BY Dinakin Kayode
Life is more than buying exquisite phones, going on family vacation at wills, owning duplexes and mansions, eating high class foods, having 100 million followers, making VVIP seats. If you die after gaining and acquiring all these, what seed have you planted for generations to come? The ignorant ones may see you as a ‘god’ for reaching a height not everyone attain but the wise ones are knowledgeable enough to know that your life was just a waste. I hope you have Matthew 16:26/Mark 8:36 tattooed on your heart. Have you ever taken a time out from the external and gone into deep mind searching to find out why exactly you were born? If not, do you think you were brought into this world by chance or a mistake? Yes, you may have been brought to this world as a result of an immoral act but that doesn’t mean you are in the world to be a wanderer or a valueless person. Each and every one of us has a uniquely crafted reason for our existence. This is the reason for our separate uniqueness. Let’s take a look at these two individuals; Mr. A and Mr. B, they are both singers. Obviously, you would wonder what difference these individuals have to offer. But looking at things deeply, what Mr. A may have, Mr. B wouldn’t have and likewise. It’s easier said than realized but it is left for each individual to vividly sit back and decipher the real reason of your existence.
Pastor Tunde Bakare once said, “Find out why you were born before you die” and also “find out what must be born into you”. Elaborating on these two dependent statements, you need not just to discover the reason for your existence, but as well to discover those necessary tools you would need in achieving the reason for your existence. A fisher cannot catch a big fish without a net or hook. Knowing the real reason you were born can be a hard task because it takes thorough dedication to figure it out but once figured out, you are on your way to fulfilling your element. I figured out most people live through the motions. What does this mean? One quick instance, you have an upcoming exam but all you do en route to the D-day is just feeling unreasonably relaxed with no hope and zeal for what’s at stake. Are you controlled by the orders or commands prescribed by life? It is high time you back track and restart your engine. A great man once said, “in a football match, once the tactics of a team is been outclassed or the weak point is been taken advantage of by the opponent, the team has to wait until halftime or fulltime before such error can be corrected.” But we are not living a football match, once our tactics is been faltered by the hardship of life, we have the opportunity to immediately go back to the drawing board and mastermind a new plan. But it all boils down to knowing what you truly want without peer influences. Know yourself.
Let your main focus in life be adding positive values to lives. Let’s look into some great lives. First of all, our Saviour, The Lord Jesus Christ, His teachings, willingness to help the needy was unique. Let’s not forget it got to an extent the Pharisees asked the disciples why He ate with tax collectors and sinners but Jesus replied saying, “those who are well need no physician rather those who are sick”. He didn’t come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance. This story can be seen in Matthew 9:10-12. Jesus’s impact and value was undoubtedly unmatched and significant to all. Coming down to our level, looking at the late Nelson Mandela (1918-2013), former President of South Africa, he focused on dismantling the legacy of apartheid by tackling institutionalized racism and fostering racial reconciliation. Many men of such caliber knew what they stood for and likewise passed on immense value to their generation with their names in the history books. Also, not forgetting the ‘iron lady’, late Margaret Thatcher (1925-2013), Mary Slessor (1848-1915) who was known for Christian Missionary work in Africa, promoting women’s rights and rescuing unwanted children. The list is endless. These were people who impacted their generation and generations to come because of their doings. We, as well, have the potentials needed to be meaningful as these people were during their times. But these hidden potentials cannot be discovered by just living through the motions; it requires determination, hard work, and consistency.
Wherever you find yourself, try always to be positive and distinct from the pack, be willing to listen to those who have already made it and what should ooze out from one’s lips should be quality value with subsequent relevance. That doesn’t mean you shouldn’t joke with friends or have fun but let there be value in your words. Once you begin to lose your value among your friends, in your workplace, your vicinity, your neighbourhood, gradually, your existence in that environment tends to become worthless and valueless. Be an example to others, don’t do what others are doing and thinking is smart, be someone people can look up to, be a good example, operate on the basis of “do as I do” and not “do as I say”. Learn to start small: You cannot wake up one morning and want to sit with great men, neither can you start a race from the finish line, it doesn’t work that way, but you should let that be your dreams and daily meditations/visuals because the law of attraction says you create your life through your thoughts, you attract to your life what goes on in your thoughts.
According to the world, the measure of one’s success is his/her attained net worth but to my understanding; success entails living by your values. Values are the ideals that give your life meaning; they’re deeply personal and there’s no ‘correct’ set of values to have. But when you know what gives your life meaning, and you live consistently with it, you achieve a level of profound success that no one can take away from you (Vince Favilla, 2013). Discovering your element and operating in it makes you stand out. The way you master your element determines how much of value you will deliver. A verse in the Bible says “if you falter in a time of trouble, how small is your strength!” (Proverbs 24:10). My view here is that you should know what you know in the highest possible level, develop yourself, seek to learn every day, read a lot; so that when you are been called upon, you wouldn’t be found weary and unprepared. Have you seen a bird falter while flying or seen Usain Bolt, the fastest man on both legs get easily beaten by his opponents? Consistency is a key in establishing yourself and sustaining domination over your peers. How has Usain Bolt impacted value in his element? Scientists call it the “Usain Bolt Effect” because he has significantly improved the average performance of the world’s top sprinters, who are now suddenly running about 1% faster as at 2012 than they did prior to Bolt’s explosive appearance in 2008. “It is quite extraordinary that the Usain Bolt Effect accounts for a significant proportion of that improvement” Professor Steve Haake of Sheffield Hallam University said. This information goes on and on of how he has impacted and written his name in history books. This is not because he only discovered his element, but because of his consistent practice, he found his way to the top of the pack.
In summary, don’t just discover your dreams; build your dreams with consistent hard work. Don’t let your life be influenced by someone’s path to success because it doesn’t mean that’s the predestined path for you. We weren’t collectively created but individually. Don’t depend on anyone for your success, be someone that people want to be like. Don't forget the most important step is to seek and dwell in God's perspective concerning your life. A simple task you should engage yourselves in today is to ask a minimum of five people in your home, workplace, church, or anywhere what they would hold on to concerning the value you have impacted on them when you move to a new level.
REFERENCE
Vince Favilla, M. S. (2013) “The True Definition of Success.
