INSPIRATIONAL MUSINGS 52 Greatness is a Result of Cumulative and Deliberate Efforts

— Orson Welles
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Once greatness is allocated in life by any little proportion, different forces seem to mobilise to truncate the full manifestation of it. It is a mystery of life known very well to achievers and people who even embarked on the journey of greatness but couldn't make it to the finish line. A lot of questions have been asked repeatedly by inventors, trailblazers and people who made attempts to be great in life on why this is so. This is because answers continue to be elusive not as a result of their unavailability but because the true answers are often waved off as not completely true. Just like questions are shrouded in mystery, same goes for the answers. It takes a conqueror to be convinced about an answer to a question; it takes someone who has walked the path and has completed the journey gloriously to answer the question appropriately.

My plan is not to answer the question but to explain the need to conquer when it is obvious that greatness has been allocated to you. In between, you will find your answers on your journey. It is always a personal thing, that is how it works eventually. There is no blueprint or map.

How do you know when greatness is allocated to you by any means? The first thing you will notice when you have greatness within you crying for expression is that you will hate anything called ordinary, nothing will make sense except it is EXTR ORDINARY. You will also notice you ask a lot of questions on why things can't be done differently. This other quality is called CURIOSITY. When you have these two qualities, then truly count yourself lucky, because you have been selected for greatness. The first step towards greatness is identifying these two rare qualities in yourself and working desperately in the process to allow them come to thefore.

The next thing a person that has been selected for greatness notices is that he or she becomes restless. What brings about the restlessness? The twin of EXTRORDINARINESS and CURIOSITY are like two giants in a small womb that need to grow regardless. Now, again I reiterate that it is important you remember that the two identifiable qualities are "the urge to be extraordinary" and "curiosity". These two things are like a burning fire within, the carrier becomes restless such that he or she starts seeing others who don't reason in the same manner as different.

Then the journey for self emancipation begins, then commences the quest for self-determination, the quest for self- fulfilment, this most of the time will lead to a clash of the old and the new. The old being the system you grew up in, that is the one that is used to the old ways which things are being done generally and the new system you yearn for. Sadly, the picture of this new isn't yet clear, but you are sure and convinced about it. However, since you are the only one who sees it, you have to prove it. This is where the real challenge lies. Since you are an advocate of a new order, you have to prove to the people around you that you aren't another hopeless dreamer around the corner or another misfit. The world is designed to applaud results only, hence it becomes your sole responsibility to translate your inner urge and questions to a product, to a successful initiative, to the next best thing since "Coca Cola".

The next thing that happens is that three sets of people will either make or mar you at the onset — the sceptics, the scaremongers and your fans. It is how you respond to the words and actions of these three sets of people that will determine if the greatness in you will be unlocked or not. This is the most critical point where you need to be deliberate to achieve your goals and targets, this is the point that you must be very focussed. This is the point in which you have to remain strong and resolute because you can easily be dissuaded by the activities of these aforementioned people. Shortly, we will look into how their words and actions can make or maryou.

The sceptics are mostly the doubters who do not believe anything great can happen. They are people comfortable with the status quo, people who abhor change. They will give you five hundred reasons why what you want to do will not work. They will be the first set of people you will have to contend with, and you will certainly bore them with your level of intelligence and your vision. These people are mostly the ones you turn to for help in form of advice, finance or referrals for your business or great initiative to start off.

The second set of people are the scaremongers. This set of people comprise mostly of your family members and close friends, they tend to come from the angle of love, they will tell you more often than not why what you are doing can't work and they make this sound like they love you so much and that's why they don't want to see you fail. Unfortunately, most times they are talking from a prism of fear. Some even do everything to stop you through sanctions they impose on you especially if they have any sort of control overy ouinformoffinance, shelter and other forms of restrictive powers to stop you. If there's anyone you should be very wary of, it is this set of people because of the weight their opinion carry in your mind.

The last set of people that will determine your progress are your fans, this set of people have seen something in you, they are the very few who saw the greatness before anyone, they are like the biblical wise men, they had seen that star in the making, these are the people you owe a lot of gratitude at the end. Theywillbethe lonely voices cheering you on to greatness, but you also have to be careful of the estimation of yourself, so their praises do not make you pursue unrealistic goals in the beginning. You have to take it one step at a time.

Like I opined earlier, your journey will either be fruitful or dead on arrival depending on which of these contending voices you decide to embrace from the beginning.

The next set of obstacles to confront on your journey to greatness are the LAW and the SOCIETY.

In my next book I will discuss these issues properly but let me summarise briefly here. The dangerous twins that will contend with you in this next "round" are the law and the society. The Law stands for the different government agencies that you will need to relate with to attain greatness. They all have penalties for different offences you won't know of. They can destroy your plans and aspirations from the beginning especially if a big shot in power has vested interests in the failure of whatever you are pursuing. The Society refers to competitors who have been in the game before you. They might not exactly be a problem until whatever you are trying to build appears like a threat to their source of income. If you have a good individual incharge, they will

compete with you with ideas and innovation. If not, they will snuff the life out of you. That is why in all you are doing to be great, you have to know the rules and the strategies to employ from day one in dealing with the LAW and the SOCIETY.

Lastly, the surest path to greatness is a consistency of purpose backed by a deliberateness of execution. Make it a habit to successfully complete everything you start. So you will know that you can't relent in any way till you get to the finish line. This is important because greatness comes from cumulative efforts, as you put in different efforts on your journey, it will birth a great thing at the end. That is why you must be deliberate in finishing whatever great thing you start regardless of the obstacles on your way. You have to develop this unsympathetic streak towards your goals and aspirations. Learn never to look for a shoulder to cry on when things aren't going as planned.

Rather, know how to re-strategise and find renewed confidence in any situation. It is very important to know how to launchback. Whenever you want to launch back, always do soon a higher platform. In doing this, you will continue to be ahead of competition and setbacks.

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