Jacob’S Ten Great Attitudes for Getting to the Top: The Unlimited Power of Attitude

By Philip U. Nkwocha

How did Jacob inherit the Abrahamic covenant (despite being disadvantaged by order of birth) and become father of the patriarchs? How did he become stupendously wealthy and prominent twenty years after he ran away from home with just a staff?

The top is open to all, but not everyone will reach the top. This is a bitter but truthful pill to swallow. Factors like background, environment, education, exposure, connection, ability, etc., may contribute to this, but attitudewhich is the missing most essential attributeis what this book tries to address.

You can learn and unlearn your attitudes. Through this book, youll get to know the ten attitudes that lead to greatness and those that surely culminate in failure, attitudes approved and disapproved of God, attitudes that worked against Esau, and those that worked for Jacob. Indeed, the top is for people with great and positive attitudes. And you can be one of them if you cultivate and practice the attitudes described in this book.

• Language: English
• Publisher: AuthorHouse UK
• Release date: Dec 21, 2016
• ISBN: 9781524662929

Philip U. Nkwocha

Philip Uchenna Nkwocha is a man of many parts. Called to be an evangelist, Philip has undergone several theological trainings in the Assemblies of God, Nigeria, and has been teaching in the Sunday school for more than twenty-one years. He once served as a deacon for eight years and a two-time youth president of the Assemblies of God, Agboju Lagos. Philip is an avid Bible scholar, songwriter, singer, and currently the missions president (overseeing both local and foreign missions) of the Assemblies of God, Agboju Lagos, where he also serves as the prayer band leader. He has authored two books—Spiritual Remote Control and You Can Be Rich Too. Converted at the age of seven, Philip believes in the totality of the Word of God and is actively involved in preaching the Word of Life from place to place. Philip is also a professional banker with over eighteen years of experience in commercial, retail, and corporate banking. He is an associate member of the Chartered Institute of Bankers of Nigeria (CIBN) and holds a master’s degree in business administration and a BSc in finance and banking from the University of Port Harcourt, Nigeria. He has attended various executive education courses, including the Kellogg School of Management. Philip is happily married to Blessing, and their marriage is blessed with four wonderful children.

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© 2016 Philip U. Nkwocha. All rights reserved.

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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

Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the Holy Bible, King James Version (Authorized Version). First published in 1611. Quoted from the KJV Classic Reference Bible, Copyright © 1983 by The Zondervan Corporation.

Published by AuthorHouse 01/18/2017

ISBN: 978-1-5246-6291-2 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-6290-5 (hc)

ISBN: 978-1-5246-6292-9 (e)

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CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Introduction

Attitude and Destiny

It’s About Attitude

Supremacy Race

Esau and Jacob’s People

Attitude 1: Recognizing God First

Attitude 2: The Cultivator’s Mindset

Attitude 3: Setting the Right Priorities

Attitude 4: Building the Right Relationships

Attitude 5: The Pursuit of Vision

Attitude 6: The Possibility Mindset

Attitude 7: The Sixth Sense

Attitude 8: The Home Winner

Attitude 9: Diligence

Attitude 10: The Grateful Heart

Wholeheartedly dedicated to the Sweet Holy Spirit, who gave me the inspiration to write this book.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I give all credits to our Father and God for working in and through me to put this great book together. I remember vividly when He impressed on my spirit to study and put up a teaching on Jacob’s attitudes. Like Apostle Paul, I was not disobedient to the heavenly vision and what He began by way of an idea seed has blossomed into a full book that shall be a blessing to this and subsequent generations.

To the congregation of Assemblies of God, Agboju Amuwo, Lagos, Nigeria, who were the first to partake in some of the fruits of this book, I am sincerely grateful.

To all who requested the teaching notes each time I shared any part of this great book, or called me to commend the grace of God on my life, your kind words were of great encouragement to me.

To Reverend Dr. Titus C. Ibekwe, I remain grateful that you provided the platform where I could share some of my teachings to your congregation. Your liberal gift is of no small blessing to the body of Christ.

I sincerely appreciate my lovely wife, Blessing, and our four wonderful children, Chukwuemeka, Ugonma, Chimzurum, and Onyinyechi for being supportive all the time. You were there for me, especially during the many nights when I stayed awake until the early hours of the morning, putting this book together. I am blessed to have you all.

I am indebted to all who contributed in one way or the other to making this publication a reality. Your labor shall not go unrewarded.

I also thank in advance all those who shall buy this book once it hits the bookstands. No doubt, I have been tremendously blessed through the many discoveries contained inside. Many of you also will be blessed through the teachings in the book, and I guarantee you will reach the top as you embrace Jacob’s attitudes. God will bless you all.

See you at the top.

FOREWORD

Your attitude should be the same that Christ Jesus had … Because of this, God raised him up to heights of heaven and gave him a name that is above every other name. (Philippians 2:5, 9 NLT)

This scripture clearly explains the relationship between attitude and rising to the top, which is the major theme of this book. It fully establishes the fact that a positive attitude is a certain ladder to the top. Three major factors can be seen in the passage. First, Jesus Christ made it to the top. Second, his attitude made it possible for him to do so. Third, we are advised to emulate the attitude. Granted the attitude being described here is primarily and particularly humility, but it’s still an attitude. Therefore, among all the factors that enhanced the rise of Jesus—our perfect example and mentor—to the top of the top, attitude is given such prominence, no man can fair better otherwise.

In Matthew 5, Jesus begins his longest recorded sermon—the Sermon on the Mount—which taught the importance of attitude. This section of the sermon is described by biblical scholars as The Beatitudes; however, I choose to call it Beautiful Attitudes. A careful study of Matthew 5–7 underscores the fact that positive attitudes are critical to any man’s quest for greatness. There is then no gainsaying the fact that great attitudes guarantee great success. The Apostle Paul goes further, writing to the Galatians that the spiritual dimension of the right attitude is the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22–23).

Attitude is the way you think, behave, or act. It is the way you do things differently from others that either shores you up or knocks you down. That attitude is a separating line between success and failure cannot be overemphasized. Clement Stone affirms that there is a very little difference in people, but that little difference makes a big difference. The little difference is attitude. The big difference is whether it is positive or negative. This is exactly the concern of the author of this book. He has carried out a comparative and in-depth study of two major biblical personalities—Esau and Jacob—from their births to the closing chapters of their lives. They were born twins, but at the end of their lives, Esau went down while Jacob rose to the top. The author’s point is that their final stories are the function of their attitude. While Esau exhibited grave negative attitudes, Jacob demonstrated great positive attitudes that made him a top flyer. It is little wonder that Roy L. Smith opines, Our attitude counts more than our ancestry.

According to author Philip Nkwocha, the ten great positive attitudes Jacob demonstrated include recognizing God first, adopting the cultivator’s mindset, and setting the right priorities. Others include building the right relationships, pursuing a vision, and developing a possibility mindset. He also discusses activating one’s sixth sense, which conventionally means being a faith addict, winning at home, demonstrating diligence, and finally possessing grateful heart. Philip is an evangelist who presents these destiny-transforming truths in a simple and plain language with deep revelation, insightful Bible exposition, and proper application. This book is life changing, educational, informative, and inspiring. Encapsulated within are practical ways for cultivating these attitudes and making them functional in our everyday lives. This is very important, to the extent that Charles Simmons argues our attitudes control our lives as [a] secret power working twenty-four hours a day for good or bad. It is of paramount importance that we know how to harness and control this great force. Hence, Jacob’s Ten Great Attitudes for Getting to the Top is a must-read for anyone who has covenant with the topmost place in destiny.

I have listened to the author a number of times and also have read his book, You Can Be Rich Too. I have a strong conviction that he is quite passionate about the full realization or fulfillment of one’s destiny or essence of existence. I therefore recommend this book to you and whoever desires to occupy or sustain their positions at the top. It is indeed a compass for life’s journey to greatness.

Greater grace!

Reverend Nnamdi Onumaegbu

INTRODUCTION

It’s been said that attitude is everything; that attitude determines altitude. I could not agree more. Attitude determines the way you evaluate and respond to life’s circumstances, and that accounts for the results you obtain.

Attitude is defined as your inner feelings that determine your behavior; it is what you are on the inside that reflects through what you do on the outside. You are seen and heard through the attitudes you display. And the attitudes you exhibit can stagnate and grind you; sink and bury you; and equally propel, promote, and sustain you at the top.

Attitude gets you committed to a course—positively or negatively—focuses you on it, and drives it to fruition. Attitude sets you running for a goal, keeps you tenaciously focused, and pitches you to the top or keeps you on the ground for life.

The attitude question is very critical and must be taken seriously by anyone who aspires to get to the top in any endeavor. Attitude determines the way you think. And your thought is you: for as he thinks so he is, declares the Lord in Proverbs 23:7. Your thinking pattern is essential and has an overwhelming impact on the choices you make and thus the results you get.

Man is a being who makes choices. The power to choose was one of the wonderful attributes bequeathed to him at the Creation by the Almighty God. The ability to make intelligent choices distinguishes him from every other creature. This great attribute of making choices in part makes man like his maker.

God does not resist or oppose your choices, but the very important point to note is that every choice man makes is subject to the sovereignty of God. This fact is imperative to realize, because you are not lord of yourself. You are subject to the authority of the Lord of lords, although you are solely responsible for the consequences of your choices. Man’s choices determine the actions he takes, and actions correlate to the outcomes obtained. Thus your choices and actions are byproducts of your attitudes.

Your attitude determines the way you speak. And what you speak comes from the depth of your heart, for it is written out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks (Matthew 12:34). The way you respond to life’s events also is determined by your attitude, and you are accountable for all your actions. Thus the way you think, speak, and act describe in totality your attitude, and this summarizes how you respond to matters of life and the results you will obtain in life.

Attitude defines the way you react or respond to other people. It governs the relationships you keep. It largely determines how others relate to you.

Most people with great, enviable potential but poor attitudes end up as dregs; they have the doldrums and never really fulfill their divine purpose. Great attitudes beget greatness while poor attitudes limit inherent abilities and lead to regrettable heartbreaks.

The top is accessible to all, but not everyone will reach the top. This may be a bitter pill but it must be swallowed. Background, environment, education, exposure, connection, ability, etc., may be contributing factors, but more than anything else, attitude will determine whether or not you would get there. The top is for people with great and positive attitudes. You can be one of them if you cultivate and practice the attitudes described in this book.

If attitudes can be inherited, people with negative attitudes would blame their genetic makeup for their predicaments. They would blame their parents and not themselves. But no matter whom you blame for your negativity, you cannot be released from the consequences of your choices and the actions taken due to your poor attitude.

Clearly, there is nothing like negative attitude wired in anyone’s genes. What you have inside you are electrolytes and plasma (blood and water). Thus, you are responsible for the attitudes that are weighing you down. But the good news is that you can unlearn the bad attitudes. You can cultivate good attitudes to set you on the road to a great life.

We can work on this by drawing insight from two notable characters in the Bible, Esau and Jacob. Attitude made the difference in what Esau and Jacob became in life. These two were great and promising children who shared a common parentage and heritage, had similar environmental challenges, were exposed to equal opportunities. But their different attitudes filtered into their choices and actions and ultimately affected the man that each became.

Esau held the birthright with all its attendant immediate and future benefits. But he cultivated negative attitudes that led him to lose that birthright and live a life of servitude. Jacob, however, developed a positive attitude that propelled him to overtake Esau and rise to the top.

God outlined in His Word that individuals and nations with positive attitudes would always be stronger and master individuals and nations with negative attitudes. That is the message of this book. We are going to dissect Esau and Jacob’s attitudes and, through them, know what attitudes work and why some individuals and nations will always be on top and why other nations will always be down and under.

While it may not be possible for everyone in any society to have a positive attitude, it is very true that if most people in a society have positive attitudes, that society will be cut out for greatness. But any society where most of its people have negative attitudes, greatness will remain a mirage or in the realm of wishful thinking. That nation is standing on quicksand and could sink at any time.

Two nations greatly endowed with human and material resources might start out at the same time to achieve the goals of sustainable economic growth and development, a workable healthcare system, education for all, constitutional equality, justice and equity, industrialization, infrastructural provision, welfare for their citizens, security of life and property, etc. Yet years down the line they come out with different results. Perhaps the nation with the poor results had the best policies and strategies, but its citizens and leaders had a negative attitude.

No nation can achieve greatness unless it has people with great and positive attitudes. The Lord declares that righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people (Proverbs 14:34). Thus no nation rises above the collective attitudes of her citizens. To build up a great nation, therefore, you have got to build up a people with positive attitudes.

This book is not just about the society or the nation; it is about the individual. It’s about you! If I succeed in changing your attitude from negative to positive, I will expand the army of positive-minded warriors who believe that change is possible when the right attitudes are applied to life situations. And when the individual is changed positively, society will change for the better.

You can learn and unlearn your attitudes. Through this book, you’ll learn about attitudes that lead to greatness and attitudes that surely culminate in failure, attitudes approved and disapproved by God, those that worked against Esau and those that worked for Jacob. There are attitudes God approves of and those He finds abhorrent. If you develop and practice the attitudes approved by God, you will receive God-like fruits of productivity, prosperity, and peace. But if you uphold attitudes that were not sanctioned by Him, the result will be fruits that are detrimental and inimical to your God-given purpose.

If positive attitudes discussed in this book raised Jacob from a man with one staff to a prince who walked with God and ruled over men, learning and applying the same principles will also take you to the top. If people like Jacob excelled yesterday, people who do what he did will achieve similar results of greatness today and at any time.

If Jacob served God, succeeded in all that he set out to do, created wealth, had a great and formidable family, had an impact on people’s lives, and was highly regarded and respected by nations, I guarantee that adopting the same attitudes will enable you to replicate Jacob-like success in your life. What do you think?

If the wrong attitude made Esau lose the blessings of his birthright, become belligerent and frustrated, carry the unprofitable burdens of bitterness and condemnation, live a life outside God’s purpose, and leave behind painful and regrettable heritage, don’t think you will be any different if you practice the same negative attitudes.

God wants you at the top. The multitudes out there are waiting to celebrate you. Thus I urge you to join in this beautiful attitude ride as I wait to celebrate you at the top.

ATTITUDE AND DESTINY

Attitude is a strong determinant of whether an individual will be strong or weak, rich or poor, progressive or reactionary, a success or a failure, on top or below, the head or the tail, or happy or unhappy. It makes the difference between winning and losing. It distinguishes the champions from the losers. It separates the pretenders from the performers.

Attitude is critical to destiny because it makes the difference between life and death, between becoming what God intends you to be or becoming something else.

Individuals with great attitudes will always rule over individuals with negative attitudes. Likewise, nations with great attitudes will always rule over nations with poor attitudes. It’s not that some were destined to be strong and others weak or that some were created more mortal than others. It’s all about attitude, not destiny! God’s plan is for every man to have a good ending, but the truth is that—due to poor attitudes—most will have a regrettable ending. Be one of the few who reaches the top!

What holds true with individuals holds true with families, societies, and nations. Nations with great attitudes have great, positive, and uncompromising values embedded in their foundations. They breathe and live these attitudes, which determine their choices and actions and the results they obtain. Nations with weak, poor, and negative attitudes inadvertently and complacently sacrifice the future for the exigencies of the moment. They are known for indulgences, compromises, and a moral laxity that weakens the fabric of the state.

This timeless message is vividly demonstrated through the attitudes exhibited by Esau and Jacob. Any individual or nation with Esau-like attitudes would obtain Esau’s kind of results while individuals or nations with Jacob’s attitudes would become a prince who rules over men. People with Jacob-like attitudes are rulers and people with great influence in human affairs. They end at the top by attaining God’s purpose for their lives.

While attitude is the inner feeling that has an impact on your behavior, destiny influences who you will ultimately become in life. While some teach that destiny is a predetermined end, one that cannot be altered regardless of what one does, in fact destiny can be affected by one’s disposition. Attitude gives wing to destiny; it is destiny’s driving force. Destiny is shaped or shattered by attitude.

No one was predestined by God to be a failure, but people fail anyway. His goal is to give you an expected and enviable end. He never desired that anyone die in sin and go to hell, but many may refuse His grace and provisions and end up there any way. It’s all about choice. It’s all about attitude. It’s not about destiny.

You can give wings to your destiny by developing a positive attitude. A negative attitude will culminate in failure while a positive attitude gives wings of excellence to your destiny.

IT’S ABOUT ATTITUDE

Attitude is the predominant reason your life runs a certain way. It defines what you bring to life and what you get in return. The key is not that anyone hates to see you succeed but that you must rise above poor, negative, and destructive attitudes to become the best you should be.

What you become in life does not depend on whether you are hated or loved; it is not about whom God hates or loves. God loves the individual but He hates negativity. Achievement is not about being destined to fail or succeed. It depends on how you shape your destiny through the attitude you display. It’s about having the right attitude.

Ensure your destiny by maintaining a positive attitude. God is interested in the way you live your life. You should be interested also, because it will determine the results you will obtain. Apostle Paul said:

Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap. (Galatians 6:7)

A positive attitude