Transitioning To The Next Level - Why You Must Not Give Up
Twas the midnight hour before the manifestation of your dream...
I've learned as you grow closer to the manifestation of your dream, as your about to breakthrough to the next level, whether it be you company you are creating, the book you're writing, the breakthrough in your marriage, reconciling the relationship with your child, starting your church-whatever you dream may be-right around the time it's about to come true, all hell breaks loose.
"When God gets ready to use you in a mighty way, your circumstances generally are the opposite of your destiny."
-T.D. Jakes-
I've witnessed this time and time again in my own life, as well as, in the lives of so many other amazing people I've come to know over the years, who are doers of the dreams.
Just about 3 years ago, as I took full ownership of my company, Dreamshine, I also ventured upon my dream of writing my book, The Story of You, starting my podcast, Elevating Beyond, and after months and months of massive action, all hell broke loose! We lost 3 team members all within the same month (my company at this time only had 14 employees, and we serve individuals with special needs, so this is a huge deal.)
Then, I get a letter in the mail, discovering a previous employee is attempting to file a lawsuit against me (even though it was totally falsified.) Then, my wife calls me, in tears, as her mom just had a severe stroke, and needs open heart surgery. We also just had our newborn son (child number #5,) so we are on no sleep.
A voice in my head scolds: "Mark, give up on your book and podcast. This is all your fault for-"
"Shut up!", I yell back to the voice. "No weapon formed against me will prosper!"
I repeat this over and over until a wave a peace washes over me. I continue onward, one day, one step at a time.
Even after Christ was crucified, all became dark. Jesus was not immediately resurrected. He was sent to hell. Yes, hell! Jesus, literally went to hell.
Let me repeat this, Jesus, LITERALLY, went to & through hell.
And guess what, even though it was the darkest hour, Jesus CONQUERED hell, and the dream was manifested, as Jesus rose from the dead, and conquered death!
This, too me, is inspiring to know, even Jesus went through hell, the circumstances appeared to be opposite of His destiny. And then, bam! Jesus literally conquers hell, conquers death, and changes EVERYTHING, amazingly!
So here I am, as the midnight hour draws near of the manifestation of my dreams, and all hell breaks loose.
Well, let me tell you this. It is NOT easy. Some days were better than others. Some days I "felt" like giving up, but you all know by now, I don't allow my feelings to determine my actions. It took time, but eventually, the court case was dropped, as the flat out lies they were building their case upon, eventually caught up to them.
We battled through the storms, and took time to get even better team members in here at Dreamshine. We did not lower the bar, we raised the bar to get even better team members, even though it would of been easier in the short term to hire the first people who applied, because we were short staffed, exhausted, and crawling through hell.
I did NOT give up on my book or my podcast. My wife and I took my mother-in-law in for 8 months as she almost died with her first heart surgery, and then had an emergency open heart surgery. We did not give up. We just kept doing, and doing. One day, one step at a time.
"One step. One punch. One Round at a time."
-Rocky Balboa-
As I write this, my mother-in-law is in the best health she's been in for years, enjoying her home back in Sierra Leone, West Africa, where she's happy. Our son, little Gil is 18 months old, and sleeping through the night. My Dream Team is stronger and better than ever before, the best team I've had in 11 years of owning and creating my company, Dreamshine.
My book, The Story of You, is now a Best Seller, and already changing so many incredible lives! My podcast, Elevating Beyond, has crossed 1 Million Downloads, and I'm speaking + hosing live events all over the world!
Twas the midnight hour before the manifestation of your dream, and all hell breaks loose...