By Chua Wee Hian
REST and READ
After our cruise, King Ling and I spent two weeks in Claremont, California. I was thankful to have uninterrupted time reading and praying. I re-read Malcolm Gladwell’s The Tipping Point and once again was challenged afresh that a few people at a given time and a given context can bring change and growth to a community and even a city. He wrote of the key contribution of individual connectors, mavens and salespersons who can effectively tip the scales in setting new trends, changing values or starting an epidemic. Can we be on the lookout and encourage connectors, mavens and salespersons to start a movement for significant growth and revolution?
I was also reading Mark Batterson’s seminal books on prayer. God has used him not only to write so brilliantly on prayer, but in his church in Washington DC, he has seen Him answering prayers beyond his wildest dreams (Eph.3:20) Mark has a marvellous ability to challenge us to circle problems and dreams. It’s a pleasure to share quotes both from Mark Batterson and Malcolm Gladwell. Both authors have had books on the New York Times bestsellers list.
The tipping point is the magic moment when an idea, trend or social behaviour crosses a threshold, tips and spreads like wildfire.
If you want to bring a fundamental change to peoples’ belief and behaviour, you need to create a community around them, where those with new beliefs can be practised, expressed and nurtured.
“In the end, Tipping Points are a reaffirmation of the potential for change and the power of intelligent action. Look at the world around you. It may seem like an immovable, implacable place. It is not. With the slightest push—in just the right place—it can be tipped.”
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CONNECTORS:
“These people who link us up with the world, who bridge one person to another and who introduce us to our social circles – these people on whom we rely on more heavily than we realize – are Connectors, people with a very special gift of bringing people together.”
“A Connector might tell ten friends where to stay in Los Angeles, and half of them might take his advice. A Maven might tell five people where to stay in Los Angeles but make the case for the hotel so emphatically that all of them would take his advice. These are different personalities at work, acting for different reasons. But they both have the power to spark word-of-mouth epidemics.”
MAVENS:
“A Maven is a person who has information on a lot of different products or prices or places. This person likes to initiate discussions with consumers and respond to requests … they like to be helpers in the marketplace. They distribute coupons. They take you shopping. They go shopping for you … This is the person who connects people to the marketplace and has the inside scoop on the marketplace.”
SALESPEOPLE:
“But there is also a select group of people – Salesmen – with the skills to persuade us when we are unconvinced of what we are hearing, and they are as critical to the tipping of word-of-mouth epidemics as the other two groups.”
They can take an idea, make it sticky and accessible, and position it to get a tribe behind it. Salespeople are your storytellers and masters of persuasion. These are the people who can borrow your watch and then sell it back to you. They just have this uncanny ability to get you to buy into whatever they’re selling, whether it’s an idea, a plan, or a product – it doesn’t matter.
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Hard work is only a prison sentence if you lack motivation.
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Achievement is talent plus preparations.
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One of the biggest misconceptions about prayer is that it means outlining our agenda to God as a divine do-list.
The true purpose of prayer is to get into God’s presence so He can outline His agenda for us.
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If you pray to God regularly, irregular things will happen to you on a regular basis.
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God is always preparing and positioning us for divine appointments.
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If you seek answers you won’t find them but if you seek God, the answers will find you.
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It is my experience, it’s much easier to act like a Christian then it is to react as one. Anyone can put on an act. But your reactions reveal what is really in your heart.
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God is the Composer – your life is His musical score.
God is the Artist – your life is in His canvas.
God is the Architect – your life is His blueprint.
God is the Writer – you are His book.
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If you aren’t hungry for God, you are full of yourself.
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Faith is rewiring the human brain. We are literally upgrading our minds by downloading the mind of Christ.
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You can have faith or you can have control but you can’t have both.
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Whatever you don’t turn into PRAISE will turn into PRIDE.
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Over the years I’ve grown more comfortable with making people uncomfortable because that is when growth can happen.You need a little conflict. You need a little tension. And that is part of my calling. A little tough love goes a long way.
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