just means that no challenge or burden will weaken you. In the weak spots of your life, God will take over. A simple life is one that is not complicated by unnecessary overweight cargo.

SIMPLICITY IS NOT SIMPLISTIC

MAKE no mistake; simplicity is not the same as being simplistic. While a simplistic person avoids complexities, a simple person weaves through complexities. The simplistic person is lazy but the simple is diligent. If you are simple, you face complex challenges, seek understanding and pursue solutions that make the issues clearer.

Simplistic people are naïve. They make decisions without contemplating other options. Simple people make decisions that work after they have considered other options available to them. Surely, simplicity is not simplistic.

“Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction,” E. F. Schumacher points out. And Leonardo da Vinci sums it all up, “Simplicity is ultimate sophistication.” 

© August 2013 Terry Mante

CEO, Personal Development Network (PEDNET)

Accra, Ghana

3 SIGNS OF MENTAL LAZINESS

PHYSICAL laziness has a lot of repercussions but have you ever stopped to consider the suicidal implications of mental laziness? In the Bible, Proverbs 12:27 tells us the difference between physical laziness and mental laziness. The New International Version renders this verse as “The lazy do not roast any game but the diligent feed on the riches of the hunt.” Hunting is a very engaging activity. It involves going into the bush for several days, running after animals, protecting oneself against predators while perspiring. Yet if you do all that and succeed in catching game but do not roast your booty, the Bible calls you a lazy person.

On the other hand, the person who is able to process and enjoy the benefits of the hunt is labelled diligent. No matter how hard you work to get something, you are lazy if you stop midway. This kind of laziness is mental laziness. It is when you give up because you are tired or you feel you have done enough. Mental laziness is when you stop pushing through because something is not easy.

Let’s look at three signs of mental laziness.

1. REFUSING TO THINK

Henry Ford (1863-1947), the industrialist who founded the Ford Motor Company posited that “Thinking is the hardest work there is, which is probably the reason why so few engage in it.” Although thinking does not require permission or payment, many people find it hard to think. And because it is considered hard, many people do not engage in it. But for people who are not lazy, thinking is a tool for creating their own world, explaining the enigmas of their lives and confronting the perplexities that frustrate them.

Lazy people refuse to break the barrier to thinking. They send their minds on vacation. For any area of your life where your mind is on vacation, you will not be able to exercise dominion in that area. Thinking is an original activity. It is something you train yourself to do. Thinkers lead the world.

     2. HIDING BEHIND GOD

MENTAL laziness is when a person who has been duly elected by citizens as head of state declares that “God is the president of this country.” Mental laziness is when an unemployed graduate who has not taken time to learn how to present a resumé or conduct oneself at an interview hops across several prayer camps trusting that God will intervene. Mental laziness is when an entrepreneur who has not learnt the art of reinvesting their earnings into their business regularly fasts and attends prayer meetings to seek growth in their business.

Very often, when we have to rise to the occasion, we go to sleep and “leave things in the hands of God” sending our minds on vacation. But the fact of the matter is that if you don’t train your mind, you cannot experience God’s goodness. During the period of Jesus’ earthly ministry, everything He preached was premised on the admonition that we should “repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Matthew 4:17, NKJV). In clearer terms, Jesus meant that God’s favour, goodness and salvation are within our reach but to benefit fully, we must radically change the way we think.

If you are mentally lazy, no amount of divine intervention will catapult you to the next level of your life. Yes, divine intervention is crucial but it does not replace hard work and smart thinking. Prayer is good but if you really want to transform your life, you must engage your mind. Be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Don’t be lazy. Think. Think. Think.

     3. MAKING EXCUSES

“THE lazy person claims, ‘There’s a lion on the road! Yes, I’m sure there’s a lion out there!’” (Proverbs 26:13, NLT). This biblical image presents the image of a person who needs to step out of their comfort zone to get something done. Then they imagine that if they get out there, something will go wrong so they won’t go. It’s like an athlete who says that “If I go to the field to train, I could be inflicted with injury so I’ll stay home and watch TV.” Such suppositions are mere excuses. Excuses are false justifications for doing what we want to do or for not doing what we ought to do.

Sometimes, instead of taking time to thoughtfully ponder over a matter, we invent a reason and lay the matter aside. Some of the lines we use to give excuses are “It’s not my job,” “This is difficult, I can’t do it,” “This has never been done before,” “It will not work,” “This is how it’s always been done,” and “There is no other option.” If you find yourself giving these reasons for doing or not doing certain things, then you have some traits of laziness.

YOU are what you think. Don’t be mentally lazy. If you like the current condition of your life, keep thinking. If you don’t like where you are, start thinking. By all means, trust God but think smart too. Don’t surrender to obstacles. Don’t bow to excuses. Think through. Exercise your mind.

© 2013 Terry Mante

CEO, Personal Development Network (PEDNET)

Accra, Ghana