A couple of years back I was speaking to a small
group of people and my opening question to them was, “What is your personal definition of success?” The
answers I got were amazing. Here are some of them in no particular
order;
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Running a Fortune 500 company
- Having enough to help me take
good care of myself and family
- Being able to travel the world in my own private jet, owning an expensive house, cars and a yacht
And much more. Bottom-line is success will always mean different things to different people because we all have different worldviews. Personal success is very subjective
as it depends on the inherent values imbued in every individual. For some they
believe a good looking bank account will settle it for them. For some people they find
their success in the success of others while for another lot it's in the shiny things. This varies from individual to individual. In my opinion I see success as wrapped up in three things. You can call them the 3 P's. People, Planet, Profits. Let's break it down;
People- Everyone I can influence for the Kingdom using the gifts and graces I have been endowed with by our Heavenly Father. I am a people person. My desire is to see people move from point A to point B because of the value I added to their lives. It gives me joy to see someone who was weak in an area which happened to be one of my strengths grow to become a better person as a result of my positive influence upon their lives. There is nothing more fulfilling than a life of service. And the reason why I put people first is because if you genuinely make it your aim to add value to people, profits will undoubtedly come pouring in like an avalanche. No one who serves goes empty handed unless they never did it out of a pure heart. The mistake many people make is that they try to do things for people with the mindset that those same people will in turn return a good favor. Wrong! Wrong! Wrong! It doesn't work like this. Most times the people who end up giving back to you are never the people you helped. If you run a business my advice to you is that you put people first and profits will come. That's why customer service is so important. If you suck at service delivery (leading to disgruntled customers) you will begin to lose market share and hence profit share to your competitors. On the other hand one satisfied customer might just be your ticket to your next top notch job. So put people first!
Planet- Being able to make a positive impact on my community during my lifetime and beyond it. Many companies today are making huge profits at the expense of their communities. We have seen places that have been ravaged by deforestation. We have seen communities that have been torn apart due to oil exploration. We have seen people living in very rich communities yet staying very poor because of the profit-focused motives of an elite few. The younger generation must be educated. Schools therefore have to be built to that effect. Orphanages for orphans, Homes for the homeless, and much more.
Profits- Having money, I mean enough money or better still more than enough money to take care of myself, family and those around me in need. Money is a medium of exchange and a very important agent in today's world. Having delivered excellent service and added value to people's lives, provided and taken good care of one's community, making some good profits then would not be a bad idea. You need money to build roads, fight malaria and cancer, feed the hungry, take care of widows, in fact you need money for everything. However, money must be gotten the right way. Not by defrauding people or every other illicit scheme but through providing valuable service in exchange for it. Everybody wants to live a good life as well as leave an inheritance for their children's children (generational thinkers) but we must get it the right way. There is nothing absolutely wrong with making good money.
Now the next question that crops up is, "how do we achieve success?" Good question. In my opinion there are two ways to do this. I describe them as the Linear path and the Non-linear path. Let's look at the linear path for a moment
The
Linear Career Path
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| Undergraduate degree + Law school + bar exam = Life of a Lawyer |
I think we are all aware of this path and can by ourselves also craft out linear equations for other fields. It's the conventional path. It is the path our parents told us to follow if we ever wanted to make anything out of our lives. "Stay in school, get good grades and become a Medical Doctor, Lawyer, Banker, Accountant, Engineer and what have you." For those who love playing it safe, it is the best path to take. Is it a rewarding path? Yes, it is. There are people who have made a fortune by following the linear career path. If you know your onions then you can command very fat paychecks. However, I do advise against the payday mentality where people end up living from paycheck to paycheck without any significant investments towards their future. It won't hurt to have multiple streams of income. In fact that's the right thing to do! I have seen people leave from paid employment after putting in decades and decades of service only to end up as broke as the word itself. Depending on a salary is not the best way to live out one's life because you will always be at the mercy of your employers. However, with some financial wisdom, you can make the most of the paid employment system and still retire to a very comfortable life.
The
Non-Linear Career Path
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| Can't be captured in a linear equation |
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Our second path which I call "The road less travelled" because it is no surefire way to success is the non-linear career path. It starts off with a dream, a passion, call it whatever you want to call it but that thing that tells you, "There's gotta be more to life", Yes to make a dent in history, to disrupt an entire industry, to blaze new trails, to make a difference in life. As you can see they too are very much educated but that happens not necessarily within the four walls of classroom for the word Education comes from the latin root word, "ēdūcō" which means to grow from within and has nothing to do with BSc's, GPAs, MSc's, PhDs or MBA's. However, getting a good degree especially in this part of the world won't hurt either. For such people, passion fans the flames of innovation while creativity ignites that passion. If the end could be determined from the beginning, many more would sure follow this route because it's exit has written on it "Financial independence". Meaning you don't have to suck up, lick up or tolerate anyone's naughtiness. It also truly affords one the time to focus on the things that truly matter to you while having a good time with the people that matter most-Family. Unfortunately, it is a path also overlaid with so many sorrows, disappointments, failures and risks. It is not for the weak in heart. It is not for the one who's focus is on the immediate. But in the end you are always the better for it. These are the people who control the financial and money markets. These are the people who create jobs and grow economies. These are the people who make things happen rather than watch things happen to them. Whichever of the two paths you choose is entirely up to you.
Keys
to becoming the best YOU.
There is no better time to be alive than today. I always say that today well lived prepares you for a better tomorrow. That is why we have to maximize the time we have in our hands right now. No sitting on the couch all day watching TV. Go to work on becoming the best YOU that you can be. Because it is when you are at your best that you begin to command value and money becomes the medium of exchange for your services. Unfortunately, many people don't get this especially today's youths. We are running from pillar to post in search of the next "How to make 1500 dollars a day from home" and all what not. We need to wise up. How do we do that. Five keys I must share with you,
- Start Right where you are today - Kill the procrastination cycle by starting today. You will never be able to figure everything out before beginning for no one can know what tomorrow holds but you can start today and then take calculated risks as you move along.
- Be your future self- Become today the person you will want to be tomorrow. See yourself as that top notch consultant, CEO or whatever and carry yourself that way. Imagination and hard work have a way of turning vivid pictures in our minds into tangible success.
- Become an Expert in your chosen field- People don't pay for mediocrity, they pay for expertise. So you want to become an authority figure in your field. Aim to be in top 5% in whatever field you find yourself in. Read, Read and Read!
- Build your support system- Have a very robust network of A-list people who challenge you to grow and become all that you want to be. Stop spending time with people who only sap your creative energy rather run away as fast as you can from them. You are usually two to three people away from anything you want to get. Make sure your two to three friends can actually get you to whomever and whatever you are looking for.
- Trust time- I have come to realize that time is a friend and not an enemy. Young people always seem to be rushing through life. They want to get a PhD by 19, make a million dollars by 20, get married to a super model by 21, pay cash down for that Lamborghini by 22 and the list goes on. And what do we see happening around us today? Young people are dying before their time due to their involvement in so many illicit activities. Time is a friend. God would have made the gestation period of a woman to be 1 day if He wanted to but He made it 9 months for a reason. There is no overnight success. Somethings just can't be fast-tracked. I think "Success" is one of them unless you want to play now and pay later.
My final thoughts
- It is far more better to try and fail than to fail at not trying
- Don't wait for the right idea because even the right idea changes once it has been set in motion.
- Ideas are only as good as their time of conception
