Albert O. Aina is a Management Consultant with a divine mandate to raise effective leaders for the church, empower business people and motivate the young generation for a life of purpose and achievement. He is the Chief Executive Officer of Christian Leadership Inc. and Alaryn Management Centre Ltd. Rev. Aina is the senior Pastor of Foursquare Gospel Church Saabo Zonal H/q. Lagos.

"A man may not achieve everything he has dreamt,
but he will never achieve anything great without
having dreamt it first."
- William James.

Proverbs 18: 15 (LB), The intelligent man is always open to new ideas,
in fact, he looks for them.

Idea is the starting point of all success. It takes one bold idea, followed by action to create a fortune. Every positive idea has within it the potential for success, if it is managed properly. William James said, "A man may not achieve everything he has dream to but he will never achieve anything great without having dreamt it fIrst. "

A man's mind once stretched by a new idea never regains its original dimension. There is something interesting about ideas. A simple idea might lead you to great wealth, fame and fortunes.

A renowned consultant, Scully Blotnick said, "The average person stumbles upon at least four ideas a year, any of which acted upon could lead to vast wealth." May you contact your winning idea today.

Many of us already have ideas, but are some how held up because of mountains.

How do we manage ideas effectively to be assured of success?

HOW TO MANAGE IDEAS

Let us turn to Jesus, the Author of all winning ideas. Jesus idea here was to feed 5000 men. (Mark 6: 35-44).

The disciples, who were His trusted friends and confidants agreed that this was impossible.

Principles For Turning Ideas To Gold

1. NEVER REJECT AN IDEA BECAUSE OF UNFAVOURABLE SITUATION.

They told Jesus in Mark 6: 35. "This is a desert place, "Things are tough; no sales; no progress." You may not be 'able to control desert situation, you may not have control over the economic climate, you may not be able to control inflation, but you can control your ideas and whatever you do. Therefore, don't get stucked. Don't be stagnant. React against stagnancy. As you are reading this now, God is doing something about your situation.

Isaiah 43: 18-19. Forget the former things, do not dwell on the past. See I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the waste land.

I have a member who never worked as a professional teacher. She had enough reason. She did not finish her school before she got married. Pregnancy came when she was almost a graduate teacher. No school employed her because she did not graduate. Her husband was out job.

There was no capital to start business. There was also no sp(ice to start her own school. She said she could not go from house to house because she could not speak Yoruba dialect to persuade parents. Moreover, more than three schools were already established in her street. Even money to buy chalk or notice board was not available. I told her all her problems were opportunities and she should take a friend/neighbour who could speak Yoruba to go with her from house to house.

Parents will see it as advantage that their children will learn good English as no parent sends her child to school to learn mother tongue. "Start school in front of your door. Let the children bring small sitting box from home. No need for blackboard." I instructed her. She started following day - that was end of January. One month later she was running 3 sessions and operating six days weekly. They said now "the population is uncontrollable". Jesus had friends. At the beginning of His ministry His friend -almost scuttled His vision. Mark 3 :20-21. And when his friends heard of it (crowd pulling miracles) they went to lay hold on him, for they said: He is beside himself. He has lost His sense."

2. NEVER REJECT AN IDEA BECAUSE OF FACTS.

Mark 6:35 Now the time is far passed, it is already late.

Attitude is more important than fact. Don't deny the fact, but don't surrender to it. The fact is that at your present income level, you may not be able to buy a car in your life time. But the truth is with action, the idea in your heart can be accomplished. Unemployment is real. But the truth is that vacancies open up everyday, new jobs are opening. People are retiring or being terminated. New businesses are coming up and you will get your plum job.

Your attitude needs to be positive and in the control position. Never let yourself be defeated by the facts. Matt. 17:20. And Jesus said unto them, because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, if you have faith as a grain of mustard seed, you shall say unto the mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you.

3. DON'T REJECT AN IDEA BECAUSE OF FRIENDS

Disciples of Jesus were His closest friends on earth and they counselled Him in Mark 6:36 ." Send the people away so they can go to, the surrounding country and villages and buy themselves something to eat".

You know what that means? "Forget about this idea, it can not work. Don't be too ambitious. You will be put to shame". Beware of your friends. Malloni dreamed of a system of harnessing the intangible forces to the etter. When he announced he had discovered a principle through which he could send messages through the air without the aid of wires and other direct physical means of communication, "friends" had him taken into custody and examined in a psychopathic hospital.

Even Job's wife advised him to curse God and die while his "best friends" turned out to be miserable counsellors. He didn't give in to their discouragement. If the things you wish to do is right and you believe in it, go ahead and do it. Put your dreams across and never mind what "they" say. If you meet with temporary defeat, never mind, for you, perhaps, do not know that every failure brings with it the seed of equivalent Success.

4. NEVER REJECT AN IDEA BECAUSE OF FINANCE.
Mark 6:37 "He answered and said unto them, give them to eat. And they said unto him, 'shall we go and buy two hundred penny worth of bread and give them to eat.' " New International Version (NIV) said: that would take eight months of wages. When the disciples saw that Jesus was able to overcome all their objections, they presented Him with excuse of lack of capital. In John 6:5, Philip threw more light on the problem. "Two hundred penny worth of bread is not sufficient for them, that everyone of them may take a little."

Ideas normally attract money - if you hold on to it. Don't abort the idea because of lack of money. Habakkuk 2:3. For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie, though it tarry, wait for it because it will surely come, it will not tarry.

SIX POINTS PLAN TO TURN YOUR IDEAS TO GOLD
Mark 6: 38, how many loaves do you have?, Jesus asked. The secret I am about to share has been responsible for success of most successful people. Art Williams, a successful insurance magnate used this method.

He shared the following as the most revolutionary lesson of his life. He traced his rise to the day he came across "Think and Grow Rich" by Napoleon Hills. He followed the following principles.

STEP ONE: YOU MUST HAVE A SPECIFIC GOAL.
Napoleon Hill counselled, "Fix in your mind the exact amount of money you desire. Be definite as to the amount." Don't say I want financial breakthrough. Art Williams' desired financial independence for his family. He figured if he would have an income of $30,000 per year for life he would be okay.

If he accumulates $300,000 at 10% interest he would withdraw $30,000 each year forever without touching the principal. Someone who has a defInite goal of having N2 million in his account in ten years time or five years time can start today. If you save N20 per day or N600 monthly over ten years at 10% compound interest rate, you will accumulate N2 million. At N40 daily in less than five years, you own N2 million.

Someone who plans to retire over a working 40 year period only need to save N83 monthly at the rate of 12 percent per year at the end of 40 years you have one million.

STEP 2: YOU MUST HAVE A SPECIFIC TIME IN WHICH TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL.
Answer this yourself.

STEP 3: DECIDE THE PRICE YOU ARE WILLING TO PAY.
You should determine exactly what you intend to give in return for the money you require (There is no such as something for nothing). Saving is going to be tough, but if you must attain financial independence - a point only 5% of the population ever attain, you must do as Art Williams who gave up his coaching career and devoted his time to insurance, though he loved coaching. You must be ready to bum your bridges and take a chance.

STEP 4: YOU MUST DEVELOP A PLAN TO ACHIEVE YOUR GOAL.
Create a definite plan for carrying out your desire, and begin at once, whether you are ready or not, to put this plan into action. A. L. Williams had been selling Insurance part time for two and a half years. He had saved all the money he made in the part time business and had $42,000 in his savings account.

At 10% interest this would grow to $100,000 in ten years. This leaves him with $200,000 short of his goal. If he saves $1,000 a month for ten years he will have N200,000 at 10% interest rate. Thus he decided on his plan. Save all the $42,000, fix it for 10 years, invest $1,000 a month for ten years with this he got $300,000 at the end of ten years: This gave him $30,000 a year for life.

STEP 5: YOU MUST WRITE DOWN YOUR GOALS.
Write out a clear concise statement of the amount of money you intend to acquire. Name the time for its acquisition; state what you intend to give in return for the money and describe clearly the plan through which you intend to accumulate it.

STEP 6: YOU MUST THINK ABOUT REACHING YOUR GOAL EVERY DAY.
A wise men said, "Obstacles are those frightening things you see when you take your eyes off your goals". Don't allow one day to pass without thinking about the goal you have set. Place the written statement by your bed or in front of your mirror. Pray it, confess it aloud twice daily - once just before retiring at night and once after rising in the morning. Mark 11:23-24.

Mark 6:41. Taking the five loaves and two fishes and looking up to heaven he gave thanks and broke the loaves, then he gave them to his disciples to set before the people. He also divided the two fishes among them all, they all ate 'and were satisfied.