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.