The Sunday Mail
For many life is a race to be bigger, better, and have a bankable big name.
The race of life, like any other race, has its own life, momentum, challenges and emotional roller coasters. The race begins, is processed to an end and the hope is always that you are not chasing your own tail. In between the beginning and end is a lived story, works done and a canvass of relationships.
Win with others and you will have a richer story to tell.
Run, stumble, rise, fall, jump, cry but keep taking massive bold action and running. Life evolves through decisions, words, relationships and actions. Tough times are not the reason for despondency or the season of despair.
What looks far-fetched today will one day be a lived story narrated. Whatever you face today has likely been faced by someone and they survived it. Talk to someone and you will hear amazing stories of inspiration. Do not accept the excuse to give up and live a purposeless existence.
Keep your head high, goals nigh and confidence intact. Yours is a call to play to win and win with others.
It is not enough to win, it should be your goal to live a worthy and inspirational life that enriches others. Your proper function is to live within an ecosystem and not just to exist as a lone soldier. All living and business is interdependent and not just self-serving.
The very best that you can do is all that you can do. You will not win all the time but you can give your best all the time. If you lose after giving the best, let your pride remain intact. How you handle loss is as important as how you manage success.
When you win be grateful and humble, and when you lose be gracious and hardy. How you play, how you win and with whom you win are important. If you have to win, win with others and if you have to think, think win-win. Reflect on and contribute to winning with others and create greater good and impact. Where you focus is important and determines how far you journey and what that journey means in the long run.
See the big picture
Run to win, and play to gain but never lose sight of the bigger picture and why you are running. Run far and if you can, fast, but never lose sight of the war or the real prize. When you stop fighting petty battles, your resources will be available for bigger ones.
You are playing small when all you see is you and your glory in the picture. See the bigger picture, the real war and play to the right gallery and scale. You look funny when what matters to you most cannot be related to the end game and greater good. Be willing to let your ego take the back seat while the mission takes the front seat.
Battles to massage your ego at the expense of the mission are a lost cause. Keep your eyes focused on the big picture and not just your personal gain, rain on your garden patch. Be more than a ball of pains seeking attention and attend to the mission.
Focus on win-win
Others do not have to lose in order for you to win. You do not have to win at the expense of others. With listening, empathy and dynamic responsibility, you can both win and be happy. Change your mental models, take extreme ownership of the mission and realize that all shortage is artificial. The sky is big enough for every bird to fly and sing its song. There are enough brush strokes and combinations of the colors for every artist to paint a master piece.
There are enough words for every story that needs to be written to be written. There are enough musical scales for you to create your own unique sound. There is enough creativity for you to dream your dreams and do your thing.
The canvas of life is wide enough for you to paint your own story of greatness without making others lose. No one has to fail in order for you to be successful and great. You build better when you build on other people’s successes and not their ashes of demise. No one has to lose in order for you to win. No one has to fall in order for you to rise. No one has to be disappointed in order for you to be appointed. Keep thinking win-win because the space greatness is always there if you think big and do the right things. It is not enough to commit the golden rule to memory, bring it to life through commitment to build, win-win conversations, the cornerstone of character, compacts and relationships. Win-win is the test of character, consideration and courage.
Keep sturdy and standing
Keep your sturdy gait and focus on the grand strategy. Be an “Invictus” – this is the Latin word for “unconquered.” Keep standing despite the ups and downs that you face. Winning is a process and not an event. Remember the old 19th century Invictus poem that was written by the English author, William Ernest Henley:
“Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.
In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.
Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds and shall find me unafraid.
It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll, I am the master of my fate, I am the captain of my soul.”
Benefits of synergy
Working together results in outcomes that are bigger and greater than what each individual puts in. Synergy is when two people or entities work positively together and achieve more than what each would have produced on their own. Whatever it takes, synergize because that is where you have greatest leverage and economy in the use of resources.
Duplicating effort is a waste. Weak little attempts without scale will always be weak pitiful attempts. Take the initiative in making things work with others so that you win together. You achieve more when you reach for more collaboration and cohesion. Cross the line to initiate contact, mend fences, enhance communication and spur collaboration. Keep your ego at the back, in check, and the mission at the front in full focus. Waiting for others to change before you change will confine you to a long wait and missed opportunities to do something really great.
Power of symbiosis
Symbiosis is where one individual or entity benefits the other in a dynamic and mutually beneficial relationship. In biology and many life systems, symbiosis is common place and the default manner of existence. Give your best and be open to receive.
Transform scarcity into abundance though symbiotic relationships and strategic play. Life is made up of value enhancing symbiotic ecosystems. There are awesome resources hidden in dynamic and symbiotic relationships. See what others miss and give them what they need. Practice abundance, or else you wish experience scarcity and squabbles.
Alone you can do so much but with others you can do much more and achieve even more. Playing an empty stadium is punishment. Do not play life in the same way. Make relationships work and you will see miracles. It is not enough to win alone, win with others.
Deliberately network to create positive effects and enriching relationships. Deliberately partner to perform at a higher scale and leverage resources. Deliberately grow towards the light, enlightened by a bigger vision you can do great things. Is this not the life lesson of photosynthesis?
Committed to your greatness.
Milton Kamwendo is a leading international transformational and motivational speaker, author and coach. His life purpose is to inspire greatness. He can be reached at: [email protected] and Twitter: @MiltonKamwendo or WhatsApp at: 0772422634
