IN MY interaction with people, I haven’t met a single individual who says, “As for me, I intend to retrogress.” Every university student I've dealt with is desirous of a terrific result at the end of their examination. Every businessperson aims for positive returns on their investments. Parents want their children to end well. I want to progress in my life and I suppose you too. If you are asked, I presume you would say, “I want to be successful.” That’s a good desire to have but the essential question each of us must answer is this: “How can we progress to a higher pedestal of life?”
I believe that to be able to move forward and higher in life, we must cast away all the things that hinder us. There are habits and character traits that impede our progress in life. There are friends whose company and advice are inimical to our ambition to succeed. There are TV programmes that are not good for us. It is not every book that adds value to our lives. So to go up, we must give up.
GIVE UP YOUR LIFE
It is said that anyone who is not ready to die for anything has nothing to live for. Jesus Christ said that “whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life...will find it.” If you surrender yourself to your dreams, you will be willing to pay the price for it. Surrendering yourself indicates a determination to stretch yourself to get what you want. It shows the sacrifices one is prepared to make in exchange for their aspirations. Nelson Mandela is an idol today because of his utmost dedication to his vision. He wanted to see his country liberated and in pursuing that vision, Mandela surrendered his life. He gave up his own freedom to achieve his country’s freedom. Today, Mr Mandela is arguably the world’s most revered personality. Your success depends on how much of your life you are willing to give.
GIVE UP YOUR FRIENDS
Good company enhances great values. Who is your best friend? Why is that person your best friend? My belief is that friends must be people who help us to get closer to our dreams. Anybody whose association with me does not enhance my capacity to achieve my dreams is not a friend. They may be good people but definitely not friends. It is not everybody you know who can accompany you to where you want to go. They may be nice people to hang out with but can’t travel with you. Such people will only keep you at one place – if they don’t draw you backwards. The logical thing to do is to distance yourself from people like that.
The road to your destiny is narrow and only few people can go with you. You don’t necessarily need every smiling person in your life to go with you. Just make up your mind to go and those who can will follow you. If nobody can go with you, then you have to make a choice to either remain down with them or give them up and go up.
GIVE UP YOUR TREASURE
Your dream will cost you something valuable. Any goal that has no price is cheap and is not worth pursuing. Going up is expensive. It may involve using your hard-earned dough to purchase priceless books, attend courses, or change your wardrobe. You may have to learn a new language. Your treasure could be your money, time or possessions. What you give inspires what you receive. What you walk away from determines what you walk into. What you sow is what you reap. If you want to attain an enviable position in life, give something enviable. When it rains it is those who have planted good seed who receive good harvest.
