12 ingredients for success despite all odds
Are you struggling with what you’re doing and feel like quitting? Life is full of challenges. Learning to overcome them is an important key to success. Without evidence there will be no victory and without evidence there will be no testimonies. This post aims to show you the ingredients you need to be successful despite all the odds.
These things I have spoken to you so that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation; but trust, I have overcome the world. – John 16:33 (NIV).
Because there is hope for a tree, if it is cut down, that it will sprout again, and that its tender shoots will not cease. Even if its root grows old in the ground, and its trunk dies in the ground, when it smells the water it will green and branch like a plant – Job 14:7-9 (NKJV).
Many people are tired of living; they have struggled for a long time without any tangible results to show all the efforts. Some have attributed their situation to their family background, illiteracy and poverty, which is why they have decided to assume it as their destiny. However, the truth is that there are many people who have been through worse situations and have emerged triumphant.
Let’s consider some examples to inspire you:
A) From the scriptures
- Daniel
He was a young Jewish nobleman from Jerusalem who was taken captive by King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. However, he became an important leader in Babylon serving under three or four rulers. He was much preferred by other leaders. He prospered in a foreign land where he was supposed to be a slave. Surely, he managed it against all odds.
- Joseph
He went from the pit, where his brothers first put him, to Potiphar’s house as a slave; he then from Potiphar’s house to prison for having committed no crime, except for refusing to sleep with his master’s wife. Finally, he arrived at the palace as second in command in Egypt. He went through difficult periods before his success, although God showed him before that he would be above his brothers and bow down to him.
B) Contemporary examples
- Nick Vujicic
He is an Australian evangelist and motivational speaker, a man with no limbs who has a huge impact on the lives of many people proving that he is without excuse. He is considered one of the richer and most influential personalities in the United States of America. He went through a lot growing up and even tried to commit suicide, but thank God he overcame them all and succeeded against all odds.
- Ben Carson
He was a troubled young man who grew up in abject poverty but had a mother who had faith in him and influenced him positively. He became a renowned neurosurgeon, and has written several books, including the popular autobiography ‘gifted hands’
All of these people went through many challenges, but made their way to success by making certain conscious decisions and steps. Let’s consider them here:
INGREDIENTS FOR SUCCESS
What you must have, be or do to succeed despite all odds
1. Justice
The number one ingredient you need is a good relationship with God, because a righteous man can fall seven times, but he will get up again; however, the wicked will fall into evil. It takes God to succeed against all odds. You need his help and his favor to succeed. It begins when you receive His son Jesus Christ as your savior. Christ reminds us in John 16:33 that in this world we will have trouble, but he ended by assuring us that in Him you will have peace because He has overcome the world.
2. Do what is required
It is not enough to say that you have done your best. The question is, “Have you done what is required?” You need to discover what is required for you to be successful. Go for the knowledge and apply the same. The truth remains that God’s people are destroyed or defeated for lack of knowledge. You must do what is required for you to be successful in life.
3. Persistence and Perseverance
This is continuing in what you believe in or are doing despite difficulties, challenges, opposition, or delays in achieving success. You tend to become stronger, more appreciative and compassionate, as you persevere and preserve strongly. You have to keep moving, NEVER GIVE UP. Isaac kept digging new wells until the Philistines stopped fighting him over the wells.
Martin Luther King, Jr. said, “If you can’t fly then run, if you can’t run then walk, if you can’t walk then crawl, but whatever you do you have to keep going.” Many people fail without realizing how close they were to success at the time they gave up.
4. Brave
You must be brave if you are going to succeed against all odds. You need it if you’re going to do something you’ve never done before or won’t want to do again. It allows you to keep going even when you don’t have the strength to continue. It is the backbone of all successful men and women. God had to tell Joshua to be brave over and over again because of the task ahead of him. He was getting into the shoes of Moses and they were very big. But he did what the Lord told him to do and he was very successful.
5. Diligence
This is a very important ingredient. You need to work hard and be diligent in your pursuit of success. It is not a kid’s game. It requires a lot of effort, time and sacrifices. Diligence will take you places, it will make you stand before kings and not before unknown men.
6. Consistency
This is acting or doing something in the same way over time, especially to be fair or accurate. In essence, if you want to be successful, you must take charge of your consistent actions. This is because it is what you do constantly that shapes your life and not what you do occasionally. It is the difference between failure and success. Daniel was constant in his prayers to God that his enemies tried to use against him when they couldn’t find any other fault in him, he was very faithful. However, his consistency paid off for him. God delivered him from the den of lions and the Lord was honored by the king.
7. Enthusiasm
You must be enthusiastic about what you are doing to achieve success. This is having intense and enthusiastic pleasure, interest, or approval in what you are doing. You can’t attract others to your service or product without being able to convince them that it’s worth it. Enthusiasm helps you sell yourself and your ideas, products or services to your customers or potential customers. Paul was so excited about assigning himself to the Gentiles that he chose to stay with them, instead of dying and going to be with the Lord, to help them settle in the Lord.
8. Hope
Hope is the pillar that feeds your perseverance. It’s what allows you to turn your obstacles into stepping stones to higher ground. Feed your desire to succeed despite all odds. The Bible is the best bank for hope. It is full of seeds of hope. When you plant them in your heart you will have hope. A tree can grow old on earth, and its stump can also be dead on earth, but by smelling the water it will sprout and bear fruit, that is the power of hope. Hopelessness is the reason why people give up even when they are so close to their breakthrough.
9. Faith
You need to have faith in God and in yourself. If you can believe nothing will be impossible for you. No matter what challenges come your way, with faith you will overcome them all. Abraham had faith in God and the Lord did with him as he had told him. Abraham obeyed the Almighty, left his family and began to go to a place unknown to him without question. He clung to God’s word about his fruitfulness regardless of the state of his body, until Sarah gave birth to Isaac.
10. Inspired
For you to succeed against all odds, you need to locate and follow those who have been through what you are currently going through and achieved it, people who are where you want to be, and people who will always inspire you to keep going and not give up. You cannot be an island and go far in life. The greatest one to locate for inspiration is the Holy Spirit. The inspiration of the Almighty gives understanding.
11. Satisfaction –
Contentment is a great gain. You should be happy with every level of progress you make and be thankful to God. Choose not to murmur or complain about what is yet to work in your life so that you or your work are not destroyed.
12. Patience
Finally, Patience is another ingredient to add for good, lasting success. You need patience that after you have done what is required you will achieve success. Also, be patient with yourself; Rome was not built in a day.
In conclusion, surely, a combination of all of the above will give you success against all odds. You are not the first to go through what you are going through and you will not be the last. Choose to be among the few who will always choose to succeed despite all odds. Remember, God will be there to help you all the way.