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OPPORTUITIES

OPPORTUNITIES
Discovering and Maximising them

Emmanuel Ayensu

OPPORTUITIES

Emmanuel Ayensu

ISBN: 978-9988-2-4179-7
Copyright 2016 by Emmanuel Ayensu

All rights reserved under international copyright law.

Written permission must be secured from the
publisher to use or reproduce any part of this book,
except for brief quotations in critical reviews or
articles

OPPORTUITIES

Great opportunities come to all, but many do

not know that they have met them. The only
preparation to take advantage of them is to
watch what each day brings.
Albert Dunning

Emmanuel Ayensu

OPPORTUITIES

Contents
Acknowledgement ............................................. 10
Foreword ............................................................ 11
Content ............................................................... 15
1 Understanding Opportunities .......................... 15
Preparation should precede opportunity ....... 17
Be determined to see opportunities ............... 20
To every expectation there is an opportunity 22
2 Discovering Opportunities .............................. 24
Opportunities can be seasonal....................... 24
Opportunities come as challenges................. 27
Opportunities come by encounter ................. 30
Opportunities come as responsibility............ 33
Opportunities may come as failures.............. 35
Opportunity may come through act of kindness
...................................................................... 37
Opportunity may start as rejection and hatred39
Opportunities come through association and
recommendation ........................................... 43

Emmanuel Ayensu

Opportunities come through service ............. 46

Opportunities come by asking ...................... 47
Opportunities come through the counsel you
give ............................................................... 51
Serendipity .................................................... 53
Adversity....................................................... 56
Tips ............................................................... 58
3 Why People Miss Opportunities ..................... 59
Despising People and Opportunities ............. 59
First Impression ............................................ 62
Impatience ..................................................... 65
Procrastination .............................................. 67
Inconsistency ................................................ 70
Disfavour,
Demonic
Oppression
and
Opposition .................................................... 72
Some Opportunities Are Covered and Hidden
...................................................................... 76
Unwillingness to Leave the Present State ..... 79
Placing Other Peoples Interest above Yours 81
Indecision ...................................................... 85

OPPORTUITIES
Dishonour...................................................... 88
Failure to Negotiate ...................................... 91
Ungratefulness ............................................ 105
Fear of Failure ............................................. 107
Rebellion ..................................................... 111
Foolishness.................................................. 114
Loss of Focus .............................................. 115
4 Maximizing Opportunities ............................ 118
Grow In Knowledge and Skills ................... 118
Hard Work .................................................. 120
Tenacity ...................................................... 120
Self-Discipline ............................................ 122
Listening ..................................................... 123
Mentorship .................................................. 123
Conclusion .................................................. 125

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Acknowledgement
I am much grateful to God for the wisdom and
orchestrating all things to work in my favour.
I really appreciate all those who have worked
tirelessly to make this project a success.
God richly bless you Rt. Rev. Dr. Hilliard Dogbe for
your wonderful work on the manuscript and fatherly
counsel.
To my mum and dad, Rev and Mrs Ayensu, I say
you are more than a blessing.

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Foreword
Benjamin Franklin is noted to have said, To
succeed, jump quickly at opportunities as you do at
conclusions. In Opportunities: Discovering and
Maximizing Them, Emmanuel Ayensu offers us
nuggets of gold that not only allow the reader to
jump at opportunities, but also to be ready for it
when it comes and to recognize it so as to seize it.
The gems of wisdom described in this book does not
only provide us with practical tools for daily living
but are also grounded in strong biblical reflections
that persuades us to reach beyond ourselves into
becoming who God created us to be developing
our potentials and maximizing them.
Throughout this book, the author emphasizes the
uniqueness of each individual and articulates clearly
the inherent value of each person, which must be
nurtured and exploited to the maximum in ways that
do not allow us to miss open doors of opportunities
that confront us daily in this world. Opportunities,
according Emmanuel Ayensu, are often camouflaged
as hard work so most people do not recognize them.
He therefore delineates clearly the nature of

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opportunities, and helps us to understand that

inherent in every problem is an opportunity.
While it is usually said that the reason most
people do not recognize opportunities is because
they usually go around wearing overalls, William
Arthur Ward is noted to have said that an
opportunity is often difficult to recognize; we
usually expect it to beckon us with beepers and
billboards.However, Emmanuel Ayensu helps us in
this book to understand the nature of opportunities;
why people miss opportunities, and how to
maximize an opportunity when it comes our way.
We are indeed blessed in this book with sound
biblical and practical reflections that is informative,
educative and provides guidance for many of our
youth to become all that they can be. Adults, the
aged, the churched and un-churched will all find this
book useful and relevant for their daily life of
embracing opportunities in life and maximizing them
in ways that enable them to find joy and fulfilment in
life. I therefore commend this book without
reservation.
Rt. Rev. Hilliard K. Dela Dogbe, Ph.D.

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Bishop, Western West African Episcopal District

of the A. M. E. Zion Church

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Content

1
Understanding Opportunities
Opportunities abound everywhere, everyday.
Some say opportunity comes, probably, just once.
This is because there are opportunities that you may
never have again if you miss them. Dont be
desperate for opportunities; but seeing opportunities
should be part of your life. Many people travel far
and near seeking opportunities, and then get
disappointed when they seem not to find any. Others
locate opportunities that they are not desperately
seeking yet are not able to use them. Opportunities
abound everywhere. It is primarily your focus,
interest,
understanding,
discernment,
your
assignment and your uniqueness that help you locate
them.

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I remember walking into a particular church in a

town I had just moved into. As they were singing
praises to the Lord, I realised everybody was
jubilantly involved. But then the music was really
bad to my ears as a musician. The guy who was
playing the piano was playing one key (the only key
he knew to play somehow) and the singers were
singing in different keys. I have always loved to raise
great musicians so I went to them after the service
and asked to see the music team. I was told there was
no team. Those who could sing well were those who
got the microphone during the session. I took that as
an opportunity to set up a vibrant music ministry in
that church. Now the singers and the instrumentalists
are well trained. I did not have to look for a great
team. As I established this one, lots of great
musicians in the town located me and we had a
wonderful ministry together.
If you know what you want, you will easily
recognise it when it is around. The problem is that
most people think that what they need are very far
from where they are. Hence they travel all over the
world trying to locate this one thing, which probably
was in their neighbourhood. You might have read or

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heard the famous story Acres of Diamond.

Someone was so desperate to get diamonds that he
sold his land and properties to search for diamonds.
He travelled round the world and got nothing. He
ended up broke. Meanwhile the guy who bought his
land discovered diamond on this very land which the
other guy sold because he thought the diamond he
was looking for could not be so close to him.
Get your focus right, and believe that what you
are looking for may not necessarily be far from
where you are, then go work on your job. You may
miss an opportunity when you become too desperate
for it.

Preparation should precede

opportunity
Success comes when adequate preparation meets
opportunity. You might have being desiring to be a
great musician for some time now, but if you dont
work on your music skills, you may not be qualified
when the opportunity comes. There is much to music

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than opening your mouth to sing. You need to work

on your breath control, diction, arrangement, singing
style, keys, pitch range, modulation, ad-libbing, riffs,
etc. If you dont work on some of these basic skills,
you may waste the opportunity you have been
longing to have for years.
Almost every opportunity comes with a minimum
require qualification. Hardly will you find an
opportunity where everyone can jump into. Such
opportunities do not have a great future. Make sure
you work on getting the minimum qualification first,
and then you would be eligible when you meet the
opportunity.
David was qualified to fight Goliath because he
was able to fight a lion and a bear (1 Samuel 17:3437). You will not get anywhere haphazardly. Joseph
did not ascend the throne of a prime minister because
they needed a foreigner in that office. Neither did he
get there because he had stayed in prison and
obscurity for too long and needed to come out. He
ascended the throne because he was accurate in
interpreting dreams and was very wise in giving
counsel to the king, Pharaoh. Genesis 41:37-40

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So the advice was good in the eyes of

Pharaoh and in the eyes of all his servants.
And Pharaoh said to his servants, "Can we find
such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit
of God?" Then Pharaoh said to Joseph,
"Inasmuch as God has shown you all this, there
is no one as discerning and wise as you. "You
shall be over my house, and all my people shall
be ruled according to your word; only in
regard to the throne will I be greater than
you."
Even our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ had to be
qualified to deliver His mandate on earth. Before He
started his ministry He went to John to be baptised.
John did not want to but Jesus told him it was to
fulfil all righteousness. That is, until He went
through that He was not qualified to continue in His
assignment on earth.
And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I
need to be baptized by You, and are You
coming to me?" But Jesus answered and said
to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is

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fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then

he allowed Him
Matthew 3:14-15

Be determined to see opportunities

The hearing ear and the seeing eye, The
LORD has made them both.
Proverbs 20:12
There are different opportunities and how they
can be realised. You may think, like Nathaniel
thought, no good thing can come out from where you
are. But you may be wrong. Good things abound
everywhere. There are rejected lands on which gold
and oil were discovered. People thought they were
not extraordinary. Remember that everything
extraordinary had the ordinary there. It was the extra
that made the difference. Nature has added extra to
ordinary sites to make them extraordinary. Beyond
that, many people have turned ordinary things into
extraordinary things.

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You need the eye to see what people are not

seeing. You first have to be a man or a woman on a
mission. You should know what you want; and
beyond that, see with your minds eye that it is
possible. You may be standing in your acres of
diamond now and yet not know. Walt Disney saw
his mountain in Disneyland where everyone saw
bush. He told people he was seeing this mountain in
Orlando, Florida, and they thought he was losing his
mind. He saw what others did not see. He worked
with engineers to make it possible. It was rather
unfortunate he passed on before the commissioning
of the place.
A musician sees the errors in a musical rendition.
A mechanic hears the sound that is not familiar and
detects that problem with your car. The beautician
knows how to make you look better than you look
now. Every problem is an opportunity. So if you see
countless problems everyday then it means there are
countless opportunities every day. Your obsession in
life determines what you pay attention to.
Open your ears to people. Some people may be
complaining and criticising, others may be sharing

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their problems. If you have the ability to meet their

needs, then you can profit from them. The
opportunity is bigger when it is a concern for lots of
people. It makes it a great business opportunity.
Business is simply solving problems for reward.

To every expectation there is an

opportunity
For surely there is a hereafter, And your hope
will not be cut off
Proverbs 23:18
One funny thing in life is that you normally have
what you expect. Sometimes you see people who
pray a lot and dont seem to have anything. You
easily realise their expectations when you speak with
them. There are many people who dont expect to
have what they have been praying for. They just pray
as a religious practice. Your expectation is crucial to
your realization.

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It is easier to recognise opportunities when you

have a strong expectation. Joseph was in the prison
with the kings officials but had a strong expectation
to come out. This is seen in how he easily discerned
the changes in their countenances, solved their
problems and requested that the one who would be
restored to his position would remember him.
We see so many immigrants succeed and become
very rich in the United States not because there were
no opportunities in their native countries, but
because they came to the United States with a strong
desire to succeed. Hence they succeed.

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2
Discovering Opportunities
Opportunities are seasonal
Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call
upon Him while He is near.
Isaiah 55:6
To everything there is a season, A time for
every purpose under heaven:
Ecclesiastes 3:1
An opportunity of a lifetime should be seized in
the lifetime of that opportunity. Someone rightly said
a door opened by God does not stay opened forever.

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In the various football leagues around the world,

there are particular seasons in the year where players
can be transferred from one club to another. It is
called the transfer window. If a club is in need of a
player, it works around the clock so the transfer can
be done during an opened transfer window. If the
deal is not done, the player and club have to wait for
the next transfer window to make another move.
Most players who seem to be needed by some clubs
in a particular season may stand the lost when the
club is no more interested in them when the next
transfer window is opened. That is life. Your transfer
window will not be opened forever. Those interested
in you now will not be interested in you forever. You
may not be in this form forever so learn to maximise
the seasons of your life.
Imagine what would have happened if Joseph was
not able to interpret the dreams of Pharaoh and give
him godly counsel. He would have died and rotten in
prison.
You may be the best ice cream producer in the
world, but you cant make great sales during winter.
That business is seasonal. You may be a farmer of

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seasonal crops. You know for sure that some of these

crops will not do well if you sow then in some
season.
The message of salvation we preach is seasonal to
individuals. There is coming a time where it may be
too late for people. Noah preached so many years
and the people did not believe nor repent until the
flood came and destroyed them. This may be your
opportunity to give your life to Christ. Grab it. Know
the season and maximise it.
of the sons of Issachar who had
understanding of the times, to know what
Israel ought to do, their chiefs were two
hundred; and all their brethren were at their
command;
1 Chronicles 12:32
For man also does not know his time: Like
fish taken in a cruel net, Like birds caught in a
snare, So the sons of men are snared in an evil
time, When it falls suddenly upon them.
Ecclesiastes 9:12

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Opportunities come as challenges

To every major challenge, there is a major
breakthrough. The confrontation of Goliath was a
horror to the entire Israeli army. They were scared to
death whenever he roared. When David saw him, he
knew that Goliath was too big a target to miss yet to
others he was too strong to overcome. David did not
just confront him because no one could stand him.
He clarified everything to see whether the battle was
worth fighting. Though it was a great challenge, he
made sure it was a great opportunity worth
maximizing. David was an opportunist here. Lets
read the account in 1 Samuel 17:25-27,
So the men of Israel said, "Have you seen this
man who has come up? Surely he has come up
to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who
kills him the king will enrich with great riches,
will give him his daughter, and give his father's
house exemption from taxes in Israel." Then
David spoke to the men who stood by him,
saying, "What shall be done for the man who

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kills this Philistine and takes away the

reproach from Israel? For who is this
uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy
the armies of the living God?" And the people
answered him in this manner, saying, "So shall
it be done for the man who kills him."
Most challenges have rewards. The reward is
what makes a challenge an opportunity. If you are
not interested in the reward then it is obvious you are
not interested in overcoming that challenge. It is
your responsibility to discover the reward, which are
normally hidden, in overcoming any challenge you
encounter in life. Some of the greatest rewards are
not what you receive but who you become after your
victory.
People with great challenges have turned them
into great opportunities and most of them are
celebrated today. Yours will not be different. Nick
Vujicic, an Australian Christian Evangelist and a
motivational speaker, was born without limbs yet he
pressed on to live a fulfilling life. He learnt to write
and he is now celebrated everywhere. He overcame
this challenge of ever living a normal life. Now he is

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a top public speaker, giving hope to so many people

and challenging them to overcome the obstacles in
their lives as he has overcome his. Turn your
challenges into opportunities.
Sir Richard Branson had dyslexia. Because much
was not known in his early days by his teachers of
such disability, he had to struggle in his academics
up to high school where he chose not to continue his
formal education. To his teacher he was not smart
enough, but he has proved to the entire world that he
is indeed one of the greatest businessmen and
entrepreneur to live. He is the founder of Virgin
group of companies, a conglomerate, with hundreds
of companies. Challenges are meant to be overcome.
Jack Ma, Alibaba Creator and 22nd World fortune
according to Forbes in 2015 with $29.8 billion, says:
I failed 3 times in college. I applied 30 times
to get a job but I was always rejected. When
KFC came to China for the first time, we were
24 to apply and I was the only one to be
dismissed. I wanted to go into police and 5
postulants, I was the only one not to be

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accepted. I applied 10 times to return to

Harvard University USA and I was rejected.

Albert Einstein couldnt read until he was four.

His teachers said he would never amount to much.
He proved them wrong by becoming the greatest
scientist of the last century. Your challenges are to
bring the best out of you. They are not obstacles, but
steppingstones into your glorious future.

Opportunities come by encounter

Encounters are real. Though we plan our lives,
there are many things that happen in our lives that
we dont control. God is the chief orchestrator of the
events in ones life. That is why we have to open
ourselves up to encounters. Such encounters can
terminate a lifelong issue in your life, can lead you
into super prosperity in no time, can make you live
like a king the rest of your life, and can bring you
into limelight.

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Saul never thought of being a king before he

became one. I am sure about this because there had
never been a king in Israel before he became one. He
was searching for his fathers donkeys when he
encountered the man of God, Samuel. He became the
first king of Israel after an encounter.
Jacob was a son of prophecy. He was the second
son and the first son was to serve him. Yet he
struggled a lot in life. He served fourteen years for
his two wives. His wages were changed ten times.
He had nothing after serving for twenty years. He
encountered an angel of God in a dream and his story
changed. He became richer than his boss in a year.
He had another encounter that changed his life. He
wrestled with God and He changed his name. That is
when he began to rule like God, Israel.
When I speak of encounters, I am not only
referring to visions and seeing angels of God. You
can encounter a person that will change your life.
You can encounter an idea that will change your life.
Jamie-Grace Harper used to cover songs by Kirk
Franklin, TobyMac and others and then upload on
YouTube. She was discovered by TobyMac when he

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watched her videos on YouTube. She is now a music

star.
People used to laugh at Ben Carson in his early
years in school because he was not smart enough. He
did not see himself to be smart, but light from the
words of his mother illuminated his mind and turned
him to be one of the greatest Neurosurgeons the
world has ever known.
Even in the secular world, ideas make people rich.
You may need an encounter to step into your
glorious destiny or future. Put what you do before
the world so you can be discovered. Study the Bible
to encounter a light from heaven. Read books and
listen to people. Information does not always come
from above your status; it may come from beneath
your status. The first person who told the famous
story the Acres of Diamond was not a business
tycoon but a humble attendant to visitors/ pilgrims
yet the story is now famous because someone learnt
from it and his life is not the same. Your life will
never be the same if you choose to listen.

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Opportunities come as responsibility

Responsibility is the foundation stone in living a
fulfilled life. You will only be happy to the degree to
which you feel responsible in life. People are
frustrated because others control their happiness;
they are dependent on others. People respect those
they see as responsible.
David was the youngest of his brethren, yet he
was not idle in the house. In fact he was the one
taking care of his fathers sheep. The eldest were
home. They were tall, good looking, presentable in
the sight of men, but they were home. It will interest
you to know that God is always interested in
responsible or working people. David has learnt to
be so responsible for his fathers sheep that he would
not run away even when a lion shows up to prey on
them. He fought for the lives of the sheep by killing
a lion and bear. That was the convincing part of his
resume that made King Saul believe in his ability to
humble Goliath.
Being responsible is very important that is why
the positions youve served are an important part of

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your rsum. A story is told of a rich old farmer who

had sons who refused to get themselves involved in
their fathers work. They had always thought their
father was hiding some precious jewels from them
that made him rich. They knew they were the heirs
and will inherit the fathers wealth. On the fathers
dying bed, he called these two sons and told them he
had his precious jewels hidden, buried under the
roots of one of the numerous trees on this large acres
of land so they could search for it if they were
interested. Not long afterwards, the man passed on.
These men who were desperate to be rich
searched so hard and found nothing. They then hired
people to fell all the trees and uproot the stumps in
search for the hidden treasures. After all these they
found nothing. In their worries, the elder told the
young that now that there is no tree in the land, the
land is almost ploughed so they can sell the timber to
make money and use some of the money to buy
seeds and cultivate the land so that at least they may
have something to eat. Then they went and did
likewise. By the time they realised, they had a large
plantation which made them very rich. That was
when they realised the meaning of what their father

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told them. Choosing to be responsible made them

wealthy.
It is not lack of opportunities that is the problem.
People are not interested in taking their destinies in
their hands to make things happen. They say they
dont have work to do, not because there is no work,
but rather because what they see is not their desired
work.
One of the best things you can ever do is to teach
your children to be responsible from their tender
years. They will grow to be very responsible, lovely,
rich and successful people you would even dream of
having. If you leave them to develop any how they
want, you may regret who they may turn into.
Deliberately raise them to be responsible

Opportunities may come as failures

Nature punishes naivety. Ignorance of the law is
no excuse. Failure may come with punishments, but
beyond that, great lessons. Anywhere you find

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yourself is an opportunity to learn and build on your

experience. If everything you did was perfect in the
first instance, there would be lots of lessons you
might have missed in the school of real life. Some
people say there is much to be learnt from that which
works than that which does not work. That does not
necessarily mean that you dont learn from failure.
Failure can teach you a thousand lessons that success
may not teach you.
I have seen people who have lots of challenges in
their marriages that you would have thought they
would never have any success in their marital life.
Some of these become so successful in their
marriages that they help struggling couples to build
better marriages. Some of these who go through
divorce learn so much that they treasure any chance
to ever get married. It is true that many people do not
know what they have until they have lost it. That is
why most people who break up with their first love
normally have glorious marriages when they learn
enough from their failures.
Failure is just an opportunity to try something out
again, more intelligently. Sometimes it is as though

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you are not even sure of what you are after until
everything fails, then your senses come alive. Most
of the wealthiest people we know of failed one way
or the other before they finally made it. Some of
them even became wealthy and lost everything. That
was when they took great lessons in life on how to
maintain success. Some lessons are too easy to be
ignored that the school of hard knocks is the only
place some people master them.
Failure is in the path of success. The path of
success is filled with hills, valleys and rough road.
Thomas Edison is noted for saying he has not failed
so many times but rather has found out thousand
times why his devise would not light up.

Opportunity may come through act

of kindness
Every act of kindness you do is to be appreciated.
Yet some people are not thankful.

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a present is a precious stone in the eyes of its

possessor; wherever he turns he prospers
Proverbs 17:8
Every service you render to people and care you
show people opens a door for a relationship. Some
people choose to consciously do act of kindness to
secure favour, others act kindly because they
understand it and have grown to live by it. Kindness
is a seed you sow and you certainly reap it because
God is not mocked. When the prodigal son went his
way with his portion of his inheritance, he went and
spent all by himself. Never did we read of him
giving to anybody. So when he became poor nobody
gave him anything. He desired even to eat pigs food
and he would not have it.
It is amazing how God recognises acts of
kindness. Cornelius used to pray to God always and
give alms. His prayers and alms became memorial
before God. God sent him an angel with a message
that led him to salvation because of his acts of
kindness.

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Abigail became the wife of David because she

was wise enough to be kind to him and his men
when her husband was wicked. Rebecca became the
wife of Isaac because she was kind enough to give
water to his servants and the animals that were the
servants.
and let us not grow weary while doing good,
for in due season we shall reap if we do not
lose heart. Therefore, as if we have opportunity
let us do good to all especially to those who are
of the household of faith.
Gal 6:9-10

Opportunity may start as rejection

and hatred
We all long to be liked, loved, and celebrated by
people. We dont like being rejected and despised. It
makes us feel less important, less human,
incompetent and sometimes useless. The truth is that
being rejected, ridiculed, despised and sidelined

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sometime in life is okay. It may seem very painful,

but you are not the only one to suffer that. It is part
of life. If you know it will come someday, you will
not be surprised and will not be hurt much when it
comes. In fact, you should anticipate that. The
important thing is what you will make of these
moments.
People have risen to greater heights in their fields
of endeavours after suffering from major rejections
or being sidelined. We have their stories as examples
so we can maximize these moments as well. Michael
Jordan is a legend in NBA and his achievements will
be read by generations, yet Michael had his share.
His elder brother was preferred to him as a better
player and people would recognise Michael as only a
brother. He was denied access to the university first
team because of his height. He has proved to the
world that you may be despised and sidelined, but
you can work your way to the top that those who
rejected you will come and celebrate you.
Myles Monroe of blessed memory will forever be
remembered. He said it, and it has come to pass, that
he would go to the grave empty. From a small

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country of Bahamas, he has made an impact in this

world that has made people recognise that island. He
was not a bright student in his early years in school.
A white teacher used to call him a monkey. He felt
so useless he told his mother he was not going to
amount to anything. The mother encouraged him
with Ephesians 3:20 which she made him read six
times. After the seventh time, he discovered
something that changed his life forever. He realised
that he is not what that teacher told him he was. He
realised that God is able to do what he imagine and
think. So as far as his imagination can see, God can
bring it to pass. He also saw that the power to be
who he really wanted to be was not in anyone or
outside, but was inside him.
From that moment, he did not wait for anyone to
teach him. He took books of algebra, biology and
others and studied them himself. Prior to this, he had
been an F student. By this he became a C student. He
went ahead to become a B student and finally, an A
student. He gained scholarship to high school in a
different school and excelled. After graduating from
high school, he came to his former school on
government scholarship as a teacher. The teacher

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42

who used to call him a monkey now became a

colleague teacher. After many years, Myles Monroe
was having a book signing after a leadership
conference in the UK and encountered an old man
who told him he had read some of his books and they
have changed his life. This old man was the teacher
who used to call him a monkey. Through the books
of this monkey this white man encountered light
and gave his life to Christ.
Of Jesus, it is said;
He is despised and rejected by men, A Man of
sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid,
as it were, our faces from Him; He was
despised, and we did not esteem Him.
Isaiah 53:3
The Master Himself suffered rejection. He was
rejected by His own people in His hometown. All
these happened on His journey of fulfilment. Finally
He was given a name that is above all names because
He endured.

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Peoples view of who you are should not make

you feel less human or less important. They may
despise and reject you, but stay focused on your
purpose in life. Your greatness will make them
submit to you.

Opportunities come through

association and recommendation
Yet I considered it necessary to send to you
Epaphroditus, my brother, fellow worker, and
fellow soldier, but your messenger and the one
who ministered to my need
Philippians 2:25
People are the greatest assets you have. If you
know how to treat people right, God will sponsor the
rest of your life, said Dr. Mike Murdock. God works
through people. The answers to your prayer may
come through people.

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44

Your network is your net worth. That is a true

business philosophy. If you have right people in your
network then you would have great opportunities.
Somebody should know you to speak well of you. A
servant of Saul spoke to him about David when
nobody knew him. That was what brought David to
the palace. The butler spoke to Pharaoh about
Joseph. Some people say it is who you know that
matter, but I rather say it is he who knows you that
matter. People recommend those they know and
trust. Daniel was captive in Babylon and he had three
close friends. When Nebuchadnezzar, the king had a
dream and demanded that his magicians and wise
men tell him the dream and give the interpretation to
the dream or they die, Daniel petitioned the king to
give him time to wait on God for it. He made the
matter known to these three friends of his. When he
told the king the dream and the interpretation, the
king promoted him. Daniel spoke to the king about
these friends of his, and they were promoted as well.
Also Daniel petitioned the king, and he set
Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-Nego over the
affairs of the province of Babylon; but Daniel
sat in the gate of the king.

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OPPORTUITIES
Daniel 2:49

Jesus Himself worked with this philosophy. When

Peter asked what they would get for leaving
everything and following Him, He revealed it.
So Jesus said to them, "Assuredly I say to you,
that in the regeneration, when the Son of Man
sits on the throne of His glory, you who have
followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones,
judging the twelve tribes of Israel
Matthew 19:28
People recommend people, product and services.
It is said that the best kind of advertising is through
word of mouth from satisfied clients and customers.
Few satisfied customers are worth more than
millions of television advertisement if no one can
honestly testify of you, your product and services.
Elisha was recommended to the king of Israel and
king of Judah by a servant. People see your good
works. David was described vividly by a servant of
Saul. He was seriously taking care of his fathers
sheep and playing music for them, yet someone

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46

recognised what was in him. Timothy was well

spoken of by the church. This made Paul take him
and raised him as his son in ministry.
Always pour your heart into whatever you do.
Strive to excel in what you do. Be a man or woman
with integrity. Treat people well. You may not know
who is watching you. Let your attitude and
personality do the speaking. People read you as a
book. Let your story be inspiring, and they will
recommend you to others.

Opportunities come through service

Every opportunity you have to serve is an
opportunity to show your brand. Serve others with
delight, not just for money or because of their
position. Your good service will always be
recommended. Elisha served Elijah for years. Before
Elijah met Elisha, he had a servant whom he left
somewhere when he was running away from Jezebel.
More than once Elijah wanted Elisha to leave him,
yet he would not. He wanted to serve him till the end

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of his life and he did. After Elijah was gone, the

kings of Israel and Judah needed a prophet to inquire
of the Lord from. This is what was said of Elisha;
Elisha the son of Shaphat is here, who
poured water on the hands of Elijah.
2 Kings 3:11
Joshua served Moses so many years. He was
always on post. After Moses was dead, he was the
one God asked to lead Israel into the Promised Land.

Opportunities come by asking

Some of us have been raised to be independent to
the extent that we find it difficult to ask for help and
things.
Yet you do not have because you do not
ask.
James 4:2

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48

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you

will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.
"For everyone who asks receives, and he who
seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be
opened.
Matthew 7:7,8
It doesnt matter how hard you work to be
independent, you will have to ask people for so
many things. I remember a friend telling people to
kill their pride because even rich people borrow pens
in the banking hall. There are so many instances in
your life that you will need something from others.
You may need something that the poor can give you,
so dont despise them. You may need something that
the young can give you, so dont overlook their
potential. You may need things the lost and unsaved
can give you. This is the reason we have been told to
live in peace with all people.
Pursue peace with all people
Hebrew 12:14

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OPPORTUITIES

Blessed are the peacemakers, For they shall

be called sons of God.
Matthew 5:9
There are many instances that Jesus, the Master
Himself, asked for things because He needed them.
If the Master did it, then there is nothing wrong with
it. The only time asking is wrong is when you ask
because you are irresponsible and become an
encumbrance.
In the beginning of His ministry, Jesus asked for
Peters fishing boat to use as a platform for His first
crusade. After the crusade, people saw the power of
God demonstrated and they believed in Him. Jesus
did not just wish that these fishermen will leave their
lucrative business and follow Him; He called Peter,
James and John to follow Him. When He needed
bread to multiply and feed the people, He went for a
small boys lunch. When He needed a place to have
the Passover with His disciples, He sent them to ask
for a room someone had prepared. When He needed
a donkey to ride on, He sent for someones donkey.

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50

You cannot, and should not, pay for everything in

life. In my small experience, I have come to realize
that poor people pay for so many things the rich
dont pay for. Build better relationship with people
and there are so many things you may not have to
pay for.
When you are in need for a recommendation, ask
for it. Jesus may not have staged His first crusade
and won His initial disciples if He did not ask for
Peters boat. Most of us know about the famous
chicken recipe of commander Sanders. He travelled
to so many restaurants before he was accepted by
one to have a contract for his great recipe.
The fact that you live with someone and have a
need does not necessarily mean they will help you.
Sometimes you assume they know what you want
whereas they have not paid attention to it. That is
why we have been admonished to ask. You may
never receive lots of things if you fail to ask. A blind
man came to Jesus one time. Jesus knew that the guy
could not see yet He asked what he wanted Him to
do for him. God knows that you have a need that He
can meet, yet He says ask. If you dont ask, you may

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keep on suffering for nothing because everyone

who asks receives, not everyone who wishes.
You may be very talented in what you do and yet
people may never know you. Ask for the opportunity
that can make people recognize what your
capabilities are. That may bring you from obscurity
into limelight. Why should you die in darkness when
you can ask for opportunity to step into destiny just
by asking for it?
Prayer works! God can bring great people your
way if you ask Him to. He can open great doors for
you. It is He who can turn the hearts of kings to love
and favour you. Never forget to pray about your
needs.

Opportunities come through the

counsel you give
Whenever people come to you with their
problems, they present you the opportunity to make
impact in their lives and subsequently, those around

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them. You are just a conversation away from those

they know.
He who gives a right answer kisses the lips.
Proverbs 24:26
God gave Solomon wisdom and understanding
yet nobody knew it until he gave a judgement that
made everyone know what was in him.
And all Israel heard of the judgment which
the king had rendered; and they feared the
king, for they saw that the wisdom of God was
in him to administer justice.
Kings 3:28
That was the beginning of his greatness that you
and I have been reading about. One good counsel
you give can land you a career that is so reputable
that people from different nations will long to work
with you.
And men of all nations, from all the kings of
the earth who had heard of his wisdom, came
to hear the wisdom of Solomon.

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OPPORTUITIES
1 Kings 4:34

Serendipity
Serendipity from the Oxford Dictionary means
the making of happy and unexpected discoveries by
accident. God in His infinite wisdom has made us in
a way that everyone will have opportunities. The
wise and the fool, the intelligent and the ignorant all
have a chance to succeed. Nabal was rich. It does not
matter your race, tribe or gender, you still have a
chance.
I returned and saw under the sun that-The
race is not to the swift, Nor the battle to the
strong, Nor bread to the wise, Nor riches to
men of understanding, Nor favor to men of
skill; But time and chance happen to them all.
Ecclesiastes 9:11
It is real to stumble on an opportunity that can
change the rest of your life. Though we operate
under the law of cause and effect, serendipity let us

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acknowledge the fact that there is an unforeseen

force that can alter the happenings in our lives.
Saul was searching for his fathers donkeys when
he had an encounter that made him ascend the throne
of Israel to be their first king.
Now the donkeys of Kish, Saul's father, were
lost. And Kish said to his son Saul, "Please,
take one of the servants with you, and arise, go
and look for the donkeys.Formerly in Israel,
when a man went to inquire of God, he spoke
thus: "Come, let us go to the seer"; for he who
is now called a prophet was formerly called a
seer.
1 Samuel 9:3,9
Then Samuel took a flask of oil and poured it
on his head, and kissed him and said: "Is it not
because the LORD has anointed you
commander over His inheritance?
1 Samuel 10:1
David was sent by his father, Jesse, to give food
to his brothers and check how they were doing. That

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was the journey in which he had an opportunity that

would make his family free in Israel and make him
the son-in-law of the king.
Then Jesse said to his son David, "Take now
for your brothers an ephah of this dried grain
and these ten loaves, and run to your brothers
at the camp. And carry these ten cheeses to the
captain of their thousand, and see how your
brothers fare, and bring back news of
them.So the men of Israel said, "Have you
seen this man who has come up? Surely he has
come up to defy Israel; and it shall be that the
man who kills him the king will enrich with
great riches, will give him his daughter, and
give his father's house exemption from taxes in
Israel.
1 Samuel 17:17-18, 25
I believe strongly in taking instructions. I have
had so many blessings and experiences when I was
obedient to things I was asked to do by senior
ministers, colleagues, parents, etc. I have had so
many encounters and blessings that I was not
pursuing. Just open up to God and people and learn

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56

to take instructions. What you need may be one

instruction away.

Adversity
God schedules enemies in our lives to change our
seasons. Change is inevitable. People love change
but dont want to change. I remember a friend saying
it seems babies in diapers are the usual people who
always love change. Some people bring change, but
everyone is affected by change. There are times God
wants us to leave where we are to where He wants us
to be but we are not willing to make a move.
Sometimes we know where we are is not good for us
but we fail to make a move. God is so gracious that
He consciously schedules events in our lives that
will bring change and help us fulfil destiny.
God told Abraham his descendants will be slaves
in a foreign land for four hundred years. When the
four hundred years were almost up, there were no
signs the Israelites were leaving Egypt, so God
stirred the heart of the Egyptians against them. The

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Egyptians killed their male babies and the Israelites

cried out to God. That was when their deliverance
began.
Sometimes you may find yourself working in an
institution or an environment where you are not
supposed to be. It may be so clear to you that you
have to leave this place and yet you dont because of
the personal reasons and benefits you may be
receiving there. Then something happens between
you and your boss, and almost all the people you
love to work with begin to rise against you.
Sometimes you may not know what really happened,
but all you realise is that everyone is against you
now and it causes you to leave.
God schedules adversaries in our lives for our
own benefit. God called Abraham to leave his family
and leave for a land that He would show him yet he
took Lot with him when he left. God has to let a
dispute come between them so they would separate.
That was when Gods plan for Abraham began to
unfold.
If you understand the purpose of the adversaries
God bring your way, there are so many battles you

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58

will not fight because they maybe telling you to just

make a decision.

Tips
Your imagination may run wide but your reality is
always shaped by your focus and your actions.
Discovering shouldnt be difficult. As far as you can
see, read and listen, you are good to discover every
opportunity you want if only you master these facts.
Brian Tracy rightly said that life is the study of
attention. Where your attention goes, your life goes.
Set your focus right and pay attention.

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3
Why People Miss
Opportunities
The fact that we all need opportunities does not
mean we all have the opportunities we long for. It is
not that opportunities dont come, but rather most
people keep missing them. There are various reasons
why people miss opportunities and we would be
considering a number of them here.

Despising People and Opportunities

For who hath despised the day of small
things? for they shall rejoice, and shall see the

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plummet in the hand of Zerubbabel with those

seven; they are the eyes of the LORD, which
run to and fro through the whole earth.
Zechariah 4:10 KJV
People despise small things and celebrate great
things. They fail to realise that most great things
started small. We live in an environment where
people mock others who seem to have very humble
beginnings. They make most of them develop
inferiority complexes. People ridicule young pastors
and young ministries. It is common to hear people
call newly planted churches one-man churches just
because they dont belong to an already established
denomination. Every church started like that. Bishop
Dag Heward-Mills has been telling his own story.
When he started his church as a campus students
ministry, people used to laugh at him as he carried
drums to the place of worship. He had to part with
his associate pastor he had been working with for
years because the guy did not believe in him. Those
who used to laugh at him have changed their minds
because he is not just a national figure, but a
prominent evangelist in the current global revival.

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That associate pastor that would have been the major

assistant to such a great man of God has lost his
opportunity forever because he despised the man of
God.
Appearance can be deceptive. There are people
you encounter today that you may think they would
not amount to anything. You may be surprised at
their greatness tomorrow. I heard of a testimony of a
lady who was a graduate and unemployed. She felt
God leading her to sell firewood. She thought of
what people would say, knowing she was a graduate
and now selling firewood. She shut her mind to
peoples opinions and started gathering firewood
from the forest and selling them to food vendors. She
began to make profit and employed people who
gathered the firewood while she did the distribution
with her truck driver. She is now rich. Never despise
an opportunity.

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First Impression
It is said that you dont judge a book by its cover.
But the reality is that most people do. God who
created man knows that we are quick to judge by
what we see. That is why He told the Prophet
Samuel,
for man looks at the outward appearance,
but the LORD looks at the heart.
1 Samuel 16:7
God is the one who looks at the heart, not the
average outward human being. Your good heart and
right intentions may not be seen in your appearance,
but your appearance make people have a perception
of who you are. There are many places you may not
be given access if your dress code does not match the
occasion or even the environment.
I remember Prophet Kakra Baiden of Lighthouse
Chapel International relating an experience he once
had. While he was an architectural student in Kwame
Nkrumah University of Science and Technology
(KNUST), he went on vacation abroad. There was an

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opportunity to work on a construction site so he

bought boots and some things he may need and came
to the place where they picked the labourers every
morning. He was not picked the first day. He came
the second day and was not picked as well. Then he
sat down to think about the possible reasons why the
foreman kept passing by him while picking others.
Then he realised that his boots and outfit looked new
whereas the other guys looked like experienced
workers in their used outfits. So he put some things
on his boots and had his outfit look like that of a
regular worker on a construction site. When he can
to the same place they have been passing by him the
next morning, he was one of the people to be picked
first.
People have just five to ten seconds to make their
mind about you the first time they see you. Let your
appearance carry the message you want to send to
people. Though it takes just few seconds to make an
impression, it may take years for people to change
their mind about you; above who they think you are.
There is something that comes to peoples mind
immediately they hear your name. That can open or
close doors for you.

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There are many experiences I have had myself.

There are places I have been where I disguised
myself because I wanted to understand how people
relate to different people. In most places, I realised
that people despised those they dont know their
worth. Some even treat people worse than the
average person on the street when they dont see any
commanding feature in them. It happens even in
churches. Those who despise and look down on you
the first time struggle to relate well with you when
they realise who you truly are with time. There is
power in first impression. Have a commanding
personality. Look the way you want to be addressed.
There are great people in my life that came to like
me just the first time they saw me, even before we
met. Most of them have told me what they saw in me
immediately they set eyes on me. Doors keep
opening for me because of the power of first
impression. Relax and be yourself. Let your true self
find expression in your appearance. Some people
may not like you but those you are called to will
celebrate your uniqueness. People read you like a
book; make sure they get the right message so they
may recommend you to others.

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Impatience
But the ones that fell on the good ground are
those who, having heard the word with a noble
and good heart, keep it and bear fruit with
patience.
Luke 8:15
Impatience robs people of great opportunities. It
takes patience to spot great opportunities and
maximize them. Saul was humble in his own eyes
before he was chosen by God to be the first king of
Israel. That was a very great opportunity to be the
head of the nation that is known to be the chosen one
of God yet he did something in his second year as
king that made him lose his grip over the kingdom
forever. The kingdom was never established in his
hands. He was supposed to wait for the prophet
Samuel for seven days who would come and offer
burnt offering unto the Lord before they would fight
the Philistines who had risen against them. On the
last day, he was not patient enough to wait for the

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man of God. He went ahead and offered burnt

offering himself that was against the instruction of
God.
Then he waited seven days, according to the
time set by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to
Gilgal; and the people were scattered from
him. So Saul said, "Bring a burnt offering and
peace offerings here to me." And he offered the
burnt offering. Now it happened, as soon as he
had finished presenting the burnt offering, that
Samuel came; and Saul went out to meet him,
that he might greet him.
1 Samuel 13:8-10
And Samuel said to Saul, "You have done
foolishly. You have not kept the commandment
of the LORD your God, which He commanded
you. For now the LORD would have
established your kingdom over Israel forever.
1 Samuel 13:13

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Procrastination
Procrastination, we say, is the thief of time.
There is no better moment than the present.
Tomorrow may never come. Even if tomorrow
comes, you may not be there. There are many people
who started the year with us that are not alive. We
dont live forever on earth. Open doors dont stay
opened forever. If you procrastinate in starting your
business, career or ministry, you may wake up one
day and realise you are old and incapable of
accomplishing those things you have planned.
If you ever want to do something, today is the
best day to begin. It doesnt matter the thing you
want to do, start working on it today. You will have
new ideas every day. So many ideas can lead to
indecision. That is why you should focus on the one
thing that is set before you and work tirelessly to
make it happen. Work tirelessly on it so much today
that you only rest when you are exhausted and can
no more focus on it. Then go back to it early the next
morning after having a quality time with God. Be
much focused and work so passionately that you

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have no time to idle or make any other thing distract

you.
We all have the tendency to procrastinate every
now and then. I have lost great opportunities by
procrastination, so I know the pain it can bring. The
painful side is not the opportunity you lose but the
fact that you knew better and thought you have
control over such an opportunity only to wake up
one day to realise that you have miscalculated the
timing, minored on the major stuff while majoring
on the minor things, or just wasted time
procrastinating.
We get bored in doing routine task. When you
know that what you are working on will not produce
immediate results, you may be tempted every now
and then to relax and lag every now and then. This is
so common among students. Most students start
studying seriously when they have exams. Majority
of students dont even go through their notes in the
early days of the academic semesters until they have
a quiz at hand. Then the problem comes when there
is an event that makes it seemingly impossible to
study during these periods. People who do not do

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well in their academics are not necessarily those who

are not brilliant. Most of them are excellent students
who keep procrastinating until they have no time
left.
The reason we discipline ourselves and do what
we do is the bitter experiences we have had because
of procrastination in our lives and that of those
around us. Most opportunities come once in a
lifetime so dont waste time when you can use it to
your advantage. Remember: Productivity isnt
magic. It is discipline.
Do something about that desire, dream, vision,
goal, job, before you lose interest in it.
Hope deferred makes the heart sick, But when
the desire comes, it is a tree of life.
Proverbs 13:12

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Inconsistency
Consistency is the key to your breakthrough. You
may be doing the right thing but not long enough.
Consistency pays. Lots of people cant wait. They
want to have everything overnight. Such people
dont get anything in the long run. You need to be
consistent in executing the task set before you. Many
people are praying and longing for the opportunity
that you have. You cant maximise such an
opportunity with a lackadaisical attitude.
You may not be able to break a rock by hitting it
once with a hammer. But if you would be consistent
in hitting it, you will see the results after so many
times. People keep changing their directions and
goals every now and then because they dont seem to
realise them in their set time. Their problem is not
that they could not achieve them. Most of them cant
just follow through consistently.
and said to his servant, "Go up now, look
toward the sea." So he went up and looked, and
said, "There is nothing." And seven times he
said, "Go again." Then it came to pass the

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seventh time, that he said, "There is a cloud, as

small as a man's hand, rising out of the sea!"
So he said, "Go up, say to Ahab, 'Prepare your
chariot, and go down before the rain stops
you.'"
1 Kings 18:43,44
You cant trust someone who is not consistent in
what he does. Success, like growth, is gradual and
consistent. You would miss many opportunities if
you are known to be inconsistent in what you do. No
football club wastes money in buying a player who is
not consistent in delivering on the pitch of play.
Your consistency will pay off.
Jacob served his uncle and master, Laban, for
seven years. When Jacob negotiated his wages with
him, they all agreed that Jacob would have the
spotted and streaked goats. Immediately after the
negotiation, Laban took all the streaked and spotted
goat and gave them to his sons. This did not make
Jacob resign. He kept on tendering the rest of the
goats. He was so consistent in doing his job that God
recognised and came through for him. (Genesis 30:343; 31:6-13)

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Disfavour, Demonic Oppression and

Opposition
There are many things we overlook and say it
doesnt matter that really matter. Most of our
struggles are unnecessary. You would be able to
solve most of your problems if only you would pay
attention to your life and ask yourself the reasons for
the happenings in your life. Things dont just
happen. They are made to happen. So if your desired
thing is not what you see in your life then you have
to sit down and analyse whether you are doing all
you are supposed to do to have what you desire.
It is normal to go to school, study, write exams,
pass and graduate. But it is not normal for you to fall
sick every time you have an exam. It doesnt matter
the explanation that you may have, consistently
falling sick in all your major exams period is not
normal. I struggled with such a challenge from
childhood till my early days in the university until I
encountered a light in the word of God and was able
to bring that oppressive ceremony to an end.

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Likewise, life can be full of struggles for no

particular reason. The fact that you are in the right
place does not necessarily mean you cant have such
challenges. There are people that, in spite of where
they are, what works for everyone does not work for
them. Even if there is an open door that others are
accessing, that door closes immediately they want to
access it. They may be burdened so much that they
despair. Some people call them lazy but they may
not really be lazy.
I have encountered so many people and handled
so many problems to understand that lots of our
perceptions about people are wrong. People face
challenges we have no idea about. It is rather
unfortunate that we judge and condemn people.
Some issues are difficult to perceive from afar. Most
issues that seem to weigh people down and cause
them to despair are things that they usually have no
idea of. They may be handling so many major things
that they think may be causing their problems, and
yet have no results.
If you have ever been in such a situation before
then you would probably understand what I mean. It

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may be a problem of disfavour. Favour attracts

people and opportunities. It makes people want to
help you. The issue of disfavour can be very serious
and dangerous. It makes people commit suicide all
the time. Never take it for granted.
Favour breaks protocol and opens doors for you.
Mike Murdock said
A day of favour is worth a thousand days of
labour.
God blessed the works of your hands. Without
favour, you may be frustrated with the products of
your hands. For it is neither by might nor by power.
Favour will bring you great opportunities. I have
seen great doors opened to many people, yet some
people are never able to go through simply because
they lack favour. Favour is what makes people
overlook you lack of qualification and still promote
you. There are lots of people who are better, more
qualified and well known than you are, yet favour
can put you over.
There are agents of disfavour that can make you
miss opportunities. Zeba was a physical agent of

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disfavour. He made sure Mephiboseck lost favour in

the sight of David. As it is with the physical, so it is
with the spiritual. There may be forces that are
causing the people that can favour you to change
their minds about you. Sometime it becomes so
obvious that you perceive it. In most cases, you may
not even know what is happening. I have seen people
with great opportunities who encountered their
helpers. Someway somehow, these helpers begin to
lose almost everything they have immediately they
started helping these people. The demonic agents of
disfavour can make people have wrong perception
about you.
Dont keep on telling yourself your time will
come when you experience such abnormalities in
your life. Nothing will happen if you do nothing
about it. There are demonic forces that do not want
you to get better than you are today. There are many
beautiful ladies and handsome gentlemen who have
never had good relationships, marriages, or even
succeeded in their careers because they lack favour.
Sometimes tears fill my eyes when I hear some of
them speak. The devil is a bad devil and thrives on
our ignorance. He knows that in all labour there is

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profit that is why he frustrates your business

relations so you become disoriented, lose focus and
unproductive.

Some Opportunities Are Covered and

Hidden
Treasures are not found everywhere; they are
normally kept in secret or hidden in common things
so that the average person is likely to overlook. Most
people know how refined gold looks like but may
never recognise a crust of gold. It takes the
initiated/oriented to recognise them. That is how
most glorious opportunities are. You may pray and
crave for one, and yet may never see some. It is not
that they are not necessarily common; but may not
be oriented to discover.
You ask for what may be given you not what is
hidden from you. You search for what is hidden. It is
the seeker that is assured the opportunity of finding.
and he who seeks finds

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Matthew 7:8

Seeking does not necessarily guarantee finding if

you cant recognise it when you come by it. That is
why you need training, knowledge and mentorship.
All these things have their different roles to play in
helping discover your great opportunities and
excelling in them. Your training does not take the
place of a mentor, neither does the reading. We will
discuss theses different elements subsequently.
It is the glory of God to conceal a matter, but
the glory of kings is to search out a matter.
Proverbs 25:2
There is the famous story, The Acres of Diamond,
wherein we read of the opportunities that may be
very close to us and yet are hidden. Someone who
was so desperate to get diamonds so he would be
rich sold his property and started on a journey to get
diamonds. He exhausted all he had and yet couldnt
get any. To his surprise, the guy who bought his
property discovered diamonds on it. The original
owner of the land never thought he would have
diamond on this land.

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Take away the dross of silver, and it will go to

the silversmith for jewellery.
Proverbs 25:4
It is very crucial to begin your search for
opportunities from your immediate environment
before you ever search somewhere else. Make sure
you understand and explore what you have or you
may trade it for something less significant. Uncover
what is behind the things that you do. You may be
surprised to discover some glorious opportunities
around you. I read of a woman who had to do
something to support herself when she lost her
husband. This lady visited the man of God, Norman
Vincent Pearle, to seek counsel. He asked her what
she was good at. The woman thought she was not
talented in anything. When the man of God asked her
what she could do with ease, she recognised that she
could make pastries. That was her turning point.
If you cant discover what is close to you, you
may struggle for nothing. Pay attention to the things
you have and the things you do. They may seem so
ordinary, but never forget that extraordinary things

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are normally refined ordinary things that find

themselves in the right place at the right time.

Unwillingness to Leave the Present

State
Everyone speaks about change yet people dont
like to change. We get familiar with stuff and
addicted to things. Pain does not bring change. Every
hurting person longs for change but not all of them
want to bring or embrace change. This is because
crises normally happen at the curve of change.
The Israelites were slaves for about 400years.
Moses showed up one day with the mandate to bring
them out of Egypt into the Promised Land. When
they had a problem on the wilderness, they wanted to
go back to Egypt. They loved the garlic and onions
and were prepared to sacrifice their future to satisfy
their taste buds.
The Israelites had this problem after they have left
Egypt, but most people who imagine having such

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problems never leave their Egypts. They cant

imagine setting off on a journey and not knowing
where their next meal may be coming from. Freedom
is very expensive that is why people love to be
servants all their lives. You have to feed yourself,
buy your own clothes, pay the bills, take care of your
family etc. it is easier to serve someone all your life
if you are guaranteed your feeding and other basic
incentives than treading an unguaranteed path.
There are always opportunities out there. There
are lots of them you have discovered. You know
these opportunities are glorious and they will lead
you into prosperity yet we all find it difficult to leave
the where we are. It takes lots of courage to lose
sight of the shore and step into the sea of your
glorious future.
Whenever you are tempted to still hang around,
considering and answering the following questions
will help you make up your mind and stick with your
plan.
What is the best thing that will happen if I let go that
opportunity?

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What is the worst thing that will happen if I let go

that opportunity?
What is the best thing that would happen if I seize
that opportunity?
What is the worst thing that would happen if I
seize that opportunity?
Why should a go for that?

Placing Other Peoples Interest

above Yours
People would always love to use you to
accomplish their goals. They monitor your talents
and capabilities. It doesnt matter how anointed or
talented you are, others may use you to get what they
want done over and over. The unfortunate thing is
that they leave you when they dont need you.
Someone rightly said, if you dont build your dream,
someone else will hire you to build theirs. This does
not mean you dont work with or for people. It may
be your dream to work in a bank as a bank manager

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whereas someone may be dreaming to own the bank

that you may be working at. So you will feel fulfilled
working for that bank because that is what you have
desired. But if you want to be a broker outside that
bank but your services are needed in the bank, you
may be dissuaded by the bank from pursuing your
goal because they need you to work for them. So
sacrificing the dream of owning a brokerage firm,
you may end up serving this bank and helping them
advance in their vision course. You would wake up
one day in regret because you never lived your
dream.
A friend of mine told me of his life experience
that taught him a great lesson. He was preparing for
a particular exam in school and his friend asked him
to teach him a particular topic he was conversant
with. This friend of mine who was very generous
sacrificed his time to study the topic he had not
studied to teach his friend. When he went into the
examination hall he realised that it was the topic he
couldnt study because he was helping his friend that
he was examined on. He did not do well in the
exams because he put a fellows interest above his.

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We all have different assignments, purposes,

destinies on earth. We set goals based on the
direction of our lives. These goals and desires are
magnets that attract opportunities to us. You have to
learn to grab such opportunities. The person you are
sacrificing your future for may not be there for you
tomorrow. You should learn to be a little bit selfish
when it comes to pursuing your vision in life. Jesus
fed the hungry. These people came to him the next
time to make Him king so they can have free lunch
every day. Jesus who was so conscious about His
assignment fled from them. When He healed Peters
mother-in-law and some other people, they expected
Him to stay there for a while and minister to the
people. Jesus was so focused in fulfilling His
ministry on earth.
Now when it was day, He departed and went
into a deserted place. And the crowd sought
Him and came to Him and tried to keep Him
from leaving them; but He said to them, I must
preach the Kingdom of God to the other cities
also, because for this purpose I have been
sent.

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Luke 4:42-43

People can predict where you are going to. That is

the reason they sometimes try to get you busy and
keep you with or under them. They dont like to see
you rise above them. You have to understand this
and discern when people want to keep you busy
somewhere because they are afraid you may rise
above them.
Bishop Dag Heward-Mills, the founder and the
Overseer of the Lighthouse Chapel International told
his story. He began the church as a student in the
university. When he was going to marry his wife, his
church was meeting in a classroom. He talked to a
man of God to let them do the wedding ceremony in
his church. The pastor told him he would only do
that if Dag Heward-Mills would close down his
young ministry. Brother Dag knew God called him
and he refused to close down the church. He is now
known everywhere and heads one of the fastest
growing mega churches in Africa.
People will keep you preoccupied with stuff just
to dissuade you from seizing the glorious
opportunities that are coming your way.

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Indecision
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of
decision! For the day of the LORD is near in
the valley of decision.
Joel 3:14
Indecision is a decision to do nothing. Every
opportunity has an expiring date. You may have an
opportunity to be the fastest runner by age 25 but
you may never have that opportunity after you have
turned 60 years. Learn to decide what you want,
what to do, who to be and how to do all these. The
average human being makes hundreds of decisions a
day. Decisions are very difficult to make because
choosing to do something means not doing
something else.
Your priorities affect your daily decisions. You
have to set your priorities right. Priority may change
but your purpose is always the determining factor or
your priorities. As for as your priorities are set, you
should recognise the opportunities when they come!

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Indecisive people do not ascend or excel in

leadership. You would recognise what you want
when you see it because you have decided on what
you want and seek. When the opportunities come,
that is when most people become indecisive in
snatching it. People really plan well on what to do
with money when they dont have the money. The
unfortunate thing is that most of these people dont
stick to the plan immediately they get the money.
They seem to become indecisive and have more
options that they dont commit to any of them. They
start procrastinating some major tasks and relaxing
until they wake up one day to realize that they have
wasted/spent the money on things they cant even
account for.
Lots of people seem indecisive not because they
dont know what they are after, where they are
going, or the value of the current opportunity that
they can see but their problem is that they just cant
say no to other people and activities. Some of us are
so accommodating that we just dont want to hurt
people or make people feel that we dont care. We
know that we have to say no to some people and yet
dont ever master courage to do it. Someone who

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seems to care for you so much and helping you in so

many things is trying to dictate the course of your
life for you. You know that is not what you want to
be or do but you cant afford to move on without
their help. So you keep on letting go of great
opportunities that you long and pray for. You have to
decide what to be and master the courage and do it.
Bill Gates wanted to set up his own company to
set up his own company ever before he went to
college. His parents told him he has to graduate from
the university to be able to do that. While in Harvard,
he came across an opportunity to go into the IT
business and eventually set up his company. He
dropped out of college before his senior year to seize
that opportunity. This was against his parents plan.
His parents tried to convince him to go back into
college and complete the undergraduate program
because they have planned and budgeted for him and
he has to do it their way. Bill who was obstinate
about getting things his way was able to convince his
parents to let him pursue his dream. That was the
beginning of the greatness of one of the richest men
we have in the world.

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Sir Richard Branson, one of the worlds renowned

entrepreneurs has to be decisive in such many ways
to be able to pursue his dream. He was so much
bright in his academics but he wanted to do
something significant and succeed. He started by
being the editor of a student magazine, The Student,
to give his peers a voice. He struggled a lot in his
academics which made him decide on what to pursue
in his life early. He was able to convince his parents
to allow him to pursue his vision.
Most people are indecisive because they feel
compelled to do something they are not inclined to
do and yet they cant say no. Take the bold step
about your future. Be decisive!

Dishonour
Honour is the seed of access. What you
respect moves toward you. What you
disrespect moves away from you.
Mike Murdock

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People create opportunities.

They present
opportunities. They recommend others. Someone can
connect you to that glorious opportunity. This is one
of the basic reasons we learn to treat people well in
spite of their age, ethnicity, academic background
etc. Mike Murdock rightly said God will not
promote you without a recommendation of the man
He has placed above you. This does not mean God
comes and consult your leaders on personal level to
find out about you. Brian Tracy said If you do more
than you are paid to do, then you would be paid
more. If your current boss will not do it, there will
come someone who will do it. Your attitude toward
people speaks volumes of who you are.
You honour people and honour instructions. Your
next breakthrough may be one instruction away. If
you dont honour the instruction you are given, you
may struggle forever. Naaman was a Syrian army
commander/general who had leprosy. There was an
Israelite servant in his house who spoke of the man
of God that can handle his issue. This top military
official took a memo from his king to the king of
Israel him demanding to be cured. The man of God
intervened when he realized his king was troubled.

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He issued an instruction for Naaman to dip in the

Jordan River seven times to be healed. Naaman was
expecting the man of God to lay hands on him and
heal so he despised the instruction and got angry.
One of his servants persuaded him to do it. He
carried out the instruction and was completely
healed.
It is easy to honour people when their dignity and
authority is obvious and well established. What we
normally struggle with is the instruction from them.
You demonstrate disrespect anytime you refuse
carrying out an instruction especially when the
instruction seems trivial or not sensible. Before
Naaman came to Elisha, there was no record of a
man of God healing someone of leprosy. There was
no record of people getting healed by dipping in a
particular river. Though the instruction was
questionable, it brought the result. It was the only
opportunity he had to be free from leprosy.
When the angels of God came to destroy Sodom
and Gomorrah, Lot and his family took the
opportunity to save their lives by following a simple
instruction. The instruction was to move to the

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designated place without looking back. Lots wife

had a problem following the instruction. She looked
back and became a pillar of salt.
Reuben lost his opportunity of walking in the
dignity of the first born because he slept with his
fathers concubine. (Gen. 49:3-4; 1Chr.5:1). One
attitude of disrespect can make you lose a lifetime
opportunity. Your disrespect can make you lose your
position forever. If a whole queen could lose her
position because of a single disrespect, then you
should never take disrespect lightly. (Esther 1:10-22)

Failure to Negotiate
Problems are opportunities. That does not mean
that you solve just any problem you come across.
Jesus did not heal everyone. He did not preach to
everybody. A problem becomes an opportunity if
there is a reward for solving it. Almost every
problem has a reward for solving it. But that does not
mean you will be rewarded for solving it. There are
problems that you may have solved for people that

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they did not reward you, or the reward was less than
what you anticipated. This is because people are not
under any obligation to reward you just because you
solved a problem for them. This is the reason you
have to negotiate on the reward for solving problems
before solving them. I would thank you if I come and
see you mopping my floor. I wont pay you if I
didnt give you the job.
Human beings have the tendency to forget you
when they dont need you. They seek for you when
they have problems you can solve best. They forget
to reward you when the problem is solved. Everyone
who ever became rich walked with this rule. This is
the principle that made Bill Gates one of the richest
people in the world. When he started developing
software for computers, he realized that people paid
for the hardware but were not paying for the
software. People preferred sharing software for free.
He knew he has dedicated his life to produce
software and he has to make money from that or he
would waste his life. He got aggressive and fought
all the way to get people pay for the software he
produced. That was his starting point into great
riches.

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I remember how a friend of mine got angry

because Emmanuel Dei-Tumi in Kwame Nkrumah
University of Science and Technology (KNUST)
urged them to make money out of their music
because they performed at a top class level. To him,
the music ministry was honouring God in worship
and that should not be turned into a money making
business. But the truth is that everything is business.
Jesus said ministry is business (Luke 2:49). Someone
has been endowed with the talent to play football and
is making millions of money out of it. Why do they
have a problem with someone talented and anointed
in music making money with the music?
The gifts and talents are to profit all. Exploitation
is bad, but making legitimate profit from labouring
with the ability God has given you is Scriptural
(Matt. 25:14-30). Being a blessing to others while
you struggle with your life is unscriptural. Whatever
God has given you is to bless/help people while you
profit from them. The worker is worthy of his wages.
for the laborer is worthy of his wages
Luke 10:7

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In all labour there is a profit

Proverbs 14:23
This is why we pay pastors. There are some
churches the pastor has to work and make enough
money for his upkeep and sustaining his family.
Because the church feels pastoring is a service to
God and so they dont see the need to be financially
responsible for the ministry and the pastor. Such
ministries never cease to struggle. This is because it
is against Gods principle.
Even so the Lord has commanded that those
who preach the gospel should live from the
gospel
1 Corinthians 9:14
The other unfortunate thing is that most pastors of
such ministries are not committed to the ministry.
Some of them even prepare their Sunday messages in
the church on Sunday mornings. How do you expect
such a minister to bring you a fresh word of God?
You would die in penury if you dont learn to
negotiate for what you want to with what you have.

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Everything you need has a price so you better learn

how to trade with what you have in order to get what
you want.
To see the relevance of this principle of
negotiation for our lives as we seek to embrace
opportunities, let us consider the following biblical
personalities.

Jephthah
Jephthah was cast out by his brother because they
did not want him to inherit anything of his dad. He
went and allied himself with some worthless fellows
and went raiding with them. When the Ammonites
attacked his people, the Gileadites knew that
Jephthah was the only one who could save them. He
knew his people and the experience he has had with
them so he did not go with them immediately they
came to him. He negotiated his reward first.
So Jephthah said to elders of Gilead, If you
take me back home to fight against the people
of Ammon and the Lord delivers them to me,

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shall I be your head And the elders of Gilead

said to Jephthah, "The LORD will be a witness
between us, if we do not do according to your
words."
Judges 11:9-10
That was how he became a judge in Israel.

Joseph
Joseph was a dreamer and a faithful servant. His
dreams did not take him to the palace until he learnt
this principle. He knew that being faithful alone is
not enough to secure your position with people. He
was a faithful brother yet he was sold. He was a
faithful servant /steward in Potiphars house, yet he
ended up in prison. He knew that your gift of
leadership and the presence of God would not
guarantee your position with men. Potiphar knew
God was with him and everything he did prospered.
He was the only prisoner that prospered in prison.
He knew that interpreting dreams, discerning the
mood of people from their countenances and solving

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problems for people do not guarantee your position

with people or ascending your throne. He even knew
that asking those you have helped to remember and
help you does not mean that they would. Until you
find the right key, the door remains closed. After all
these lessons, Joseph learnt the power in negotiating
to have the right deal. He put forth a very nice bid
that pharaoh couldnt reject. He knew he was the
most qualified person to do the job he described.
That is how he became a prime minister and minister
of food and agriculture in a foreign land.
Now therefore, let pharaoh select a discerning
and wise man, and set him over the land of
Egypt Let pharaoh do this, and let him appoint
0fficers over the Lord, to collect one-fifth of the
produce of the land of Egypt in the seven
plentiful years.
Genesis 41:33-34
And pharaoh said to his servants Can we
find such a one as this, a man in who is the
spirit of God? Then Pharaoh said to Joseph,
In as much as God has shown you all this,
there is no one as discerning and wise you.

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Genesis 41:38-39

Jacob
In spite of the anointing on your life, the
prophecies that you have received and all the gifts
and the talent you have, you may struggle forever
until you learn this principle. You see the hand of
God in your life to help you when you decide to
negotiate. God will never negotiate for you. At best,
He will present you an opportunity to negotiate. So if
you fail to negotiate, you may miss your opportunity
forever.
Jacob served his wicked uncle for twenty years.
During this period, Laban changed his wages ten
times. God gave the wisdom to negotiate. When they
agreed that Jacob should have the brown, speckled
and spotted sheep and goat as his wages, Laban sent
him away and took all the brown, speckled and
spotted sheep and goat and gave them to his sons.
This means that Jacob had nothing. Yet God
honoured this principle of legitimate negotiation. He
showed him in a dream where the ram that were

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leaping on the flock were speckled and spotted. That

was how Jacob got more flock than Laban his
master. If you can negotiate right in all honesty, God
will help you prosper.

David
The fact that David was anointed and strong
enough to kill a beer and a lion does not mean he
took up any fearsome enemy. When he saw Goliath
on the battle field, he did not go and kill him
immediately. He negotiated for the reward first
before he went to battle Goliath. He did not receive
any reward for killing the bear and the lion. The
worst part is that his father even forgot about him
when Samuel asked of his sons. He was only
remembered when the prophet insisted that there
may be one else there. That was when the father
remembered David. David knew that even after he
was anointed by the prophet of God he had to go
back to the sheep so taking on such a giant today is
no guarantee that he would not have to go back to his
fathers sheep tomorrow. He knew his ability to

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negotiate could change his life forever, and that was

his major turning point.
Then David spoke to the men who stood by
him, saying, "What shall be done for the man
who kills this Philistine and takes away the
reproach from Israel? For who is this
uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy
the armies of the living God?
1Samuel 17:26
All the people on the battle field were soldiers
who were only speaking of the reward but were not
really motivated and courageous enough to take on
the challenge. David who was desperate to leave the
sheepfold saw the reward to be too good to let go.
So the men of Israel said, "Have you seen this
man who has come up? Surely he has come up
to defy Israel; and it shall be that the man who
kills him the king will enrich with great riches,
will give him his daughter, and give his father's
house exemption from taxes in Israel.
1Samuel 17:25

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The poor man in Ecclesiastes 9

Having a great opportunity does not necessarily
mean you will maximize it. A fool can be rich. Nabal
was rich. Your wisdom is no guarantee for becoming
rich if you dont know how to negotiate your way
up.
There was a little city with few men in it; and
a great king came against it, besieged it, and
built great snares around it. Now there was
found in it a poor wise man, and he by his
wisdom delivered the city. Yet no one
remembered that same poor man.
Ecclesiastes 9:14-15
The poor man in this scripture was presented with
an opportunity similar to that which Jephtha had. It
was even similar to the opportunity David had, yet
this poor wise man did not maximise it to his
advantage. He thought like how many poor people
do: I am part of the people in this city so if they
die, I will die as well. It never crossed his mind that
David was living in Israel when Goliath showed up.
The difference between the rich and the poor is in

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their ability to recognise and maximise opportunities.

The poor pay for so many things and do so many
things for free whereas the rich know how to
negotiate to maximise profitability.
It might have been Gods idea to end this guys
poverty by presenting him such a glorious
opportunity. He was living in a city, not a village. In
spite of the number of people in that city he would
have still make profit because some people were rich
there. As we learn to sympathise with people, let us
open our eyes to the various opportunities that
situations present. When someone dies, a wise
carpenter can sympathise with the deceased family
while securing a job to make the casket.
The needs of people are your opportunities. Learn
to empathise with people so they will be close
enough to entrust you with the opportunities of
solving their problems for them.

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Peter
Peter was a little sceptical of how he would take
care of himself and his family because he was a
married man. John was younger so that may not have
been an issue of concern to him, but Peter was old
and bold enough to discover the opportunities in
following Jesus. Jesus knew it was a right enquiry
that is why he told them the benefits.
Then Peter answered and said to Him, "See,
we have left all and followed You. Therefore
what shall we have?" So Jesus said to them,
"Assuredly I say to you, that in the
regeneration, when the Son of Man sits on the
throne of His glory, you who have followed Me
will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the
twelve tribes of Israel. "And everyone who has
left houses or brothers or sisters or father or
mother or wife or children or lands, for My
name's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and
inherit eternal life.
Matthew 19:27-29

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If you desire to serve God, it is important to

understand the opportunities that will come with it. It
doesnt make you canal. Jesus came to the earth for a
purpose. That is why He went to receive glory. He
had the reward in mind that is why He went through
all the things He went through. You will labour with
joy if you are interested in the opportunity.
looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of
our faith, who for the joy that was set before
Him endured the cross, despising the shame,
and has sat down at the right hand of the
throne of God.
Hebrews 12:2
I have not spoken in secret, In a dark place of
the earth; I did not say to the seed of Jacob,
'Seek Me in vain'; I, the LORD, speak
righteousness, I declare things that are right.
Isaiah 45:19
God forbids people from serving Him in vain.
It is a Babylonian mentality to worship God
and not expect anything from Him

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Emmanuel Makandiwa

Your inability to negotiate may be your biggest

undoing in life, business and ministry.

Ungratefulness
The small things that happen in our lives really
matter. We are tempted to take lots of things for
granted every now and then, especially when they
seem mundane. Appreciating a single act can lead to
countless opportunities. There are lots of people in
the world that we all have the right to choose who to
be with. You should appreciate those who care
enough to know how you are feeling. Be grateful for
that guy who spent some time just to listen to you.
We normally take for granted those who are close to
us and care a lot about what we do. You may even
get upset sometimes at the people who just come
over and sit by. Having someone to just sit by you is
a blessing to be grateful for. There are lots of lonely
people in this world.

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There are people offering similar products and

services like what you offer. You are not the only
person on earth with the solution to the needs of
humanity. So it is crucial to appreciate every
opportunity to offer people what you have. They
pass by people to come to you. You are not the only
option they have, so appreciate them. A single
attitude of gratefulness can open countless doors of
opportunities.
Not having enough customers can be frustrating,
but being unemployed is worse. A guy who used to
complain about his job often never saw the import of
his attitude until sometime passed. This guy had an
issue and took some time off. In his absence, a
graduate who has been searching for job for years
without success was employed for some few months
on contract. This new guy who was very grateful for
landing his first job for years brought a new spirit of
gratitude and dynamism into the company. The guy
worked tirelessly without complaining in a way the
boss could not overlook. He was given a permanent
position in the company and climbed up the ladder
really quick. The old guy who mentored the new guy
for a while struggled at the bottom for years.

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Jesus directed ten lepers who came to him to go to

the priests. While they were going, they were
cleansed. One came back to give thanks. He was the
only one who was made whole.
And one of them, when he saw that he was
healed, returned, and with a loud voice
glorified God, and fell down on his face at His
feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a
Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said, "Were
there not ten cleansed? But where are the
nine? "Were there not any found who returned
to give glory to God except this foreigner?"
And He said to him, "Arise, go your way. Your
faith has made you well."
Luke 17:15-19

Fear of Failure
Fear can cripple your life. We all dont want to
fail. But the only person who has never failed is the
one who has never tried anything new. Failure paves

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the path to success. Henry Ford is noted for

answering someone who asked him how to succeed,
Double your rate at failing
Fear is tormenting. It can make you lose your
dignity. You can lose your throne easily to someone
who is courageous. Saul was too fearful to face
Goliath that is why the ladies sung and celebrated
David to make him Jealous.
because fear involves torment. But he who
fears has not been made perfect in love
John 4:18
All the soldiers in the army of Israel were
presented with the opportunity of marrying the
kings daughter, receiving riches and having their
families exempted from paying taxes. They all talked
about this opportunity but David was the only one
bold enough to take the challenge. He had no fear.
The fearful are condemned with sinners, and they
all will have their share in the lake of fire. People
miss their place with God because of fear.

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But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the

abominable,
and
murderers,
and
whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters,
and all liars, shall have their part in the lake
which burneth with fire and brimstone: which
is the second death.
Revelation 21:8 KJV
Fear can make you deny your potential and give
up on opportunities and positions. Peter had a
glorious destiny. Jesus prophesied about it. Peter was
faithful and committed to his Master and His
purpose yet a little maid made him deny his Master.
There are people who resign from their positions
because they lack the courage to undertake the task
they have been asked to.
Some people also keep making excuses not
because they are lazy, but because they fear. They
find it difficult to admit their fear. Not everyone who
keeps making excuses is lazy. Most of them dont
have the courage to do what they have to do. That is
why you have to kill your fears before they kill you.
We all have the natural tendency to fear something.

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Maturity is a life of responsibility. It is not that we

are bold enough to handle so many things that is why
we do them, but we know that our fears can keep us
in one place all our lives. We dread being stagnant in
life. Not to have any option in life is disheartening.
You cant live in the same place all your life. You
have to move on. Dont let your fear make you
stagnant.
Glorious opportunities are lost because of fear.
Aaron was the first High Priest of Israel. He was an
anointed High Priest and a prophet (Exodus 7:1). He
was the second in command in the church in the
wilderness. Moses was waiting on God on the mount
when the Israelites insisted that Aaron make them a
calf image as god. Three thousand men lost their
lives and their opportunity to see the Promised Land
because Aaron was afraid to reject the voice of the
people. He himself missed his opportunity to see the
Promised Land.
Some people who are genuinely called by God
never step into their ministries because of fear. It
takes lots of courage to step into the ministry when
God calls. People will talk you out of it. Families

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will try to protect you from answering the call

because they may think you are crazy. People will
criticise you for going into ministry because of
money. All these things make the fearful give up.
Dont be afraid to do what you have been asked to
do. Nobody would have discovered the moon and the
other planets if people were not bold enough to
search for them.

Rebellion
People usually change with power, so do they
with opportunity. Once a faithful guy can turn to be
the worst rebel you can deal with. Some people are
so deceived that they dont even recognise when they
start rebelling. They justify their actions with so
many reasons.
Everyone can fall from any position. That is life.
Thrones are not guaranteed for special people.

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For riches are not forever, Nor does a crown

endure to all generations.
Proverbs 27:24
I have seen servants on horses, While princes
walk on the ground like servants.
Ecclesiastes 10:7
A single opportunity may be a threshold of
something great. This is why we appreciate every
single one. Every discerning person recognises a
rebel easily. Nobody will recommend a rebel if he is
not one. The silent message people spread of them is
beware of that guy. You will not employ someone
you cannot control neither will your employ
someone who has had problems with all his previous
bosses. They are deadly.
Ignorantly, most people develop rebellious
attitudes they are not even aware of. Anyone who
comes out with an excuse or objection every time he
is given an instruction is a suspect. Every rebel lacks
the opportunity to be recommended by non-rebels.

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We fight rebels. People put up fights against

every attitude of rebellion whether consciously or
unconsciously. Abimelech, the son of Jerubbaal, who
killed seventy sons of his father to reign, was fought
by the same people who enthroned him (Judges 9:15, 22-57)
Since they lack recommendation, rebels have the
tendency to fight for almost everything. It is a
miserable life to fight for everything in life. Since
rebels are despised and rejected, doors shut in front
of them. They may not even know why. They may
attribute it to so many things, but the truth is mostly
hidden from them because they dont like to admit it.
God sets the solitary in families; He brings
out those who are bound into prosperity; But
the rebellious dwell in a dry land.
Psalm 68:6

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Foolishness
The foolishness of a man twists his way, And
his heart frets against the LORD.
Proverbs 19:3
Good judgment is essential in discovering and
maximising opportunities. Each one of us has the
tendency to make wrong and uninformed judgments
once a while in spite of how meticulously skilful we
are in executing our tasks. We are not far from
making mistakes.
Though we are all eligible to make mistakes,
foolishness is when the mistake becomes apparent
from the outset and could be avoided. There are lots
of things that cloud our minds and sights, and make
us take such uninformed decisions that lead us
astray.
One single step you take can put you in a
disadvantaged position forever. Understanding the
price you may have to pay for missing an
opportunity can help you a lot. Any uninformed or

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deliberate decision that can twist your way can cost

you more than you may be willing to pay.
Knowing what it takes to maximize an
opportunity is far more important than just
discovering the opportunity.
The labor of fools wearies them, For they do
not even know how to go to the city!
Ecclesiastes 10:15
Expect more from yourself than anyone else. In
this way you always put yourself in the better
position to excel.

Loss of Focus
Brethren, I do not count myself to have
apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting
those things which are behind and reaching
forward to those things which are ahead,
Philippians 3:13

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You should always focus your energy on one

thing. A jack of all trade is a master of none.
Multitasking does not help anyone. Computers and
other machines are better programmed to multitask,
not human beings. Someone rightly said
multitasking is another term for unfocused.
How accurate are you in dancing and reading at
the same time? You should always put one thing
ahead of the other. All things do not have the same
value so prioritise to help you stay focused. No
serious student spends his time before a major
examination preparing for an excursion. If you are in
the school for academic excellence you wont waste
your time doing trivial stuff.
Likewise, some people who are good in
discovering opportunities, and sometimes have all it
takes to maximise such opportunities do not really
make anything out of them.
Now as the king passed by, he cried out to the
king and said, "Your servant went out into the
midst of the battle; and there, a man came over
and brought a man to me, and said, 'Guard this
man; if by any means he is missing, your life

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shall be for his life, or else you shall pay a

talent of silver.' "While your servant was busy
here and there, he was gone." Then the king of
Israel said to him, "So shall your judgment be;
you yourself have decided it."
1 Kings 20:39,40
Dont get busy trying to do everything. Failures
run in all directions. Focus on your one most
important task per time.
And Jesus answered and said to her, "Martha,
Martha, you are worried and troubled about
many things. "But one thing is needed, and
Mary has chosen that good part, which will not
be taken away from her."
Luke 10:41,42

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4
Maximizing Opportunities
Grow In Knowledge and Skills
but grow in the grace and knowledge of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the
glory both now and forever. Amen.
2 Peter 3:18
There is no end in knowledge. There is more to
learn concerning everything you do. This is because
we are progressive in almost everything we do. We
work on innovating and reinventing every now and
then to produce better things for humanity, make

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profit and kill our ignorance. The guy who is not

willing to improve on his knowledge and his abilities
does not have a bright future.
It is true that your idea works, but as far as it can
be better you dont have to settle on what it is now.
This is because someone will rise sooner than later to
improve on what you do and hence have better
opportunities than you do. Constant innovation can
guarantee a better future.
Learn all you can about all you do. Then learn
what others are doing that may have an impact on
what you do. You may share a platform with people
but you should understand that they are likely to
have better opportunities than you if they are better
in knowledge and skills than you are.
Do you see someone skilled in their work?
They will serve before kings; they will not serve
before officials of low rank.
Proverbs 22:29 NIV

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Hard Work
Hard work doesnt kill, it refines
Bishop David Oyedepo
The only way to maximize any opportunity is to
work hard at it through to the end. Advance
preparation is good. But that does not necessary
guarantee success. Anything worth doing is worth
doing well.
Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with
your might; for there is no work or device or
knowledge or wisdom in the grave where you
are going.
Ecclesiastes 9:10

Tenacity
There was in a certain city a judge who did
not fear God nor regard man. "Now there was
a widow in that city; and she came to him,

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saying, 'Get justice for me from my adversary.'

"And he would not for a while; but afterward
he said within himself, 'Though I do not fear
God nor regard man, 'yet because this widow
troubles me I will avenge her, lest by her
continual coming she weary me.'
Luke 18:2-5
I will rather take no for a question than take no for
an answer. This is a principle I learnt from my friend
Bernard Kelvin Clive. We all come to a stage in life
that we learn this principle. You will learn it sooner
or later if only you want to get things done.
There are many times the best you may think of is
giving up. There are many times the road may be
clouded with lot of uncertainties that make it difficult
to take a step. You might struggled on a particular
project for so long just like Thomas Edison yet you
still have to keep at it so you will have your
breakthrough just like he had.

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Self-Discipline
Self-discipline is the ability to do what you
should do, when you should do it, whether you
feel like it or not
Elbert Hubbard
Discipline is at the centre of every achievement.
Your gifts, talent, opportunities will not yield any
great thing if you lack discipline. The fact that you
have planned out something does not mean you will
necessarily do it. The fact that you know why you
should do that does not mean you will do it. This is
the reason you have to renew your commitment you
whatever is set before you daily.
Yesterday is history, tomorrow is mysteries what
you have is the present. Renew your commitment
today based on your decision yesterday so the future
you have planned may be in reach.

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Listening
Good listening skill is one of the greatest skills to
have. It helps you to understand people and
opportunities. Communication is vital in every
environment. The funny thing is that very few people
have mastered good listening skills.
Everyone wants to be heard. We do lots of things
to crave attention. We are created to solve problems.
And listening is the best way to know people,
understand their philosophies and their needs. Good
listeners are good problem solvers and they are likely
to discover more about what is set before them.
Since everyone wants to be heard, people love to be
around good listen. Hence they have opportunities.

Mentorship
A mentor is very essential to your success. Your
books and tapes do not replace your mentor. Those
who have never been mentored are those who
understand the pain and struggle life may bring.

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People have been through a lot to qualify to speak

into your life. Dont let pride kill you. Your mentor
may hold the key to your success so honour him and
his counsel. He can help you maximize those
opportunities you may not see great.

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Conclusion
Take a few minutes and think of some big
opportunities that you have lost. There are some
opportunities losing them may seem like losing your
life. You may not be able to do anything about the
past events but today is a new day. You can make
history now.
The lessons you just learnt should be on your
finger tips. Some opportunities are very fast to pass
by. Had I known is always at last. But since today is
not your last day then you dont have any regret. Go
make things happen. Stay blessed and inspired.

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Wisdom is the principal thing. Understanding your

decisions and your way is vital in excelling and
being free from troubles. This book will show you
the wisdom key that can help in every facet of your
life, and most importantly, in understanding and
dealing with all kinds of people.

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Your ability to discover and maximise opportunities

will earn you great rewards which include
promotion, riches, honour, fame, trust and longevity.
This book is a sure guide to a world of opportunities.

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