The Hidden Secret of Success

By Vanessa Winbush Gatlin

Success, although a seven-letter word, has a strong standing in our lives. With different meanings and definitions, success has a unique way of surprising you when you least expect it, of course, the hard work and efforts are mandatory. This book combines the teachings of Scripture, along with methods of making your dreams come true. In God's word, we find the true meaning of success and the strength to get past failures as stepping stones. He, in His most Divine ways, guides his people in the right direction. He fulfills His promises and expects you to commit to yours too. In God, you find real success. In God, you get through all hurdles and setbacks. And in God, you make your dreams come true. This book is a reminder for you to reflect back on your struggles, the risks you take, and the decisions you make. Through God in your life, you will conquer it all and stand out among the rest.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Vanessa Winbush Gatlin
• Release date: Jan 5, 2021
• ISBN: 9781801280587

Book preview

Acknowledgment

I would like to thank my amazing editor, my family, my friends, and everyone who was involved in making this book a reality. I hope my message reaches out to the world, and I can touch the hearts of millions through my book. Without the people who helped me in this book, I would not have achieved my dream of publishing this. I sincerely thank you for your time and support.

About the Author

Mrs. Vanessa Winbush Gatlin is an innovative and energetic leader and builder of people from the city of Lafayette, Louisiana. Her smile will welcome you. Her charm will captivate you. Her energy will electrify you. Her sincerity will embrace you. Her testimony will encourage you. God’s power working in her will bless you. From the time of her youth, it is irrefutable that God’s hand and favor have guided her every move. There has never been a question that her life was purposed for Greatness. Born to parents Roy L. H. and Mae C. Winbush, Evangelist Gatlin was dedicated as a child back to God for use in His service and the glory of His Kingdom.

Supervisor Gatlin has contributed to the Church of God in Christ, Inc. on every level. She is the First Lady of the Gethsemane Church of God in Christ in Lafayette, Louisiana and First Church of God in Christ, Crowley, Louisiana. There she serves as Director of the Women’s Ministries. She is the Supervisor of the Department of Women of the First Jurisdiction of Louisiana. Prior to this appointment, she served as a District Missionary and Jurisdictional Music President. She is also the First Lady (affectionately called Queen) of the International Sunday School Department. Supervisor Gatlin is a Board Member of the Acadiana Symphony and Orchestra. She is currently an Administrative Facilitator and member of the National Executive Board of the International Department of Women, under the leadership of Mother Barbara McCoo Lewis.

Like her late Grandmother, Supervisor Gatlin has an intensity in prayer that drives the enemy’s forces away and commands the blessings and the presence of the Lord. She possesses an uncanny boldness channeled to powerfully declare the unadulterated Word of God. She is the Director of Victorious Women of God Ministries International based in Lafayette, Louisiana.

She is the wife of the visionary Bishop Alton E. Gatlin (Prelate, Trinidad & Tobago Jurisdiction) and mother of two sons, Brandon and Paul (and wife, Khalisha) and grandmother of four. A woman of great wisdom, her faith is propelled by the assurance that He is able to do exceeding, abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us!

Preface

Success, although a seven-letter word, has a strong standing in our lives. With different meanings and definitions, success has a unique way of surprising you when you least expect it, of course, the hard work and efforts are mandatory. This book combines the teachings of Scripture, along with methods of making your dreams come true. In God’s word, we find the true meaning of success and the strength to get past failures as stepping stones.

He, in His most Divine ways, guides his people in the right direction. He fulfills His promises and expects you to commit to yours too. In God, you find real success. In God, you get through all hurdles and setbacks. And in God, you make your dreams come true. This book is a reminder for you to reflect back on your struggles, the risks you take, and the decisions you make. Through God in your life, you will conquer it all and stand out among the rest.

Contents

Dedication

Acknowledgment

About the Author

Preface

Chapter 1- What Does Success Look Like?

Chapter 2- Believe in Who You Were Created to Be

Chapter 3- Work as Your Success Depends on It

Chapter 4- Past Delays, Wounds, & Bruises

Chapter 5- What Can’t Be Sacrificed for Success?

Chapter 6- Dream It to Achieve It

Chapter 7- Use Failure as a Stepping Stone

Chapter 8- Adventurous versus Copycat

Chapter 9- Take a Risk

Chapter 10- Believe in Your Success Story

Page Left Blank Intentionally

Chapter 1

What Does Success Look Like?

What is success? What does it look like? How does it come? There are many definitions and many more answers to these questions. However, the only thing all the greats agree on is that success only comes by persevering despite failure.

Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It’s quite simple, really: Double your rate of failure. You are thinking of failure as the enemy of success. But it isn’t at all! You can be discouraged by failure, or you can learn from it, so go ahead and make mistakes. Make all you can because remember that’s where you will find success. –Thomas J. Watson

Thomas J. Watson was not proclaimed a successful person until much later. It was in 1952 after years of failures, setbacks, and redirection that he was appointed as the president of the company founded by his father. Watson, then, spent the next 19 years building IBM into the unchallenged giant of the computer world and one of the largest corporations in the world. This was his success. However, his idea of success and achievement changed as soon as he was given the responsibility for something far bigger than this. Yes, failures came his way on that journey, yet he learned from them and went on and on. Sarah, a 19-year-old sophomore student, finds herself in the middle of the school year, struggling to achieve straight as while balancing her social life on the side. All her life, she tops in her class as well as wins various competition ns. This is her success at the time. She has a clear direction for her future. She dreams of earning a Master’s degree in English literature.

From a young age, she wants to be a successful editor for a famous magazine. All her hard work seems to be leading her in the right direction. At one occasion, she writes an article for a local newspaper, talking about her journey and how she will consider herself successful if only she becomes a recognized editor. This is going to be her success later in her career.

Mark, a 24-year-old homeless man, spends all his days on the streets of Brooklyn. He ran away from his home when he was 16. He finds himself jobless and out of money. He has no place to live and no money to buy food. He usually survives on leftovers from restaurants or what is offered to him by strangers passing by. Some days, he has even no choice but to go hungry and cold in harsh weather. For him, success is finding a bed at night in the shelter homes. The number of homeless people is increasing exceptionally at the time. The higher the number, the harder it is for him to land a bed at night. Jacob and Gloria, on the other hand, are new in their neighborhood. Their definite ion n of success is to be accepted by the local community, for which they attend church every Saturday.

What is the common denominator in the above three scenarios? Seemingly nothing, right? Wrong. The common denominator in all the scenarios is that these people have totally different definitions of success. You see, a lot of unnecessary confusion is associated with the concept of success. We live in a materialistic world and get to please ourselves with the happiness it brings when we achieve a certain object or title. Some feel it from time to time, such as buying a new phone, getting a degree, or soaking in the freshness of a new car. You see, it is not bad to possess these things, but most of the time, the reasons why we crave these things are a bit misunderstood.

The fact, however, is that success is short-lived in all areas of life. You see, the new phone will soon be outdated by a more innovative, sleeker, lighter, and good-looking model. In a few years, you will replace your degree with a more advanced one. The freshness of the new car will fade by time.

At a time when our self-defeating behavior is at its highest, our problem is that we chase after the wrong kind of success. Internet and mass media exemplify the meaning of success, such as a new car, a new phone, a job title, a certain body shape, etc. This provokes frustration, resentment, and jealousy because it always feels like we are trying to catch up on the things that will never make us contented.

To live a life that we truly aspire, we must set our own goals and ideas of success according to what we want, not what the media or our parents want. Remember, this is all about you, your life, and your