“We can do anything we want to do if only we stick to it long enough’’ – Helen Keller
“ . . . . . . . . . I grew up with a burning passion to succeed. I could remember when 40 years ago, still fresh on my mind, I left some lines in my diary, to be the largest coal distributor in Africa and also to have the best theatre group in Nigeria. But the burning passion died less than a year of pushing it. I got a full time public service job which I did for 30 years. All efforts to bring the dream back to live fell into the ocean. I took passion in climbing the career ladder and getting promoted every 3 years. I got to the top of my career but I was not happy with the way I lived my life. I never wanted to be employed for more than 5 years. I retired 2 years ago at age 62 and the only thing I could show for my meritorious service year was less than N5 million gratuity. I got home on the retirement night, dug out my old diary . . . . Dusty but still readable, the ink looked faint. Tears filled my eyes, not because I didn’t live a good life but because I didn’t live the life I wanted to live. I abandoned my dream for 40 years and built someone else’s for 30 years. The person still showed me the way out because I am now too old to be relevant in his corporation. Where do I start from at 62?”
These were the words of a retired public servant I met recently. He’s not really living in regrets but he didn’t fulfill the dreams of his life. Everybody grows up with the idea of ruling the world and becoming the best, but how many are able to achieve these dreams?
We do surface push with our personal dream and dig other people’s dream extensively. Failure is never an option when we are on others payroll. Everybody has the audacity to succeed if only we can be consistent in driving the dreams.
Surface Push is when you consciously TRY to drive or create an impact on a particular subject but lack the will power to be consistent, hence abandoning the subject as impossible to drive.
Can you push a car with a finger? What about using two hands?
Can you dig a well with a knife? What about digging with Spade and digger?
Can you achieve your dreams by just thinking about it once a year?
One out of every ten thousand people digs hard to get the gold. Others only scratch, get satisfied with the result or get tired.
Success comes with hard, intense work and enthusiasm. Remember the 10,000 hours rule? By the 10,001st hour, success becomes so easy that it has already becomes part of you and doing anything less looks weird.
As an individual that is ready to succeed, you must be determined, disciplined, self motivated, believe in your dream, fight on, dig deep and get it rolling.
We all read or heard of past great leaders. The passion to succeed kept them going and they survived against all odds. The story of Abraham Lincoln has been repeated over and over again. What have you been able to learn from it? ENDURANCE in the face of struggles.
Getting to the top is never rosy. It comes with initial denial of many good things; sleep, sightseeing, socializing etc. while others are unwinding, you are busy rewinding. While others enjoy temporarily, you eventually have more time to yourself . . . . even if it means boat cruising for just 355 days in a year.
Steps in Starting Well
– Have a dream
– Set goals
– Cast visions for your life
– Keep it Simple
– Have a daily/weekly actions
