You may think I am asking if you want to be rich.  No, I am talking about living a successful life with little stress as an achiever.  What is the difference between you and a highly successful person?  Probably the difference is: they wanted to be successful and you didn’t believe you could.  Or, at least you were unwilling to put forth the effort it took to become more successful.

What if God talked to you as He did to Joshua?  Would your life be any different?  This is what is recorded:

Joshua 1:7 – 9 – “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go.  Keep this Book of the Law always on your lips; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful.  Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.”

In the New Testament Christ is telling his followers the same thing.  Christ said to obey the principles and day and night live by them as He taught His disciples. Read and study daily your Bible and pray so that you can develop the mind of Christ.  Be strong and courageous and do not fear.  Never become discouraged because I have given you the Holy Spirit to go with you wherever you go.   You will then become prosperous and successful.

If you were to ask my family and friends, who know me best, they would tell you that I have been blessed with a successful life.  Had it not been for accepting Christ once I was discharged from the Navy, I would never have had the life that I have had.  The thing that made a difference was my acceptance of what the Bible taught and then I tried my best to follow Christ’s teachings. (I Peter 1:15 – “But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do;”)  Here are some of the things that changed me:

1. I was forgiven of all my sins. I died to that old person and became a new person in Christ.  I started to allow the Holy Spirit to make a new me.  That new person started to believe in myself and developed self-esteem.
2. I changed my attitude and became positive believing that all things were possible through Christ.  This convinced me that I could become a winner.  I developed a can-do attitude.
3. My character began to change and I became more honest, truthful with integrity. I practiced the “Golden Rule” to do unto to others as I would have them do unto me.
4. I became loyal to others and became more productive for my employers.
5. I learned to become self-disciplined, staying focused on what needed to be done.
6. I was always competitive but now in a more honest way.  It made me more ambitious and willing to accept whatever was needed to do my job.
7. Working to please my Lord, I wanted to do my best in anything I did.
8. I learned to set goals, put them on paper and then had the self-discipline to meet them.
9. I established a financial budget so I could tithe 10%, invest 10% and live on the rest.
10. The Holy Spirit helped me to never give up.  I made mistakes, I failed many times but I learned to become persistence.

I Corinthians 9:24 – 27 – “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.  Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever.  Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air.  No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.”

I suppose having participated in sports and having been a high school coach for a couple of years helped in my self-discipline.  The above Scripture has been very important in how I approached life.  I wanted to be a winner as the Apostle Paul taught.  Once I read and studied the Bible many times, it became very clear.  Every believer can become a winner and be successful.  Keep focused on the Holy Spirit Who is within us to help us be courageous and prosperous as God told Joshua and Christ told His disciples. If only we could teach this to our youth and they would listen.  Most listen to Satan, the great deceiver.