Greatness is built brick by brick

Milton Kamwendo

I NAMED my daughter Muvaki because I know that everything great needs a builder.

Every day is building day. Every word is a brick. Every act is mortar. Every step is a layer. Build intentionally.

Constructing your path

Building always takes time. The world often celebrates instant gratification, quick fixes and fast miracle money. However, capture the value of patience, the premium of meticulous planning and discipline of gradual progress. Greatness is built brick by brick.

Think like a bricklayer. Approach each task as if laying a brick — in a line. Adopt the intentional approach of laying one brick at a time. One small step is not too much to ask. One brick is not too much to ask. Be willing to take just one step, then another.

One step is feasible. It is doable.

Og Mandino once wrote: “I will persist until I succeed. Always will I take another step.

“If that is of no avail I will take another, and yet another. In truth, one step at a time is not too difficult. I know that small attempts, repeated, will complete any undertaking.”

Strengthen your foundation

Foundations matter. A building stands on a foundation. If that foundation is weak, the cracks in the building will soon start showing. Once foundations are destroyed, disaster is at the door.

All greatness needs foundations. Character is a foundation. Knowledge is a solid rock. Principles are foundation stones. In whatever you do, find the foundations and build on them.

Fashion styles may change but foundations rarely do so. Build foundations that are solid and enduring. Work methodically through a plan. Embody patient endurance.

Build through teamwork

Every building is always the result of a team, people with different skills and capabilities, all of them working together. As you build, keep asking: “Who can help me?”

Never be afraid of reaching out to people and ask for help. Help yourself, help others and always ask for help.

Focus your effort

In building, every meaningful goal will always call for focus, discipline and endurance. For a builder, each brick represents a single, manageable task or milestone on the way to achieving a larger objective. Concentrate on the task at hand.

Do not despair because the pace is slow. Complete each task at hand to the best of your ability. Then move on to the next one. Let everyone know you care about quality.

Through the plan

Work through your plan — your blueprint to greatness. Every significant construction project begins with a detailed blueprint. Every ambitious goal requires a well-thought-out plan. This plan serves as a roadmap, outlining each step necessary to reach the desired outcome.

Spend time thinking around your plans, sketching around them.

Translate your goals into a daily work programme.

Passengers in a plane can dare go to sleep, but the people in the cockpit do not have that luxury.

They are working. Work through your plan while others are sleeping. Plan for the next station while others are at ease. Plan with discipline. Execute with passion. Endure through commitment.

It is easy to become overwhelmed or lose sight of your objective amid the dust of life. Break down the larger goal into smaller bricks. Make the huge projects smaller,  digestible chunks.

Break down your goal into manageable tasks that help you maintain momentum and make consistent progress.

View each step as an essential component of the larger structure. Keep in mind that skipping steps or rushing the process can compromise the final outcome.

Endurance through patience

Patience is the mortar that holds the bricks together. Patience is the capacity to hold out through the slow and tedious process of making incremental progress. Patience allows you to work while trusting the process.

You trust that each small step will bring you closer to your goal.

Patience whispers to you that each setback is a setup for a comeback. Patience will tell you that each test you have is part of building your testimony. Sometimes you just have to wait. There is no shame in waiting.

Every bricklayer knows that sometimes you have to wait for the mortar to set before continuing to build. Allow yourself to wait, knowing that you are still in a process. Mindless activity is not necessarily progress. Allow time for your efforts to take hold and produce results.

Making things happen

Building is not an idle pastime. Take a proactive approach to making things happen through steady, consistent effort. Take action. Each brick laid is a step forward. It is a tangible sign of progress towards the larger goal.

Over time, these individual achievements accumulate. In time, the structure begins to take shape. Visible progress is incredibly motivating and validating. The brick-by-brick approach works. Do not despair. Keep building. Greatness is a process.

Committed to your greatness.

*Milton Kamwendo is a leading international transformational and motivational speaker, author and accomplished workshop facilitator. He is a cutting-edge strategy, team-building and organisation development facilitator and consultant. His life purpose is to inspire and promote greatness. He can be reached at: [email protected]