21 Principles of Success and Greatness

By F. M. Mhlophe

This book details the 21 principles of success and greatness in a motivational form. It’s a book which combines Christian principles with business principles, leadership principles, philosophy and psychology to teach that every one of us can become a success story. It emphasises that everyone here on earth is born for a reason.
Therefore don’t allow bad experiences to keep you from what God has placed in you. You must wake up every day with enthusiasm without allowing trouble to steal your perspective! Rise up with determination, roll up your sleeves and put in the effort to move forward each day. Motivate yourself to become that which you are born for. Nourish the dreams within you, because they are the reason you were born in the first place.
Have the guts and strength to pursue your dreams even in the midst of challenges. Don’t buy into the idea that it’s too hard to become what you’re passionate about. It’s exactly that thinking that will make your dreams appear to be impossible – and that’s a damn lie. Nothing is impossible! When you want something, you must have it, no matter what. Stand up and work hard for it, and you will get it!

• Language: English
• Publisher: F. M. Mhlophe
• Release date: Apr 12, 2017
• ISBN: 9780620750295

F. M. Mhlophe

Frans Mhlophe is currently a Senior Financial Analyst: Costing & Control at Nissan South Africa, international inspirational speaker, author, educator, leadership mentor, and consultant for various government departments and businesses. He is the founder and CEO of MEGA Speakers and Authors (Pty)Ltd: A company with a mandate of building speakers and authors. Travelling extensively throughout the world, Frans Mhlophe addresses critical issues affecting the full range of human, social and spiritual development. He has written and published several books, including challenges of life, Relationships Mistakes to avoid, 21 Principles of Success and Greatness, Sex Pleasures and Pains, You Can Become Wealthy.

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21 Principles of Success and Greatness

21 Principles of Success and Greatness

F. M. Mhlophe

Copyright © 2017 F. M. Mhlophe

Published by F. M. Mhlophe Publishing at Smashwords

First edition 2017

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without permission from the copyright holder.

The Author has made every effort to trace and acknowledge sources/resources/individuals. In the event that any images/information have been incorrectly attributed or credited, the Author will be pleased to rectify these omissions at the earliest opportunity.

Published by Author using Reach Publishers’ services,

P O Box 1384, Wandsbeck, South Africa, 3631

Printed and bound by Novus Print Solutions

Edited by Tony van der Watt for Reach Publishers

Cover designed by Reach Publishers

Website: www.reachpublishers.co.za

E-mail: [e-mail]

ALSO BY FRANS MHLOPHE

Challenges of Life: A guide to help you face challenges of life

Relationships: A guide to help you avoid certain mistakes in relationships

Contact no: [phone]

Email:[e-mail]

Biblical principles to succeed and become great; the principles are interwoven with the modern day principles of success that are followed in the business world, leadership and multi-billion industries.

Success and greatness is intentional. Only those who take daily intentional steps will move themselves closer to success and greatness one day at a time. – Frans Mhlophe

Table of Contents

A Personal Note From Frans Mhlophe

Principle 1. You Were Born for a Reason

Principle 2. You Must Grow

Principle 3. Find Your Purpose

Principle 4. Overcome Your Circumstances

Principle 5. Your Environment Can’t Limit You

Principle 6. Accept Your Seasons

Principle 7. It’s Never Too Late to Begin

Principle 8. Have No Limits

Principle 9. Set Boundaries

Principle 10. Build Your Personal Brand

Principle 11. Develop Yourself

Principle 12. Grow Wiser

Principle 13. Speak Good Words, Not Evil Ones

Principle 14. Do Good Deeds

Principle 15. Meet People

Principle 16. Have Fun

Principle 17. Be Thankful

Principle 18. Be Responsible and Accountable

Principle 19. Love Others

Principle 20. Bless Others

Principle 21. Leave a Legacy

Biblical principles to succeed and become great; the principles are interwoven with the modern day principles of success that are followed in the business world, leadership and multi-billion industries.

Success and greatness is intentional. Only those who take daily intentional steps will move themselves closer to success and greatness one day at a time. – Frans Mhlophe

A Personal Note From Frans Mhlophe

The path to success is never a straight one. It is often filled with lots of challenges, obstacles and sometimes failure. As Paramahansa Yogananda has said: "The season of failure is the best time for sowing the seeds of success." Meaning, it’s the seeds we sow in our failures that create our success. To experience success and greatness, one has to cut out the noise on the outside, listen to the voice on the inside, and keep one’s eyes on the goals, and their price. And all it takes is willpower. If you really want to do something, you’ll find a way. If you don’t, you’ll find an excuse. An excuse is an easy path to follow, but it has long lasting consequences of pain and regrets in the future.

Pain is temporary. Quitting lasts forever. –

Lance Armstrong

Successful people have many differences, but only one thing in common – they have what I call the P.P.R. The first ‘P’ stands for patience. They never give up. Patience is the multi-dimensional mix of flexibility and steadfastness. They are willing to wait longer to achieve their goals. Patience keeps dreamers to their dreams and lovers to their love. The second ‘P’ stands for perseverance. Perseverance is patience with perspiration. Perseverance is one of the most difficult disciplines, but it’s the person who endures that enjoys the final victory. The ones who gave up, you don’t see, read, hear of or learn about their journey of success and greatness. You only see, read about, hear about or learn about the ones who never gave up. So as long as you never give up, no matter what, you’ll be fine. You are on the right path to success and greatness. The ‘R’ stands for resilience. Resilience is what I call perseverance through failure. It is the ability to get back up after one has fallen down. It’s hard to beat a person who has a high level of resilience. The Scriptures put it like this: For a just man falls seven times, and rises up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief (Proverbs 24:16). This is a high level of resilience! It’s the ability to rise each time you fail. Some people have one or two, but not all three of the P.P.R. Some people can persevere, but are not patient. Some are patient, but not resilient. Strengthen all three, and you have the key to success and greatness.

All of us have the ability to become successful and great. As long as we have the willingness to do it, we can! We are given that ability by God. Moses gave this stern warning to the children of Israel – he said: "Beware that you forget not the Lord your God, in not keeping his commandments, and his judgments, and his statutes, which I command you this day: Lest when you have eaten and are full, and have built goodly houses, and dwelled therein; And when your herds and your flocks multiply, and your silver and your gold is multiplied, and all that you have is multiplied; Then your heart be lifted up, and you forget the Lord your God, which brought you forth out of the land of Egypt, from the house of bondage; Who led you through that great and terrible wilderness, wherein were fiery serpents, and scorpions, and drought, where there was no water; who brought you forth water out of the rock of flint; Who fed you in the wilderness with manna, which your fathers knew not, that he might humble you, and that he might prove you, to do you good at your latter end; And you say in your heart, My power and the might of my hand has gotten me this wealth. But you shall remember the Lord your God: for it is he who gives you the ability to create wealth, that he may establish his covenant which he swore to your fathers, as it is this day" (Deuteronomy 8:11-18). Basically we have no power of our own to become successful. Our success and greatness is divinely and supernaturally prepared.

21 Principles of Success and Greatness is a book I have written as a guidance manual. I want to let you know you can do it if you follow and practise these principles; no matter what kind of obstacles you may encounter along the path of life, you will overcome them as long as you don’t give up. If you want to succeed and become great you must be willing to be misunderstood for a long period of time.

However, the good thing about life is that every one of us can become successful and great if we know and do what is required to arrive there. When you take a journey, you plan it. You plan it because you don’t want to be hindered on the way by the unexpected. This book will make you aware that in every journey of life there are things that will try to hinder us, but we have the capabilities to walk through or around or beside them.

The following is what I have realised:

Some people die without having delivered what they carried when they were born.

Some people are rich but yet die poor.

Some people die without having known their purpose.

Some people die without having maximized their potential.

Some people die without having redeemed their time.

Some people live a life of mediocrity.

Some people die without having tasted the pleasures of good relationships.

In writing this book I believe I was propelled by the Holy Spirit to let you know it is never too late to start repairing the damage in your life. The fact you are still alive means that you still have ample time and the chance to start. "For to him that is joined to all the living there is hope: for a living dog is better than a dead lion" (Ecclesiastes 9:4). You can do it! You can be regarded as a dog but –

You can become that person you wished to become as long as you are still alive!

You can affect lives with your life as long as you are still alive!

You can have a relationship with Jesus Christ as long as you are still alive!

You can make it to the top as long as you are still alive!

You can succeed no matter how many times you have failed in the past, as long as you are still alive!

Isaiah 60:1 Arise from the depression and prostration in which circumstances have kept you; rise to a new life, shine, be radiant with the glory and brilliance of the Lord; for your light has come, and the glory and brilliance of the Lord has risen upon you. You need God. You need mentors and support systems that will help you rise to the top. The problem with some of us is that we think we can make it alone. No successful or great man or woman has ever achieved everything by working alone.

Principle 1:

You Were Born for a Reason

The first principle for being successful and great is to have confidence in yourself. I call it a conviction for reason of existence. If you don’t believe in yourself all the other twenty principles in this book are useless. Confidence requires you to believe you have already arrived and there’s a reason for your arrival. This is it. You’re here. You’re you. That’s your destination. You have arrived, and there is nowhere else to go beyond your reason to be here. You are built like a house. A house with a little light inside: A lighthouse. The mission of a lighthouse is not to go somewhere, because it has already arrived. You are already exactly where you are meant to be. The mission of a lighthouse is to shine. So shine!

If we are confident, we’ll never doubt our reason for existence. Without doubts, our emotions, will and mind will agree with our physic which is given to us as a temporary tent to achieve greatness in this physical realm. Inferiority complex begins from doubt of self-existence. Inferiority complex has the ability to kill and bury greatness before its manifestation. Fortunately no one can take you down the road of inferiority, but you yourself. Therefore it’s your sole responsibility to never look down on yourself. Even if others try to look down on you, if you don’t, they won’t succeed. God definitely doesn’t think you are inferior, average or unimportant. He allowed you to be born for a reason. Make sure you are in agreement with God’s plan, and you’ll begin the journey to success and greatness.

There is a saying that goes: Gold can’t be pure and man can’t be perfect. We all have flaws, but we shouldn’t use that as the reason to look down upon ourselves. Further to this, you are not your mistakes or rather the mistakes of your parents. You are not a coincidence either. Even the circumstances under which you were born cannot define you. You are legitimate and carrying a breath of life direct from God’s throne. There is no reason to act like you are the most unfortunate person on the face of the earth. Do yourself a favour by refusing to allow circumstances or your background to limit your reason of existence. Always remember that you are legitimately born for a reason. No matter how you were born, you came through a legitimate process. It took 23 chromosomes from your father plus 23 chromosomes from your mother to make you. All children come through this same process and it is the only legitimate natural process that made you. Therefore you are not a mistake!

With all due respect, allow me to announce to you that you have the right to be here! You are a masterpiece. You are God’s glory yet to be revealed! Imperfect as you are – you were born for a reason! You were not born as an average person. Never doubt or question the significance of your being. You are very important and even God does not want to let go of your life. You may not know who you are but God knows who you are and He wants you to believe that. God the creator is prepared to continue on the journey of life with you, no matter the circumstances you are passing through today.

God cannot erase you from his book of thoughts. Even right now, the Lord is thinking about you. That is why Psalm 8 verse 4 says: What is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that you visit him? You may not believe it, but God believes in you. For one ultimate reason: because you are born for greatness! You are heavily armed with potential. Success and greatness is written all over your destiny. You may be looking for something great, failing to realize that often everything you are searching for lies right within you. The only thing you need to do is try a little harder and open your eyes and look much deeper. Use God’s perspective to measure your life and importance. Don’t use your circumstances or environment, because they are temporary. The hard times and challenges you may be passing through today do not reflect the reality of your future.

Psalm 139:16 "Your eyes saw my unformed substance; in your book all my days were recorded, even those which were purposed before they had come into being."

If you can grasp this first principle of success and greatness, you will easily follow all other success principles to impact the world. There is no other truth like the one written in the above verse. God saw you while you were still without shape. He shaped you so you could become a reality. You have days and years to live, which are packed with success and greatness. You are the real deal! When He was shaping your frame, He also shaped your success to enable you to finish strong. God planned all your days and recorded them before you were conceived. So you were born as a finished product! It’s injustice of a highest order to regard yourself as a WIP (work in process). You have all the complete capabilities, talents and skills that were made ready in you, before you were born to serve the universe. You were blessed in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ before the foundation of the world.

Jeremiah 1:5 "Before you were formed in the body of your mother I had knowledge of you, and before your birth I made you holy; I have given you the work of being a prophet to the nations".

God knew you before you were formed in your mother’s body – when you were still a foetus. Even during consummation in a secret place, God saw you and knew everything about you. God allowed you to be born and commissioned you. You are holy! In the above verse the word ‘holy’ means ‘different’. Yes, you are different. God never made you as a photocopy of anyone. You are unique and no one can be you but you.

As you observe your life, what do you see? Do you see the possibilities of success or failure! As you observe your life, you may see only trouble, hardship, sickness, poverty, failure and lack. But all these things should not put you down. In all these circumstances put your trust in God. The path of success and greatness is often not a smooth one. If the path before you is clear, you’re probably on someone else’s. – Joseph Campbell. Therefore when times are tough you are probably on the right path. Never despair, God knows that your reason for existence is far greater than your day-to-day challenges. The complexities in your life should not be the reason to stop you being great. Your path isn’t meant to be simple and smooth. It’s meant to be amazing. Your momentary troubles are far surpassed by your coming glory hidden in Christ Jesus. The word ‘amaze’ comes from ‘maze’, which is a symbol of self-discovery in many ancient cultures. The point of the maze is not to find a clear path, but to find yourself. Amazingly, it’s in Christ that you can discover yourself and success. Discovering yourself will reveal the success and greatness hidden in you. And that’s your reason for existence. It’s your journey of wonders and miracles.

What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Don’t allow bad experiences to keep you from what God has placed in you. You must wake up every day with enthusiasm without allowing trouble to steal your perspective! Rise with determination, roll up your sleeves and put in the effort to move forward each day. Motivate yourself to become that which you are born for. Nourish the dreams within you because they are the reason you were born at the first place. Have the guts and strength to pursue your dreams even in the midst of challenges. Don’t buy into the idea that it’s too hard to become what you’re passionate about. It’s exactly that thinking that will make your dreams to appear like an impossible task, and that’s a damned lie. Nothing is impossible! When you want something, you must have it, no matter what.

For you to make an impact in this world will take work, discipline and, on the flip side, years of failure. That’s why we shouldn’t be afraid of or be discouraged by failure. Failure is not the outcome – but it is when we fail to try. Therefore, when your failure rate goes up, your chance of success also increases. Failure is as a result of the process of activeness, fruitfulness and productivity; that’s work. Anything worth achieving is going to take a ton of work and self-discipline, but it will be worth it in the end. When you have discipline, you won’t give up when people and circumstances don’t agree with you. You will fear no critics! You will fear no failure! Disciplined people construct monuments with the stones their critics throw at them. Allow your will to succeed to be in line with your self- discipline. Then you won’t give in to your critics and end up failing to achieve your dreams. In the midst of all critics, don’t only say, I’ll make it because I’m talented and determined. Determination and talent are not the whole story in achieving success and greatness. You still have to increase your passion to overcome people who try to pull you down. To overcome your critics depends solely on how much you love what you do. If you really love working on something, you don’t need determination and talent to drive you; it’s what you’d do anyway, irrespective of how many people turned their backs on you because it’s part of you and the reason you are here.

The world doesn’t admire amateurs and beginners, but is attracted to passionate dreamers. Robin Sharma said: The swiftest way to have a worldly empire is to develop an interior one. Being creative, audacious, authentic and loving manifests fortunes. To be great, we must start somewhere and often from the inside passions and dreams within us. Therefore, don’t mind your small beginnings but continue being creative, audacious, authentic and loving. With that attitude, continue to pursue your dreams as if you mean it without minding everything that is against you. Napoleon Hill said: Whatever the mind can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve. As long as the dream is right there inside of you, you can achieve it. Begin today to make your dreams a reality by believing in what’s inside you. If you fail to begin, twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn’t do than by the ones you did do. Dreams left undone turn into regrets. Begin small, but don’t dream small – your God is big. Keep in mind that everything small has the capacity to grow big because God brings growth! The advantage of small beginnings is that you don’t build your record but your track record (your testimony). And that’s how fortunes are built.

Critics generally criticize you only because, at some level, they care about the track record – the testimonies you would have. Critics aren’t attracted by your tests but your testimonies. They aren’t attracted by your mess but your message. You should be worried when critics stop talking about you because that will mean your reason of existence is no longer relevant. If you want to become great, you must embrace opposition. Know your core competencies and focus on being great at them without losing heart as a result of opposing forces. So don’t sell out, no matter how long it takes. Don’t start anything unless it’s an obsession and something you love. The only way to know you don’t love something or you are not obsessed by it is when you have an exit strategy. If you have an exit strategy, it’s not an obsession. It means you aren’t passionate enough about it! If you are passionate about your dream, you will not let go of it, or maybe let me say – it will not let go of you.

It

Reviews for 21 Principles of Success and Greatness

[Hlulani Mbewu Hlungwani · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This book is the best Inspiration in my life,Thanks for writing this book