HAVING A VISION- SEEING WHAT GOD SEES

Last week an announcement was made in my church that the next Sunday which will be the last Sunday of 2009, i would be the person to give the sermon. Actually I was told that if I can go out and speak to people then I should do same for my home. So today I went to church in faith and with a lot of prayer and preparation; this is the summary of the sermon. (please not that I am been a fanatic or to use facebook as a medium to be righteous. I just want to share o!) I hope that you enjoy this....................


Let us start our reading from the book of Genesis 1:1-3 (Gen 1:1 In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. Gen 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness [was] upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Gen 1:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.)

The dictionary meaning of the word vision is, “an act of seeing, or sight, the mental picture of something or an imaginative insight of a thing or of how a thing should be”. A visionary person is someone that is given to seeing visions (things that ordinary sight cannot and will not see). In most cases before an invention can take place you first have to imagine it and then bring to life what you have imagined.

In the passage we read in genesis we were able to understand that before any of God’s work of creation stated the first thing he asked for was light. This is because he realized that nothing can be done in the dark, He had a vision of creation and for him to be able to know if the reality tallies with what he imagined then he must be able to see it. Gen 1:4, 10, 12, 18, 21, 25, 31 in all this verses we are told that for everything God created he did a check and he saw that what he created was good; meaning they tallied with his vision (what he had imagined them to be). Therefore we must always walk in the light of God for us to be able to clearly see the manifestation of God’s and our vision.

Why was the bible written? Let us look at the book of Habakkuk 2 from verse 1.
(Hab 2:1 I will stand upon my watch, and set me upon the tower, and will watch to see what he will say unto me, and what I shall answer when I am reproved. Hab 2:2 And the LORD answered me, and said, Write the vision, and make [it] plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it. Hab 2:3 For the vision [is] yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry. )

God ordered the writing of the word which is his vision for mankind so that whoever is able to read it should not just read for the sake of it, but to run with it. In verse 3 we are told that the vision is for a time. That as we read we must run with every vision and not wait.Since we agree that vision comes from our imaginative insight which in turn is actually our thoughts, then we should be able to relate with God in Jeremiah 29:11 when he says he knows the thoughts he has for us. That of good and not of evil and to give us an expected end.

That is God’s vision for us in 2010, what is left for us is to run with that vision because the vision will not wait but shall come to pass. For the coming to pass to happen we have to be able to see what God sees. God sees his children rising up like the armies in Ezekiel 37 verse 10. Where the children of men see dry bones the Lord we serve sees an exceeding great army. The command of God to his children is fulfilled in Isaiah 60:1 and in Genesis 12:1. (Isa 60:1 Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the LORD is risen upon thee.

Gen 12:1 Now the LORD had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee)
In both places God has given us a command of how we would be able to fulfill his purpose (bringing the vision to pass). Since God’s vision is to give us an expected end and he has commanded the writing of the vision so that when we see it we will run with it. Then he says we should do the following: we should begin our run by rising up like a great army; we should follow him in that vision to that place which is the expected end that he will show us. But one thing we must remember is that even though the vision takes a while to materialize, or it takes us a while to get to that place that he will show us, it will not tarry or wait for us to get ready, for the vision is for a set time and God will bring it to pass in his own time Isaiah 60:22 (Isa 60:22 A little one shall become a thousand, and a small one a strong nation: I the LORD will hasten it in his time.)

A RISING GENERATION

Generations of my people
Have neglected to give truth a chance
We have refused to believe
That what we do not want we must fight for it
Naturally, it has been bestowed upon man
To face the future
We know that challenge and risk
Is an essential part of life
However, we rather prefer to run
In opposite direction
Instead of facing our tormentors
Generations of my people
Have lived to witness the pull
Of forces dragging them down
But instead of fighting this pull
They let go of their anchor
And allow themselves to sink
Irrespective of the fact
That we cannot achieve our dreams
Without building it
We sit down and wait
For fortune to seek us out
Generations of my people
Have refused to realise that
The slipshod man will always
Be confronted with problems one after the other
Do they buckle up and wrestle this
Problem like the normal man would?
They just roll around in agony
And believe they are bearing their loss
And been strong
A strong man would stand up
And confront his problems and overcome them
Generations of my people
Are still slumbering
And wallowing in abject suffering
Of the highest degree
What do they do about this?
Nothing, they rely on fate
And allow it to take its course
What is fate?
Is it to believe that man
Cannot work
Towards his freedom and success
Generations of my people
Have allowed themselves
To be trampled upon
They have looked the other way
While their lives have been used as pawns
They insist on been complacent
And continue to compromise with the devil
Strength does not mean trouble
But helps you to straighten yourself
And follow the God made part
Generations of my people
Have continually relied on the flesh
Rather than the spirit
They have refused
To have an in-depth view of themselves and life
They have always viewed things on the surface
Why? Mainly because they fear to realise
That the majority of their sorrow is their own doing
Imagine a man who would continually
Allow himself to be used by others
Does he know that he can make life easier
For himself if he asserts his rights?
Generations of my people
Have allowed the dictations of others
To determine their future
Must they continually walk
In other peoples’ shadow?
Can they not build a shadow for themselves
And allow the rays of the sun to fall on them?
I know my people would someday learn
But then I ask myself, when?
Life would go on
Whether one likes it or not
But generations of people
Remain stagnant
While others continue to proceed
In their live long achievement
It is only the stupid man
That believes in a stagnant existence
And only the fools believe
That life would remain the same
“God’s time is the best” they say
We know this and even believe in it ourselves
But when will God’s time come for you?
God does not help those
That does not need help
Therefore God does not condone
Laziness and wasteful living
Generations of my people
Have continually closed their eyes
And refused to see the pits in front of them
Why? Do we say
They get thrills from falling into pits?
Or rather they are blind
To their rights and inheritance?
Must we continually court them
With no response to commitment
Now we are in new generation
What will they do?
Will they learn from their blunders
Than their predecessors did?
Would they turn blind eyes
Towards the misendeavors of the unjust?
Let us rise and fight for what is
Rightfully ours
We shall go to the top of the mountain
And make a heart piercing noise
A noise that would be felt
At all the corners of the universe
Then we would follow it up with the works
And laborious strength which our fathers
Have refused to make use of
We will come out of the shadow
And allow ourselves to be seen
We would work and strive hard
And continually communicate with God
And an unwavering faith through prayer
Our generation shall say with faith
“Let this be” and it shall be so
Because we are sons of our fathers
We will overcome those that continually trample
On our rights and grasp from them what is lawfully ours
“No more compromise”
This we shall tell the devil
And stand by it irrespective
Of the turbulence of the ocean
This way only can we correct the havoc which
Generations of my people have continually
And incessantly allowed to occur
But then we would be able to stand in large crowds
And not be ashamed
We would cloth ourselves in flowing royal gown
And no stain shall be found on it
And people would say,
“Oh, behold what a great people
Living in a great nation”
And pride in ourselves shall
Make us to stand firm without stumbling
We would then have learned from our mistakes
That the generations of my people
Have continually committed

LIFE AND ITS’ TRICKS

Should I say life played a trick on me
Or fate dealt me a very bad blow
Would I have lived a different life
If I had the chance one again
Can I be a different life
At this age of mine
Back in the days when I was young
My innocence served as a shield
There was always that joy
Even when there were hard times
All eight of us including my parents
Would rally round each other
To make things work out for the better
Such was the life we lived
Now I am gradually growing up
And things of old are out of my grasp
I cannot think like I used to
My spontaneous reactions are gone
I must certainly think before I leap
Why must we die one death
For us to grow and live for another
I was told things get better
And one understands more of life
As one grows and matures
But I refuse to grasp the logic
Of what they say
Because things have not gotten better
And I am more confused
Than I was back in those days
Life must therefore
Definitely be playing tricks on me
For if my views of life is different
From other persons
And I most definitely am normal
Their life is up to one of its tricks again.

© Campbell Mariam Oluwatoyin

LAST IN LINE

He used to live like a king
He would always smile like a prince
Getting ready to be crowned king
He wanted in time
To kiss the hands of the queen his bride
At his feet is folly of men he thought
He had a face like
He knew secret that others never knew
Secure, he thought no evil would befall him
Babyish, he refused to grow up
The rights of the knight are bestowed on him
Along with his title
Life is diverse in many ways
Security was snatched from him
Diversification changed
It is good to feel loved
But when it is one-sided it fades away
But now he lives like the king’s servant
The thin line between
Has been finally crossed
He wears a sad face and
The princely appearance is gone
No longer would he be crowned king
The crown has been snatched from him
He’s been removed from the line
And would never be able to kiss
The queen’s hand after all
Because she never wanted to be his bride
The secretive look in his eyes
Had vanished into the thin air
I like the story of his life
Generality is not necessary
Abstracts are as natural as nature
Beauty is inter woven with ugliness
Rain brings gloom
Sun brings a lifting of the heart
So naturally………..
‘i go alone to taste how it feels
To live’
Does he swim or float
Yes now he’s drifting
Royalty is no longer his
The taste of life is on his lips
so much has been said
About the change in fortune
Rich getting poor vice versa
Healthy getting sick, vice versa
Their thirst already quenched
Been cocooned in love
He does not know hatred
And it’s a sorry sight
When he begins to learn
Minus my love life is boring
If you must take you must give
It is sweet to know
That life wouldn’t pass you by
Don’t live in other possible shadow
Stop running and for once
Look around and
You try to get over your grieve
Don’t be a drifter
Her life was full of promises
Mercenary though it seems
Eat everything you can swallow
Put yourself straight
And don’t live other people’s life
Leave them to bury their ghost
He spilt his skull, he cried
Yes he cried like a baby
The king has just passed on
But in his stead no one would be
Sitting on his throne as a king
He was the last in line
Go join your own queue
Because this one just ended

THAT TREE PLANTED BY THE RIVERSIDE

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper. Psalm 1:3
Trees planted by the river are continuously watered irrespective of the season; this is due to its citing at a constant water source (the River). The Psalmist likens us to a tree planted at the river once we are able to abide by the following:
•we must not walk in the counsel of the ungodly
•we should not stand in the way of sinners
•we should not sit down with the scornful
The Psalmist has stated for us three important sets of people we are never to relate or move with; the ungodly, the sinners and the scornful. The dictionary tells us that an ungodly person is someone that does not revere God (i.e. not devoted to or obeying God), wicked (i.e. behaving in a way thought to violate moral strictures), someone that is unreasonable (i.e. not meeting standards of reasonableness). The sinner is someone who habitually (makes an habit) of doing what is wrong. The scornful is someone that is contemptuous (i.e. feeling or expressing great contempt (attitude of utter disgust or hatred) for somebody or something).
A blessed man is one that is made holy due to his deed and duty toward God or someone that brings happiness and good luck to himself and those around him. We are to remember that Abraham one of the greatest example of faith was blessed and this was shown in the lives of the people around him and also in his life.
“Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.” John 4:10. In this verse Jesus Christ himself made it known to the woman of Samaria that he is the source of life giving water for which Psalm 1:3 refers to. This water flows directly from God himself and sustains His children; keeping them that no harm or evil come near them, their dwelling or all that belongs to them. So we need to have Jesus living in our life and His existence been visible to all around us as a constant factor. Remember, “Christ in us is the hope of glory” and this glory is what the world would see and it will attract them to us and guide them to God.
However, God through Jeremiah says, “For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” Jeremiah 2:13. Here the Lord is saying to the church and to his children that we have replanted ourselves in places where His grace and mercy is not present. In these places we find that we are no longer connected to the living water which results in lack and want in all areas of our lives. We are in need of a job, promotion, marriage, money, good health, we grow to a stage and then stagnate due to the fact that we as trees have no source of water and so cannot produce enough water to grow.
Let us rejoice however for Jesus tells us that, “He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” John 7:38. This is the promise of the Lord to all His children that diligently seek Him and are obedient to his will. It is important for us to understand that “When a man's ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him, Proverb 16:7. We must always delight in the law of the Lord and meditate in it day and night Joshua 1:8; doing and observing what the Lord has said to us in His word (The Bible), through the elders in the church and been obedient to His spirit living in us. That we (as obedient children) may also have a wellspring of water in our lives; sustaining and feeding our lives that we thirst no more. “But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” John 4:14.
We do know that because of Christ’s death for us we have become a part of the spiritual Jerusalem and therefore we shall also partake of the water that flows from Jerusalem all season round. For this is the promise of God to us through His prophet Zechariah which says, “And it shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea, and half of them toward the hinder sea: in summer and in winter shall it be, Zechariah 14:8.
May we continue to grow, and may the Lord continue to be with us all the days of our lives that none of our words shall fall on the ground; “And Samuel grew, and the LORD was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground, 1Samuel 3:19.

THE LORD’S PRAYER

In your prayers don’t babble like the pagans do, for they think that by using many words they will make themselves heard. Do not be like them; your father knows what you need before you ask Him. Matthew 6:7-8

One of my mentors keeps saying that no one has graduated above praying the Lord’s Prayer; this is so because it covers the standard requirement for a praying Christian. The Lord’s Prayer follows a pattern which underlines the need for obedience over sacrifice. It tells us that we pray to God; who is not only our creator but also our father and He resides in the heavens. His name is a Holy name that deserves honour at all times because at the mention of His name we request for His presence. There are lots of Christians that use the name of their father disrespectfully. It is like we calling our earthly father by name and not honouring it. Calling on the name of God at the slightest instant and using the name in unholy gathering and during false pretences. We have so belittled the name, that even the ungodly and unbelievers also take the name in vain.
The kingdom of God is holy and pure and it will only come into our life and finances when we are sanctified by the blood of Christ. The kingdom of God cannot dwell in an unclean vessel and it will respect only those who are obedient and receptive to the things of the kingdom.
“Your will be done on earth as it is done in heaven” really? Do you want the will of God to be done on earth as it done in heaven? The will of God is that we fulfill His purpose for creating us and to obey His laws and be receptive to His word.
Do you do that? The will of God is to remain at his side, under His umbrella and going wherever He asks, when He asks without even thinking about it. The will of God is that we follow him like a sheep, to be responsible children and to do our own share in keeping the family going.
Each day we are to ask only for the need of that day, just as we say; “give us this day our daily bread”. This means that we ought to live our life a day at a time. This does not necessarily mean we are to be careless, wasteful or foolish. What it means is that we are not to worry about things we cannot change since worrying about it will not change it. It will only frustrate you and make you susceptible to the conniving of the enemy. Think only just thoughts because this will cleanse your heart. Just remember God’s word that He has given you everything therefore tomorrow is settled already. This also teaches us to pray for the spirit of patience because once we are able to master the habit of living our life a day at a time we won’t be in a hurry to do things at our own pace but at God’s pace and according to his will.
“Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us”. Jesus tells us that when we come before God we should be free of the guilt of unforgiveness and settle all grievances we have against our fellow man before going before God. What you tell God is this, “my daddy I have forgiven everyone that has annoyed, offended or wronged me today, so I ask for your own forgiveness”. This starts by you forgiving yourself and getting over past hurts. Lack of forgiveness on your path towards those that offend you shuts the door of forgiveness from God. Remember to do unto others what you want done to you. If you can’t forgive you won’t be forgiven. Do not let the sun set on your wrath. Moreover, holding grudges does not make you receptive to receiving from God.
“lead us not into temptation” we ought to pray and ask God daily that as we go through the day we are not lead into temptation or tested beyond our endurance. This is a very essential part of prayer, since our enemy is always before the Lord asking permission to put our lives in jeopardy. He knows that when God hands us over to him he has right over us, Job 1:1-5. Job did not suffer harm until God allowed him to be tested by the devil. So we need to be obedient and always remember to ask God for his help at all times.

So we ought to follow the format that Christ has given to us;
1. Worship the Lord
2. Honour him and keep his word and name holy
3. Be responsible by leaving your life on earth as it is done in heaven
4. Live life day by day. Don’t worry yourself about irrelevant things that you cannot change
5. Don’t hold grudges, forget all offences so God can forgive and blot out your offenses
6. Walk in a way that would not require you to be led into temptation
7. Do God’s will so that He will deliver you from evil always because only by been obedient to His will can he stand by you so that harm will not come near you.

So next time you pray remember the rules of the Lord’s prayer and do not waste your time in asking God for things you know He will not give you. Like asking for the death of your enemy; God does not kill. For him to grant frivolous request, to look the other way while you go against his will; He won’t answer, neither will He answer you when you compare yourself with the ungodly because they are not on the same level with you. Do not ask Him to bless you when you are not doing your own part. Limit your request to the range of honesty and holiness but above all be very prayerful and watchful.

REOCCURING DEATH

Anybody who thinks he has done something
And in so doing praises himself
Has achieved nothing at all
And he who helps others
In other to get something from them in return
Has rendered not one help at all
He who goes about proclaiming
And elevating himself in the presence of others
Should be sure
He would be made the lowest of the low
And you who intend to pose as to attract mercy
Will very definitely be denied of it
The life of the living is not complete
Until he has joined the dead
The unique gift to man is to live
And to live you must experience death
Death is achieved deep down
There is the destruction or denial
Of feelings that will put you down once again
And then you will continue to resurrect
Until death and resurrection cease to exist
Thus the final call to death
The gift given to man to save him
From all the troubles he must encounter,
and the reoccurring death therein

BE FRUITFUL AND MULTIPLY – THE BUSINESS ANGLE

The all encompassing phrase above has been so boxed into a corner that we fail to understand that the meaning is all encompassing and covers every aspect of life and not family or procreation alone. Every business owner is a creator and invariably takes the position of a mini god where the business is concerned while the business is a seed that was sown with the concept of an idea. The role of the business owner from the idea stage to the actualization and growth of the business is never ending and therefore they must watch over that which they have created and make sure that they yield good fruit and multiply to the level where the business becomes an entity of its own and becomes interdependent been able to weather the storm and survive its owner. To achieve these, the owner must actually go through a number of stages all of which are important for the business to outlive the owner. These stages are; idea generation, planning, conceptualization or starting, nurturing, harvesting and succession.

The brain is a commodity used to fertilize ideas. ~Elbert Hubbard. All mankind was born with a functioning brain therefore we can generate ideas that can be of use to our wellbeing in a positive way. There are good and bad ideas but in business the stage at which you bring into the open that exceptional thing that has be lurking in your subconscious and turning it into a money making business is the stage when you have actually created something. It is essential that as a potential entrepreneur the idea should be talked about with the people around you that can properly critic it and give their candid input. The ability to pick out the good suggestions and input from people you have spoken to and to constructively make use of it will also speak of how well the chosen idea or business can grow. The concept of idea generation is known as design ideation. Design ideation can be seen as a matter of generating, developing and communicating ideas, where ‘idea’ is understood as a basic element of thought that can be either visual, concrete or abstract. As such it is an essential part of the design process, both in education and practice (Broadbent, in Fowles, 1979:15). In the generation of an idea which would become a money making business the following questions must be properly answered,
1. What problem will your idea be solving? Is the idea putting out a fire, solving a burning need or making the life of your prospective client/customer easier or better?
2. What value is the idea adding to the society, your clients, and employees? Can the value be quantified in terms of time, cost and speed and will it make the world a better place?
3. Who is your competition and at what level will you be competing? There is no great ideas without a competition, so know who they are, study them and learn from them.
The answers to the three questions above will go a long way in validating your ideas and aid decision making. With the answers you can decide if you want to go ahead and the next step will be to make plans that are feasible and can be met.

At the planning stage the creator draws a blue print or map of the business which give an estimated performance of the business he has created. The plan will show how the business will be able to achieve fruitfulness and how it will undergo the process of multiplication. The usefulness of a map is determined by how well it was constructed and understood by the reader. This is also true for the business plan in that if the plan is not properly drawn out the possibility for the readers to properly understand and make proper use of it becomes remote. Therefore the need to properly show the direction and timeline for meeting each goal must be properly stated. The planning stage for each business can be done in different stages that must cover the following areas; statement of goals and vision, the service or products, who are the target group and where is the market?, what financing is needed for starting and how will it be accessed?, making a manageable forecast of sales and expenses, who are your employees and how will they be reached, and outlining the strategies that would be used to achieve success. All this could be captured in the ‘idea’ business plan that helps determine whether or not the business will be worthwhile and it can also be used to recruit people that can buy into the idea.

In many cases the finished plan is not in itself the most valuable part (although it is evidence of the process). It is the process the business owner goes through that is of value.
• By writing down the business concept, it becomes a more concrete goal.
• By examining the market and identifying a target group, the potential customer becomes more real to the business owner, and therefore easier to target sales and marketing messages.
• By forecasting sales and expenses, the business owner has a specific number of sales to aim for.
• By deciding first their goals, then the strategies and tasks they will use to achieve their goals, the business owner is consciously making decisions that become planted in subconscious and conscious thoughts, helping them to stay on track.

The primary purpose of your business is to serve your life … in order to grow a business that will serve your life; you need to work ON your business, not simply IN it. Business plans are useful for focus and direction, if only as a tangible product of the discipline of the planning process. Those who take time to plan their business benefits by gaining a deep understanding and commitment to the business goals and direction, as well as having a plan on paper to act as a guide.

I like the word of an advert which says “go start something” because the most essential part of the business is not the actual planning but the conceptualization of the plan to bring to life the idea that has been generated. It is at this stage that a lot of business owners falter for they forget to make use of that map that uniquely shows the territory for which the business will cover during the short and long term and to see if they are moving in the right direction or if they have taken the wrong turn. When conceptualizing a business, it all starts with a plan. And in any business plan, there are only about three important things to consider. These conceptual ideas can help you jumpstart the initial foundation of the business that, when implemented and successfully carried out will yield good business fruit later. Every entrepreneur must realize that decisions made will affect the life the people around them at all times. Therefore the effect of the business on the family should also be considered when planning and should be factored into the planning and conceptualization process. It is necessary to determine the degree to which the start of a business will affect the family and dependent and their standard of living. The future effect should also be considered and must play an important role in final decision making.

Beyond the conceptualization of a business plan and getting the ball rolling, there are a lot of other aspects of the business that comes into play; employees and their salaries, the company’s account and bills to pay. It is the responsibility of the entrepreneur to monitor each stage of the business and nurture it like one would a child or a plant for it to grow confidently and become stable and strong to the level where it will not be shaken by whatever storm comes its way but can adapt and make good use of every situation. The ability for the entrepreneur to continue to keep the business organized and accurate enforces a foundation and strength that prevents the business from collapsing after a few years. At this stage the entrepreneur needs to map out training and learning phases for him and the staff that will add to the overall success of the business. As people play a major role in the business this stage of nurturing will also include the staff, the entrepreneur should endeavor to know his employees; their strengths and weaknesses and personal life to a certain extent as this will also have an effect on job output of each employee. It must be understood that like life the business will have periods of drought and plans for irrigation and proper cultivation to facilitate growth have to be considered. The operation of the business is time consuming and requires dedication from all the staff as well as effective pruning. The pruning stage in any business is the practice of cutting away all unwanted, unnecessary, or undesirable part of the business after a period of achieved growth. Pruning can also be used to remove strategies that might have seemed feasible but at the end will contribute to the downturn of the business, to influence vertical or lateral growth for various reasons, and to increase fruitfulness and growth. It also determines branch structure and how they are attached to each other in the running of the business.

After proper planning and pruning the time comes to harvest the result of hard work that has been put into the running of the business and to make good use of the market niche that has been carved out for the business. The result of dedication and hard work results in loyalty of staff and clients to the business which can eventually be built upon. At this stage one also needs to determine if there is a need to conquer new territories and if the plan needs to be reviewed. The level of success after each year gives the business more ground to operate and to spread its wings. However remember that it is from the harvest that the seed for the next planting stage is set aside, and the level of growth is determined by the plans made at this stage, known as the succession planning.

Succession planning is a process where an organization ensures that employees are recruited and developed to fill each key role within the company. Through the succession planning process, the company recruits superior employees, develop their knowledge, skills, and abilities, and prepare them for advancement or promotion into ever more challenging roles. It also aids in retaining superior employees because they appreciate the time, attention, and development that you are investing in them. Identification of the long term goals of the business aids the effectiveness of the succession planning for every business. This also involves identification and understanding of the developmental needs of each employee and how well they can be motivated to give them an understanding of their career paths and as well as the roles they are been developed to fill. Remember also that for the company to grow, it must continue to focus some of its resources on key employees that can be retained, and this is helped with the understanding of employment trends to know the roles you will have a difficult time filling externally.

All businesses must be given the opportunity to outlive the owner of the idea and continue to grow long after he is gone or has retired from the business. The idea that a member of the family will take over the business must not play a major role in future planning as this might result in the death of the business. Therefore in as much as the owner wants his son or daughter to continue with the business the thought that this might not happen must also be factored into the succession plans of the business. This way the continuity of the business can be effectively assured and the continued achievement for the family certain.

Finally, we should all remember that like the creator of mankind, the business owner has created the business and must also watch out for it and its growth and success. All plans for it to succeed must be implemented and reviewed regularly for an effective growth. Only with this will the business grow, bring forth good fruit and multiply. Multiplication invariably means expansion and the creation of new ideas to help the business grow, having new offices, branches, services, products or franchises. The rate of success as measured by the entrepreneur should cover the effect on the society, its people and the size of the business. Been fruitful and multiplying actually involves hard and strenuous work whether it as a service provider, manufacturing and production, or otherwise the work put into the business determines the level of fruitfulness and how well we multiply.