FIVE FACTORS FOR GREATNESS

In my last post, BUILDING UP YOURSELF FOR GREATNESS, I made it explicitly lucid that everyone is born to be great...everyone has inherent ability to be great and successful in life. But that the levels of success and greatness one mankind manifest will certainly be different due to variance in the amount of time and effort such individuals invest into their lives. Though greatness is within the reach of everyone who launches out for it, it has been well stated that, some people cannot never attain the level of greatness they passionately desire or admire because they fail to invest a commensurate amount of effort to see its actualization.

At the end of the story of Mr Johnson and his son (Stow) who became a world best athlete in his time, we were able to draw out five important factors that led to his amazing success. These same factors will surely produce the same effects or results for anyone who correctly applies them. In no particular order, we identified: Mentor-ship, Vision or purpose, Action or hard-work and Persistence in that post, but I am adding G-Factor. Now, let’s examine them one after another.

1.      Vision – in this context, vision can be interchangeably used with purpose, because the purpose of a man is what defines and fuels his vision. In fact, there is no vision without purpose and vice versa. Vision is simply a mental picture of your future or purpose for living. To be great, you must be able to discover your purpose and then translate it into a vision that drives on. Behind every great accomplishment is a well packaged vision. In the next 5, 10, 15 and 20 years where will you be, who will you become, what will you achieve? These are the questions that a good vision must answer. Vision is the force that drives you to fulfilling your purpose in life.

2.      Mentorship – mentorship is a situation of being guided, instructed and nurtured by experience (but not necessarily older) persons in the line of your vision and lives purpose. Mentorship is like spoon feeding you until your land in the world of success. It helps you to avoid costly mistakes that others make when pursuing the same vision.  It makes your journey to greatness easy and fun filled. Mentor are like counsellors, and in the multitude of counsellors, a city is not only easily build but eternally fortified. The secret of easy and lasting greatness is traceable to mentorship. Be accountable to your mentors – those who have achieve the same feats you are aiming to achieve. Mentors make your missions measurably monumental.

3.      Action – action is said to speak louder than voice, and that is true. It is not just dreamers that attain great heights but those that act on their dreams. Vision alone will never take you to the envision platform of greatness, but acting on the vision will. You never tell how far you can go or how much you can accomplish in life, until you act on your dreams/visions. Life does not respond favourably to the things we wish to do, but to the things we actually do. Break down your dreams into workable bits and start acting on them. An action on a fraction of a dream produces ripples of glorious effects that bring you closer to the fulfilment of the dreams. Don’t wait for when you can do much, just start with the little you can do now. Little shots of actions over a long time will produce a far more effective effect than one big shot. Every day, you should ask yourself this: “what can I do today no matter how small, which will help me fulfil my vision?”

4.      Persistence – giving up on a task or dream or vision is the easiest way to becoming a “nobody”. People who easily give up never amount to any relevance in their field. They journey to greatness will never be easy or luxurious, but you must persevere. You must persist and continue to knock off distractions your way. You must remain focused and willing to travel the full haul. You must be ready and willing to endure the momentary pains and sufferings until you are eventually crowned. The prize is not for everybody who started the race, but strictly for only those won reached the end. Never! Never!! Never give up!!! Be determined to accomplish your dreams, no matter how long it takes and how much it costs. You will be disappointed, you will fail severally, you will be deserted by your supposed helpers, you will be scorned and laughed at, you will make some loses, you will even experience some threats and denials while pursuing your dreams; but DON’T GIVE UP. Those who persist to the end will usually be rewarded with prizes that wipe off the memories of their painful past.

5.      G-Factor – this is the “God-Factor.”Without God, no matter how much you try, you will never succeed. We must acknowledge God in all we do. John 15:5 says that, cut-off from God, we can do absolutely nothing. Think about it for a moment: your intelligence, wealth, connections, influences, properties, virtues and wisdom are all given to you by God. In all we do or accomplish, we must return all glory to God Almighty. That is the only sure guaranty for continues success and greatness in this world.

In conclusion, these factors are not exhaustive. Depending on there are of life and your dream lines, there are many other virtues and characters sacrifices we must demonstrate in other to be successful of be called great. The virtues of humility, love, transparency, probity, accountability, honesty, kindness, generosity and the rest, must work harmoniously. These five factors, do not in any instance take the place of the development of relevant skills and lifestyles for success. To be great in the world of business, you must learn proper customer relations and calculations. To be great in the world of science and technology, you must learn to think critically etc. however, these five factors put together will always push you towards greatness.

To your greatness,

Shalom!