Aim to Win

By Bolanle Mary Ijagbemi

I am not a saint, unless you think of a saint as a sinner who keeps on trying (Nelson Mandela). It is possible to fail in many ways, while to succeed is possible only in one way (Aristotle). The greatness of any man is his "Ability to rise" after every fall (Awolowo). You are never a failure if you try and miss, but you become a failure the day you stop trying.

This motivational book is challenging everyone not to give up on their dream but to keep trying to succeed until there is victory at last. In the race of life, there will always be an obstacle on your way to the top, but if you persevere with a winning attitude, you would have increased your chances of success! Aim to Win!!

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Jan 22, 2016
• ISBN: 9781504997621

Bolanle Mary Ijagbemi

Bolanle Ijagbemi is an International Motivational and Public Health Speaker. She is the Director of Pleasant Healthcare Limited. A member of Nigerian Women in Diaspora (UK), an Associate member of Youth for Christ International (YFCI), a former Students' leader in Nigeria Fellowship of Evangelical Students (NIFES) Ilorin zone, amongst others. Bola has a background in Accounting, Nursing and Law. She holds a HND in Accountancy from Federal Polytechnic Offa, Kwara State Nigeria; BSc (Hons) in Occupational Health Nursing (Specialist Community Public Health Nursing) from London South Bank University and MSc in Business management from University of Wales. Bola and her husband, Dare are blessed with 3 boys and live in the United Kingdom.

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© 2016 Bolanle Mary Ijagbemi. All rights reserved.

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means without the written permission of the author.

Scripture quotations marked NLT are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc. Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved. Website

Published by AuthorHouse 01/08/2015

ISBN: 978-1-5049-9763-8 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5049-9764-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5049-9762-1 (e)

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CONTENTS

Chapter One

I'll Rather Try And Fail . . .

Chapter Two

20 Major Hindrances To Your Victory.

Chapter Three

Even In Weakness: There Will Always Be A Way Out.

Chapter Four

Victory Is Certain. Victoria Ascerta (Portuguese Language).

CHAPTER ONE

I'LL RATHER TRY AND FAIL . . .

Man born of woman is of few days and full of trouble.

Job 14:1.

From the first day in the world until the last day, what you do in between is a mixture of overcoming one struggle after another victoriously and being overpowered by some or few.

Your races of life started when about a quarter of million tadpole-shaped male cells were eventually released. Each of them carrying its own genetic program and different from the rest in uncountable details, including whether you will be a boy or a girl. The swimming race could be hectic for some and your appointed first battle of life was won when only the chosen fastest cell succeeded in getting to the awaiting female egg, just ahead of the others. This cell is instantly zipped into the egg; tail and all, making it too late for the other contenders as they are shot out and the egg ceases to be available to the later arrivals.

Do you not know that a in a race all runners run, but only one gets the prize?

1 Corinthians 9:24a.

The struggle to survive continues from the early stage of pregnancy which is the first trimester and up until delivery, which marks the second battle won. The first battle is the process of conception and the second battle is the process from conception to delivery. Hence at the end of the second battle of life in this analogy, a baby is born, alleluia! The fear of a miscarriage for instance should therefore not stop one from trying for a baby, even though we know before attempting that failure is a possibility.

It is consequently important to have a mindset that when we fail, we should do so honorably and not let the fear of failure stop us from trying in the first place.

Not long ago I attended an interview at an oil company and was very keen to get the job. I have done series of online tests as part of the screening process and was later invited to travel into the country where I would be based for the final stage of the process. The final stage of the interview went well and then suddenly, I realized that my getting the job would actually depend on other things, not based on performance. I thought of all the benefits attached to the job which was like 10 times better than my current job and the effort I have already put into trying to get the job so far. However, I believe in getting a job based on merit, not otherwise but unfortunately this is no longer the order of the day in many establishments, as I experienced.

I decided to choose to opt out and not to play by their rules, which in essence would compromise the essential components of my personal values and belief system. I knew that God who provided this job opportunity is more than able to provide even a better one. That night in my hotel room instead of feeling sorry for myself, I invited few of my friends who live in that city and celebrated as if I got the job. As I travelled back home the following day, I wrote down on a piece of paper how painful it felt not to have got the job but had no regret whatsoever regarding my decision as I returned to my old job and continued to shine there.

Our dream and ambition to be great and comfortable should not cloud our judgment if the standards and link between us and such are ungodly and unethical.

THE DEFINITION OF YOU IS CONTAINED IN YOUR VISION AND DREAM

Without vision, people perish (Proverbs 29:18)

Like pregnancy, visions are conceived, but their conception takes place in the mind where thoughts and imaginations are caused by intelligence, divine inspiration and wisdom to show a great perception of future developments. Vision is the power of seeing, it means the ability to see, think about and plan for the future. It is the creative power to invent, define and implement intentions and goals.

Your vision is the picture that you can imagine and see in your mind. This means that what you see is what you get; whatever your mind has the ability to perceive and anticipate about you eventually becomes the blueprint to the real you. Hence you must continually refresh your mind positively of the mental picture and work towards making that vision happen.

Other words that have been used in place of a vision include imagination, idea, fantasy, fancy, view, image, perception, eyesight, conception, ambitiousness, mental picture, common sense, wisdom, brilliance, hope, expectation, daydream, envisage, suppose, contemplate and dream. Some believe that vision is a physical and conscious experience while dream occurs during sleep. Some consider both vision and dream to be a spiritual and religious experience. These are all factual and real with evidences.

In the business world, an organization's vision statement contains what the business will do and the rationale for its future existence. It also explains different expectations at different set dates and how these goals would be accomplished. Mission statement (where you are now) and vision statements are usually written down to remind the organization where they started, the goals they anticipated to achieve and the strategic plan of how to get there. This plan is regularly reviewed to ensure the best options and resources are utilized. Once these goals have been achieved, they are celebrated and new goals are being set up.

Similarly, your purpose at the moment and the future is contained in your vision statement, which defines you and provides the map of your journey and the destination regarding the vision you have for your life. It captures the essence of where you are going in life. Your vision defines what you would become and how you would get there, in stages. Remember that pregnancy takes stages from conception to delivery and different stages have its own challenges. Like the tide of male cells in the above illustration, you will have plenty of ideas flowing through your mind which are all related to your vision but only few would be qualified for implementation. This is why the content of your vision must be thoroughly sieved, to achieve the best quality you can ever be.

Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the LORD that will stand.