Why people fail 6

I wish to thank everyone who has sent in sms, emails or blog comments to acknowledge

how this series has been of immense impact on their lives. Thanks a million for your

kind words. Keep them coming. Next post, I’ll be starting a new series entitled,

“Why Giants Fall”, where we’ll be discussing reasons people who once tasted success,

fame and wealth found themselves slipping from grace to grass. It promises to

be informative and inspiring.

To every man is assigned a life assignment. Life is a purpose and each day that makes up your entire life must be lived on purpose for fulfilment (success) to happen. Your responsibility is to find your voice- what makes you unique from every other individual? People fail for non-discovery of self, going through life striving to be like others.

Ask the following questions:

·         What are my talents/natural endowments (sports, food, music, craft, the arts, sciences..?)

·         What are my complimentary skills (football, cooking, singing, painting, writing, scientific research..?)

·         What are my strengths (loving, compassionate, being organised, sensitivity, meticulousness, quizzical, extroverted..?) 

·         What do I do so effortlessly?

Marcel Prous says, “The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes but in having new eyes.” Meditate and make an inventory of your strengths.

Every effort spent on developing your talent, skills or passion is a positive one. Never give up on developing your innate abilities. It’s like casting your bread upon the waters; you’ll find it after many days. Derive joy in building yourself up. Never invest more on your outward appearance than you do to your inward man because the latter always outlasts the former as the former diminishes with age. But many people die while still living because as their outward man fades away, the inward man deteriorates as well; due to non-development. What self development resources have you invested in lately? Talented people fail for non-development of talent. Develop your gifts through constant use.

People also fail as a result of discouragement. Most job seekers allow themselves to be intimidated by the evasiveness of “good” jobs in the land to the extent that they unfortunately conclude that to get such jobs one needs a “connection”. This is not 100% correct. People still get jobs on merit without knowing anybody. Work hard, know your onions, be clear about what you really want, design your map, join the queue and stay on the line.

Life rewards consistency, stay on the line till it’s your turn. Endure the initial rejection till you become a brand. Stay on the line, develop roots and produce branches like a tree. Have you ever seen a tree change location? Quit jumping from industry to industry, job to job or relationship to relationship. Funke Akindele waited for 10 years till she became a household name and brand icon. What would have become of her if she had quit acting just before she produced the film, Jenifa?

Be consistent till you generate momentum to overcome inertia. That’s the secret of cars and aeroplanes. Momentum gives them increased motion till they reach their destination. It creates a critical mass. You’ll never develop roots by being inconsistent. Wait till it’s your turn.

Other reasons people fail that have not been discussed in this series include: laziness, complacency, timidity, rigidity etc.

Changing with the changing times 2

The world is drifting from the tangible to the intangible, from heavy-weight equipment to light-weight palm tops.

The transition from the Industrial and Jet Ages to the Information Age was a journey from over-dependence on objects to dependence on ideas and intellectual capital. Ideas rule the world, remember.

The world has moved from large stacks of cash to slim credit/debit cards, from heavy telephone boxes to portable, multi-functional mobile phones, from time-wasting postal services to instant messaging, from large heavy-duty industrial machines to softwares, from far-flung paper offices to paperless offices interlinked across space & time.

The world is getting lighter. You can practically ctrl+c and ctrl+v your world into an iPad or blackberry and life moves on unhindered. This, and the automation of virtually every job function has occasioned corporate downsizing, which has in turn rendered many hitherto gainfully employed executives jobless.

Find your place in the emerging jigsaw puzzle. Business execs who don’t re-invent their minds to think in ways that match the pace of development will become casualties of change. Get an idea. Keep increasing and updating your knowledge bank and don’t quit improving your globally-competitive skills.

Pix: office2010.microsoft.com

Becoming You.

Be the person that God destined you to be. Look beyond your nose and see the big picture. Don’t die like a chicken- scratching the soil for every tiny morsel of bread. Your life is much more than your job, big car, tastefully furnished apartment or even your current adversity. To focus on these things is to limit the essence of your existence; you’re more than meets the eye.

Possession begins with being. Robert Kiyosaki submits: Be. Do. Have. You must become the person you envision, act it, before you possess your dreams.

Living inside you is mass potential; you’re a plantation buried in a seed. You’re blessed with talent(s) that can positively change destinies and transform society. You’re a potential definition of positive influence. While you live, that which dies inside you must be awakened! You’ve never realised your potential because you’ve been defining yourself according to your past, your present and your environment.

Critics have despised you and your talent. Bolt out of that limitation and become the next success story. You are the architect of your life – you can’t afford to wait for “things” to happen to you, make them happen by planting the seeds that will generate the equivalent harvest! To get a job, apply; to become a business owner, get a winning idea; to find happiness, make others happy.

You were not programmed for regret or setbacks, they’re wedges to stop you from the greatness that lies within and waits ahead. For how long will you allow yesterday’s memories to hold you back? Wake up, believe in yourself and trust God to make your dreams come true. Live supernaturally.

There’s hope for you. Choose to believe. Search till you find your way through life’s maze and find your utopia, your destiny. One of life’s tragedies is to come, to see but not to conquer. Conquer you, conquer the world!