The Sunday Mail
Life is real and the earlier you get real, the faster you will progress towards your greatness. Be real, accept where you have been, face up to the challenges of your realities and work to make your dreams real. Believe in your greatness because what things are like today is not what they will always be. Little can be done to change your past, accept it and refuse to be bound by it. A lot can be done to change your future, if you consider today as your raw material.
Face the brutal facts with a blunt and raw faith. Do little things in greatness ways and you will soon be counted among the great ones. Be real, be you, be engaged. Live with the mind of a crusader and active doer, and you will not need to be anything but yourself.
There is a lot of opportunity packed in little spaces and hidden in humble work. Be here, dream big, be passionate, listen to the silent and still voice within and put your simple plans into motion.
There is no need to hate yourself or to wish you were born elsewhere. There is no need to hide your identity or curse the sun. Appreciate your parentage, and just do not park in the past or use the past to disable yourself.
You past should never be an excuse for being fooling and purposeless. Blame is not vision, take extreme ownership of your life and its realities. Be a passionate crusader of vision. Whatever you went through to get to where you are is part of the crucibles of your greatness. Be yourself, be authentic, be real because everyone else has been taken.
Live out your realities, outlive adversities and write your own story. Being an odd-copy makes you look funny, fickle and foolish.
Whatever work you find yourself doing today, love that work and excel in it. It is not how grand what you are doing is, but the grand spirit by which you do it and the attitude you bring that matters most. Hustle your way to greatness. There is no big work or small work, all that is there is mindful work and mindless work. Whatever work you have the opportunity to do, put your heart and mind to it. Stop waiting for the big job because what you are doing today is the real big job. Bring your big heart to seemingly small work and uncommon greatness will come to you.
Do the seemingly common in uncommon ways and your greatness will be initiated. Greatness is closer than you think. It is bound up in your head, heart and hands. Be the best of whatever you are.
Stop looking for your purpose. Just do whatever you are doing in a passionate and purposeful manner.
Bring real zeal and passion to the work you find, regardless of how humble it may seem. Purpose will look for you, and greatness will find you as you do real work and make your work a song.
Real with yourself
Go for greatness and realise that the road will at times be narrow, bumpy at other times but you will get there eventually. Do not be ashamed of keeping on trying. Never be ashamed of your humble sweat, be ashamed of greatness without a track record.
At times you will fail, admit your mistakes and get back on your horse and keep galloping along. You will not always be right or get it right. Do not let imperfection intimidate you.
You grow bigger anytime you take full responsibility and you are humble enough to learn. There is no need to shift blame claim the crown of a sinless saint. To err is human and to push blame to others is diabolic. You grow bigger when you take ownership and admit it when you are wrong. Do not shift blame, or point fingers. Just take ownership, admit responsibility and work to correct mistakes. Take responsibility, keep it real and own up in order to go up.
When you do not know, be willing to admit that you need help and then work at improving yourself. So much time is wasted in pretence and keeping appearances.
Asking for help is not a sign of weakness but humility. Pretending to know what you do not know will not create miracle competence.
Always remember the old wisdom mantra: “He that doesn’t know and doesn’t know that he doesn’t know is a fool, shun him. He that doesn’t know but knows that he doesn’t know is simple, teach him. He that knows but doesn’t know that he knows is asleep, wake him. He that knows and knows that he knows is wise, follow him.”
Real with others
There is no need to be fake and phony. Be real with others and honest about what you are, what you can and what you cannot to do for them. Do to try to impress others with what you do not have or do not own.
Do not live a borrowed life or a colour-filter one and you will not need to unnecessarily crack your head over needless burdens.
Lift up people instead of despising them. Bless those that contribute to your growth and development. Be real and take a solid stand.
Real with past
Where you are coming from is a good part of where you are and where you are going. While your past may not be glorious, do not be ashamed of it. Acknowledge your past with its flaws and warts.
To be where you are you had to pass through there. It was your journey and just keep it real. Share your story, it will motivate others and let them know that greatness is attainable.
Real with realities
Deal in realities and not in fantasies. Someone once quipped that leaders are dealers in hope. Leaders deal in hope and are willing to work with what they have got. While they keep hope alive, they let their feet stand on solid ground and work to resolve the realities of where they stand. You do not dance to the music you hope to hear, but to the one playing. Move to your greatness, starting where you are standing. Your path to greatness starts where you stand and stretches into the infinite possibilities of the future. Live in the future and let your feet stand on the firm ground of your realities.
The first task of all leadership is to define and confront reality. There is a place for dreaming but the dream journey starts by acknowledging your realities, confronting the elephants in the room and facing the brutal facts. Spring forth from a base of grounding realities.
Real with dreams
Do not throw away your dreams because they appear too big, daunting and challenging. Dream big and bold and wake up to do.
Do not let other people’s words and measures tempt you to shrink your dreams and cull your faith. Do not shrink your dreams to try and fit into other people’s unbelief and lack of vision. Do not talk of building great things, be hands-on, get dirty, start working and build great things. While others talk, work and do.
Passion is not just a feeling that lasts for three months. It is the capacity to commit oneself fervently over an extended period of time to a dream and meeting an objective you deem worthy. It is the ability to move from failure to failure without losing enthusiasm and focus.
Work your dreams and your dreams will work for you. Do the necessary head-work — gather and apply knowledge and information. Use your head or else you head for trouble. The the necessary handwork. Apply your skills and all things that your hands can do. Value skills and grow your domain expertise. Work to master at least one area of productivity. Deploy your heart work. Manage your emotions and do not let them manage you.
Work at developing your emotional intelligence and fortifying the power within you. There are many more things that are possible than those that are impossible. Committed to your greatness.
Milton Kamwendo is a leading international transformational and motivational speaker, author, and executive coach. He is a cutting strategy, innovation, team-building and leadership facilitator and consultant. His life purpose is to inspire greatness. He can be reached at: [email protected] and Twitter: @MiltonKamwendo or WhatsApp at: 0772422634. His website is: www.miltonkamwendo.com.
