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!
