Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Do You Expect to be Blessed?

Tell me if I’m right.
90% of the things you were so worried about ten years ago, you laugh about them today. Am I correct?
What were your worries just ten years ago?
· You were worried about school projects and exams.
· You were worried whether your classmates would laugh at your hairstyle. Today, you laugh at everyone’s hairstyle.
· You were worried that your boyfriend was seeing someone else. Now, you thank God he was seeing someone else. Good riddance!
· You were worried if your boss liked your reports. You later learned he didn’t even read your reports.
· You were worried whether your son would finish school because his report card had more red numbers than black numbers. But today, he’s a successful businessman.
What does this mean?
90% of the things you’re worried today, you’ll laugh about them tomorrow.
Let me tell you a crazy story…
Is Fear Killing You?
One morning, a man saw the “Angel of Death” walking into his town.
He was brave enough to ask, “May I ask why you are here?”
The Angel of Death said, “I’m going to kill ten thousand people today.”
The man stepped back in horror and ran all around town. He warned people, “I just saw the Angel of Death. He said ten thousand people will die today.”
But when nighttime came, seventy thousand people died.
The next day, the man saw the Angel of Death walking out of town. He called after him and said, “Wait! Wait! You said you were only going to kill ten thousand people. But there were seventy thousand who died last night!”
The Angel of Death shook his head, “I killed only ten thousand. Worry and fear killed the others.”
Faith And Fear Are The Same Inside
Let me shock you.
Faith and fear seem so different from each other.
But if you take a knife and peel the cover around faith and fear, you realize they’re the same inside: They’re both beliefs.
Faith believes that good things will happen.
And fear believes that bad things will happen.
The problem is that because they’re beliefs, they’re powerful. Because beliefs create our reality. The Bible says that what you believe will happen.
So when we fear, we create the very thing we’re afraid of.
And I’ve met lots of people whose minds are filled with fearful thoughts, they don’t know that they’re creating the reality they dread…
· “The economy is so bad, I’ll lose my job soon…”
· “My husband will never change.”
· “My marriage will never improve.”
· “My parents died of cancer; I’m sure I’ll have cancer too… Oh my gosh, where did this mole come from?”
· “Will my kids turn out okay?”
· “My boss hates me” or “My friend hates me” or “My cat hates me”
· “I’ll never get married,” or “I’ll end up marrying a serial killer.”
Because they’re beliefs, faith and fear are also expectations.
Fear expects problems.
Faith expects blessings.
And the universe adjusts to your expectations!
Ask yourself: What do you expect to happen today?
When Good Things Happen,
What Thoughts Enter Your Mind?
Once upon a time, I was a person of fear.
When good things happened to me, I’d get scared. I’d think, “Oh no, too many good things are happening to me! This won’t last. I’m sure bad things will now come like a tidal wave…”
Subconsciously, I believe in the balance of the good and the bad. (Yep, I watched Gulong ng Palad starring Marianne de la Riva and Ronald Corveau. Ancient history for some of you.)
Today, I realize that you can’t balance the good and the bad because the good are always a zillion times more than the bad. Because God’s blessings are limitless.
Today, I’ve become a person of faith.
When good things happen to me, I say, “I’m going from glory to glory, going to higher levels of victory and abundance and love.” Today, I expect that life will get better, become happier, and become more abundant.
Albert Einstein said, “There are two ways of living life. One is to live as though nothing is a miracle. The other is to live as though everything is a miracle.”
Each day, I’m choosing to live as though everything is a miracle.
Expect Good Things
Starting today, expect great things to happen to you.
Say this every morning:
· “My God shall supply my needs.”
· “My God shall prosper the work of my hands.”
· “My body shall be healed.”
· “My children will be blessed.”
· “My marriage will grow better and better everyday.”
· “I’ll soon meet the man (or woman) of my dreams.”
Friend, do you want to fulfill your dreams?
Let me share with you my three steps of faith:
· Step One: See the Dream
· Step Two: Sow the Dream
· Step Three: Surrender the Dream
Here they are, one by one…
Step One:
See The Dream
Do you really know what you want in life?
You’ve got to know your dream so well that you see it in your mind. In fact, you just don’t see it, you feel it in your heart. Because faith and fear are not just beliefs or expectations—they’re also feelings. When you see your dream in vivid detail, you’ll feel the faith rise within you.
That’s why fearful people cannot dream.
Here’s what you do: Imagine all your dreams are already fulfilled. The more you see it and feel it, the easier it is for your dreams to come true.
Dream in vivid Technicolor—complete with sounds, smells, tastes, and feel.
The reason why many people don’t receive God’s blessings is because they have a limited capacity to receive those blessings. The problem isn’t in the Supply. (It’s infinite.) The problem is in the Receiving of that Supply.
So how do you increase your capacity to receive?
By increasing your vision. When you increase the size of your vision, you increase the size of your blessings.
See your dream. Feel it.
Once you do that, you’re ready for the next step…
Step Two:
Sow The Dream
Actually, you don’t sow the dream.
You sow the seed of the dream. And that small seed will grow to become your big dream.
What’s the seed? Your actions.
Nothing happens unless you act.
When you plant one hundred seeds, not all of those one hundred seeds will grow. Perhaps ninety-nine will die. But that’s okay. It’s the one seed that grows that will make your dream come true.
So make mistakes!
Act. And act. And keep on acting.
Wake up early. And run towards your dream!
Even if you feel that you have very little resources…
Act On What You Have
When David fought Goliath, he didn’t ask for a M9 bazooka, a machine gun, or a bullet-proof vest. He worked with what he had—a leather sling and five smooth stones. God transformed it into a deadly weapon in his hand.
When Moses delivered the Israelites from Egypt, he didn’t ask for a phalanx of warriors, a naval battleship, or a couple of nuclear missiles to defeat Egypt. He used what he had—an old wooden stick. But through that old wooden stick, God made a snake, turned a river into blood, divided the red sea—and drowned the chariots of Pharaoh.
So use what you have!
I hear this a lot from people who excuse their mediocre lives:
· “But I don’t have a college diploma”
· “I can’t speak English well,”
· “I don’t have the right connections.”
· “I’m not good in math.”
· “I don’t know how to sell.”
· “I don’t have time.”
· “I’m not as good-looking as Bo Sanchez.” (Have your eyes checked.)
Don’t look for what you don’t have.
Here’s the truth: You have everything you need to reach your dreams.
Everything.
Did you read that?
E-V-E-R-Y-T-H-I-N-G!
You have the Holy Spirit. You have friends around you. You have other talents within you. Etcetera.
And here’s the last crucial step you need to take…
Step Three:
Surrender Your Dream
Some of you may even be shocked by my third step.
I’ve asked you to dream, right? To pursue it with so much passion that you see it and feel it in your heart?
But in Step Three, I’ll ask you to do what seems the very opposite: To surrender your dreams to God. In Step Three, you say the most perfect prayer of all. “Lord, not my will but yours be done.”
To trust.
To let go.
To actually tell God that you’re happy now—even without this dream.
Here’s one thing I found out about dreams. If I’m desperate, needy, and frantic—I find it so difficult to make that dream come true.
But if I surrender to God my dream, and relax, and treat my pursuit of the dream as play—I find myself attracting every blessing I ever need in an almost effortless way.
This is my experience with money too.
When I’m desperate for money, very little comes my way. Everything I earn is a struggle, like I’m pulling teeth from the universe.
But when I’m relaxed about money—trusting that I’m swimming in an ocean of money—the money will come rolling at my feet, begging that I take it.
When I do this, I don’t struggle. The right people come to me. The right connections come to me. The right book comes to me. The right opportunities come. Almost effortlessly…
Let Go
Recently, I told my wife, “God is teaching me to relax more.”
She was curious. “Are we going to take more vacations? ”
“Absolutely,” I chuckled. “But it means more than that. I’m learning to dream and at the same time let go of my dreams.”
“What do you mean?” she asked.
“I’m not saying I won’t work with passion anymore,” I said. “I love my work so much. I’ll still get up early in the morning and pour myself into my ministries and businesses. But I’m letting go of all fear and all anxiety. Why worry? When I’m swimming in God’s abundance.”
“That’s wonderful,” she said. “Can we go to Sagada?”
“Shhh. I haven’t finished my explanation yet. To surrender means I trust that everything that happens is for my good. And to trust that everything that doesn’t happen is also for my good.”
“That’s great. So, is Sagada a good thing?” my wife winked.
(As you read this blog, we’re now on our way to Sagada! Me and my big mouth…)
I remember this crazy story…
What’s Your Lulu?
One day, in a mental hospital, two doctors were taking their rounds.
As they visited patients, they saw a man crouched in bed, crying, “Lulu, Lulu…”
“Who is this man?” asked the new doctor.
“Lulu was his girlfriend. This man wanted to marry Lulu, but Lulu married someone else…”
“Oh poor guy,” the young doctor said, “He couldn’t take the disappointment and lost his mind.”
The two doctors walked on. In another room, they saw another patient, crouched in bed, also crying “Lulu, Lulu…”
The new doctor was surprised and asked, “And who is this man? Why is he also crying ‘Lulu’?”
“This was the man Lulu married instead.”
Let me ask you a question: What’s your Lulu?
Your Lulu is a prayer that’s not yet been answered.
I have a simple message: If you don’t get Lulu, don’t lose your mind.
Surrender your Lulu.
At the end of the day, God will give you the best version of your dream!
Expect Blessings

Last week, I surprised my wife by telling her, “Pack your bags. We’re staying in a 5-star hotel for 2 days!”
She asked me, “Isn’t that expensive?”
“I’ll ask for a discount,” I told her.
“And did you call up to reserve?”
“I didn’t,” I said, “we’ll just walk to the front desk and expect to be blessed.”
She asked, “And if you don’t get a discount? Or if it’s fully booked?”
“I placed my wish before God’s generosity,” I told her. In other words, I surrendered. “If there’s no discount or no room available, we’ll just move to another hotel. It’ll be an adventure!”
So we packed our bags and off we went.
When I walked to the front desk of my favorite hotel, I asked, “What’s your cheapest room?”
The guy showed me the rate card. I gulped.
It was P8000 per night.
I asked, “Will you give me a discount?”
“I could give you ten percent…” he said.
I sighed. P7200 was still a lot of money.
At that precise moment, a tall man, wearing a nice coat and tie, walked out of the door behind the front desk. Immediately, I recognized him. He was a friend. After greeting each other, he gave me his business card. On the card it said, “Front Desk Manager”. He was the guy in charge!
On the spot, from P8000, he brought down my room rate to P3000.
Not only that, he upgraded my room two notches higher. So my wife and I stayed in a room worth P12,000++ for only P3000 a night.
That was not all.
My upgraded life had just begun…
God Wants To Upgrade You
From the hotel, I went straight to the airport to fly to Hong Kong. (A very important person in Hong Kong wanted to meet with me to discuss a possible donation. This too is an incredible display of attracting blessings, because I didn’t call him. He called me! But that’s another story…)
In the Manila airport, I walk to the check-in counter. Without my asking, the lady behind the counter said, “Mr. Sanchez, I’m upgrading you to Business Class.” Wow. “If you insist,” I told her.
Two hours later, I land in Hong Kong and go straight to my hotel. And just in case you think I get all these crazy breaks because I’m famous, the Chinese lady in the front desk—who didn’t know me from Adam—says, “Mr. Sanchez, we’re upgrading you to a bigger room.”
I couldn’t believe my ears. This was too much!
The next day, after my meetings in Hong Kong (which went very well) I go back to the Hong Kong airport. When I checked in, I was half-expecting that I would be upgraded again. But nothing happened.
I told myself, “I’m going to enjoy this plane ride.” I was applying the Third Step: Trust. Surrender. Don’t be desperate. Let go.
So I walk inside the plane and sit down on my economy seat. I pull out a book and began reading. That was when a steward comes up to me and says, “Brother Bo, let me bring you up to Business Class.”
As I sat in Business Class, sipping my orange juice, I relax.
Relax!
Live with expectation.
Expect God to bless you!
When you trust more, you’ll relax more. And you’ll realize that what was a struggle before will now become easy. Doors will open. People will call you. Opportunities will come near you.
Dear friend, I speak blessings to your life. To your finances. To your family life. And to your health. Receive God’s avalanche of blessings!
Hey, I’m not saying that you’ll have no more problems.
You will.
But you’ll see your problems in a new light…
How About When Bad Things Happen?
Let me tell you my last story.
One day, a king placed a boulder on the middle of the road. He then hid a pouch behind the bounder, and waited in the bushes to see what will people do.
Many noble men, knights, priests, and soldiers saw the boulder and complained why it was blocking the path. That was all they did—complained, complained, and complained some more.
But later in the afternoon, a farmer walked on the road, saw the boulder, put down his stuff—and pushed it out of the way. When he did that, he saw the king’s purse underneath. He opened it and found it filled with the purest gold, including a note from the king. It said, “This is your reward. Because behind every boulder on the road of life is pure gold.”
Friend, behind every problem in your life is a rich blessing.
Behind every trial in your life is a treasure waiting to be discovered.
Whenever bad things happen to me, I say, “This isn’t a problem. This is an opportunity for me to grow by leaps and bounds. This will be one a my biggest blessings in life.”
Go ahead.
See your dream.
Sow your dream.
And surrender your dream.
Relax!
Expect to be blessed.
May your dreams come true,
Bo Sanchez

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