The Sunday Mail
Start where you are and work with what you have got. Where you are today is never a destination, but just a point of departure. Whatever you go through, do not lose your head or let negativity seep into your heart.
Whatever challenge your face, never ever lose hope or your head. The obstacles you face today will not be mountains forever. When mountains are confronted with resolute faith, they move. Today’s mountains will soon look like molehills in the future.
Your mess will soon be your message of hope. What is denting your spirit will be your opportunity to make a dent in the universe. Let vision inspire you to keep your dreams alive. Do not think with your feet, think with your head. It is not what you are going through that matters, but where you are going to.
Keep your head, train your eyes to look ahead, school your mouth to mention what you are becoming and anchor your heart to stay strong. Never think that your suffering is worth entering in the Guinness Book of Records. You do not have the time to be thinking like a victim. The story of Helen Keller is fascinating, inspiring and worth noting and emulating. She wrote some of the most moving and motivating words in all time. Her story is testimony that nothing can kill your spirit unless you permit it. Although she lived through an early personal tragedy, the Great Depression, both World Wars, Helen was a motivator par excellence.
She was positive, driven and passionate. She kept her head while others were losing theirs. She could have been dumped and forgotten by time and people. Yet she decided to rise above her challenges, focusing and using what she had instead of ever complaining about what she did not have. Because she saw the world differently, she spoke and did different things. Refuse to be conditioned by the negativity of other people.
Helen Keller was born on June 27, 1880 in Alabama in the USA. When she was two years old, she was struck by an unknown illness that left her blind and deaf. At age seven, she came into contact with Anne Sullivan, who was to be her teacher, mentor and guide for 49 years, proving once again that if you meet someone who believes in you and keeps their head when others are losing theirs, you can progress while others regress.
The sky is not falling, do not make a religion of the falling sky. Keeping hope alive cures you from disabling negativity. It is not what you do not have that matters but what you have and how you use it. Use whatever is in your hand well, instead of complaining that other people have the better lot. Opportunity is where you see it and it is everywhere waiting for you to notice it and pursue it with passion.
Helen Keller was hopeless, she had unbearable tantrums, could not communicate and was uncontrollable and at times unresponsive. Many suggested that she should be confined to an institution for life. Many did not think she would amount to anything other than a troublesome human cabbage. Do not let anyone write you off and do not let your own mind wander into self-pity and negativity. Do not lose your head and vision. After a number of desperate and failed attempts working with Helen, her teacher Anne Sullivan finally started making progress with her ability to communicate. At first it was slow. She started with finger spelling. In time she mastered various forms of communication that included touch-lip reading, Braille, speech and typing.
Blind and deaf, Keller rose to be one of the best communicators of all time. Once you know what positive progress feels like, you never want to be dragged back into negativity, despair and despondency and unending complaints. Once you have tasted the beauty of flying you do not look forward to any invitation to mud-rolling. Keller kept making steady progress. Whatever steps you have taken, persist and you will build momentum.
She attended University and graduated in 1904. She developed a passion to help other people. She became an author, communicator and crusader. She became friends with and was inspired by the legendary author, Mark Twain. During her lifetime, she received many honours in recognition of her accomplishments and contribution to other people. Do not just wait to receive, be the giver and make a difference in the lives of others. Your negativity will leave you looking to other people to do things for you while you just wait for what you cannot control. No silver bullet will change your life because you are that bullet. Your positivity will charge you ahead and you will realise that you can do things and make a difference. Helen Keller’s spirit is exhibited in these words that she left us: “They took away what should have been my eyes, but I remembered Milton’s Paradise. They took away what should have been my ears, Beethoven came and wiped away my tears. They took away what should have been my tongue, but I talked to God when I was young. He would not let them take away my soul – possessing that, I still possess the whole.”
You do not have the luxury to think, talk or reason like a victim. You do not have the luxury to lose your head because you think life has been unfair. Rise and realise that you still have the whole. You are able to move forward and do great things. Greatness does not come on a silver platter with plucked roses. You have a part to play. Even if others lose their heads, that is not a license to join those on their way down when you can just shoot up the open skies.
Have the stubbornness of a donkey
Do not allow anything to shake you or move you. Have stubborn faith and the positivity of donkey. Keep moving forward, carrying your lot with grace. Keep on your path to greatness and do not allow anything to stop you or derail your faith.
Have the vision of an owl
Owls are lovely and intelligent birds. They have binocular vision, night vision and far-sighted vision. In low light, they are able to see 30-times better than human vision. They are able to turn their neck 270 degrees. Owls have not one, not two, but three eyelids: one is for blinking, one is for sleeping and the other one is for keeping those precious peepers clean. When you can see the future while others are wallowing in negativity, you have an unfair advantage. See like an owl, deep into the future and be unshakeable. Be focused and visionary. Do not just have one eyelid and never go to sleep like everyone else. Keep hope alive and keep moving. While others complain, blink and be radically positive.
While others stare, blink again, get to work and keep moving. See beyond any obstacle that you face today. While others sleep, like an owl let your big eye be wide awake and be in action, hunting for opportunity. Get busy turning your adversity into your university of greatness.
Have the back of an ox
Pull some weight and keep moving. Success does not happen without effort. Pull your weight and keep moving. You grow as you tackle challenges. Muscles get stronger with exercise. You do not master anything because it is easy, it gets easy as you attempt.
Have the hassle of the village chicken
The village chicken does not operate or think like a broiler chicken. It does not wait for feed, water or medication. You just let it roam and it hassles. Do not wait for things to be brought to your mouth, get out and make things happen. Take the initiative. Be like the firefly that gives out light when it is on the wing. Whatever problem comes you way can be solved and likely someone has solved it before. Your situation is not unique. This too shall pass, but meanwhile keep your head while others are losing theirs.
Committed to your greatness.
Milton Kamwendo is a leading international transformational and motivational speaker, author, and executive coach. His life purpose is to inspire and promote greatness. He can be reached at: [email protected] and Twitter: @MiltonKamwendo or WhatsApp at: 0772422634. His website is: www.miltonkamwendo.com