THERE IS AN USAIN BOLT IN ALL OF US

Usain in his signature pose. Shooting for the stars in his discipline
Credit: http://www.fih.ch/ 

The London 2012 Olympics was a festival that will endure in the minds and hearts of millions of people for years to come. It was marked by the breaking of old records and invariably the setting of new ones, and the creation of new stars in various events. Of all the stars that graced the festival, one reigned supreme. It was the indomitable, incomparable Usain Bolt. He breezed through the 100 metres and 200 metres events like there was no real competition for him. And indeed, there was no real competition for the super athlete.

Once again Bolt is first to cross the line, earning him the gold
Credit: http://www.footballworldcupnews.com/

I vividly recall a group of young ladies gushing about Usain Bolt's athletic prowess and dominance as he took to the track for the start of a 100 metre race at the Olympics. II also remember the look of jealousy on the faces of nearby young boys as they wished that they were in Bolt's spiked shoes and the object of the ladies' praises.

You see, the fact simply is that there is an Usain Bolt in all of us. All it takes is the identification of what you are good at - and also passionate about - the discipline to dedicate ourselves to the development of our talent/gift/craft, and the boldness to grasp the opportunities that will eventually come your way. Discipline, like I said in one of my earlier posts (DISCIPLINE YOURSELF FOR SUCCESS' SAKE) is the most crucial ingredient for success. Without it no great success can be achieved. However the fact remains that no matter how disciplined you are and adept at your craft, success will elude you if you lack the courage to jump at opportunities to exhibit your talent and begin your journey on the narrow, rarely-taken path of success (it is not a destination). 

For instance, regardless of how good a footballer is, if he does not go for football club trials or play in public places where he can be discovered by a scout, his chances of ever playing professional football are at best slim and at worst, nonexistent. If Usain Bolt had not exhibited his athletic potential at Primary and Secondary School, he would never have had the opportunity to take part in the 2001 IAAF World Youth Championships in Debrecen, Hungary - where his performance was not nearly as distinguished as it always is nowadays -  which was a stepping stone to greater things such as his dominance at the Beijing 2008 Olympics and 2012 London Olympics.

Catch me if you can:Usain Bolt Coasts home with ease in the 100m final at London 2012.
Credit:Credit: http://www.independent.co.uk

It will always remain a fact that for success to be attained, preparation and preparedness must meet opportunity; preparation (the honing of one's talent/gift) and the preparedness (readiness) to seize any opportunity that presents itself. Go on then, give your inner Usain Bolt a chance to shine.

THE ONE THING!!! WHAT IS YOURS??

I am currently reading a book entitled THE ONE THING by Gary Keller (With Jay Papasan). I must say that this book is a must read for anyone truly serious about attaining great heights in any area of life and achieving one's set goals. However, the truth that this book teaches is nothing new. It is not a groundbreaking, recently-realised truth. It is a truth that has been around for ages and has been utilised by people of years gone by who have achieved great success. People like Warren Buffet, Bill Gates and corporations like Apple, Coca Cola and Pepsi. These people and corporations realise that the attainment of resounding success is a function of the ability of the pursuer or seeker of success to focus on The One Thing. This is an incontestable truth.

The disciplined channelling of all your energies into one endeavour or closely-related group of endeavours is the surest route to the attainment of success. The only way to experience a Breakthrough is to keep hitting or chipping at an obstacle until you BREAK THROUGH. Focus and Persistence are key. Today, I read somewhere that 80% of what is needed  to achieve success is simply turning up, in other words Persistence. Publilius Syrus was of the opinion that "To do two things at once is to do neither" and this addresses the need for focus or concentration on a particular goal or objective.

Do you know your one thing; the one thing that you should be focused on and working towards achieving? The one thing that when done will set-up a chain reaction (domino effect) that will lead to the achievement of much greater feats (even things not among your goals)? As I read on, I will endeavour to share more insights - and remind those who already know these things - gained from this book. Seek out your one thing daily and have a lovely, fruitful day.

ENCOURAGE YOUR PARTNERS TO SPEAK THEIR MINDS




Credit: Deviant Art

  It is natural for us as  human  beings  to prefer the company  of people who are always - or  always seem to be - in  agreement with everything we say or do. I am talking about the kind of people who never object to our words, deeds or plans and indeed, seem more than happy to nod their heads in agreement and go ahead with our plans, even though they have much more than a gut feeling that we are wrong. The kind of people who seem to have a boundless ability to take the most horrendous of verbal insults we dish out to them, sometimes with a cheerful smile. I think we all know one or two of such eager-to-please-and-agree-with-everything-we-do people; veritable Yes-men and Yes-women.

Indeed, due to our innate tendency to seek and always crave the company of  sycophants, we human beings subconsciously erroneously make "the pronounced possession of sycophantic tendencies" one of the major criteria in our selection of partners. Partners in this context qualifies people we work together with towards the achievement of a common goal. Team members if you like. So in this context, the tag encompasses spouses, friends, colleagues (where senior or junior) and every other kind of aide (housemaids, drivers etc). The choice of such partner(s) (sycophantic partners) reduces the chances of the achievement of the desired objective(s). Usually, it is the case that even if short term objectives are achieved, long term aims or goals are usually scuttled as a result of the choice of sycophants as partners.

In the corporate environment, if an employee seems to always be in agreement with his manager and other colleagues - and is smiley and generally always nice - he could be keeping scores in his head and simply biding his time, waiting for his day of vengeance. Or he could be the passive aggressive type, secretly scuttling or sabotaging his manager's, and department's efforts, and consequently, his organisation's operations. You see, sycophants possess a keen understanding of the fact that people naturally have a preference for being around ever-smiling, upbeat people who are always in agreement with them, as opposed to the  ever-frowning, perpetually downcast, dissidents. Maybe we possess this preference because smiley, perpetually-agreeing people come across as "good", "safe" people, and "frowners" and dissidents as "bad" or"evil" people. Or maybe it is simply because moods are contagious, and adulation is mood-boosting, thus we seek out the smiley  sycophants in order to continually experience a mood boost. Whatever the reason, sycophants  understand that people love to feel real good about themselves; feel superior to others; feel like they can do no wrong, and sycophants most readily feed this craving for adulation and affirmation.

However, it has to be understood that the partner who is ever in agreement  might not be a sycophant in the true sense of the word, but might just be a team player trying exhibiting his team spirit by being patient and understanding (hallmarks of maturity). The problem is, there is only so much a person can take, and he or she is likely to reach their limit and explode in their manager's face.
Finally, he or she could be the truly patient type, but humans have a mental facility called MEMORY. Having taken so much nonsense from the errant partner over the years, in future, and in a position of power, they could recall all the hurt and anger they had been made to suffer and decide to seek revenge. Remember, the desire to seek revenge is part and parcel of the human nature.

For this reason, I would rather have a partner that speaks his or her  mind quite harshly, than the one who never speaks and seems to have an infinite capacity to take insults. The former can be advised to "calm down" or be more gentle when speaking their mind, but the latter might believe that his ability to remain calm and quiet even in the face of the most horrible of treatments and insults is the hallmark of a disciplined individual. However, I am of convinced that the latter usually already has his or her  mind set on revenge in the future and is just biding their time, waiting for the perfect opportunity to unleash their vitriol.

WHEN LAST DID YOU MAKE A NON-MONETARY INVESTMENT?

Credit: SafeForex.co.uk

Most people associate the word "investment" with financial investments like stocks, real estate and the like. True, these are very popular forms of investment. However they are not the only forms of investment. Buying books that can build you up, both career-wise and in other areas of your life is an investment. Even  monetary aid given (not loaned) is an investment and usually yields dividends in the long run. 
However, not all investments require the movement of money. Basically, an investment is a seed sown into your life or someone else's life. As usual, the seed will take some time to germinate, but in due course you will reap the harvest in the form of dividends. Sometimes all that is required is burning desire to be of help, some of your time and  your effort. 
Helping people in need of help is an investment, in people. Providing a listening ear and a word of advice to a troubled or depressed person in your neighbourhood is an investment. Sometimes, a listening ear is sufficient. Relationships have always been key in the human experience and that definitely will not change any time soon. Sean Covey opines that we as human beings open up a Relationship Bank Account (RBA) with the people we meet. Giving help to people in need of it is simply making a deposit into your RBA, thus increasing the amount of withdraw-able capital in your RBA. The more the solid, positive and progressive relationships you build with people, the more likely you are to survive harsh, unpleasant times (with the help of people). I read the story of a young man who took it upon himself to visit a lonely, seemingly financially poor (or average) elderly lady who lived in his neighbourhood almost daily. Unbeknownst to him, she was an heiress to a grand fortune, and when she passed on, she left most of her money to him in her will. 
The sayings One good turn deserves another, What goes around comes around and Do unto others what you would have them do unto you still hold true because they are eternal truths. Now seek to make an investment in your life and that of others today, being cognisant of the fact that that an investment in the lives of others is actually an investment in your life.