A FLIGHT TO SUCCESS ….by
Rhoda Zulu
Forever under
construction, a pilgrim’s journey, full of joys, surprises, obstacles including
pitfalls. Those people you admire to have succeeded weren’t born with
exceptional intelligence but have powers of dedication to their chosen chief
objective. As such great people are those
with an extraordinary amount of drive, determination and desire. (John Maxwell, Developing the
Leaders around You). Therefore this flight
to success takes you through various principles so that you too develop the
right wings to fly.
Firstly, let’s
define Success. According to the
Oxford Advanced Learners’ Dictionary, University Press 2002, to succeed is to
achieve what you’ve been trying to get or do. In other words, it is to be
victorious. Since the journey to success is subjective and dynamic, I may not
be successful yet, but have the courage and competence to take you through a
success flight. Hence with the trust of my Pilot, I humbly volunteer to be your
Captain to our destination. Our Steward will be joining us shortly.
But before
takeoff let me just warn you. Not all goals will be achieved, not every job
will end successfully, not all relationships will endure, not every love will
last and not every dream will be realized. Apart from this bear in mind that
every individual has the potential to better their life. So your own resolution
to succeed is more important than any other thing (Abraham Lincoln). You may
now fasten your seat belts and better be steady, for I’m only carrying a pen and
following the hands of the Creator.
There are several key principles which
achievers encourage us to take into account. One key principle of success is to
develop Positive Mental Attitudes (PMA) which attracts success. You must
practice positive affirmations which appeal to the heart and encourage you to
forge ahead. Do not be prisoners of negativity for Dr Stuart Grason laments
that those people who are victimized by their belief structures are limited by
the quality of that situation in their lives.
So you must
imagine your life as a mirror which reflects to the thinker what he thinks into
it (Elnest Holmes, American Writer). This entails that life challenges are not
supposed to paralyse you; instead they’re supposed to help you discover who you
are and what else you can do to attain your destiny. You never know that by
surmounting challenges you get to new stepping grounds or horizon. Once you
overcome them you may clearly see an alternative route to your next success. Dr
D.D Phiri (Malawi Nation Newspaper, May 2009) alluded that the road to
prosperity is bumpy such that people must accept the temporary discomforts
associated with it. Alexander Graham Bell asserts that sometimes people stare
so long at a door which is closing that they see too late another one that’s
open. So if you’ve time to reflect you better do so on your previous successes.
This is because you can’t do well in life unless you let go your past failures.
As mountains crumble and life comes to a standstill you might feel your world
is coming to a halt. But you should not give up for every problem has an expiry
date. Hence you better stop wasting your
precious time on negatives which discourage and let you give up or do nothing
where you should have acted – missing your opportunity in turn. This implies
that clinging to past failures will negatively daunt you, thereby becoming key
destructors against your next line of achievement.
Second principle
of success is to be specific as you put up your vision to reality towards what
you want to achieve. Some advice reads,
‘’Achievers are those that are self
motivated and really committed in working towards their goals, dreams and
vision. So you should always be compelled by the goal or desire end- your own
gold medal.’’ (Chimwemwe Matonga Thought for the week, Malawi Weekend
Nation 30-31 August 2008).
On the other hand non achievers are
those that do things without any motivation, easily get distracted, get
consumed with temporal pleasures then end up losing even that which they
already had. Take note of late Julius Nyerere’s advice,
“People cannot be developed; they can only
develop themselves by what they do.”
This advice
implies that the decisions you make, the charges you undertake plus your
ability and persistence , all make you be whom you aspire to become.
Maybe that’s why
Robert Louis Stevenson, a Scottish Novelist comments further,
“An
aim in life is the only fortune worth finding; not to be found in foreign lands
, but in the heart itself…“
So if you’re keyless in life
then you are a self prisoner. It’s high time you open up your mind and look
yonder. Then you must set targets and create a self reminder by jotting down
your intentions, placing them where you‘ll easily be reminded. Also make your
goals challenging but doable and realisable with clearly defined deadlines; it
helps to focus and target in your attempts. Better get out of your cocoon and
set up your life agenda towards your destiny. This is because the power of
change rests within you. If you do not want to leave the nest of comfort then
you’ll forever do things the way you’ve always done and will always get the
same results. The Late prime Minister of India, Mahatma Gandhi once said,
“If
you want change, you must be the change you’d want to see in the world.”
In fact Barak
Obama, then president of the United States echoed to these wise sentiments.
Another author, Ray Norda seemed to echo Mahatma Gandhi by this statement,
“Cause change
and lead. Accept change and survive. Resist change and die.”
Listen to Harry
Anderson,
“Though
you can’t touch the stars it doesn’t stop a wise person from trying.”
This means that
after developing a desire, you must set off action points and make the
necessary sacrifice. Remember it is said that failure to plan is planning to
fail. The five P’s Principle cements
this fact– Proper Preparation Prevents Poor Performance.
A third
principle of success is to maximise your efforts by concentrating on your
specific purpose to remain focused with enthusiasm. Better centre your
attention on what you want in life. This will assure you reflect the truth of
what you’re capable of doing, otherwise you get attracted to several interests
and by the time you refocus; precious resources may have been wasted. After
all, although there are many interesting issues world over, not everything is
meant
for you. Then
why spread yourself thinly on a net of various interests? You’d better
concentrate on a few so as to enable completion within a specified time. This
will result in self motivation to set new focal points for more scores.
We are now
traveling at three hundred thousand feet above sea level. Can you see the
Zambezi River down there? Look at how beautifully it meanders and ends into
Indian Ocean. I hope you’ve already chosen your snack and drink to freshen up.
If not, you may do so now.
Next principle
of success- develop a disciplined mindset; doing the right thing at the right
time and in the right manner. This entails living a life that is well ordered
through developing self control in your dealings. In addition, you must control
your own behaviour even when the heart breaks, so you do not become a slave of
passions. If you get down to quarrels every day, you’re devoting yourself to
the devil, and time will not wait for you. Rather free yourself from hate,
mischief and
jealousy. Take heed of Lee Lacocca’s advice of Ford and Chrysler Motor Company,
“You
don’t succeed for long by kicking people around. Just know how to talk to them,
plain and simple.”
You must
therefore remain stable no matter the pressure or stressful encounters. In so
doing you’ll ably control your tongue, keep your words soft and supple, so they
do not become bitter in case you’ve to swallow them later.
To add on, be
able to stand on your feet; avoid dependence by developing self reliance. You
must also be sincere and practice integrity (purity of doing what’s right, no
matter what). It’ll give you freedom of conscious. In addition you must give
others chances to act. This is because no matter your intelligence quotient
(High Eye Cue) – you can’t be a master of all fields. It is said that a jack of
all trades is often a master of none. Yes, you may be a good entrepreneur but a
poor manager. Hence no matter how you presume others to be dull, they too have
their story (Desiderata). Maybe we can learn a lot from crayons. Some are
sharp, others are pretty and some are dull. True they have different colours
and brightness, but they all have to live in the same box. So you better give
others a chance to perform, since John Powell, American Catholic teacher and
writer advises that the spirit of
acceptance grows in the soil of acceptance.
Taking you
further, you must develop personal initiatives. Good ideas or good aims are
worthwhile when implemented otherwise dreams remain mere fantasies. It seems
that success is connected with action; keep on exploiting and strike head on
any chance by making up your mind that it is worth venturing; no matter the
risks en route. Just trust yourself and try to carry out today what you ought
to and even go on to tomorrow’s work, if time permits. Otherwise if say,
“I’ll do this tomorrow,”
How do you know
the tides accompanying your tomorrow? It’s possible that the good times of
today may turn out to be the bad times of tomorrow. Even Parkinson’s Law states,
“Work
expands to fill the time available for its completion.”
Hence, if you’re
not careful you may take a week to accomplish that which with concentrated
effort and devotion could only have taken two days. Moreover you also need to
learn to work independently with minimum supervision, not just to please your
supervisor. That’s why wise people believe that time has to be budgeted since
it has monetary value. So you should take an extra mile (Kilometer nowadays) in
your works; for if you always knock off when the bell rings, you may miss your
next victory. But this doesn’t imply that you overload yourself to exhaustion,
no. You may grow older than your age; for it is said that all work no play makes Clara a dull girl.
However, perform
your best wherever you are, putting your energies on a service before a reward.
You never know how your current endeavors will lift you towards your next
achievement. Listen to Napoleon Hill,
“Render more service than that which you are paid; soon you will be paid
more than you render.”
We are now
turning east and about to cross the border on our way back to the warm heart of
Africa. The bumps are because of the rain showers, no cause for worry.
Let’s now see
the role faith contributes to your success. Faith, meaning conviction or
belief, is a state of mind that charges your energies to act for change. Faith
and persistence are thus considered as inseparable Siamese twins in the pursuit
of success. By implication, if you only have faith but have no confidence and
commitment, you remain a wishful thinker without produce of miracles. But where
there is faith, hope and optimism, then courage develops while fear recedes. As
such you must be confident in your abilities since even most inventions were
made by individuals who had been underrated by others. Likewise, riches do not
respond to wishes but to definite plans backed by devotion and dedication to
constant acting. You well know that worthwhile objectives are often difficult
to attain.
On the other
hand, if you think No it can’t work,
then you may not apply enough effort to realize your expectations. Truthfully
speaking, great deeds and interventions start in the mind; thus by
planting the seed of success you yield success. If you always think you’ll fail, then you likewise plant a seed of failure which eventually leads you to fail as perceived. Remember that a river cuts through rock, not because of its power, but because of its persistence” ~ Jim Watkins.
Let me now take
you to the importance of maintaining good health. A healthy body often develops
a healthy soul and mind. So take deliberate efforts to be physically fit by
nourishing your body with nutritious foods which contain all six food groups –
staples, meat and meat products, vegetables, fruits, legumes, fats and oils.
Add on regular body exercise plus adequate time for sleep to maintain your
health.
To discuss
further, another principle of success is that you need not carry your burdens
all the time. The reason is that a problem thought over for long makes you feel
very heavy due to stress and discomfort. It is said that scientifically, an
object becomes heavier the more time it is held. Even stress management tells
us to put down our burdens for a while. So for a moment try to switch yourself
off from whatever disturbs your peace, turn your attention to something else;
in addition to some deep breathing exercises (at least twenty times) and smile
a bit. Your beam is worth a million dollar of good health. After relaxation,
you may re pick up your challenge; trust me, you’ll appreciate how light it
becomes. This is because you’ve restored more energy to counteract it. In fact,
it is said that life is what you make, how do you make your life with such
burdens?
We’ll be landing
in a few minutes from now. May I therefore request that you fasten your seat
belts and switch off all your electrical appliances?
Finally, listen
to this “Be willing to fail temporarily, not permanently. Imagine one man had
failed in business in 1831. He was defeated in politics in 1832; failed again
in business in 1834, had a nervous breakdown in 1841. In 1842 he failed to
receive his political party nomination for the senate in 1855; defeated again
in 1858.
“A
hopeless loser,” people conferred.
But he finally
surprised all. He was elected president of the United States in 1860. Guess
who? Abraham Lincoln (Quoted from Norman Vincent Peale).Here is another quote,
“I’ve missed more than 9000 shots in
my career. I’ve lost almost 300 games. 26 times, I’ve been trusted to take the
game winning shot and missed. I’ve failed over and over again in my life. And
that is why I succeed.” ~ Michael Jordan
That’s why
Napoleon advises that a winner never quits, a quitter never wins. You must
change the attitude of easily giving up or life of doubts. These worries are
traitors and make us lose the good you could have won by further attempts
(William Shakespeare). So be ambitious as you strive towards your desire. And
when you achieve you’ll proudly say,
“This I have attained because I am objective, targeted, work hard with
persistence and perseverance.’’
Finally, don’t
forget that not all winners sweat to succeed, others get it on a silver
platter. But then, note that what easily comes ends up in easy go. Ladies and gentlemen, remember your luggage as you
disembark this plane to success. If you have enjoyed my company, I look forward
to hear your next success. Wishing you a
safe flight to Success!
