T.D. Jakes - 64 Lessons for a Life Without Limits

Lessons for a Life Without Limits

ALSO BY T.D. JAKES

Making Great Decisions

Reposition Yourself

Not Easily Broken

Can You Stand to Be Blessed?

Ten Commandments of Working in a Hostile Environment

He-Motions

Cover Girls

Follow the Star

Gods Leading Lady

The Great Investment

The Lady, Her Lover, and Her Lord

Maximize the Moment

His Lady

So You Call Yourself a Man?

Woman, Thou Art Loosed!

Mama Made the Difference

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Copyright 2011 by TDJ Enterprises

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First Atria Books hardcover edition May 2011

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Designed by Suet Y. Chong

Manufactured in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Jakes, T. D.

64 lessons for life without limits / T.D. Jakes. 1st Atria Books hardcover ed.

p. cm.

1. SuccessReligious aspectsChristianity. I. Title.

BV4598.3.J358 2011

248.84dc22

2011006237

ISBN 978-1-4516-2524-0

ISBN 978-1-4516-2525-7 (ebook)

Youve succeeded. You got it. You heeded that vague feeling that something in you needed to change. Or you may even have hit bottom in some aspect of your life and decided it was the last time! So you bought the books Reposition Yourself or Making Great Decisions, did the work, and slowly (or perhaps even with amazing speed), you and your situation have been transformed. Congratulations! You get the prize and the bag of chips.

Since I began writing books more than twenty years ago, Ive been blessed to see my readers grow, their lives turn around. Im humbled when they share that my books have ignited positive change, and Im so proud of them when I hear their stories of success. As Ive listened, Ive learned that they are often surprised at how challenging it is to maintain the practices that led to their turnarounds. Years and years later, they often feel afraid to relax, concerned that they must constantly be vigilant, as if they are tiptoeing on eggshells and their accomplishments could somehow vanish.

If thats how you feel, this book is for you. Its about standing firm in who you have become, on what you have achieved. It is designed not to teach you new lessons but to build your confidence in what you have already learned.

I want you to embrace the you you have worked so hard to become, to enjoy the life your work has yielded. This book celebrates and affirms what you have absorbed and put into practice and helps you continue onward.

Should you ever feel yourself slipping or be painfully reminded of the person you used to be, remember that you did reposition yourself, that you did make good decisions and did follow a plan, and you indeed have a life without limits. Now stand firm.

You are you wherever you are . Wherever you go, you take you with you. If you are kind and thoughtful to your friends and family, you are typically a kind and thoughtful employee as well. If you are the life of the office party and enthusiastically organize the secret Santa activities every year, then chances are you make things fun at home too. More often than not, our personalities are consistent across most of the areas of our lives.

So then, who are you? It seems like a simple question but is often one of the most challenging for people to answer. To know who you are and what you stand for, to be aware of how you are perceived by others and how you present yourself to the world is one of the most important aspects of a well-lived life. Your behavior in your public and private moments acts as your lifes billboard, your personal brand.

Your brand consists of three attributes that are present for every encounter or meeting that you have with work colleagues, family, or friends. I like to call them deliverables, virtues that you bring to all your social and business interactions. They arent something that we get from a seminar or that we develop as we mature; deliverables are characteristics that are natural to you as a person and that reflect who you are as a person.

You may take your deliverables for granted. They seem second nature to you by now. But consider writing down or revisiting your own personal mission statement. What is your purpose on this planet? What are you about? What is your vision? Does your life truly reflect what is important to you and how you want others to see you?

So often, we live lives based on what those around us think we should be or do. We follow the path weve seen our friends, business associates, parents, or other family members take. Or we pursue what the media defines as success. Eventually, and sometimes surprisingly, we may find ourselves frustrated, angry, and disappointed in life. Have you ever heard business professionals lament about climbing to the top of the corporate ladder only to find that it was leaning against the wrong building? They were often so busy keeping up with what they thought they were supposed to be doing that they never stopped to ask themselves what they actually wanted to do.

By taking time to figure out your own personal brand, you make sure you are on the right path for you. You discover your unique deliverables. You develop a confidence in who you authentically are. What you learn about who you really are helps guide you throughout your life, no matter what circumstances or situations you find yourself in. Learn who you are, dont be deterred by the paths of others, honor your personal brand, and youll never go wrong.

One of the traits of successful , joyful living is understanding what you do well and knowing those areas where you may need assistance or support. Our strengths and weaknesses dont make us wrong or right, they make us who we are.

If youve ever heard the saying No man is an island, it was probably said about a great leader. Few people achieve great success all on their own. Consider an actor in a play. He may be the one out front in the spotlight, with perfect hair, makeup, and costume, reciting poignant lines, and getting all the applause and accolades. But to get great reviews the day after opening night, he had to rely on the costume designer for the outfit he wore, the hair and makeup artists who made him look flawless, the playwright who wrote the words he said in his show-stopping soliloquy, the director who provided the vision, and the lighting and sound crews who set the stage. Great leaders are smart enough to surround themselves with people who have strengths that complement theirs. The leader is still in charge but has a team of supporters who help achieve the vision and goals.