Even the giants fall.
Have you ever met someone who looked too smart to make mistakes, too strong to fail, too moral to sin, too talented to lose, too good not to succeed in life, too courageous to fear, too beautiful to remain unmarried all their life and too multitalented to be ordinary?
It appears like he/she is immune to failure; all the forces are on his side.
Someone who appears to have the whole world and life at his feet, when for you, it feels like you have the whole world on your shoulders.
If that is how you feel, you are not alone. But right now, I would ask you to be patient and continue to read this article.
In the Bible, there’s a popular story about Samson. You may not be a Bible reader, but stick with me because the principles you will learn are applicable to everyone, regardless of profession or occupation.
He was a leader in Israel, a man of steel who was divinely empowered to fight. He was set apart for God’s service only. He was not supposed to touch dead bodies, either of animals or humans; he was not supposed to use alcohol; he was not to marry a woman from another ungodly nation; he was not to shave his hair. He must have looked weird.
But anyway, these were the preconditions to preserving his powers. These were the secrets of his powers.
However, he violated all these conditions and betrayed the secret of his power. He became an ordinary man. Even if he wanted to act as powerful as he was, it could not work. He was caught by the philistines, whom he had previously beaten as he wanted. He lost his power, his throne, his eyes, and his fear factor (glory). He had his revenge later, but he paid the ultimate price. It was too late to redeem himself. His story was one of going from glory to shame, from a victor to a victim.
But how could this happen to a giant like him, a man whom everybody feared? He could take thousands of his enemies’ soldiers alone with the jaws of a donkey. His terror went ahead of him everywhere he went. He did so many exploits that an ordinary person could not have done. So what happened then that made him fall like a fool in the hands of his enemies?
These are the things we can learn from Samson’s story. In this story, we learn positive and negative things; what to hold and what to forsake. These lessons are not only for individuals but also for businesses, churches, and government institutions. These lessons are simply for everyone.
- Protect your potential, your dreams, talents, and dominion. There are things that are destructive to your potential. You cannot afford to let them near you time after time. How many best students do you know who lost their edge because of bad habits? Personally, I know a number of them. The same goes for teams, sportsmen, leaders, businesses, and the list goes on and on. All of them were performing well, had a great future and dreams. But somewhere along the lines, they lost their gigantic, their greatness, splendor, and edge, because they never protected themselves from bad manners. You may be talented, you may have a big dream, or you may be living your dream right now, but if you do not protect your dominion, you will fall.
2. Respect the rules and principles of the game because not every rule should be broken. They will break you. Sometimes we are encouraged to think outside the box and break the rules to succeed in certain things. This is half the truth. I know this phrase is used figuratively, but still, even in that sense; it is still a half truth.
Some rules, if you try to break them, will break you. You need to know them so that you can cooperate with them. You can’t break the law of gravity; it is there whether you acknowledge it or not. If you ignore it, it is going to break you; you need to know how it works and find a way to work with it. Everything is based on rules, principles, culture, practices, and disciplines, be it business, talent, marriage, church, ministry, etc. If you want to succeed, to have an edge, to make it big, to remain on top of the pile, you need to respect the rules. Rules are meant to protect you so that you can do more. Everything has boundaries that should not be crossed; you do as well. No one, not even giants. You break them, they break you. Sometimes you need to break your ego to succeed, not the rule.
3. Do not betray the secret of your strength. In the technology industry, in the military, in the food industry; they do not expose all their secrets. You need to learn that you should not betray the secret of your power to your enemy. In this world, people know what to share and what not to share. You will always be enticed to relax your guard and let your mouth run loose. Be watchful. Every successful person has a secret ingredient.
Privacy is everything in your life. Do not be too naïve, to think everybody is for you. Do not get too comfortable with people. People are still people. Even your friends are still people.
4. Form the right associations; bad companies destroy giants. It destroys effectiveness; it saps your energy and creativity; and it makes you blunt, dull, and flabby. It can be people, things, or habits. Samson went too far. He was not supposed to marry outside Israel, but he did it anyway. He married not only outside Israel but also his common enemies; not only that, of all the women, he chose to marry a prostitute.
A cheap person is only concerned with making money and not with developing genuine relationships. Her love and her body had a price tag; the highest bidder won her love, affection, and loyalty. Such people should never be your companions in life or business if you want to survive and thrive. Such people are like a broken foot that cannot be walked on, or a broken tooth that cannot be chewed on.
Bad companies destroy good people, good marriages, big dreams, great talents, effective businesses, and sound minds. Their weak link, a hole in your boat, casts them out and you survive. Keep them around, and down you go. If giants can fall, you can fall too, but why fall when you can learn from their mistakes and do better?
And sometimes good people can be bad too, if they do not share the same values as you, your vision, or your career.
5. Remain connected to the source of your power. Whatever that keeps you sharp, effective, growing, motivated and rolling. Things that keep you original, unique and focused.
Keep going back there, the same way athletics go back to the ground to train daily.
if its reading, a place, lone time, work out, a walk in the park, whatever stay connected.
