Three things that will help you maintain an attitude of gratitude at all times

Let us face it! It is not easy to be grateful when things are not going well around us. When you get to work and are faced with challenging problems to resolve and your boss and in some cases those that you are working with are making it more difficult. How do you maintain an attitude of gratitude and not let these “distraction” get in your way? 1) Know what you can control and what you cannot. How other people act around you is in most cases completely out of your control, but how you response to them and the circumstances surrounding you is totally under your control. What do you do when you get stuck in traffic in the morning? It is not uncommon to get irritated, angry and frustrated. This frustration will raise your blood pressure, dampen your mood and may throw a dark cloud on your day. In some instances it may turn into road rage and you may end up in an accident. Next time you are stuck in a traffic jam, instead of getting all worked up, you should be grateful that you have tarred roads. This does not mean that an overcrowded road is a good thing, or that the problem should not be solved. It means that focusing on what you can control. This is the best thing to do under this circumstance. You are not the person in charge of fixing the roads, and there is no point venting your anger on other motorist. When you get off the road send your complains to the right quarters. 2) Pay attention nothing is wasted! I heard on the morning of the September 11th, 2001 attacks somebody got up in the morning and spilled coffee on his shirt. As a result this person was forced to get a clean shirt, in doing so he arrived late that day. Coming late saved his live. I am not in any way saying that you make it a habit of coming late to work. But the morning you get up on time and do everything you are supposed to do and something happens that makes you to start running late, you should not miss the moment. Relax and enjoy it. Nothing is wasted! Thousands of years ago, King David said, “The LORD directs the steps of the godly. He delights in every detail of their lives” 3) Count your blessing each day. You have to make it a habit to count your blessings on a daily basis. You may do this in the morning or at the end of the day. Say it out aloud, or write down one of two good things that happened in your life during that day. If you are not already doing it, you will feel awkward when you start. Do not let this stop you. The more you count your blessings and share tell others about it the more gratitude you will have.

Why Today Matters

You must have heard that the final outcome you get is the sum of what you do on a daily basis. In order words it is a summation of your minute by minute activities during the course of each day. Today matters because where you will be tomorrow depends on what you do today. There is no point expecting a different outcome tomorrow, if your today is not aligned with your expectation for tomorrow. For example the way your threat your customers today will determine if they will come back to you tomorrow or not.

Today matters because yesterday is no longer yours. It is gone and there is nothing you can do about all the missed opportunities. Your only hope is what you decided to do today. The only way yesterday can count is if you avoid the mistakes of yesterday today. If you also repeat the success of yesterday today, tomorrow you will be glad you did. When you focus on making the most of today, procrastination will no longer be an issue, since you will stop putting off the things you are supposed to be doing today. For example, you will stop putting off going to the gym and start following the recommendations from your doctor to do something about your present health condition. According to Jesus Christ of Nazareth today is what you should be focusing on, he says, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” It implies engaging each day fully with all you have is the best way to deal with the challenges of that day; when you try to add tomorrow you are over stretching the resources of today. Today is important for tomorrow it will become your yesterday, therefore make the most of today and your yesterday will be great and your tomorrow wonderful. Today is all you got, smile, love and make the most of each moment. I hope this encourages you to make the most of today and make it better for others. http//:erictangumonkem.com Dr. eT

African News weekly Sep 2020.101126 Interview with Dr. Eric Tangumonkem

African News weekly Sep 2020.101126

The following
interview questions were answered by me on Radio Kilimanjaro 

1. Dr. Eric, In Coming to America: A journey of Faith, you recount
your own true life story. What prompted you to write a book about your life?

2. You experienced despair and desperation back in the days in
Cameroon and in the US. In brief, tell us your ordeal.

3. The entire book seeks to echo the role of faith in your transformation,
how did you come to the realization that it's the hand of God, not luck or even
your own strength?

4.Dr.Eric,in the midst of all the troubles you encountered in
Cameroon and in the US, You refused to go for other choices like getting
married to a lady to get legal documents, seek political asylum like others to
change your status. Why?

5. From a look at things, you planned to launch this life
changing book in three cities in Cameroon in December 2014, can we know the
time frame for these events

Two reasons you should stop complaining

Complaining will make you feel better, but will keep you grounded! 1) You relinquish control: You must have heard the story of the two sales men who went to an island for to carry out a market survey and ran into a “serious problem”/ (a great opportunity). Their challenge was that, the inhabitants of this island did not wear shoes. In fact they had never heard about shoes least talk of wearing them. One of the sales person called headquarters and complained that, it would be a waste of time, energy and resources to try to teach the inhabitants of the island about shoes, before selling shoes to them. This sales person focused on the difficulties and impossibilities that accompanied a great opportunity and missed the bigger picture. Next time a seemingly impossible opportunity presents its self before, take a moment and meditate on the great reward that awaits you if you engage the opportunity head-on. Complaining made the first sales person to give up and quit. Quitting is the best result you will get when you spend your time complaining and wishing conditions where ripe for you to thrive. Complaining will make you feel better for a little while, and in some instances attract sympathy from friends, but it will make your situation deteriorate and keep you where you are. Because when you complain you relinquish control to the circumstances surrounding you. Let your attitude be like that of the other sales person, when instead of focusing on the impossibilities of the circumstances, chose to take control. This sales person called headquarters and reported that, their company was in for a bonanza. That an opportunity of a life time has been discovered and they should get ready to engage the inhabitants of the islands. First by teaching them about shoes, second, showing them how shoes are worn and third, selling shoes to them. This required a lot of work, but they were willing to do the work and reap a bountiful reward as well. This is in line with what King Solomon said, “Do you see someone skilled in their work? They will serve before kings; they will not serve before officials of low rank.” 2) You become trapped. When you relinquish control you become helpless and are left at the mercy of whatever situation you are facing. This is because complaining most of the time is rooted in the feeling of being a victim. You make yourself believe that you are a victim of circumstances beyond your control. Unfortunately this is part of the truth. The whole truth is that, you are never completely at the mercy of whatever circumstances surrounding you. The final outcome depends heavily on how you respond. If you chose to focus on the great potential dressed in difficulties, obstacles, and impossibilities you will take charge and make the most of the situation. Instead of complaining about your work, colleagues, boss and even your tools, start focusing on the great opportunities hidden behind all these challenges and you will be amazed with the outcome. Remind yourself that, the final outcome hinges on how your chose to respond. In other words you are in charge! You are a victor and not a victim. There is great reward for you if you chose to deal with the problem head on.

Christians involvement in Politics

We are called to be light and salt. A light cannot be placed under the table when it is light. The world is full of darkness and there is a great for the light that Christians have. Politics is just one of the many areas that Christians can make a difference by letting their lights to shine. The issues is not with politics, it is with how we go about our political activities. If we do it with the fear of God and act in righteousness there is nothing wrong with being a politician. Joseph, was the prime Minister of Egypt, Daniel was an administrator in Babylon, and both of them stood up for righteousness and refused to sin against God when the opportunity was presented. We need people with such a conviction to stand up and defend the rights of the downtrodden and marginalized. You can be one of them.

Politics is complicated, but that does not mean that we cannot understand the issues and take a position. There is nothing wrong in praying for wisdom to understand what is happening in the area of politics. We all know that, Daniel, Joseph, and many others were heavily involved in politics. They did well because The Lord was leading them. If God is leading you then there is nothing to be afraid of. Politics is tough and dirty and has always been so. This does not mean that we cannot succeed in it. Let us not forget that we all have different gifts, talents and abilities. Therefore one size does not fit all. Secondly, we will be rewarded based on how we honored God with what He has entrusted us with. Remember Jesus said, " Many will say we did miracles and great things in His name, but he will tell them to depart from him for they were workers of iniquity".

Coming to America: A Journey of faith. A review by Dr. Eric Tangumonkem

A brief Review of the book by Dr. Eric Tangumonkem

What in the world prompted a young man to leave behind his young bride and son in Africa to come to America for graduate studies; without money to pay for his studies? Dr. Tangumonkem writes, “My boat was going to be rocked beyond my ability to control, it and the next phase of my walk was going to be greater than anything I had experience so far.” You are about to engage in an amazing journey of faith, hope, perseverance and determination; against trails, sickness, temptations, uncertainties, hardships and poverty. An excellent illustration that prayer indeed moves mountains and everything is possible to him that believes. Dr. Tangumonkem shares with you practical steps to growing your faith and getting the most out of your walk with God. He demonstrates using personal events in his life, backed by scriptural references that; God is faithful and will back His word irrespective of what we think about it. This is a theme that is repeated throughout the entire book, faced with the challenge of not having money to pay his tuition he declared to his roommate, “I told him God was my sponsor. By the time we separated from that apartment he also could not wrap his mind around some of the things that had happened in my life.” Walking by faith and experiencing the supernatural move of God on a daily basis is not for supper people. It is possible for everybody, irrespective of race, color and social status to know God at a personal level. For God has and will always keep His promises and is concern about the little things and the bigger things. This is demonstrated by him asking for socks and receiving six new pairs of socks a few days later. As he stares, “You may be wondering why I am making a big deal about six pairs of new socks that cost a few dollars. The issue is not about the socks. It is about the fact that my Father in heaven cares so much about the tiniest details of my life. If He could provide socks, He would also take care of the bigger challenges I was facing. Seeing His involvement in so-called “little things” enabled me to see Him move the “bigger things.” For God is not too busy to intervene in “small things,” nor intimidated by “bigger things.” He is the Lord of all and there is nothing impossible for Him.”

This book is about tried and proven principles of faith that will change your life forever. Your faith will grow as you read and by the end of the book you will begin to charter new territory. You will get a deeper understanding, of praying specific prayers and experiencing God responding with specific answers. Just as Jacob who prayed and said he would not leave until God bless him; Jesus who prayed and the heaven was let loose; the apostles who prayed and the Holy Spirit was sent to them; Dr. Tangumonkem too prayed ceaselessly and God answered his prayers. He was faithful to God; he did not follow the ungodly advice of some immigrants to divorce his wife and to report the white woman who knocked him down on his bicycle in order to make money. He relied completely on God. He clearly invites everyone to love God unconditionally and to go to him when they are heavy laden for He will not fail them. His book assures readers that whoever belongs to the “Royal Family” will not lack. Dr. Tangumonkem put his problem straight to God and he received a grant not for research but to pay his debt: what a miracle! An uncommon blessing! This book is an immense expression of the audacity of faith: It takes faith to consider ones debt which is even more than that of a whole community normal; it takes faith not to work because the law forbids one and yet one is in a precarious situation etc. Dr. Tangumonkem uses this shining and burning light from his bones to preach to those who still hearken not to the word of God. He invites them to hope in despondency by putting their loads and intricate situations on God’s shoulder and to maintain an individual communication with Him.

In this book Dr. Tangumonkem shows that one’s mind is a battlefield for the good and the evil and the person who doesn’t communicate well with God will easily sway to the camp of the devil who promises temporal riches It is a book that pricks people’s conscience who careless about doing what is godly. It is a testimony of the works of God when the society turns against one. You can get the book ON www.amazon.com or www.erictangumonkem.com

4 words that will change your life forever.

1) See: You have to see where you are going to get there. If you are on a job and you do not see any future for you on that job, your performance will be dismal. It is crucial for you to see the potential that is in the job and the rewards that come with it. This seeing will motivate and push you to overcome all hurdles and challenges. 2) Believe: It is not enough to see, you must believe in the potential in the job and believe that you have what it takes to get the job done. If you do not believe in your ability to make a difference in your company you will be an average contributor. To rise up above the crowd, you must believe that you have something to offer and that you can get the job done. 3) Speak: It is not enough to see, and believe that there is potential in your job and that you can make a difference. Your speaking has to align with what you see, and believe. Your words will make or destroy you. It is impossible to show up at work each day and all you do is complain about, how difficult the job is and how miserable you are. If you keep saying your job is boring, unchallenging and unrewarding, your day will be unchallenging, boring and unrewarding. Get up each morning and tell yourself aloud that, today I am going to have a great day and that I will have a rewarding day at work. You will be amazed at how your attitude will improve your performance and quality of work. 4) ACT: It is not enough to see, believe, and speak, you must ACT on what you see, believe and speak. According to Saul of Tarsus, “Faith without works is dead.” Of what good is all your talking if you do not act on it? Action and action alone will guarantee results. When you see that there is potential in your job and believe that you have what it takes to do the job. You will began speak positively concerning your job, and this will motivate you to put in your all. Putting in your all will move you out of the league of average performers to a top performer. See, believe, speak and ACT and you will be unstoppable. I coined this, “The Faith Cycle

These four words will make you unstoppable

1) See: You have to see where you are going to get there. If you are on a job and you do not see any future for you on that job, your performance will be dismal. It is crucial for you to see the potential that is in the job and the rewards that come with it. This seeing will motivate and push you to overcome all hurdles and challenges. 2) Believe: It is not enough to see, you must believe in the potential in the job and believe that you have what it takes to get the job done. If you do not believe in your ability to make a difference in your company you will be an average contributor. To rise up above the crowd, you must believe that you have something to offer and that you can get the job done. 3) Speak: It is not enough to see, and believe that there is potential in your job and that you can make a difference. Your speaking has to align with what you see, and believe. Your words will make or destroy you. It is impossible to show up at work each day and all you do is complain about, how difficult the job is and how miserable you are. If you keep saying your job is boring, unchallenging and unrewarding, your day will be unchallenging, boring and unrewarding. Get up each morning and tell yourself aloud that, today I am going to have a great day and that I will have a rewarding day at work. You will be amazed at how your attitude will improve your performance and quality of work. 4) ACT: It is not enough to see, believe, and speak, you must ACT on what you see, believe and speak. According to Saul of Tarsus, “Faith without works is dead.” Of what good is all your talking if you do not act on it? Action and action alone will guarantee results. When you see that there is potential in your job and believe that you have what it takes to do the job. You will began speak positively concerning your job, and this will motivate you to put in your all. Putting in your all will move you out of the league of average performers to a top performer. See, believe, speak and ACT and you will be unstoppable. I coined this, “The Faith Cycle