I USUALLY ask myself, “If I can’t be successful in this lifetime, what’s there to live for?” If you ask the majority, they will tell you, they want to be successful, have more time to do what they love the most and live a great life. Then, why is it that in spite of their desires, they do not live their dreams.
Success life with Jonah Nyoni
In my seminars, I usually carry my books and I sometimes lift a copy and say: “Who wants this book?” Most would say they do, but they will be seated and they don’t stand, run and grab the book. Such is life with most people, they just desire and wish, but they will never have a life they want, as long as they don’t grab what they want.
In my article today, I will give you excerpts from my forthcoming book called Keys to Greatness below: Let me begin by asking crucial questions. Are you ready to die for what you believe in? Do you really want a great life? If you die, what do you want to be remembered for?
Let us change the question a little, If you die now what will you be remembered for? Do you get fulfilment from what you are pursuing as your passion right now? Are you in proper alignment with your original purpose? Doing something that you are not passionate about is like the experience of being in a marriage with someone you don’t love. Know your potential, pursue it, maintain it, upgrade it and you will definitely explode into your destiny. There are three potent “Ps” that I want you to think about and help you answer some of the above questions:
•Progress Progress is moving from one point to the other. It is to develop towards a perceived goal. Your life should show that you are progressing every day. Enter into a new day having developed mentally because you fed on the right things the previous day. Small steps lead to greater rewards. It has been said time and again that we become successful by doing small things in a great way. All successful people do something different from the masses.
Check all inventors, pioneers, entrepreneurs and biographies of great people, they do something differently, which makes them exceptional. That makes them progress towards their goal. In one of his articles on progress, Thula Ndlovu, a coach and a motivational speaker said: “In this world of tremendous change and technology. Everything is moving at a rapid speed and is progressive. What one thought was impossible years ago, is now possible. So what does one have to do in this ever progressive and developing world?
There was a time when if you had a Grade Seven certificate, you were considered highly educated. Then came Zimbabwe Junior Certificate (ZJC) and if you had ZJC you where the guy of the moment. Then came Ordinary Level, if you had two O Levels you where the guy. It changed also it became five Ordinary Level including mathematics and English. Then came a degree. And now it looks like the degree is losing power and the masters is taking over. That is natural progress and you have to align to it.
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“There is lesson about progress. Never stop developing and advancing yourself. Keep upgrading yourselves in every way. If you can only cook sadza now learn how to make pizza. If you could only play one instrument learn another. That’s progress.
“Dinosaurs became extinct because they didn’t move with the times. If you don’t develop yourself, you will become irrelevant, outdated and extinct. If you are a lady, try on some new lipstick, make-up, pedicures and manicures.”
•Purpose We are created for a purpose and great achievements. The power, function and purpose of a thing are the reasons why it was invented and it stands to reason that God created you for a purpose. Generally, if one does not know their purpose or does not act their purpose, they are simply crouching down to the value of chaff that is tossed to and fro by the wind and does not get anywhere; chaff does not have a destiny.
Myles Munroe in his book Understanding the Purpose and Power of Men says: “Where purpose is not known, abuse is inevitable.”
There are some people, who specialise in doing wrong things right. Why? Simply because they are pursuing things they are not supposed to. They are not getting any satisfaction out of it, but they persist doing it. Have you not heard people who go to a job daily that they complain about? People need to know their real zone, where they will dominate, influence and enjoy the most. At times ignorance on how a thing should work is tragic and it leads to the abortion of dreams.
Talking to Jeremiah, God said: “Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto nations.” If I could say it in today’s language, God was saying before your mother was pregnant with you in the womb, His mind was pregnant with you as an idea and you were wired with instructions on how you should work and even before you were born. He approved you to function. God knew the purpose of Jeremiah more fully than Jeremiah himself.
•Precious Everyone is precious and of great value. See yourself as that. You should not allow yourself to be called names. We do not need to find identity from looks, money, media, make-up, peers and power.
Everything, be it a product or creation, is always identified with its source and its ability is mainly dependent on its source. We were created by God and in his image and after His likeness. This alone makes us possess the spiritual and the chemical make-up to dominate and have creative power that God has put in us. The best yardstick to measure against your potential is not what other people have accomplished, but how God has uniquely crafted you and the deposits of greatness that He has put in you. You are your own competitor. The best person you compete with is the seed that God has put in you.
•Prospect We can make it in life. We can be what we have always dreamt. We need to be broad in our thinking. We do not need to think outside the box since there is no box anywhere. This is a brimless world that has always needed limitless brains. The best days lie ahead.
•Present Spend your time in your present. Your past successes are little compared to what you can still achieve. The past might have bruised and battered you, but still the best days are coming. Look deep into what you are carrying. You are a God’s masterpiece and you carry great recourses and reservoirs of potential!
Parting point: A famous saying by Mahatma Gandhi goes: “A man is, but the product of his thoughts. What he thinks, he becomes.”
In life, people who think positively achieve what the odds define as impossibilities. Real self-discovery makes one achieve real results and be counted with the greats of this world. Discover yourself! Be your real self and do not try to be someone else. Begin to see potential, power and prosperity deep inside your heart and this will propel you to the crest of a wave. Everyone has seeds of greatness that need to be sown so that they can spur up and bring bright results.
•Jonah Nyoni is an author, success coach, leadership trainer and public relations consultant. Tel: 0772 581 918. Email: [email protected]
