The Power of You

Inspiration for Being Your Best Self

John Mason

• Publisher: Revell
• Year: 2021
• Print ISBN: 9780800739577
• eBook ISBN: 9781493428892
• Topic: Theology & Religion
• Subtopic: Religion

In need of some positivity in these troubled times? Look no further than this inspiring collection of short motivational and aspirational readings that will have you ready to take on the world by being the best version of yourself. Accessible and encouraging, the nuggets of wisdom in this giftable book are perfect for the recent graduate, the aspiring entrepreneur, the seasoned business leader, and anyone who needs a pick-me-up in the midst of a challenging time of life.

Part One: Looking Inward

Passion Is the Spark for Your Fuse

God put inside every person the potential to be passionate. One person with passion makes a greater impact than the passive force of ninety-nine who have only interest. Too many people have “only interest” in their destiny. The book of Ecclesiastes says, “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might” (9:10). The atmosphere of your life changes dramatically when you add enthusiasm.

Everyone loves something. We’re shaped and motivated by what we love. Ignore what you are passionate about and you ignore one of the greatest potentials God has put inside you. What gets your heart racing? What are you hungry to learn and know more about? What do you daydream about doing? What captures your heart and your attention?

My friend Neil Eskelin shares the following story from his outstanding book Yes Yes Living in a No No World:

I was attending an awards banquet of the Chase National Life Insurance Company. The speaker was the famed author of Think and Grow Rich, Napoleon Hill.

When Hill was introduced it was obvious his age had caught up with him. We all wondered if the octogenarian would be physically able to give the speech. (He passed away not long after this event.)

Napoleon Hill slowly walked to the podium, placed both of his hands on the sides of it, looked out at the audience and announced, “Ladies and gentlemen, I have given this speech hundreds and hundreds of times in my life. But tonight I am going to deliver it the best it has ever been given. This is going to be the best speech of my life!”

Wow! It was like a bolt of lightning. I watched 300 adults move to the edge of their chairs and absorb every word like a sponge.

Enthusiasm always makes others stand up and take notice. Nothing significant was ever achieved without enthusiasm. Jesus was a passionate man. He died for us because He loved His Father and us passionately.

Most winners are just ex-losers who got passionate. The worst bankruptcy in the world is the person who has lost his enthusiasm. When you add passion and emotion to belief, it becomes a conviction. There’s a big difference between a belief and a conviction. Belief agrees with the facts. Conviction brings persistent action to your belief.

Driven by passionate conviction, you can do anything you want with your life—except give up on something you care about. Mike Murdock says, “What generates passion and zeal in you is a clue to revealing your destiny. What you love is a clue to something you contain.”

Fulfilling God’s plan is a passionate idea or it is nothing. There’s a reason we’re told to “serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul” (Deut. 10:12). Henri Frederic Ameil reminds us, “Without passion man is a mere latent force and a possibility, like the flint which awaits the shock of the iron before it can give forth its spark.”

You must first be a believer, then an achiever. “There are many things that will catch my eye, but there are only a very few that catch my heart . . . it is those I consider to pursue” (Tim Redmond).

The Person with Imagination Is Never Alone and Never Finished

Christians should be viewed not as empty bottles to be filled, but as candles to be lit. You were built for creativity. Your eyes look for opportunity, your ears listen for direction, your mind requires a challenge, and your heart longs for God’s way. Your heart has eyes that the brain knows nothing of.

Make a daily demand on your creativity. Everything starts as somebody’s daydream. All people of action are first dreamers. The wonder of imagination is this: it has the power to light its own fire. Ability is a flame, creativity is a fire. Originality sees things with a fresh vision. Unlike an airplane, your imagination can take off day or night in any kind of weather or circumstances. So let it fly!

First Corinthians 2:16 says, “We have the mind of Christ.” Don’t you know we’ve been given His creativity too?

A genius is someone who shoots at something no one else sees and hits it. We are told never to cross a bridge till we come to it, but this world is owned by those who have “crossed bridges” in their imaginations far ahead of the crowd. Our challenge is to consider the future and act before it occurs.

Many times we act, or fail to act, not because of will, as is so commonly believed, but because of imagination. Your dreams are an indicator of your potential greatness.

Grandmother saw Billy running around the house slapping himself and asked him why. “Well,” said Billy, “I just got so tired of walking I thought I’d ride my horse for a while.” One day Michelangelo saw a block of marble that the owner said was of no value. “It is valuable to me,” said Michelangelo. “There is an angel imprisoned in it and I must set it free.”

Other people may be smarter, better educated, or more experienced than you, but no single person has a corner on dreams, desire, or ambition. The creation of a thousand forests of opportunity can spring forth from one small acorn of an idea. As Woodrow Wilson once said, “No man that does not see visions will ever realize any high hope or undertake any high enterprise.”

The Bible says, “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Prov. 29:18). That’s not God’s best for you. Dissatisfaction and discouragement result not from the absence of things but from the absence of vision. Not being a person of imagination causes your life to be less than it was intended to be.

A dream is the most exciting thing there is.

Don’t Build a Case against Yourself

What does God think about your future? We find the answer in Jeremiah 29:11, which says, “‘I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future’” (NIV). All of what we are, both good and bad, is what we have thought and believed. What you’ve become is the price you paid to get what you used to want.

All of the important battles we face will be waged within ourselves. Nothing great has ever been achieved except by those who dared to believe that God inside of them was superior to any circumstance. First John 4:4 says, “Greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world.”

Building a case against yourself presents thousands of reasons why you can’t do what you want to, when all you really need is one reason why you can. It’s a great deal better to do all the things you should than to spend the rest of your life wishing you had. It’s been said, “Don’t put water in your own boat; the storm will put enough in on its own.” The first key victory you must win is over yourself. Your chief competition is you.

You can’t consistently perform in a manner inconsistent with the way you see yourself.

Zig Ziglar

Amazingly, sometimes what you think is your greatest weakness can become a wonderful strength. Take, for example, the story of one ten-year-old boy who decided to study judo despite the fact that he had lost his left arm in a devastating car accident.

The boy began lessons with an old Japanese judo master. He was doing well, so he couldn’t understand why, after three months of training, the master had taught him only one move.

“Sensei,” the boy finally said, “shouldn’t I be learning more moves?”

“This is the only move you know, but this is the only move you’ll ever need to know,” his master replied.

Not quite understanding but believing in his teacher, the boy kept training.

Several months later, the master took the boy to his first tournament.

Surprising himself, the boy easily won his first two matches. The third match proved to be more difficult, but after some time, his opponent became impatient and charged; the boy deftly used his one move to win the match.

Still amazed by his success, the boy was now in the finals.

This time, his opponent was bigger, stronger, and more experienced. For a while, the boy appeared to be overmatched. Concerned that the boy might get hurt, the referee called a time-out. He was about to stop the match when the sensei intervened.

“No,” the sensei insisted. “Let him continue.”

Soon after the match resumed, the boy’s opponent made a critical mistake and dropped his guard. Instantly, the boy used his move to pin him. The boy had won the match and the tournament. He was the champion.

On the way home, the boy and his sensei reviewed every move from each and every match. Then the boy summoned the courage to ask what was really on his mind.

“Sensei, how did I win the tournament with only one move?”

“You won for two reasons,” the teacher answered. “First, you’ve almost mastered one of the most difficult throws in all of judo. And second, the only known defense for that move is for your opponent to grab your left arm.”

The boy’s biggest weakness had become his biggest strength.

The great evangelist Dwight L. Moody said, “I’ve never met a man who gave me as much trouble as myself.” Yes, we all relate to that. Follow the advice of my good friend Dave Blunt: “Stay out of your own way!”

Building a case against yourself is like a microscope—it magnifies trifling things but can’t receive great ones. Here’s a little formula to keep from building a case against yourself: multiply your prayer time, divide the truth from a lie, subtract negative influences, and add God’s Word. We lie loudest when we lie to ourselves. Both faith and fear sail into the harbor of your mind, but allow only faith to drop anchor.

Dismiss all the cases you’ve made against yourself.

Go Out on a Limb—That’s Where the Fruit Is

Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you’ll regret the things you didn’t do more than the things you did. When facing a difficult task, act as though it is impossible to fail. If you’re going to climb Mount Everest, bring along the American flag. Go from looking at what you can see to believing what you can have. Don’t undertake a plan unless it is distinctly important and nearly impossible. Don’t bunt—aim out of the ballpark. The only limits are, as always, those of vision.

Security is mostly a stranger. It doesn’t exist in nature, nor do the children of men experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure or nothing.

Helen Keller

Mediocre people don’t think of themselves as mediocre. William Winans says, “Not doing more than the average is what keeps the average down.” And Ronald Osborn challenges, “Undertake something that’s difficult; it will do you good. Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.” It’s difficult to say what is truly impossible, for what we take for granted today was seemingly impossible yesterday. “Impossible,” Napoleon is quoted as saying, “is a word found only in the dictionary of fools.” What words are found in your dictionary?

One who is afraid of doing too much always does too little. To achieve all that’s possible, we must attempt the impossible. The impossible is possible! Your vision becomes your potential worth. Learn to be comfortable with great dreams.

The best jobs haven’t been found. The best work hasn’t been done. Christians must not stay in the shadows but stretch in the light of the cross. A person who expects nothing will never be disappointed. The only way to discover the limits of the natural is to go beyond them into the supernatural. Ask yourself, “Is anything too hard for the LORD?” (Gen. 18:14).

The readiness to take risks is our grasp of faith. William Lloyd George said, “Don’t be afraid to take a big...

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half Title Page
• Other Books by John Mason
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Part One: Looking Inward
• Part Two: Looking Outward
• Part Three: Looking Upward
• About the Author
• Back Ads
• Back Cover