Early on this year, the professional cyclist Lance Armstrong admitted using performance-enhancing drugs during his career in the interview that was conducted by Oprah Winfrey. We all witnessed the tragic fall of the cycling hero of our time, as he was banned from cycling for life and stripped away of all the competitive awards that he won since 1998. He has lost more than his medals; he has lost his reputation and prestige as an athlete. Now the name “Lance Armstrong” is associated with dishonesty and cheating.
But this is not a rare sight. From time to time, there would be stories of some politician, some businessman, or some sportsman falling from his/her grace by being involved in a scandal. Whether that is by being caught having an affair with a mistress or constructing a grand scheme designed to con people, it is only after such exposure that their hard-built public images plummet tragically. These men have all the things which constitute—in the eyes of the mass—a successful person. They are the beacons of our society, admired and respected by their peers and the people alike.
We are always surprised and flabbergasted when a person like Lance Armstrong is convicted of some shameful act; we always have that moment of doubt whether the scandal is true, before we come into terms with who they really are and ask ourselves the question, “why?” Why would they do such a thing?
Reverend Goshen Choi* once wrote an essay that can be roughly translated as “On things that are more important than success.” He, too, remarked at the falls of great public figures and rich business tycoons, using their tragedy to tell us of the great truth about success.
One of many things that he wrote on the qualities of a “true achiever” is the importance of being over doing.
“Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit” –Matthew 7:17
Just like the Bible verse above, Pastor Choi wrote that being a good person will yield great fruits instead of the other way around. Too many people strive to achieve things and make those accomplishments a testament to what great people they are. The reverend further wrote that it is more important to first be honest, truthful, and humble; to have true faith and live by the Words of God before setting out to achieve fame and wealth. That is the way to achieve success that is truly grounded and can survive the test of time. All the achievers mentioned above have failed to do so, fixating on the awards so much that they would go out of their ways to claim the trophy.
“We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, therefore, is not an act but a habit.”
Aristotle
Likewise, success is a habit. That is why TAC strives to habitually live in accordance with the eight characters that make up the word “ACHIEVER.” These Acronyms are:
A: Attitude
C: Creativity
H: Humility
I: Intellect
E: Endurance
V: Vitality
E: Evangelism
R: Reformation & Recovery
Thus, TAC promotes a unique concept of success, where the word “success” is not defined in secular terms. Sure, it’s great to achieve fame and wealth, but that is not our priority. We strive to succeed for the glory of God and further spread his name; we wish to create a global network of like-minded achievers who will also share our vision of evangelism. Through our success we hope to ultimately reform the Christian image that has been tainted throughout the years, and glorify the Name of God. As we are but a mere human being, we can’t help but be imperfect. That is why we strive and work harder every day to live by these eight characteristics that we define to be “true achievers.” God bless us all!
– A.K.
* Reverend Goshen Choi is the founder and the president of Nyskc World Mission Center. Nyskc World Mission Center was founded in 1993 with the purpose of establishing a global organization devoted to the restoration of worship and churches. Their motto is “When the Worship is restored, the church is risen, the nation renewed and the family revived!”
TAC 