It’s been a very long time we saw each other. Well more than a decade ago. He was a colleague that used to inspire me. He was very hardworking, intelligent and go-getting. He had great ambitions about what he’d want to achieve in life. He spoke with so much wisdom and he was very up to date regarding trends and developments in our industry. He was good in management and administration. He was a team player and quite likable. He was just someone I believed had no reasons to fail or trail behind in life. He had the looks, could speak well, was influential, was charismatic and was quite good looking. He looked good and sounded well enough for good success.
Running into him after almost 10 years was for me a bit of a negative surprise and disappointment. He looked nothing like the future I pictured of him. He was still in paid employment after more than 25 years. A senior manager though, but nothing more to show. He looked somewhat haggard and tired, overworked, used and spent. He didn’t have much of personal stuff to show for many years of work except official this, official that – perks that will vanish immediately after retirement. And yes, he’s built his personal house with a loan from the company. And it just flashed through my mind that many people I know, half his age have built several houses and are still building some more. Not with official loans.
He was quite excited to see me though, and he praised my career progress and how much I’ve changed physically too. He then began to lament about his life, his struggles and how things never really worked out as planned or anticipated.
Most of his arguments were pointers to the fact that he held elements and conditions beyond his own control responsible for his success in life. He assumed his employers owed him, the industry owed him and life owed him for his hard work, knowledge, dedication and passion. He believed also he’s earned success through diligent service and automatically, he deserved a good reward from life for paying his dues. Many of us believe this about life but unfortunately, it’s not the reality.
That unfortunately was the problem, that faulty assumption that life owed him for being hardworking is the reason for his stagnation and frustration.
Dear friend, it is quite risky to put your trust and hope in situations, people, conditions and structures that are in themselves unstable and undependable. Nations fail, companies collapse, institutions abate, conditions change, people disappoint and life in general is dynamic. Nothing in this life is constant except change. Building your life entirely on temporary structures, evolving institutions, time-bound employments, insecure systems and changing policies may not be a smart resolve.
Ladies and gentlemen, life is not designed to make you successful. If life makes you, life can unmake you. You are designed to make your own life successful, to give your life a meaning and good essence.
Back in the days many years ago while still in school, math was an interesting subject for me because it was about solving problems. It’s a fantastic and relevant subject because this life also is all about solving problems and getting paid for it. And the people with the correct answers are the champions in life.
I didn’t like math a lot because I found it quite difficult. However, any math problem that had a formula was a delight for me. I need not crack my brain too much to find the answers, all I needed to do was apply the formula and I will definitely arrive at the right answers.
I remember some important formulas like BODMAS, laws of Indices, Logarithms, and Surds and many other math problems.
Looking at it, many people of old had looked at a problem, worked very hard, invested time and intelligence into solving the problem and eventually derived a formula for solving the problem. The efforts of all these brilliant mathematicians consequently made solving many problems easier and made the answers easier to come by because they provided formulas.
Ladies and gentlemen, the power for progress and success in life is not contained in situations and conditions around you, no. It’s not in the economic situation, not in your employment, not in your connection or hard work, the power for success and progress is contained in the formulas for winning in life.
Many of us keep working hard to derive formulas that already exist. There are rules, principles and guidelines for good success in life. But somehow, we just don’t want to apply them, we believe there must be another way, our preferred way of achieving the results, arriving at answers without applying established formulas.
Ladies and gentlemen, it doesn’t matter how hardworking you are, how much you know, how intelligent you are or how charismatic you are. If you ignore the established rules for finding answers in life, correct answers will keep eluding you.
Wishing for answers, praying for answers, hoping for answers and just believing you’ll have answers will fail if you don’t go for the answers.
Accidental success is when you don’t apply the formula and still arrive at the correct answer, yes sometimes it happens; sustainable success however is in the right application of the formula for success at anything.
My dear friend, what do you want? What do you need? How much do you want? What is your dream? What is your vision? When do you intend to manifest? What is the essence, purpose and meaning of your life? Are you satisfied, contented and fulfilled? Do you have a secured and guaranteed future of stable income, wealth and comfort at old age? Or all these, you have placed in the hands of temporary structures, people, situations and conditions? In 10 years will all your supporting structures and factors still be solidly on ground?
When did you start dreaming, how old are you now? Are your dreams gone? Do you have the means to accomplishing these dreams? Are you truly living or just surviving? Are you chasing success or just security? Are you trading your own power, ability, possibilities and capabilities for help, support, handouts and livelihood from people and institutions that are in themselves, insecure and passing away?
Ladies and gentlemen, I think it’s time you take charge of your own life. Everything you want in this life has got a formula. Find them, learn them and most of all, apply them. Many of us know many things, of course we sure do, but the will to apply is what is missing.
Dear friend, it is time for you to do the needful. Time is running out, you’re getting physically weaker, your responsibilities are climbing, your income may not be growing at the same pace as your expenses, what then are your plans for solving a financial crisis waiting to happen? Prayer? Yes prayer is very good, but its purpose is to reveal to you what to do, so after a revelation, there must be action for there to be good results, dear friend, where are your actions?
The number one formula for success in life is taking full responsibility for anything that is working or not working in your life. Blaming anything or anyone will never improve your situation.
Number two formula is obtaining enough knowledge about that which you dream of and want to do or become in life. Prophesies and prayers fail when knowledge is missing. My people perish for lack of knowledge. Many of us don’t read and when we do we love to read feel good motivational and inspirational books instead of professional and educational books that will improve our ability, skills and professional knowledge.
Number three formula is hard work. For truly ambitious people, the opposite of hard work is not laziness, the opposite of hard work is easy work. Not all work leads to profit. Hard work is doing what you have to, not what you want to, so do the needful, not the convenient.
Number four formula is courage. He that is fearful cannot amount to much in life. You must develop the courage to walk away from people, employments, situations, conditions, and even fellowships capable of bringing you emptiness and nothingness in future. No matter how convenient, delightful, comforting and soothing a situation is today, if the future holds no promise for financial, emotional, health, social and spiritual security, please let it go. That my friend is courage.
Ladies and gentlemen, don’t let life manage you, you, manage life, take control, apply the formulas and get your correct answers.
No comments:
Post a Comment