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NewsDay

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Success is in pain

Opinion & Analysis
Jonah Nyoni

Last week, we talked about thinking, which is a subject that separates human beings from all other creatures or animals.

That is the greatest distinct endowment that God gave to humanity. Thinking is not enough, we need to put into action all those things we think.

We have people with luminous ideas, innovative theories, and perfect principles, but they never get what they want because they do not work on their thoughts.

Your daily grind

Everyone is gifted, but it is not enough to be gifted or talented. Identify your gift and improve your gift. Fight harder to reach your dreams. If success is easy, most or all people would be rich and living a great life. Success takes fighters.

Life is hard, it only needs fighters. Wealth does not come on a silver platter, it takes fighters. American Contemporary Christian singer-songwriter, televangelist and pastor Mike Murdock once said: “Successful people do what ordinary people do occasionally.” Fight better than most people.

What’s your market value?

Your value in the market increases as long as you are willing to hone your skills. When someone is sleeping, you get into studying. You are not paid what you want or dream for, you are paid for the problems you solve.

Just think of this: If you read one hour a day, you will have read 365 hours in a single year. How many people do that? There are few. You become what you fight for. Fight in the night, fight through the storm and fight through negative voices.

Don’t listen to naysayers

Few people wish you well. Most people are average, so they want you to stay average. As the late American Protestant clergyman, and an author Norman Vincent Pearl once said: “Strive to be on top in this life, because the bottom is overcrowded.”

Most people love it when you remain poor and that is where most people are. They want you to be average. The moment you raise your standard, they start to speak. Do not listen to them, that is not your business. Your business is to work on your craft. Listen to the gut voice and to God’s voice.

Keep your eyes on the ball

Do not ever take your eyes off the ball. Life is at times hard, but never allow your vision to be clouded by those hardships. Do not let those tears blur your vision. Never allow pain to paralyse your potential. Stay focused. Pain is inevitable, but someone once said that it is part of the process.

Double the rate of your failure

Most people are afraid of failing, but it is through failing that we can succeed. People who are successful have failed over and over again. They fall, but they get up and never give up. At times, you have to fail more, to excel more.

We are afraid of failing because we are afraid of what other people will say. We are afraid of what mama will say, and as such, we stay in the comfort zone. Free yourself from what people will say. The late American businessman who served as the chairman and chief executive officer of IBM, Thomas J Watson, once said: “If you want to increase your success rate, double your failure rate.”

Work your breath out

Hard work leads to great results. Work your breath out. American motivational speaker, author, consultant and minister Eric Thomas usually says you improve your skill by beating on your craft daily, and not occasionally. Average people put on an average effort. Successful and significant people work more than an average person.

Average people are good at complaining, hard workers have results to show for it. Successful people read daily, average people read less or do not read at all. Great people improve their skills, knowledge and are hungry. Average people are content with mediocrity, and they sit on their laurels. Successful people educate themselves. Average people hate education. Successful people graduate from the academic level to self-education. Average people end at an academic level.

Change your talk

The person that determines your success is yourself. As you face pain, you need to properly tune your internal psychology. Your inner voice or self-talk determines whether you will win or not. Talk to the hero in you.

Motivate the king or queen in you. What others say about you does not matter so much compared to what you say to yourself. To win the outer game, you have to master the inner game; your voice.

Parting Point: The best things in life are on the other side called pain. Going to the gym is painful, but soon you will grow a great body. It is painful to sleep for a few hours reading and improving your mind, but the wisdom is worth it.

To increase your value, increase the time you spend on your purpose.

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