But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 3:13-14, ESV

Earl Nightingale was a radio personality and motivational speaker before either of these professions were common. He had one message that was so popular that he recorded it and sold over a million records It was unusual in the aspect that it was not a recording of a hit song that sold so well, but it was a speech that contained numerous suggestions as to how to succeed in life. It was called "The Strangest Secret".

In it he pointed out that if you asked 100 men at the age of 25, when they were just starting out with their families and careers, they would all say that they wanted to succeed in life. But the reality of these men after 40 years of work would have been something along these lines: One would retire rich. Four would be "well off". Five would still be working. Fifty-four would be dead broke. He didn't mention the other 36% but I assume that they included the ones just getting by or who had already passed away.

Anyway, his point was this: If people just starting out would be nearly unanimous in their desire to succeed, why is it that only 5% achieve success? His conclusion after years of research was this: most men simply do not think - they do not have thoughtful goals, so they do not achieve their goals. The idea is that it is impossible to hit a target that you cannot see!

He gave the example of a ship leaving port for a specific destination. It is fully fueled and is manned by a captain and crew with a specific destination and the maps and directional equipment needed to get there. He said that even if these men had never been to that specific destination before that they would still arrive safely 9,999 times out of 10,000. But, take the same ship in the same port with the same destination, but don't give it a captain and crew to steer the vessel. Just start her up and let her go! Mr. Nightingale pointed out that the ship without direction would not make it's destination one time in 10,000 tries. If it made it out of the port at all, it would just drift until it hit something or ended up a derelict on a deserted island somewhere.

 He then made the point that men are the same. If all they have is a desire to achieve, but do not have a plan for that success, they have about as much chance of attaining what they desire as a ship without a crew does of reaching its destination. 

Then he went back to Christ's words in Mark 9 when a boy's father asked Jesus to heal him, "if you can". Jesus' reply was instructive: "If you can? All things are possible to him who believes." And this is what Earl Nightingale referred to as the "Strangest secret": All things are possible to him who believes!

So our duty, then, is to define our most worthy goals and then steadily progress towards them. Since all things are possible (we can safely assume that Jesus was referring to only good things here) then we can achieve all things if we will have a firm goal in mind and do everything in our power to achieve that goal. In the most important area, the spiritual, this means if we define success as God does - eternal life - that this can be achieved if we will make it our life's ambition and press on towards that goal for which God has called us upward in Christ Jesus.

Of course this method works for all of the other important things in our lives, including our physical goals, but we do need to keep first things first. For, as it turns out, the strangest secret is not a secret at all. All things are possible to the one who believes and who will do everything he can while always seeking God's assistance and will along the way.

What is it you want to accomplish in life? If it is important enough to give it your best effort, and if it is worthy enough to have God's approval for so that you can rightfully ask for His help along the way, then you will achieve it if you will only have the faith and determination to see it through. And that, I think most would agree, is a pretty good deal!