The Sunday Mail
Milton Kamwendo Hunt for Greatness
No one has monopoly over wisdom and ideas, and at times the ideas that change your life come when you least expect them.Not everything that you hate is necessarily bad for you. Some necessities of greatness are uncomfortable by nature.
Be sold more onto your future than your conveniences.
Greatness is not a playtime sport. Half-hearted commitments will not result in anything but aborted attempts.
You, too, can become great if you are committed to do what it takes. All greatness is founded on great routines.
It is what you do daily that prophesies your future with accuracy.
I was recently excited and inspired giving a motivational presentation to this special group of professionals.
I was talking to them about “Engagement, Agility and Alignment.”
I spoke about how they could tap into their best and unleash great things as individuals, teams and organisations.
I shared with them about every day choices to be made in order to win.
If you do not control your personal environment, you will be controlled by the environment.
If you do not decide what you want, it will be decided for you.
I shared with them about the 10-90 rule that states that life is 10 percent what happens and 90 percent what you choose to do about it.
The 10 percent represents all the things that happen and you have no control over.
Do not be so obsessed with the 10 percent of things that are dysfunctional and forget the 90 percent that is working.
These things that you cannot change are called facts of life.
Taking responsibility means choosing to focus on those things that you can control.
I went on to share about the Stockdale Paradox and the beautiful story of taking the message to Garcia.
I shared my thoughts on spending each day making a special contribution, being extra ordinary instead of just being ordinary, mediocre, boring, bitter and complaining.
I challenged them to be so good at what they do that they are worth noticing.
I charged forward exhorting them to be “Most Valuable Players” (MVPs) in their teams.
“Be the best of what you can be,” I told them, “There are no half-hearted champions.”
As I continued to inspire this team, one of the participants asked: “You are so right, you are reinforcing what Muhammad Ali said.”
My mind raced through to the oft-quoted, “I am the greatest” Ali quote, but that was not what she was referring to.
She paused a little and said, remember that inspiring quote: “I hated every minute of training, but I said, ‘Don’t quit. Suffer now and live the rest of your life as a champion’!”
That was a light bulb moment for me.
The quote grabbed my attention. I had a choice to hate training and live the life of a loser, complainer and cynic all my life, or to love the training I hate and become a champion.
The often ignored key to greatness is to do what you hate so that you can be what you love. Imagine that one of the greatest athletes of all time said he hated every moment of training. Training was not his hobby, it was a “must do”!
He did not like training, like most of us. He was not born to train. He had to decide that training was more important than other false comforts that did not take him closer to his goals.
Training was lonely, painful and hard. Yet he knew that the key to greatness is to do what you hate in order to have the freedom to be what you like for a lifetime.
Great achievement is preceded by great routines.
It is not about now
Do not be seduced about the pleasure of this moment and forget the great goals that are beckoning to you.
The discipline of greatness is doing what you must do now, not what you like to do now.
Ali hated to wake up and train, but without training, his desires for greatness were an empty wish.
All people hate just about the same things, discipline is doing what you must.
Figure out what you need to do daily in order to become great.
It is what you do daily that decides what you become ultimately.
Forget the little pains of today, think about the ultimate prize.
Forget about the discomforts of this moment, think about the greatness.
Things that matter most should never be sacrificed for those that matter least.
Be obsessed
Many people keep stating preference and wishes.
That will not take you anywhere anytime soon. Turn your goals into an obsession — a magnificent obsession.
Do not let those that are going nowhere tempt you into complacency.
Do not let those who have given up on their dreams tempt you to abandon yours.
Do not reduce your speed to match those who are driving to nowhere special.
You have a big dream, you want greatness. You are not satisfied with the present and you want more. Do not apologise for doing what other people are not willing to do.
Stop behaving like a turkey when you are an eagle. Refuse to let those with a low ceiling tell you that you are doing well when you know that you can do more and be more.
You are responsible for what you become.
There is no silver bullet that can help you get everything in your life on cue.
Stop looking for easy solutions to great places.
Most greatness is not magic or speculation at all. You just have to do the things that you hate but know you must do.
You can become anything that you want if you are willing to commit to doing what you do not necessarily like in order to get what you like.
Be obsessed, disciplined, focused and resolute.
Take out of view those things that do not take you to where you want to go.
You cannot do everything, you cannot be everywhere but you can do something and be someone worth noticing.
Love what others hate
Many people love to win. They love the medals and accolades.
They love the splendour of graduation and being featured in the Who is who listings.
Many love the emotions of winning.
Regrettably, many love to win and hate to train. Do not let the love of certificates tempt you to skip classes and hope to only appear at graduation.
Life demands the discipline of good farming. You can never cheat the farm because whatever you sow determines what you will reap.
No farmer enjoys waking up at 4am and the strict rigours of management.
Let those who want to sleep long and hard get on with it.
Greatness is not playing the lottery or idle gaming.
Love to work while others play. Love the gym when others are out partying.
Love your vegetables while others are stuffing themselves with junk.
Love the discipline of study and preparation when others have time to idle, complain and do nothing.
Everything worthwhile comes at a cost and usually the cost has to be paid in full and in advance.
You do not graduate first then take the course, no! You do not get the baby first then fall pregnant.
That is not how life works.
All greatness has a price that must be paid in full and in advance.
Let the thoughts of reaching your potential inspire you and get you going.
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]
