Sit and Watch Your Life Reel Through!

I love sports. My interest in sports pushed me to know the rules of many sport events that I would never participate in or probably never witness others playing. In particular, like 75% of the 170 million people in my country, I love football. I so love football that I used to sit long periods at a time discussing the players’ rumors, the possible transfer headlines, the problem with referees and lots more. Sometimes our discussion leads us on journeys back in the days and we vividly describe events that happened then.

Recently in one of such discussions we traveled back in time to the world cup event of 1994 – US ’94 it was popularly called – and discussed the many euphoric moments. Our country was represented for the first time on the biggest football stage on the planet. We went there as African champions and I vividly remember thinking – rather erroneously with hindsight - that we would be certainly unstoppable after gloriously conquering Africa just some months earlier.

Suddenly it dawned on me that this sports event I was vividly describing was twenty years ago! Where had all the time gone? Twenty years! If this was US ’94 then I am twenty years in the future. The obvious question that arose was, “Was this the future I envisioned?” I refused to answer not because I didn’t know the right answer but because I didn’t want to hear it.

Our lives do not come to us all at once. I remember my father describing fifty-year-old events “as though it were just yesterday.” Our lives come in years, and years in months, and months in weeks, and weeks in days, and days in hours, and hours in minutes and seconds. It stands to reason that what you do with the seconds – the very second you are living through right now – determines what will be the outcome of the results you will produce in the minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, and ultimately in your life.

If the next twenty years – 2034 – would bring better outcomes I must ask myself the difficult question, “What am I doing with this second?” It is the same with you and your friends and your family. We have all the power to choose what we do with this second but we have no power whatsoever to determine the outcomes we would experience in the next twenty years.

Choose wisely.

The Karoshi Effect

By the seventh day God had finished his work and so he rested. ­– Genesis 2:2

The Japanese term, Karoshi, means, “Death by overwork.” It is used to press upon the mind the literal effect of overwork. The Japanese even made a computer game with the same theme in which the goal is to so overwork yourself in every level until it leads to your death. It is a suicide game but you only die by work overload.

When considering this rather bizarre gaming concept I cannot help but see how closely related it is to many lives in our societies. In a bid to work hard, or increase in productivity, folks literally work themselves to death. In an article I wrote on the work rat-race many-a-folk are in, I spoke of a cycle of death that they cannot get themselves out of. This is so because they want to satisfy the basest of human needs – survival. [To read more on this article, click here].

Work should give you more life and vigor and not kill you. Every work should have a beginning and an end. When you get to the end, rest! Overwork has numerous negatives, the most obvious and immediate being stress and burnout. Stress on its own is a normal reaction to any physical or psychological demand, but prolonged and repeated exposure to stress can lead to burn-out, which brings with it a myriad of diseases.

In addition, overwork disrupts normal body processes. For example, it is normal for any human body to produce insulin, which breaks sugar. Sleep deprivation from overwork disrupts the body’s natural ability to produce insulin, thereby leaving a possibility of Diabetes.

To control your work schedule and not overwork, you should work smarter. This means you focus on the work at hand and ensure that all distractions, like social phone calls and social media platforms, are off limits. This way you will do more in a shorter period and hence have time to rest. You should also take breaks intermittently rather than work on a stretch. You should get sufficient sleep every night. Do not underestimate the positive effect a good night rest can have to your success. Finally, set work boundaries and rest boundaries. This means that you place a limit as to what you do during your work period and also during your rest time.

God first!

In the beginning God … ­– Genesis

It is in our revised culture to celebrate the beginnings of things. A child is born and we celebrate the beginning of a life. Admission is gained into a high institution and we matriculate with as much pomp as we can afford. Your dream girl says yes and you empty your account to make the beginning of your lives together a memorable one. Every year a day comes where you mark a birthday and look earnestly with hope at the beginning of the rest of your life.

I love beginnings. I believe that it is important we that we give it them the best we can because after all they only come once in a lifetime. I will like, though, to bring to our attention the need to place God first in every beginning. I like God’s entrance into the Bible. It very simply says: “In the beginning God …”.  To be sincere I do not think that is too much of an introduction. It contains no explanation as to who he is and does not give room for prior knowledge. It assumes that you will accept every word written in the phrase.

From a symbolic point of view this is exactly the same way we should handle every beginning in our lives. We should be able to affirm:

In the beginning of my year God …

In the beginning of my marriage God …

In the beginning of my career God …

In the beginning of my business God …

In the beginning of my studies God …

In the beginning of each day God …

When we have this disposition we are aligned on a proper platform to succeed in every endeavor. We do not need to understand completely who he is. We do not need to be fixated on the eschatological knowledge of his being. All we need to do is acknowledge him first. I conclude with this piece of advice from the wisest man that ever lived:

Trust God from the bottom of your heart;

Don’t try to figure out everthing on your own.

Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;

He’s the one who will keep you on track.

Don’t assume you know it all.

        Run to God!
                                                   {CLICK HERE to view more articles on God by the same author}

Immobile Progress

“I am a slow walker but I never walk back.” – Abraham Lincoln (US President)

It is possible for me to sometimes get obsessed with making progress. It may come from a sincere desire to make life better for me and my family members or it may come from a competitive disposition when I compare myself with others. Irrespective of what motivates me, what I really want is to make progress.

Progress is sweet. It is good to see that the steps I am taking toward my goals are bringing fruits. Unfortunately there are times when it seems as if my progress has stopped. It suddenly seems that I have hit a brick wall in my success journey. It is true – but rather simplistic – for me to console myself with: “It is all part of the success journey,” until I realized a liberating concept that I am about to share with you.

I believe that the two most important parameters to anyone’s success is whether the person is on the right path and whether the person is taking the right steps at the right time. For as long as these two are satisfied, success is assured irrespective of mobility. By this I mean that the fact that you are not moving is not a prove that you are not making progress.

If, for example, you are in journey to a place and you are suddenly stalled to a spot for two hours by a traffic jam. You get annoyed and curse the cause of the impasse but you do not conclude that you have failed in your journey. You don’t do this because you know that you are on the right path and in a matter of time you will get to your destination. Also, you realize that every minute that passes by you edge closer to moving forward than you were a minute before. This means you have made progress (with respect to time) even though you have not left the spot.

This concept is the same with your success journey. You may find yourself deadlocked and immobile but for as long as you know you are on the right path, your success is simply a matter of time. Also, even though you may be in the same situation you were months earlier, you know that as long as time has passed you are not on the same spot.
                          {For Articles on Progress Click Here}

If you understand this you will cut yourself some slack because you are simply making immobile progress. 

Tend to Your Leak!

I wasted time, and now doth time waste me. ­– William Shakespeare

 Have you seen a leaking water tank? I recently bought a two-thousand-liter overhead tank and filled it with water I needed for a project. With this I was sure I would have little need for water for a long time. Unknown to me it had a small crack right beneath it and the water seeped out little by little. A few days before the project was to begin the tank was dry. Two thousand liters gone!

As the leakage was to my tank so is wastage to your success journey. Silently, gradually, little by little, your potential for success dries up. A period allowed to slip away may be time leaking out. You know what you need to do, you know why you should do it and you know how to do it but you still do not get to do it. You say to yourself: I will do it later. I am not up to it now.

Unplanned spending may be money leaking out. You have a project at hand but one night out and a couple extra sticks of Suya won’t kill the project – or so think. So the tiny amount of money leaks out and you are not closer to reaching the funds needed for your project.

Taking people for granted may be network leaking out. You meet someone for the first time but feel why bother I will meet him again, failing to consider that first impressions come once and that every meeting is an important opportunity to strengthen your people ties and enhance your networking.

In every area of your success journey leakages are possible. Smart achievers tend to these leakages and minimize them to the barest minimum. They ensure that their relationships don’t leak, their expenditure is within planned control, and, probably most important of all, their time isn’t wasted on frivolous things.

Goal Action Stage: IS YOUR GOAL FEASIBLE?

So I arrived Jerusalem. Three days later, I slipped out during the night, taking only a few others with me. … after dark I went out through the Valley Gate, past the Jackal’s Well, and over the Dung Gate to inspect the broken walls and burned gates. Then I went to the Fountain Gate and to the Kings Pool, … - Nehemiah Hacaliah (when analyzing the work to be done in Jerusalem)

       I have had friends meet me with verbal business proposals and the statements that follow is, “I am certain that this venture cannot fail because of this or that.” Then I ask of some questions that I feel are basic in determining if any venture will survive or otherwise. Questions like: “Have you done this type of work in the past?” or “Have you asked around if there is a trade union governing this type of venture?” and in more cases, “No” as a response is not an exception.

      It is easy to stand outside the “gates” of a venture and declare it “easy”. You look at it and imagine a home-run with the profits and other benefits rolling into your “barns”. But it is the very thought of, “I cannot fail,” without any plans that makes people fail.

      Before you set out to accomplish your goals, do a feasibility analysis. This simply means that you drop your paperwork and get into the fields to see and feel things for yourself. It is important to plan but note that all plans on paper never work exactly as they were written. Sometimes a complete overhaul and change of plan is needed. That is why you must carry out a feasibility analysis.

      It does not matter what venture you want to get into – skydiving or selling groundnuts – you must carry out a feasibility analysis because the fields are by far different from what you assume it is.

       Some questions you should ask (but not limited to) in a feasibility study include:

       What level of education is needed for this venture? Do I have it?

       How much money do I need?

       Have I done anything like this in the past?

       Is this venture as profitable as I thought?

       What is plan on how to succeed in this venture?

    These questions should be tailored to your unique venture. There is no blueprint on how exactly all feasibility studies should go but the point is that you must do one on the field.

YOU: the Genius...

Give and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over… - Jesus (The Christ).

Have you wondered what makes some people geniuses in their chosen fields? They seem to know what to do to wow everybody that watches. They do what they do with such ease and precision that many find it difficult to believe they act only with their human abilities. Such people are found in virtually every field – sports, politics, clergy, - of human endeavor.

It is easy to fall to the thought that they are simply more talented than their peers and so their excellence but the truth is far from that. In every field, talent is never all it takes. It is one thing to be talented while it is a completely different thing to harness your talent to genius status.

The difference lies in a simple thought – the genius gives himself or herself to the field while the “normal” folk do not. Because the genius gives himself totally to field, the field gives back to him, hence the birth of genius.

To give yourself to a field may mean a thousand and one things but I will highlight three. First, you give yourself to a field by practice, practice and practice. There is no genius that has not invested thousands of hours to practice.  Many would-have-been geniuses are too lazy to invest their time and energy to such high demand for practice and so end up falling short.

Second, understand that many have trodden the path you are on right now. Get them to help you. You need guidance, counsel, mentorship. King Solomon once advised that, “…victory is won through many advisers.” Never think you can go it all alone and that advisers will lead you to ruin. There is something about having done something in the past that helps you see the pitfalls way ahead of any other person on the same path. Seek for and enjoy mentorship on your path to genius.

In addition, you need to – for lack of a better phrase - give room for instincts. There are things that practice or classes or the best mentorship won’t give you. They lie deep within you and only you can unleash it when it beckons. I am talking about those thoughts that flash in and out urging you to get out of convention. Harken to them and act immediately.

Taking a Step in the Right Direction

Lack of direction, not lack of time, is the problem. We all have twenty-four hours a day. - Zig Zigler 

It is popularly said that, "A Journey of a thousand miles begins with a step." I believe that that, though true, is incomplete. I would rather agree that, "A Journey of a thousand miles begins with a step in the right direction."   You see, it does not matter how long you take a journey as long as you are travelling in the wrong direction you will end up in the wrong destination.
To ensure that you take steps only in the right direction, you must know where it is you are headed in the first place. You destination must be clearly defined. A traveller without a destination is lost even before he begins. Many overlook the importance of this and instead set out without a clearly defined destination. They soon find out how grossly insufficient that stand is.
Consider all it takes to make it successfully to the end. The right direction can become the wrong one if the traveller is met by insurmountable obstacles. This happens when you do not anticipate the things you will face and if you have what it takes to overcome them. Jesus (the Christ) advised: "Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won't you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it?"
Also, you should make reference to the milestones. The milestones along the way tell you the distance you are yet to cover. They also tell you if the town ahead is the town you want to be headed toward. The milestones of your success journey are the small and medium term goals you set. No matter what you do, set goals.
If after some time and distance covered you discover that you have been travelling in the wrong direction what do you do? This can be very disheartening as you consider the distance already covered, the time wasted and the energy exerted. Do not be ashamed. Retrace your steps backwards. Get yourself back to a point that you can refer to. Trace your way back to where you know you can get back on the right track. Only a foolish person will recognize he is on the wrong track and continue therein.

Teamwork: The Assurance for Your Success

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: ...though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A strand of three cords is not easily broken. - Solomon (Third king of Israel)

I will be writing a series of articles on the need for teamwork in your success journey. This is important because ability, strength, capacity, and eventually success is multiplied geometrically when you work with a team as opposed to individuality.

Not many folks think they need help. I am sure you have heard the phrase, “self-made millionaire”, used to describe people that supposedly “made” themselves whatever they became.

Learn to work as a TEAM

Nothing can be further from the truth. None of us is completely self-made. I admit that there is a lot in your success journey that you and you alone can make happen but to say that everything you have become, you self actualized is to over state it.

Every one of us is summary of many other peoples contribution. Someone breastfed and catered for and educated you else you would not have even had a chance in life!

The fact that you need people does not make you a weakling. Interestingly it's an assurance for your strength. Every individual has personal limitations. There are things in your person that serve as limiting factors to your progress. They may have arisen from family and environmental background, societal influence, peer group associations or the media. Irrespective of the source, the main issue is that they exist and a denial of their existence does not eliminate their presence. The only way you can break personal barriers and limitations is by teamwork. You need someone who will walk and work with you, pat you on the back when things go well, encourage you when things don’t go as expected, rebuke you when you do wrong - If you are a person that cannot handle a rebuke but take offence at every instance of it, then your progress will be rather slow.

You need people with the ability of polishing your ideas and expanding them. King Solomon once noted that, “Just as iron sharpens iron, friends sharpen the minds of each other.” The greatest minds need sharpening. Irrespective of how revolutionary your ideas might seem to be, you need people who will do some polishing on them.

Prepare and Win or Prepare to Lose

And when it was being built, the house was built of stone made ready beforehand. (1Kings 6:7).

It is easy, very easy indeed, to applaud excellent work in any given field. Sometimes we are tempted to think that the excellent work is an act of extraordinary genius that cannot be replicated but all too often that is far from the truth. Excellence is often a result of hours, days, months, sometimes, years of preparation. While the preparation is going on it is scarcely celebrated, if at all noticed, by people but the brief moment of success is resounded by many. King Solomon once advised, “Prepare your work outside, and make it fit for yourself in the field; and afterwards build your house” (Proverbs 24:27). 

Preparation is not easy but makes your work easy. It cuts-out all the excesses, makes your work less cumbersome, and certainly, it is cheaper on the long run than when you are not prepared.

Many think they have no opportunities but they do have daily opportunities, which come disguised in the cloaks of:

-          - Talents and gifts.

-          - People.

-          - Problems and difficult circumstances.

The average folk has loads of the above daily. This means opportunities come but how prepared are we to meet them?

Let’s say, for example, that you are a gardener who loves everything about grapes – its taste, its look, its feel – and would want to have some fresh home-made wine. You would only be able to achieve this today if you planted your grapes two years earlier. Without that preparation I’d suggest you buy a bottle of wine in the nearest kiosk. Nonetheless if you would make yours in two years then you should rise and plant today!

Preparation is difficult – indeed painful sometimes – but it is inevitable if you would have predictable success in the days ahead.

Tears for Wisdom

                       Wisdom cries out, she utters her voice on the streets… - Proverbs

    Some of us are familiar with the story of young Solomon, the king, who had a blank check to ask for whatever he desired from God and he chose to ask for wisdom to rule. He asked for this against the backdrop of all the other pleasant things he could have asked for the many other kings could have unselfishly asked for. This was the beginning of his being referred to as the wisest man to have walked the face of the earth.

      I would consider three spheres to developing wisdom.

     To be wise you would need to know yourself. It is interesting to note but a lot of people do not actually know themselves. They do not what they can do and what they can’t, do not know their likes and dislikes, do not know their talents and where they lack. This poor knowledge will certainly deter development of accompanying wisdom.

     Socrates, the great Greek philosopher once said, “The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.” When you start thinking that way you will begin to see reasons why you need more and more knowledge. Knowledge brings wisdom. Not all knowledgeable folks are wise but there is no empty-head wise person. Fran Lebowitz (American author) said, “Think before you speak. Read before you think.”

       Finally with experience comes responsibility for more wisdom. The things that have happened to you in the past, the people you have met, the relationships you have had, all these should not be taken for granted but rather should be referred to as a wellspring of experience never look down on. Draw in from your experiences for the wisdom you need at any moment.