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Success in Life: 5 Simple Things you Should Avoid to Earn it
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Success in life means unique things to different people. For some, it’s all about achieving your goals.
To others, it’s about inner peace and fulfillment. While many of us want to reach the peak of our careers, health, and business, many are void of the will to succeed. More so, fear of failure sometimes takes over, and we would rather do nothing than try.
However, we shouldn’t walk bedecked with that kind of mentality. And here are the things you should avoid to have success in life.
1. Self-doubt
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As one author puts it, no one will ever doubt you more than yourself.
Normally, this appears to be something that we can easily brush over our shoulders and put the blame on something else.
But the reality is that success in life will be an elusive dream unless you work on getting past your self-doubt.
But the reality is unless you work on getting past your self-doubt success in life will be an elusive dream.
Self-confidence could be the only difference between your failed state and success.
2. Wasting time
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The rich and the poor have both twenty-four hours a day. How the two groups spent their time makes the difference. Waste time and success in life will be an elusive dream for you.
To avoid wasting time, have a to-do list on your table every day you wake up. Make this easier by buying yourself a personal diary that will help you keep tabs on things you intend to do.
Many distractions in life kill our time. Movies, TV, and social media are all avenues that steal away our precious time.
However, from today on, you can desire to be a good time manager. You can plan your day well so that you have a constructive activity to do every our of your day.
3. Procrastination
Do it now if you have the chance. Period.
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As pupils back in the day, our parents could admonish us to finish our assignments in time before resting.
This practice was a life of virtue they were trying to instill in us at a young age.
If we could have procrastinated on our assignments, the consequences would be our teachers punishing us for getting to school late.
As we become adults, we always forget what our parents tried to instill in us at a young age.
Even though these habits could still be ingrained somewhere n our subconscious minds, we either ignore them or feel they were meant for kids.
As we begin to adult, we always forget what our parents tried to instill in us at a young age. Even though these habits could still be ingrained somewhere in our subconscious minds, we either ignore them or feel they were meant for kids
It’s today or never. Prioritize and take action.
4. Indiscipline in our Finances
You can watch all the podcasts and attend workshops and seminars about building wealth.
Similarly, you could attend classes on saving money and investing. But all these will be a waste of time if you won’t take action.
Success in life calls for good financial planning. And this means working with a budget.
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I was at this place at one point in my life. I wasn’t in charge of my finances and went from one debt to another with no savings or investment plan.
Realizing my lack of discipline and penchant for overspending is saving me a lot of bucks, and my bank account is growing fatter by the day.
How did I curb my lack of financial discipline? I used my bank’s standing order to make me never see the money I saved.
Also, any delay in depositing money into my bank account for the standing order the bank was to apply meant they would sir-charge me..
You don’t go shopping without a shopping list. You will buy everything your money can afford at the shop – Impulse buying.
Have multiple streams of income to have a constant cash flow. I still balance two jobs despite the pressure to deliver on both. Success in life calls for making tough decisions.
5. Giving Up
Giving up is always the simple thing when everything else fails to work. I have been a victim of this in life.
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The environment at the bottom is discouraging and snaps out of you the boundless energy you had.
It’s even worse when you surround yourself with pessimists who tell you nothing will ever work.
If you feeling overwhelmed with a task at hand or a project, take a break by all means but never give up.
Conclusion
Success in life means many things to many people. That means only you can define the breadth of your success and how you want it to be.
Additionally, not everyone can have the same route to success. In fact, some will arrive earlier at it than others.
There is no sense in getting envious or jittery about your friend’s success. They are in their own route with different circumstances compared to yours.
Success in life requires investing in yourself and focusing on becoming a better you.
Are there any of the mentioned points that you still struggle with? Let me know in the comments section below.
05/03/2019
Shortcuts in Life: Are they Worth the risk?
Life on earth could be tough, but not as tough as living on the moon, right? You want to consider taking due life process vs taking shortcuts in life, pursuing your goals and dreams. What do you think works out best for you in the long run?
The Guiding Principle Vs. Shortcuts in Life
Regardless of the toughness, life is all about sowing and reaping. And according to the good book in Genesis 8:22, this idea has never been emphasized enough. As long as the earth remains, seedtime and harvest time will never cease.
That being said, life calls for working hard. In fact, working hard is fast becoming a cliché, and many people would rather talk about working smart.
Does the World Mirror this?
In the world, we have trailblazers, pacesetters, accomplished technocrats, award-winning artists, poets, and writers. We can’t close the list without mentioning influential and powerful political leaders.
On the other end of the tunnel, we got educated fools, quack practitioners, serial dreamers, and blatant losers.
What would make such a vast difference between these two groups of people? Is it their education, family, career, or a matter of fate, chance, or luck?
Any successful person in whichever field will tell you how success in their lives took years of commitment and hard work.
Mark Zuckerberg’s Story
In his commencement speech to Harvard 8th graders back in 2017, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg narrated the journey of Facebook.
Unlike the movie, Social Network, which would want to make us believe that Facebook was born out of Facemash, the true story is a far cry.
Zuckerberg hilariously narrated how the advertising board at Harvard was to send him parking over the “Facemash scandal”.
But as fate would have it, he later dropped out at his own pleasure to pursue Facebook.
Given his enormous success, many would think his big idea of connecting people was an obvious instant hit. That is not the script.
The early days of Facebook had its own share of problems.
Zuckerberg and his companions just never believed they would be the guys who would connect the world. Maybe Facebook would have amounted to nothing if Mr Zuckerberg (Mark’s dad) had not taught him how to write code early.
To them, such a feat was so colossal that it was reserved for the already established tech. Giants.
The moral of the story is: that there are no shortcuts in life. Pay for it by acquiring new skillsand never stopping to learn.
Be determined, never give up and do what it takes to get there.
Never heard of a lawyer who never understood and practised law
There is no blogger who doesn’t blog
Similarly, to be a writer, write. Award-winning artists and musicians sing their voices hoarse, recording music in the studio before anything serious comes out.
The Puzzle of Life
Paradoxically, life also presents us with people who have made it to greater heights by taking shortcuts.
Paradoxically, life also seems to present us with people who have made it to greater heights by taking shortcuts in life.
What are you expected to think when your neighbour always lands with a helicopter in their palatial home?
Often, such persons are glorified and castigated in equal measure. Always referred to as the well-oiled, the wheeler-dealer in town.
Their wealth and power that they can’t be accountable for may tempt you to follow their course.
On the contrary, you could end up paying a higher and more painful price to be like them.
For you to reap the best fruits, put in the effort of planting the right seeds and tending to them.
This is one principle that is so absolute. If you choose not to abide by it, you will have no one else but yourself to blame.
Shortcuts in Life: The Consequences
For instance, if you procrastinate today, you will reap the fruits of procrastination the day after.
On the same knot, choosing to manoeuvre your way to the top by cutting dirty deals won’t keep you there long enough.
To prove this point, you need to meet with Wilkins Fadhili. He is a fraudster who became the talk of the town after his conmanship was unearthed.
Under normal circumstances, those who manoeuvre their way to the top seldom have the heart to serve or help other people. The reason behind such an attitude is simple.
They did not follow the natural due process in acquiring their assets or wealth. Thanks to their perception of life as a jungle, it doesn’t matter who you hurt or who you lose as long as you get what you want.
Before you prove me wrong or right, you need to look at billionaires who have committed to giving 90% of their wealth before their death. The likes of Buffett, Gates, and Zuckerberg, just to mention a few, are among them that have committed to the Giving Pledge.
Conversely, it’s no surprise that the list of those who have not committed to the Giving Pledge could contain billionaires with controversial sources of wealth or scanty tales of their rise to glory.
To them, whether it’s money, fame, power, or influence, its success first regrets later. They would rather kill to get to the top.
Unfortunately, many get haunted by lost spouses /family members and friends. They play hide and seek games with legal authorities. Past ruthless action always leaves them begging for more.
Bottom Line
The world would be a much better place if people learned not to take shortcuts in life. There would be less pain and more joy. Innocent people wouldn’t con you. There would be less trouble and fewer cases to solve in courts. Let’s envision a future with no shortcuts and the desire to make it a reality.
30/01/2019
Chronicles of a Sunday School Teacher
It is enjoyable to be some kind of teacher. How about being a Sunday school teacher?
Whether a teacher in school, church, or lecture halls, hundreds and thousands of kids are paying keen attention to you.
They are eager to know whether the content they are listening to is worth their time and adds value to their life.
Here is a friend of mine who is a Sunday school teacher. He spends much of his time coaching high school students with classwork.
He also mentors them with God’s word and is more passionate about sharing it with children.
Doesn’t the Bible talk about Jesus Christ exhorting his listeners to allow young children to come to him?
As a youth leader and an aspiring parent, we have shared a lot with Dave on parenting and the pertinent issues affecting children, teens, and youth.
Parents today are digital and raising their kids in a digital world. Now, this is not wrong per se. Parents are facing myriad challenges stemming from the age of technology and growing social media influence.
Given his penchant for spending time with kids, my best friend got an invitation to attend his niece’s birthday.
With the festive season at hand, no one will say no to such invitations. Don’t people want to make merry and capture excellent memories?
As usual, friends, colleagues, and families converged at the party to celebrate another year of a young one on earth.
As I would like to call him, Dave has been to parties before but did not expect a party with liquor in the presence of kids.
That being said, the party was wow, to say the least.
Just at that point, when drinks were being served, the waitress handed David a bottle of liquor. Hahaha.
The staunch Christian in him could not allow him to say yes to the offer.
Even though given as a kind gesture from the host, this was obviously uncomfortable to somebody who doesn’t take liquor.
What I found funny is how other guests at the party wondered about the choice of his drinks. Hahaha.
Personally, I was a teetotaller two years ago, never to taste any alcoholic beverage again. I would have politely declined the offer if in Dave’s shoes.
However, I can attest to the fact that alcoholic drinkers find it rather odd if they meet someone at a party function who doesn’t drink alcohol, let alone taste it.
While Dave sat comfortably with his bottle of water, people kept asking him: “Are you sure you are okay?” Hahaha.
He was okay, but people, especially Kenyans, do not want to believe somebody can drink something different apart from liquor at a party.
I mean, who said one must party with liquor? Kenyans (not all, for that matter), unfortunately, have a soft spot for alcohol, and they deem a party incomplete without it.
However, our greatest concern here wasn’t about the party makers taking alcohol but the fact that they were doing it in front of their kids.
However, our greatest concern here wasn’t about the party makers taking alcohol but the fact that they were doing it in front of their kids.
Worse yet, they could send their kids to bring them more alcohol from the fridge.
Ugly Parenting Patterns
Common wisdom denotes that kids won’t pay attention to what you tell them but to what you do.
As noted by my buddy Sunday school teacher, parenting reared its ugly head rather vividly at the function going by the different behaviors exhibited by the kids.
Notably, when the cake was being cut, kids swam into action wanting a bite and to cut the cake simultaneously.
On the other hand, this group of kids watched from a distance, waiting eagerly for someone to serve them.
Evidently, the way these kids behaved goes back to how their parents nurtured and handled them at home.
Just as charity begins at home. Disciplining your child starts at home before you send them to Sunday school or the 8.4.4 education system.
I have lived with young parents whose kids are spoilt brats. They dismiss even the gravest of mistakes with a simple, “I will whip you,” and that is it.
Such kids have no respect for adults and visitors in their homes. They will jump on the sofa around you, snatch your phone and hit you unexpectedly. Owe unto you if you wear spectacles. I had to replace mine recently because of such an ordeal.
In all these, they expect you to do nothing lest you fall short of the discipline code in their home.
It’s even more annoying when they are doing this to you in front of their parents, who don’t care about your ordeal at all.
The only option left is to play along and pretend you are comfortable.
One interesting thing Dave noted was also the health of these young kids. Kids fed on junk food often appeared weaker as compared to kids who fed on carbohydrates and protein diets.
Methinks parents should call the shorts on what their kids should be eating. Snacks are good for kids once in a while, but rarely.
However much he/she always screams for that ice cream displayed at the shops, we must make an effort to wean them from consuming junk food.
As we enjoy the festive season, let’s remember to be wonderful parents and custodians to our young ones.
If we give the freedom of their desires at a young age, we will have to contend with raising rebellious teenagers. This is because there was a twist already in their upbringing we didn’t want to address.
Successful parenting to all parents and aspiring parents in 2020!
25/12/2018
Don’t Seek Success, Seek Value
Seeking success is good, but not better when compared to seeking value. What success are you seeking in your life? Is it the perfect marriage? Do you want to get a promotion at your workplace? In fact, you have been told the sky is the limit. Right? I’m not disputing the saying, but here is a thought: don’t seek success, seek value.
In life, we pay for value. Nothing more, nothing less. Whether it is a product or service, you use it not because of anything but the value you get from it.
So, lets take a deeper dive and find out why we should seek for value and not success.
4 Reasons You Should Seek Value and Not Success
1. You Change Lives by the New You
Think about it for a second. What? Life before Facebook. Social media was unheard of. You wouldn’t imagine in your wildest dreams sharing your photo over the world save for pen pals.
There is nothing so satisfying like being an agent of change or transformation in the lives of other people. You don’t have to invent Facebook like Mark. Light kind-hearted activities like feeding the hungry, giving an attentive ear make a lot of difference in peoples’ lives.
Similarly, in your workplace rather than chasing the success of getting a promotion, how about you focus on seeking and adding value to your team? Ask yourself what you could do better to improve your team’s performance.
By serving others, you tie yourself less to your goals and aspirations. You pay more on the value you are bringing to society. This builds you in the long run.
Your way to greatness is by serving others and adding value to their lives. However, amid all these, also pay attention to how you are growing in your life.
2. It’s Value that Brings you Success and not Vice versa
We always see success all around us and you can’t deny it. Whether it’s someone driving your dream car or having a fat paycheck.
Someone is running a successful business that is flourishing. You wish you could pull off something like that too. And so, clearly, our definition of success comes from what we admire or what someone is doing successfully in our space.
However, in most cases, this serves to hurt you because you are trying to project a journey or a milestone that isn’t yours. Put another way, you are trying to be the person who created that success. You and I know it’s a wild goose chase you are up to.
Comparison is the thief of joy. And so when you compare yourself with others, it leaves you empty and disappointed.
On the flip side, don’t seek success, seek value, and provide it to others. The truly successful people are those who contribute value to others. They don’t accumulate glory for others but want to see others succeed as well.
If you have a brand that is giving back to the community, people are more likely to value you and appreciate your efforts. Moreso, they will trust your brand. They will support you and join you in your value addition efforts.
That’s exactly how you build your success. You don’t seek success; you seek value and add it to the lives of other people.
When you seek value, you will begin giving that value to others. In the process, you will change, growing and building your brand. And that will be your success.
I work for a nonprofit in Kenya by the name One Acre Fund. It began as a small social enterprise serving 38 farmers in Kenya. Today, it has spread its program across 6 countries. The Kenya program alone serves 440,000 farmers.
3. You Build an Abundant Mindset
In most cases, we always focus on ourselves. We focus on how we can take care of our daily minor problems but forget to examine our mindset.
Even so, it’s easier for you to build an abundant mindset by focusing on others. Because by helping others, your mind will begin noticing that there is the value you can offer people.
You, therefore,, start appreciating yourself for what you can do. The joy you give to others will refresh you every day and put in you in abundant disposition.
4. Value Lasts Success is Temporal
Let’s say you are successful, right? You have no problem paying the bills; you got the money. Going for vacations is not an issue of at what cost it’s about when.
But if you were to die today, all the mega lifestyle disappears. Conversely, you could run a non-profit that feeds the hunger-stricken. The contrast is clear right away.
Success dies on the day you die
The former is having the best time of his life, while the latter is changing lives.
What always lingers for long after we die is the value we offered and not the sleek machines we drove.
Therefore, get out there. Do an act of kindness, or support a social course. People rarely forget your acts of kindness. Don’t seek success, seek value.
Icons of Value in the World
The world’s greatest are not remembered because of their successes, but because of their value. Check this quick rundown of people valuable in the world.
Bill Gates -Founded Microsoft
Mark Zuckerberg – Facebook
Andrew Youn – One Acre Fund
Lewis Brown – Motivational speaker
These people are not just successful out of the blue, but they sought after a value of over the years; which made them the successful figures they are today.
Bill Gates’ obsession with computers did not begin today.
If you have been seeking success all this long! Stop in your tracks right now and change what you seek after for value. Success is short-lived, but the value will never be archaic.
You want to be that person people won’t fail to mention at an important meeting or event because of your value. With value, you can’t afford to be ignored?
Bottom Line
Seek to be a person of value and not a person of success. This begins at finding a skill or carving out a niche you can be good at. A jack of all trades was never a master at anything. Besides, your simple acts of kindness can also make you a person of value.
22/12/2018
Focus on Who You are Becoming not What You Deserve
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You vs Your Environment
Friends, family, acquaintances, old schoolmates, and colleagues always have something to say about pertinent life issues. These issues mostly surround our environment.
In the Gospels and Matthew’s book, Jesus Christ admonished his disciples. He told them to first focus on themselves before raising their hand to point a finger at their neighbour’s faults.
Stephen R. Covey
In his bestseller, 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen R. Covey mentions the circle of influence and the circle of concern.
Many people fall into the second circle. It’s called the circle of concern. The circle of concern is the category of people who focus on concerns beyond their control and what is outside their power of influence.
Complaining about how bad the weather is doesn’t make things get better.
Same way, whining about how corrupt and selfish our political leaders are doesn’t change them but only serves to hurt you more.
And therefore, by focusing on things you cannot control, Covey argues you decrease your circle of influence.
Complaining about how bad the weather is doesn’t make things get better. Same way, whining about how corrupt and selfish our political leaders are doesn’t change them but only serves to hurt you more. And therefore, by focusing on things you cannot control, Covey argues you decrease your circle of influence.
And what about the circle of influence? People in this circle long realized that if things will get better, then it is up to them to change.
Therefore, they centre their focus on what they can control and influence.
If they need to up their game by being proficient in a new skill, that is where they will direct their attention.
They know it is up to them to do what needs to be done to change the status quo.
If it is the financial freedom they are looking for, they will focus their energy on watching their financial habits.
Also, they will use their power to drop negative habits for better and effective financial habits. They will embrace habits such as saving and investing.
Gratitude Score Card
Having said that, it is also important to pinpoint the fact that some people have replaced the culture of gratitude with a culture of whining and murmuring.
As much as you would want to think someone you never respect has risen the social or economic ladder, they still have little to be grateful for.
First, they have this big sense of entitlement. They feel whatever job they have or their current position in life isn’t worth the salt.
So, instead of appreciating who they are becoming, they focus on external factors. Further, they refuse to take responsibility because they feel it is not their job.
An employee who is not contented with his/her place of work because they feel their salary is below standard or an insensitive boss is micromanaging them may focus on their boss and throw tantrums about how their work is difficult.
However, they forget the fact that he is becoming a different person. You can only become a unique person for good or rather grow if you have the right attitude and mentality in such situations.
That means taking responsibility for yourself and making decisions for your good and your company.
What Are You Becoming?
If you choose to take responsibility for any tough situation in your life, you will respond to it rather than react. Responding to it means you handle the matter before you with sobriety, emotional intelligence, and wisdom. On the contrary, one who chooses to react has actually refused to take responsibility and would rather correct mistakes or turn combative and prove how capable they can control a given tough situation by reacting.
In every sphere of your life, you better learn to focus on who you are becoming. For instance,
Spiritually, are you becoming more alert and finding your true purpose and call, or are you becoming more deluded?
On positivity, are you focusing more on the negatives and, therefore, complaining more, or are you becoming more of a positive thinker, focusing on the positives and being a ray and light of hope to those negative around you?
In your career, do you have more skills than the ones you had three years ago and the experience to warrant the desired promotion, or do you still need to cover more tracks?
In your relationships with people or marriage, do you have or do what your partner demands, or is it simply taking with no give?
On your health, Are you doing enough to stay healthy by eating the right foods, getting enough sleep, having the right thoughts, and exercising properly, or are you becoming lazy, reckless and obese?
Are you becoming more of a responsible or irresponsible parent in your family?
In all these circumstances, nothing changes until you change your way of doing things, more reason to focus on who you are becoming.
Take Responsibility
You may be tempted to think that it is your job, your spouse or your friend or your parent who makes you not be an achiever; but then, that’s your undoing because you are simply playing victim to situations you know you can control yourself and are within your circle of influence.
Nothing changes until you change.
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“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?⁴How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye?⁵You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye. Matthew 7:3
04/10/2018
Why being Grateful gives you More Opportunities to be
The things I’m grateful for
There are two groups of people in the world today. Those who know how to be grateful and those who know how to complain. In which category do you identify yourself?
For the last two weeks, I have a been sleeping at an exclusive guest house. While here, I have enjoyed a sumptuous supper and breakfast, all paid and taken care of.
Well, this is not something happening out of the blue. Probably many of you have had a similar or even better experience.
Similarly, an equal majority may not have had the same experience or something close to this.
I say this not to brag, but to show gratitude to what life can offer if you maintain your grateful attitude.
I’m also aware of the many homeless and hunger-stricken who to whom life has given painful experiences. But they haven’t lost everything just yet.
Count your Blessings
In saying all this, I must emphasize that it is more important to count your blessings.
Whining and sulking is a wilderness mentality that kept the Israelites stranded in the wilderness for 40 years. Yet, their journey was to last for a mere 11-day journey to the promised land. (Canaan)
You are better off developing the culture of gratitude no matter how tough the going might be than joining a bunch of complainers along the streets, pub, church or you mention where.
You are better off developing the culture of gratitude no matter how tough the going might be than joining a bunch of complainers along the streets, pub, church or you mention where.
More to the guest house experience is also the fact that I have changed my place of residence to move closer to my workstation.

Embrace what makes you be Grateful
While many people I know were uncomfortable with my preference or choice of the place to stay, I chose not to look at things from their point of view but do what makes my heart comfortable.
I’m a firm believer in the principle of frugal living to create more avenues for saving and investing my money for the next 60 years (all factors constant) that I still have to live on planet earth.
One factor that would have turned me off from choosing this flat as a place of residence is its proximity to the office. Interestingly, though, I saw it as an added advantage to my principle of frugal living.
A few colleagues were of the opinion that it is more like living in the office from Sunday to Sunday because you are never away, literally because you live closer.
Close here is really close in the sense that when I stand at the door of my house, I’m able to see the main entrance to the office. Hahaha.
However, I saw things differently first because of my rental fee, which is way below the normal rates charged here.
More beneficial is the fact that I won’t spend a nickel and dime to get to the office, which helps to cut on my expenses even further.
Given the nose-bridge distance between my place and the office, that also means cases of being late because of busy traffic and facing a disgusted boss are now behind my back.
Let me also mention that I have a free and secure Wi-Fi connection 24/7 thanks to being a neighbor to the office.
Jim Rohn
Just yesterday I was listening to one renowned motivational speaker in the name of Jim Rohn.
Rohn says that one philosophy of success that made him rich was “wages make you a living, but profits make you a fortune”
And in saying so, Rohn mentioned the 70.10.10.10 principle of spending a dollar. That you must strive to ensure you live on 70% of what you make. The next 10%, spent it on charity and tithing.
The other 10%, put it to active investments, let’s say a business or a venture that has a quick turnover.
The last 10%, spent it on passive investments lets say buying a house and collecting assets.
Practically speaking, the money you make will never be enough to meet all your expenses and maybe take care of your savings and investments. But you can make the money be enough to cover all that if you want to. The buck stops with you.
Comparison, the Thief of Joy
Unfortunately, it is so pathetic that many of us get caught in a web of comparison, therefore, feeling our hearts with so much jealousy and “it should have been me” attitude.
Where is the joy in all that? I’m an employee, but I think most victims of this quagmire are employees.
Rarely the self-employed entrepreneurs and business people have the time for such comparisons because they are busy interacting with customers, sales, and themselves.
But they too can’t escape comparison syndrome because they are human beings with life in social media.
If you are in a social grouping of people, be alert and shield yourself against comparing yourself with other people. Run your own race.
Athletes when running stick to their lanes and focus on the finishing line without looking sideways. Why should you be the one to sabotage your own efforts to win by looking at the new mansion or BMW your neighbor gained? That should not be you at all.
Final Thoughts
I greatly so the need to exhort you this day on counting your blessings and being grateful for having them in your life. If I were to write all my blessings in this post, then I could still write them. In counting your blessings, you are not doing anybody a favor but you. Every day strive to count the three things that made you happy, or you were grateful for, and life will give you more opportunities to be grateful.
15/09/2018
Run Your Own Race
Gladys Cherono, Mary Wacera and Sally Chepyego at the 2014 IAAF World Half Marathon Championships (Google Images)
You may have heard of the statement – Run your own race. Have you for a moment ever thought of its significance in your life?
In actual sense, many people run other peoples race while thinking they are running their own race. Take for example a young man whom I will call Fred. Well, Fred chose to marry even when he was not ripe for marriage because his close friend and schoolmate, Julian had already married.
So Fred is motivated to marry by the decision of Julian his friend and not because he is ready to marry.
So Fred is motivated to marry by the decision of Julian, his friend and not because he is ready to marry.
I agree that we don’t emulate apes, we emulate fellow human beings and try to do what each one of us does best, however, that does not give us a ticket to run others people’s race.
No man is an island and everyone will always find themselves in a group or community of people at places of work, business, school or social events.
All is well until when you chose to abandon your own race for others peoples pursuit. Your colleague putting on the latest and trendy fashions in town should not be the driving force for you to upgrade your wardrobe when you know clearly you don’t have the money to do that.
Photo by Jonathan Chng on Unsplash
It is sad that many of us conform to purported norms and generalities and fail to be the CEOs of our lives. Ever heard of a company or organization that had the same mission statement, vision, and agenda as three other different companies? No!!
The same applies to our own lives. We lose our originality, sense of purpose and vision when we allow ourselves to get trapped in others peoples dreams and visions.
Do you have the will to follow your own course in life without wavering or your neighbor’s life is what you copy?
It’s not a surprise that some of the mentally challenged students and former schoolmates are driving posh vehicles and living in luxurious homes. But by the fact that your life isn’t that successful does not mean your drop your values, goals, and vision in life to pursue their course.
If you fall victim to materialism, the truth is that at no single day will you ever be contented with what you have. But later own you will learn the hard way that contentment with divine living does you a lot better.
True satisfaction in life can only be found when you run your own race. You are your number one competitor better stick to your own lane and be focused if you want to achieve greater things in life.
What many people do in common should never be taken as the gospel truth. Many people could as well be doing the wrong thing while being blinded by the notion that everybody is doing it and so it is right. How wrong?
We should refrain from the temptation to think that there is only one defined way to success in life. People get to be successful through different avenues in life and you better align with yours by running your own race.
Til next time.
30/08/2018
Use Common Sense
Photo by Jon Tyson on Unsplash
Twelve years ago, I got enrolled in an institution of secondary education that was deemed one of the best in the country.
We first formers were called “MONOS”. I guess the older students came up with the nickname because we were always on the receiving end of their harassment and bullying.
Coming from a place where most school mottos could be clearly understood or their intended meaning put out clear, the motto of the secondary institution I was enrolled into seemed to be quite unique and different from most school mottos I know.
The reason it turned out to be that way is the fact that most school mottos always appear to have the same pattern of cheering you on, for instance, you will find school mottos that go like, “Aim higher”, “The Sky is the Limit”, “Together we can”, “Striving for Excellence” and more like them. However, in my new found hub of education, things caught me by surprise because the motto did not follow the common pattern of school mottos I knew about. In fact, what made it more unique was the fact that it did not address the school or a large group of people but you as an individual. You could actually get that feeling in your heart that indeed it’s my duty to abide by this motto and no one else will if not me.
To us first formers, we got more confused by the motto than embracing it. The motto kind of led you to yourself. You needed to know your surroundings well and know what to do at the right time and in the right place. Unfortunately, many of us, we still had no clue or a proper grasp of the school routine and rules and were therefore in limbo.
Well, the motto wasn’t like something about coding or rocket science. As a matter of fact, it was very simple to understand but how to put it into practice was the big deal. So when we were told “Use Common Sense was the motto or we rather so it painted all over we got that awful feeling in our stomachs while asking ourselves what all this was about.
But as the school term gained momentum we came to learn from the older students that we had only ourselves to blame because we kept on imagining many unnecessary things about in the school. You simply needed to do the right thing at the right places at the right time. And for you to be able to do it right and maintain discipline, you needed your five senses of see, hear taste, smell and touch to be very and always alert.
For instance, we used to be woken up for morning personal study that was usually referred to us Morning Preps that could begin at five o’clock. There was an old, rusted rim of a tractor tire that used to be hit with a metal object every day at five o’clock. It was actually our morning alarm.
After one student complained about the rusty rim being too primitive for our school image the administration changed it to an electronic bell.
Well, life generally has its own puzzles and people need to realize that not many use common sense in their day to day living. I interact with both the old and young in my place of living, work and social events but it really becomes disgusting when people cannot use their common sense to do the right things at the right time. However, I agree that the aforementioned statement is itself relative and somebody’s right could be someone else’s wrong but at the end of the day we must agree that facts are facts and there is always a guiding principle to the thing of things.
Take, for example, an adult who cannot leave the washrooms clean as he or she found them. Etiquette dictates that you use the washrooms responsibly for the sake of others who are using the same facility. In the event that you mess it up, common sense dictates that you clean up your mess because it should not be anyone else’ responsibility to do that.
Take, for example, an adult who cannot leave the washrooms clean as he or she found them. Etiquette dictates that you use the washrooms responsibly for the sake of others who are using the same facility. In the event that you mess it up, common sense dictates that you clean up your mess because it should not be anyone else’ responsibility to do that.
To those living in rented apartments or flats, it becomes illogical when your neighbor who is hardly a stone throw away from you to want to listen to their music at the highest volume possible when common sense would have simply told them not everyone likes that type of music or they could be listening or watching something else in their living rooms.
It even becomes more disgusting when adults cannot make a queue to be served food or attended to for whatever service they need but would rather scramble creating more chaos. Some literally walk to the front of the queue or jump the queue and give you that look that says, “Utado?” or “What will you do?” Common sense demands that when you happen to see a queue then all those people standing or seated in that queue are feeling the same way as you feel but have chosen to be orderly, therefore, you need to see the orderliness and follow suit. Haaa!!!
For heaven’s sake, common sense demands that you eat with your mouth closed because you yourself know very well its uncomfortable being on the other end where you have to see the masticated food particles in someone else’s mouth. Right?
On public utilities like latrines, you must always knock on the door first lest you push it through when someone is in there. On the other hand, If everyone around you is using a fork, spoon, and knife to eat, why be the one to do it the opposite way.
While you may want to call it etiquette or something else but the end of the day, it all boils down to using your senses to make the right decisions and choices.
Best.
21/08/2018
You are Allowed to Get Stuck in Life but Never Stop
Feel no motivation to write this post this afternoon. So to speak, I have been on a forced writing leave for unknown reasons that only I should be able to comprehend.
Most writers will agree with me that it comes to that point in their writing career when they feel burned out and there is no more fuel for their writing journey.
For a couple of weeks, the procrastination demon has been all over me. Telling me there’s no reason to worry about the writing dormancy. I guess today I have conquered my biggest enemy.
Woman sleeping on New York balcony. Photo credit:www.StillsByHernan.com
For a couple of weeks, the procrastination demon has been all over me. Telling me there’s no reason to worry about the writing dormancy. I guess today I have conquered my biggest enemy.
For also reasons unavoidable, I have been shifting between offices, sitting before panels, doing tests here and there in the quest to land myself a job. All that is history owing to my potential employer sending me an offer letter for employment.
Congratulatory messages have poured in from all quarters, people encouraging me to go for the job. Well, personally, I take this to be a very important step in my career path.
Having listened and read about many tips on personal finance, getting wealthy and retiring early I’m eager to make things right from the word go. Given that I have been more of a spender than a saver over the years, I now want to put my brain and energy into building my financial muscles that will first start with saving then diving into a business with consideration for a long-term investment strategy. All about goal setting. Right?
A part of me is also concerned about my hobbies of writing and blogging putting into consideration the fact the past couple of months have been low on writing energy, zeal, and motivation.
That said, I’m gonna have to push myself beyond my limits. Despite the demanding career life that is gonna come my way, I’m gonna put my best foot forward in ensuring that this interesting hobby does not die out any time soon.
Same way, you could be at a critical point in your life where you feel your energy or attention has been sapped by the pressures of life. The only one thing you are allowed to do is to take a break or get stuck but never stay stuck forever.
If you happen to be working on building a life skill that you feel has ridden you of all the energy left, it’s okay to feel stuck but don’t stop yet.
Your online friend, Job
04/08/2018
No Glory Without Sacrifice
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This morning while attending a monthly departmental meeting at my workstation I happened to be among those listening to our guest for the day – a recruitment officer with the company I work with.
~~To say the least, her story was inspiring let alone motivating.~~
Every sentence from her mouth broke forth through the still air with such wisdom, energy and gusto that knows no bounds.
Though hard to admit, companies /organizations once in a while undergo restructuring to either lay off some of their employees, expand their operations while minimizing costs.
In most cases, the former reason is always the case, where organizations lay off their staff as a cost-cutting measure in a bid to operate on very low costs while expanding their operations.
However, when such incidents occur in an organization what matters most is on what side of the divide are you. If you are an employee like me currently, that means that you will be on the receiving end of the company’s boardroom decisions.
On the contrary, if you happen to be the CEO or owner of the company, you will be more than happy to implement such a decision as long as its helping your company cut on costs while making profits.
It is such a point in time that our guest was called in by the department management to help shed light on internal job hiring process and issues that need ironing out.
Surprisingly, it turned out that many of us were not aggressive enough in getting the job opportunities that were being made available to us. Evidently, it is true that when you stare at the abyss the abyss stares back at you. The point I’m trying to make here is that if you constantly surround yourself with negativity, sooner or later you will become negative.
Surprisingly, it turned out that many of us were not aggressive enough in getting the job opportunities that were being made available to us. Evidently, it is true that when you stare at the abyss the abyss stares back at you. The point I’m trying to make here is that if you constantly surround yourself with negativity, sooner or later you will become negative.
I will say this without fear of contradiction that most new employees who join an organization usually come in full of positive energy and with a skyrocketing zeal to outperform their resumes.
Nevertheless, along their career path something within them gets twisted and a bend is created. Their zeal, passion and positive attitude towards their job dissipates and evaporates into thin air and behind is left an empty shell of a human body who comes to work not because he/ she loves it but because he/she has to. To them, there is no growth, things will always remain the way they are and there is nothing to look forward to.
Precisely, that was the atmospheric temperature in the room when the invited guest trooped in. The once innocent souls with a hunger to work and serve while building their career lives were now seeing this as a waste of time and energy, their hearts demoralized by an organization that seems not to care about their work life.
Interestingly it only remained so until when our guest changed the tune. She gave her own personal life experience on how she used to be lazy and not aggressive enough in searching for jobs that matched her skills and qualifications.
She hilariously narrated how she could write a CV once and use one and the same Curriculum Vitae to apply to all the job opportunities that came knocking at the door. All she needed to do was print her long written CV from her desktop and send to the whatever job she was applying to at any given time.
Alternatively, she could simply upload one and the same CV while doing online applications and simply click send. At the end of it all, none of her efforts converted into getting her a good job but regret emails and phone calls that never came.
It emerged that she was her own worst enemy and was doing more harm than good to herself. She admitted she was lazy back then something she was quick to point out amongst us. She lamented how sad it was that someone had strong skills to sell to the highest bidder yet did not want to take the time and effort to tailor-make her CV suit a particular position he is applying for.
The challenge is: To the many successful people you see outside there, there is something out of the ordinary that every single one of them did to merit their success status.
Unfortunately, too many of us do not care to ask how did they make it in whatever field of success or line they are in but all we do is get edgy with them, call them names and accuse them of being devil worshippers in some God forbid secret societies.
It’s only when we get positive, refuse to be among the bottom crowd mentality and choose to do something new and positive out of our normal routines that life will have began.
No glory without sacrifice.
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09/07/2018