Issue 14 Playing to your strengths

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MISFITS AND MISUNDERSTOODS

Your place of Effectiveness

You are CALLED to HIGH Purposes

KwaZulu-Natal

Leveraging your Strengths

FOR PURPOSE- LED LIVING

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VOICE OF THE PROPHET Your place of Effectiveness 6

HEART OF THE PASTOR Where are my Strengths 10

HAND OF THE HARVESTER Leveraging your Strengths for Purpose-led Living 18 Sharks Players Interview 21 You are Called to Astronomically High Purposes 24 Playing to your Strengths in Business 26 Misfits and Misunderstoods 28

IN EVERY ISSUE Where to find CONNECT 3 Letter from the Editor 5 The Rest is HIStory 30

PROMOTION Lungisisa Indlela Village 15

PRODUCTS & SERVICES Business networking 2 Great Spices 4 Family counselling, risk consultants, life coach, insurance, copy editor, graphic designer, networking systems 9 Printing, accounting services, business networking, electrician, painting contractors, powerball 17 Marketing services, health, financial services, graphic design, financial advice, power support 25 Labour consultants, digital marketing, real estate, building and maintenance, engineering 27 Training and developmant 28 Leadership conference 32

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Have you ever watched a dancer perform and felt it take your breath away? Or been brought to tears by

a singer or musician? Or been dazzled by a masterly move in a sports match? A good example for me is Jacques Botes from the Sharks. I love to watch him play. When he is playing you can see that he absolutely loves what he does and he plays with all his heart. We had the privilege of meeting some of the Sharks team after their cell meeting to chat to them for our feature. What is it about these people that moves and stirs us so much? To me there is nothing more exhilarating that watching someone do something they love wholeheartedly. Passion moves us, it draws a response from us.

That is why I am so passionate about helping people discover what their purpose is. Once they do, and they are intentional about developing it and living it, it creates a passion that is visible and that draws a hunger in others to want it too. This hunger causes them to start seeking and God always meets the seeker.

Every single person has a purpose whether they know God or not, and when God created us in our mother’s womb, he intricately wove gifts, talents and abilities in us to fulfill that purpose. As a trainer and life coach I have often had to work with people who have not yet met with Jesus. The hardest thing for me

is to help them discover their purpose. Without a kingdom perspective, their quest for purpose is driven by self-fulfillment and building their own dream. There’s an emptiness once the goals are achieved – a nagging feeling like there must be more to life than this. I believe this is because Jesus holds the key that truly unlocks the purpose he designed us for. When you add Jesus and what he has done for you on the cross to the equation, it unlocks a whole new world of opportunity, service and a fulfillment that cannot be described in words.

I believe there are two hinges on the door of purpose discovery. The first is that discovering your strengths (Talents, Abilities and Gifts) is not only possible, but God really does want you to. The second is understanding that your strengths and purpose are designed to serve others. Don’t get me wrong – you are meant to benefit and you will, you will never find satisfaction like when you are doing what you were born to do – but you are only a small part of a greater picture.

So discover your strengths, be intentional about using them and as you raise your eyes you will discover a world waiting for you to arise and shine!

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Playing to your strengths

GOD’S WAY

Sharks!

VOICE OF THE PROPHET

The longer I am a Christian, the more I understand the value of what it takes to be effective for God. When out for

a walk with its owner, a young puppy will expend boundless energy chasing things that don’t really matter and end up exhausted. The older, more mature dog will by that time have worked out what really counts and preserve his energy for more worthwhile causes. When you are born again, your life is drastically altered by the Presence of God and your new-found joy entices you to do all you can, whenever you can. Down the road a little bit, you realise that you are involved in so many things that you start to question where it is that you are most effective.

When God created you and I, HE had something specific in mind for us to do. HE gifted us in certain ways so we could effectively fulfil what we were called to do. Finding ‘that’ place in your walk with God is crucial for you and contributes to your fulfilment and effectiveness. When Israel asked God for a king in Samuel’s time, Saul was chosen and we are introduced to him as a ‘head and shoulders’ choice. He stood out amongst the rest... but later made the wrong choices and had to be replaced. This shows us that the choices we may want to make may not be God’s best for us.

When God chose a new king for Israel from Jesse’s sons, it wasn’t the most likely son that was chosen. God had

HIS choice in mind because HE knew what HE had placed inside that choice. In the same way, you and I are gifted as God’s choice for a specific task – and discovering and playing to your strengths makes you that much more effective.

David was a shepherd boy and spent his early youth caring for and protecting his father’s sheep. One of the skills of the job was to know how to use a weapon to keep the sheep safe from wild animals. He spent a lot of time developing his skill at using a sling-shot. Later on in his life, he volunteered to fight Goliath (1 Samuel 17) and King Saul was intent on placing his armour on David to get the job done. David was so unfamiliar with Saul’s armour that he said, “I cannot walk with these for I have not tested them” (v39). He was at home with his sling – and when he left to do what he was able to do with what he knew, he was successful.

Playing to your strength is what will make you effective in the Kingdom. Learning to recognise where your strengths lie is a secret to personal achievement and success. Be

careful to make the distinction between what you like and

what comes naturally to you. There may be a difference.

Always lean towards what comes naturally. There is no effort in that.

John the Baptist was chosen to be the herald of

the ‘Christ’. If you look at the background to his birth,

you cannot escape the truth that God specifically anoints

you in some way for a special

6 | www.connectmagazine.co.za

EFFECTIVENESS Your place of

task. John’s ‘right time’ had to come at some stage. All his life was a preparation for that time. He was wired to be this herald. Luke 1:80 says, “So the child grew and became strong in spirit and was in the deserts till the day of his manifestation to Israel.”

I love like this! YOUR DAY OF MANIFESTATION to your world is a reality. What you were born to do is high on God’s agenda and he has a specific purpose and time in mind. Accept the difficult patches and the preparation time. The moments when

you count and are most effective are still to come and unfold. Play to your strength and you will witness effectiveness unfolding and developing all around you.

When God created you and I, HE had something specific in mind for us to do. HE gifted us in certain ways so we could effectively fulfil

what we were called to do. Finding ‘that’ place in your walk with God is crucial for you and contributes to your fulfilment and effectiveness.

Alan RockhillFounder of Kings

Net Ministeries allan.rockhill@

kingsnetministries.org

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Tracey OlivierA life purpose Coach with a passion for Marketplace Businesses

084 548 [email protected]

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HAND OF THE HARVESTERHEART OF THE PASTOR

Asked what motivates her to support charity in the way she does, actress Whoopi

Goldberg once said, “I fear waking up in the morning and finding out my life was all for nothing. We are here for a reason. I believe a bit of the reason is to throw little torches out to lead people through the dark.” Now Whoopi Goldberg is far from being a theologian, but her comment illustrates that every human being is driven by this search for significance. We all want our lives to count for something. She has discovered that all the attention, all the wealth the world has to offer really doesn’t satisfy that need. Solomon said, “God has set eternity in the heart.” So ultimate significance is found only in giving oneself to Jesus Christ. Only Jesus Christ can satisfy that spiritual hunger of the soul and only Jesus Christ is really the torch to lead people out of darkness into the light.

With that in mind, let’s look at Romans 12:1-8. This passage talks about a proper evaluation of our strengths, our talents, which are to be used for God’s glory. If we understand and apply four principles from this section, it will really help us to find eternal significance.

The first principle is: remember your priorities. Verse 1 says, “Therefore I urge you brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God. This is your

spiritual act of worship.” God could have disowned us but instead He chose us, He adopted us, He redeemed us, He sealed us as His very own. Since God has been so merciful to us, our priority ought to be to please Him, not to impress people. He says, “Don’t conform any longer to the pattern of this world.” Paraphrase that: “Don’t let the world around you squeeze you into its mould but be transformed by the renewing of your mind and then you will prove what God’s will is, his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

You see, the world around us is obsessed with image. What will people say? What will people think? But the Christian renews the mind. We change our thinking. What becomes important is what God thinks. If you put God first in the use of your talent, you will attest and

WHERE ARE MY

STRENGTHS?



approve what God’s will is but the world may not understand. So when it comes to the use of your talent, remember your priorities. Use your gift to please God, not to impress people.

The second principle: realistically evaluate your gifts. Verse 3 of Romans 12 says: “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought. But rather think of yourself with sober judgment in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you.” We have so emphasised a positive self-image that there are some people today who can strut sitting down. If you think too highly of your talent, it can actually be detrimental because you are not teachable or you are not ambitious or in some cases you don’t repent. Proverbs 16:18 warns that pride goes before destruction and a haughty spirit before a fall.

But some people go to the other extreme and they think more lowly of themselves than they should. I have seen people stay in dead-end jobs, unhappy with work every day but they just don’t have enough confidence to look for something better. When God challenged Moses to go before Pharaoh and demand the release of the Israelite slaves, Moses felt inadequate and he said, “Oh no, God, they won’t believe me. I am not a very good speaker. Would you send somebody else.” The Bible does not say that God was pleased with Moses because of his humility. It says the wrath of God was kindled against Moses because of his lack of faith. An inferiority complex is not humility! Humility is finding out what God has gifted you to do and doing it with abandonment for His glory and not your own.

Now how are you going to do that? Let me

suggest three things. First, take a test. There are all kinds of aptitude tests available today, and plenty of resources for identifying your strengths and giftings. The second thing we can do is try it out. One of the best ways to discover your giftedness is to experiment and see how it goes. Jesus criticized the ‘one-talent man’ because he buried his gift in the ground and never used it. He commended the two and five talent people because they experimented. They took the risk and they doubled their investment. How are you going to know whether or not you can teach, if you don’t try? How are you going to know whether you can help heal emotional wounds of people, if you never in compassion counsel somebody? How are you going to know

whether you can work with teenagers if you don’t try? How are you going to know whether you can make money and give generously if you don’t try to invest?

The third thing you can do to know your strengths is to ask a friend. Honest Christian friends can help evaluate your strengths. Now don’t ask them, “Do you think I teach well?” That kind of puts people on the spot and most of us have a hard time being honest

and saying, “Well, not very well.” Give them an option and say, “You have heard me teach and you have seen me work out in the yard; which do you think I do better?” And if they’re truthful with you, don’t get bent out of shape with them, because nobody is gifted in every area. Listen to their counsel and focus on another area.

The third principle: refuse to compare yourself with other people. One of the primary reasons we feel insignificant is we are always comparing ourselves to others in our field of interest.

Humility is finding out what God has gifted you to do and doing it with

abandonment for His glory and not

your own.

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The ones who have more influence or more popularity, a bigger title or more money. As a result, we are never satisfied. We are jealous. Never quite feeling as significant as we would like. But this passage urges us not to fall into that trap of comparing and competing with one another. Some are gifted to preach, some to serve, some to teach, some to encourage, some to make money and give, some to lead, some to show mercy. Once you understand that, you are more likely to quit competing with others.

We not only have different gifts – we have

different measures of the same gift. Verse 6 says that if a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. Some have the gift of preaching with five talents and some the gift of preaching with one talent. Some are gifted to lead enough to be the CEO of a company and others ought to be a foreman. Some are gifted to make money and multiply it and ought to be giving millions and others just make enough to tithe and be generous each week.

We need to evaluate not only where our strengths are but to have a realistic assessment

of the degree of our gift. The one-talent person should not be comparing himself with a five-talent person or else he will feel jealous, and the five-talent person should not be comparing herself with the one-talent person or she is going to get lazy or have a condescending spirit.

The last principle: remain focused in the area of your strength. Verse 6-8 doesn’t say, “If a man’s gift is prophesying then let him learn to serve. If a man’s gift is teaching let him go on to encouraging. If a woman is a good encourager then let her learn to contribute to the needs of others.” No! It says if your gift is prophesying, that is what you are supposed to do. Prophesy! If your gift is teaching, you stay with teaching. And do it generously. Diligently. Cheerfully. That sounds so basic but it is amazing how many people get off focus. When you have discovered your primary area of giftedness, stay focused in your area of strength and your area of passion and you will be fulfilled.

I talk to a lot of young men who say they are burned out in the ministry. They felt a call to preach and they love to preach but they get in church and they suddenly get bogged down in administration, organising programmes, going to the nursing home, raising funds. Their call to preach, which is their primary gift, gets shoved to the side and Sunday morning comes along and they get by on talent. But they know they are not doing it to the fullest extent of their ability and they feel empty about it.

Whatever God has gifted you to do and whatever is your passion in life, focus on that and develop that to the best of your ability. It may not be what others want for you. It may not be what you dreamed about when you were a child... but if it is what God ordained and gifted you to do, you will find significance and be energised by it. Someone observed, “We can’t be anything we want to be. But we must be what God ordained us to be.”

Success and significance in life is finding what your strengths are – the gifts God has given – and then giving ourselves fully in that area for the glory of God and not self. I want to close with a thought from Rick Warren. God gave me the gift to preach not for my benefit but for yours. If I don’t use my gift, I cheat you. God gave you a gift, not for your benefit but for other people. If you don’t use your gift, you cheat others.

God has given different gifts to the body for the building up of the body. When you use your gift fully for the glory of God, you begin to light little torches along the way to show

people through the darkness to the light of Jesus Christ.

Adapted and reproduced with permission from Preaching Magazine, http://www.preaching.com/sermons/11563853/

Robert L. RussellRetired pastor of Southeast Christian Church, Louisville, Kentucky, and senior contributing

editor at Preaching magazine.

Success and significance in life

is finding what your strengths are – the gifts

God has given – and then giving

ourselves fully in that area for the glory of God and

not self.


PROMOTION

In the heart of greater Durban, LIV (Lungisisa Indlela Village) is changing lives, one child at

a time. Situated on 83 hectares of farmland just north of Amaoti, next to the Cottonlands community, LIV provides holistic residential care for some of South Africa’s most vulnerable children. Its vision: to RESCUE a child, RESTORE a life, RAISE a leader and RELEASE a star. By 2013, this will be ‘home’ to 600 children living in 3-bedroomed homes with trained foster mothers and a school from crèche to matric. LIV places vulnerable, parentless children into a family environment where they receive unconditional love, spiritual discipleship, care and nurturing. And as LIV reintroduces Christian moral family values, LIV founder Tich Smith believes that “these children will grow up to be a generation that will be an influence for positive change within South Africa, our continent and indeed the world.”

Currently there are 60 children in residence, with others coming in weekly. Two of the homes have been converted into babies’ homes, and the pre-school and primary schools are up and running with 7 teachers, supported by volunteer therapists. The LIV Social Services and Homes Management departments provide counseling for the children and guidance for the foster mothers, as well as recruiting and training for future foster mothers.

2013 will see the completion of the first Village. LIV has purchased the 120 hectare neighbouring farm for a further two Villages, catering for another 2,500

children. An option has been taken on further neighbouring land to increase the number of children to be cared for in the LIV-Cottonlands Villages to between 4,000 and 5,000 children. LIV is assisting others who have the same vision to build Villages in Pretoria, Benoni, Kimberley, Grahamstown, East London and George.

LIV has a goal to become a sustainable Village through farming and enterprise development projects. LIV Business, a 100% Broad-Based Black-Owned company, invests in businesses to provide for this sustainability as well as to create jobs. Currently, LIV has two factories making heat retention Wonderbags, employing 200 workers, and a vegetable farming program employing 26 ladies from the community.

The future plan is to see many villages across our land raising future leaders and ‘turning scars into stars’ by providing a fresh start in a supportive community. South Africa needs thousands of Villages across the country in order to turn our biggest problem into the solution. These children, who could become future gangsters and street children, can become future leaders and valuable citizens, in turn helping others to rise up out of poverty and abuse.

LIV needs your help to see 600 children sponsored by December 2012. You can donate towards the “Sponsor a Child” project for R100 or more per month. For more information call 031 561 2800 or visit www.liv-village.com.

Together we can.

LIVIt takes a village to raise a child

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HAND OF THE HARVESTER


Much has been said and written in recent years on “playing to your

strengths” and avoiding getting hung up on what we’re poor or “weak” at.

But what does it really mean, and how do you go about identifying which

is which? Graham Yoko, Accelerated Christian Education CEO and author of Get Out of Your Rut And Into Your

Groove, shares some practical insights on the subject below. Then we bring you

an interview with a special team that illustrates the strengths dynamic better than any other example we could think of. May you be challenged, empowered

and energised as you read.

Graham Yoko on Leading from your StrengthsOne of the greatest challenges for us is to realise that we were designed to be interdependent on those around us and not independent (1 Corinthians 12:12-18). Interdependence is often misinterpreted as weakness, but weakness is not what God had in mind when he created us with both strengths and weaknesses. Think of yourself rather as a puzzle piece. A puzzle piece has a protruding section and a void. The protruding section is where

it contributes to others and the void is where it needs contribution.

With this image in mind, a more accurate way of describing so-called ‘weaknesses’ is ‘areas where others need to be strong for us’. A rugby team consists of 15 players each with their own unique strength that they bring to the team. One of the 15 is elected as the captain; but even the captain only fills one of the positions on the team. His leadership abilities may qualify him to coordinate the players on the field, but he defers to other players that are better than him in their area of game.

As part of the team that leads Accelerated Christian Education in Africa and Scandinavia, I love giving vision. Others in the team have a gift for painstaking detail. I’ve come to realise that if we don’t have both, we’ll fail as an organisation.

Your life is no different. Despite your position in your company or job, you

only have a limited number of things in which you are

significantly skilled. These are areas that

you need to focus on and build into on a daily basis. These are your strengths, your ‘claim to fame’, the reason you are

here. If you have ever taken a strengths and

weaknesses assessment, you would have received

a report that indicates your areas of strength and weakness. Most

people’s natural response is to get to work

Leveraging your STRENGTHS for PURPOSE-LED LIVING

The modern day epidemic of

depression and feelingsof worthlessness could be

easily avoided if we simply went back to God’s specific

design and blueprintfor our lives.

on ‘fixing’ their weaknesses so that they do not cause them embarrassment in the future.

The downside of this is that you end up ignoring your obvious strengths and begin to focus on areas where you should be depending on others to complement you in their areas of strength. The modern day epidemic of depression and feelings of worthlessness could be easily avoided if we simply went back to God’s specific design and blueprint for our lives.

How do I identify my strengths and maximise my effectiveness? The first step is to become aware your specific strengths. Ask yourself, “What do people regularly compliment me on being good at? What could I do for long periods of time and really enjoy myself while doing it”? These are those things that energise you and fill you with a deep sense of satisfaction. For some this may be working in the IT industry, for others it will be the thrill of closing a business deal and for others it may be the satisfaction of teaching a child to learn to read. Whatever it is for you, you deserve to position yourself where your strengths can be utilised, maximised and appreciated.

Does your current job/career maximise the things that you identify as your strengths or are you stuck in a rut that

highlights your weaknesses? Chances are that if your job is based on something that

is not in your area of natural strength, you are going to experience

frustration and high levels of stress. I understand

people may have to do jobs that don’t suit their strengths for a season of their lives – but don’t let the stepping stone become the

resting place! Surveys conducted

in the workplace reveal that 52% of people working

in the IT industry would rather be doing something in the liberal arts

field. How and why did they get involved in the IT industry? The lure of money, success and all the promises of happiness associated with wealth often draw people away from

the perfect plan that God had in mind for their lives. The result

is a life of frustration and a never-ending journey on

the treadmill of unfulfilled expectations.

If you asked me what ‘flicks my switch’, I’d say it’s seeing people drop

into their groove after pulling sideways, against

the grain, pretending to be happy. One gentleman, after

28 years as a civil engineer, went and studied to be a teacher and has been exceptionally happy since then even though he’s earning a lot less. Another case was a doctor who practised medicine for 13 years until his dad passed away and then closed his practice and went to study to be what he wanted to be – a motor mechanic. The saddest thing for me is when I get to the end of a course and a retired person says, “I’ve wasted my life”.

Does your current job/career

maximise the things that you identify as your strengths or are you stuck

in a rut that highlights your weaknesses?

The saddest thing for me is

when I get to the end of a course and a retired

person says, “I’ve wasted my life”.


What about small businesses?If you have a small business, it can be challenging because you’re everything – the accountant, the marketing person, the person doing what your business actually offers. You might be a great plumber but if you don’t issue invoices on time, your company will die. As far as possible, try to outsource those activities that don’t fit your skill set to others who are skilled in those areas, even if it costs more. Try to build that into the cost of what you offer. And if you aren’t in a position to pay someone to help you, trade services with them. And when your business grows as a result, you’ll soon be able to delegate – and pay for – even more functions that aren’t your core competency.

The first step for small business owners is to ask yourself what you’re really good at, and then work out how to get to the point when you’re doing what you love and are good at 80% of the time. In my book I speak about cabbage – the stuff on your plate you don’t really like, but have to eat. Try to keep the proportion of the ‘nice’ stuff to the cabbage in an 80/20 ratio. In a business there are certain things you hate but really can’t delegate, but the 80% ‘good stuff’ will give you the stamina and strength to handle the 20% you don’t enjoy.

How do I find my groove? If you would like to discover your strengths more specifically, you can make use of an excellent tool which is available on the Internet. Simply go to www.leadingfromyourstrengths.com

and take the strengths assessment on offer. On completion you will be able to print out a comprehensive, personal, 28-page report that is perfect for helping you to discover and understand your God-given strengths. It’ll identify your normal/

core strengths and your adapted style (what you’re doing at

the moment), so that you can see how far you are

currently from your ‘groove’. It covers things like how you deal with people, how you deal with problems, how you deal with pace and

change, and how you feel about taking

risks. If you do this as a team, you can plot your

respective strengths on a chart and make sure the right roles are

assigned to the right people.

I always say there are two critical points in a person’s life: here and there. ‘Here’ is where I am now. ‘There’ is where I see myself in the future. To bridge the gap I need to structure a 5 or 10-year plan that will get me there. That way I can measure it on a six-monthly basis and see how far I have come. Don’t spend one more day trying to compete in your area of weakness. Discover your strengths now, lead from your strengths and have fun in life!

Graham [email protected]

The first step for small business

owners is to ask yourself what you’re really good at, and then work out how to

get to the point when you’re doing what you love and

are good at 80% of the time.


To get an idea of how strengths work in a team, Tracey and Elaine spoke to none

other than the boys in black and white. Our meeting with a few of the players from

the Shark's cell group – Willem Alberts, Jacques Botes, Louis Ludik, Meyer Bosman

and Charl McLeod – was a fascinating glimpse into the tension between playingto strengths and managing weaknesses.

How did you get into professional rugby?Interestingly, not one of our five interviewees set out with the intention of playing professional rugby. In fact, four of them started out studying commerce, while Willem studied for a BSc Agric before switching to Sports Communication.

“I grew up playing rugby, but never thought of becoming a professional player,” recalls Charl McLeod. “I was studying accounting at Stellenbosch and I played rugby throughout varsity, eventually playing for the varsity. I started making teams I didn’t think I’d make, and realised I could play a bit better than I thought I could, so I started working harder. Playing professionally was never a ‘carrot’ for me.”

Willem Alberts has a similar story. “I never wanted to play rugby after school as

I thought I wouldn’t make it,” he says. “But my studies didn’t go so well and then I got an opportunity to play junior-level rugby. I only wanted to do it for a year to earn money for my studies, but after that I played Super Rugby without even a contract. I never believed in myself to be able to play even Currie Cup rugby, then when I played my first season I thought, ‘Hey I can do this!’”

For all five players, others’ recognition of their skill was the catalyst for a career in what they had hitherto just ‘loved to do’. “Once

someone believed in me it gave me confidence,” says Jacques Botes.

“Dick Muir was an example of that. Once he started giving me backing, playing professionally became more achievable.”

How do you know you’re ‘in

your groove’ now? Willem’s response speaks for

everyone “To me it feels like playing, it doesn’t feel like a job,” he says.

His next comment takes us a step further, raising the inevitable question of what comes after. “The problem is it’s going to end before too long. At this stage rugby is what I want to do. I never thought it would be, but it is. And after that I want a 10,000ha farm with a game capture business, a hunting business... but it’s not just going to happen when I walk out of rugby.”

Willem’s response speaks

for everyone “To me it feels like playing,

it doesn’t feel like a job”

Louis Ludik, Meyer B

osman

and

Cha

rl M

cloe

d


So... what comes after?Obviously being well known will help the players establish themselves professionally after they retire, but is it enough? Charl agrees that the exposure will help to some extent, as will the contacts that the players build up early in their careers. “But the balance is finding something you’ll enjoy,” he adds. “We won’t battle to find a job but we’re still a bit nervous about finding the right job so we’re not just working to put bread on the table.”

“Another factor is that we won’t have the luxury of trying out a whole lot of options because we’ll already be 35 or so. We’ll have to play some catch-up professionally. I wouldn’t be able to walk straight into an audit firm now, even though I have an accounting degree,” said Meyer (who incidentally is in his first year of his MBA to widen his options).

For Willem, who knows he doesn’t want to pursue a career in sports communication, the option is to wait for an alternative opportunity to come up through networking – “but I need to trust

God to open the door at the right time”.

How do you deal with areas of weakness and negativity?For at least two of our players, negative situations actually worked in their favour

to get them where they are today. For Jacques, others’ perceptions of his

physical stature had an energising, rather than demotivating, effect. “I was often told I’m good, but too light and short to make it professionally. To some people it’s a weakness that I’m not 110kg

and 6ft5in. Some people thought I’d reached my limit – and that was

something that hung on me for a quite a while in my career. But in the end

it motivated me to get to the point where I am today."

After completing his Accounting degree, Charl had to choose between rugby and studying. “Having my degree I thought I was headed for my Honours and a career in accounting, and I was happy with that,” he says. “Then I was offered a contract with Western Province. But my dad had a whole different picture

Willem

Alb

erts

“I need trust God to open the

door at the right time.”



– he sent me to varsity to study accounting and become a CA! Looking back now I don’t think I let him down, even though at the time he was telling me I should study and forget about the rugby. How he felt motivated me – not to prove him wrong, but just to not let him down.”

While team players occupy positions according to their strengths, their weaknesses can’t be wholly ignored – especially in professional sport. “Part of your strength is also knowing your weaknesses,” Meyer explains. “So your philosophy is to focus on your strengths and know your weaknesses so that you can try to improve them. Your weak area is never going to be your strength – but it can be less of a weakness.”

Jacques elaborates further. “In rugby we’ve all got to be good at something specific, so we all adapt our game to focus on that. But as we get higher up in the game we need to be able to get just a little less poor at some of the other things. Sometimes you try to focus so much on a weakness that you miss your strengths, though.”

Charl agrees. “If everybody plays to their strengths you’ll be successful,” he says. “For us, playing rugby is natural. But even

though it’s our strength and we do our best in that, it’s not easy. Especially when the coach is looking for you to be better in some other area.”

How do you leverage your individual strengths as a team? “With us we have very specific functions in our positions,” says Jacques in conclusion. “Within the team, we have many units or threes – front row, loose forwards, etc. I might not be best flank but we’ve worked out a combination where as a loose forward we function well together. There may be a better flank out there but he might not benefit this three as much. It’s nice when you get to the point where you may not be best forward in the country but you’re making your fellow team members look good in certain situations, and they’re covering for your weaknesses in others.”

Which brings us back to the image of the puzzle – interconnected pieces that together tell a story. May you find your ‘piece’ and enjoy the peace and joy that comes from plugging into God’s story.

Jacques Bote

s


God’s magnificent display of his handiwork - the universe In a 2005 presentation aptly titled “Indescribable”, Louie Giglio gives a fascinating introduction to the scale of the universe and its creator, God. He describes the magnitude of the universe’s measurement scale, the light year. A light year is the distance the light would travel in a year, which is 5.88 trillion miles. Our galaxy alone has an estimated 200 billion stars and measures an estimated 100 000 light years (i.e. 5.88 trillion miles x 100 000) across. Scientists estimate that there could be 125 billion other galaxies in the visible universe alone.

You are patterned after GodNow imagine the mind that conceptualised such a universe. It is recorded in the Bible that God created humankind in his image and after his likeness (Genesis 1: 26). Humanity is patterned after the same God who conceptualised and created the enormity of the universe; a pattern which can also be observed in all living matter as it reproduces itself.

The high purposes of those called by GodThink of all men and women in the Bible called and used of God – from Abraham to Noah, Ruth to Esther, Isaiah to Malachi, and Peter to Paul. They were used for mighty high purposes that affected the destinies of nations. Now think of your life purpose and ask yourself this question: is it patterned after the enormity of God’s thoughts? If you believe you are patterned after God, your life purpose should be much bigger that what you can ever achieve on your own.

Is your thinking patterned after a limitless God?Of the three levels of thinking outlined below, what level would you say describes your thinking?

Self-centred thinking: This thinking is dominated by thoughts about one’s own survival and happiness. The Bible teaches us to put to death this kind of thinking.Humanistic thinking: This thinking concerns itself with the advancement of humankind. No amount of human goodwill can redeem humankind from sin and death.God-scale thinking: This thinking is focused on aligning humanity to a mighty and limitless God. It is when we renew our minds to become Christ-like that we are able to experience this alignment.

You can limit GodNow here is the thing: your thinking can produce behaviour that limits God in your life. You may ask, “Is it possible to limit God?” Yes! This is exactly what the Israelites did. Verse 41 of Psalm 78 says “Yes again and again they tempted God, and limited the Holy one of Israel”. Even though you are called to astronomically high purposes, they may never come to fruition if your thinking remains small and self-centred.

Your action challengeAre you living a life of God-patterned purpose? Is your thinking on a human scale or on God’s scale? Are you limiting God, the Holy One of Israel, in your life – or are you allowing him to be the magnificent, all-powerful God that he is?

If you want to know more about thinking patterns and how you can change them, visit www.worldchangersunlimited.org

Vezi MncwangoLife Coach and founder of

World Changers Unlimitedvezi@worldchangers-

unlimited.org


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As a Christian business person, who told you to focus on your weaknesses? I guess it comes from that universal

drive to be the ‘perfect’ Christian, which many strive to become yet somehow fail to live up to.

Overcome by the guilt of continually ‘missing the mark’, and wearied by this perpetual striving for some sense of perfection, you find yourself crashing and burning without ever asking who said you should be playing to your weaknesses in the first place.

Could it not have been the evil one himself, who suggested to Eve that God was withholding knowledge from them by forbidding them to partake of a certain tree in the Garden of Eden? Was it not possibly the one who tried to tempt Jesus to make bread from stones by drawing attention to His fast-induced hunger? The one who induced Judas to provoke Jesus into siding with the freedom-fighting Zealots and thereby forcefully wrest political control from the Romans in Israel?

It is none other than the father of liars, the accuser of the brethren, who religiously prompts and repeatedly reinforces your preoccupation with becoming that perfect person – to the extent that it becomes an idol, bowed down to daily – as you ever strive and never seem to actually arrive at this elusive destination.

It’s time to say, “No More! I refuse to bow. I refuse to burn myself out, consumed by this fantasy of perfection. I forbid the sense of failure and guilt to overwhelm me any longer. Satan, get behind me!”

But don’t just leave it there. Remember, the evil one specialises in finding work for idle hands, fantasies for idle minds, sloth for idle wills, and addictions for idle emotions,

seeking to wear out the saints of the Most High (see Daniel 7:25).

Rather, turn the tables on him by adopting opposing actions and more positive reactions to this pressure to conform to this fantasy. Play to your strengths!

Did the Master not say, “Well done, you good and faithful servant” to each of those who increased His investment by the application their respective talents (Matthew 25:14-30)?

When Jesus said, “Occupy yourselves (trade, do business, transact) until I come,” he did not expect us to achieve this by playing to our respective weaknesses. In fact He spoke highly of the non-believers who for this very reason are more shrewd business folk than the children of the Kingdom.

Stephen Covey, author of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, encourages us to adopt the 80:20 principle of focussing 80% of our resources on utilising our strengths, in order rise above the pack in order to take ourselves and our enterprises to the next level.

It’s time to stop exhausting yourself chasing your tail, while obsessively-compulsively persisting in trying to play to your productivity-limiting weaknesses. Instead, be reminded that “It is not in your own strength; rather it is the Lord, Who energises you to both will and do of His Good Pleasure, His Delight and His Satisfaction” (Philippians 2:13, adapted from The Expanded Amplified Bible).

Furthermore, “You can do all things through Christ, which strengthens you” (Philippians 4:13, KJV). Bottom-line: play to your strengths!

Playing to your Strengths IN BUSINESS

Carl RoodnickCarl Roodnick Associates

Journalist and Courseware [email protected]


Specializing in online community management, social media setup and management, graphic design, web

design and email marketing.

Elizabeth Houareau083 445 1293

INSIGHT 1: People are NOT your greatest asset!We have all heard it before: “People are your greatest asset,” referring to your staff. While it sounds good, in reality you may shake your head thinking to yourself, “No, my staff are definitely not my greatest asset. They underperform, waste time all day, and then blame the company for things going wrong.” And so, many of us walk away disillusioned.

I have good news! You are right: people are NOT your greatest asset. It’s the RIGHT people in the RIGHT jobs that are. And there’s a big difference between the two.

Every person is born with brain preferences. Some are naturally good at technical things, whilst others are naturally good at dealing with

people. Some may call these strengths, others may call them giftings. Either way, people have natural areas that they excel in according to their brain preference.

When you operate in your brain preference:• tasks become easier to do,• you are able to be more creative,• you accomplish more as you are more effective, and• work becomes more enjoyable as you excel in what you do and add more value to the company. This then results in increased commitment to your work and clients.

Is this what you want to feel toward your company and clients? Is this what you want your staff to feel toward your company and clients?

Imagine what your business would be like if everyone in the company felt this way! You are now talking about taking a company from being associated with ‘the norm’ or mediocrity and a ‘just do enough’ mentality to being a company that is filled with people who are proactive, effective and progressive. People who operate in their area of strength are more inspired toward their work for longer.

Does this sound good? Here is how you can achieve it in your company:1. Do a strengths-based assessment of all of the staff.

2. Ensure that everyone is in the right job according to their brain preference.

3. Adapt your leadership style to your people’s



Who put the square peg in

the

rou

nd

hol

e?

Misf

ts a

nd M

isunderstoods:Adele shares two key insights that will help bring harmony to your work environment. The first deals with brain preferences and the second with personality – both key factors in letting your people

play to their strengths.

brain preferences to get the best out of the individuals on the team.

4. Allow staff to use their strengths in the team and in their work.

5. Watch your team go from strength to strength!

INSIGHT 2: The Power of PersonalityMany companies blame cultural differences for poor working relationships between staff. But culture doesn’t play nearly as great a role in poor working relationships as personality differences do.

Whenever we do personality-related exercises with teams, there are people from every culture in the different personality groups. When we ask individuals within teams what causes more work-related problems – i.e. culture or personality differences, personality differences win hands down every time. In the working world, we tend to throw different people together and just expect them to get along.

Every person has natural strengths and perceived weakness related to their personality. For example, John may be very analytical, which makes him great at number crunching but sceptical of new ideas. And Busi may be a big picture thinker who’s less concerned with the ‘smaller details’ than keeping the client happy at all costs. Both are needed, and both have to work on the same team – but they drive each other crazy.

Here’s the rub: There is a big difference between perception and intention when it comes to personality-related weaknesses. The important thing is for everyone on the team to understand themselves and their fellow teammates better. In most cases, their fellow teammates are not trying to intentionally annoy them – that is just how they do things based on their personality.

If we start to understand what could annoy others and how others naturally do things, we will not take offense as easily, thus improving working relationships daily. This wastes less business time as staff are more efficient since they are not preoccupied with unnecessary distractions or irritations.

We need to take the time necessary to understand ourselves and each other by:

1. Doing a personality profiling exercise with our team

2. Spending time with each other in a non-work context where we can leave our ‘desk personalities’ behind and just be ‘real’ with each other.

We all try to focus on utilising our personality strengths and minimising our perceived weaknesses. It is a wise leader who focuses on the team’s personality strengths.

Posted on Thursday, 09 February 2012 at www.successco.co.za.

Adele Benvie CEO - The Success Company

[email protected]

THE CHOICE IS YOURS: On 21st June 2012, Spencer West reached the summit of Kilimanjaro. Spencer is a double amputee... and climbed all 22,000 steps of Kilimanjaro on his hands! That’s ‘possible’ redefined! What is possible in your life and mine depends very much on the choices we make. Choices are at the heart of success. You need to choose your goal,

and then choose daily to remain focussed on it – not getting distracted by the ‘urgent’ things that always scream for your attention. Take regular time to remind yourself and your team what you are aiming for, and recognise even small achievements towards that goal. When

something comes your way, ask if it is going to assist you in your goal or distract you from it. I am convinced that LIFE is a choice. You can either get sucked into someone else's choices,

or you can start living the life you were intended to live. The choice is yours!

Most of my childhood, I was extremely blessed. My family enjoyed an upper middle class standard of living

with all of the amenities you’d expect: new cars, nice holidays and minimal exposure to serious financial stress. Yet, even with such bountiful financial blessings, I never developed a sense of entitlement. Instead, gratefulness and generosity flourished. From a temporal standpoint, life was great.

Though it might be hard to believe, life was even better from a spiritual standpoint. I was raised in a Christian home by parents who truly loved the Lord. In fact, I’ve never met anyone with a more intimate relationship with the Lord than my father. You may have heard some wives complain that their husbands changed when the courting was over and the marriage began. With Dad, the honeymoon with the Lord never ended.

His Christian walk wasn’t limited to private and church settings. He was a true marketplace minister. As a pastor of a small church, Dad also sold insurance and savings products to provide for our family. On many occasions, I had the privilege of accompanying him on appointments. We would pray on the way to the client’s home. Usually, I would come inside and do homework in their living room while they all sat down at the kitchen table. It was normal for Dad to spend 15 minutes taking care of

business and 1.5 hours talking about the Lord.Though I never voiced a lack of respect for

Dad as a professional, my actions betrayed my true feelings. I poured myself into my studies and worked hard to earn industry credentials. I developed an expertise (or so I thought) at crunching numbers and analysing investment opportunities. By my late 20s, I was well on my way to industry recognition and financial success that had eluded most of my peers. Little did I know that most of this ‘house of

success’ was built on sand.You see, as I became

more learned, I became more confident in the knowledge of this world and less dependent on the omniscient creator of the universe. Without realising it, I began to lean on my own understanding. As my increased knowledge puffed me up, it became very natural to become wise in my own conceit. And just as Saul didn’t realise when the Spirit left him (as the Lord was choosing David),

I was no longer sensitive to the still, small voice.Praise the Lord that He loves His own

enough to correct them. And I was no exception. In 1985, the Lord brought trials that tested the foundations of what I had built. He began to shake everything that could be shaken, so that only the things that couldn’t be shaken would remain. By 1987, I was deep into my wilderness experience and very little of my ‘house of success’ was left. Worse than the financial losses, I realised


“As I became more learned, I became more

confident in the knowledge of this

world and less dependent on the

omniscient creator of the universe.”

The rest is HISTORY

Where is your house of success?


that I had dishonoured both of my fathers’ names. I had come to the end of myself, and I was ready to give up. However, the Lord had different plans.

Although He didn’t speak audibly, the message was loud and clear. “Now that I have your attention, do you suppose clients will be better off with someone who has made mistakes and learned from them or with someone green, who will make more mistakes with their money?” As Elijah saw a cloud the size of a man’s hand and knew that abundant rain was around the corner, I sensed that I would soon be the beneficiary of God’s amazing grace and mercy.

Today, I enjoy wealth without sorrow and a level of contentment that the world will never know. It took a great while to become a faithful steward to whom the Lord could entrust significant wealth, but the journey has been rich and rewarding. Through this process, the Lord has taught me many truths. Two have been critical to my success.

First of all, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge. It is the first step toward building on a solid rock foundation. Industry knowledge is very important to maximising our skills and talents. But God has chosen the foolish things of this world to confound the wise. When there is a conflict between the Word of God and the wisdom of this world, go with the eternal truth. There is no greater view than that provided by a

Biblical perspective. And I hope never again to neglect this truth.

Secondly, without Him, I can do nothing. It is a blessing to have natural gifts and abilities. Unfortunately, as we fully develop our strengths, it is easy to forget where they came from. I must remember that my strength will always pale in comparison to His. As I acknowledge my dependency upon Him, He is able work through me to produce fruit that makes a real difference in both this world and in the one to come.

As I play to my strengths, I know that the joy of the Lord is my strength. And, in His presence, is fullness of joy. One day, I hope to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant…. Enter into the joy of the Lord.” And I hope to hear it not just for myself, but for my sons and my grandchildren. Thankfully, He who began a good work in me will be faithful to complete it until that day.

“When there is a conflict between the Word of God and the wisdom

of this world, go with the

eternal truth.”

Ben [email protected]

Ben is the Managing Director and Senior Advisor at Franklin

Wealth Advisors, Inc in Illinois, USA and was

recently in South African co facilitating the Biblical

Entrepreneurship Course.

Documents

Issue 14 Playing to your strengths