Don’t be deceived by the myth of infallibility that some people try to build around themselves. Sincerity makes you relatable. It is the admission of your humanity and its attendant vulnerability. There is a chink in every Goliath’s armour. Sincerity acknowledges and thus protects it from an invading stone.
Stay MOTIVATED. No matter how lofty your vision or its success possibilities, the circumstances of life will challenge it. Assume the character of a tea bag, the value of what is in it never shows up until it is fully immersed in hot water. Opposition and pressure are only indicators of movement. Nothing stands against the man who is headed nowhere. In the journey of life, you are your number one motivator after God. However, motivation does not come from a mindless, misdirected passion. It comes from the value you place on your vision and why you consider it meaningful enough to pursue and attain. Another name for it is motive. There can be no motivation without a motive. If your motive for doing anything is not strong enough to commit to, you will give it up at the slightest sign of pressure. Don’t just pursue an idea because you attended a seminar and listened to a motivational speaker pumping you up to go after something or because there is something that you heard is bringing significant money to everyone around you. Whatever you don’t have a strong motive for pursuing will not motivate you through the challenges that come with pursuit. Dreams die in the hands of the half-hearted pursuer. You can never deliver the goods if your heart is heavier than the load.
I am reminded of the story of a young man in the Bible who loved his fiancée so much that he was willing to do anything to marry her. The only problem was that he came into town with neither money nor possession to afford a dowry. The prospective father-in-law gave him a condition to fulfil in lieu of dowry; he would serve his father-in-law as a shepherd for seven years without a salary! Did you say tough? Wait till you hear the rest of the story. As the story goes, the seven years were to him like a few days. Why? Because of the love he had for the young lady. Unfortunately, at the end of seven years of unpaid labour, when it was time to consummate the marriage, he was swindled by a crafty father-in-law who gave him a different person from the one he intended to marry. But the young man was not deterred. Motivated by the depth of his love, he agreed to serve another seven years as dowry for the one he wanted. The strength of your resolve is determined by the purpose and the worth of your pursuit.
The world is full of grumpy, ungrateful and entitled people who believe that the world, their parents, family, friends, government, their employer, God and everyone around them owe them something. Consequently, no matter what you do for them, they are never satisfied or happy. An ungrateful person’s focus is always on what he lacks, never on what he has. For this reason, the APPRECIATIVE person stands out from the crowd. Gratitude and success don’t walk far apart from each other. Appreciation sets the law of obligation in motion. According to a Yoruba proverb, when someone shows appreciation for a good deed done to him, he literally perpetuates the flow of goodwill in his direction. The world owes you nothing beyond a harvest for what you put into its designed function. Anyone incapable of gratitude does not deserve even the space they occupy on earth. Ungrateful people are like sandpaper. You don’t want it to have an affair with your skin!
The currency of rewarding relationships is denominated in three words, “Sorry” (which implies a willingness to admit it and make amends when you wrong people), “please” (which means you respect other people’s right not to do anything for you that they don’t wish to do), and “Thanks” (which shows that you recognise that they chose to oblige you, not because they had to). If you know how to use these words very well, you will make progress in life faster than your contemporaries who only rely on credentials, thinking that the whole world must worship at the shrine of their talent, education, position and expertise. Responsibility begins in your life when you recognise that nobody owes you anything, not even your own children. Rather, you are the one who owes creation your talent and capacity. Service is the rent you pay for your sojourn here on earth. Success is its reward. When you know this, you will be grateful to everyone that God sends your way who has blessed or continue to bless you. Sometimes, you even need to be grateful for those who disappointed you at critical points in your life. Disappointments are sometimes God’s way of toughening your survival muscles. Be grateful to God daily for the privilege of life. If you are reading this, you have eyes that see. Be thankful for that. Be grateful to your mentors and everyone who has ever inspired or positively affected your life. Send them gifts whenever you can. Be grateful to your spouse. No matter what you currently think, there is some good in him or her. Appreciation brings out the best in everyone. Be appreciative of your children, your siblings, your contemporaries and your employees who help to write your success story. Be appreciative of your customers who are the reason you are still in business. Make a list of people to send a “Thank you” note or SMS to. Do it NOW. What you appreciate, appreciates in your estimation. What you don’t, you can never significantly benefit from. The man who is not grateful is indeed a great fool.
On a final note, you must learn to be a NETWORKER. I am not talking about joining a chain of pyramid schemes. I am talking about developing meaningful, empowering relationships. The Bible teaches us that if you desire to be wise, you must walk with the wise because the one who keeps company with fools is only courting destruction. However, it also admonishes that if you really want friends, you must show yourself friendly. What that means is that you must be willing to be for people, what you want people to be for you! Your net worth is enhanced by the quality of your network. God, in His wisdom has hidden everything you are looking for on earth in people. Connect with them and you will never be stranded.
A young man wrote a book on the secrets to become a millionaire and wanted to launch it. He invited a multimillionaire to preside over the event. The multimillionaire agreed to be there on one condition, failing which he would not bother to show up. The young man should get 100 of his friends and associates to give him at least N10,000 each. If he could raise a million or more before the day, the millionaire promised to match it. The young man could only raise N50,000 – from 30 friends!
Become a S.A.L.E.S.M.A.N and you will succeed.
Remember, the sky is not your limit, God is!
