Sample Chapters

CHEERS OF OVERCOMERS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

By: Naomi K Molefe

 

 

 

 

 

How the book should be read:

Read through the first person narratives of the ten overcomers in heaven’s Hall of Fame. Follow them from chapter to chapter, as they relate the stories of their lives and cheer you on in your own story; the core message being that; you can overcome as they did.

At the end of the book is the author’s take on the book’s Modern Day Applications, as depicted from each narrative.

Go back to the chapter that you felt spoke to your current situation or life story more. Read it again, and then go through the Modern Day Application that speaks to it.

Chapter 1 – Moses

 

My future was doomed before I was born. My fate had already been determined. I was to die as soon as I took my first breath. My first cry would be my only cry. All Hebrew male newborns were to die at birth. The Jews were being culled like animals. And I was a male newborn.

The Israelites had been living in Egypt for four hundred years. They had been brought to Egypt by our uncle Joseph, who had at the time been a prince in Egypt. How he, as a Hebrew got to be a prince in Egypt is a story for another day.

But the reason our people went there, was because of the famine that had struck far and wide. Egypt was the only place that had food reserves. Our family was also making the trips to buy food there. My uncle Joseph decided that they rather come and stay near the supply of food and grazing for their animals.

Our problem was that we multiplied so much that the then Pharaoh, became intimidated by our numbers and began to fear that we might overtake them as Egyptians. He decided to enslave us and treat us cruelly, even to culling us.

Then fate intervened. Only. It was not fate. It was the God who is not made by hands. It was the God who cannot be seen. The one who ordains destinies and destinations. I was spared. I was saved, and miraculously found my way into the Egyptian castle and monarchy.

This is quickly getting to look like a case is being made for God, but it’s not. The case being made is for me, that my life mattered, just like yours still matters wherever you find yourself in life. And it mattered long before you were born. And it still does.

That your life matters is echoed through the pages of the Bible. God said to Abraham that his descendants will go to Egypt, where they will be slaves for 400 years and that God will deliver them.

It is on historical record that a great Jewish exodus from Egypt happened. Archeologists continue to unearth and verify the validity of such events.

 

Let me cheer you!

God says about your life: you are My workmanship and I have preplanned your life, prepared your path for you to walk in and predestined your works to accomplish. And whether, you’re born into privilege and high standing, poverty and lowliness or dysfunction and lawlessness, your life matters.

It doesn’t matter how vulnerable you are, God can protect you. He protected me as an infant who should have died newly out of her mother’s womb!!! You are born for greater things in your life than what is making you vulnerable. I can assure you, God is bigger than that situation.

Your destiny has already been mapped out by God, and it is a good one! One of victory and accomplishment! Look at me; though my life seemed doomed from the onset, I made God’s hall of fame. Hall of faith I mean. And so can you!!!

 

I hear someone saying; but Moses, you got a massive head start man, being brought up in the palace? Eating delicious, healthy food every day, six times a day! Not to mention the best education in the land! Wow man – that is huge!!!

But you see; all that, is not what got me into God’s hall of fame. Life happened to me just like it happens to everyone else. Though I had all that going for me, I also saw the struggles of my fellow Israelites, suffering Egyptian oppression.

Empathy got the better of me. It did not permit me to turn my head away. I looked lavish in my princely Egyptian clothes. But empathy kept me awake at night. It spoke to me. You’re not Egyptian. You’re Israelite. Those raggedy, hungry people out there – they are your people.

That empathy tormented me so much, I ended up acting on it. What a mess it created for me. In one empathetic moment my privilege and princely security was torn away from me! One foolish mistake of defending the oppressed. I killed a man. An Egyptian. I had to run for my life.

Where was the massive head start now? What could it do for me? It could not protect me from Egyptian retribution. My only safety was in running for my life, leaving it all behind. I landed in the desert. I became a shepherd. You don’t need a PHD to shepherd sheep. Fancy clothes look awkward in the desert.

I had made a fatal mistake. A fatal mistake is a fatal mistake. It spells – you won’t recover from that! Going down is your only way. No more the high life for you sir. No more Miss high and mighty for you mam. You’re over. Finished.

Something else that I didn’t know I had within me surfaced. Endurance. The no work-experience, forty-year old with the soft hands, smooth skin, and cultured demeanor, wondered; as I saw myself enduring the desert, and work.

Year one and two and three, on and on the years rolled by. I worked my shepherding job. The soft hands became calloused. The smooth skin became tanned from all the desert heat, I even looked like the native Medianites. The cultured demeanor turned into humility, learned in the school of life.

Moses; you say, you were able to rebound? Even made God’s hall of fame? The very same aggressive, killer Moses? The heat stroked, desert escapee?

And here am I thinking I’m worse off. No way of a comeback for me. It can only be way down for me henceforth.

Here am I thinking I’m passed my time. I have let too many opportunities pass me by. You say you wasted forty years of your life in the desert, on top of everything?

That’s what kept me sleepless at night too, that my life was wasting away. Thanks to the miracle of endurance. Fortunately we all have it. In my desert endurance, I had a divine visitation. The ideal would be that we all experience life altering divine experiences in our desert endurances.

But this inbuilt endurance is not only limited to divine experiences. It’s God’s gift to us that allows us to withstand and stand until we are victorious.

Yea, but I made way too many mistakes, Moses. God must have seen you, Moses’ change of heart and thought, he’s ready. I can do something with him. For a moment there, I thought I too can rebound and turn my life around like you, Moses. Or just turn my life around again.

What you might not be knowing is that I kept messing up. That aggressive streak ghosted me. Even in my divine encounters that aggression kept popping up its ugly head. Maybe not killing people this time, but causing me to mess up nonetheless.

After the Israelites crossed the Red Sea – God intervening for them against sure death by the Egyptians and return to slavery, they danced and sang praises to God for three days straight. All that singing and dancing made them thirsty.

They did not realise that they are drinking up their water. They were now in the desert and water was a scarce resource. A high value commodity. They blamed me, I prayed and asked God for help. God told me to strike a rock with my cane and water will come out. I did, and wala! The water gushed out!

This became the trend. If Israel suffered any difficulty, it was my fault. Until one day I exploded. Israel needed water again. There came the blame game. The: we will stone you if you don’t give us water. We were eating and drinking in Egypt.

What a nerve these people had! I could not take it anymore. When I asked God for water I could not even hear God saying; speak to the rock this time. I swung my cane and struck it twice. I was fuming. The nerve of these people!

And that was not the only time that aggressive streak raised up its head too. But I had become God’s friend. I talked face to face with God. I was not afraid of Him. In a good way.

I was not afraid to stand before God and say; no You don’t. You’re going to finish what You started. Imagine a man talking to God like that! That was me.

Don’t quit on God, if you don’t seem to see Him coming through for you like He did for me. Still, don’t quit on yourself. Your endurance will pay off. There is strength and resolve He planted in you to rebound.

You have a story of rebounding to tell. Who best to tell it than yourself? A living example. But where does one start, you may be asking?

What about finding someone who went through what you’re going through and rebounded?

Ask them how they rebounded and seek help with what you’re struggling with?

Determining what life changing steps are necessary for your rebound?

Shut out the negative voices that scream: you can’t! You won’t!

Step out anyway. If you don’t, you will never know if you could have rebounded!

 

I don’t want to die not knowing if I could have rebounded….

Also. My eyes are on that hall of fame….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 2 – Rahab

 

What a blessing it was to live on boundary lane. Yes, even in my time we had boundary lanes. My city, Jericho, was one of the ancient civilizations. It is said it was situated as the lowest city below sea level in the world. I won’t know much about that because women were not educated in those days. So, I will tell you what I know for sure.

Jericho was beautiful. It was prosperous. Barley, flaxseed and wheat were plenteous. Meat was galore. As I said, I lived on boundary lane. Ours, was a double fortified city. A double walled city. The outer wall was as broad and strong as the inner wall, but it was lower.

The space between the two walls was big enough to allow that we could build houses between the two walls. This allowed us to have full view and enjoyment of the open expanses around us. The fresh and rich aroma of the scents of the forests and fields were deeply inhaled and enjoyed by us boundary lanners, before it filtered out into the inner city.

Another advantage of living on the city’s edge was that we were the first ones to see every traveler that came into the city. You could even pass us off as spotters for the securities of the city. We had real vantage point. We were the first point of contact into the city. That served us really well for business.

The boarding house business was huge on boundary lane. I ran one too. We could see the travelers from afar off and send out our runners to escort them to our businesses. If your services were already known to the travelers, they came straight to your business place.

Off course, our business was not just for travelers. It was also for locals. But we did not have the first contact advantage with them, so our service had to be good for them to leave the inner city businesses and come to us. We often lured customers away from the inner city with our scenic views.

Being on the outskirts of town was also good for customers who needed or wanted privacy or obscurity, their reasons being clandestine or personal preference.

I already mentioned that I also ran a boarding house business. I may not have been formally educated as a woman, but my business brought me a lot of worldly education.

I heard men talk of their travels and adventures. Those who were good narrators literally took me on those travels and adventures with them. I could picture far-away places and people. I was awakened to a whole wide world outside Jericho.

I heard of nations fighting off nations that wanted to overthrow each other and take over their peoples. I especially opened my ears to a nation that was being spoken about for some time. It was making waves.

This nation, seemingly, served a god who was not made with hands. A very strange god I must say. A god that you cannot touch, put under your pillow to ward off demons? I didn’t know if I could believe in such a god. A god who does not even give you something to pin on, a ring or a bracelet at least. You know, something to see, that makes you feel safe or secure.

Well, this strange god was the god of this nation that was making waves for many years now. My travelers said these people called themselves, the Israelites. These Israelites claimed that their god was fighting their battles for them.

One of the stories that went around was that, these Israelites had been slaves in Egypt for a long-long time, until their god, through one Moses, went and delivered them from the Egyptian slavery. The tales of how their god delivered them from Egypt, put chills up and down your spine every time you heard them.

Stories abounded of how Israel and their god decimated Sihon king of Og and the two kings of the Amorites beyond the Jordan. Those cities were not too far from us. We were the first city when you crossed the Jordan into Canaan from the plains of Moab. We heard they were at Shittim, making their way to Canaan.

Fortified city as we were, we were scared out of our wits! The kings that had been destroyed by Israel and their god were powerful. We were rightly shaken. Not to forget the all-powerful Egyptian army.

It is said they perished in the Red sea. It is said the god of Israel pushed the waters away and made a road in the middle of the sea for Israel. The Egyptian army came rushing in after them to take them back to Egypt, but the waters closed in on them and killed them all.

The more I heard about this god of Israel, the more I fell in love with him. Who won’t fall in love with such a god, who loves and fights for his people as he was doing? I also learned to fear and revere him. I had heard so much about him from the travelers that I felt like I knew him.

I sometimes dreamt about him, that he was my god and he was loving me and fighting for me like he was doing for Israel. I would daydream about him, that I would not mind him being my god. I actually loved the idea of it.

Then one day the unthinkable happened. I was standing by my window watching out over our beautiful territory when I spotted two travelers. I sent out my runner to them and accosted them quickly before the competition.

The king heard that two strange men are lodging at my house. Security was tight because of the rumours about the Israelites and their god. People coming in were now under scrutiny. Anything strange did not pass by the scrutiny of our security forces.

Fortunately for me and the strangers, the first thing they did when my runner left, was to inform me under hushed tones, that they were Israelites, and they had come to spy out our land for invasion!

My heart pounded and I trembled at the sheer excitement of putting a face to the infamous Israelites. When I heard that our security forces are coming to my house to get the travelers, I thought fast. I could not let these men get caught. I have come to love and fear their God.

I knew for sure that their God was going to give them our city. In that moment I knew I wanted to be one of them if possible. I was going to negotiate for my life and a new future like I have never negotiated before.

But first things first, I have to hide them quick! So, I took them up on the roof and stacked on them the flaxseed stalks that I was drying up there.

Our securities came for them, but I told them that the men had already left and that they could catch up with them if they followed them quickly. Offcourse I gave them the wrong direction. This was me and my family’s chance for survival and I was taking it!

Before bed time I put the men down and negotiated with them. I told them about the stories we heard about them and their God. I told them that I was convinced that because of their God, they will invade Jericho, but I wanted a deal. I wanted a promise on oath that, they will spare me and my family.

I hear someone exclaiming, Rahab! Didn’t you hear that prostitution is punishable by death in the law of Israel? Did your customers who narrated stories about Israel not make mention of this to you?

O yes, I have not yet mentioned that I was a prostitute. I was one. Anyway, these men knew it, my runner had already told them when he marketed me to them. They knew they were coming to board at the house of Rahab the prostitute, but they came anyway.

Another one wanted to know; have you forgotten that you’re not their kind? That you might not be welcomed by them? I was not thinking about all that now. The pressing matter at present was my life, and the lives of my family.

I continued to negotiate, because I knew from the stories that I heard about their God, that he was a good God. And what did I have to lose? If I didn’t negotiate I was as well as dead. I was not going to die without trying!

They gave me their solemn oath! They would spare my life and that of my family, because I had protected them from being found out. They instructed me to tie a red cord on my window, so that when they come they will be able to avoid my house.

 

From me to you:

Never fear to risk. Taking risks is the only way we will know for sure, if we would have succeeded or not.

I risked my life hiding the Israelite scouts from my security forces. That spelled sure death for me. I am convinced it’s God who protected my life because of them.

Being courageous has nothing to do with being strong. I was dead afraid of being found out, but risking was my only way out. We’re courageous and strong, if we take a step forward even when we’re afraid.

If I had not risked, my family and I would have died with everyone else. Taking that risk was the best thing that ever happened to me. My family and I were spared at invasion. We were taken to Israel.

Because of my kindness in risking my life for the spies, they accepted us and embraced us. I got married to one of them. Little did I know that, by marrying that man; that placed me in direct lineage to be the ancestor of their future Saviour, Jesus! I guess God did not have a problem with that. Wow.

Little did I even know that I would in future be inscribed in God’s hall of fame! If I made it, you sure can, but not if you fear to take a risk to turn your life or situation around.

Me. Rahab. Formally the scum of my city. I risked, took a complete leap of faith, and found success beyond my wildest dreams. So can you! Especially if you put your trust in God. I put my trust in Him and was not disappointed.

 

I will not let fear hold me back….

I will keep moving forward…..

Trusting God all the way….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chapter 3 – Gideon

 

Doubting Thomas? That’s me. Me and this guy Thomas, we’re not gullible! No ways! We need hard facts! But once we get them, there’s no stopping us. We’re power unleashed!

Thomas and I are in the Hall of Fame together. That’s God’s hall of fame. We hit it off right away! The two doubting Thomases. I like the nickname. It’s very fitting!

Thomas tells me; he was one of the twelve apostles of Lord Jesus. He says the Lord kept telling them, in the three years he taught and mentored them, that he would die and rise up from the dead. None of them believed him, or to their benefit, it was not easy to comprehend.

But then he did die. When he died they feared the people who killed him, so they hid behind closed and bolted doors. He, Thomas, was coming back from an errand when the other disciples told him that the Lord had risen, and they had seen him.

There was no way he was going to believe that. He loved the man and he believed everything else he said, but this one, sorry, he will just have to see it for himself. Thomas says Lord Jesus indulged him, he came especially for him to see him and have doubting Thomas touch him. But he scolded him.

After he was convinced, there was no stopping him. When the persecution of Christians by Emperor Nero began and they had to run for their lives, he, Thomas, ended up in India and evangelized India for Jesus. That’s why Thomas is a popular name and surname in India today. It’s a tribute to him.

 

Then I told him my story. I actually got visited by an angel. Yes, angels do visit and talk with humankind. They also help us out when we face all sorts of struggles. Well, this angel said I was warrior Gideon. Who? Me? I tried showing him that he is talking to the wrong guy, but he kept addressing me as warrior Gideon.

I was not going to get duped by someone calling himself an angel. I was not going to be duped because I was being called, warrior Gideon. I had to make sure he was authentic. That he was who he said he was. I challenged him to three tests.

Actually, the first test he took on himself to proof himself. But I still put him to two more tests of my own. Fortunately for me too, like Lord Jesus did for Thomas, the angel indulged me too. Then I believed that he was who he claimed to be.

Thomas told me that Lord Jesus did tell them that, some people will only believe when they see a miracle. But he was more appreciative of those who would just believe in him by faith, that he was, Lord and God.

 

The angel turned the table on me next.

 

That’s the story that made Fearful Nico my other main man in the hall of fame. Me and my man Nico, we’re no fools. There’s no way we’re going to play brave and end up dead. Who says you can’t be fearful and still get the job done? Night time is our safety cloak. And it gets the job done very well thanks!

I like Nico’s story. He says he was afraid to associate with Jesus in public. He had a position in the Jewish temple and was a man of standing in Jewish society. The Jewish leaders were highly against this Jesus, who taught against the teachings of Moses, they said. Jesus was targeted to die because of that.

Nico says; every time he heard the man speak, he got convinced the man had higher authority than Moses. That he was maybe the one Moses had talked about, that another deliverer like him will come. Because Nico was afraid of the Jews, he went at night to get more clarity from Jesus about who he was.

He believed him alright, but there was no way he was going public with it. No reason to risk one’s life. He would rather remain a secret believer, safer that way! And he knew for a fact that he was not the only one.

I then wanted to know; so you mean you made the hall of fame being a secret believer? No he said. He did come out of the closet. When he saw how Jesus died, he could no more hide. He was convinced.

No one dies that way for nothing. This man was who he said he was. The Savior of the world. The Son of God. He immediately went public by helping to claim the body of Jesus and giving him a lavish burial – publicly.

 

Back to my story. The angel told me to go and destroy the city’s worship altar. My family worshipped there too. It was the Canaanite god, Baal’s altar. Our people were in a really bad space that time. Even though we professed faith in Jehovah, we also participated in other religious observances. Everything was allowed. Nothing was wrong.

This Baal worship included everything from sacrifice by fire, especially of children, to ancestral worship, to temple prostitution. You name it, they did it. Needless to say, when the angel said to destroy the altar of Baal; that put the fear of the gods in me! I was a dead man if the people saw me destroying the temple.

Wise man that I am. I decided to do it at night. The angel didn’t say what time, so why risk more than I’m already risking, by agreeing to do it? I took ten employees, in the dead of night. We destroyed it.

Come morning, there was a great uproar. The people who went early morning to worship found their Baal altar trashed. They heard it’s Gideon. They came for me. I could have died if it was not for my father. He had some standing in the community and in the Baal temple. He convinced the mop to allow Baal to fight for himself against me if he really is god.

The people bought into it. They waited and waited for me to fall dead or come down with something terrible. Nothing happened. With that test won, I could move on with warrior Gideon’s new work. The revolution. Taking on the aggressor and freeing our people from the aggressor.

The aggressor was the Medianites. We, Israelites were dead afraid of them. But here I was, going after them. The angel said I’m warrior Gideon. I guess I am, because I gathered men together to go and fight them. I put together a ten thousand strong army. Only. My testing was apparently not done.

The angel came back and said we were too many. God said to cut down the army to three hundred men!!! Ridiculous as it sounded, I did not argue. I was FINALLY convinced God was with me.

Unfortunately, that boldness lasted only a short time. During the night, the fear all came back. Was I crazy? Who, ever won a battle against an army of thousands with three hundred men? But you know what? We did win it! God’s doing!

 

I would like to cheer you.

The hall of fame is not out of reach for you, O you fearful one. Look at us Doubtful Thomases; we made it! It’s okay not to be gullible, taken in by every scammer that makes a pitch to you. It’s actually wisdom to seek clarity, but after you have found clarity, act on it. Make that knowledge work for you.

What are your doubts that have made you stagnant in life, unwilling to step out? Search it out to see if there’s any substance to your skepticism? Is there good reason to your doubts? Thomas and me, we asked questions, probed some more, and acted on the lessons we learned and the information gained.

Look at Fearful Nico and me! Though we feared; by actively seeking out more information, we came to a place of knowing for sure. We were able to form our own personal convictions that put us in direct opposition to the popular culture, but we knew our convictions were life transforming, and we were not going to let our life changing moments pass us by.

Don’t let your life changing moments pass you by.

Challenge the norm.

Challenge stereotypes.

Challenge even your parents’ beliefs like I did.

Don’t be gullible.

Don’t be trapped by culture and tradition.

Get your own voice.

Be known to have stood for something.

 

 

I will turn my doubts into curiosity….

It’s the curious who innovate…

I will be counted among them…

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Modern Day Applications

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lessons from the life of Moses

 

Life rarely follows a straight path. Like Moses, who was born under a death sentence, spent forty years in a palace and another forty in the desert, your journey will have unexpected detours. These detours are not delays but essential parts to the completeness of the story of your life.

People facing career setbacks or job loss
Don’t be discouraged by what seems like a wasted season; whether it’s a job that isn’t your passion or a period of waiting for a promotion that keeps evading you. These experiences are building endurance and character, just like they did for Moses. Trust that every phase of your life, even the seemingly unproductive ones, is shaping you for your destiny.

A young man who had no prospect of furthering his education was working for my husband in our village store. He was a faithful and studios worker, who gave us no reason to doubt his integrity. After a few years of working for us, my husband offered to take him to school to further his education at tertiary level. He wanted to be a teacher. We put him through three years of college. He found work as a teacher and went on to become a school principal.

Be grateful for the opportunity because to someone else it may not be the ordinary and mundane, but much needed sustenance.

People struggling with empathy leading to trouble
Two criminals in South Africa where known to care for the poor, one in Kwa-Zulu Natal Province and the other in Gauteng Province. The Robinhood story is the famous one that we read of in children’s books. These three are criminals with a heart, though some may say their motive was for self-protection against the authorities.

According to the Cambridge Dictionary, empathy is; “the ability to share someone else’s feelings or experiences by imagining what it would be like to be in that person’s situation.”

According to the Oxford Dictionary, empathy is; “the ability to understand and share the feelings of another.

If you find yourself sympathising with someone so much that you can do wrong for them or with them; you’re getting onto the wrong side of something that should be good. Why not step back and consider other options that lean to the positive side?

An uncle of mine was a chronic alcohol addict. He confessed to me one day, with tears; that he does not know how to stop. Alcohol ultimately killed him. Now, if he was asking you to buy him alcohol, which side of empathy will you choose? The bad side continuing his addiction and the destruction of his future, that he can still recover, or the good side of trying to get him help? Like connecting him or her with someone who was in the same situation, but who overcame their struggle.

Those dealing with consequences of past mistakes
Moses the fugitive had to return to Egypt out of obedience to God’s purpose for his life. He returned. He was spared, because of God’s divine protection. He was a man on a mission.

Do you too have to go back and face the consequences of past mistakes? Considering your situation, are you a man or woman on a mission like Moses? What is your mission?

A man in a Christian movie had struggled with drugs and aggressive behaviour for many years. His parents were at their wits end. The father later confessed that; every time he saw the police van pull up, he would silently wish, why don’t they say he’s dead? But he was not.

In prison he would get saved, but when he got out, he went back to his booze and drugs friends. It was a vicious cycle of going to prison, getting saved, bad friends, and going back to prison again. Finally instead of going back to his friends when he got out of prison, he went to a church and told the pastor his story of repeated failure. The pastor gave him employment as handyman at church and he and the congregation where able to support him.

After a few years he told the pastor that he wanted to go and face his prison sentence in another state. The pastor and everybody else said it was a bad idea. He was aware that he was going back for a possible 20yr sentence, but he said he felt led of the Lord to do that. He was a man on a mission.

Maybe you feel you have messed up so much that you’re at a point of no return; or that even God can’t forgive you. Don’t be like my uncle. Where there’s life, there’s always hope, especially with God. No matter how slim. No matter how grievous the consequences.

Anyone who’s lost their “privileged” position
“Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes. You must look into that storm and shout as you did in Rome. Do your worst, for I will do mine! Then the fates will know you as we know you” ― Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo.

Where you born into privilege and high standing? The Count of Monte Cristo is right. Life happens – to all of us. Kingdoms come and kingdoms go. Riches come and riches go. Happy marriages fall apart. Loved ones die for everybody.

In the words of Jesus: In this world will you will have many difficulties, but be courageous.

There’s always the possibility of rebounding, no matter how dismal the situation seems. You may have to start again by scrubbing floors and working gardens. But as long as you breathe, and don’t lose hope, there’s real chance for bouncing back! It’s God’s gift to us that allows us to withstand and stand until we are victorious.

Those in their 40s+ feeling like it’s “too late”
Why you should wait until your 40s to become an entrepreneur, according to a new study;

Aug 6, 2018;

By: Jonny Wood

Forum Agenda (World Economic Forum)

A study by MIT Sloan School of Management professor Pierre Azoulay and PhD student Daniel Kim analyzed a combination of US Census Bureau data and IRS (Internal Revenue Service) records to examine the link between age and entrepreneurship.

Matching census data with IRS records allowed the research team to distinguish between company founders and employees, and between self-employed people and entrepreneurs. They were also able to identify the companies aiming for growth and separate them from others that succeed but are content to remain small, such as local stores or local restaurants.

The research looked at 2.7 million business start-ups between 2007 and 2014, and found the average age of people who founded a business and went on to hire at least one employee was 42.

The team also found that experience counts. Those entrepreneurs who had worked in the same sector as their business start-up were found to be 125% more successful than those without a background in their chosen sector.

Azoulay and Kim’s findings show that a small proportion of high-performing start-ups in the study period were founded by 20-year-olds, less than 1%. Those with the highest growth had an average entrepreneur age of 45.

When the data was broken down into categories the average founder ages remained in the early to mid forties. US high-tech companies were started by people with an average age of 43 years old, for venture capital-backed firms the average was 42, and for patented firms the average entrepreneur age was 45.

The research team also compared ages across different areas, such as California, New York, Massachusetts and Silicon Valley. The youngest average founder age was 39, in VC-backed companies based in New York.

Older and wiser

Of course, there are some high-profile examples of very successful young entrepreneurs. Bill Gates and Steve Jobs founded their business behemoths as fresh-faced twenty somethings. But the study points out that these companies peaked many years later, when the founders were in their forties.

 

I thought I should let the experts speak….

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lessons from the life of Rahab

 

Rahab, a disparaged woman in her city, made a courageous choice to protect the Israelite spies, a decision that could have cost her, her life. This single act of risky faith completely altered her destiny and the future of her family.

Anyone afraid to take a life-changing risk
Don’t let fear of the unknown paralyze you. Often, the greatest opportunities are disguised as significant risks. Be willing to step out of your comfort zone and make bold decisions, especially when they align with a greater purpose. Your courage in a critical moment can lead to a future beyond your wildest dreams.

As I was doing research for chapter 1 of this book, I came upon one article where the author had given their email for contact. Immediately I was excited. I copied the email address and pasted it on the email. I wrote the subject.

Then I thought; this surname – what if he’s Hindu and might offend him with my Christian narrative? I closed the email and left it at drafts. The following morning at 5am I thought; just send him the email, he might not even respond.

I went to the book and copy and pasted chapter 1 on a new Word page. I glanced through it quickly to clean it out where necessary. And that scary thought hit me again. What if he’s Hindu? That surname sounds like he might be Hindu. I closed the email to drafts again.

At 7am it finally dawned on me; what if he responds positively? What if he becomes so interested in chapter 1 that he offers you some more professional input for the whole book – free of charge? What if he’s your Divine connection for global impact?

I attached the excerpt and send the email.

Women who feel disqualified by their past
Rahab was a defamed woman in her city, but sure death faced everyone in the city, defamed or not. A life altering moment was facing her. She was between a rock and a hard place. Whatever decision she took – to rap on the Israelites, or not to do it, spelled death.

Do you feel like you situation has placed you between a rock and a hard place? Can you perceive your life altering moment? It’s time to act, don’t let fear hold you back! That very slim open door of opportunity, seize it!

There’s no future in wallowing in the past. That’s why it’s called the past. It’s behind you, but your future awaits.

The preacher, Joyce Meyer says she was sexually abused by her father when she was a child, until she was eighteen years old. And her mother knew it and did nothing to protect her. At age eighteen she was an adult and eligible to leave home. She grabbed at the opportunity to escape the abuse.

Later in life, soon after accepting Jesus as her Lord and Savior, she wanted to be a woman preacher. She was told by her pastor that; a person with her bad character cannot become a pastor. And in her own words; she did have a bad character because of all abuse she had endured.

She opened a cell group at work and when led to start her own ministry, she started with a cell group at home. God used her in the cell group ministry. Today, she has an international women’s ministry, which has not only impacted the lives of women, but also of men.

She said she was afraid with every step that she would not measure up, but she had learned that; doing it afraid was the only way she was ever going to do something for God.

Maybe you’re a woman who have been to prison. Instead of giving in to shame and feeling trapped by your past, why not take the rehabilitation trainings from prison and use them to turn your life and your future around. Some women with the same background are thriving in society today.

You can take your experiences to the stage and become a motivational speaker, speaking to other women coming from prison or difficult backgrounds; emphasizing resilience, personal growth, and the power of redemption in your talks.

Hagar used her business negotiation skills to negotiate a future for herself and her family. What skill or talent do you have?

People from “wrong side of the tracks” backgrounds
The expression doesn’t just describe a place but suggests a divide. It’s about perception and reality, shaping how we see our world and the people in it.

Truth be told, we prone to see and treat people as less than ourselves if we do not deal with that divisive spirit. The rich will choose to see the poor or less privileged as from the wrong side of town and therefore prone to crime.

That’s why we see police in some countries killing people of other races with ease because they are perceived as being from the wrong side of the tracks. A South African rugby player was killed in this fashion in the United States.

Even among the same races this stereotype occurs. People a better because of this ethnicity and that ethnicity in turn will have another one which they deem as less than themselves.

You may be brought up in an environment of high social standing, being cultured and of a temperate demeanour, but if your happen to lose that status because you had to downscale due to misfortune, being cultured and of temperate nature will not buy you pass.

You’re going to have to work yourself out of your hole to be deemed worthy again. You’re going to have to work yourself back to the other side of the tracks again to be viewed as worthy to associate with the class you associated with before.

Fortunately countless people have, through hard work and perseverance, been able to work themselves out of the “wrong side of the tracks” to the “right side of the tracks”. So can you!

And countless privileged people have reached out and pulled others up from the “wrong side of the tracks”, who became notable members of society thanks to their benefactors. Are you on the “right side of the tracks”?

Make a decision pick somebody up and give them a chance. Don’t write people off, no matter where they come from or what they have done. See them as God sees them, as good people, with gifts and talents, if they can be exposed to opportunity.

“True success, in my eyes, is not measured by degrees or titles but by the positive change we bring to the world around us and that is exactly what Prof Yadavalli, Prof Femi, this university and its people did for me,” Fabrice Kapya

These are the word of an asylum seeker from the DRC who is a lecturer at University of Pretoria, South Africa.

When his father died, he was an Industrial Engineering student back home. He says friends helped him to complete his studies. When he arrived in Pretoria he became a car park guard at Wonderpark mall.

People noticed that he loved reading and encouraged him to study further. Earning merely R2000 a month, he registered and had to go without food sometimes, just so he could pay for his Honours. Once he got his Masters, UP employed him as a junior lecturer.

Today he is Dr Fabrice Kapya, who started out at “the wrong side of the tracks”.

Business owners/entrepreneurs facing big decisions
Rahab was a business woman. It may be a loathsome business to you, but it was her livelihood. She ran it well and it made her money.

Like any other business, it had a lifecycle and that lifecycle was coming to an end. She had not run out of clients and she had not reached a decline in her service delivery.

Sometimes as business owners we’re faced with such decisions; to close shop or reinvent your service, to re-innovate your product or sell the business while you can. They are difficult decisions to take but they have to be taken.

It’s important to look ahead and position yourself for the lifecycle decline. You can do this by constantly checking in with your clients to pick up any changing trends or the levels of customer satisfaction.

Constant competitor surveillance is important to know how far the competition is with advancements in the same product or service. This will help you not to fall behind the competition and lose your clients to them.

Employee satisfaction on business process and product and service improvement can shed important light where management or business owners were not looking. Employees have added great value to businesses of employers who listen to their employees.

Rahab’s business was reaching decline because of matters beyond her control. It was war. She chose a relocation strategy. Sometimes a business reaches decline because the location has become small and bigger premises are required. If this is not done it can stifle the business.

Sometimes a business reaches a decline because of situations beyond our control. We had the global Covid Pandemic not so long ago. Agile businesses switched over to online sales and made millions when businesses were required to shut down and others reached their demise because of the prolonged shutdowns.

Currently, Russia, Israel and President Trump are busy disrupting people’s lives, forcing businesses to close abruptly. Some businesses will find ways to reinvent themselves. Some people will see alternative opportunities and grab them.

People who feel like outsiders wanting to belong
We think the world is beset with gender, racial and religious stereotypes, but in Rahab’s time, they were a thousand times worse. She was escaping death from home, but where she was fleeing to she could be isolated as a foreigner and her reputation as a prostitute had preceded her, because when the Israelite scouts arrived home, their report was that; they slept at harlot Rahab’s house.

She faced the possibility of isolation based on religious differences, ideological differences, cultural and traditional differences, and reputational posture. The topic of isolation is broad; you can feel isolated because you’re an albino, or disabled in any of the forms of disability.

What is making you feel like an outsider, pressuring you with the need to belong?

Knowing who you are and being comfortable in who you are, knowing what you value and what is important to you; that’s the transformative and liberating power that you can be draw upon to embrace your uniqueness and finding strength in being different.

Knowing and embracing your own worth as a person, involves getting to know yourself deeply, understanding your values and what truly matters to you, and learning to accept yourself, even the parts that feel different or misunderstood by others. Ultimately you will be a gift to others who have felt suppressed but were afraid to stand up for themselves.

It’s only in being willing to challenge the status quo that we can find our own unique voice and place. Refusing to be put in a box and made to fit in, is what caused the great innovators, entrepreneurs and thinkers of our time to stand out.

These outstanding heroes were as pained as anyone isolated for whatever reason like you will feel, but they used their isolation to find meaning and purpose that outlived them. We still benefit from their meaningful contributions.

Fortunately the world is full of likeminded and similarly, different formed people where you can feel wanted and accepted. There are business clubs and social clubs and book clubs and every sort of club where you can connect with people who share your specific interests, experiences, or challenges. Also seek out old friends and rekindle old relations.

Be kind and considerate to other people in disparate situations. Make emotional deposits into them free of charge, expecting nothing in return. You don’t know what future rewards you will reap! Rahab is in God’s hall of fame today because of kindness!

 

 

 

 

Lessons from the life of Gideon

Gideon was full of doubt and fear, needing multiple signs before he would act. However, once he was convinced, he became a powerful leader who accomplished incredible feats.

Overthinkers and analyzers who never take action
It is wise to question and seek clarity before making significant decisions. There are many scammers who rip-off pensioners, widows, single women, and anyone desperate for quick wealth.

To pensioners – don’t let some stranger on the internet or from the street advice you on your pension lump-sum pay-out. Contain your advice within the parameters of your husband, children and the bank.

If you hear of an opportunity out there, rather overthink and analyse it, than to just jump into it out of excitement that it promises to increase your pension overnight. Only, after thoroughly considering all inputs and being convinced that, you want to invest in the opportunity can you take the next step.

To widows and single women – stories abound of how widows and single women get swindled out of their money. Please love with your heart, but leave your mind to think. Don’t be blinded by love. It is a fallacy that love is blind.

Africa is plagued by clergy who prey on widows and single women. Have your eyes open. Tell family and friends about a man of the cloth who shows interest in you. Tell them when he borrows money from you or asks you for money so you can be blessed. Listen when the family advise you, don’t be blinded by love.

And for those who run after quick wealth – my Christian bible says; many are the pitfalls of those who run after quick riches. It further says; with big dreams come much work. The bible does not have a problem with people dreaming big, working hard, and becoming rich. It encourages that, so that we can dispense good to others.

Psychology agrees with this bible narrative. It calls this tendency, “the get rich quick syndrome” and says it has no regard for hard work, ethics or the consequences of how the riches were obtained. It’s all about instant accumulation and gratification.

Entrepreneurs and innovators who question everything
Once you have done your due diligence and found your conviction, act with confidence and don’t let fear hold you back.

My husband and I and some of our friends, have lost money in the pursuit of business opportunities. We were not after quick riches. We wanted to work and do business for our families, but we put in money in wrong schemes because we did not do our due diligence or failed to do it well.

We have wizened up and are now all of us pursuing our own dreams and ideas for business. Some have gone back to pursing work and business related to their education and God-given talents.

I am not saying don’t seek to exploit opportunities that open up to you. I am saying, be cautious, question everything. Do your due diligence. Don’t just jump in out of desperation because you’re in dire straits.

Once you have done your due diligence that the opportunity is legit, do your market research and continue with your idea or dream no matter what the sceptics say. Choose to fail in it, rather than not putting it to the test.

That’s how wealthy people and innovators achieved greatness. Once they were convinced about the value of their product or service, they implemented it. If they failed, they tried again. If they failed, they tried again, until they succeeded.

People struggling with family/cultural expectations
Don’t be afraid to challenge norms, cultures, traditions, and even your own limiting beliefs. Many times, greatness will evade you if you’re afraid to challenge the status quo and finding your own voice or value system.

What are the limiting norms you have bought into?

The general definition of a norm in society means conforming to the way things are done in that society. If it’s in a group of friends, it means fostering the cohesion of the group with common thought and behaviour.

In the family context the norm may be the family tradition or religion. Gideon found himself in the same predicament that you may be finding yourself. Sometimes extricating yourself from the beliefs of our parents can mean sure death or being ostracized by the family. Like Gideon, you may find yourself having to make those tough decisions.

What are some of your own limiting beliefs that may be holding you back? I know that us as Africans, we have way more Nos than Yeses. Our cultural and traditional norms have way more don’ts than dos and some have been integrated into the church system.

People paralyzed by doubt and fear
Gideon was paralysed by doubt and fear because of two situations in his life. The Israelite fear of the Medianites and doubt resulting from his family position in his clan.

What has traumatised you, victimised you, stigmatised you, and brutalised you so much that you have become fearful and doubtful to take action and put yourself out there?

Gideon had the blessing of the angel telling him that he is strong and courageous. Though he struggled to believe it initially, like you might struggle to believe at present, he finally got it and embraced it, and so will you, if you hear it often enough and tell it to yourself often enough.

You may not have an angel to tell you that, so let me be the one to tell you. You are strong. You are bold. You are courageous. You are intelligent. You are talented. You can do anything you set your heart and your mind upon to do. Anything.

You are not damaged goods. You have a lot to live for. You have time on your side, at whatever age, however desperate your situation seems to be. Somebody needs to see you overcome. Somebody needs to hear your story of overcoming. Don’t deprive them of it. Some people will only step out despite their doubt and fear after hearing about your story.

Gideon had self-doubt because his family was the smallest in his clan. Whatever self-doubt you have, it is a lie. You are stronger that what’s putting you down. You are stronger than what’s seeking to keep you suppressed so you will not arise and shine. You are stronger than the voices that seek to silence you and dim your light.

Anyone who think they are trapped and cannot get out of a painful situation.
We have already seen how the preacher woman, Joyce Meyer was trapped in a sexual abusive home from childhood, but when she reached eighteen years old, she grabbed at the opportunity of adulthood and left home.

I grew up in a physically, emotionally and verbally abusive home by an alcoholic grandmother, but at sixteen years old I packed up my things, and informed her and my grandfather that I’m leaving for home the following day.

Gideon felt trapped in a place that held no prospect of prosperity and success for him. Opportunity for escape presented itself to him when the angel visited him and spoke life into him.

You may be feeling trapped by alcohol or drug abuse, you may be feeling trapped in an abusive relationship, you may be feeling trapped in a place that is not doing much for your self-esteem or growth. You CAN do something about it.

You can up and go like Joyce Meyer and I did. If an opportunity for escape presents itself like it did for Gideon, grab it. Don’t go back to the place of entrapment. Resist the victim mentality that seeks to keep you entrapped.

If you are afraid, get support. Rope in the assistance of someone who can advise you on the appropriate steps to take, and do as they say. If you’re still afraid, take calculated steps. But do something to get your power back. Do something to get you freedom back. Do something to get you self-esteem back. Do something to get you future back. You can surely do it.

As with most challenges in life, the criteria for success is doing the best you can do. You can set the pace, and baby steps are OK. As the Chinese proverb says, “There is no shame in going slow, only in standing still.”

Don’t stand still.