Don't Stop: You are Progressing. Right on Track.

That's what I just said to myself.
There are times when you feel like failing, like doing the wrong thing over and over again.
The same mistake -- a donkey that falls to the same hole.

Have a problem with the sarcastic tongue, promised to change it, but there you repeat it.
Have a problem with being judgy, promised to change it, but there you repeat it.

But hey,  don't give up. That's the devil's up to.
Just keep praying, keep trying, keep doing your part. God is in control.
He will change us, at His time, we need to only trust and obey Him.

God: always forgiving, always understanding.

Keep on trying. One day, we'll look back and see how much we've progressing. How much He has processed us.



xoxo,
Ben Ben.

Stop Complaining, Start Action!

Today I am reminded of one of Jim Rohn's youtube video where a lady came to him and complain about her work.
At the end of the story, the moral that JR conveys:
- complaining never changes things
- there will always uncontrollable reason to fail -the weather, the low investment rate, the corrupt government, the rainy seasons, the unfair competitors- but guess what? it happens to everyone, and that does not stop some people from achieving. So? do what you can with what you have, what you can control -- make it right. What you cannot control, no point of fusing it. Do it anyway.

Many bad people around you? do it anyway, advance despite of the given situation.
The environment is not right? do it anyway, advance despite of the given situation.
The economy is bad? do it anyway, advance despite of the given situation.

Complaining never helps, it slows you down. Learn from others. Evaluate each day. Action, grow, persist, persevere. If it is God's will for you, He will give you the timing, the situation, the people, just about anything that you need to accomplish your mission.
You just need to pray, obey, and act!

It's a little extra effort, repeated everyday.

xoxo,
KataBeni

#JohnMaxwell #JimRohn #Persevere #DoItNow #Persist #PraiseandBeRaise

Growth is a Choice

Baca Kitab Suci Doa Tiap Hari
Doa Tiap Hari
Doa Tiap Hari
Baca Kitab Suci Doa Tiap Hari Kalau Mau Tumbuh

- Please google translate if needed :) -

It is a lyric of my fave Sunday School song.
I am so grateful for whoever made that song, and so many more Sunday School songs that is so good and memorable for me. As an adult, in some instances, those songs slip through my unconscious mind, and strengthen me.

The song is so true. If you want to grow at anything, you need to do something about it everyday. Advancing everyday. Grow is not a one time thing. It's an every day thing, it's a commitment, you like it... you don't like it.
Whatever situation in your heart, you just need to push yourself to do... do... do... do.... do it!

As to my life, I believe that the Book is the manual of life. So if I want my life to grow, the 1st thing 1st is ..... (and the song resound).

So, Grow? No? your choice!!

XOXO,
Beni Yours. 

Habits. Keep Building.

Today I got an invitation for a team lunch with a leader of another department at the office.
I always love meeting leaders.
Almost always, I learned something.

Today I learn and reconfirm that:

1. Leader creates habit:
the person wakes up at around 5 AM, do the morning prayer, do 30 minutes exercise (6 days @ week), breakfast with family @ 6.30 AM, skip lunch (lunch consume time: menu choosing, travelling time back and forth the restaurant, reheating your brain and eye to start working again), go home at 5 or 6 PM, dinner @ 7 PM with family.

2. Leader chooses performance, efficient + effective WoW over being nice:
the leaders' team tells how the leader fiercely set target and track it over, NO mercy.

3. Leader is confident:
I can see it in every gesture, and the confidence radiates an aura that is contagious. A can do aura.

Notice that I mentioned reconfirm -above- because, those 3 are not new to me. In years of researching leaders and their success recipes, I kept on bumping unto them.

So, since it is proven, shall we?

PS: Tonite I started a new goal tracker book. A pocket-size book that I carry everywhere. Pray that I be consistent with it please :)


-BeniSays

Maxwell oh Maxwell

Why with the title?
Because John Maxwell is one of my favourite 'online mentor' for personal growth, other than Zig Ziglar and Jim Rohn and Ken Blanchard.
And these past few days, I got excited, when I learned that he is on podcast.
So I download all of his podcast, as much as I can get, and as much as my phone memories can bear :p

Since 2 days ago, I have been repeating his podcast titled "winning is an inside job".
The most relevant key takeaway for me is "take responsibility of your life, you want to grow. Stop making excuses", and "learn from successful people".

And then he points-out the key characteristic that might be in those people, in his experience those people has at least some out of 10 of them.

I then remember, one of the words of a female global leader that came to my office said. When asked what is her key success factor, one of it being "I have a journal. Everynite I wrote what works and what don't. What could have been better. And I learn from that experience"

I would say that is her 'taking responsibility of her life'. Maxwell said, you cannot win if you do not take responsibility of your life. Because if you don't take responsibility, then you will not learn. If you do not learn, you will not win.

As simple as that. They have proven this formula. And it works. So why not give it a try?
Let's??

XOXO,
Beni

I am at War!

As I listen to my mobile classroom today, I felt directed by God to write about the past.
It was around 2009-2010, I was 20something, young and kinyis-kinyis (Indonesian would say so).
I was in love, we were in love. I thought so.
He was a swag. Tall, cool, manly, rich, well-educated, popular, athletic; a womaniser! Even the most popular and hot girl drooled on him.
Long story short, we broke up, I was heart broken.
And looking back, it was not love. It was the wrong guy. But the right moment. WHY?
Because God wanted to teach me very important things.

The lessons?

I was so brokenhearted (or so I thought). Cried myself to bed, woking up hoping that I am still asleep, zombie walking and doing everything, feeling miserable most of the time, loose so many weight (yeayy to the weight!!).
 But, then I realised, it was not about the guy, nor the end of relationship. It was about my insecurity, my naivety, my child-like thought, those are the cause of my gloomy days. And looking back now, I really.... really....really... really thanking God, that it happened. And that it ended (before bad things happened).
God wants to teach me to have dignity and self esteem, to be strong in Him, and so on and so on (He is still teaching me, but if I was a beginner back then, I am an Intermediate student now).

How do I know that He was teaching me?

Because, He spoke to me very clearly:
1. I commute daily to and from the office using a public transport, Transjakarta. I went down at Halte Atma Jaya to commute home. There was a used-book seller at the bridge (imagine a dirty bridge, made of iron like floor -- it has hole here and there), and I used to stop there every now and then. So I know the types of book he used to sell. The books were orderly laid down on the iron-floor.

But that day, that sad and gloomy day, as I stop and bent down as I used to. My eyes were hooked to a book, the book is in English, and it was brand new... the pages were new, no mark of worn-out, no crump -- spotless. Knowing that seller, it was not possible.
In my heart, I felt a very strong urge to buy, very strong. "buy.... buy... BUY".
And it was sold so so so cheap. I forgot how much, but I just remember... when he mentioned the price, I thought "Boy! he does not know how to price this book. This is an imported book, and it says best seller, and it is brand new"
So without a doubt, I bought it.

Oh my Goodness. It was really really really life changing. The author and the book was exactly what I need. It was like she was talking about me and to me, on my problems - spot on! The heartbreak was not about the guy, it was a tool, a moment that God used, to scream at me: you are selfish, you need to change. You have this and that flaws, you need to change.
It was so clear.
I experience an enlightenment! Seriously.

I then download so many speech of the author, and I save it to my yellow Ipod. It never separates from me. At all times I listened to it, at the Transjakarta, at my home... until I fell asleep (and it builds a positive mood when I woke up, it help me sleep well too... during the gloomy and cry-me-a-river moment).

It was very clear to me, that God is speaking. Want to know the title and author? READ THROUGH! (LOL)

2. Not so long after that (couple of months). I went to Singapore with my girl-friends. It was my first overseas trip, paid from my own pocket as a fresh-graduate.
I remember, we were going up at the MRT stairs, so many people passes... so crowded, I was a bit left behind my friends. It was then, an India(n) guy who was with his 2 friends. They passed me, but then, this guy went back... and approached me. He said "Hey, where are you from?" "Indonesia" I answered. Then, I don't remember the exact words by words, but basically he said "I have a premonition, you were not good back then, but you recently change. And as you change, your future change... you have a great future from now on". And then he left, disappeared in the crowd.

And I do have a better future. In terms of my character. God showed me, what and how should I change. I am still a work in progress. But that period of my life, made me realise and recognise who I am, who I was, and who I should be.

Thank God for that moment.

Have you ever experience similar moment?

The book and author: Battlefield of the Mind, Joyce Meyer.

Happy reading. Read it. Really. It is very very very good.

XOXO,
Beni

The Power to Change People

DO we have that power?

On Acceptance

Do you believe that sometimes the Teacher teach us by speaking through all things around us?
I do. Many times, when God wants me to learn something, He let problems, obstacles around that 'subject' to happen to me.

Recently, I bumped a lot with the message that "I need to learn more on inclusion". It is all around me. I thought I was inclusive enough, I can accept people that are different with me, their choices, their preference, etc. Until my brother told me "until you learn to be more inclusive you will keep having a trouble with XXXX (I do not want this XXXX person to read this and wept, so let's keep her/him as XXXX).

Not long after that, on another occasion, the word occurs again.

I am used to this. When different problems occur, with one keyword as a part of the solution, this means God wants me to learn about it.

So inclusion, what do I learn so far?

- that God creates people differently.
- that human has free will, they choose the kind of person they become. Some people choose to be like what you also choose to be. Some people don't. Accept it.
- people are born with different characteristic. Accept it.
- you (and I) cannot change other people, we can only change ourself. God also can change them. Only God and us, can change ourself. So, instead of getting frustrated on changing people, change yourself (if you have to live with them, change the way you see them, so your happiness does not depends on others) and pray about the situation and the other person.
- the difficult people in your life, were/are there to teach us a lesson. God wants to build us through them. Learn fast, and get over with the lesson.

Have fun learning with God. Just remember, everything is under His control. With Him in control, why worry?

Back to the title of this post. Do we have it? You answer for yourself.

XOXO,
Katabenio.

Happiness is a State of Mind

Agree?

One can have everything, beauty, brain, great kids, great behaviour, tons of fortune but felt empty and unhappy, while another is with average look, average brain power, no kids, no fortune, and are thankful and happy.

One can be filthy rich and unhappy, while another can be extremely poor and happy.

I live in Indonesia, where the gap between the rich and the poor is wide. I have seen lots of happy family in a modest village, and I have also witnessed 'the have' with so many tears in their life.

So what is happiness really is?

I believe we could all coin our own definition about almost everything. For me, happiness is when I am living with integrity, in harmony with God and with others.

I could feel happy when many trouble happens in my life, as long as I am close to God. I ask Him to guide and protect me through the struggles, I trust Him and I obey whatever he said abt those struggles.

I also could feel unhappy and empty, although I have everything (money, good career, health, great family and friends).

Why? Because either I always wanting more and more, or because I am worry that one day those 'everything I have' will be taken away from me. So no peace within.

Why? Because I depend on my own strength. Not God.

So, be happy, seek God first. That's my formula.

Beni-O

Passion do not Quit.

I am one of the blessed person to have been born with the love of learnings, and to work in the things I am passionate about.

Passion makes the difference. When I went home, all drained, physical and emotion, I revive my energy with writing.

Write what? Whatever, blog, diary (I have all kinds of hand written diary), work.

That's what passion do. It gives energy, the strength and courage to carry on, in the midst of anything.

Have you found your passion? If not, why? Don't you want to have a life full of energy?

Xoxo,

Fiery Beni

The Must Story

Mister Mustard

He wonders, why he was named that way.
Must.

He wonders, is his name creates the personality, or is it a fulfilled prophecy.

The need to "must" everything under his will, and the need to control has robbed the joy out of him.

He knows - this must change. But CHANGE itself is not an easy word.

Knock..knock..

Knock at God's door. Pleading for a divine intervention to change him.

While waiting, he realizes: "Hey, why not use my must to change. I must get what I want. I want change, so I must get it".

There goes his pursue of the musts .. must pray about this every day, must visit the psychologist, must practice mercy.

So he look up and say: "God thank you! It must've been you, with the insight".

XOXO,
Beni-O

Time Safer - Not Spender

I somehow always know that my thing is (John Maxwell said it as a "gift, purpose, talent") related to words.
As in speaking, writing, reading, quoting, all of it. That's how I will serve and make an impact for others.

I knew it. I always knew it.

So to hone the gift, I learn quick typing and writing, I learn how to speak well, negotiate, persuade, and I learn the psychology of it (through the popular psychology book).

Be my witness. Watch me grow. And tell others ... that if I CAN.... they CAN DO IT TOO. Reaching our potential, using our gift as per its purpose.

love,

Beni-O

Found Faith

On Off


God's bulb is always on on us, waiting for our bulb to be on as well.

I am having (yup, still experiencing it) a major life storm. In my personality, my relationship with God, and that domino-ed to my all aspects of my life.

I know, the key to overcome is to 'come to God first. Fix relationship with Him'

It is not easy, struggling to say no to the flesh. Reading the Bible instead of browsing through the IG. Listening to good utube video vs watching HBO, writing good thoughts vs wondering about life, doing the good and useful things rather than sleeping and being envy with others' life (observed via IG).

How? how to succeed? God and God alone. Spent first time of your day with Him. ask Him, for strength.

I really don't have the magic and strategy. Only Him, and Him alone, with His grace, give me the breakthrough.

I hope we all invite Him to come and be the Lord over our life.

God bless you friends.