A life project is not a personal ambition; it is about pursuing an idea worthy enough to impact humanity in a positive way. It does not matter whether the person behind the project profits from it directly or not, so long as people benefit from it to the glory of God.
Most life projects leave an unintended imprint in honour of their founders and very often become monuments or tributes to their memory, because such works made life better for humanity. Sometime, in executing a life project, the initiator pays a high prize in money, time, commitment, and in rare cases, with their own life. Every life project is a noble effort sometimes, borne of altruism, selfless service, love of the people and personal sacrifice. But it is not a sin if a life project brings fame or fortune to its founder.
Sometimes the pursuit of a personal ambition could veer inadvertently into a life project. The inventors of the internet and several of its amazing platforms are ambitious entrepreneurs, but their technological adventurism has not only given them incredible fortunes, it has impacted the world in the most dramatic fashion imaginable. This kind of endeavour qualifies as a life project.
Everyone should have a life project to their name. Why? It is the noblest ideal of man to leave the world better than they met it. What grows civilization is the positive contributions of every individual to every sphere of human endeavour. According to the Bible, the creation process wasn’t God’s responsibility alone. After Adams and Eve were made, He gave them a mandate to be fruitful and multiply. This implies that they are to continue creating. To be fruitful means you bear fruit, to multiply means you can procreate or be productive.
If you read the Bible account of creation in the book of Genesis 1: 27 – 28, you’d see that after God made Adam, He gave him the mandate to have “dominion” over his environment and all living creatures. In addition, man was given the power to subdue the earth and replenish it. This is everyone’s life project.
Some people set up a multi – million dollar charity to help humanity. They are fulfilling an aspect of the dominion principle; only man does charity, no other creature is capable of such noble ideals.
You should be ambitious, it is quite legitimate. But make sure your ambition hurts no one and is clearly within the confines of the law. You can desire to be famous, rich and powerful. It is not a bad idea. What you do with your success is what matters to God. Don’t allow any doctrine, philosophy, or creed that glorifies poverty as a form of humility or godliness to hold you back. Such self limiting doctrine or ideology is not of God.
Money is not the root of all evil; it is the love of it. (I Tim 6:10). The bible says money answers all things (Eccl 10:19). Without money, a life project may be difficult to execute successfully. Many great projects never see the light of day because there’s no money to bring them to fruition. Florence Nightingale was born into wealth and comfort to British parents. She couldn’t stand human suffering. She founded her life project when she went to work as a nurse during the Crimean war and came back to write a dissertation on how to run proper hospitals. She changed hospitals. Were all benefitting from her vision today, showing that not all life projects require money – she and Mother Theresa were selfless and compassionate.
A life project makes people of all generations talk about you in the present tense even when you are long dead. So long as we see the movies, use the telephone and listen to music, the world would remember Thomas Edison, the man who invented the devises that gave us the motion picture, phonogram and the phone. There’re several patents to Edison’s name. He’s an icon. A life project is not something you do for personal aggrandizement, it is done to terminate suffering, make life better, or edify the people.
Young people, embark on a life project. You can’t get bored; it keeps you busy. In fact, you can become rich and famous in the process of executing a life project. If you do a life project, you’re fulfilling God’s will for your life and you’ll be blessed, even after you’re long gone, your memory will be celebrated.
All our notorious treasury looters will have their names confined into the dustbin of history; even if they acquire 100 houses, because the evil they do will live after them. Don’t emulate these people. Any of the looters who escape justice here will still face the judgemement of the Almighty God in that great and dreaded day.
People everywhere have talents or gifts that God has deposited in them to make them survive. As mentioned earlier, live by the Dominion principle. Subdue your dragons, dominate your environment; trample upon your snakes and scorpions. Live your life for yourself, for others, and for God. I love to teach these things; that’s my life project. What’s yours? Think about it.
Weekend spice: Whatever you have in your hand can create anything you want in your future. – Mike Murdock.
Now, folks, do you hear that? Catch you next Friday. Stay motivated and do believe in yourself and your God
• Ladi Ayodeji is an Author, Conference Speaker/Pastor and life coach. He can be reached at [email protected] and 09059243004 (sms only).