The Sunday Mail
Hunt for Greatness
Milton Kamwendo
You cannot grow by being the same person that you were.
To grow, you have to stretch. Rather, growth will always stretch you and take you out of your comfort zone. Growth creates a crisis of stagnation. Any crisis you face is a call to stretch. Make time to stretch and reach beyond where you are and do what you have never done before.
Time is a vital raw resource in life and business. Whatever you do not have today, given a little more time, you can acquire it. Those who do not value time, do not value life.
Wasting time is a cheap way of wasting life. Time is a friend of those who have exciting visions and goals and an enemy of those who procrastinate and spend life wishing for success, but do not stretch and do something. You become whatever you invest your time into. Make time to stretch in ways that matter and multiply value.
Make time for thinking
Thoughts create things. Thoughts could also destroy things. Make time for thinking. Consider the long terms and think strategically. The future should not be arrived at by accident. Challenge yourself to think and reflect. Trevor Baylis once said: “The key to success is to risk thinking unconventional thoughts. Convention is the enemy of progress. If you go down just one corridor of thought you never get to see what’s in the rooms leading off it.”
Make time to think across time horizons as this helps you place things in context. Think about the short term because you are in it already. Think about what you do daily because it is what you do every day that you become ultimately. Think long term because the future is already here.
Create a thinking space, pace and method. Invest in a journal and make time to think. Invest in learning because this gives you thinking tools and models of thought. Take time to think methodically, frequently and deeply. Make time for silence and solitude. It gives you space to think, reflect and contemplate things that matter.
As you think, you start scaling yourself. Make the time you take for reflection and thinking special. Value the tools that you use in your thinking. Make special the harvest of your thoughts and preserve them. Dread being a mere passenger in life. When you do not take time to reflect, you easily sleep-walk through life.
Make time to think creatively and see different multiple perspectives to issues. Look at the numbers and the data; it will make your thinking sober and clearer. Move the centre of gravity of your thinking beyond emotions, popular views and pedestrian talk. New thinking will always lead you to new paths, new places and cause you to enter new spaces.
Make intentional moves away from thinking that is limited, negative and suffocating. Move away from fellowships where the dominant mode is discontent. Disconnect from thoughts that leave you tired, depressed and delusional. If necessary, move away from thoughts that reinforce your state as a victim and embrace responsibility-thinking.
Make time for reading
Reading broadens thinking and sharpens perspectives. Reading will keep your mind young and shape your understanding of the context. When you do not read, you do not have any advantage over those who cannot read.
Reading for examinations is mandatory for certification. Reading beyond examinations is what gives you the edge. Make time to read. Read around issues that are of interest to you.
Read around your industry. Read around emerging issues. Take time to read beyond popular titles. Make time to read something meaningful and inspiring. Reading is native to leadership. Making time to read is essential to continuing personal development and growth.
Reading is the key to scaling yourself. When you stop growing, you clog the development pipeline for those you lead. Make time to read widely, deeply and frequently. Take time to visit a good bookshop and pick up three books or more. There must always be more than one book that you are looking through, reading or reflecting on.
When you make time to read, you improve the way you will show up. Robert J. Anderson in his book “Scaling leadership” says: “Leadership is the deployment of self into circumstances. As a leader, you are your primary asset. How you show up moment to moment is your leadership impact.”
The quality of your life is related to the quality of your reading. Make time to share with others what you read and to think about what you have read.
Make time to relate
Relationships are the social glue that keeps life moving forward. Take time to establish relationships and to refresh current ones. Make time to call or speak to someone you have not spoken to in a long time. Relationships are time intensive and require time and attention to build and grow. Take time to remember the special things and times that your friends value. Take time to fellowship because it refreshes the soul and opens new frontiers of thought.
Make time to be present
Make time to be present in this moment and appreciate it. Do not let life pass you by while you pine for a moment that no longer exists. This moment of your life is happening perfectly. Make time to be in this moment and use all its benefits and opportunities. See the good in this moment and stop complaining.
Every moment is laden with its special grace. Leverage this moment to go to the next level. Make time to be aware of the lessons of this moment. Face life with gratitude and not an impudent sneer. Make time to buy and smell the flowers. Drink deeply into this moment and enjoy it all.
Make time to make the most of now. You cannot be in yesterday because it is gone. Do not stop the clock and hope that time has stopped. Do not let anything free you in the past. Be present. Show up ready and prepared.
This is your moment. You are the person this moment has been waiting for. Show up ready and make time to do what you have to do. The best moment yet of your life is now. Be aware, be willing and be motivated to live your best and give this moment your best shot. Make time and be on time.
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 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] and his website is: www.miltonkamwendo.com
