Even Muslims are well acquitted with the birth and life of Jesus Christ. He was born in a manger in a small town called Bethlehem by a mother who was hitherto a maid. His father Joseph was a low-level carpenter.
If God were men, this entire scenario will be the other way round. He would have been born in New-York city or London or Paris by President Obama in the best Hilton hotel in the world just to show he is God.
But thank him; his ways are not the ways of men.
As we celebrate Christmas, will it not be appropriate to highlight some business lessons we can learn from the birth and life of Jesus.
Definitely, there are tons of lessons to learn from his birth and life but to me the biggest lesson and a business lesson for that matter is Humility.
God, the father had him born in a manger is a small town called Bethlehem when he could have made happen in the best hotel in Jerusalem. His mother was a maid and his father a carpenter. When Jesus started his own ministry it was all humility.
At the feast of Passover, he was the ones washing the feet of his disciples. When he was coming to Jerusalem, he rode on a colt when there were horses. Jesus was so simple that he dresses in the same way as his disciples to the extent that his enemies had to hire one of his disciples to betray him.
This means that he was so ordinary and unannounced and pronounced he could not be distinguished from the followers. These are not the attributes of an ordinary person around here. Many with even very little success will wear it on their shoulders.
But happily enough there are many examples of very successful people who are ever humble. Bill gates for one, our Alliko Dangote for two. He is so simple and unobtrusive.
Lesson 1. To be a successful business person, you must learn to be humble. You must learn and practice humility.
It is a rudimentary business lesson that you must have the vision to succeed. This again is a lesson in the birth of Jesus Christ. His birth was a vision envisaged by God long ago that a son was coming to redeem the world. Isaiah (9:6).
This was a vision well documented by prophets and clergies. And it was achieved. You own vision must also be documented so as to make the attainment easy. You plan your work and work your plan. You do a lot of creative thinking to get to your vision.
Lesson 2. To be a success in business, you must have a well-documented vision.
Having a vision is not enough; your vision must be big. Of course, people will resent it. They will say you are too or over ambitious but show me the successful man without ambition and I will show you a delivery room without blood. You have got to get a big ambition.
Of course, they will tell you, cut it down, it is not easy, and who have you seen doing this and lots of “not possible”. Reject them all. Of course, the Jesus project was the biggest project ever.
A son to come and save the whole of mankind? It does not sound plausible and that was why the Jews were confused.
They were expecting a warrior to save them from their enemies. When the messiah arrived and started talking that he was not only for the Jews but everybody they became, even more, confused.
But since the project was a well-marshaled vision supported by the Holy Ghost, it came to pass.
On this matter of big visions, I have this small story to share.
At Mokola roundabout in Ibadan stands tall and proud, Group medical Hospital. That hospital is a result of a dream of a 23-year-old medical doctor many years back.
The young doctor at UCH told his superiors he was going to build the biggest private hospital in Ibadan. They told him to keep quiet and continue with his salaried job.
He did not listen to them and opted out. He started his private practice and later his seniors who advised him to continue with his salaried job came to work for him in that hospital.
That medic is Chief Kunle Olajide, the Aare of Efon Kingdom.
Lesson 3. Have a big vision and do not listing to the nays.
Of course, people will want to thwart your effort if only to prove that they told you so. Herod wanted to thwart the vision, but Jesus mother ran to Egypt with her baby.
You are the only one who can sabotage the vision. If God is doing it, he will not allow them to thwart your effort but you too must learn how to run away from your Herods. (Isaiah 14:27) The lord almighty has purposed, who can thwart him? His hand is stretched out, who can turn it back?
Lesson 4. They would want to thwart your vision, do not allow them. Learn to run away from your Herods.
If he chooses you he will propagate you, simple. He will give for you all the contacts and resources you need to carry out your vision. God sent the shepherds, the astrologers, and the angels to make sure Jesus was not killed.
He supplied all the disciples and the colt, Jesus rode to Jerusalem and all other things that help Jesus ministry.
This is what people call luck. When God wants to do a thing, it becomes too easy. People think you are a magician.
Lesson 5. If it is a project from God, it won’t take too much stress.
Where you come from is not a determinant of what you will be. Your father, your mother are poor does not mean you have to stay poor. The town you are from is v no issue.
Jesus from Bethlehem a small town, by a carpenter father and a maid mother. What else do you have as an excuse? Yet, he is the greatest man who ever lived.
Dates are counted around his birth before Christ (BC) and after his death (AD). There is no man who has books written about him like Jesus, not even Lincoln the most successful USA president.
Bishop Oyedepo alone must have written more than 100 books on Jesus and his ministry. And coming to talk about circumstances of birth, Bishop Oyedepo is not from Lagos. S.K Abara is from Erimo a small town in Osun state. President Buhari is from Daura, not Kaduna, the capital of the North.
Great things grow from small things. In any case, were this not to be so, the word grow will not be in the lexicon.
What you will be is from your inside not from outside. All those commodities like cars, electric bulb, air conditioners which make life more comfortable for us were first conceived from inside before they manifested outside.
Whatever could contrived inside can manifest outside.
Lesson6. Do not be limited by the circumstances of birth. Grow from your inside.
Life is in stages and phases. You must crawl before you walk and run. Jesus as a baby could not help himself, but his mama made him run from Herod.
If she had tarried longer, the small boy would have been killed. David ran from Saul to come back and rule Israel.
Jesus came back as a lion of Judah flushing them out from his father’s house with a cane. Learn to find the Herod of your business and run from it.
Listen, the Herod does not have to be a human being. It could be extravagance; it could be night crawling or other vices. When your business cannot afford a Toyota do not go get a Bentley.
Lesson 7. Business and life are in stages. Do not expect your business at stage 1 to do what it could only do in stage 5.
God is faithful to his promises; He said thousands of years ago that Jesus would come and he did come. If he says it he would do it. Stay with him he will do it He is a faithful God.
Lesson 8. With God’s promise, your businesses will succeed.
Having Holy Ghost to guide you is a must.
When the Angel told Mary she would have a child she queried him. How was that possible without meeting a man but the Angel told him the Holy Spirit will be upon her? It did happen, she conceived and had Jesus.
Lesson 9. You need Holy Ghost
Holy Spirit must be on your side. This done, you n are home and dry.
2016 will be your year.
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