I am guilty. I must apologize. Yes, I need to. I must apologize because I could have conversed with you much earlier than now. Much earlier. Well, all is not lost. A Chinese philosopher put it better than I could when he said, “. . . the best time to plant a tree was twenty years ago. The next best time is now.” Norman Cousins put a spin on the wheel when he wrote, “. . . death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside us while we live.” Are you a parent? Your significant others seek your avuncular counsel. Are you a student? Your teacher craves for the best of you. Are you a priest or a sheik? The hopeless are in search of your word of salvation. Are you a Mwalimu? Your wanafunzi (students) hunger for your prized teachings. Are you a business executive? Your subordinates seek your leadership. Do you police and regulate some professionals in a certain field? Stockholders, product consumers, men and women in the mailroom eke for your peerless corporate governance vade mecum. Are you a medical doctor or sambangoma? You are the only hope for the sick who are on their deathbed. Are you a leader of a political party? The voiceless are in search of their representative and want their voice to be heard. Are you a maharaja, fundi, or coach? Where is your expertise? Dear reader, the point of wisdom is that in the same way that a single tree provides shelter to the multitude, so can your single deed or expertise transform and touch many lives. The world out there is in search of you, your expertise, and your service that slumber in the depth of the unexplored territory of your vivacity.
The creator put big dreams in our minds. Unfortunately, most of us limit the achievement of these great dreams due to self-doubt, small thinking, and fear of failure. Most of us do not create time for ourselves to sit in silence and reflect on our superpowers, skills, talents, gifts, and potential. To achieve success, we need to adopt unconventional thinking. Believe that the impossible can become possible.
How many times have your friends, family, business partners, workmates, or schoolmates told you that you are good at something, but you ignored their compliment, observation, opinion, feedback, or comment? How many times? Do you remember the time your manager complimented you on your public speaking dexterity? What did you do about it? Can you recall how many times your spouse has praised you on your knack for good organization and home management? Why not reflect on it, and come up with ways of serving the gift to your immediate community? Has someone told you before that you have excellent writing skills? Have you ever wondered why your manager, teacher, village headman, church congregants, workmates, or classmates always pick and assign you a leading role every time your team, company, village, church, or class embarks on a new project or new assignment? Is that not a statement on its own? Isn’t it a vote of confidence for your leadership skills? Are you making the most of this skill? Don’t think that there will be a better time to reflect on, refine, or utilize those skills. Nope. Perfect time does not exist. If you wait for the right time, you will wait for the rest of your life. I can guarantee it. Do not wait to realize your purpose as if you will live forever. Align and link your knowledge, skill, expertise, or capability to your calling. Knowledge is like muscles - you lose it when you stop using it. Isn’t it inspiring to listen and act on what other people already know you for? Do not ignore how other people perceive you. Whether you like it or not, you are on a 24-hour surveillance radar. You are being watched - for good reasons as well as for bad reasons. As long as you come into contact, and interact with others, they will always decode your attitude, your mindset, your behaviour, your sharpness, your skill, and your personality. Well-meaning people will give you compliments for encouragement and - in some instances - painful feedback for you to recalibrate. If people that you encounter and interact with do not provide comments or compliments about your work, results, or conduct, verily I say unto you, you are in either a wrong vocation or wrong environment. Or both. Think twice. Start looking for evidence, and traits in your attitude, behaviour, and personality that reinforce people’s regular feedback, compliments, comments, observations, and opinions. I say this with great respect - do not completely ignore other people’s comments. Pay attention to what others say about you. Nature has its own ways of revealing and unveiling one’s calling. Sometimes, Mother Nature uses other people to make us understand and discover ourselves. Whenever I write about this topic, Michelangelo and his work quickly come to mind. When he was commissioned by the Pope to do a painting on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in the Vatican, Michelangelo was not interested. In fact, he was afraid to take the project. The Pope and other people saw the talent of a painter in Michelangelo, but he did not view himself that way. The project intimidated him. He, thus, ran away from his hometown. With the insistence of the Pope, he gathered courage, reconsidered the request, and returned home. Two years later, he finally embarked on the project. Michelangelo poured himself into the work and produced legendary artistry that silenced his critics and marvelled his admirers. Wasn’t Michelangelo running away from his calling? Here is a powerful lesson - the very things and circumstances that you are uncomfortable with, and that scare you, are the ones that catapult you to stardom. Banish your fear. Today, the fresco on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel in Rome is considered one of the greatest paintings in the world ever painted by a single individual. It is a major tourist attraction. You and I could have not been talking about this beautiful masterpiece had the Pope not spotted the talent, persuaded, and convinced the self-doubting Michelangelo to carry out the work. Today, Michelangelo’s name is recorded in the Hall of Fame as the greatest painter of all time.
What do people tell you that you are good at? What do people say is your superpower? Reflect on that great talent, polish it up, pour your whole heart onto it, and serve it to the world. Without an iota of doubt, you will be idolized and celebrated as the icon of your industry. You will garner explosive results. Trust me on this one.
You and I idolize Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak for building Apple Inc. from a garage and for revolutionizing the mobile phone, music, and computer industries with masterpiece products: sleek iPhone, iPad, iMac, and iTunes. Yet, what we do not know is that Steve Wozniak, initially, was afraid to set up the company. He turned down an offer of $250,000 from an investor. He preferred working at Hewlett & Packard over starting his own company. Wozniak did not believe that he had a personal superpower to impact his immediate community and ‘ . . . create a dent in the universe’ – to borrow Steve Jobs’ words. He doubted his prowess. It took the effort and insistence of his parents, Steve Jobs, and other friends to convince him to leave Hewlett & Packard and join Jobs in setting up Apple. Consider what the world could have been denied of if Wozniak had still said no to the calls made by the investor, his parents, and friends. Today, Apple Inc. is the leading brand in the music, computer, and mobile phone industries. I repeat - do not entirely discard what other people say about your skills or potential. It is very important to know and understand your personal identity. Ask yourself two quick questions, . . . Who do people identify me as? . . . How do I typify myself? Learn from the greatest leader and people developer who ever walked the earth - Jesus. Despite his godly nature, Jesus was interested in knowing his personal identity - not only how his disciples perceived him, but the public at large. The Bible quotes Jesus asking his disciples, “. . . Who do men say I am?” Having known how people labelled him, Jesus went on to find out from his inner circle - the twelve followers - how they identified him. He asked his disciples, “. . . but who do you say that I am?” Jesus offered us a splendid lesson in this escapade - do not entirely depend on one side of the story for your identity. Yes, seek validation from the public, but verily do not ignore the counsel of your workmates, family, and those close to you. It is not only important to understand one’s distinctiveness, but it's imperative. In the example above, Jesus wanted to know how other people viewed him so that he could serve them better. Let the truth be told - we serve others better when we identify their needs and align the needs to our gift or skill. If people identify you as a teacher and your inner voice certifies so, serve them as Mwalimu. If people see in you some elements of risk-taking, certainly you will serve them better as an entrepreneur. If people say your table etiquette enthrals, why not serve the world as a barista? Every time people in your community have a problem and run to you for guidance, serve them as a courtier. My point is, align and link yourself to areas of expertise that people respect you for. As you keep on serving others based on their need, you - as a server - get more satisfaction and the people that you serve derive more value from your service. Your self-perception radiates.
Mother Nature communicates to us specific messages using different media. Sometimes, people are being sent onto our path to physically talk to and remind us about our gifts and skills. At other times, our creator speaks to us through dreams, visions, gut feelings, impressions, and inner voices. When you sit alone, what dreams do you dream? What is your impression and agenda of your life? What does your gut feeling tell you about the man or woman standing in your shoes - the one you see every morning in the mirror? How often do you talk to yourself? Yes, how often do you engage yourself in self-talk? Do not just talk to yourself, also listen to yourself. Listen to the voice from within. Your heart. Your inner voice. Train and resolve to listen to your inner voice. Do not miss the message from within. The inner voice speaks to us, directs us, empowers us, affirms us, ministers to us, and challenges us to examine ourselves, to use our gifts, and to carry out the purpose for which we were born.
What do you see in your imagination? Here is the point - whatever you see in your imagination, vision, or dream is there for a reason. It is there for you to achieve it and serve others. Nature planted it there for your good life. No man or woman born of a woman lacks a skill or gift. No. Many prominent leadership and self-development writers have written and commented before that poverty is a personal choice. It’s due to a lack of self-awareness. J. K. Rowling witfully tipped off, “. . . it is our choices that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.” Wise words from a wise woman. What gifts and skills has the High Power given you to serve others? Remember, it is not your education, but your natural gift that makes room for you. It is your skill, not your attire that attracts people to you. It is your talent, not your looks that charms and draws people to you. I have come across people, who are well educated, with lofty qualifications, and are not using the credentials. Deliberately of course. Your degree will only take you far, but your talent will take you farther. Your skill, talent, gift, and aptitude will create a market for you. People follow people, not because of the degrees that the leader accumulates, but their talent endowment. Once you identify and know yourself vis-à-vis talent prominence and serve it to others as per their need, you are unquestionably headed for success. As I alluded to earlier, we come to know about our talent either through other people’s comments about our personal disposition, or by listening to our inner voice. Take time to do some soul-searching. Introspection. What skill, talent, competence, or natural gift do you have that if you unlock and utilize it, will open doors for you? What do people, within your inner circle and outside, tell you that you are good at? What does your inner voice say about your personal identity? The Virtuoso knows its genius and acts on it unceasingly. Sasa, kazi ni kwako (now, it is your turn).
Lester Chinyang’anya ǀ General Manager - Operations ǀ Minet Malawi
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