The Sunday Mail
Hunt for Greatness
Milton Kamwendo
THE quick no-pain elevator to greatness is broken. You have to take the staircase and climb your way up.
One step at a time is not too much to ask. Do not fear greatness. Do not fear climbing. Do not fear taking simple steps forward.
Life is a lofty climb; at a few stations, there might be temptation to quit and forget the climb. Do not stop dreaming and doing.
If there is nowhere else to climb to, what would the heavens be for?
Regardless of your level of success, do not stop climbing and do not stop moving. Yes, you may rest for a while, but you must never quit. Keep daring to do great things and touching people’s lives.
Face your challenges head-on
Whatever looks imposing and impossible may always be seen differently. Challenge, size, height or difficulty are matters of interpretation and perception. What you see today as impassable and impossible will tomorrow be a molehill and simple equation of life.
The hard nuts of today will be the cracked nuts of tomorrow. Face your challenges head-on.
Face the brutal facts of your life with a never-say-die determination. You cannot let life grind you to pulp when you are the salt of the earth. Your contribution in life is seasoning to someone.
Things that matter
What matters most to you? What are you willing to live or die for? What is receiving your total commitment and passion?
Things that matter most must never be at the mercy of those that matter least. Half-hearted attempts have never yielded greatness in anything. Do not stop at the mediocrity stall or park before the journey is done. Keep stretching and climbing higher.
Your life was never meant to be unimportant, but significant in every way. You are destined for greatness. Keep reaching for what you are born to be. Significance is not a matter of media or public opinion, but being faithful to let the best in you shine forth.
No drum majorettes may line up outside your street to celebrate the simple steps you take in your climb. Just keep faithfully taking steps ahead. Small steps will always compound.
There is nothing little about simple focus and determined action. Significant achievements are preceded by small insignificant steps. Do not give up. Even though the going may get tough, keep climbing higher still.
What you see matters
What you see will determine what you do. What you see will determine your level of motivation. If you see the small picture, you will only be motivated by a few peanuts. You are not a monkey. You are a child of God born for great things and endowed with the seeds of greatness. Do not stop doing good because the results do not seem to be coming soon. Keep moving; you are destined for greatness. Do not stop climbing to the next loft. Great things are awaiting you there.
Love obstacles
The obstacles you face today are the escalators to your greatness. Love your obstacles, as they come to showcase you to those who will promote you. Love your problems, as they are your opportunities for indescribable profit.
Love your limitations, as they are the catalysts of innovation and instigators of progress. Love your ceiling, as it serves to discourage pretenders from climbing too far. Love your critics, as they are secret cheerleaders. What does it really take to stop you? If they try to stop you, keep climbing. If you are discouraged, keep climbing.
What you see as obstacles today are mere stepping stones to greatness. You are greatness in motion and destiny unfolding. Do not settle for less. Do not look back. Face ahead and think bigger. Greatness is attainable. Climb on and scale higher in life. Where you are is not an arrival port or a destination. Do not park soon. Do not tire early and plateau fast. You cannot lose your sting so soon. Keep climbing.
He climbed to his wedding
He was born in 1968 and became blind at the age of 13. Those who do not understand greatness would have felt pity for him. He has never let his blindness stop him pursuing his great dream of climbing mountains. He has climbed small and big mountains around the world.
Whenever he learns of a particularly challenging mountain, he is motivated to climb it. He started by climbing the mountains near his home, then in his nation. He then started taking on continental peaks and climbed Kilimanjaro in 1997, where he married his wife at the height of 13 000 feet. Climb life creatively and love heights. That is creativity.
Why marry at ground zero when you can climb to your wedding?
Getting married or climbing Kilimanjaro did not stop him from climbing. Some of us would have taken wedding pictures, written a Mount Kilimanjaro climbing book and turned into motivational speakers. But not this blind but vision-filled man. He did not stop there; he continued and continues to seek out mountains to climb, challenge and conquer.
A life without challenges is plain boring. A life where you are climbing nothing is not a life but mere existence. There is no triumph, no celebration, no notoriety! You dare not live such an empty life. Never let any challenge, disability or some debilitating quality stop you from pursuing your dreams.
This blind mountain climber reached the summit of Mount Everest and became the first blind person to reach its summit. The person I am talking about is Erik Weihenmayer. If Weihenmayer, despite his blindness, continues to climb mountains, what about you and your proverbial mountains? Dare to climb on. What are eyes for if you do not have vision? What is strength for if you do not have fortitude? I dare you to climb higher. Do something bigger than you. Challenge something bigger than your current mindset and see how much you can stretch to greatness. Climb on. Life is full of beautiful mountains to climb.
Set goals and pursue them.
Committed to your greatness.
Milton Kamwendo is a leading international transformational and motivational speaker, author and a virtual, hybrid and in-person workshop facilitator. He can be reached at: [email protected] and his website is: www.miltonkamwendo.com
