This past weekend I had a chance to join the Barclays Business Club in Samburu as they had speakers come to motive them to take their business further. I got this opportunity by luck as I was part of the staff from our travel agency that got to go to take care of logistical issues. I had planned to share what I learnt but waking up today was a challenge. I decided that I will share things that I have learnt that have helped me in life then tomorrow I will write posts on the powerful messages that I got from Samburu.
It is good to be kind to people. It doesn’t matter if they are above you, at your level or beneath you. Be kind.
I would rather be with people that celebrate me rather then tolerate me. I had heard this before but in the quest for self discovery I have learnt that this is 100%. I don’t want people whose role in life is to criticize me and bring me down. I want to be with people who appreciate me and see how far I have come.
I should hang out with people who encourage me to get out of mediocrity. I know that this is sort of in contrast to the last point but its not. It is good to hang out with people who want you to be a better you, to live up to your potential. A good friend, family members, or mentor will realize you are hanging out with chickens and yet you’re an eagle. They will encourage or bully you to learn to fly. I thank God every day for my mother, my sister, and some of my friends and relatives. They want you to reach the next level.
If you don’t believe in yourself, it makes it harder or impossible for others to do so. There is something about confidence, whether wrong or right. It shows through how you talk, walk, and do stuff. It is hard for others to take you seriously if you don’t take yourself seriously.
A dream is a dream. If you don’t wake up, work hard or work smart it will never come true. People are never celebrated for the sand castles that they have built. So get up and live your dream.
Heartbreak can change you both positively and negatively. There are things I am no longer willing to settle for or tolerate. It has also made me extremely cautious about love. But love can teach one some of the greatest lessons like how to be patient, how to forgive, and how to sacrifice.
I have heard this before but this weekend it was put in a different way. Our network equals our network. Who do we know? Who do we hang around? The types of people we surround ourselves with determine whether we remain chickens or we fly like eagles. If we hang out with chickens we are likely to remain chickens.
There are people who love you for what you can give them, others for where you can take them and others love you because they know you and appreciate the person you are. All these people are important in life. At one point you will be in those categories with other people. The important thing in life is never to lose sight of the people who love you genuinely. The ones who love you when you have nothing, and were nothing. Those are the people you should never let go of no matter what. Many people when they make it forget the really important people around them. Then when they are in trouble there is nobody to give them support and they crash hard. Think about the prodigal son story.
Have a personal strategic plan which you work on about your life. In this strategic plan have an area for learning and innovation. If you don’t learn you can’t grow because you can’t change the situations around you.
Some people say fake it until you make it. That may work. I believe that I should work hard until I make it. Perception is everything they say. But don’t live a lie trying to look good. One day it may crumble. The illusion of deception is powerful but there are people who see through it. You can strategize on how to look good and magnify yourself. But don’t kill yourself trying to keep up with the Joneses and you can’t afford it.
God loves us and created us with a purpose. He didn’t put us here just to pass time. He had a purpose for us and that’s why he gave us gifts and talents. It would be a shame to die without achieving the greatness that we were meant to.
We are all unique. We each offer the world something that others don’t. Don’t let others look down on you and worst of all don’t ever look down on yourself. You can be great. You have to believe and strive towards your dreams. Sure there will be obstacles and places where you fall. Stand up and keep moving. Read autobiographies of great men like Abraham Lincoln and others like Wangari Maathai. You will realize the world may not necessary be kind but you can be tough and succeed. Decide that you will be a success and work towards it.
