Standing Out in a Confused World [MUST READ For Everyone]

The world is confused, it is the dark age.
Funny enough and at the same time in a serious way, the darkness is increasing day in, day out...
Is it of the Economic downturn, Change in climatic conditions, Social changes which has affect our way of living? or The pressure we feel nowadays, especially in this generation is of great impact that we can't fathom.

We are in a confused world...We don't know lot of things, we can't even tell if the things we claimed we know are right or wrong...

Hence, we need light to come out of this thick darkness we are in.

Let's imagine a race in the night between a car of high speed with no headlamp and a car of a lesser speed but with a brighter light. The car with the head lamp will get to the destination first because it has the light not minding the speed at which it gets to the finish line.

No matter how good and brilliant you are, once you're in the dark, you will not go anywhere and even your peers with less skills than you have will leave you for their next level if they posses light.

How fast we move, the height to which we climb to, the level of success we record depends on the intensity of light we have.
What then is the light I'm talking about? You must have been wondering what the light is.

The light represents IDEAS.
A famous Nigerian author, Pastor Sam Adeyemi wrote a book "Ideas Rule the world". If you've not read this book, you have to buy and read.

Ideas are just like lights, once ignited, there's a big chance for you to move forward, pave ways for others to walk and follow.
The greater the idea, the greater the chance for you to scale greater heights

HOW THEN DO WE GET IDEAS?

I think we have an idea on how this happens for those who have ideas.
You cannot remain seated on a spot and expect goodies to come visiting.
You have to engage in a act and art of thinking.

The major way to accessing ideas is THINKING.
Thus, we have to be well positioned in order to search and gain access through the doors of ideas.

::::Ways of Access:::::

READING BOOKS AND THE COMPANY YOU KEEP

Charles "Tremendous" Jones said: "You are the same today that you are going to be five years from now except for two things: THE PEOPLE WITH WHOM YOU ASSOCIATE WITH AND THE BOOKS YOU READ"

It is what we see that our brain will interpret and from there becomes an act.
So, it is the ART of doing one thing, that results to the ACT of doing so many things we could ever imagine.
In short, feed your eyes and ears and even your body with things that will bring out the best ACTS in you!!!

ANOTHER WAY IS THE ENVIRONMENT WE INHABIT:

Ideas can come in any place, but most preferably places where you can think and reason.
Some of us, as a result of friends we have don't have a good environment for ourselves:

All we know is from a club house, to this party and that party and from there, we crash and wake up again only to continue to adventure.
We never have time to sit and think of how we can stand out in the crowd.

Must you be what others are becoming? Must you say what they say? Must you do what they do?
No!!!

A famous rich man whose story I heard while was young had a room underground his parents' house where the major thing he does is to think
Just to think?
He thinks and makes sure he write down every thought that came
And from there, "Kaboom!!!" The ideas he needed to make it came up and he made it!!!

ANOTHER IS BRILLIANCY AND CHARACTER

We want to make it and then what we care about the most is BRILLIANCY.
The Nigerian Education system has made us to think one way that brilliancy is only the bail out and as a result of this, we neglect the character building. Meanwhile, brilliancy and character must go hand in hand.
We must go for the two.

A brilliant person without a good character, will soon be brought down even if he has climbed up to the highest level.
Let's look at some of our governors, even presidents, and senators; Some of which are brilliant but lack good character.

So, what are we saying? You cannot standout if you lack good character.
Well, you will stand out but it's not the one we meant.

Your bad character will keep on pulling you down to the ground even when brilliancy lifts you to the highest place.

The last point before I conclude:

LIMITATIONS

Read Herbert Simon on Finding Your Limits for more understanding.

We are limited...that's just a fact
But, what do we do to limits? How do we treat them?
Some of us are so much engrossed by the belief that when we see some certain things, when we are in some situations, we began to think that we have limitations already which most times are not.

But we do not know because we never try to break them.
Don't call them limits until you've tried them and couldn't break them.

What does this imply, you don't have to be limited, whenever something comes up, try and break them, the smallest force you apply might be the greatest blow on the wall surrounding you

Finally, let me round up with this illustration:
once upon a time, a frog tried to hop across a dirt road. he landed instead in a deep rut made by many passing vehicles.

In vain he leaped this way and that, attempting to scale the steep walls which fenced him in.

Eventually, a group of his froggy friends happened along and encouraged him to get out of the rut.
"I can't", he cried despondently. "I've tried and tried but I just can't make it up."

His bulgy-eyed friends begged him to reconsider and try again. the frog refused.

Eventually, the frog's friends left him to his misery and doom. later in the day, they found him leaping about at the river's side.

"We thought you were stuck in the rut forever. how did you get out?" they asked him with obvious interest.

"I had to, replied the frog. a truck was coming."

Why wait till a truck threatens you before making a decision?
We don't have to wait to be in a deep mess before we start to make the right decisions for our lives.

We don't have to let the war start before we start the table meeting about peace.

Therefore, to stand out in life, you must be ready to do what others are not doing.

You can't be the problem and at the same time be the solution.

It's high time for us to start thinking and make our lives reasonable and be the best in our fields.

Thank You
God bless!!!

Author:
Owolabi Samuel Adewumi