failure is not fatal and final

2 Corinthians 10:4New International Version (NIV)

The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.

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In preparation for the greatest challenge of His life, Jesus prescribed prayer for Himself and prayer for His Disciples. They all went to pray. He prayed. Peter and the other Disciples did not. The result was that Jesus was prepared for spiritual battle. Peter and the other Disciples were not. Peter lasted mightily long on his physical resources, but had little or no spiritual energy on which to rely in a spiritual battle with the Devil. When his physical sword was rendered useless, he had nothing else with which to fight. The result? He frazzled, fell apart, and succumbed to justifiable fear for his own life. The result? He denied Christ. Can this apply to us? We are reminded that the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds…” (2 Corinthians 10:4) Prayer is a pre-requisite for all spiritual warfare.

When last have you failed to represent Christ, and instead, have denied Him? Whether at home, at school or at play or even in private, each day opportunities to deny Jesus will arise. We can deny Him by what we say, as well as by what we do not say; by what we do, as well as by what we do not do. Jesus is praying for us that our faith does not fail. And when we would have gained the victory, we must encourage others.

12 Steps to Go From Employee to Entrepreneur

If you’re fed up with your job, it may seem like there are only two steps to becoming an entrepreneur. The first is to quit your job, and the next step is to start a company. While it is possible to transition successfully from employee to entrepreneur, it’s a little more complex than that.

Here are the 12 steps you’ll need to take to become your own boss.

1. Determine what you’d like to do.
Some people call this finding your passion, but it’s more than that. Think about your skills, abilities and experience. Consider what you can realistically see yourself doing for hours each day, for weeks and years.

2. Think about what others will pay for.
A viable business is the intersection between what you’d like to do and what others will pay for. Remember the “Jump to Conclusions Mat” from the movie Office Space? Todd loved building it, but no one was going to buy it. It wasn’t a viable business opportunity.

Related: Got a Business Idea? Here's How to See If It's Sustainable.

3. Interview ideal customers.
Find a few people that you think would be your ideal clients. Ask them about their biggest needs, fears and aspirations related to the business idea you plan to pursue. Are the benefits of your product or service in line with their real needs? Also, make a note of the words they use, as they’ll eventually help make your marketing more authentic.

4. Design your marketing and business plans.
Today’s marketing involves content creation, social media, email outreach and more. Make sure you know how you’ll approach each of these alternatives to introduce your idea to customers. At the same time, lay out a business plan that details how you intend your business to function. It doesn’t need to be super formal, but it does need to cover your operating structure, product, delivery systems and expansion plans.

5. Set up your business on a small scale.
If you can, test your company idea by launching on a small scale on the side, while still working your day job. This gives you a no-risk opportunity to test your ideas, get your first clients and see if the business will hold up over time before you leave the security of your current position.

6. Assess feedback and adjust.
Running a small-scale operation will help you determine which parts of your idea are great and which ones need adjusting. Take customer feedback seriously and make any necessary changes before you begin scaling up.

7. Assemble a team.
If your idea seems viable, determine who you’ll want on your business leadership team when you eventually launch full time. Depending on your personal experience, you may need help in areas such as finance, marketing, customer service and production.

Related: Creating a Road Map to Business Success

8. Secure financing.
For a small venture, this might mean saving up some money to get through the first few months or taking cash from your 401(k). If your aspirations are a bit larger, you may need to think about how to procure venture capital or other outside investment.

9. Set up the structure of your company.
At the same time, you’ll also want to decide what kind of company structure to register. Do you want to incorporate, form an LLC or create a partnership? Get this taken care of legally and carefully define the roles and investment of each of your leadership team members.

10. Leave your job.
When you’re ready, leave your day job. This may feel like an amazing relief after all the work you already put in, but trust me, more work awaits. Although it may be tempting, be sure not to burn any bridges as you leave -- you never know when you’ll encounter former bosses and colleagues again, and you may need to work with them in the future.

11. Set up a working budget.
With your full-time schedule now devoted to your business, set up a company budget. This should include payments for marketing expenses, salaries and other important purchases. Just be sure not to waste money on frivolous expenses!

12. Scale up your business according to your marketing plan.
Finally, all that’s left to do is to work the plans you’ve carefully laid out for yourself. Of course, that plan may change over time as you encounter and overcome obstacles. But, this is it -- you’re a full-fledged entrepreneur. Congratulations!

As you can see, becoming an entrepreneur requires a lot of work before you even consider quitting your day job. However, if you follow each of the steps listed above and your idea still seems viable, you can leave your life as an employee and become an entrepreneur instead.

There are still many challenges you’ll face, but for most entrepreneurs, the benefits of meaningful work and self-direction are much more important.

compassion and fear

As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him;
Psalm 103:13 NIV

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i fear that i have disappointed God in many ways and therefore, having fear that i would be humbled as well.

i was encouraged to be reminded of God's compassion to his children.  this had me thinking of how i love my kids in spite of their stubbornness and selfishness.

Lord, forgive me for my childish ways and for being selfish and stubborn.  help me to hold on to your compassion and grace knowing that you forgive me of my sins if i don't give up and continue to hope in you.

problems

i miss you de, your advice and companionship

success and failure

But the argument isn’t: take a bunch of garbage from a dumpster and you too will be a wild success. But over and over again from my own observations of successes and failures – the successes give themselves more chances because they refuse to let their constraints define their failure. They continue to use resources at hand to adapt themselves to stay in the game.

go with what you've got!

customer service feedback

Would you hire the last Delta representative you spoke with if you owned a customer service company?
—
First question in the Delta Airlines customer service follow-up survey. Love it.

Fueled by Failure

There are many ways to fail. “Having a bad idea, not executing well, not having the courage to change or adapt, not building the right team, or making bad decisions are among so many possible ways in which we can fail,” Finkelstein says. Another way of failing: not even trying.

Here are five ways embracing failure can work for you:

1. We learn some of our best lessons through failure.

2. Failure inspires us. If we look at it properly and don’t allow it to define us, failure can be a great source of motivation.

3. Failure teaches us humility. We feel humble after losing and recognize that we are indeed human.

4. Embracing failure allows us to take more risks. Once we come to terms with having failed and survived, we can take greater risks.

5. Failure makes success taste even better. We have a better appreciation of success having failed a few times on the way up the ladder.

guard your focus

Looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. —Hebrews 12:2

But the wisdom that comes from heaven is first of all pure; then peace-loving, considerate, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere. Peacemakers who sow in peace reap a harvest of righteousness.
James 3:17-18 NIV

regrets

On regret, Jeff Bezos

The founder of Amazon says, "I knew that if I failed I wouldn't regret that, but I knew the one thing I might regret is not trying." Failure can be a scary notion, but what if you succeed? Amazon was up and running for years before making a profit, so sometimes slow and steady really does win the race.

the ux designer paradox

beauty

don't stop

“It does not matter how slowly you go as long as you do not stop.”  -- Confucius

read: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/245767

together, not alone

...always ...without ceasing ...in everything

Rejoice always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.  - 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV

The Squeaky Wheel

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. -James 5:16 NIV

“The squeaky wheel gets the oil” is a popular proverb. As a child I rode my bicycle for long distances between home and school, and the squeaky sounds of the wheels drew my attention to the need to lubricate them.

In Luke 18, the widow’s persistent request to the judge for justice against her adversary made her sound like a “squeaky wheel” until she got the result she needed. Luke explains that Jesus told this story to teach us the need to pray continually and not to give up, even if it appears that the answer to our prayer is delayed (vv.1-5).

source: http://odb.org/?p=53332

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having a hard time right now fixing a performance issue using ExecutorService for parallel processing on an existing application using hibernate.

at the same time, feeling tired and burn out of work in the office but have to suck it up because i have to provide my family's needs.  also missing my dad.

i need to confess and talk to my partner how i'm having a hard time with my finances affecting my tithes.  that i worry about a lot of things lately.

i'm at a dead end, prayed to God for wisdom and help.  i hope he hears me... in Jesus name, amen.

hopeless

Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.
Romans 12:12 NIV

motivation

Go with what you've got

wisdom and understanding

Say to wisdom, "You are my sister," & call understanding your intimate friend; -Proverbs 7:4

6 traits successful entrepreneurs share

They're persistent
They're adaptive
They're risk takers
They're imaginative doers
They're confident
They're trustworthy

source: http://edition.cnn.com/2015/03/11/tech/traits-successful-entrepreneurs/index.html

are you lost and confused?

For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”

Luke 19:10 NIV