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During the Civil War the government drafted men into service.  A man in Mercer County, PA was drawn.  Because of sickness at home he felt he could not leave.  The administration permitted him to secure someone to take his place.  The substitute enlisted and went out in place of the man who was drafted.  In a short time he was killed and buried, and the government made a record of it.  But by some oversight on the part of the officials, the name of the man who was excused was placed in another draft and he was drawn a second time.

He went beofre the authorities and said to them, “You cannot draft me.  I am a dead man.” 

“What do you mean?” came the reply. 

“Look up the records.  You will see I enlisted, I fought, I died in the person of my substitute.” 

In the eyes of the law that man was dead.  The substitute fought and died in his place, and the government could not touch him. 

The Lord Jesus Christ is the sinner’s substitute.  Christ took our place and paid the penalty at the cross for our sins, so that the law of death can no longer claim us.

Your thumb is nearest to you.  so begin your prayers by praying for those closest to you.  They are the easiest to remember.  To pray for our loved ones is, a sweet duty.

The next finger is the pointing finger.  Pray for those who teach, instruct and heal.  This includes teachers, doctors, and ministers.  They need support and wisdom in pointing others in the right direction.  Keep them in your prayers.

The next finger is the tallest finger.  It reminds us of our leaders.  Pray for the President, other government leaders in this country and around the world, leaders in business and industry, and administrators.  These people shape our nation and guide public opinion.  They need God’s guidance.

The fourth finger is our ring finger.  Surprising to many is the fact that this is our weakest fiinger, as any piano teacher will testify.  It should remind us to pray for those who are weak, in trouble or iin pain.  They need your prayers day and night.  You cannot pray too much for them.

And lastly comes our little fiinger, the smallest finger of all, which is where we should place ourselves in relation to God and others.  As the Bible says, “The least shall be the greatest among you.”  Your pinky should remind you to pray for yourself.  By the time you have prayed for the other four groups, your own needs will be put into proper perspective and you will be able to pray for yourself more effectively.

I Timothy 2:1

I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone.

A man named Jack was walking along a steep cliff one day when he accidentally got too close to the edge and fell.  On the way down he grabbed a branch, which temporarily stopped his fall.  He looked down and to his horror saw that the canyon fell straight down for more than a thousand feet.  He couldn’t hang on to the branch forever, and there was no way for him to climb up on the steep wall of the cliff.  So Jack began yelling for help, hoping that someone passing by would hear him and lower a rope or something.

HELP!  HELP!  Is anyone up there?  HELP!  He yelled for a long time, but no one heard him.  he was about to give up when he heard a voice.

“Jack, Jack.  Can you hear me?”

“Yes, yes!  I can hear you.  I’m down here!”

“I can see you, Jack.  Are you all right?”

“Yes, but who are you, and where are you?”

“I am the Lord, Jack.  I’m everywhere.”

“The Lord?  You mean, GOD?”

“That’s Me.”

“God, please help me!  I promise if you will get me down from here, I’ll stop sinning, I’ll be a really good person.  I’ll serve You for the rest of my life.”

“Easy on the promises, Jack.  let’s get you down from there; then we can talk.  Now here’s what I want you to do.  Listen carefully.”

“I’ll do anything, Lord.  Just tell me what to do.”

“Okay, Let go of the branch.”

“What?”

“I said, let go of the brancfh.  Just trust Me.  let go.”

There was a long silence.

Finally, Jack yelled, “HELP!  HELP!  IS ANYONE ELSE UP THERE?”

Have you ever felt like Jack?  We say that we want to know the will of God, but when we find out what it is, we can’t handle it.  Sounds too scary, too difficult.  We decide to look elsewhere.

When He says, “Let go of the things that stand between you and me, and trust Me with your life,” it sounds pretty scary.

But when we let go, we find freedom and safety in His hands.

Years Ago, in the pioneer days of aviation, a pilot was making a flight around the world.  After he had been gone for some two hours from his last landing field, he heard a noise in his plane, as though something was moving.  He looked down and saw a snake slithering toward him.  He realized that while his plane had been on the ground a snake had gotten in.  He did not know if the snake was poisonous but it did not matter because he was terrified of any kind of snake.

It was a very serious situation but knew that somehow he had to keep his head and figure out a solution.  At first he did not know what to do.  It was two hours back to the landing field from which he had taken off and more than two hours to the next field ahead.  Then he remembered that the snake is not made for heights; it is made to live on the ground and under the ground.  Therefore the pilot began to climb.  He went up a thousand feet, then another thousand and another until he was more than twenty thousand feet up.  The snake stopped moving.  Its eyes closed.  The snake was dead.  It could not survive in the atmosphere of those heights.   More than two hours later, the pilot brought the plane safely to the next landing field and removed the dead snake.

Worry is a snake. 

it cannot live in the secret place of the Most High.  it cannot breathe in the atmosphere made vital by prayer and familiarity with God’s word.  Worry dies when we ascend to the Lord through prayer and His word.

Scripture supporting the above – Psalms 91 New International Version

Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.  This I declare of the Lord. He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; He is my God, and I am trusting Him.  For He will rescue you from every trap and protect you from the fatal plague.  He will shield you with His wings.  He will shelter you with his feathers.  His faithful promises are your armor and protection.  Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night, nor fear the dangers of the day, nor dread the plague that stalks in darkness, nor the disaster that strikes at midday.  Though a thousand fall at your side, though ten thousand are dying around you, these evils will not touch you.  But you will see it with your eyes; you will see how the wicked are punished.  If you make the LORD your refuge, if you make the Most High your shelter, no evil will conquer you; no plague will come near your dwelling.  For He orders His angels to protect you wherever you go.  They will hold you with their hands to keep you from striking your foot on a stone.  You will trample down lions and poisonous snakes; you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!  The LORD says, “I will rescue those who love me.  I will protect those who trust in my name.  When they call on me, I will answer; I will be with them in trouble.  I will rescue them and honor them.  I will satisfy them with a long life and give them my salvation.

Negotiation is an art form as well as a skill.  Somebody once said that “In life you don’t get what you deserve, you get what you negotiate.”  Personally, I have found that to be true.  There is a lot to negotiation that I have to share with you, but for now, let me give you some fine points that have helped me and others in business and on a personal level.

1. Join yourself with people who share your values.  It is difficult at best and impossible at worst to negotiate with someone who believes that any practice, rule or policy is acceptable, no matter who it hurts as long as the desired results are achieved – unless you are that kind of person too.  I am not judging anybody, just making a statement that the same character and mindsets have to exist.  Specifically, if you are in negotiations with someone and you don’t believe that you should lie, sacrifice quality, make hidden changes, or steal from the other person, and they believe that they should do these things, negotiations will not be successful.  No two people are exactly alike, and business requires toughness.  But toughness and cutthroat are not spelled the same way and are not the same practices.
2. Learn all you can about the other person.  This underscores number one.  Learn about how the other party does business.  This is relatively easy to find out.  I can’t tell you how, because there are many ways to do so and you have to find the best way for you.  But somebody knows!  Find out how they do what they do and that will tell you whether or not you even want to enter into negotiations with them.
3. Always have an option.  With the internet and global partners on our desktops, very, very few of us are locked in to just one door or one way or one person.  Before you start negotiating, find at least one alternative.  You don’t necessarily have to let it  be known, but take it from someone who knows, when you have at least one option, don’t take what you can get, and the proceedings for your part are not handled in desperation but in confidence.
4. You have limits.  You have a bottom line.  Determine what that is and stick to it.  Be prepared to walk away if you cannot get what you absolutely must have.  Don’t be a baby, and there is something called compromise.  But if you have to give up your ultimate goal, whatever that may be, the meeting is over.
5. You have just as much right as the other person to set the tone of the meeting or meetings.  Let the atmosphere be cooperation, not conflict.  You don’t want a fight.  You want a successful outcome.
6. No matter what, don’t show fear.   No matter how intimidated you may feel, don’t be afraid.  “Never Let Them See You Sweat.”  You don’t have to be afraid of anything or anyone.  Remember your purpose for being there.
7. Listen a lot.  We have one mouth, and two ears.  There is a reason.  Take comfort and confidence in silence.  It is okay to wait for your inner voice, conscience, or whatever you call it to speak to you.  It is okay to listen.
8. If you are offered something totally unreasonable, end the meeting.  It is a waste of your time and theirs to argue about something that they propose that you know right away is totally out of the question.  When the horse is dead, bury it, don’t keep beating it.
9. Continue to remind the other party of your concessions.  They already know theirs.  You are not there to negotiate what is best for them, you are there to negotiate what is best for you.
10. ALWAYS LET THEM TALK FIRST!  In closing, I will share with you a true story.  A man had built his business from nothing, then when it started losing money, decided to sell.  He carefully looked at his investment of time, money and good will and believed he could get no more than $50,000.00.   He was losing money anyway so he decided to take what he could get and retire.  When it was time for the meeting, he was prepared to tell the participants his price but at the last minute changed his mind and let them talk first.  The spokesperson pointed out the poor performance of his company, how long he had been losing money and what a big favor they were doing by entertaining purchasing his business.  Please bear in mind that the company who was buying his business was using the same set of financial statements, projections, tax returns and other documents that the business owner had.  They said they would only offer him $150,000.00 cash!  He received a 200% profit because he let them talk first. 

In the weeks ahead, I will share more on negotiation with you, but use these to start.

You will have help along the way.  People will give you encouragement, money, advice, information, connections.  But ultimately, the planning, preparation, dreaming, most of all the work will be done by you.  You are the one who will stay up late, get up early, sometimes get no sleep, suffer computer crashes, money shortages, work through being sick – You are the one who will do all of these things.  But guess what?  YOU are the one who will reap the greatest rewards.  And it is more than money.  You will reap the unspeakable joy of a job well done, the way you wanted and the incomparable thrill of seeing the manifestation of the fruit of your labor. 

It is appropriate and necessary to ask for help.  But you must do it for you.  There is no husband, wife, sister, brother, friend, boyfriend, girlfriend, son, daughter, grandmother, grandfather, who will love or understand your vision like you.  Nobody.   They will try.  They may even become partners with you.  But ask those who have lost companies, kingdoms or marriages, when the storm got bad, they stood alone.  And when the rewards came, nobody else in the room knew what was in their heart. 

You can never live alone in this world, but for your dream and vision, you will sometimes walk alone.  To this day, I have friends who get angry with me because I cannot go out with them, or talk as long as we used to, or break commitments at the last minute.  They don’t understand.  Someone calls me for a last minute speaking engagement, I have to get ready.  People are depending on me to help them, when I step behind that microphone and I will never disappoint them.  My friends can’t do it for me.  Nobody can do it for you.

It is no joke or secret that all of us wnat more than what we have.  Whether it is money, health, business, life/love partner, most of us want more – Including me!  I have been very fortunate because I learned some basic principles.  There are unlimited ways to get from one level to another, but I will share some here that have and still work for me.

1. PRAY about what you want.  What should your prayer be?  For guidance, direction, understanding, wisdom.  Pray and ask that your desires, goals, ambitions and dreams are within God’s will.  Pray for help to achieve what His will is for your life.
2. VISUALIZE who you want to be.  See what you want to do.  You can never be what you cannot see.  Yes, use examples of heroes who reflect your ambitions, but spend time each day visualizing and picturing you in the life that you want.
3. PREPARE & PLAN  for your future.  Prepare yourself mentally.  Success and dream attainment never ends.  When you accomplish one thing, you will find that you cannot rest until you achieve the next thing and the next.  It is worth the effort and the time you spend to learn as much as you can along the way.  You will pay a price for achieving your dream, but everybody has to pay a price, so realize you are not alone.  It is not free!  Plan your steps.  Break it into manageable pieces and time frames so that you can do it, but always know where you are going and how you will arrive.  Always know the steps you will take to get there.  Be pepared to make alterations along the way, but have and implement a detailed, constructive plan of preparation and action. 
4. ATTITUDEThink and act like who you want to be.  Reflect the attitude of success and dream achievement because what you reflect and dream about and think about is what you will get and be.  Don’t say, when I geet there I will act like I am who and what I want to be.  Take it from someone who knows.  What you act like is all you will ever be.
5. MOTIVATE  yourself to go beyond your limits.  Find your encouragement, inspiration, motivation, and personal power, wherever you can.  Even though I can give you a lot oF encouragement and motivation, your greatest motivation is you!  Again, I speak from experience.  I have hundreds of books on courage, motivation, encouragement, success, dreaming and preparing, but my greatest source of motivation is inside of DORMA!!!!
6. PERSEVERE  no matter what.  If success was easy, everybody would do it.  If you did not have to weather storms along the way, everybody would be at the top of the mountain.  If you were never pushed beyond your limits, you would never know what it really takes.  Stand and fight.  Stand and win.  Be still and know that He is God and keep going.
7. START NOW Procrastination is one of the greatest destroyers of dreams and plan.  Tomorrow never comes.  Every day you wake up is today.  Start now.  Every day that you wait, you get further behind.  Everything will never fall in line no matter how long you wait.  Even when you achieve your dream and become the success you want to be, there will still be things that you see how to do better or differently.  Start now.  You can make more money.  You can make more friends.  You can make more connections.  You can make more deals.  You can never make more time.  Start right now.