Check your Why-It is critical to your Wellness.

 

Simon Sinek wrote a book entitled ‘Start With Why?’ This is very good advice for any entrepreneur who wants to do well for themselves and in the process achieve the greater good. It is easy to answer the question by simply saying I want to make money which begs the follow up question why do you want to make money? The next logical answer is that you have bills to pay and want to give your people a good life. Does it mean that if I gave you all the money you will ever need and add a blank cheque for you to draw from anytime you need to you would close down your business today? A few people would answer yes but I guess many would still wake up and open shop the following day. What is this that would push you to keep going when your own issues are well taken care of?

What does your vision and mission statement say? For some people, it is possible that they hardly think about this when they wake up in the morning to go and open shop. If this describes you, then you need to sit down and rethink your motivation for going into business. I have an untested theory that says many businesses in Africa die with the founder because they weren’t started with the thinking of being passed on to the next generation. The vision wasn’t big enough to be fulfilled in subsequent generations. It is very easy to find businesses in Europe and Asia spanning more than 3-4 generations because they are built with that in mind. Many of our businesses in Africa are subsistent in nature just like our Agriculture. Divorce the need to pay bills and many collapse.

Your business should be an answer and a solution to problems bigger than you and your needs. Elon Musk for example didn’t build Tesla, X, Space X and every other company he has interests in simply to pay his bills. These are companies worth billions of dollars solving some of humanity’s biggest headaches both present and future. What challenges are you helping people deal with as an entrepreneur? What problems does your business solve for people? How does it contribute to a better quality of life? When do you get to say I have done what is required of me and I can now pass it on to the next generation?

We burnout because we do not know when to stop. We are not clear what it is we are chasing. This leaves us going in many different directions and as a result we fail to know when to say it is enough. The motivation behind you is very important to examine. When you are driven by greed, you will never know satisfaction. You will keep going without caring about the impact it is having on your health, family and many other important aspects of your life. When you are chasing money just for its own sake, it will never be enough.

For your own sake, make effort to define your why. Seek clarity on the demographic you are meant to serve. Understand the geography your business is meant to serve. Find the niche that you are meant to take care of and focus your attention on it. This will determine the opportunities you chase and those you leave for others. It will guide the hiring decisions you make, the business resources you need to acquire, the skills you should pursue and a lot more. You will stop being a jack of all trades which leaves you exhausted, burnt out and not really world-class at anything. This leads me to pose another question: What can you say you are world-class at or well on your way to becoming? You will realize that it is a narrow path and it requires you to cut off a lot of the baggage that you carry with you everywhere you go.

I recommend that you read the Book Essentialism: The Disciplined pursuit of Less by Greg McKeown. A strong why is a catalyst for a smoother how.  

Here are some wellness benefits to help you consider building a purpose-driven enterprise.

🧠 Mental & Emotional Wellness

1. Reduced Stress & Burnout
• When your business aligns with your values, the daily grind feels less draining. Even tough challenges feel more “worth it.”
2. Greater Resilience
• Purpose acts as an anchor during setbacks, giving you the emotional strength to keep pushing without losing hope.
3. Enhanced Fulfillment & Joy
• Work stops being “just business” and becomes a meaningful mission, which brings a sense of joy and pride.
4. Clarity & Peace of Mind
• A clear mission reduces decision fatigue. You know what to say “yes” or “no” to, which lowers mental clutter.

 

❤️ Physical Wellness

5. Healthier Energy Levels
• Founders driven by purpose often report higher energy and stamina because their motivation is intrinsic, not just financial.
6. Reduced Risk of Stress-Related Illnesses
• Lower chronic stress can protect against issues like hypertension, migraines, ulcers, or sleep disorders.
7. Better Work–Life Balance
• When your work feels meaningful, it’s easier to harmonize it with personal life instead of feeling like you’re sacrificing yourself.

🌱 Spiritual & Social Wellness

8. Sense of Meaning & Contribution
• Having your work tied to something bigger than money gives you a sense of legacy and spiritual satisfaction.
9. Deeper Connections & Support
• Purpose attracts like-minded people (mentors, partners, employees, clients). This support network contributes to your social wellness.
10. Alignment Between Who You Are & What You Do

• Living in alignment reduces inner conflict, guilt, or feelings of “selling out,” which boosts overall wellbeing.

✅ In short: A purpose-driven business helps the founder thrive personally—mentally, physically, socially, and spiritually—because the business stops being just a hustle and becomes a life-giving mission. 

How differently will you approach your business after this? What will you do to inculcate purpose into your thinking and strategy for the business? Share your thoughts and resolutions. 

Gratitude Leads to Miraculous Multiplication

 

In the book of John Chapter 6:5-13 we come across the story of Jesus and how he fed a huge multitude with five loaves of bread and two fish. This story has a number of great lessons for us.

Like Philip we find it hard to understand how so much can come from so little. When Jesus tells him about the need to feed the multitude Philip puts on his thinking cap. His conclusion: It would take a lot of money to feed this multitude so if I were you Jesus, I would abandon the whole idea.

Philip knew only the natural dimension of things. Jesus introduced him to the supernatural. Gratitude is a lever in the supernatural dimension of things. It causes a shift in possibilities. Philip failed to understand that Jesus was present and with him the backing of heaven. How many times have you been in a situation that seems impossible and because of fixing your eyes on it alone, you fail to grasp the truth that Jesus is present? Like Philip we need to appreciate the presence of Jesus in our situations however dire they may seem. So gratitude here seems to go beyond just the bread to the one who gives bread-the bread of life. May we never forget to appreciate Jesus and what he represents just because we are in a tight spot.  

Andrew was slightly better but still wondered how things would unfold. Andrew went a step further than Philip. He saw the lad with two fish and five loaves. He appreciated that there was something on the ground to work with. His view was also limited because he adds a statement that says ‘out of the realm of possibility’ He also fails to note the presence of Jesus and his ability to turn things around. You and I are likely to think: What’s wrong with these guys? But wait a minute. How many times have you been in the exact same situation and maybe acted worse off? Our natural tendency is to do the math and conclude; impossible. We never look beyond ourselves and our resources and that marks the beginning of our issues.

Jesus does two things which are important for the miracle. He teaches us the formula for multiplication.

He gives thanks-Gratitude. The first thing he does is to give thanks for what is at hand. Many times we despise what we have at hand and as a result, we fail to capitalize on it. The truth is you will never tap into the fullness of what you have until you learn to embrace it. Jesus appreciated what was available and he saw in it the possibility of sufficiency. The appreciation and celebration of your small wins paves the way for bigger wins. David got the courage of facing Goliath because he had already seen God give him victory over lions and bears. He didn’t despise the formative victories and they formed the basis for his greatest victory.

He distributes-breaking it down. One way to look at the whole issue of distribution is to think about him breaking it into pieces and spreading it around. When I think about it (and this is just my thinking) breaking it down means looking beneath the surface. On the surface he only had two fish and five loaves but beneath the surface was potential to feed the multitude. One of the challenges we have as humans is we gloss over the good things and over analyze the negative things that happen around us. We are very good at meditating on our low moments and experiences and very poor at meditating on the good side of things. Next time you are about to complain about your lot, take a moment and appreciate the intricacy of God’s goodness to you. It will go a long way in unlocking greater levels of goodness.

Let’s think naturally for a moment. Take the case of two children you have. You give every one of them a gift. One walks away happy about it and expresses zero gratitude. The other one is very happy as well but they remember to express gratitude and remind you of all the good things you have done in the past. Who between the two would you be more inclined to do more for? Remember I said you think naturally. If you are honest with me, you would be driven to do more for the second child. Everyone loves to be appreciated. And when appreciated, they are driven to do more. That is part of how gratitude leads to multiplication.

The result-Enough food for everyone and some of it remains. On account of Jesus breaking the bread and giving thanks for it, there is an overflow of food for the whole multitude. Instead of going on and on about many things, why don’t you challenge yourself to be more grateful for the next thirty days and see what it will yield. Gratitude changes your perspective and you begin to see more than you were seeing before. Try it.

The lesson-Do not despise what you have at hand. Search the depths of it by breaking it down and be grateful for it. What you are grateful for you attract more of, increases in value and as such can go a longer distance.

This is one of the lessons I pass on in the book Blessed to be a Blessing. It is a call to gratitude as you reflect on the various manifestations of the blessing of God upon your life. If you want a guide to help you reflect on God’s goodness then feel free to order a copy by sending me a message on +254725832477.

From the Closet to the Pulpit

Private victories precede public victories. What you do in private defines who you are. The closet is a place of formation, the pulpit is a place of showbiz. Many people are saints in public but beasts in private. We have a persona we display before the people to make ourselves likeable but in our private moments we are something totally different.

We grew up with phrases like Sunday Best, creating good first impressions and the like. While impressions are good and helpful, what is more important and lasting is character and integrity. When you develop and display integrity, you don’t have to worry about impressions because they will come naturally for you.

Many have defined integrity in different terms but for me integrity simply means that my thoughts, intentions, words and actions are aligned and consistent. I am not one type of person to this crowd and a different person in another crowd. I do not mean that I shouldn’t play my different roles with what is required. What I want to put across is that whatever I am doing, there needs to be clarity and consistency in terms of my values. Values mean nothing if they can be adapted and discarded as you deem fit. You cannot be a flip-flopper.

In today’s world we hear about closet gays, lesbians as an example. You might not believe it but we have many people who are closeted in their respective areas of fault. If we were to pull back the curtains and see what goes on behind the scenes, we would be surprised at what we would see. There are many closet alcoholics and drug addicts, closet fornicators and adulterers, closet liars who will lie through their teeth if it will get them out of a sticky situation, closet corrupt people who will seize whatever opportunity comes their way.

There’s a classmate I had back in college who had a T-shirt which had the caption-Virginity is not dignity, it is lack of opportunity. While I don’t agree entirely with this statement, there is a segment of people for whom this is applicable. The question I have for you is, are you an inherently decent person or are you conditioned by lack of opportunity and societal expectations? Some of us haven’t been named in corruption scandals simply because we are not at the table where deals are happening. Given the opportunity, we would end up worse than those we point fingers at. It disappoints to see some people blowing the whistle on abuse of office and such other vices only to end up behaving in the same way once they are given the chance. Many Whistleblowers; especially on the political arena speak up only because the corruption isn’t benefitting them. Give them a seat at the table and the chest-thumping stops.

We have rules for everyone else but ourselves. We want others to toe the line but excuse ourselves and give room for error. If you deserve a chance to make things right after slipping up, the same chance should be given to others as well. It doesn’t make sense to demand of others what you are not willing to do. It is a lack of integrity to expect others to follow set rules while you as the enforcer are doing the opposite. It is pharisaic to ask others to do what you tell them without looking at what you are doing. The English call it preaching water and drinking wine.

My question to all who are reading this is; who are you in the closet? Does it match with your words and actions in public? Do you like the person you are in the closet? If we take the mask off, will we like what we see? How can you bridge the gap between the man in the closet and the man on the pulpit?

Speaking of the pulpit, I am not referring to that place where the preacher stands to deliver a sermon. I am talking about the public square where you and I perform to the audience that is watching us. About the place you report to for work daily. I am speaking about the way you act when your boss is around. About the way you behave when your children are watching, when you are in the presence of your parents or other figures of authority.

It is my submission that if you aren’t proud enough of what you are doing that you are ready to do it no matter who is around, then there is still a gap between your closet and your pulpit. I write to encourage you to do what it takes to close the gap between the two. Decide who you are and who you want to become. Be consistent in thinking, speaking and acting like that person. Someone said your thoughts become your words, your words become your action, your action determines your habits which determine your character. And when all is said and done, your character determines your destiny. You must choose to die daily to the person you don’t want to be and become alive to the person you want to be.

 

Unleash Yourself(Part 3 of 3)

 Here is the last of our three part series on the common things that hold people back from becoming all they can be. you can check out the first two in the posts preceding this one. As you read through, take not of what you identify with so that you can find a way to deal with it and rise to the top. 

Self-Doubt

When God called Moses to go and deliver the Israelites from the captivity of Egypt, the first question Moses poses to God is who am I? Jeremiah is quick to say I am just a youth. Gideon has so much doubt in his ability that God has to prove over and over again that he is the man to get the job done. The interesting thing is that all these men went ahead and accomplished great feats the moment they believed in their ability to get it done.

Self-doubt is a huge limiting factor to the greatness of many people. Many of us don’t feel good enough or pretty enough or deserving of the honor that is being put on us. Like Moses we ask who am I? We have little confidence in our ability to accomplish anything worthwhile. We don’t see ourselves as capable of exploits. We are comfortable getting lost in the crowd.

Until we get rid of this doubt and believe God to be with us like he was with these great generals of the past, we will remain stuck in our predicaments. You need a healthy dose of self-confidence to be able to go out there and do what needs to be done. This should ideally stem from the understanding that God is by your side walking with you every step of the way. Are you a victim of self-doubt? How does it show up in your life? How are you dealing with it?

Lack of vision

When you have no definite chief aim, chances are that you will not go very far in life. Where there is no vision, people cast off restraint. Proverbs 29:18 The possibility of living aimlessly is greatly increased when there is no guiding principle for your life.  If you are keen on living a life of greatness, you must first define what that greatness looks like. There are many competing aspirations in our lives and we must choose where we will expend our energy. Without that, we will be spread thin in many different directions and have nothing concrete to show for our efforts. A failure to decide what we will pursue means we will have very little motivation for life or any of the other things that matter. When you have no vision, your efforts are haphazard at best because whatever results you get are okay with you. It does not matter how many resources you have at your disposal, if they are not channeled towards creating something worthwhile, they will amount to nothing. Resources, favor, luck and all those things we hope for follow vision and not the other way around. A vision keeps the wrong people out of your life. Those who do not align with what you are doing will not find room in your life for as long as it is clear. Part of the reason why we are surrounded by people who offer very little is that we are not yet clear about what we want and as such everyone feels comfortable around us. What is your core business here? That tells you what you should be spending 80% of your time on. You cannot call something a priority when you are struggling to create time and set aside resources for it.

A lack of vision guarantees you a lacklustre life. With scattered efforts, incongruent utilization of resources and no clear outcomes, your activity will not make sense even to you. A lack of vision is one of the greatest leashes used to hold us back from living a life of meaning and significance.

Money

I have put money as low as this because it is not such a limiting factor when you have taken care of a lot of the issues mentioned above. Like I said in my submission above, resources follow vision.

Having said that, a shortage of money can become a huge limiting factor to how much you can accomplish. Many people have great ideas that will never see the light of day because they do not have the money to execute on them. Great ideas require great men and women to carry them out. Great men and women do not come cheap. Money can limit how far you can carry out your ideas. The Super wealthy have the luxury of choosing what to do because their resources give them the liberty. One who is just starting out must make many compromises and sacrifice aspects of what they want to do until an opportune time. This keeps great ideas from being fully implemented. Anytime your ideas are caged, you are put on a leash and cannot move beyond your confinement.

There is a way around it though. You must be quick to embrace the concept of interdependence. Since you do not have all you need, instead of waiting forever to have it, you would be better served by joining forces with others who bring the strengths you don’t have. This is why Venture capitalists and angels exist. If finance is your limitation, look for someone who has it but doesn’t have a clear idea how to put it to work. Such a person will help you bring out your greatness. This brings up another leash that we probably need to talk about as well. Selfishness.

Selfishness.

Believe it or not, trying to make it all on your own is not usually the best strategy. Don’t let the need to call yourself a self-made man keep you from connecting with other people who can be of help to you. The concept of a self-made man is a fallacy. You must find a way to keep your ego in check if you will be able to connect with the missing pieces of your greatness. There were strategic people in the journey of Joseph to premiership in the Bible. Think about all the people a politician needs to surround himself with if he is to ascend to the presidency. From the funders of the campaign, to lobbyists and many other people who work in the shadows to make the campaign a success. You cannot run a one man show and expect to go very far. If you truly want to release your greatness, be willing to accept help from others who have a lot to contribute to your journey to the top. Don’t see yourself as the source of all wisdom and strength. Know what you are good at and what you suck at. That understanding will enable you select people who can come in and complement your strengths. Let’s be clear on the fact that you need a circle around you to reach certain heights and your task remains to choose the right people to be in that circle. Accept the help offered by others who see things in the same light as you. You must also be willing to accommodate divergent views within your circle. If no one questions your proposals or seeks to improve on them, you have the wrong people in the circle. Surrounding yourself with Yes-men is the biggest sign of a selfish individual. You want to have people who bring a different perspective so that the task is accomplished in a manner that encompasses the diversity and dynamism required.

Success/failure

Finally success and failure are both seeds which can either propel you forward or keep you stuck. Failure if it is misinterpreted can define you and determine your action going forward. It is possible for you to get stuck in the place where you are not attempting anything out of your comfort zone simply because you tried something and failed. Failure must be looked at as a lesson. Someone has gone as far as to say in everything I do I either win or I learn. Failure is you finding a way that doesn’t work. Thomas Edison failed 9999 times in his attempts to make the incandescent light bulb. How many times have you failed before you called it a day? You must keep trying and refining your method until you get the desired result. Failure can be a fatal blow if you let it. It can keep you from ever trying again. Failure is a terrible leash because it comes with evidence. Beware of the hold of failure on your ability to move forward.

Success on the other hand can also hold you back. It does so by numbing you. Bill Gates says Success is a lousy teacher. It teaches you to think that you are smarter than everyone else. You must guard against the effects of your success as much as those of your failure. Success makes you take things for granted. As hard as it is to get to the top, it takes a lot more effort to stay there for long. You must maintain the posture of a student if you will remain at the top. Success massages your ego and leaves you feeling invincible. The moment you begin to think you are immune to failing, you have already started your descent. It is wise to manage your success lest it destroys you. The enemy of great is good so they say. You are not kept from greatness by your failings rather it is your prior success that can stand in the way of another attempt at a bigger challenge.

What other leashes can you think of that keep people from reaching their full potential? What are you going to work on as a matter of urgency to ensure that you give yourself the best chance of finishing at the top? Share your thoughts and other contributions in the comments below. I am passionate about helping people break out of their limits and living remarkable lives. If you are keen on that, reach out to me and let's see how I can be of help. 

asenasam@gmail.com, +254725832477

Unleash Yourself(2 of 3)

We continue from where we left off last week. We started a conversation on some of the things that hold us back from going forth and becoming all we can be. We looked at four of them including your environment, the culture in which you grow up, lies you have believed and ignorance. In this week's post we look at four more 

 Beliefs

What we believe greatly influences our action. Jesus says that out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. What we believe finds its way to the surface whether we approve of it or not. You can paint a different picture all you want, but your unguarded moments will reveal what your heart is made of. Our beliefs play a critical role in how we live our lives. Limiting beliefs can be a great leash holding us back from all the world has to offer. Liberating beliefs will take us beyond any obstacles and stumbling blocks along the way. A mindset of scarcity will see a dearth all around, a mindset of abundance will see possibilities all around even in the midst of a crisis.

There is an old analogy about how elephants are tamed. The process is simple. When the elephant is young, it is tied on a tree which it cannot pull free from. After several attempts, it is registered in the mind of the elephant that it can never break free from the tethering. At this point, the size of the tree doesn’t. neither does the size of the rope or the elephant for that matter. Because it has been conditioned to believe it can’t break free, even a small child with a rope can lead it anywhere and it will follow obediently.

Limiting beliefs have a similar effect on us. Today is a good day to examine what you believe in about yourself, the world, God, life and pretty much anything. Are your beliefs liberating or restricting? You will never live above your belief. You are where you are because you believe that is what you deserve. If you believed that you deserve more, you would have demanded more from yourself and your surroundings.

Seek answers about what you believe if you want to change levels. What you believe in will not take you to the next level until you change it. Break free from limiting thoughts and begin to see endless possibilities. They are yours for the taking.

Complacency

A lack of ambition can hurt your chances of finishing at the top significantly. Complacency sets in when you think you already have all you need. Are you in a place where you think your life is just fine as is and there is nothing more to strive towards? You could be suffering from a complacency crisis. There is nothing wrong with posing to enjoy what you have built. The only problem is when the pose becomes the final destination. It takes significant effort just to maintain your position as those who have risen to the top can attest. You will realize that even when you don’t have any drive to go further, if you lower your guard for too long, you won’t be able to maintain even that which you have accomplished. Harder than getting to the top is the discipline to stay at the top. Complacency will keep you from becoming all you can be. It will rob you of the exploits that are ahead of you. It will limit your experience of life. As humans we love novelty. Boredom easily sets in when we are not playing at a level that challenges and stretches our minds beyond the ordinary. Contrary to what we believe, you can only bask in your accomplishments for a while. In a few days, what looked extraordinary takes on an ordinary shine and we are left looking for the next frontier. Complacency will take you away from the zone.

What are some of the signs of complacency that you see in your life at the moment? How can you snap out of it before it is too late?

Laziness

A lazy attitude is a sure cause of a mediocre existence. If you cannot rise up and take care of the things you need to, you will be greatly limited in what you can accomplish. If you rise up and give your best every day, it will just be a matter of time before you are at the top. Laziness is a leash that is self-imposed and one of the easiest to cut off. You have a lot of power when it comes to dealing with it because only you can decide how hard you work or otherwise. Laziness has held people from accomplishing great feats. It comes to us naturally to want to be at ease with the things we are working on. We naturally gravitate towards a life of ease and little effort. This is a big issue because what it ends up doing is to leave us in a situation where our choices are limited. Hard work opens up many possibilities and takes us where we never thought possible. Laziness makes us miss out on opportunities and in some cases fail to take full advantage of the opportunities available to us. Laziness will keep us from honing our skills and competencies. It will limit our exercise of our gifts and talents and as a result we will remain stuck.  

Fear

One of the greatest leashes that keeps us from taking action to move us forward is fear. Fear is paralyzing and limiting. It often arises from a false sense of danger. For sure there are many dangers out there that we need to face and sometimes avoid but a majority of the things we fear turn out to be imagined rather than real. One of the greatest fears we have is fear of the unknown. This kind of fear keeps you in your comfort zone. Whenever you hear that you need to step out of what you are familiar with, you cringe at the thought. You have gotten used to the comfort of the crib and are unwilling to step out as a result. This keeps you  caged until you choose to act differently.

There is an interesting analogy about what Mother Eagle does to the young eaglets when she realizes that they want to overstay their welcome in the crib. At first the crib is comfortable with all the cotton and other fluffy material. As they grow, the cotton is removed and what is left is the grass. When it time for them to get out, even the grass is removed and the thorns do their trick. As a result of the discomfort that arises, they are forced to go out and learn to fly. The education goes on out there because they must also learn how to fly the hard way. This could teach us a thing or two about managing the fear of the unknown. Perhaps creating a little discomfort in our nest would push us to get out. We must engineer things such that we are never too comfortable in one place for too long.

Fear is real but even those who accomplish greater feats suffer from it in the process. Many have opined that courage is not the absence of fear but the ability to move forward in spite of the fear. Your desire to succeed must be greater than the fear you exhibit. For as long as that happens, you won’t get stuck in mediocrity.

Do you identify with any of these leashes in your life? How are you going to act going forward to cut yourself loose from these leashes? Are you keen on getting a handle on any or all of them? Make a point of reaching out to us and find help for dealing with whatever leashes are holding you back. You are meant to fly unhindered, don't let anything you can control stand in your way. Talk to  us today on +254725832477/ asenasam@gmail.com.

The Concorde

 

Have you ever embarked on a project that showed so much promise but never really took off in the long run? Are you familiar with the concept of sunk cost bias? The French and British governments went through just such an experience on a monumental scale. The Concorde was meant to be an aeronautical marvel. It had all the signs of a great undertaking. Who wouldn’t want to do a cross-Atlantic trip in half the time a traditional airplane would take? Surely the rich would find this very convenient. While the rest of us worry about the cost, they would be thinking about how much time they would save by choosing the Concorde. For some reason however, the project never picked up as expected. They were never able to breakeven let alone make any profit from this experiment.  For forty years, they continued to pour money and other resources into it hoping it will turn around but it didn’t. They eventually came to the painful conclusion to shut down the operation.

There are so many questions one can ask in this regard. Why did it take them forty years to shut down a leaking concern? What is it they never got right about the whole project? Millions of dollars were lost trying to make the thing work to no avail. It was a very costly experiment. There are many reasons that can be advanced as to why they continued so long in this losing position. We could talk about government bureaucracy, the fact that it was an experiment but the overarching problem was the idea of sunk cost bias.

What is Sunk cost bias? To put it simply, we find it very hard to walk away from anything we have invested a lot of resources in.  Some projects consume us so much with the promise of great returns that we are willing to put in everything. What happens is that because you have already sunk a lot into it, you convince yourself that pumping in a little more will get it going. At the end of the day you keep sinking more into this project and it keeps disappointing you but you can’t find it within you to walk away. Saving the project becomes an exercise in futility but you just can’t let go.

The people outside can see clearly that this is not working but as the person who is in the thick of things and consumed by the quest to make it work, you might not see it with such clarity. A vanity project can end up consuming more than its fair share of resources and in the process deny other projects the funding they need. The longer it takes you to identify your vanity projects the more your critical projects will suffer. If you must indulge in a vanity project, make sure the basics are taken care of first. I guess the French and British governments realized that it is no longer justifiable to keep sinking more into the Concorde and called it in.

My question to you is what is your Concorde? What is your vanity project? What is that pet project to which you have devoted a lot of your energy? Are you/ have you become a victim of sunk cost bias? One of the things about pet projects is that the owner is more often than not blind to the fact that this is happening. You would do well to seek the input of others who can give you an objective view of things. This is where paying attention to your critics can be of help. I guess one of the best ways to protect yourself from this kind of bias is to make sure you are not surrounded by Yes men/women. You need to have around you people who can put you to task in justifying what you are trying to do. You need people who can ask you difficult questions. With that you will be on your way to fighting Sunk-cost bias.

Telltale Signs of a Concorde Kind of Project.

Unjustifiable investment of resources

Long past expected due date of return

A requirement to inject just one more round of funding yet this has been the case multiple times.

An aversion to genuine critique-You do not a=want anyone to question you.

Activity shrouded in mystery-it is not very clear what is going on.

Eating into other project(s) allocation(s)

Uneasiness with higher-ups when it comes to discussing this particular project.

Subordinates who are stressed out wondering what the whole deal is.

Victims of Concorde projects

Individuals with a big ego

Companies

Governments like our example

Churches

Non-Governmental Organizations.

Guard against Concorde projects

One Concorde kind of project is one too many. It could spell the end of dominance for an industry leading company. It could mean a redirection of resources from essential services to fund vanity projects. It could sink your entire nest egg as an individual leaving you with nothing to show for all your years of hard work. It could also lead to misplaced priorities for those in service to humanity like churches and NGO’s.

With all this at stake, what can be done to ensure you don’t become a victim of vanity projects?

To begin with you must become open to criticism from all quarters. While you don’t have to take it to heart, examine every criticism with an eye to pick the truth from the trivialities. Not all who criticize you want your downfall.  Some genuinely want you to do better or articulate your idea better.

Listen to both Higher-ups, contemporaries and reports. The people who know about the particular project are best placed to tell you whether you are onto a winner or not. You do well to pay attention to them and what they have to say. While the first remedy could be criticism from outside sources, this groups offer internal criticism. Before you dismiss your higher-ups as removed from reality, contemporaries as speaking out of jealousy and reports as speaking to matters above their pay-grade, pay attention to the merit of what they bring to you. When you realize that there are questions arising from all the groups, know that this project is a potential Concorde.

Seek justification for all expenditure. Choose to use what accountants call Zero based budgeting as proposed by Greg McKeown in his book on essentialism. This whole article is inspired by what he shares on the story of the Concorde. This type of budgeting forces you to justify every resource allocated to a project. This way your eyes will be opened to the projects which have been consuming your resources without cause and you can then cut them off.

Be ready to acknowledge you are wrong. Ego can be one of our greatest enemies. Nobody wants to be told that what they conceived is a waste of time and resources. This is why we hold on to it tightly even when it is not making any sort of sense. The only way to make amends is to be quick to see your fault and adjust accordingly. Those who are ready to admit their faults will cut their losses early on before it becomes too hard to walk away.

Look for a neutral second opinion. It is good you find people who can offer you honest opinions removed from any emotional attachment. When you are in doubt about your project, don’t hesitate to talk to someone who is as far removed from what you are doing as possible. That person will help you see things for what they really are.

 Don’t be afraid of waste. Many of us keep on walking in the wrong direction since we believe going back is a sign that we have wasted that time. We must get rid of the fear of being looked at as those who took a wrong turn. Everyone takes wrong turns in life. The problem is if you don’t accept early on, it will cost you more when you eventually have to turn around. Think about getting lost in the forest. Do you keep on walking when you are no longer sure which way you are going or do you turn back to retrace your steps? Those who keep walking are likely to end up lost while those who retrace their steps have a chance of finding the right path. No matter how much you have invested in it, when you realize it is not working, be quick to let it go.

A critical question.

How do we differentiate between a Concorde and Thomas Edison’s incandescent light bulb?

Many people keep flogging dead horses because they are not sure whether they are dead or alive. So how do you tell which one is alive and which one is dead? While Thomas Edison failed many times, there is something about his failure that kept him going. The concept of failing forward becomes important here. A Concorde has no meaningful sign of progress. Edison’s light bulb got better with each iteration. One of the best ways to differentiate the two is tangible progress. A vanity project shows very little to no progress while a potential project sees consistent improvement.

A budget injection moves the needle on a good project. The same injection makes very little change to a vanity project. If an escalation in resource allocation does nothing to the final output, then it is time to bid good bye to your project. If on the other hand you can see where the resources are going, keep at it even though it takes a bit of time.

What else do you think we can use to make the distinction? Let me know in the comments below.

A word of caution

This advice does not apply in all situations. Different projects have different timelines and measures of progress. Before you apply this advice be sure you are clear on the dynamics of your particular project. A good way to do this is to look at others who have embarked on similar projects. Benchmarking can help you tell whether you are on the right track or lost. I also know there are projects which are so novel that there is no existing benchmark. I would leave such projects at the discretion of the implementation team but my advice would be that you ensure you are surrounded by sober, objective people who can tell you when you are going widely off track.

As we end this, are you aware of the Concordes in your life? What are you going to do about them? Do you need help identifying and dealing with the Concordes in your life, business, ministry, family or whatever concern? Get in touch with us at Optimize Institute. Contact +254725832477 Or email me on asenasam@gmail.com 

Whatever you do, don't waste your energies on a Concorde. 

Tight Spot Mentality

 

                                    Tight Spot Mentality

Dr. Benjamin Hardy, a psychologist is the first person I heard using the phrase forcing functions which is the basis for what I would like to share here. He describes them as the pressures you apply to yourself intentionally to raise the level of your performance.

One of the quotes I love which aptly captures the philosophy behind the Tight Spot mentality says that ‘Work expands to fill the time allocated for it.’

As humans we are surprisingly adaptable to the situations we find ourselves in. Whenever your boss or someone else in authority over you gives you a task with a strict deadline, you find ways and means to make it happen. The truth is that you always have this capacity only that you have not been called to bring it out more often.

Embracing a tight spot mentality is critical to anyone who wants to set high standards of performance for themselves. What if a tight spot mentality is something you can turn on anytime you want rather than wait for it to be forced down your throat all the time? How much more would you accomplish if you learnt to apply pressure to yourself irrespective of who was watching over you and waiting for you to deliver?

The Swahili have a saying that goes ‘maji ukisha yavulia sharti uyaoge.’ This can be loosely translated to once you have stripped yourself of your clothes, you have no option but to take that shower. Sometimes the best way to learn how to swim is to throw yourself into the water. When your survival depends on your ability to swim, you learn what it takes very quickly as opposed to when there is no immediate danger. Human ingenuity will help you find ways and means of coming out of tight spots that you would never know you had until you found yourself there.

Think about what happened with many of us when the current pandemic first came our way. We had to adjust swiftly in order to survive and we did it. If you had told us that we would wear masks, sanitize and keep social distance in 2019, it would have sounded strange to us but when COVID 19 showed up, we have had no choice but to adapt. Your ability to adapt depends on what is at stake. The things you won’t do in your comfort zone become easy breezy when your life is at stake. How many creature comforts did we give up quickly to survive the pandemic? All of a sudden, our unnecessary social gatherings were a thing of the past, some of our culturally significant practices like spending much time planning for a funeral for example were thrown out the window. Give a man sufficient motivation and he will accomplish the seemingly impossible. For a moment a majority of the things which looked indispensable in our lives took a back seat. Who would have thought we would close down schools, entertainment joints, places of worship and so much more. I can guarantee that it was never going to happen under normal circumstances. These things were and are vital to our living but once it was apparent that cutting down on them was necessary for our survival, we did it without blinking an eye. Visits to the hospital were also significantly scaled down and a lot of us realized that we visit hospital for trivial matters just because we have a medical cover.

The million dollar question is, what are the other things you have elevated in your life to a degree of necessity that is not reflective of reality? How many things can you do without yet you have made them a critical part of who you are and your existence? What are these things you can cut out or scale down in your life without affecting you adversely?

The secret is to become at peace with creating tight spots for yourself in all areas of your life. You will accomplish so much more once you normalize a tight spot mentality. Cut down the time you use to complete a task by half to see what you can come up with. More often than not, you will realize that you have the capacity to do it once you put your mind to it.

Creating a tight spot mentality

It is important to ask yourself what positive pressure you can apply to yourself in order to get there faster. For some people making public commitments is a way of getting in the zone. This must be accompanied by a heart of integrity such that you can’t be at peace if you fail to fulfil your commitment. For others it is about taking the first step of a project after which it is fatal to drag your feet. With this you have no choice but to carry the project through. In some instances, you apply pressure to yourself by committing to certain consequences which are severe enough to make you do what you have set out to do. A good example is a client of mine who committed to pay a hefty fine for any deadline she misses. The thought of paying that fine is enough to drive her towards doing the right thing. You could think of buying the things you need for a task especially if they are expensive. The fact that you spend money to get those things will drive you to get up and do it whether you wanted to or not. Another tactic is to enter into an accountability partnership with someone who will keep you on toes with regard to keeping your commitments. You can design it in such a way that failure to do what you committed to means you lose out on money that you have already committed in a common pool to your partner.

Many goals are abandoned midstream because there isn’t sufficient motivation behind them. We all need meaningful safeguards around our goals if we will have a chance to actualize them. There is no tool as effective as developing a tight spot mentality. You must make the consequences of failure severe in your mind so that you have no option but to press on. Sometimes it requires that you burn bridges so that there is no chance of going back.  This is a tactic that has been used by many generals to ramp up the motivation of their troops on the war front.  Alexander the Great burned his ships upon arriving in Persia in 334 B.C and when he was asked by one of his commanders about how they will get home, he replied ‘we’ll use their ships.’ This despite the fact that his army was outnumbered probably ten to one. A chines general Xiang Yu ordered his troops across the river and burnt the bride behind them quietly leading them to be so motivated that they beat the mighty Qin in the battle of Julu in 207 BC. It is a risky business but it works magic in getting people motivated to bring out their best. 

What fire are you going to ignite in yourself and what means will you use to ignite it? From this article and any other thing you know about engineering conditions to drive performance, what are you willing to do to accomplish your goals in 2021? What public commitments are you willing to make to get yourself out there? I would like to hear your thoughts and ideas in the comments below.

Do you need help developing a personalized tight spot mentality around your goals and key stone results? Are you ready to throw it all on the line and reach your goals in 2021? Reach out to me via my email asenasam@gmail.com or +254774776413 and let’s get you going down the road of no return.

Improve on your best

 

Get into the habit of pushing the boundaries of what you can handle. Everything around us evolves constantly. What was great yesterday is considered trash today. The people who will remain relevant must change with the changing times and circumstances. While you rest easy enjoying your success, your problems are evolving. Improvement is required just to maintain your position before you even think of taking steps forward.

If you are in business, you will realize that your competitors are working very hard to close the gap between you and them. If you don’t work on getting better at what you are doing you will soon find yourself as a success story of the past. I constantly refer to smartphone manufacturers as the greatest example of improving on your best. For the better part of the decade 2001-2010, Nokia was the king when it came to manufacturing cutting edge phones that always surprised us with what they were capable of doing. At some point it looked as though they had a new phone out every week. Word has it that they had the technology to produce the first smartphones but they slept on it concluding for some reason that the world was not ready for this kind of technology. Since that time, it has never been the same for them again. The moment they missed the bus, they started going downhill. Several attempts later and they still can’t boast of any significant market share in the smartphone business despite having some great options along the way. Contrast that with what has happened at Apple and Samsung. People are so invested in what these two companies produce, that they line up well in advance to get their hands on the latest iteration of their flagship devices. They are sure to sell millions of devices across the globe every year. The thing that keeps them at the top of people’s minds is the fact that they come with the latest technology available. Their R and D teams have little time to celebrate the success of what came out last year. They almost immediately go back to asking themselves: what can we offer the market next year to beat what they currently have in their hands? In short they are keen on improving on their best.

In his acceptance speech for an Academy Award, Actor Matthew McConaughey made an outstanding statement that reflects what it means to improve on your best. He said that his hero is always 10 years ahead of him. In essence his hero is who he is going to be ten years from now. That means he is always chasing a better version of himself. The way he sees himself now as great as it is, he knows that his future self, is bound to be better than his present self and that is why he keeps chasing his hero. Another example from the incredible Dr. Benjamin Hardy is from onetime Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice. Her mantra is that she never refers to herself as the ‘Former’ anything. She focuses much more on what the future has in store for her that she has no time to get lost in thinking of who she was in a former role. That right there is the thinking of someone who is given to doing better and focusing on the improvement they can still reach rather than any greatness in their past.

However well you are doing at the present moment, it is important to realize that you are still a work in progress. You must constantly keep your eyes open to see the opportunities accorded you for improvement and to do better. That is the basis for living a great life. I am a strong proponent of living optimally and constant improvement can never be separated from the pursuit of an optimal life. The fact that you are excelling today should keep you on your toes. At some point, you are no longer in the zone of competing with others. Your competition becomes the pursuit of beating who you were yesterday. Grant Cardone in his masterpiece The 10X Rule has a chapter on Competition where he says that your goal needs to be domination rather than competition. He says that while others are pursuing best practices, you need to be in a place where you are pursuing ‘only practices.’ By the time you reach here, you are not only improving constantly on your best self but playing in a one man league where you are constantly assured you will win.

Would you do with someone to hold your hand in the pursuit of improving on your best? If your answer is in the affirmative, then talk to me on +254725832477/ samuelmwinamoa@gmail.com

A fresh Start

A fresh Start

Is there ever an age where you should just give up and stop trying to make changes in your life? Have you gone too far that there is no room for back tracking? Is it too late to rewrite the story of your life?

These are questions we grapple with all the time as long as we live. In this article, we will think through these questions and see what options we have in this regard.

You can approach this life in a number of perspectives and each bears great implications and it is therefore very important that you choose the right perspective.

There are those who approach life as victims. They believe that life just happens to them and they have no control over any aspect of it. They cannot see what they could do differently to change the outcome of their lives. They believe in a fate that has been sealed which they can only live by. Such people will not attempt to make any amends. They will let everything flow as it comes

Others will live with the understanding that though life happens, they can do something about it. They do not deceive themselves that they have ultimate control, but they do all what is within their power to order their lives in a particular direction. They have a victor’s perspective. Which perspective would you want to live with as an individual?

I would choose the victor’s mentality any day of my life because it keeps me hopeful that there is something I can do about what is going on with me right now. For you to have the impetus needed to rewrite your story, you must first believe that it is possible. The idea that you have zero control must be banished from your mind. The same way you must also banish the notion that you will sit back and do nothing as you wait on God to do it for you. More often than not God provides the means but He still expects you to rise up and do it yourself. He provides guidance but it is your role to respond obediently.

After you have come to terms with who you are, if you don’t like who you are, or if you can improve on who you are then the next step is to start making adjustments as is required of you. Never for one moment think that you have run out of time. For as long as you woke up today, you must live your life with the realization that today you can take even one step to correct your reality. What matters most is not the big leaps you take to reverse your movement. It is the baby steps that build you the momentum you need for the big leap. Without focusing too much on how far you have gone or fallen, the question should be what you can do today to reverse the trend. You must always scan your surroundings to identify the wiggle room you have and make the most of it. If a hand is all you can move, by all means go ahead and move it. If you have the chance to take two steps do not think about the ten you cannot take.

The moment your eyes open up to the reality that your life is not what it ought to be, it is time to rewrite your story. It is time to paint a new picture of yourself. Understand that there is room to start over again. An addiction is not a death sentence. You can reverse the trend. An extravagant lifestyle is not in your DNA you can get rid of it. And even if it is found in your DNA, there is room for gene editing to end up with the desired make up. What pieces of your life can you get a hold of? What you need to do is quickly gather them together and begin to build something beautiful out of them. From ashes comes such beauty as no one thought possible. All it takes is a heart that believes and a mind that is ready to go to work and make these things a reality.

Do you feel the need to rebuild your life? Do you think you need a fresh start? Would you do with a helping hand in this regard? Respond in the comments and we will continue this conversation. You  can also reach me on +254725832477

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Don't Quit

 

You’ve come too far

I just can’t give up now, I’ve come too far from where I started from, nobody told me, the road would be easy, but I don’t believe you brought me this far to leave me-Mary Mary

Sometimes all you need to keep going is realize that you are not where you started. Quitting now simply means you are throwing all your good work down the drain. Giving up now means all your investment was in vain. You might not be where you want to be, but you definitely are not where you used to be. Appreciate that and carry on.

Think about what it was like when you started out. Even if there is nothing in the physical to show progress, if you look carefully, you will realize that you have grown in character, in wisdom and as a person courtesy of being in that grind. No effort is truly wasted until you decide it is so.

Learn to think of it in terms of what gains you have made instead of what you have lost. It may be true that you have lost some things along the way but your focus has to be on what you are moving towards and not the other stuff that deflates you. 

You either live in the gap or the gain according to Benjamin Hardy. In old parlance you either see the glass as half full or half empty. At the end of the day, you see what you are primed to see by your predisposition. The truth is that if you look keenly, you will realize that you’ve covered enough distance to keep going.

What you need is to tell yourself the truth about your situation. The truth is that you have moved quite the distance. Most people quit on the verge of a breakthrough. The problem is that sometimes we can’t tell which blow will effect the change we are aiming for. Because of this you have to keep on hitting, jabbing and swinging. If you can only push a little bit more, maybe you will find yourself on the other side of your dream.

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What are you reaching for?

 

Remember what you are moving towards

Just like there are certain things you are running away from, there also are certain other things you going towards. From your visualization, there is a life you want to live, a result you want to get. Let the vision of that result keep you focused because there is only one way to reach it which is to keep going. The future beckons you. Can you hear its voice?

Continuing with The story of the Jews, they only needed to remember God’s promise to them of bringing them into a land of plenty, a land flowing with milk and honey. Those who entered this promise like Caleb and Joshua held on to it in the midst of much confusion and discouragement. It wasn’t easy to remain focused for forty years of trudging through the wilderness. An overwhelming majority of the people died in the wilderness because they couldn’t handle the rigors of the trek.

You have a choice to make when you are stuck in the wilderness. You can choose to murmur and die or you can choose to forge ahead and reach the Promised Land. Joshua and Caleb chose to proceed irrespective of the challenges they needed to overcome to inherit the land. You have to make similar tough choices if you will enter into the promise and enjoy the good of the land. There are no two ways about it.

The one thing that will be helpful is for you to remember what awaits you on the other end. What were you going after when you started out? What change did you set out to effect when you embarked on this trip? What spoils were you chasing after when you chose to go the way you are going?

Kirk Franklyn says that when you are going through hell, the worst thing you can do is stop midway. Your victory comes from going right through. You must remember that the wilderness is not your final destination. Beware of becoming too comfortable in the wilderness. You will never inherit your rightful place if you can’t attach loosely to the wilderness.

What is your end game? For as long as you are not there yet, you have to keep going. Your present challenges should only drive up your desire to reach the land where your troubles will be behind you. You need a constant reminder of the joy set before you as you endure difficulty. One of the things you want to do is have your vision ever before you. It has to be in all the places where you frequent. Wherever you turn, you must see it. It should be the background on your phone, laptop. It should be everywhere in your office, bedroom, closet. The more you see what you are working towards, the more you remain driven to reach it. If you only come into contact with it occasionally, then you risk getting lost in the details of the wilderness. Visualization needs to be a daily activity. I know it can sound overwhelming but we have to make a habit of the things we need to function optimally in life. Visualization is one thing that must become part of our daily routine. Beyond visualization, we need to write down what we are working on so that our daily activities are married to what we are chasing.

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Remember why you started

 

Many times we start with very grand ambitions and for the first few moments, days, weeks or months depending on what timeframe we are working with things can go really well. However as we continue, inevitably curveballs are thrown at us. If we are not careful, they can be the end of us. However if we navigate carefully through them, we come out stronger on the other side and are left wondering how we made it through. One of the tools you can make use of at this time, is the memory of why you started. You need to develop a strong ‘why’ for what you are doing. If your why is weak, you will quit at the first signs of trouble. If it is strong on the other hand, you will keep plugging away until you overcome. The O.G’s have also indicated that when your why is strong enough, the how kind of takes care of itself.

You gotta ask yourself, who will benefit if I hang in there? Who will lose if I quit now? How significant is what I am doing beyond my own needs and preferences. Your why needs to go deeper than mere self -gratification. It must look beyond your own affairs’. You give yourself added impetus when you understand that what you do goes way beyond you to touch many others.

I propose that you should never start on any endeavor before you clarify your ‘why.’ The struggle to keep going becomes a thing of the past when you are clear on your why. A strong why will blast through walls of iron and sweep everything in its wake.

You must become deliberate in reminding yourself why you started. Grant Cardone in his wonderful book The 10X Rule says that if your goals are important enough, you write them down every single day. I believe that this act of writing among many other reasons serves as a reminder of what you are pushing towards and why it must be done.

We see the example of Jesus who endured the cross, despising the shame and went through some of the most humiliating and dehumanizing experiences culminating in death by crucifixion. The scriptures conclude that it was for a reason. It was for the joy that was set before him. When he thought about what the humiliation and shame would accomplish, he was ready to go through it all. The description of what he went through as we see it in Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53 is as gross as it can get. Courtesy of coming face to face with the reality of his imminent death, His human nature kicked in and he prayed that the cup of suffering would pass on from Him. Despite this, He had enough presence of mind to submit himself to the will of God. He remembered that the eternity of many souls was dependent on his death on the cross. Such a why was too strong for Him to quit. Because of this, He was able to brush aside the mockery of those who reviled Him even while he hung on the cross to die for their sin. In essence, he had every reason to quit yet He stayed the course and found victory.

A strong why eliminates excuses and sets you on the path to accomplishment. You get to a point where the cost of your excuses is too great a burden to bear that you choose to push through the resistance. Oftentimes we accomplish great feats not because we wake up every day feeling charged and energized to go out there and get it done. Sometimes we have to fight our own demons, we have to rise above the resistance of our bodies, we have to gather our thoughts and remind ourselves that what needs to be done must get done.

Every day when you wake up, make a habit of reminding yourself why you are up. See to it that your mission remains at the forefront of your mind. When its dark and you can’t see two steps ahead of you, remind yourself that a lot hinges on how you act today.

Your why must be personal. If you rely only on someone else’s why, you are going to run out of steam at some point. Whether you work under a boss or you are under the care of your parents, at some point you need to cultivate your own why for doing what you are asked to do. Without this personal driving force, you won’t last long in the game. Before you know it, you will be at breaking point because you are driven by someone else’s why.

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Go Hard or Go Home

 

Apply Yourself

In Kiswahili we call it ‘Kujituma.’ Please take note of the fact that nothing happens by chance. This ancient principle still holds true. Every effect has a cause. It is very important especially at the beginning of whatever endeavor it is you are on to-to go hard. For as long as you are clear on what it is you need to do now. It is essential to give it your best shot.

Many of us make half-hearted attempts and as a result end up with mediocre results in life. Self-application is at the center of a fulfilling life. Application means devoting yourself to the task at hand and withholding nothing back. It is about applying 10X mentality to all your tasks and endeavors as Grant Cardone puts it.

It means going out of your way as often as is needed to get things done and that well. Application does not choose the path of least resistance. If the challenging path is the only one that will lead to the desired result, then a person with this trait will get on it and push through the resistance until he gets that particular result.

Application comes naturally to go-getters but it takes no special gift to apply yourself. You might be the most reserved person but once you commit to push yourself, you will do what needs to be done to reach where you purposed to.  

Application is about giving it the best push you can and doing so consistently. There is no other way to reach your goals except to apply yourself with consistency. Many have lost their breakthroughs at the last minute because they couldn’t muster the energy to push through the last bit of resistance. The Navy seals say you need to be all in, all the time.

Application is for those who want to do things the right way. There are two ways to do something: the right way and again. It is about not considering to quit. Quitting should never be on the agenda for you when it comes to your mission. Whatever improvisation you need to get to the other side you will bring on board for purposes of reaching the goal. A lot of us quit far too early. We quit while we still have boatloads of energy within. The challenge we have is to let it all out and be who we are meant to be.

To apply yourself you need to think like David Goggins who says ‘I don’t stop when I am tired, I stop when I am done.’ In essence it means you don’t drawback from your goal simply because your body is giving way. You stay on the task until it is accomplished. At this point, you are not looking for the cop out of ‘I tried’ but going all the way until the result is achieved. He goes further to say ‘when you think you are done, you are into 40% of what your body is capable of doing.’

The next best thing once you know what you want to do and how to go about it is to get started and apply yourself accordingly. If at the end of every day you can sincerely say I gave it my all, I gave it my best, then you are applying yourself. If you however feel like you are living beneath your potential, then it is time to apply yourself. Look back over the last week and think about how many days you have applied yourself using this definition. Johann Wolfgang Van Goethe said knowing is not enough, you must apply, willing is not enough, you must do. Doing will separate you from the masses. Many people want it but few are willing to do what it takes to succeed. Choose to be among the few who make it.

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