There came a point in life were you seem not to have control over where your life is leading. You know you are headed the wrong direction but still blindly follow along because maybe you gave up on your self & have no idea how to turn things around. Yet you deeply desire to turn things around.
My early life has been a maze, I did the same things every time & expected different results. As a result, I was poor, insignificant in society, disappointed my parents, my relationships sucked, even my own siblings disassociated with me, the list goes on. I was a person of no value, all I knew well how to do was talk rubbish, start trouble, never completed tasks, you name it. In short, I failed at everything I did. At the age of 17 years, I knew I had to get my name back from all the negativity & be restored to honor. I decided to turn my life around hence chose to first seek knowledge & wisdom. I discovered, “Men fall because of having a broken focus.” & also learnt that, “Men choose their habits & their habits choose their future.” There, I knew exactly what to start working on. Get focused & set habits that will lead me towards my purpose in life as you will see;
1. Know your self & what your going after. Set specific target. Like any of you, I thought I knew my self until after several psychological personality tests & consultations from my mentors & people around me. I discovered my weakness & potential. My talents & gifts paved a way for me to become a servant leader so I chose to focus on that from the word go. I built habits like, partiality, prudence, listening, reading, etc & also volunteered ( with Red Cross) initiated & led causes ( associations & later as Head Prefect) & more. It wasn’t all smooth but was the start.
2. Wash your face, don’t let your pollute your future. My past was filled with negative perceptions about me, I chose to work hard & let none of my previous habits surface in my present life. Got new friends who challenged me to aim higher, I even kept away from family members who dragged be low back to the position I was in before. I kept a positive attitude & surrounded my self with dream builders. Setting foundations needs a lot of sacrifices.
3. Annoying your self. Put it on! Keep it real but put on a good attitude, fake the smile if you have to until it’s perfect. My past disappointments kept me a prisoner of anger. But I chose to face my demons, put on a smile, dressed neatly, faced my past & confronted my down pullers. Every time they called me what I used to be, I just simply smiled & looked them straight in the eye saying, am a new man. No one or circumstance brought me down. At least not when I could handle it. I kept my head held high & walked tall in everything I do. I put in 100% of me & aimed for excellence.
4. Change your garments. Prepare for something that has not even happened! God will bless people who are prepared (be prepared in the direction you are going!). I had focus & knew I must serve & lead. I chose not to seat home or look for a job, so when I found no opportunity for me to serve or lead, I created one, I always stayed stupid, that way I learnt more. Started associations & even served higher purpose than my self. I volunteered for causes higher than mine under my school, bigger associations, other organizations and more. This at most time came at my expense. But I had to learn, they opened me up to trainings, workshops & gave me hands on experience.
5. Get into place and just wait (shut up). Let God open the door. Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. By the time I was at university in my first year, I chose to put God first in all I did more than I did in my last years in High School. I continued with the associations & served in many charities while there (now this is because of my focus, yours maybe different). I had one aim, become the Guild President. By this time round, I had made an effort to respect everyone and learned to genuinely love those around me. I knew the principle, if I grew my gift, it will pave way for me. Slowly I climbed ladders (in 1st year) and waited patiently for that was a step I was to take towards my focus. In the right time, I made it.
6. Right pace, when it’s your time, what God has for you is for you! It’s about time… Just in time. I know a song that says, “Everybody wants to shine, but they can keep on wishing, there ain’t stars made overnight & there ain’t no competition…” Don’t rush to succeed so soon, use the pace availed to you. What do I mean, no shortcuts or doing wrong of any kind to get there. There are rules & you got to follow through. It’s God who gives, appoints, directs, leads, and also takes away. We also know the devil steals, destroys & even kills. So don’t put your self in arms way by doing the wrong thing expecting to get right results. What I have learned on my journey is that, “The waves of yesterday’s disobedience will always splash on the shores of tomorrow.” What you do in the dark will always come to light no matter how much time it will take. So keep clean & use your time responsibly. Step in the mud & do the work… no one else will do it for you, “…for rushing bares no blessing…” ~ Swahili Proverb
7. Never try to shine when the light ain’t on you. Learn to follow if you want to be followed, obey if you want to be obeyed. When it’s your time to shine, give it everything. Many of us (once upon a time me too) try to look blessed instead of being actually blessed. We buy expensive shoes, clothes or gadgets just to look blessed. We get posh cars & even rent cool apartments just so to appear blessed yet deep down we are not commissioned yet. You fail to do what you are meant to do. In most cases you fail to pay debts, you are unemployed, or you fail to be responsible for the people placed under your care and so on. Stop that!! Being blessed is not a condition that comes and goes or that depends normal quantification. No! Being blessed is a Position. You are blessed wether times are good or bad, you are blessed by default in God. All you have to do is what you are meant to do. You are the light of the world, so light your candle (potential), raise it high (serve, use it). Take it to those who need it most (run to the darkness) & light other bigger lights (make a difference). On that point, I was inspired by the song Carry Your Candle (listen to it). When you do that, you will blossom, I did at one point, went places, met great people and did great things at my level.
My journey has not ended. One famous musician once sang in his song, “…Every finish line is the beginning of another race…” He was right in a way, for every single day is a battle. I pray that the Holy Spirit takes you through it right from the start so that you never give up on your way but rather enjoy the process. For He taught me a lot of things that even church (the building) alone could not teach me. God Bless you.
-EW