by Rev. Dr Winston Cuffie

 New Year's Message^*VIDEO

“Some men are born great, others achieve greatness, while others have greatness thrust upon them.” Which category do you fall in? It was Socrates who stressed, “Know thyself”. In everyone , there is a cry for greatness; for stardom. There is the longing to be the stellar achiever. This appetite is inevitable because man is created in the “image and likeness” of a great God, to accomplish greatness. It’s the great leader Jesus Christ who says to His followers, “You shall do even greater works than I have done”. Twelve years ago I wrote the book “Achieving Greatness While You Are Young”.

The number eight (8) as in 2008, for instance, represents new beginnings, according to Scripture. Our aim at Miracle Ministries is to challenge each person to enter the “new beginning” of this new year, with a focus on greatness – a decisive, purposeful thrust to discover and allow full expression of that God-given potential for greatness. This will require a structured and strategic approach.

Vision and Value: Greatness, in the context of new beginnings requires vision. Sight may behold the present, but vision sees the future. “Without a vision the people will perish”, the Scriptures proclaim. Visionary people possess the capacity to look beyond the present to a brighter, greater tomorrow. The visionary looks at a seed and sees a forest. Through creative imagination, he or she sees the invisible and sets out to accomplish the impossible. Like Michael Angelo, the visionary sees the angel in the crude-looking piece of marble. Visionaries look beyond the now, to embrace the next. Like Martin Luther, they climb to the mountain top and see the other side – the Promised Land – and passionately pursue to possess. Like Oprah Winfrey the visionary – with the benefit of foresight and proactive intuition- declares: “Doing my best in my present assignment, best positions me for my next level”. The visionary dreads paradigm paralysis. He/she is creative, dynamic and revolutionary. The true visionary is also value-centric, having a deep appreciation for character and ethical principles.

Resolve and Optimism: Resolutions are common at the end of an old year and the beginning of a new. “Resolution” is derived from the word “resolve”. Resolve primarily has to do with conviction and quality decision to achieve a specific goal. This is an imperative for greatness. It takes a goal to pursue the gold! Optimism, faith or a positive mental attitude (PMA) furnishes the fuel for resolve and provides the insulation against the fear of failure (FOF).

Planning and Pursuit: The carpenter needs the plan to bring the dream house to reality. You will need a plan to bring your dream life to reality. He who succeeds in planning, plans to succeed and he who fails to plan, plans to fail. A wise plan of action is the foundation for motivation; it’s the stimulus for your passion to pursue. “Any enterprise is built on wise planning” wise King Solomon said. Purposeful pursuit requires perseverance for the extra mile – the path few want to tread. Zig Ziglar says, “There is no traffic jam on the extra mile”. Never forget: The world would step aside and make room for a man who knows where he is going, and is determined to get there.

Respect and Trust: Achieving greatness almost always has to do with teamwork. Christ himself chose twelve disciples. Teamwork will make the dream work. Effective team collaboration has to do with people skills. At the heart of this is respect and trust. In order to get respect we must first give respect. The Golden Rule states, we must (first) do unto others as we would have them do unto us (Lk. 6:31). Noted author Arnold Glasow said, “The respect of those you respect is worth more than the applause of multitudes”. Mutual respect is an extremely rich tonic to cohesive working partnerships. This respect naturally breeds trust, which immensely nourishes bonding and the vital team spirit. Thomas Carlyle tells us, “A great man shows his greatness by the way he treats little people”. Studies show that 70% of people who quit their jobs in the US, do so because they do not feel valued. The great leader (and achiever) knows the incredible value of valuing people.

Finally, making it great has to do with connecting to the ultimate Source of all greatness – “Great is the Lord and greatly to be praised” (Ps 145:3 ).

Have a great New Year!