There have been some people who come to me and say how lucky I am to be where I am now.

“I am not lucky,” would be my quick reply.

No, we see your Facebook, and you’ve been around. You’ve preached in different places, did some keynote speeches in business organizations. It seems like you have a lot of connection.

Not true, though…

You see you can have all the connections in the world but if you don’t deliver good product and content – there is going to be no second opportunity for you. I’m not lucky. I work hard. I’ve read more than a dozen books on public speaking. I’ve studied public speakers. I’ve been mentored by great preachers. I’ve taken every opportunity to preach as a volunteer in church. So I do hope what I have now would not be credited to luck. I hope God gets the credit. I hope hard work gets the credit. I hope patience gets the credit.

The picture you see on your left is me preaching when I was in college. The preachings I gave decades ago might be some of the worst teachings I gave but as what my pastors would say that time, “the only way to get better at something is to start doing something about it.” That was our on the job training. You challenge yourself, you push yourself, you cry out to God to give you the tools needed to be good at what you do. It’s the daily grind.

Today, I’ve challenged myself by talking to crowds outside my comfort zone. When the opportunity to speak to corporations arises – I’ll take it and just to make it clear – it’s not for the money. I actually donate the money I get to the church. It’s to stretch me. I know God has empowered me to speak, I know it’s his grace and I know he also gave me the faith to say I can do it!

So don’t believe in luck. Rather believe that God gives all of us an opportunity to be good at what He has gifted us. We cooperate with what God is doing and grind our way to excellence.