CHAPTER 1
TAKING CONTROL
Approximately ten years ago, on a freezing July night, the cold, hard truth hit me like a freight train.
No one was coming to my rescue.
On our bedroom floor, my wife was giving birth to our son; he'd come so quickly that we had just called the hospital to tell them we were on our way. But we never made it out of the house.
The complication was that he was breech, and when he had come out to his shoulders, the contractions stopped and he stopped coming. My wife and I stayed calm, but for all my trying, I just could not get his head out. While this was happening, my sister had called an ambulance, but we were stuck in this position for about fifteen minutes before it arrived and were able to fully deliver him.
What I didn't realize was that the umbilical cord was obstructed, and our baby was suffering through asphyxiation. When he was finally born, our boy was blue, and his heart rate was 40 beats per minute, when it should have been 140 beats per minute.
As the paramedics worked on our son, pumping oxygen into his lungs with a hand pump, I went outside to talk to God. I'd been studying faith at a local church for a while and had achieved some small successes. One of the Scriptures that has always impressed me the most is Mark 11:24 "Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, be though removed and be though cast into the sea, and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he says shall come to pass. He shall have whatsoever he says."
This Scripture told me I had to take responsibility in the situation and not wait for something to happen. I had to make something happen.
I felt strength flow through me as I reminded God what this Scripture said. I told God that I was not going to ask for anything, but that I was going to take control of the situation.
I had a strong belief that parents are supposed to protect their children, not just naturally, but spiritually as well. I also could not accept the idea that a child would be born just to die ten minutes later.
After my conversation with God, I felt fearless and determined. When I went back into the house, the main paramedic pulled me aside and asked me if he could have a word with me. With a grim look on his face and a professional tone in his voice, he told me, "I don't think the little bloke's gonna make it."
This was a defining moment. I refused to become afraid and accept his opinion! Looking directly into his eyes, I replied, "No, he is going to be fine." I know I must have had a look that said I meant business, because the paramedic backed off immediately with a quick reply: "Yer. Okay."
It's amazing how quickly people will change their mind and come into agreement with you when you are clear and absolute about something.
Upon entering the hospital I repeated with conviction, "No, he's going to make it. He's gonna be just fine," to anyone who spoke to me.
As I stood back and watched doctors and nurses buzzing around my son in a hive of activity, things became surreal. A smiling woman in a white coat approached me. "You know, when they called in, I thought they'd be bringing in a dead baby, but it's a miracle. They've done a great job. He's looking good."
Of course, our baby did survive.
But the next day he was placed in intensive care. At a meeting with the head of intensive care, the doctor explained to us that our baby was "fitting" and that this was most likely because he would have suffered brain damage and organ damage due to the lack of oxygen during birth. At this point, once again I reassured the doctor: "No, don't worry; he's going to be just fine." Because of what we had just been through, I thought to myself, There's no way I'm going to start backing off now.
About this time we were interviewed by the hospital psychologist, to see how we were handling the fact that our baby would be severely handicapped. After the meeting my wife sneaked a peek at the psychologist's clipboard and notes. Among other things, my wife noticed this statement: "This couple is not prepared for failure." It was not written as a positive statement, but I found it incredibly empowering.
The ward is divided into ten sections. Section one is for the sickest babies and our son was in this section. Some babies are in section one for months, and some never get well. However, within two days our son was in section three; and in three days, he was in section nine. Within another three days we were taking him home in absolutely perfect condition.
Since that time I have pushed myself to learn as much as possible about this incredible power that saved my son's life. What I have learnt I have applied to many different areas of my life; I have used this power to transform my near-bankrupt, failing business into a thriving, prosperous company that has allowed me an income that has totally changed my lifestyle.
I have seen this power make cancer and arthritis completely disappear from people's bodies. I have seen it transform children with learning difficulties and sleeping problems into peaceful, intelligent, happy kids. I have seen it do many incredible, wonderful things in relationships and every area of life. I believe this power controls the world, and I believe it exists for the benefit of mankind.
I truly believe it's the answer to every obstacle we face.
"And you shall know the truth and the truth shall set you free" (John 8:32 KJV).
CHAPTER 2
IF THERE IS HELL ON EARTH, THERE MUST BE HEAVEN TOO
I can barely put into words the emotion I felt as I walked through the hospital room door. The first thing I saw was my perfectly formed, lifeless little boy. He had been placed on a stainless steel trolley right near the door. I remember this so clearly because it made me furious. It felt so wrong for him to be there like that. Time stood still for a moment as I stared at him. He was perfect, he was real; he just wasn't alive. My emotions raced from rage, to despair, to disbelief. I found it hard to control them as I looked over at my beautiful, sad wife being spoken to by the doctor and midwife who had helped her deliver our stillborn baby boy.
I can't remember all the details of that day very well. But I can remember with great clarity the words that were running through my mind: This will never happen again.
I decided I would channel my anger into determination and fearlessness.
Jen and I buried our baby boy and made a pact that we would never go through that experience again. We decided we would have another baby and that we would have a boy. We would leave no stone unturned to make sure this next pregnancy and birth would be a success, and that we would have a perfectly healthy baby boy.
We found a book called "Supernatural Childbirth" by Jackie Mize that was extremely helpful, as it gave examples of people who had enjoyed problem-free, pain-free pregnancies and deliveries. Their ideas suited me perfectly.
We wrote out a statement about the pregnancy, the birth, and our baby. The statement described exactly how the pregnancy would go—that it would be a joyful, fun experience for everyone in the family, free from all the superstition surrounding pregnancy. Our statement said that our baby would be protected throughout the pregnancy and birth, that no harm would come to him in any way, shape, or form. Our statement said that the delivery would be quick. Our first baby was overdue and had to be induced, and I watched my wife endure an extremely painful labour for nine hours; there were complications that put the baby in a distressed state. But delivery would not be too quick. Our second baby had come so quickly that he was born on our bedroom floor. So we wanted enough time to get to the hospital without rushing, but once we got to the hospital, the labour and delivery would be quick, short, easy, and painless.
Twice a day I would read out our statement with enthusiasm and absolute conviction; Jen did the same. Once I had read the statement, I imagined myself standing outside the hospital speaking on my mobile, telling my father what an incredible experience the birth had been, and how perfect our baby boy was.
Our doctor had given us the due date of November 23. My wife mentioned to me that the last week of a pregnancy was extremely uncomfortable, and asked whether I thought we could go for a due date a week earlier. I was very motivated, so I thought, we've gone this far; let's go for everything. So we chose the date of birth to be November 14.
At two o'clock in the morning of the fifteenth, Jen woke me to tell me her waters had broken. She had a shower. We called my mother, who lived close by, to come over to look after our children. We then called the hospital to tell them we'd be there shortly. The hospital told us to hurry, given our last child was born at home. But we knew that this time everything would be peaceful.
We arrived at the hospital about thirty minutes later and were given a room to wait in. Jen and I sat and chatted for about twenty minutes. I had a cup of coffee, and Jen had a cup of tea.
It was amazing; my wife was in full labour and not experiencing any pain or stress at all!
In the middle of a conversation she stopped talking and said, "Wait. I'm having a contraction." She closed her eyes for a minute and said, "It's like pressure." About ten minutes later, she had another strong contraction. I called the nurse; she came in and said, "Don't worry; this could take while." She was misled because we were so calm and Jen was in no pain at all. The nurse said, "I'll just check, anyway." She checked Jen's condition. "Oh my goodness, you're fully dilated. We better get you to the birthing room now."
Because our baby was ready, he was very low, so the three of us walked slowly down the corridor to the birthing room. Halfway down the corridor, Jen said, "Wait, wait." We waited for a minute while she had another contraction. No pain, just pressure. Ten more steps and we were in the birthing room. Once in the room, the nurse said, "At least wait for the doctor to get here." She then told me to get Jen's pants off, which I did, as she got things ready for the doctor to arrive. I helped Jen climb up onto the bed, and instantly our baby shot out like a bullet into my arms.
Five minutes later the doctor walked in and made the comment, "I see you don't even need me." Never a truer word spoken, I thought. The midwife, who was also pregnant, walked over and, looking at Jen, myself, and our baby, said, "Now that's how you have a baby. I'm gonna have my baby just like that."
Half an hour later I stood outside the hospital making the exact same call I'd imagined every day for the last nine months.
We had a healthy baby boy, born in a pain-free, stress-free childbirth, born three hours later than the date we had decided on.
CHAPTER 3
STEPS TO OVERCOMING SICKNESS
"Fight the good fight of faith."—1 Timothy 6:12 KJV
The first and probably greatest step to overcoming sickness is to realize that sickness is an enemy and not a friend and should be treated with an aggressive attitude.
Too many people merely accept someone else's opinion about their symptoms. They lie down without showing any resistance.
But sickness is a thief.
It's a thief that wants to steal your health, your happiness, your quality of life. So you need to treat it like a thief. If you came across someone trying to steal your car, you wouldn't meekly hand over the keys and watch them drive it away. You'd rush over and stop them, attack them if you had to, because you wouldn't let someone take what is rightfully yours.
The same state of mind will overcome all sickness.
Step 1: Understanding
Understand that sickness is an enemy and needs to be treated with disdain, not respect. The power within the human spirit is far greater than any sickness that can come against you.
"For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power, and of love and of a sound mind" (2 Timothy 1:7 KJV).
Step 2: Directing our power
Set aside time at least twice a day where you repetitively affirm that the healing power of God is flowing through your body, destroying every symptom of sickness and disease. Do this with as much enthusiasm as possible, injecting life into your words.
Step 3: Concentrating our power
Vividly imagine healing power surging through your body, attacking and annihilating the symptoms that have come upon you. Also imagine telling people how you destroyed the sickness and them telling you how well you look. As you do this, feel the power and peace that you no longer have to fear sickness, because you now have the answer to all health problems.
Step 4: Action
Act as well as humanly possible. Think, speak, and act as congruently as possible. Get your thoughts, words, and actions in harmony with one another. Apply common sense to the doctor's advice; probably the only time you should ignore a doctor's opinion is when he says, "There is no hope."
CHAPTER 4
STEPS FOR OVERCOMING FINANCIAL LIMITATIONS
Generally people who struggle financially suffer from a victim mentality.
Usually they can tell you, with great detail, the exact causes of their financial battles and why they are impossible to overcome. They live in the belief that they are at the mercy of circumstances that are beyond their control. These circumstances can be the economic climate, their lack of education, bad choices, bad timing, or just plain bad luck.
I believe that the Bible tells us that this is an inaccurate view of life, that the truth is the exact opposite. Life, the world, and its circumstances are actually at our mercy, both collectively and individually. They have no choice but to respond to and obey our thoughts, words, and actions.
"I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessings and cursings: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live" (Deut. 30:19 KJV).
The world and its ways are our creations. Our lives are our creations.
We suffer financial difficulties because we are ignorant of our ability to create life the way we want it.
"Now unto him that is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us" (Eph. 3:20 KJV).
Step 1: Understanding
The first step in overcoming financial difficulty is eliminating the victim mentality. You are not a victim! Whilst you may be suffering victim like circumstances, this does not accurately reflect who you are. It does accurately reflect your ignorance of the incredible creating power that lies sleeping within every human being.
The Bible tells us, "As in water face answereth to face, so the heart of man to man" (Prov. 27:19). And in Proverbs 23:7 we read, "For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he."
Before we can succeed, we need a personality transformation.
Saturate your mind with Scripture or self-help books or biographies that speak about the power of faith, about the power within the human spirit to overcome. As you do this, you will learn to not fear challenges, but be excited by the prospect of overcoming them.
Now that we recognize that this power is within us, we must activate it and put it to work in our experience. Creative power is released when we think, speak, and act. Generally, these actions are done in an unconscious manner, and our creative power is squandered.
We need to release our power in a definite, organized way.
Step 2: Directing Our Power
Decide what you want to achieve, how much wealth you want, what you want to own, where you want to go, and when you want these things to have happened. Write it down in a clear, concise statement.
Step 3: Concentrating Our Power
Twice a day, preferably morning and night, read this statement aloud to yourself with expectation and enthusiasm.
After doing this for a while, begin to imagine yourself and your life the way they are written in your statement. The object here is to build up a feeling of confidence, power, and excitement. When this is achieved, you are creating your desire.
The degree of emotion you generate determines how powerfully and effectively you create. See "Steps for Generating Positive Emotion" for more details.
Step 4: Action
Sometimes a particular action is needed; sometimes the best action is no action at all. The appropriate action is always one that stimulates your faith and brings about a positive emotion.
Step 5: Awareness
You are now on a crash course with the destiny you have chosen. Be on the lookout for signs that it is manifesting; they are there. Acknowledge them no matter how small or insignificant they may seem. "Seek and ye shall find" (Matt. 7:7).
Get excited by the inches of progress, and pretty soon they will become miles of success. Ignore the inches, and the miles never come.
CHAPTER 5
STEPS FOR PARENTING
A common misconception in bringing up children is the idea that we should judge and treat a child according to his or her behaviour and personality. I believe this is one of the least effective ways to raise children and is actually the cause of many of children's problems.
