Begin With The End In Mind...

My friend's brother-in-law, aged around 50, was recently diagnosed with Leukaemia. He has been in the intensive care unit (ICU) for a couple of weeks by now and he is on a drip.

He used to be very health-conscious and always advises his friends to eat healthy. Many are surprised that he is suffering from Leukaemia now. Of course, he was worried about his worsening conditions. He began to seek spiritual comfort and he requested for a church pastor to pray for him, not taking up other suggestions of his sister. I was told later that he accepted Christianity as his faith because his brother who passed away two years ago also accepted Christianity as his faith towards the end of his life. My friend told me that now, he feels peace in his heart. He is able to take the situation much better now. Just pray that he would be fine soon so that he would get to share his own testimonial.

In fact, I have authored a simple booklet on "Who Says Only Jesus Saves?" first in Chinese followed by an English translation on my own. This book talks about a purpose-driven faith. Well, it is waiting to be published. There is a book entitled "A Purpose-Driven Life" by Rick Warren. It is a good book. Get a copy soon if you have not.

There is no other time more appropriate than to start the new year 2006 with a clear purpose of our lives. The purpose sets the direction for us to live our lives, so that we could make the best use of our time to get the most out of our lives. It is like what Stephen Covey wrote in his book, "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People" where he talks about "Begin With The End In Mind". Decide on the END that we want, commit the necessary resources and be determined to achieve it.

I would like to share with you a quote which I wrote some time back - "To be successful, FOCUS on your GOALs, NOT your problems. Never take your eyes off your goal."

May you succeed in achieving your goals in 2006.