MEN THAT WILL SUCCEED 22: They have a sense of purpose

I have found that all ugly things are made by those who strive to make something beautiful, and that all beautiful things are made by those who strive to make something useful. (Oscar Wilde)

There are two dimensions to purpose: the first concerns the basis for our existence, the kind of thing that Darwin wanted to explain away; the second has to do with defining a reason for everything we do.

In the first sense, purpose is the ‘why’, the rationale for everything that is exogenously defined: the reason why you’re here, the reason why you’re not dead yet, the reason why you’re a male or female, the reason why you’re black or white, the reason why you have those parents, and so on. What this implies is that one will always underperform when out of purpose. You will never rise to the fullness of your potential unless you’re doing what you were designed for in the first place. For instance, if you had a nice Ferrari parked in your garage and a tree just fell across the road in front of your house, would you use your Ferrari or an ugly chain saw? To the Intelligent Designer who made you, there’s something you should be doing, and until you’re doing it, you’re under-utilized, wrongly utilized or utterly useless.

In the second sense, purpose is your ‘why’ for whatever you do – your choice. Daniel Pink, in his bestseller, Drive – The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us, brings out strongly the power of purpose as a determinant of better performance and self satisfaction. The main idea is that when people do things for a specific reason – a purpose that is higher than themselves or any mundane considerations, their performance hits the skies! And that is being proven true everyday: Google, Skype, Apache, Facebook…all started with a clear mission, something of a need they wanted to fulfill. So, in general, purposeful people tend to perform consistently better; purposeful businesses grow faster; purposeful athletes last longer…Why? Because they do whatever they do for a reason – and even more, they know what their reasons are for doing those things. 

If only you will take the time to find out the ‘why’, you will spend much less time worrying about the ‘what’.

Two Major Things Part I

In today's world, we miss two major things everyday.

One, the value of quiet.

Everywhere is so noisy and everything is moving so fast that it is next to impossible for people to retreat daily, observe nature, take in some deep breath and savour the beauty of the one life that the benevolent Creator has given them, and follow after their purpose (or at least, spend time discovering that purpose).

It is quite unfortunate that parents and the school system contributing to the noise around. A typical child is engaged from the time he wakes up till he falls asleep at night. We are just preoccupied with work, assignments here and there, meetings and countless activities, with little or no time left for daily assessment. Not that these things are bad in themselves but there is an inherent danger in not being able to stop and think: distraction and frustration.

Little wonder life is becoming clumsy by the day and people are losing focus consistently. From an engineering standpoint, I understand that the faster a typical machine runs (and more especially if it does that with little or no break or lubrication sessions), the more heat, noise and vibration it tends to generate and the shorter it ends up living. How wise is the saying that "...in quietness and trust is your strength..." That saying of a great prophet of old ends with "...but you would have none of it." That describes our generation aptly. We just don't want to stop! And the reason for that is that most people are simply purposeless. 

Reading Rick Warren's "The Purpose-Driven Life" recently, one of the profound truths I have learnt is that in the serious matters of life, simpler is always better. Why? Because the more purpose-driven you are, the less you veer off your lane, the less you get distracted, the less you will want to do, and the less will be your perceived need for speed.

Come on, you are not competing against anyone but yourself in the race of life. The ultimate standard against which you will be measured is the standard that was set for you, and you alone - and that's why being purpose-driven helps you to keep it simple. Purpose helps you to know the difference between what you really need and what you merely want. Purpose shows you the line between what matters and what does not.

Unfortunately, as important as it is, purpose is absolutely noiseless. It associates only with the quiet. Perhaps much more unfortunately, many of us erroneously believe that when we are achieving our purpose, we should generate some noise in form of ovations and loud events. That is not necessarily true - but it is not necessarily false either, only that it is more false than true! In innovation studies it is understood artifacts are not innovation themselves, they are just the embodiments required to sell the innovation. So events and activities and accolades and whatever are not purpose in themselves, they are mere artifacts that serve to embody purpose, they are vehicles through which purpose is expressed. It is rather important to pursue purpose than artifacts. A life that is purpose-driven will announce itself, taking along with it the artifacts.

What then does one do to maintain some level of quietness in this noisy age? First admit the need to cut down on your excesses as an individual. There are so many things you do each day that you can do without. Then take time off each day to do nothing but think. You have to decide on your own what to think about, but remember - good or bad, you eventually produce what you think predominantly about. Above all, be committed to your purpose, in case you have found it. If not, then that's where to begin. 

Whatever goals you set and even achieve do not count much towards your fulfillment if they don't contribute to your reason for living. It does not matter how many times you can use an axe to peel oranges, until it hews wood, it has not achieved much.  

MEN THAT WILL SUCCEED 16: They serve

Hi. As the year 2010 draws to a close, I believe you will also be taking stock. Taking stock of the things you did and did not do, the thinks you thought and did not think, the things you said and did not say and the places you went and did not go. I am doing that and in my thinking I ask my self one critical question: For how many people did I make things happen?

I can count a handful of those but as I reflected further, I came to the conclusion that making things happen for people is probably not the most important thing. Of much greater importance is making people! How many dreams have I helped to realise? How many people have I slowed down? How many people have I inspired or discouraged?

I am still taking stock and I reckon you want to do the same. For that reason I have put up the 16th part in my series on personal success. I have chosen this time for this because I strongly believe that it's all about service, whether we will find fulfillment or not. So I charge you to look back and see how well you've served and take a decision to do better in the coming year. 

What follows is the post MEN THAT WILL SUCCEED 16: They serve. In it I have placed a few books that helped me and that I think might help you too. The quotes in the post do not necessarily come from those books but they are by/about the same men whose quotes I have used. Feel free to leave your comments or questions. See you on the other end!

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‘None have one chance in a billon of being thought of as really great a century after they’re gone except those who have been servants of all’ 

(Harry Fosdick)

True success is in service: Being for others what you want others to be for you. Your willingness to serve others determines how much others will be willing to do for you. You will never find anyone who will do anything for you if you never do anything for anyone.

‘Life is a lot like the game of tennis. Those who do not serve well end up losing’ (John Mason)

Believe it on not, the more you desire to serve (and the more you actually serve) and serve well, the more you will be served.  Whoever you are, you must put others before yourself if you want to amount to something.  Imagine a manufacturer thinking of profits from the sales of his products before thinking of what his consumers will like.  You know as well as l do that his business is headed for disaster. 

Happiness and satisfaction come from knowing that you are making someone better.  Albert Schweitzer got it round when he said that the only ones who will really be happy are those who have sought and found how to serve.  Greatness, according to Martin Luther King, Jr., is truly measured in servant hood. ‘

' The measure of life is not in its duration but in its donation,’ says Peter Marshall, ‘everyone can be great because everyone can serve.’

‘The greatest secret of success is to find a need and fill it’ (Robert H. Schuller)

MEN THAT WILL SUCCEED 8: They Work Hard

‘None of the secrets of success will work unless you do … often the simple answer to your problem is: GO TO WORK’ (John Mason).

Someone has said that laziness travels so slowly that poverty soon overtakes it. On the road to success, nothing can replace hard work. An American TV game show host, Monty Hall once said, ‘Actually, I’m an overnight success. But it took me twenty years.’ Nobody makes it legally without working hard. Ask any celebrity that you know. They’ve been at it for a long time but no one notices until they pull it off. Work, work, work and work. Nothing in the world can take the place of hard work.

About 500 times the Bible speaks of work. Jeremiah said it is good for a young man to bear the burden in his youth*; King Solomon said, ‘He whose hand is slack shall be poor.§’ Slack here is used in the sense of sloth and negligence. You’ve got to sweat if you want to succeed.

General Colin Powell, US Secretary of State, started out in life as a floor scrubber. John Major, British PM worked as a cashier in Lagos. Bill Gates walked door-to-door to sell insurance. M.K.O. Abiola sold firewood … and the list can go on.

You can’t get anyone to work for you if you don’t work for yourself. There is honour in hard work.

‘All hard work leads to a profit’ (King Solomon).

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* See the Holy Bible; the Lamentations of Jeremiah 3:27

§ See the Holy Bible; the Proverbs 10:4

MEN THAT WILL SUCCEED 7: They Plan

After the little - but thoughtful - aside that I posted the other day, I believe we're ready to move on with the 8th in our series of thoughts about SUCCESS-MINDED PEOPLE. Today, it's about planning...

‘Praying without planning is playing without knowing’ - David O. Oyedepo

Planning simply means taking a good look at what you want to achieve and deciding how to go about it. Jesus called it ‘counting the cost’ when HE talked about a man wanting to build a tower or a king wanting to go to war.* Failure to do this results in ridiculous failure.

You probably have heard it said before that he that fails to plan plans to fail. Nobody consciously plans to fail but numerous people do it unconsciously when they make no plans for definite achievements. Only planners can achieve.

Big things happen when you do the little things right. When a man does not know what harbor he is making for, no wind seems to be blowing in the right direction. You are not an animal so you are not expected to live on mere instincts. Lay out definite plans of what you want to achieve. If you don’t know what you want then you have to manage with whatever you get.

People with plans are always prepared. They are always ready. They are always doing something positive. They are never caught unawares. And they hardly miss opportunities. That’s the only legal reason today why the rich are getting richer.

‘Order – let all your things have their place; let each part of your business have its time’ - Benjamin Franklin



* See the Holy Bible - Luke 14: 28-32

MEN THAT WILL SUCCEED 6: They Think

"What you picture in your mind your mind will go to work to accomplish. When you change your picture you automatically change your performance. You cannot consistently act in a manner that is inconsistent with the way you think " - Zig Ziglar

The greatest asset that God has given to mortal man is the ability to think; the power of the mind; the power to imagine; the power to envision. Michael LeBoeuf called it the greatest moneymaker in the world; and I call it the greatest asset of any man. Listen, whatever investment you make in your mind is not too much. Its power is so awesome that it can do almost anything. Yet, this is what some people neglect.

Do you think at all? Plans are born of thoughts. Inventions are born of thoughts. Ideas are born of thoughts. If you can’t think you can’t make it. Money comes to those who think. Success is not far from the thinker. Take time off each day to THINK. Think through on every problem. Creativity is all about seeing what everyone else has seen and thinking what no else has thought. Exercise your mind. Use your mind.

A note of warning, though. Be wary of what you think about. Watch what you allow your mind to picture. In short, THINK RIGHT. Your mind is like a fertile field. If no useful seeds are sown therein it invariably becomes overgrown with weeds. “Our best friends and our worst enemies are the thoughts we have …” (Dr. Frank Crane)

Thoughts lead on to purposes

Purposes go forth into action

Actions form habits

Habits decide character

And character fixes our destiny

- Tryon Edwards

MEN THAT WILL SUCCEED 3.2: TIME IN AFRICA

Not long after posting yesterday’s piece I was engaged in some talks with a colleague in the office. We both wondered why the world seems to know little about success stories in Africa – as if there are none. My opinion was that we, in Africa, do not tell our stories to the world while the west has consistently done that. With that the discussion shifted to the question “Why” and my colleague’s opinion was that we are “shortcut-crazy” in Africa. We seem to want to get everything done “quick and good”. At the end of that discourse, I gained two insights.

First, the future of Africa depends greatly on this generation. It’s going to make a whole lot of difference what we teach ourselves and our children. When I remember Otabil Mensah’s allusion to the fact that the people of the British Isles became what they are by the power of time management: and the obvious gap between Africa and the west in terms of how time is valued, I conclude that perhaps the greatest skill that must be taught to this generation and the off springs therefore is the fundamentals of time management.

To my mind, it is clearly a cultural issue. Except for South Africa where the white people have clearly made a difference, I do not know of any of any of our cultures in Africa that is not hypocritical about the management of time. The Yorubas (South–Western Nigeria) for instance, have a lot of sound and inspiring proverbs about time. They say, for example, “Igba ara ni a n bura, enikan kii bu sango ni eerun”. Literally, this means that swearing is to be done at its right time, no one abuses Sango, the god of thunder during the dry season. The import of this saying is that the right thing should be done at the right time. Yet when you consider carefully the things these people spend their time on, you’ll be amazed: parties, gossip, socializing and excessive leisure.

In fact, one major problem that has plagued the public service in South-Western Nigeria is what people do with office time. And it defies ranks. I have visited offices where the most superior officers are the ones leading the time-wasting efforts. Again, people can leave their own work to burst in on another person’s time. Unplanned and unannounced visits - mostly fruitless and purposeless. ‘Mo kan ni ki n ki yin ni’ (I just thought to see how you’re doing) yet they stay with you for hours, feeling offended if you don’t spare your work to give them attention.

Sincerely, I believe there are certain parts of our beliefs and attitudes as a people that must change – how what we do with our time is one of them. It is time in Africa for a change. Every minute of our time must be made to count. While a few of us have already embraced this paradigm, we still require a critical mass. So much about that.

The second insight is about time investment. The average “shortcut-crazy” African wants to do outstanding things in no time. It does not happen anywhere. We have to learn and then teach our children to give time to all that we do; we need to take time off fruitless efforts and divert it into fruitful ones. It is equally important for us to know that every great achievement is like a tree, first planted then diligently watered till maturity. And that is where delayed gratification comes in. The best books take years to write; the richest people worked hard in obscurity for some time; the gold medalists trained hard for many years. For us to come out of our status quo we’re got to learn to invest our time now, that we may reap in years to come, the fruits of peace.

To the mind that craves for more, I recommend you read The State of Africa. The book, written by veteran journalist, Martin Meredith, chronicles the story of Africa since the 50’s. When I read it, I saw here and there, throughout our history, how we (or they?) squandered the past that brought us this present. Are we (or are you) going to squander this present again to give a poor future? My people, it’s time in Africa…

MEN THAT WILL SUCCEED 2: They are Passionate

‘Throw your hat over the fence and your whole body will soon follow’ (J. F. Kennedy).

Passion is all about giving your entirety into the pursuit of a cause. It means making commitments such that you can hardly turn back. Your passion determines your motion. Few things succeed that are not pursued with passion. ‘The person who makes a success of living is the one who sees his goal steadily and aims for it unswervingly’ (Cecil B. DeMille).

With passion comes focus; and with focus comes steady aim. Ask the best hunters around you and they‘ll tell you how important these things are. Sir Isaac Newton gave so much of himself to his researches that he left his supper untouched on many occasions. These missed suppers have all gone into the postulation of golden scientific principles as we have them today. Or what is physics without the Newton’s laws of motion?

Little John Kennedy strongly desired to get juicy apples from a tree which everyone considered inaccessible. ‘How do you go over a tall fence without footholds and you don’t even know what’s on the other side?’, everyone seemed to ask. John’s passion overcame him one day and guess what he did? He threw a precious hat of his over that fence and the rest is history. That’s where the quote at the head of this aritcle came from.

Where there is passion, possibilities are not for away.

PURPOSE OF DESIGN

It's been quite some time since I put something up here. Challenges, as usual. I like to start here by re-stating that it matters little what we have achieved on earth, we have not succeeded unless we have fulfilled our PUPRPOSE OF DESIGN. By that I mean to say that the One who made us had something in mind when He did so; and unless we function in that pre-designed capacity, the best we would ever do will be sub-standard. I therefor make bold to say that TRUE SUCCESS EQUALS FULFILLING THE PURPOSE FOR WHICH WE WERE CREATED.

Two key things follow from that. One, there is a Being who created (and still creates). This is only stating the obvious because there can be no pattern without a designer. The intricate patterns observed in creation tells us there is a Master Designer. Two, there is a reason for everything.

UNIQUE THOUGHTS

It’s so amazing that another year is almost quarter way through now. I mean, only 6 weeks ago we all hailed ‘Happy New Year”, and here we are – almost at the end of the second month of that same year. Maybe more amazing is the fact that many folks are still preparing to get started; and more amazing still is the fact that many who have started don’t even know where they’re going. Even more amazing is the apparent confidence with which these folks are getting on JUST FINE – as if they can’t be more right.

I beg you to pause and think
Ø Have you started – on your goals, your dreams, your aspirations, your desires – this year?
Ø Are you sure you know where what you’re doing now will take you?

Or better still, do you know why you want to do what you want to do?

Each time I’ve thought about these issues since the beginning of this year, no better illustration comes to my mind than Zig Ziglar’s experience as described by Tony Jeary in Success Acceleration (that’s the third book I’ve read this year, apart from my academic stuff).
According to Tony, Zig went to his gym one day and found the place so packed that he hardly found a space to park his car. It was even more serious inside the gym as the whole room was filled with people sweating it out on the machines.

Surprised, Zig approached the manager of the place to make enquiries about the sudden rush. The manager’s response was somewhat like this:
“It’s no problem, most of the people you see here are new, they’d be gone in about a month or two. It’s just the New Year resolution crowd.” (emphasis mine)
Two lessons I learned from this bit of experience. One, most people, in fact every average man/woman/child makes good decisions. Two, most people are gone in about a month or two. If you think it’s a fallacy, compare your church attendance figures on New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day and last Sunday…

… And then the challenge … how many months will it take you to go?


Last year I raised the issue of the determinants of success and started by showing how, like mathematical equations, the value of one’s life is determined by the operator and the operand and not the constant. We’ll pick up from there and go on to see other dimensions of the matter … welcome.

S.U.C.C.E.S.S.

This 7-letter word is one of the most-desired qualifications under heaven. I've not come across anyone who doesn't want to be referred to as successful. Ironically, I have come to realise that as absolute as it is, a significant percentage of people reason that success is relative. "It depends on what we're talking about", they think or say.

I posit, however, that success is absolutely absolute. One is either a success or a failure, no midland. And to think it is relative; relative to what?

Simply put, success is ACHIEVING PURPOSE OF DESIGN. Whatever it is that does well in a purpose for which it is not designed is only subjectively successful. That is, it is only successful in the sight of onlookers who will have no say in its final assessment.

An example: A pen is meant to leave indellible marks while a pencil is made to leave temporary, erasable marks. I bet no one would buy a pencil that leaves marks that an eraser can't handle; and when the marks of a pen is easily erased, it has failed even though it still makes its marks!

It means, to me therefore, that your success is independent of

whether or not you're rich

whether or not you're powerful

whether or not you're long-lived

So what does it depend on? This is one question I can't answer alone. Don't hesitate to leave your comments on this issue (it tkaes a few moments) as we consider it for the next few weeks.

YOU TOO CAN MAKE IT!

Dearly Beloved, I got this message in my e-mail from Pastor Bayo, host of spiritual digest via e-mail. I'm sure you'll be inspired reading it. The message is simple: YOU TOO CAN MAKE IT!

"We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure" -Apostle Paul(Hebrews 6:11, NIV).

"But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life" -Elder Jude(Jude 20-21, NIV).

I read a story of a popular Yoruba dramatist recently in a national newspaper that touched my heart. It is about a 60-year-old dramatist who, with his second son in the same lecture room, got his first university degree at age 49, but now a doctorate degree holder and lecturer in one of the leading universities in Nigeria. He was able to have primary education because of the compulsory free education in the then Western Region of Nigeria. Apart from a kind of post-primary education then known as "modern education," the man could not go to secondary school because of the poverty of his parents. With determination after acting as dramatist both on stage and in movies for over three decades, he becomes an academic and an authority in his choosing profession - the theater. His life is indeed a challenge to many of us.

Have you lost hope that you can no longer make it in a particular pursuit? Do not lose hope! Continue to persevere with determination that, one day, you will make it. Are people looking down on you because of your humble background or your seeming failure in your endeavors? Do not worry yourself about them. Continue the struggle. Remember that old proverb, "Aluta continua, victoria acerta," meaning "the struggle continues, the victory is sure." Victory is sure if you do not give up. Another popular saying goes thus, "Winners never quit; quitters never win."

Paul the apostle admonished, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" (Galatians 6:9, NIV), and "Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:58, NIV).
You also can make it!

In His service,
Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor).

If you were blessed reading this and would like a consistent supply, contact Pastor Bayo (spiritualdigest@e-mail.com)