The Courage To Become - Keynote Lecture At Ibom Ignite Conference October 2026 by Apostle Joshua Selman: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

The courage to become

Someone asked me, if you were not a preacher, what would you be doing? I said, exactly the same thing. Preaching is only a vehicle

I build men for a living, whether through preaching or any kind of empowerment

I am speaking as a transformational leader. My topic is the courage to become, the value of growth and transformation

My assignment is to show the power of superior thinking and how it relates to birthing an enviable destiny

Listening is the seed for knowledge. It takes listening to learn

From this day forward, I make up my mind that by the grace of God I will rewrite my future

I make up my mind to take responsibility over my destiny and to pilot my destiny until I become a winner

I stand here not just to motivate you, but to disrupt your ideas and to challenge your thinking for good

Tomorrow is a harvest, not a wish

The youth are the leaders of tomorrow, but every tomorrow is a harvest, not a wish

Your tomorrow will be a merciless reflection of the quality of your spiritual, intellectual and psychological investment

You can predict your tomorrow with prophetic and surgical accuracy by what you are doing with the gift of today

Most times people have the illusion that tomorrow will magically become better than today. It is God's desire for us to have a great tomorrow, and the wish of every good person

I have learned through the years and through experience that tomorrow is not a wish. It remains an illusion for one who wants it to be a wish

It is a harvest. It is a direct product of what you do with your today

Almost everyone is full of dreams, aspirations and desires. Very few understand and are willing to fulfill the demands such lofty visions require

Among the demands for a great and exceptional destiny is the need for transformation

Some aspire to be great in ministry, others in business, politics and governance, others in their professional life

A great and lofty vision must be backed up by the determination to understand and to pay the price connected to it

I think this is one of the most underestimated thoughts about becoming great. It takes beyond vision to be great

Vision is the starting point, but there must be a determination to take up the responsibility and the demands that come with a great destiny

Illustration: the crosses in heaven

A man of God was tired of ministry. It looked full of persecution and was not working well. I am sure it was just a fiction to illustrate a point

He was caught up to heaven and complained to the Lord Jesus, "Why did you give me such a huge cross to carry? Are you not aware that I can break down and die?"

He entered a room with crosses of different sizes, representing burdens of responsibility. He was asked to pick the one he wanted, and he quickly picked a small one

He was told, "That is exactly the one you have always carried." The one he picked, thinking he had done himself a favor, was the one he had been complaining about

He asked, "You mean there are people carrying these giant crosses on Earth?" "Absolutely"

Every great vision you see and admire has a corresponding responsibility and demand

It is not those who see where they are going that get there. It is those who are willing to fulfill the demands to get there

Transformation remains the non-negotiable condition for turning desires into reality

This current version of you cannot host the destiny you are dreaming of, wishing for, and even praying for

It will take beyond wishing and having a great desire to birth an exceptional destiny

Growth is a fundamental characteristic of living things. Anything alive is expected to grow, and with growth comes the potential for increase, beauty, honor and glory

Transformation is part of the growth process that allows any enviable destiny to emerge, and it is a non-negotiable requirement for any destiny to be achieved

A loser's mentality cannot birth a victor's destiny. You cannot use a loser's mentality to power a victor's destiny

No man can rise and thrive beyond his or her belief system and level of transformation

Transformation is not new clothes, new titles or new gadgets to improve your perception before others

Transformation is the radical re-editing of your internal software that influences your perception, your choices and your actions

Your life is almost always in alignment with the results you are currently getting. If you are not satisfied with your results, you must dismantle the belief system that produced them

Dissatisfied with your finances, your influence, your productivity? Do a radical work of dismantling the belief system

Your belief system is like a womb. It births the destiny that reflects it. Belief systems birth destinies after their kind

A loser's belief system will produce a loser's destiny. A winner's belief system will produce a great destiny

Some of us did not have the kind of leverage people think we have in light of our results today. I come from a great family, a Christian family, a modest family

I made up my mind as a person, as a leader and as a man of God that I would reinvent my life, rise beyond the cultural context, rise beyond the status quo

In no distant future, people will look at you and need a telescope to see where you left, because your life will be so bright and so glorious

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3 concepts defined

Definitions unify understanding. It is a risk to assume that words mean the same thing to everyone

1. Mindset

   A sustained way of thinking. A way of viewing and interpreting life and all that happens within it

2. Belief system

   A summation of your ideologies, your understanding, your paradigm, and the information your convictions and actions are built on

   Everybody's conviction and action is built on a certain understanding

3. Transformation

   The spiritual, intellectual, mental and ideological transition from one level of orientation and conviction to another, usually a more superior level of knowledge and understanding, producing a new and more superior result

Illustration: the pastor and the armed robber

The person you call an armed robber believes something about himself, or does not believe something about himself, that produced an armed robber out of him

The armed robber is not the person. The person is executing a mindset that you called an armed robber

Imagine two people. The one by my left is a pastor, blessing people and turning lives around. The one by my right is an armed robber, causing mayhem from prison to prison

If both drop dead right now, do you call the dead body by my left a pastor? Do you call the other an armed robber?

What was the pastor? The mindset. What was the armed robber? The mindset

If the armed robber comes to my program, listens to a sermon and decides to be born again, same body, same voice, same shape, he turns around and becomes a blessing to society. What changed? Mindset

Results start as a belief system

Most results in our lives start as a belief system before becoming a reality

Excellence is a belief system, not just an outcome. Failure is a belief system, not just an outcome. Victory, kindness, wickedness, envy, love, diligence, laziness, entitlement and responsibility are all belief systems

A person who carries an orientation of laziness, entitlement, envy and jealousy has chosen a roadmap that leads to a certain destiny. He does not have to be a bad person

If a baby follows the road to a government house, he will get to a government house. The road does not factor in the age of the person following it

Belief systems are like roads. They lead somewhere

If you do not like the destinations you have been arriving at, examine the Uber, the belief system that has been carrying you there

2 categories of mindset

• Loser's mentality: a sustained faulty pattern of thinking based on lies, deception and error, producing a life of pain, disappointment, frustration and repeated failure

• Winner's mentality: a superior belief system built on the word of God and superior intellectual and philosophical information, leading to a life of progressive success, peace and fulfillment

A good person can have a loser's mentality. A sincere person can have a loser's mentality. Even good Christians can have a loser's mentality

Having a loser's mentality does not mean you are bad. It just means the software running your life needs to be edited

Only a winner's mentality can power a winner's destiny

The quality of any man's life is directly tied to his mindset and his belief system

Your beliefs define your limits and define your possibilities

His Excellency spoke of starting a hotel business with five rooms that grew to become about the second employer of labor, if I got him right. A remarkable transition

Many downplay the power of transformation with clichés like "he was just lucky". Throw away that idea of luck

Everybody's life is programmed. Whether or not you consciously programmed it, it is a harvest

5 ways mindsets are formed

Mindsets and beliefs can come from genetic conditioning

Illustration: the puppies

My dog gave birth to puppies and I was very happy. As they grew, I saw the things I hated in the parents manifesting in the tiny ones, with digital precision. Who taught them?

It taught me a painful lesson, until I gave all the puppies away in a hurry. Mindsets and belief systems can be genetic

A major part of it comes from environmental conditioning. About 80 to 90% of your belief system will be a product of environmental conditioning

1. Culture

   A way of life of a people. There are healthy and wonderful aspects of culture that must be embraced and preserved

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   Cultural beliefs that enhance moral excellence, dignity and responsibility must be upheld

   Some cultural experiences leave the responsibility of piloting your destiny to God alone or some cosmic power. Those need radical, unemotional editing

2. Family background

   Different families with different histories and experiences add together to produce our belief system today

3. Past experiences

   Good or bad, they influence your belief system today

4. Level of exposure

   Healthy, methodical exposure enhances the level and quality of your belief system

   Prof's principal inspiration for getting into the agro sector came when he took former President Jonathan and another crew to Israel

   He heard the prime minister speak about agriculture and its potential, and returned with an inspiration

   Sometimes you need to be exposed. A conference like this seeks to broaden your horizon beyond what you have seen and known, and open you up to possibilities beyond your current context

5. Influence or association

   Your association can affect and influence your understanding and your paradigm

   If there are five foolish people around you, you did not count well. They are actually six. If there are five wise people around you, you did not count well. They are actually six

   This comes from Proverbs 13:20

The journey to lasting change begins with an unemotional identification of the limiting beliefs keeping you down, then a radical re-editing of your mindsets, philosophies and approach to life

Dynamics of transformation: a recap

An enviable destiny is everybody's desire and God's desire for us all

It depends on many factors, among them the level of your transformation and the superiority of your belief system

There is a price, and a willingness is needed to understand the demands connected to every destiny

A loser's mentality cannot power an individual to a great destiny, no matter how well-intentioned and sincere

5 keys to move from a loser's mentality to a winner's mentality

1. Recognition or awareness

   Awareness is a miracle. Awareness is the sponsor for change

   Not knowing that you don't know is worse. The first miracle is the awareness that you are limited. Even if you don't know the way out, being aware is a miracle already working

   In transformational leadership this is the law of recognition. The energy for change is propelled by the ability to contrast situations. That is the definition of wisdom

   Illustration: colour blindness

   A colour-blind person cannot appreciate the beauty of contrast. That can happen psychologically, so that excellence and mediocrity look the same to you, and corruption and integrity look the same to you

   You must know the difference between wealth and poverty, and the value of prospering versus remaining poor

   You must understand the value of a superior life as against the life of a mediocre. When you can contrast, it sponsors the desire to choose a more superior life

   This is a miracle I believe only God can put in a man

   The prodigal son Luke 15:17

   The Bible never said the devil spoke to him. He came to himself

   Sometimes pain is a gift that helps to enhance recognition. In the presence of excessive comfort the impetus to move forward is usually weak

   Not all pain should be bound and cast out. There is a measure of pain that is a gift because it helps you to think

   Had you advised the prodigal son while he was comfortable, he would have driven you away. When he began to feed with the pigs, he came to himself

   Those who are excessively comfortable, born by billionaire parents, would probably ignore an invite to be here

   Those who are running are running because of what is chasing them. They are in a hurry to exit mediocrity

   In business and transformational leadership we call it your why. When your why is not strong enough, the energy for transformation will not be there

   If you are told a lion is seeking to devour you, you run to safety faster. Marketing shows you what you have to lose by not embracing a product

   Why is it better to be economically emancipated than to be poor?

   The word rich has been abused. It will produce an irresponsible mentality

   The quality of your life is affected when you are poor. Your capacity to reach and be a blessing is tampered with or even deadened. You are not able to maximize life in that state

   Economic empowerment helps you live the most superior dimension of life as God designed. This should propel you, not the need to outshine people or prove you have arrived

   Educated or uneducated: which provides greater leverage in life? A person of integrity or an armed robber, a thief, a liar: which has the chance of frustrating you from a greater destiny?

   Integrity sometimes comes with a risk. Genesis 39:20

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   Joseph went to prison, but if integrity leads you to prison, the prison becomes a doorway to the throne

   From today I make the choice and the decision to be spiritual, to be responsible, to be blessed

   Everything I saw in my upbringing that is unfavorable, I will change it in my lifetime, for the sake of my children and the generations after me

   From today I make up my mind to be great, to be blessed, to be a person of integrity

   I take hold of my future. No more excuses. No more regrets. The past is past. I begin a fresh journey

2. Access to superior information

   The information that brought you where you are now cannot take you where you need to be. You must contend for superior information

   It comes through books, profound conferences, teachings, and most importantly structured mentorship

   What you knew yesterday brought you where you are now. You have to learn something today to take you to your tomorrow. If not, your tomorrow will be a prophetic reality and remain so

   You cannot move past where you are now with yesterday's knowledge

   Make a resolve to go and fish for materials. Once the willingness is there, God will supply the grace that guides you to the right place

   Some came here out of a sincere hunger. You don't know how to birth a great destiny, but there is a passion that says, my children will not ask me questions I cannot answer

   Most times we don't make the first step, we don't decide. God guides step by step. When you decide, the powers of heaven back you up

   From one book to one seminar to one YouTube video to one little statement, you piece together superior information that provides the transition

3. Build conviction

   You must internalize newfound truths so that they become a belief system

   Saying yes to a thing does not mean it has entered and settled in your mind. It takes internalizing through repetition and meditation

   Joshua 1:8

   The frequency does something. The power to do comes from your meditating. Hearing it once will not change you

   Go back and listen to sessions again. I have listened to some materials thousands of times. I put them on repeat because the goal is not awareness, the goal is conviction

   3 levels of understanding:

   • Awareness
   • Conviction
   • Mastery

   Most of us are at the level of awareness. You are aware of the information but have not truly believed it

4. Application and consistent action

   Engage the truth consistently until it delivers results in your life. Not until you are tired

   Even the finest ideas remain worthless until we act upon them consistently and wholeheartedly

   In every conference that changed people, there was somebody the information was useless to. Even when Jesus walked the earth, some meetings impacted certain people and did not change others in the same meeting

   Some who are convicted and persuaded are already scheduling their testimony. But there are others who will return next year with nothing changing in their lives. I pray not so

   What powers ideas is your action

5. Courage

   The courage to endure the consequences of approaching life differently. Approaching life differently can bring momentary constraints

   Transformation is a risk. It will disrupt your current level and affect your current relationships and the way you are perceived

   It may come with great emotional stress, but in the end it produces outstanding victory

   You must have the courage to be misunderstood

   Whether you are Jesus or Satan, they will talk about you. If you desire to be a high flyer, get set to be misunderstood for a long time

   For many people, it is the end result that justifies what you are doing. The fact that people do not understand you now does not mean you are wrong

   You must have the courage to be disliked by those who are comfortable with mediocrity

   You must have the courage to walk away from many good things so that you can birth a great and enviable future

   Be willing to leave the good so that you get the best

   You must have the courage to sacrifice temporary pleasure

   Many young people are stopped by obsession with pleasure while they are becoming. It does not work that way

   A medical doctor in training goes through laborious hours with cadavers, stretching and writing exams. In the end that person has a more enviable destiny than the one who gave up on the way

   Nobody who expects comfort at the beginning of the journey ever arrives. Comfort is the reward for sacrifice, diligence and constraint

   It is better to feed your mind than to dress your body. If you feed your mind, your mind will buy the clothes that dress your body

   Buy books before you buy luxury

   Some give impressions of success and greatness, but look carefully and you see they have not fed their minds

   You must have the courage to sacrifice temporary pleasure and comfort so that you can achieve lasting results

Becoming is a personal responsibility

A great vision requires individual alignment and the willingness to take personal responsibility

No matter what government does for the youth, until the youth make up their minds to make their destinies work, the plans will come and fail

Leadership can build the infrastructure for the state, but you must build the infrastructure for your soul

The governor can build the roads, provide the clinics and hospitals, and create platforms, but he cannot become for you. Becoming is a personal responsibility

The government can provide the soil, but you must be the seed willing to die to its old self so that you grow into a giant oak tree

A developed state with an undeveloped youth is a tragedy in waiting. See yourselves as the human capital required to power the industries, innovation and technology

The world is tired of hearing about potentials. Potential is simply unexpressed capacity. The world is waiting for your manifestation

The current version of you has served its purpose. It has brought you where you are, but it cannot take you to the place you desire to go

Have the courage to let the old you die and the new, refined and valuable you emerge

3 charges to the youth

1. Audit your circle

   You cannot fly with the eagles if you are busy scratching with the chickens and the land birds. You must be willing to leave them and contend with the eagles

   Love is a command. Relationship is not

   Anybody who does not define the kind of destiny you want, love them sincerely, but keep a healthy distance that allows you the focus and concentration to redefine the new you

   2 Corinthians 6:14

   If we are not going the same direction, I will not be unequally yoked. I don't have to hate you, but I am on my way towards building a great destiny

   You must edit your circle

2. Upgrade your capacity

   Nobody is rewarded for having dreams. The world only celebrates and rewards you for being valuable

   Value is measured by your character and your competence

   Do not be a gifted person who is a crook. It starts with character first, then competence

   Be people of integrity, discipline and diligence. Strive to master your craft

   The world still rewards competence

3. Endure the pruning and the temporary constraints with joy

   Like Jim Rohn would say, when life gets hard, do not ask for it to be easier. Ask for you to be better

   Asking for things to be easier is an illusion. Life will just always happen

   An aircraft that can fly 40,000 feet above sea level does not need to fear the presence of mountains. When you fly, the concept of mountain no longer applies to you

   You can circumvent mountains by flying above them. This is the power of capacity

   Certain challenges become foreign to you when you rise to a certain intellectual altitude. Competence has lifting power. It takes you above the grip of certain vicissitudes in life

   Endure the pain. Endure the ridicule that comes from naysayers and mediocrities. Endure the discomfort of the moment, for you will exchange it for lasting joy and success

Charge

The high flyer version of you is waiting, but that version requires you to kill your excuses, edit your habits, and have the courage to become

Do not leave this hall the same way you came. Go home and start the radical re-editing of your life

The world is watching. Your state is waiting. Your destiny is calling

There is no need regretting the past or the mistakes of yesterday. Good or bad, yesterday is gone. The next best time is now

Begin the journey of growth. Begin the journey of transformation and extreme value. Subscribe to the process of becoming

I believe that in no distant future, all of you will be named among the high flyers in Akwa Ibom, in Nigeria and across the globe

May God bless the youth of Akwa Ibom

May God bless the government of Akwa Ibom

May God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria