The rank of a General is not given to a petty trader or a fearful soldier. Generals are men in the army who have progressed through the ranks as victors. It is possible that a General must have lost or failed in one or two instances but the secret to getting to the top rank is bravery, continuous and persistent march and thirst for victory.

"A leader who has not adopted, adapted and cultivated the "step forward" and "March on" attitude will wallow and die in the hollow of mediocrity, leaving no prints on the hearts of tomorrow's generation."

Francis Apeh.

If you do not want to fizzle out of relevance and influence, then you must March-on. This is the only wining secret to continuous and consistent effectiveness in leadership. It is not enough to have claimed promises from God about taking you out of your Egypt into your promised land, you will only inherit the land of milk and honey when you are dogged; with a march-on attitude, and a take-over mentality over the Kenites, the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Jebusites and every other hurdles and hardships of life.

This is a strategy every effective leader must adopt in order to unsettle your enemies, and all other leadership challenges as you journey with God through life to your destiny. Marching-on means chanting war songs and preparing instruments for war which can only be fought and won when your attitude is right, your character is sound, and  your perception about life generally is positively channeled towards the right direction with a focused energy and perseverance.

Against all odds you must prevail. Life is a continuous battle ground that requires "No retreat and no surrender" mindset. It is a mindset of "I'm moving ahead until victory is sure." If you can believe it then you can achieve it. It is a mindset of marching on daily putting under subjection fear, self-pity, mediocrity, fidgeting and throwing-in-the towel attitude. If you must become successful; then you must believe that your past has nothing to do with your future. Your background must not put your back on the ground. God does not consult your past before He creates your future. You must believe that you are unique and you have something important to offer your generation. But it begins from your mindset, it begins with how you have pictured your future.

"Focusing your life camera on the failures of the past is a bad caption that blurs the picture of the future."

Francis Apeh.

It begins with a passion and a drive to succeed. Let me say this here. What you think about yourself ultimately determine who you become. You cannot think failure and become a success. So what are you waiting for; begin the match, and if you have started marching then continue to March on, and if you are marching on; What are you looking back for? Is it because of this little hardship you are facing? March on! Temptations and tribulations must come; but be of good cheer. March on! Reserve the leisure for the future .

The attitude of marching on determines your altitude in leadership. God is already working things out for you. And He will do exceedingly, abundantly, far more than what you can ever ask or even imagine. Because eyes have not seen, ears have not heard and it has not yet entered into the hearts of man what God has prepared for you. His plans for you are of good and not evil, it is a plan to give you a future and a hope, to make you a living wonder in your generation and to give you an expected end.

You are fighting for a good course; oh God's General; march on! You must be bold and courageous, get back to your feet. And march on! You must set your eyes for the prize and the glory in hope. You must forget those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead. You must lay aside frivolities of life and run the race with diligence and perseverance pressing towards the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. Always looking unto Jesus Christ; the author and the finisher of your faith.  And your expectations will not be cut short. For God Who is a faithful rewarder, who sees your labor in the secret will reward you in open.

But always remember this however, that He who puts his hands on the plough and looks back is not fit for the kingdom. Effectiveness can never be achieved with a look back mentality. The only reason why you must look back is to see how far you have gone, count your blessings and thank God almighty who have led you thus far. Any other form of looking back is at your detriment and would hamper your progress at the long run.

Lots wife looked back and she became a pillar of salt. She became a lesson for the younger generation to learn from. Mistakes and disobedience is very expensive, you must be wise enough to learn from the mistakes of others. You see the reason why you are stagnant as a leader like a pillar of salt making no progress is because you have faith to look forward and march-on and God is not pleased with you and I hope you have not become a pillar of salt? Because this is the situation of many leaders today

Sit back a while; take a pause and evaluate yourself. Is it because of Jewelry and cloths, is it because of pleasures of life and material things you never want to let go that you are still admirring your past? What is in your past that you have admired so much so as to go back to it? Perhaps it is a secret sin or worldliness that you derive pleasure in. God is saying look ahead and run with a new vision and purpose I have given you. Where I have taken you from was a death trap, this is the road that leads to life. You must keep running; you must keep marching-on.

The children of Israel murmured in the wilderness instead of marching forward. They began to wish they continue to eat the garlic and onions of Egypt. Forgetting that there is a milk and honey in the future to come. The future is always better than your past and the only way you can get into the future is by marching into the future. I know you are thirsty and famished; don't worry about the dryness, keep moving, we are close to Meribah. I know that there is a red sea in front and the enemies are behind but March towards the sea it will give way. The more you march-on the more the problems that seems insurmountable will bow, the more your Jericho walls will fall. And I pray this will also be your experience in Jesus Christ Name. Amen.

The importance of matching forward cannot be over emphasized. What are you wishing about the past that is not fit and commensurate to the life you are living now which will eventually put you into the promise God has prepared for you? You must sit back and think about this. It may probably be the reason why you are not marching forward into your promised land, into your leadership destiny.

THE REASONS WHY YOU MUST STEP FORWARD AND MARCH ON AS A LEADER

Before I continue I want us to meditate on this Scripture. John 18:4, it says: "Jesus therefore knowing all things that would come upon Him, went forward and said to them, "whom are you seeking"

I want us to note that word "went forward". This is where rising up to responsibility begins. That was a step that began the process of giving salvation to mankind and the beginning of His journey to the glory that God had prepared for Him. Assuming He didn't step forward or He hid Himself probably in the flowers; there wouldn't have been any arrest. It takes boldness to step forward. It takes a leader who loves his followers to step forward for them. Marching forward requires that you are ready to make sacrifices, you are giving up all that you are and all that you have for their sake, your time, energy, resources, security and safety, comfort and self for their sake.

It also takes love to step forward which is premised on the burden to have them live a better life so you step forward as a leader. Stepping forward or marching forward is an action to show that you have accepted and willing to drink from the same cup of suffering that Christ drank from and be baptized in the kind of baptism that He was baptized in. Apostle Paul said in Philippians 3:10, "that I may Know Him the power of His resurrection, the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed unto death." We must all come to this understanding if we must step forward and march on for effectiveness.

God has introduced you to yourself as a mighty man of valour. If you must be a successful God's General, then you must continue to March and press on, rejoicing in Christ Jesus, and having no confidence in the flesh. You don't need too many soldiers to win the battle of life. Step forward in faith and the sky will be your starting point. Step forward and march on; thou mighty man of valour.

God bless you and thanks for reading.

Source: [Centre for New Dimension Leadership]