Yes You Can!

By Tatenda Kangwende

About the Book

Few things really come quite as close to giving me an exhilarating "boost and kick", than when I watch and observe someone blossoming into all that they can be. When I read, hear, or have the blessing of actually witnessing someone doing this- that is, self-actualizing and then going on to self-transcend - like Paul the apostle, I just cannot help but, "bow my knees to the Father"(Ephesians 3vs15 NKJV) and profusely thank him for giving me the honor of witnessing such a spectacle.

It is with regards to this that I wrote this book. Drawing from the inexhaustible treasures of wisdom found within the Christian and Hebrew Scriptures, as well as a few experiences and thoughts of my own and indeed, those of many others to whom I am most indebted, Yes You Can!- Five Virtues Which You Can Build In Order To Become More Successful and Significant, is my own "cheer" and encouragement to let you, the reader, know that I believe that you can become all that God created you to be. All of this starts by having an intimate personal relationship with God -the absolute cornerstone and "stability zone" of your life.
It is thus my hope that the little snippets of wisdom which I share with you from His holy writings, will give you a major incentive to get to know Him, and to know Him deeply and personally. So here's to your success dear reader, because indeed, with God's help, YES YOU CAN!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tatenda Kangwende
• Release date: Nov 30, 2020
• ISBN: 9781393461012

Tatenda Kangwende

About Tatenda Kangwende Known affectionately to family and friends as either "Tate", "TK" or simply "T", Tatenda Kangwende was born in Harare, Zimbabwe. He is the author of a Christian themed motivational work titled "Yes You Can!-Five Virtues Which One May Acquire and Build In Order to Become More Successful and Significant" Tatenda's goal is to help people see the practical worth, value and beauty of both learning from, as well as applying, the wisdom of the ancient Hebrew and Christian Scriptures to daily life. He sincerely believes that life becomes most abundant, fulfilling and fruitful when one develops an ever closer union with their Creator. As seventeenth century mathematical genius, child prodigy and ace, Blaise Pascal so excellently noted, "Deep within the soul of every human being, there is a God-shaped hole. Only God can fit in that hole."

Book preview

Yes YOU CAN! – Five Virtues That One May Acquire and Build In order to Become More Successful and Significant

(By Tatenda Kangwende)

Copyright 2011 by Tatenda Kangwende

All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise without the prior written permission of the author. This treatise may not be lent, resold, hired out or otherwise disposed of by way of trade in any form other than that in which it is published, without the prior consent of the author.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgment of a Positive Conspiracy...page 6

Part One:- YOU CAN!...page 8

Part Two:- Five Qualities One may acquire In order to reach their potential...page 19

First Quality:- Put Your Strengths and Talents to Work!..page 22

Quality Number Two:- Don’t Just Work Harder: Work Smarter Too!...page26

Quality Number Three:- Acquiring and Displaying the Right Motives is Absolutely Critical!...page 36

Quality Number Four:- Be Resourceful and Never Give UP!...page 49

Quality Number Five:- Do not negative Opinion and Destructive Criticism Kill Your Dreams...page 59

Conclusion and Summary:- Yes Indeed! With God’s Help You Can!...page 92

Contact The Author:

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E-mail:     [e-mail]

Dedication:

To my parents and everyone else who believed in this project, I thank you all from the bottom of my heart.

Acknowledgment of a Positive Conspiracy

WARM GREETINGS TO YOU DEAR READER! You know, for a long-time, I had never given much time or thought in considering the veracity of conspiracy theories, whether positive or negative, but most especially the negative ones; After-all, as is commonly said, you can never get to the bottom of them. And that certainly could be true -I just did not give this controversy much consideration. However, this began to change after I came across a very fascinating quotation uttered by Charles Brower, who so truthfully and fittingly said , Few people are successful unless a lot of people want them to be.( Quoted in John Maxwell’s Be A People Person, 2007 edition; Cook Communications Ministries; Colorado Springs, Colorado, U.S.A page 181, emphasis mine)

When I read those words for the first time, the proverbial light-bulb in my mind blinked on as it were, as it dawned on me that perhaps I should at least give a measure of thoughtful consideration to positive conspiracy theories. You see, when one has a look at what are commonly called society’s, success stories, it becomes manifest, if not routine (which is most encouraging by the way) to see that other than the sterling and devoted input of the individual or team whose proverbial sweat, blood, and tears it took to succeed, other people and events also played a most significant role, the absence of which would have resulted in a completely different and unfavorable outcome. I have the boldness to make this assertion not only from observation and resolute conviction, but also from experience. You see, dear reader, this book that you now hold and are reading in the palms of your extremely dexterous hands, is the result of such a success story- a positive conspiracy. I now have the honor of acknowledging the major players and participants whom God sent my way to help make it happen:

First and foremost, without so much as a second consideration, the great God of heaven deserves His utmost due for being the Master Architect and Conspirator in not only obtaining for me the key participants in this positive conspiracy, but also in coordinating their roles and functions and in melding them together so that it all panned out so to speak. All glory and praise belong and are due to Him. I now move on to thank the individual participants whom He sent my way:

Right up there at the top of my list are Julia Coleclough and her mysterious friend whom I only know as Evelyn. Without your both sending me John Kremer’s legendary 1001 Ways To Market Your Books I would not have known the first step of getting this book into the hands of those who will find it useful. To make use of, -as well as slightly twist- a popular ad slogan; Your gift was free, the slightly altered slogan goes, but its ideas and contents [were], and still are, priceless.

Manifold thanks are also in order to Drs. Rugare Abigail and Z.K. Kangwende, who believed in and encouraged this project.

Thanks also to Mrs Everjoy Rugayo, my initial proof-reader and editor, for giving me helpful suggestions as per the improvement of the initial manuscript 

Manifold thanks are also in order to my priceless encouragement club of individuals who were continually rooting for the success of this project and who offered continual encouragement; you know who you are.

Lastly, but most certainly far from least, all due credit and applause must be given to yourself, the reader of this book. You see dear reader, you form the significantly critical and indispensable last piece of the puzzle of this positive conspiracy. By either purchasing or borrowing a legitimate copy of this work, you have made all the labor that has gone into it worthwhile. May it add positive and practical value to your life as well as give you the knowledge and comfort that both myself, as well the other vital participants in this project find their joy and satisfaction in you self-actualizing, and whatever small role (if indeed any) we maybe privileged to play in bringing this about.

I also wish to thank all those readers who have flooded both my physical and electronic mail inboxes. Though, in all likelihood I may never even begin to fully acknowledge just what a joy and encouragement it is receiving your correspondence, may I at least make an attempt of thanking you at this juncture. So again thank you for your correspondence, useful feedback and positive compliments, they are priceless.

This then is just one of the many positive conspiracies that God has blessed me with in my life- the publishing and marketing of this book and your reading it; And the aforementioned people were the major players who helped bring it all about. Thank you very much to you all, I truly, in the words of Mr Brower, would not have been successful had you all not wanted me to be.

Part One:

YOU CAN!

The late, great, Hollywood icon, philanthropist and former equestrian enthusiast, Christopher Reeve once famously said that:

"So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable."

When I first came across the above quotation it was almost as if I had been struck down with a sledge-hammer! I found that quote so pithy, -so power-packed and pregnant with rich meaning- that I just pored over it, time and again. Indeed, I would encourage the reader to quickly re-read that quotation and momentarily dote on it- to just let it roll through the vast corridors of your mind. And why does the author recommend this? Simply because of the fact that whether the reader realizes this or not, in the above quotation, Mr. Reeve outlined the process which I believe, many a great achiever and luminary go through, in conceiving, implementing and eventually realizing once seemingly impossible dreams.

Let us now then, briefly analyze the three component parts of this magnificent quotation:

1.       "So many of our dreams at first seem impossible":

This is the first stage- the stage where it all begins- the stage that author and pastor Jentezen Franklin colorfully calls the I Thought It stage. He explains; I Thought It : That’s the stage where you just ...get an idea and  you...see yourself, or you maybe see somebody else doing something, and you say,  ‘You know, I wonder if I could ever do that. I wonder what would happen if I got out of my comfort zone.’ You thought it. Every dream begins with a thought."(Believe That You Can; Kingdom Connection Broadcast; viewed July 5th 2009 on TBN Africa; ellipses mine)

This stage –the I Thought It stage- is where a dream pops into your head for the first time, and, using the analogy of a bird, you begin to ask yourself, What If I got out of my nest for the first time, ruffled the dust off from my feathers a little and spread my wings out to fly? To what heights could I possibly soar? It is the I Thought It stage. And because, at this stage your dream has entered your conscious thinking for the very first time, a small battle goes on inside your head, where at the front of your mind you are silently saying, Oh please! Wake up and stop dreaming already! However, at the back of your head you are fighting back and saying, Hold on a minute now! What if...? And so, because of this internal mental battle, it is at the I Thought It stage where "So many of our dreams seem (please note, only seem, not that they necessarily are in actuality) impossible."

2.       "then they seem improbable":

However, because of sustained conscious thought and contemplation, that idea- that dream- in your head just will not go away. It begins to gain a foothold and takes root in your mind. As such, your dream moves into the realm of seeming impossibility to improbability. You in essence, begin to catch your dream, and start becoming pregnant with it. Explains Mr Franklin, ...the I Caught It stage. That’s when you begin to...get in to it. You go beyond thinking it. You actually begin to research it, you begin to check it out, you begin to look at other people who’ve done something similar, you begin to get... pregnant with it. You catch it, it begins to be a part of your thinking and you begin to put some legs to it so to speak...(ibid)  In short, your dream begins to become real to you.

3.       "and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable":

Because you have now caught your dream and it has become real to you, you truly and finally make it yours by laying hold of it like the anchorman or woman receiving the baton in the final and most crucial leg of a track relay race, and you begin running with it as fast as you can, so speak. To borrow the inspired words of the Hebrew prophet Habakkuk, you write the vision down and make it plain so you can run with it (see Habakkuk 2vs1-3; Revised Standard Version). And, like a pregnant mother who dearly loves her unborn child, you carefully nourish that dream. With each passing day your dream gathers momentum and nothing will stop you until you go the distance and reach your final destination. Explains Mr Franklin, ...the I Sought It stage...when desire sets in. The I Sought It stage is when you become a maniac on a mission. I mean, nobody is going to talk you out of it, nobody’s going to tell you You can’t do it. It has infected you, and you have made up your mind that you are going to do it...you’re not easily deterred.(Kingdom Connection Broadcast, ellipses mine) As Mr Reeve says, you summon the will and your dream now becomes an inevitability. The word inevitable simply means bound to happen and so, because you have thought it,  caught it, and sought it, sooner or later- inevitably- you will give birth to your dream and realize it in the last.

The above then are the basic three stages of the process that, I am sure,  many great achievers and luminaries go through in realizing their dreams- the stages revealed in the late Mr Reeve’s power quote.

However, there is more that we need to understand in order to successfully go through this process and realize our dreams, because we all can- and indeed must!- dream big and achieve big.

What is the X-Factor?

Now it has been said that the great universities of this world are conducive environments- veritable market-places so to speak- for bright and bold ideas to be thought up, conceptualized, and implemented. If this then, is the case – which I certainly believe it is- then surely it can be said that the amazing human mind is a veritable factory