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Page I

While we all agree that we could use just a little, regular dose of encouragement from the people around us, but we hardly receive any - and most likely hardly give any, too. And of course, we blame this "oversight" on our busyness, our lack of time, our forgetfulness. In fact, the word "encouragement" is basically extinct in our workplaces, and becoming unpopular in our homes as well. Meanwhile, the feeling that our spouse, boss, coworkers, neighbours, friends, family, children et al seem to only notice all of what we do wrong and barely anything we do right is becoming so prevalent and discouraging that many no longer aim for the very best, but rather just to avoid the worst. Even more sadly is that many suicides today have been attributed to the fact that these people were hardly or never encouraged by their families and friends.

This is why the focus of The Exhortation this month is on The POWER Within. For sure encouragement from others is paramount to maintaining our drive for success, but even more crucial is The POWER Within us! This is how I see it: Our body is the vehicle, encouragement from others is the petrol (coincidentally, the price of petrol is equally high too), and The POWER Within us is the engine. If the engine has a problem, or completely shuts down, no amount of petrol would be able to make the car functional. In the same way, you may get all the encouragement in the world and still accomplish nothing if you do not even believe in your own ability to accomplish your goals. So should I refrain myself from going after my dreams and desires because no one encourages me? Should I be afraid of making the move towards accomplishing my own goals and objectives because those around me feel that I will never succeed? Should I let go of the opportunity that may possibly be the key to a more fulfilling life because I am afraid of failing or afraid of what others might say if I failed?



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Page II

Of course not! Telling yourself that you are not good at something greatly increases the likelihood of you never becoming good at it. So say what you mean and mean what you say. Think what you want and want what you think; for God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of POWER, of love and of self-discipline. He also gave everyone different talents to be used to enhance themselves and encourage others so His Name is glorified. Therefore, while striving to be loving and respectful towards others no matter what, the only person whom you should be afraid of is God, and yourself; for Jesus Christ advised us not to be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. But rather, to be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. He also told us that we will do greater things than he ever did, if we would only just have faith in Him.

My friend, I exhort you this month to immediately start tapping The POWER Within you in order to make things happen in your life. I suggest you make a list of your goals and the corresponding action items required to accomplish them and paste the list conspicuously where you would have a constant visual reminder - be it effective leadership, personal effectiveness, blissful marriage, enhanced parenting, better relationships, career advancement, starting your own business, losing weight and keeping it down, paying up your debts, glowing spirituality, or just affording a vacation - you must first believe in your ability to accomplish these goals through The POWER Within you, pray consistently about them, seek lots of advice from your "capable" friends, especially those with more spiritual insights, always talk these goals, research them in books and the Internet, make respective plans with the help of those who have been successful in them, and that run after them one by one like it is impossible to fail!

According to Marianne Williamson, in her book "A Return to Love", "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are POWERful beyond measure! It is our Light, not our darkness that frightens us. We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small doesn't serve the world. There's nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are born to make manifest the Glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us. It's in everyone. And as we let our own Light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our fears, our presence automatically liberates others."

Napoleon Hill is his book 'Think and Grow Rich' says that more gold has been mined from the minds of men than from the earth. What you sow you reap. Success comes to those who are success conscious. Fortune gravitates to the man whose mind is prepared to attract them, just as surely as water gravitates to the ocean. The human mind is constantly attracting vibrations, which harmonize with that which dominates the mind. Any thought, idea, plan or purpose, which one holds in one's mind, attracts a host of relatives, and adds their relatives to its own force and grows until it becomes the dominating and motivating master of the individual in whose mind it has been housed. Somewhere in your make up there lies sleeping the seed of achievement which if roused and put into action would carry you to heights such as you may never have hoped to attain.

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Page III

My friend, if you are ever going to succeed in whatever you do, you must first believe that you will succeed in whatever you do! Someone once said that by learning how to consciously guide your thoughts in a specific direction so you can clearly visualize and hold in your mind what it is you want, and by willingly working to replace bad habits of habitual thinking with good ones, you'll develop the POWER of conscious creation within you to make miracles happen in your life! The POWER Within is your birthright as a human being, but you have to develop and train it, just as an athlete has to develop his or her skills and muscles. This is what the real heroes that we read about mainly relied on - The POWER Within!

Since I decided to always tap the POWER Within me, I have accomplished more than I could have ever imagined. Now, whenever I look behind, I do not only feel good about the progress that I have made thus far, but also excited about my goals that will soon be accomplished. I have a list of my personal goals, which are inline with my clear and consistent principles, pinned on the wall of my bedroom, and now find that I have to regularly update it with new goals because what were once goals are no more - thanks to the radiating POWER Within me. Of course, by myself I can do nothing, but by the POWER of my Maker who lives within me, I have conquered many of my goals and objectives, with a recent one being this monthly e-newsletter that exhorts thousands all over the world, which according to a recipient, "is touching more lives than I know". Another recent accomplishment is the quarterly Marriage Enrichment Forum that I facilitate, which participants from very diverse cultural, religious and social backgrounds have claimed remarkably enriches and energizes their marriages. Basically, like Wallace Delois Wattles said, "Man can form things in his thought, and, by impressing his thought upon formless substance, can cause the thing he thinks about to be created." And I did no different.

According to Alexander Graham Bell, "What this POWER is I cannot say, but all I know is that it exists and it becomes available only when a man is in that state of mind in which he knows exactly what he wants and is fully determined not to quit until he finds it." Someone else commented, "The great secret and central fact of the universe is that there exists a Spirit (Intelligent Energy) of Infinite Life and POWER that is back of all, that animates all, and from which all comes. And to the degree that we come to a realization of this Infinite Source and learn to connect ourselves with it, do we make it possible for this POWER to work within us, to manifest through us. What you call this "Infinite Source" or "Intelligent Energy" is up to you. But there is no denying that it exists. It is where Your Life POWER comes from, for you to use (or not use) as you choose. Your life POWER is accessed and directed by your thoughts. Thoughts are energy, and because they are energy they have magnetic properties. Your habitual thoughts, whether you are consciously aware of them or not, literally create your day-to-day reality by attracting to you the people, events and circumstances in your life that match those thoughts".

Furthermore, your magnet is your subconscious mind. Impelled by strong desire, it can bring you a reasonable amount of the good things of life. But charge it with a strong current of faith, of belief in its POWER, and there is no limit to the good things it will bring to you. You have seen men, inwardly no more capable than yourself accomplish the seemingly impossible. You have seen others, after years of hopeless struggle; suddenly win their most cherished dreams. And you have probably wondered, "What is the POWER that gives new life to their dying ambitions that supplies new impetus to their jaded desires, which gives them a new start on the road to success? It is the same POWER that exists within you waiting to be tapped. Shalom! My friend, and as you embark on using the POWER Within you to tackle your challenges and accomplish your dreams, I pray that He who made you remain your guide. And if you are interested in the deep testimonies of others, some practical ways to expend and gauge the POWER Within you, and other impacting references, I am willing to send you a preview of the full chapter from my forthcoming book about leadership and personal effectiveness.

Shalom! My friend, and as you embark on using the POWER Within you to tackle your challenges and accomplish your dreams, I pray that He who made you remain your guide. And if you are interested in the deep testimonies of others, some practical ways to expend and gauge the POWER Within you, and other impacting references, I am willing to send you a preview of the full chapter from my forthcoming book about leadership and personal effectiveness.



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Thank you for reading this newsletter! We rely on your feedback for encouragement, as well as to identify ways to better serve you. So please email your feedback directly to alex.ihama@theexhortation.com, and you will get a personalized reply within a few days. To have this exhortation delivered in-person to your organization or church, in either the form of a keynote speech or workshop, contact us. To register for Life Coaching or Business Coaching, click here

Page IV

Furthermore, your magnet is your subconscious mind. Impelled by strong desire, it can bring you a reasonable amount of the good things of life. But charge it with a strong current of faith, of belief in its power, and there is no limit to the good things it will bring to you. You have seen men, inwardly no more capable than yourself accomplish the seemingly impossible. You have seen others, after years of hopeless struggle; suddenly win their most cherished dreams. And you have probably wondered, "What is the power that gives new life to their dying ambitions that supplies new impetus to their jaded desires, which gives them a new start on the road to success?"

Once again, my friend, I exhort you this month to henceforth start using powerful affirmations to change your thinking, your life and the lives of those around you. Instead of saying, ‘I can’t", try it! Instead of saying "I don’t know how to", find out how! As Woodrow Wilson, the 28th President of the United States once told the Americans, "You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget that errand". "Of course, the challenges are sometimes rough and tough" Stephen Covey added in his book, "First Things First", "but to set and work toward any goal is an act of courage. When we exercise the courage to set and act on goals that are connected to principles and conscience , we tend to achieve positive results. Over time, we create an upward spiral of confidence and courage. Our commitment becomes stronger than our moods. Eventually, our integrity is not even an issue. We build the courage to set challenging, even heroic goals. This is the process of growth, of becoming all we can become".

Shalom! My friend, and as you embark on using the Power Within to tackle your challenges and accomplish your dreams, I pray that He who made you remain your guide. And if you are interested in the other impacting references, practical ways to expend and gauge the Power Within you, as well deep testimonies of others who have changed their lives by deciding to tap the Power Within, I am willing to send you the complete chapter in my forthcoming book about Personal Effectiveness.

The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential . . . these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence. Thus, follow not the path that life leads you, but rather blaze your own trail!

- Kong Fuzi (Confucius) 551 BC – 479 BC

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While you may forward this on to inspire others too, your feedback means a lot to me. alex.ihama@theexhortation.com

Page V

The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to reach your full potential . . . these are the keys that will unlock the door to personal excellence. Thus, follow not the path that life leads you, but rather blaze your own trail!

- Kong Fuzi (Confucius) 551 BC – 479 BC

End  |  Back To The Begining...



While you may forward this on to inspire others too, your feedback means a lot to me. alex.ihama@theexhortation.com