On the Wings of Motivation

Do you want to know who you are? Don’t ask. Act! Action will delineate and define you. – Thomas Jefferson

There is a story told of a very rich man who had one beautiful daughter. It got to a time when he wanted to publicly give out a vast portion of his estate. So he called for a huge party and at the end of it he called out, “Ladies and gentlemen, I have an announcement to make.” Everyone’s attention was captured the way it usually is when a rich man calls for attention. “I have a very special gift for a special person and that person can be you. I will give out any one of the following to the young man that can pass my test: He can have all my fertile lands in all the mountains of our city, or all my gold and silver, or he can have the hand of my one and only beautiful daughter and become an heir to my entire estate.”

“What is the test?” Many-a-young men muttered to each other.

“All the lucky young man needs to do is to swim across my wild crocodile infested pond and meet me on the other side.” No sooner than he ended his speech, a young man was in the pond and swimming exasperatedly toward the end of the pond. The folks with in the party watched with unbelief as he swarm all the way and jumped off the pond.

The moment the ovation of the crowd deadened the rich man asked this hero, “What do you want for your show of courage? Do you want all my fertile lands in all the mountains of our city?”

“No,” answered the young man.

“Well, do you want all my gold and silver?”

“Not at all,” he responded.

“Then I must assume that you want the hand of my one and only beautiful daughter and become an heir to my entire estate.”

“No, I do not,” responded the still panicky young man.

Bewildered the rich man asked, “You took the deadly plunge into my pond and swarm bravely all the way. What then do you want?”

“I just want to know,” slowly began the young man, “the name of the nincompoop that pushed me in.”

As the crocodiles were to the young man so it is with you. If you would achieve much – every single time you try – you must be motivated. If you lack the motivation you will not accomplish your goals.

Parable of the Blessing: FALCON EYES

Let your eyes look right on [with fixed purpose], and let your gaze be straight before you. Know where you are headed and you will stay on solid ground. Don’t make a mistake by turning to the right or the left. – The Bible: Proverbs 4

 In the proverbial “final stroke of the pen” (in this case keyboard), I would like to draw your attention to the ability of my favorite bird – the falcon – to focus on its prey until it hits it. The falcon can see its prey from over a kilometer. Its takes a dive at it – travelling at speeds of over 300 kph – all the while keeping its focus firmly on its target. In a short while the prey would not know what hit it.

For potential blessing to become productive blessing you must keep firm focus on the purpose to which you began. It is the purpose to which you are acting that will determine if you will succeed or fail. Young David asked his elder brother, “Is there not a cause?” He knew that the cause will keep him focused on the goal of fighting Goliath the giant.

Many countries do not focus on any serious cause. It is this that creates several discontinuities in leadership and in effect limited progress. One government comes into office and creates an agenda only for another to replace it with another completely different one. This is more worrying when it comes from different administrations of the same political alliance. Just the way the falcon won’t hit its prey if it tries to focus on more than one, people don’t achieve much when they have to continually change their focus.

Are you a focused person? If you would succeed you must have falcon eyes. You must learn to set your sights on your goal and focus on the purpose to which you began in the first place. Remember that the purpose will keep you. 

Parable of the Blessing: STRENGTH IN DIVERSITY

In the morning sow thy seed, and in the evening withhold not thine hand: for thou knowest not whether shall prosper, either this or that, or whether they both shall be alike good. – The Bible: Ecclesiastes 11

I started this series on the premise that potential blessing does not necessarily translate to productive blessing. If you would make significant progress in your success path potentiality must become productivity. We then looked at the things that can lead to productivity and highlighted vision, goal-setting, and strategy. Today we shall take a further step as we look into strength in diversity.

If you are like many-a-folks you would have identified more than one area of your life that has potential for progress. The problem then has been how to harness all these scattered potential blessings and utilize them appropriately. The goal for you should not be shutting some doors and opening the ones that look viable. It should rather be maximizing the potential in all the areas you have identified.

To maximize all your potential you must first identify them – individually, uniquely, one after the other. You cannot maximize what you cannot identify. It must transcend just a feeling. They must all become itemized and understood.

Second, you must understand that some things can (indeed should) lead to others. You do not have to be all that you can possibly be at the same time. This is where strategy comes in to guide you to make the progress you want to make.

Third, do not fight against yourself. It is possible to have inner conflicts time and again in your bid to maximize potential. This will disrupt and slow you down. Your various areas of potential are not intended to create inner conflict but to bring about all-round success.

If all the individually identified areas are being developed, you will have a complete success experience rather than a “malnourished” one. 

Parable of the Blessing: THE EXTRAORDINARY STRATEGIST

When the philistines got word that David had been made king over all Israel, they made war against him. David inquired of God: “Shall I go up and fight the philistines?” … “Don’t attack them head-on. Instead, circle around behind them and ambush them from the grove of sacred trees. When you hear the sound of shuffling in the trees, get ready to move out. It’s a signal that God is going ahead of you to smash the Philistine camp.” – The Bible: 2 Samuel 5

You may have gotten hold of a great vision and set your eyes on goals that will bring your vision to pass. This would give you some sense of accomplishment, which you deserve indeed. You still need a strategy as to how you will achieve your goals.

A strategy is a careful method for achieving a particular goal that usually spans a long period of time. To work out a successful strategy you need to think it through, plan sufficiently and manage it until it is fulfilled. Nonetheless, my focus in this write-up is to introduce you to an extraordinary strategist.

Elihu (Job’s young friend) opined: “I kept thinking, ‘Experience will tell. The longer you live, the wiser you become.’ But I see I was wrong – it’s God’s Spirit in a person, the breath of the Almighty One, that makes wise human insight possible.” Did you see it? Here it is again, “God’s Spirit in a person, … makes wise human insight possible.” If you want to experience extraordinary strategy, you need the Spirit of God.

He inspired Noah to build a floating shelter to protect humanity from rains they had never seen. He gave Moses the logically “foolish” idea of walking through a split sea. He motivated Joshua to march round the walls of Jericho for seven days without saying a word. He told Gideon to reduce his 32,000-man strong army to 300 feeble men.

This extraordinary strategist will give you ideas. He will guide you to accomplish them. He will protect you through unexpected turn of events and eventually he will expect the glory while you take the victory.

        Don’t you want this extraordinary strategist? 

Parable of the Blessing: THE GOALSETTER

I’ve got my eye on the goal, where God is beckoning us onward – to Jesus. I’m off and running, and I’m not turning back. So let’s keep focused on the goal, those of us who want everything God has for us. - Paul (the apostle)

Peter J. Daniels once wrote:

If you are uncertain, timid or vague,

If you are not sure which is the way,

If you are concerned what the future will bring,

If you are dissatisfied with any old thing.

Then you need to take hold of your life from this day,

And you must plan a far better way.

Its goals that you need to straighten you out,

To smooth out the paths and to get you about.

For goals set a sight that is clear and is bright,

And goals give you purpose to strive and to fight.

Your life is of value and the world is your home,

So stop now and think of where you should roam.

Just make a new start, to win and to claim,

A fresh firm new goal with a definite aim.

Then chase after your goal with desperate desire,

With passion and excellence, as if you were on fire.

Do not be timid or reluctant or slow,

Just move into top gear and let all systems go.

Goals direct a person’s life. Goals guide you and move you forward. To live without goals is to live aimlessly. All high achievers set goals again and again. Your goals should be believable to you, have a time frame, consistent to other aspects of your life, and easily broken down into smaller parts. 

Parable of the Blessing: THE VISION

Dubai From Space (Night)

After Lot had gone, the Lord said to Abram, “Look as far as you can see in every direction – north and south, east and west. I am giving all this land, as far as you can see, to you and your descendants as a permanent possession. 

August 2001, the Arabian Gulf is a mass of activity. Dubai is building one of the biggest man-made islands in the world. Engineers have a daunting task ahead of them because this is a construction like no other. This island will be built out at sea using only natural materials – sand and rock. Dubai is one of the richest places in the Arab world. Fifty years ago though, Dubai was a trading town built on a creek but with proper utilization of resources, it became famous for its gold, trade, and oil. A problem surfaced in the horizon – by 2016 its oil wells will have run out. This was an obvious doom for the economy of this thriving city.

The Crown Prince, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, pioneered a two billion dollar plan to save his country. He ordered his kingdom to transform itself into the world’s number one luxury tourist destination. By then five million people visited Dubai annually. They decided they would triple it to fifteen million. The major problem they faced was that Dubai’s coastline was only seventy-two kilometers long. And seeing this would not serve fifteen million people, they decided to build a five kilometer palm island out at sea. This would increase the coastline by over fifty kilometers and make their tourism goal more realistic.

In a similar trend, Enoch Adeboye captured a vision in his heart that he would inspire fellow Christians to build a large living quarters. He began in an inhabitable hideout for bandits and ritual killers. The forest was filled with many wild animals and many doubted if his vision was reasonable. Within two years of starting out the quarters, he moved in and continued motivating people to follow. Today, the Redemption Camp, as it is popularly called, is the largest outpost for congregations in the world, seating up to five million people at a time.

The fame of Dubai and the Redemption Camp all began with the vision of one man. If your potential will become productivity you must capture a vision in your heart that activates your potential. Potential remains inert without vision. 

Parable of the Blessing: THE BEGINNING

First he took my rights as the first born, and now he has stolen my blessing. Oh, haven’t you saved even one blessing for me? – Enoch (speaking of Jacob, his brother)

      So you could sing, you were a great writer, you dressed exceptionally, had the best looks, was educated in elite schools, was loved by the ladies and lots more. You seemed set to being the ideal person – the role model for your generation – and yet you wonder what happened that you didn’t amount to much.

This is not a far-fetched scenario. Several people – men and women alike – have fallen into this. They look back at their lives and realize they have not succeeded though they were the most-likely to succeed.

Potential does not always translate to productivity. In fact, potential in every area of life, more often than not, lead to poor productivity. This happens because of the laxity that accompanies overconfidence in potential. A lot is then taken for granted because it does not seem logical that you would “fail in every area”. This is easily and clearly evidenced in countries. There are more natural resources in Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), for example, than the whole of Europe combined, but figures and estimates from the International Monetary Fund World Economic Outlook Database, April 2013, pins DRC as the poorest nation in the world.

At the end of the day it does not really matter how much potential you have. What matters is how much you can make of it. To convert your potential to productivity, some things must be in place. First, you must have vision. Nobody becomes what he does not see. You can only progress as far as you see.

Second, you must learn to set goals. Goals are to the human mind what the steering wheel is to a car. Goals guide you to a destination.

Third, you should develop a habit of planning and working with strategy. Goals are achieved by proper planning. Without a plan a goal becomes a wish.

Forth, you should learn to diversify. This is the proverbial not “putting all your eggs in one basket”. The law of chances states that, “you stand better chances of succeeding when you have more things working for you at the same time.”

Fifth, you have need for focus on the purpose, call, ministry, or vision. You must have your eyes set on the final (which was in fact the initial too) goal.

In the next few articles I will be expounding on these principles.

With Decency and with Order

Let ALL things be done decently and in order. – Paul (the apostle)

Have you heard it said of people or computer that, “Garbage in garbage out”? It simply means that if you give nonsensical instructions to people or computers you will in turn receive nonsensical results. This is true to the letter as it pertains our lives. The reason you may not producing your desired result is the nonsensical instructions you are giving yourself.

Nonsensical instructions, in this view, isn’t total gibberish. It is good instruction smeared by chaos. A scattered room. A disorganized reading table. A tumultuous computer desktop. Sound familiar? These are chaotic states that we subject our success to and wonder why we produce nonsensical results. I find it very difficult to process not only chaotic data but a chaotic platform used to present the data. I can scarcely write if my desktop isn’t organized to every single file and folder.

Get organized! The time you spend searching for the things that can be better utilized. It takes time to ensure things are done decently and in order but it saves loads of time in the future that may be used to for more productive work.

When you are organized it takes the pressure off your brain. You do not have to think and think before you know where things are and what you should be doing per time. An organized person will ensure that his day does not go to chance. Nothing can be left for chance! He knows what should be pursued daily. Planning a timetable is a rule and not an exception.

All success in your unique path is within reach but you must be organized. A disorganized person will be naturally distracted with everything possible. He will often take his gaze off his goal.

And the Thunders get Silent

All great and precious things are lonely. – John Steinbeck

I want to be a little personal about some things that happen to me when I get a hold on an idea. Most ideas come to me with a spark. Some thundering in my heart that produces some zing that electrifies and makes me feel that it is impossible to fail if I venture into it. This phase is important for me because the possibility of the idea coming to life is totally dependent on whether or not I am excited about it.

Immediately after this phase I face a deafening silence. A silence of thought. A silence of ideas. A silence of action – or inaction. I look at my idea and it suddenly does not look as revolutionary as it did days earlier. If you have pursued a goal and achieved it or failed at it you would have experienced what I am describing.

I think it is the loneliness that engulfed David in the caves of Adullam. Imagine him sitting derelict in cave frustrated of having run from the king for weeks and hearing those words from a prophet whose words never fail ring in his heart: “Send for him [David], for we will not sit down to eat until he is here.” If he was to be king why have the thunders held their peace? Why are trumpets sounds not welcoming his every move?

The same can be said of Joseph. His dream showed glory but unfortunately didn’t show him the dry well or servant life or prisons. Sitting in the midst of silent thunders he would look back and wonder if he dreamed it right.

All achievers must survive the silence of thunders. Your dreams will pass through this phase. If it will come to pass you too must survive this phase holding on to your dreams.

        I will keep my eyes on my goal. A friend once told me the way up is a lonely boring way. Though I love to change the images such words give me, I know from my experience that it is indeed lonely and boring. But if my dreams will see the light of day I must believe in them when no one else does. I must hold them firmly and closely while I survive the silence that comes after the thunders. 

Knowledge Revolution

When you know better you do better. – Maya Angelou 

It is said that, “What is worth doing is worth doing well.” I really question this one-directional thought line. What happens when the folk in question does not know how to do the thing that is worth doing? His ignorance will not let him do it well.

There is probably nothing more incapacitating than ignorance. An uneducated mind is severely restricted by walls that can easily be broken. It is by far easier to exploit a man of his rights and worth if, in the first place, he does not know what those rights are!

In his autobiography, Long Walk to Freedom, the revolutionist, Nelson Mandela, wrote: “Education is the great engine of personal development. It is through education that the daughter of a peasant can become a doctor, that the son of a mineworker can become the head of the mine, that a child of farmworkers can become the president of a great nation. It is what we make out of what we have, not what we are given, that separates one person from another.”

If you would travel far and successfully on your success path, you must undergo a knowledge revolution. Your mind must be educated and liberated so it can live. How much do you know about your field? Have you increased in your knowledge in the past two weeks? What about the past month? Most advanced level graduates have never picked up a book within or outside their fields since they left school.

A knowledge revolution changes your outlook to the world. Gradually you will see things differently. Biases you have will be challenged. You will be pushed beyond your limits in every area. It will unlock you to endless possibilities that exist in the world around you and beyond.

A knowledge revolution begins by your acknowledging that you do not know it all. Greek philosopher, Socrates, said, “The only true knowledge is in knowing you know nothing.” When you have the “I-know-it-all” attitude you shut your mind from receiving further education. On the other hand when you know that there is still more to know, the window is opened for the fresh air of new knowledge to flow in.

In addition, revolutions are the children of specificity of purpose – focus (if you may). Zero-in on few specially selected areas and invest your time and resources on building your knowledge base therein. 

Responsibility Revolution

Because each one shall bear his own load. – Paul (the apostle)

Children do not have a sense of responsibility. They do not wake up in the morning thinking, “How will this day go and what will I do to achieve my goals?” They live carefree lives. Their basic design tells them that they should, and indeed need to, depend on someone else to do whatever it is they should do. Their feeding is handled, clothing is covered, and health isn’t a concern. Why worry when someone else will worry for you?

This is all well and good – even cute – as long as it is done by children. A problem exists when people old enough to bear their responsibilities depend on someone other than themselves for life’s necessities. A lot of young adults feel they should still depend on their parents or guardians to survive. This is, in part, not the fault of these young adults. The problem begins when parents in a bid to give a better standard of life for their wards cripple their wards’ responsibility muscle. A parent must know when to withdraw help and leave their wards to live their own lives. It is at this point that the young folk will experience a responsibility revolution.

To develop in personal responsibility you must realize that you have a life to live. Time is passing you by; wake up and live. You are responsible for your own life. Your parents are not, your friends are not, and God is not! You and only you are responsible for the outcome of your life. Your family, friends, and God will help you but that is where it ends. The buck stops with you. Whatever decisions you make are yours and yours alone.

Second, if you would have a responsibility revolution, you must learn to fail. This is because responsibility is an “On the job” activity. I motivate my students not to be afraid of failing. I tell them that they cannot succeed if they cannot ever fail in the training field. Learning to become a success is like learning to ride a bicycle. One universal denominator is that you will fall off the bicycle. But, (if you eventually learned to ride) you stood up, picked up the bicycle and tried again. You repeated this cycle so many times that you at this moment can’t say exactly at which point you learned to ride. The same principle applies to success.