Kenya News Online Today : Kenya as seen through my eyes

A commentary on things Kenyan and other pertinent global issues

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Go for it: Success is All Yours

Success does not come the easy way. Ask those who have made it to the top and they will tell you that this is indeed the case. From the charcoal-burner turned millionaire to the poor schoolboy who ended up as the CEO of a blue chip company, the story of success follows one simple established track. You will have to work hard and cudgel your brains for solutions to your life’s problems and grab opportunities that come your way.

There are no two ways about it. You will have to be an early riser (punctual, organized and effective) and work through the difficult phases in life as if they don’t exist. Tolerance of all problems as you seek their individual solutions vigorously is the difference between capitulating to pressure or fighting back and overcoming the challenges posed by circumstances and events in your life. Focus is everything and the focus has to be on all the positives and negatives with a view to seeking strength from the good and learning from the bad. There is no such word as failure in the vocabulary of the successful… what you usually call failure should be seen as nothing more than

If you let the problems, obstacles and challenges get in your way… then failure is going to be your lifelong companion. You have a choice and with prayer you can pursue success with ease and graceful movement. There will also have to be resilience on your part and you will need to be thorough in your approach to schedules. Time management has often been the failure between the successful individual and the lacklustre, mediocre fellow next door. But key to all these success moves will be your ability to fight procrastination, which remains the biggest enemy to success. Procrastination has often been identified as the biggest culprit in messing the lives of many.

Many people have failed to pursue their lifelong dreams because of procrastination. You will need to be smarter in setting out your priorities. In fact, you will have to be ruthless deciding what is to be done and when it is to be done. And then you will need to do what needs to be done when it needs to be done. That is easy once you adopt the ‘Do It Now” slogan. Don’t be soiled by your inability to handle pressure and deadlines. Don’t mess up just because you want the easy way out… the lazier of the laziest options: inaction. Just as inaction on the part of a doctor can kill a patient… your inaction will be your final undoing.

You also need to stop whining and griping about everything that is happening around you. If you only opt to look at the very positive things that are happening around you, then you will start appreciating that there is more to life than just yapping about daily challenges and chores. Not everyone around you is gritty and focused… chances are high that you will also be demoralizing quite a number of fellows around you. Be responsible and stop crying yourself hoarse about problems and challenges that you can easily overcome. Stop developing a culture of ineptitude around you and help others feel good about life too. Help society develop.

There will have to be more appreciation on your part of all the positive things that are happening in your life. There are many things that you consider small and which are indeed big things happening to you; epoch-making events that could see you change your lifestyle. Improve your communication skills and speak out more often…telling friends and colleagues a word or two of appreciation. Show body language that reflects your newfound confidence. You should not look like a sulking bitter fellow who just seems to be waiting for the earth to open up and swallow him. Make good use of your time on planet earth; after all, you won’t be around forever.

Look around you. Perhaps what you see are the very obvious things, things like the furniture and interior décor of your room or office. What you seem to prefer to notice are things and people that you identify with that immediate environment of yours. But in the real sense what is happening is that you have opted to ignore the very obvious things that exist around you and which if properly excavated are indeed gold mines in the form of opportunities. Don’t be blind to the myriad of opportunities for success… tunnels to the land of success that are so obviously visible for all. It could be that vacancy posted on that notice board and which you have opted to ignore, assuming that the job is meant for others. It could be that talk in the office that could easily trigger a brainwave, which in essence could you one-way ticket to everlasting success. It could be that forty-five minute break which if well utilised could be your private thinking session, a session that will see you sort out your life in less than an hour. Unfortunately some of us never seem to realise that there are boundless opportunities around us and we opt to gripe and sulk all the time or at least a quarter of the time.

You may seem oblivious to happenings around you and that is where you are stabbing yourself in the back… puncturing the lungs of your ambition and snuffing out the life left inside your career growth. You need to sharpen your observation skills and sniff out opportunities for success.

But there is hope. You can turn around your fortunes with as little as a dose of self-discipline. You just need to manage your time well… identify the opportunities that fall your way…and strike when the earth is still fresh. Cast the model that your life will take.

So, wake up and be a go-getter. Be smart and sharp and manage your finances well. A huge chunk of the problems we face are self-made and money related. Haven’t you seen some of the happiest souls on earth are far from having even a basic bank account? How comes those with access to credit cards and loans are some of the unhappiest people around; constantly crying out loud about how unfair life is. Prioritise. That is the beginning of success.

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