The Sunday Mail
Do not let fear hijack your life, why should you? Fear is a terrible master that sparks terror in hearts and minds. Fear is the ultimate enemy.The anthem of all greatness is: “fear not, fear not, do not be dismayed!”
Shakespeare in “Twelfth Night” said: “Be not afraid of greatness. Some are born great, some achieve greatness, and some have greatness thrust upon them. Thy Fates open their hands. Let thy blood and spirit embrace them.”
Do not let your station in life intimidate you. Where you are is not where you will always be. Start where you are with what you have and miracles will follow.
Do not be afraid of life or its challenges and complexities.
The mountains and valleys are part of the terrain. Challenges come to tease and test your spirit. You are born great and you will achieve greatness. Let the lion in you roar, why not? Believe in your greatness. Believe in possibilities beyond your wildest dreams and most scaring fears.
You are the co-author of your life. Co-operate with eternal plans.
The present challenges are not the end game – just an interim test of your fortitude and vision.
As you run your race, pursuing your calling, taking daily sweaty steps, greatness will be thrust upon you.
Be patient, be willing and be engaged.
A few things may ambush you, but do not give up. Be a protagonist; participate and play your part in life’s theatre.
Do not give up, there is more than one path to the top of the mountain.
The possibilities are endless and the opportunities are more than the shortages.
Positive
You sound odd when you are positive among negative people. Negativity is a plague and gangrene cancer. It grows if unchecked, ultimately killing dreams and dulling imagination.
When you are positive, you have massive advantage over those who are negative.
Being positive may not cure all your problems in an instance but it will give you the right mental tonic. Positivity will spur you to start thinking and acting with boldness and focus. Dare to poke your dark clouds in the face, and up your ante.
See beyond the dark clouds and think beyond the current pain of the moment. Dare to challenge your limits and extend your horizons.
Dare to speak to the darkness and start pronouncing the dawn.
Appetite
Develop an appetite for the future. Keep working and learning. Equip yourself with the skills you need and face the challenges that are before you. Keep going and keep trying. Trying times are not the times to stop trying. Small actions taken persistently will move you forward. Dream big and bold.
Even if the dreams scare you, keep dreaming and doing. Even if the results are slow in coming, keep marching forward.
There is always a next station, this is not the terminus.
Incurable
Be incurably positive and throw away all superstition.
Guard your mental garden and refuse to let your mind be a dumping ground for other people’s negativity. Your words are spirit and they are life.
They shape your life and mould your future. Your words are so powerful and polarising. They have shaping and moulding power.
They are the moulds out of which your life experiences are shaped. The mould that shapes your life is in your mind.
The stencil that draws your life is in your tongue. The step that matters most for you is your next one. The power to shape your life is in your tongue. Choose your focus and the focus will choose you. When you elect the negative, evil will dog and bite you.
Fortune favours the visionary.
Unseen
While others are complaining, keep looking beyond the veneer of their complaints. You may see something that you have been ignoring and not seeing.
There are forces seen and unseen working for you and against you. Faith is not like a foot or arm, but a heart.
It is at the centre of your being and integral in all you do. Without faith you cannot please God, nor can you impress men.
Keep your “faith-heart” pumping and your steps moving. Sketch out tomorrow and keep your imagination alive.
Set solid and inspiring goals that move you forward. Develop a healthy habit of ambition. Let power be generated within.
Pray and listen, waiting for the dawn. There is a steering within that will guide and direct your footsteps.
Double your efforts; triple your pace. Keep running and moving. Do not tire or retire yet.
Double vision
Always see double because problems usually come as twins.
Attack and defend; run and stand; block and tackle; listen and talk; work and rest; draw and release. Everything has its place, put all things in context. As you run fast, learn to pause and reflect. Dream big, see the future and take action in the now.
See impossibilities and yet do what is possible now. Be afraid but, with faith, keep holding on. Do what matters and keep moving.
Murder what no longer works and give life to what works. Gallop hard, but dismount from dead horses. Double vision is not the same as being double-minded.
Miyamoto Musashi is a well know Japanese legend who pre-dates us by a few centuries. He was a swordsman born at a time of great difficulty, wars and conflict in Japan around 1584.
He gained prominence as a warrior in the 17th century, developing unique fighting styles. He started a school: kenjutsu, where he taught his techniques of using the long and short sword.
He distilled his fighting techniques and philosophy in the book entitled, “The Book of Five Rings”.
In it, he expresses his thoughts on strategy and the use of the double swords — the short and long sword is a thread of thought that runs through his work.
In talking about vision, he says: “Aspire to be like Mount Fuji, with such a broad and solid foundation that the strongest earthquake cannot move you, and so tall that the greatest enterprises of common men seem insignificant from your lofty perspective. With your mind as high as Mount Fuji you can see all things clearly. And you can see all the forces that shape events; not just the things happening near to you.”
Embrace the Mount Fuji metaphor as a thinking frame.
Climb high and see clearly. Draw on your long sword and yet be willing to use the short sword.
Miyamoto Musashi inspires every warrior when he says: “To win any battle, you must fight as if you are already dead.”
When the fear of death no longer terrorises you, you can think more clearly.
Your heart is open to possibilities when your mind is clear and your spirit is firm.
Think deeply on the words of Miyamoto Musashi when he says: “The purpose of today’s training is to defeat yesterday’s understanding.”
Do not be held back by the past.
The purpose of today’s reading is to defeat the ideas of the past that no longer work. The past does not equal the future. What worked in the past will not work forever. Unlearning is as important as learning.
It is the faithful lessons of the past that sometimes interfere with the necessary learning we need today.
Milton Kamwendo is an international transformational and inspirational speaker, author and coach. He is a strategy, innovation, team-building and leadership facilitator. Feedback: [email protected], Twitter @MiltonKamwendo and WhatsApp +263772422634
