TD Jakes: This Simple Journey Philosophy Will Change Your Life!

Enjoy the journey. Enjoy the whole step, the whole process. Every day that you get up to strive for whatever it is you're after.

You can't learn what's in you sitting back in a La-Z-Boy chair, hitting the remote control, watching HBO and Cinemax.

Intellect can describe it, but only instinct can find it. You must understand that the purpose is the underlying chemistry that makes you live your life. Your kids are not going to make you happy. Your spouse is not going to make you happy. A big house is not going to make you happy. We are busier than any other generation we have seen in the last 300 to 400 years.

If you don't know who you are, somebody can ascribe any identity onto you and you will morph into whatever they want you to be.

If everything went the way you wanted it to go, you wouldn't have anything to exercise by. It's because we are starting every day with the burdens from yesterday assaulting us in today.

I don't care whether you're 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, there's something down inside of you that's still kicking.

He's an American pastor, author, and filmmaker. He's the bishop of the Potter's House, a non-denominational American megachurch. He's received numerous honors, including 13 honorary degrees and doctorates. He's Bishop T.D. Jakes, and here's my take on his top 10 rules for success.

Enjoy the journey, not the destination. A lot of us delay our happiness. When I get to this level, when I get my degree, when I get the kids, when I get married, I'm gonna be happy. Enjoy the journey. Enjoy the whole step, the whole process. Every day that you get up to strive for whatever it is you're after. You know, I'm a goal-oriented guy. But you don't celebrate when you get to the finish line. Celebrate all along the way. Celebrate all along the way.

Yeah, man. I know I put in what it takes to withstand the pressure. Slap your neighbor and say, "You don't know what you got." You don't know what you've got until all hell breaks loose. You don't know what you can take until the pressure is applied to your life. You don't know what you can endure until people stab you in the back and walk away from you. You don't know how much courage you have until you've been under fire and under struggle and under tribulation. You can't learn what's in you sitting back in a La-Z-Boy chair, hitting the remote control, watching HBO and Cinemax. But when all hell breaks loose, That's when you get to see what you got. Touch your neighbor and say, "I'm made of something. I didn't get to see the design. I didn't get to see the architectural plans, but I know I'm made of some good stuff. I can tell by the burdens I bear and the load I carry and the stuff I endure." I shocked myself at what I'm able to take. It's not just that I shocked my enemies, I shocked myself. They said I was gonna die and I believed it, but through hell and high water, I'm still here.

When I was in South Africa on a safari, I was blessed to be on a safari after I had taught for a group of Black billionaires, a seminar about faith and finances. And they detained me over and gave me the privilege of staying out at J. Paul Getty's place. Place out there in the middle of the jungle somewhere and to go on a safari with my son. It was amazing. So there I am in between a zoologist who is giving me all of this information about all the animals, their habitats, their mating practices, how they live, how they operate, and sitting on the edge of the Jeep with a shotgun to protect us— we weren't hunting, we were just watching— was a Zulu. The Zulu says nothing at all. The zoologist explains all the animals, and we visit all the different places and see a lot of the animals, but we had not found the elephant. He explained the elephant, but he could not find him. Finally, the Zulu stood up and he put his finger in the air and he pointed up. He said, "The elephant is over there." When he said it to me, my head exploded, Larry. It exploded because all of a sudden I realized I'm sitting between intellect and instinct.

Mm-hmm.

Intellect can describe it, but only instinct can find it. And from the premise of that ideology, I begin to go back through all of my life and begin to see not only me but others, how if they position themselves between intellect and instinct and know when to yield to which one, that next big thing, whether it's an elephant, an entrepreneurial pursuit, or raising a family, it is simply over there if you follow your instincts. So many times you have a modicum of talent in an area, maybe just enough talent to appreciate people who are really called to that area. It doesn't mean that you need to necessarily go out and do that thing. You must understand I'm saying that the purpose is the underlying chemistry that makes you live your life. It may not be— you may not have a strong talent. Let me give you an example, because I'm messing mine up.

Let me give you an example.

I have talent as a musician. I can play the piano. Not well enough to be maestro, but I have a modicum of talent in that area. But that was not my purpose. But many, many times we start working in an area that we have talent, but it's not our purpose. I tell my kids this: you may start out doing something that is not the thing you were created to do. It may only be the thing that leads to the thing you were created to do.

You understand what I'm saying? So you can't—

don't stop at where you are as if it were the destination, when in fact, in reality, it may be the transportation that brings you into that thing you were created to do. You have to own your own happiness. Take it away from other people demanding that they make you happy. Your kids are not going to make you happy. Your spouse is not going to make you happy. A big house is not going to make you happy. Own your own happiness and be responsible for doing those things that bring joy into your own heart, independently of life and people and money and all of that stuff. It doesn't necessarily give you happiness. You have to take responsibility of that peace and that joy that lives inside of your heart and not inside of your stuff. My challenge in our generation is that gradually, through entertainment, through television, through media, through every way possible, we are living in a generation of the the dumbing down of ideas. Because we have traded effectiveness for busyness.

Statistics say—

yeah, somebody ought to clap on that. We are busier than any other generation we have seen in the last 300 to 400 years. We are so busy, we are busier than a one-armed wallpaper hanger. We're just busy. You'll get it later, don't worry about it. It'll hit you in a minute. We are just as busy as we can be, and we think because we're busy, we're effective. But I want you to challenge your schedule for a minute and ask yourself, are you, are you really being effective? Or is your life cluttered with all kinds of stuff that demands you and drains you and taxes you and stops you from being your highest and best self? And are you substituting busyness and all the chaos that goes along with business from being effective. Let me tell you, a bunch of scientists got together and they began to do some research, and they begin to determine that 80% of the things we do are busy things that we do in an area that is not effective. That the average person only spends 20% of their time doing the thing that they are really gifted at, created at, passionate about, excited to do, and the rest of it is all the dismal, dumb stuff that we all have to do in order to survive. Just crazy stuff that we're doing. Wonder what would happen if we would go from doing 80% of things that are busy but not effective, and 20% of the things that are really effective, if we would switch those numbers around and only give 20% of our time to the things that we have to do, and 80% of our time to the thing that we were created to do.

Wonder what would happen to your life. Now think about it.

In a minute. There's a lot of things you could take from me and I could make it. You could take my suit, I got another one. You could take my car, I could get another one. You could take my house, I could get another house. But when you take my time, you have taken something from me that is totally irreplaceable. We take all kind of classes for money management. We know how to manage our money. We know how to repair our houses. We're working on our hair and our bodies and all of this kind of stuff. We do everything except the most important important thing is to value our time. It takes time to be creative. You were meant to be creative. You were created in the likeness and the image of a Creator, and in that likeness and in that image, you have creativity. If you had time, you would be creative. But in the absence of time, and with busyness and clutter and people, the phone ring, y'all got music playing on your phone, all kinds of stuff. And no matter what kind of song you put on, after a while hate to hear it because every time you hear that sound, you know it's somebody else wanting something else from you that's taking you away from what you are gifted and creative to do. The enemy does everything he can to tear down your belief system, to destroy your belief system.

If you open up a business, if you open up a company, one of the things you have is vision purpose, and goals. And you write them down so all of your staff and all your team and all your customers can know, this is who I am. I am defined by my vision, my purpose, and my goals. That's my playbook. That's my creed. That's what I believe as a company, as an institution. I never will forget several years ago I toured Nike. And I had— if you ever get a chance to go up there and tour Nike, it's absolutely amazing. I could not find an employee in all of Nike that wasn't quick to tell me who they were. They never talked about who they were individually. They talked about who they were corporately. They knew their history. They knew their background. They knew who they were as a company. A philosophy had so permeated the organization that even the janitors would stop and tell you the philosophy of Nike. You see the reason that's important? If you know who you are, then you know who you are not. If you don't know who you are, somebody can ascribe any identity onto you and you will morph into whatever they want you to be. And that's what has happened with a whole lot of us. Some of us have been 10 or 12 different people depending upon who we were with, because we don't know who we are. We become whoever they want us to be. And then when they leave us, we are confused because we have no real understanding of who we are. You say, well, I thought you were talking about believing in God. I'm talking about believing God, but I'm also talking about believing in yourself. Paul says, I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me. Before he brings up Christ, he brings up him. We're so amazed that he believes in God that we overlook the fact than he believes in himself. I can do all things. Somebody say, I can do all things.

Oh my God.

Just stop right there. Say it again. I can do all things. Wouldn't it be amazing if you believed that? Wouldn't you sleep good tonight if you believed that? Wouldn't you walk around with your head up and your back straight if you believed that? Say it again. I can do all things. You wouldn't be intimidated by anybody, anywhere, at any time If you just believe that, say it again, I can do all things. Can you imagine how different your job interview would go if you really believe that and walked in, they said, what do you do? I can do all things. Imagine if you were taught that from the time you were born into the world. The first thing your mama told you when they smacked you on the behind is don't worry about it, baby, you can do all things. Because people think often, well, that's for those people over there, or when I get myself together, when I get myself together, I'm going to live on purpose. But you say it is possible wherever you are right now, Facebook, anywhere in the world watching us, that even if you're in the middle of a disaster, you can use that disaster for direction.

Absolutely. Because it is through the disaster, it is through the adversity, that our strength is developed. If everything went the way you wanted it to go, you wouldn't have anything to exercise by. It's a gymnasium of life where you get to work out the resistance and you find out things about yourself that you didn't know. I'm stronger than I thought I was. I'm tougher than what I thought I was. I'm more resilient than I thought I was. And that self-respect stops you from being at the mercy of other people to validate you, to make you feel good about who you are.

What is something you suggest to add to our daily routine to empower ourselves?

Quiet. Quiet. We're too busy. We are so busy that we don't notice that we're not productive. Busy does not mean that you are producing. We are just spinning our wheels. And the great thinking and progress that we have made in this country—steam engines, telephones, automobiles, all types of things, spacecraft—were done by people people who had moments to think. We're moving so fast at breakneck speed. And if we get a free moment, we're on Twitter and Facebook and everything. It's the death of creativity. And I would challenge people to go back to meditation, and if you're spiritual, go back to prayer. If you're not, just go back to just laying still for a moment to clear your head, to hit the reset button. Because we are starting every day with the burdens from yesterday assaulting us in today. Let's put a comma between all of that. I read somewhere, it was an actor, I think, said it, that once a week he doesn't talk. Mm-hmm, yeah. Doesn't talk all day. Yeah, just peace. Yeah. Yeah, just peace. Shut it all down, and you'd be surprised what you can hear when you shut up. I came to deliver a message to every person in this room who's had a struggle. Who's had some pains, who's had some tests, who's got some creative ideas, but you've gone through some really tough stuff. Let me tell you something, the stuff you've been through, don't pay it any attention. It is just a sign that the baby is coming.

You're on the verge of birthing. You're on the verge of birthing. You're on the verge of birthing. You're about to give birth.

I want you to touch everybody you can reach and tell them the baby is coming. The baby is coming.

The baby is coming. The baby is coming. The baby is The baby is coming. The baby is coming. The baby is coming. The baby is coming. You don't want to leave me now. The baby is coming. You don't want to walk out on me now. The baby is coming. I haven't had my best idea yet. I haven't had my most creative moment yet. I haven't produced my dream yet. I don't care whether you're 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, there's something down inside of you that's still kicking inside of you that wants to get out, and it wants to live. It wants to live. The whole reason you're here today is because there's something There's something in you that needs to be fed, that needs to be stirred, that needs to be electrified, that needs to be illuminated. There's something down inside of you crying, "Let me out! Let me out!" Make some noise in this place! Yes, yes, yes! We are waiting on your water to break and for you to give birth to the greatest idea you you have ever had. Make some noise in this place. Anybody who left you is going to miss it. They're going to miss it. They're going to miss the greatest part of you, the greatest part of your destiny, the greatest part of your creativity. It took everything you went through yesterday to get you ready for what you are about to do today. You are standing on the verge of a great awakening, or you wouldn't be here. If I'm talking to you, make some noise in this place. I can't hear you.

I believe there are businesses in you, companies in you, concepts in you, books to be written, paintings to be drawn.

Concepts to be birthed, ideas, creative concepts. There's something that you could do, that you could think in your life that would radically change your life. Somebody could take the hand you've been dealt and win with it. Same circumstances, same ideas, they would do it through what they thought about your life.

But we don't need somebody, because we got you. We got you. You're the one. You are the one. I want you to join hands with somebody for just a minute.

I'm telling you right now, if you are going to birth your dream, your calling, your passion, and the second half of your life, you can't draw back when life gets tough.

You've got to stand up it and push.

Get that person by the hand because there's something inside of them that is about to happen.

Squeeze their hand.

And when I count to 3, I want every man and every woman that's got a concept, that's got an idea, I want you to push with all of your might until dreams and concepts and ideas start to birth out of you in the middle of the night. You're gonna need pens and pads by your bed go to bed tonight, because you're going to have to get up in the middle of the night and start writing down all the stuff that's going to start coming out of your spirit when this day is ready. Are you ready? 1, 2, 3! If you push it, you can have it! God bless you! It's yours for the taking!

Thank you guys so much for watching. I made this video because Christopher asked me to, so if there's a famous entrepreneur that you want me to profile next, leave it in the comments below and I'll see what I can do. I'd also love to know which of the top 10 rules had the biggest impact on you. Leave it in the comments, I'll join the discussion. Thank you so much for watching. Continue to believe, and I'll see you soon.

If you're looking for me, I'm not up there. I'm up here. You may be seated. If you're looking for leadership, you don't always have to look to the front to find it. Great leadership doesn't start out on the stage. It doesn't start out as governors or mayors or presidents or CEOs or managers. Great leadership starts out in the back. Leadership starts in the pews. If you're in a church, it starts in the pews. If you're in a business, it starts down in the janitorial booths. It starts with menial things. That's why the Bible said despise not the day of small beginnings. You have to understand though, and I want you to get this in your mind and in your heart and most of all in your head about leadership. When you begin to grapple with leadership and life begins to move you along, career opportunities, or I believe the presence of the Holy Spirit begins to move you along, because promotion really doesn't come from the east or the west, it really does come from God. It is possible for life to lead you faster than your mind is prepared to handle. God can move you into such a place that positionally you are in a state of leadership, but mentally and emotionally you really haven't got a grip on what life has handed you. And if you don't know what you have, you don't know how to take care of it. If you don't know how to take care of it, you can mess around and lose lose it. The truth of the matter is, leaders come from ordinary places. They deal with ordinary issues. And I'm going to share some things with you that I think are very, very helpful for you to realize. First of all, I want you to understand that when you're saying to yourself that you want to be a great leader and you want to really go the extra mile and you want to do what has to be done, you're asking for trouble. You are absolutely asking for trouble. You're asking for trouble. And if you think about this a minute, you'll learn a very important concept that I think you need to understand. In the corporate world, in the business world, they actually pay you more money as you move up the ladder with more responsibility. Okay, so if you are a superintendent, you might not make as much as a general manager. A general manager might not make as much as a regional manager. A CEO would make more than a regional manager. Let me tell you something, they're paying you for conflict. It's— are you hearing what I'm saying? It's not enough to have the degrees. Paying you for is your ability to manage conflict and pressure and struggles.

You have to fix the mind before you can bestow the blessing, because until they get their mind right, everything you invest in them is going to leak out of the crevices of a mind that refuses to change. Look at your neighbor and ask them, do you have a mind to change?

Wait for an answer.

If they said no, drag them to the altar. Tell them they got till midnight to get that fixed. They've got till midnight to dump out all jealousy, all pettiness, all unforgiveness, all strife, all malice, all confusion, all blaming other people for your mistake. You got till midnight to get rid of every poison that's hindering you, every inflexibility that's stopping you from what God is about to pour into your life. Woe be unto you if you go into another year and waste another year with the old mentality while somebody's in the hospital begging God for the opportunity that you have right now. You better step into this moment.

Lay your hands on your head and say, give me a new mind.

Give me a new mind means give me a new perspective. Give me a new perspective. Give me a new way of looking at my situation. Give me a new way of looking at my circumstances. Get my mind ready for this year, because when I get this year, there's going to be blessings, there's going to be miracles, there's going to be opportunities. Oh yes, it's going to be some struggles, it's going to be some challenges, it's going to be some tests, but even the struggles Struggles are an opportunity for me to show off the victory if my mind can handle the change. You got what it takes. Storms come, winds blow, lightning flashes, things aren't fair, things are upsetting, they're nerve-wracking, but the very fact that he allowed it to happen, seeing as he is the architect, it is a sign that he's looked at the specs, he He knows what he put in you. He knows his grace is sufficient to get you through this moment in your life. And somebody— oh, I'm about to feel like preaching now. Somebody in this room knows you've been through some stuff that if anybody would have told you that you had to deal with that, you'd have said, ain't no way I can handle it. But every time you got ready to give up, there was something on the inside that kept telling you, go ahead, go Go ahead, go ahead. If you're in here today, slap your neighbor and say, I'm still here. I've been tried, but I'm still here. I've been burdened, but I'm still here. I've been lonely, but I'm still here. I've been frustrated, but I'm still here. I cried, but I'm still here. Somebody help me pray. Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! High-five your neighbor and say, you got what it takes. You gonna make it out of this storm. You will survive this attack. You will get through this stage in your life. You have got Hallelujah! Hallelujah! Hallelujah! I don't know who I'm preaching to, but I know I'm preaching to somebody. The devil's been telling you you're at your breaking point, but the devil is not your architect. He don't know what God put inside of you. Yeah! Yeah! Y'all better come get me out of here! Aah!