Credit: Helen D'Souza
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You have the power to get everything you want in life, whether you're trying to motivate yourself to go back to school and get that degree; become financially self-sufficient after years of depending on a spouse, lover or family member; or leave your good-paying job to start your own business. But first you have to believe it, says Bishop T.D. Jakes, internationally known preacher, teacher and pastor of the Potter's House in Dallas. "It's never too late to head out on a different route," says the minister.
That's the message he wants you to take away from his inspiring new book, Reposition Yourself: Living Life Without Limits (Atria Books, $24). So just what is "repositioning"? Bishop Jakes says the concept is grounded in the long-standing biblical mandate that every person be a good steward of her own resources and talents. And, Jakes adds, it's a simpler act than you might think. "Repositioning yourself begins with applauding the fact that you've survived," he says. "Survivor's strength is stored up in you and ready to be unleashed. You're ready to move from survivor to success."
Reposition Yourself offers a blueprint that will help you chart a new course toward achieving your dreams. Though there are no shortcuts in life, we asked Bishop Jakes to offer golden advice to get you started on your journey:
(STEP #1)
IMAGINE A NEW YOU
Repositioning is not about harboring a thought that maybe one day you can achieve a seemingly distant goal. It's about having a belief in Self that is grounded in faith and putting that faith to work. Look at how many times Queen Latifah has repositioned herself; she's excelled in so many areas that many people don't remember she started out as a rapper.
Your own metamorphosis doesn't have to be nearly as dramatic. It may simply mean moving from doing other folks' hair in your kitchen to doing it in a salon, or going from owning a health spa to owning a chain of spas. God blesses what you do, not your feigning and going through the motions. Action must be an outgrowth of a faith that is working.
It was my father's faith that took one mop and one bucket and turned them into a whole janitorial service. It was my mom's faith that led her to put an oil lamp to read by at the bottom of the bed, with 14 brothers and sisters jostling all around her, and work her way through Tuskegee. This is not a faith that simply feeds a hunger for capitalism, making money for money's sake, or amassing material goods. This is not a name-it-and-claim-it, blab-and-grab kind of faith. It's deep-seated. Without it, no one experiences tried-and-true success.
(STEP #2)
CREATE YOUR OWN CHANGE
We cannot stay rigid when life is constantly changing. Not long ago in my own church, I started teaching about how to balance what life tosses at you with your latent aspirations. Many people not only responded to my sermons but also heeded that little God voice in their heads. Some went back to college; many got out of debt and have become home owners. In effect, people are moving on and moving strong. They're seeing that in spite of whatever tricky or hard things they might have experienced, none of that is the final word on who they can become.
Women who have had children out of wedlock or have been fired from a job sometimes feel that life is over. It's not. The past is not a death sentence. And deciding to go in a different direction than the one we've been taking doesn't necessarily mean we've failed or didn't finish a task. It just means we've discovered it's more rewarding and beneficial to go in a different direction. Maybe it also means we're beginning to see that changing course is part of what's been God's plan for us all along.
Take me, for example. I'll be 50 this year. This is turning out to be a time of catharsis and reflection. God is showing me new things and teaching me how to use new tools through some simple, if heartrending, lessons about adapting to change and the blows that change sometimes brings. Standing at my parents' graves has helped me more fully accept that we do die. The worth of their lives has become crystal clear, and I've embraced that powerful legacy. It has taught me much about my responsibility to others and about more carefully tending to what I pray will be my own divine legacy to my children, their children and all the coming generations. I'm striving every day to be more and more divinely led. As I evolve in this second half of my life, I'd rather coach people than be on a stage. When you recognize that life is sacred, you see the need to grant yourself the freedom to try a new way to be. As each day brings more challenges and change, each of us has to listen closely to what God is trying to tell us about our particular assignment and duties.
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Have you started over? Tell us how you have "repositioned yourself" or how you plan to below.
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