Application of self descipline
Over the next few days, you will go through a series of changes that will challenge you, impact your life and your dreams, ideas and talents may later be transmuted into their financial equivalent. The translation of one’s ideas into products that can be sold for money can only be achieved through the consistent and relentless application of proven principles that have been applied through life or reinvented, perfected and retried. These principles do not respect persons, status, qualification, background or any attribute of man. They only respect he who applies them and rewards him or her with great personal confidence and wealth.
Talent is not enough
No matter how gifted you are, without the application of self-discipline that talent may raise to the top but it is highly unlikely to be sustained at the top. Talent can never be enough to sustain one’s life. It is however sufficient to lead you up into a path that you desire, but it is not enough to keep you at the top. There are many talented people that we can site for elastration’s sake, those people have risen to the top, but could not stay there because of lack of personal vision, direction, mentorship and discipline.
Your potential is the seed that is still to be unearthed, if left unattended to; it will remain yet another lost ability to impact society. I believe that with the development of a culture of learning, personal introspection, aggressive self-application, personal identification and purposeful living, one is able to translate ideas into money, principles into habits, habits into character or even transforming society, one man at a time. Your ability to achieve great success with your life is equal to your “ability” to fail and still continue trying. It does not require a second brain set to achieve success more than it does for failing life.
Success is not an accident
Over the past few years, I have determined to read as many books as possible in order to understand the nature of success. In learning learned the truth about this famous statement by John C Maxell that everything rises and falls on leadership. Simply put, your leadership capacity determines your success or failure level. Thus for you to measure what you call “success” in your own right, you also need to define your ability to lead yourself.
The world’s famous, wealthy and powerful people have declared independence from the demands of popularity and people’s opinions. Dr John Tibane, author and Leadership coach said “whatever defines you, confines you. Whatever does not build you, constrain you”. You become successful only if you walk in the best path that is meant for you. Successful people become successful by leading themselves to the path that which they desire and eager to attain. I cannot imagine how painful it would feel to have climbed the ladder of success all the way to the top, only to find that it was leaning on the wrong platform. You have achieved everything in life, but you did not become the best you can be. You become the best second best there can ever be.
Unfortunately, this is true for the majority of our brothers and sisters in Africa. They try by all means to be the next person or to copy somebody else’s dream. They conform to what people say about them and miss out on the opportunity of being who they are meant to be. I will illustrate to you how as to what I mean by this.
In Pursuit of a personal goal
Mercy, a young talented and known hair dresser from Mamayila became famous for her inventions and hair talent. When she was nine years old, she used to design her doll’s clothes and do her hair. She later gained fame in the community when she moved to Hluvuka High School when she turned 14. Many of her class mates and other scholars ran to her for hair styles during events. Most of it she did it for free or in exchange for lunch. Later, Mercy turned this passion into a business.
Her mother always wanted her to be a nurse. Her father wanted her to be anything her mind points her to do. On the other hand, her teachers told her that she can be anything she wants to be, but one thing she cannot be is be a hair stylist. It was considered a poor person’s Job and low class dream.
It must never occur to you to allow yourself to measure your dream or desired based on somebody else’s barometer. It can never be accurate.
The only thing Mercy could dream of was hair styles, make up and jewellery. Just after completing her Grade 12 in 2002, she decided to take a gap year without her parent’s knowing. That gap year turned into a business adventure. The concept of gap year was not famous then, but she did it against her parents’ wishes. Her parents had registered her with the then Medical University of South Africa (Medunsa) to study nursing, but she never attended a single lecture. Instead she took her talent to the streets and pursued her passion. Her parents sent her money to pay school fees, rent and buy food. She used the money to rent out a small office in Acadia, Pretoria which she turned into a small hair and beauty studio.
By October that same year, her parents wanted to visit her, but she told them that she was going to North West to do her in service training for four months and will only return in February. Excited, her parents increased her even more pocket money for the four months, thinking that Mercy will need the money. She took that little investment and enrolled herself to be trained as a makeup artist.
That month, she met few celebrities who came to her Salon. Soon she made it to the local newspapers in Pretoria as a rising star. She soon attracted famous faces to her salon. By the end of her first year in business, which was supposed to be the end of her first year in Nursing School, she had hired four people into the salon and payed them very well. Her business turned from humble beginnings into a great success within one year. Today, she has four other shops, including a full loaded hair and cosmetics wholesale shop with over 36 employees.
The following year, Mercy went home to break the news to her parents. Her mother was very furious, but her father was proud. That night she determined to educate her younger siblings of her disobedient journey to success. “It was not an easy thing,” she started, “but I had to do it for me. I knew that my parents will not be happy because I lied to them for the whole year. I made excuses all year and never gave them a chance to know what I was doing.” She said.
Her mother was listening from the other room but she chose not to interrupt this confession. “My mother believed so much in my academic acumen. But I believed much in my dreams and talent than in my school performance. I worked hard at school, but I worked harder to build my talent and dream.” She paused and took a deep breath. “I wish I could explain this to mama, but I’m not sure...” He brother, Mikhenso interrupted her; “you don’t have to sis. You followed your dream. We understand and are proud of you.”
***
I am not in the business of breeding rebellious young people, but I am challenging you to pursue your talent and gifting with all your strength. Like Mercy, she understood that she can be anything she wants to be, but for her to do so, she had to separate herself from other people’s wishes, no matter how she loved them.
You cannot be trapped in other people’s opinion and wishes about you. By the time you wake up to your own desires, they may have rusted inside of you. John Maxwell, Author and global leadership coach and speaker writes “talent is not like a savings account: a saving account compounds in interest annually. You can deposit money just once, and then leave it for years. The longer you leave it untouched, the more you will get out of it. The longer you leave it, the more it increases. But your talent is not like that. The longer you leave it, the more it decreases”. Dr Mike Murdok says, “Talent that is not recognised is not celebrated. And talent that is not celebrated cannot be rewarded.”
Start valuing your dream, your desires, your talent and abilities. That gift can make room for you. It will open doors for you in areas you never imagined.
No comments:
Post a Comment