tawandamusarurwa
Hunt for Greatness
Milton Kamwendo
GORILLAS are known to be intelligent, fierce and able to do a lot of harm. Someone once remarked that when you are wrestling with a gorilla, you do not stop when you get tired.
You only stop when the gorilla either gets tired or loses interest in the fight.
Such is the fight for greatness. You do not stop because the going is getting tough. You do not stop because you are tired. You take a stand. You face your fears. And you keep doing what you must.
Opportunity will usually come dressed as a gorilla.
Never let the difficulty of the moment discourage you. The situation that you are facing is replete with opportunity.
Keep anchored, working and moving. See beyond the thorns.
The gorilla image is designed to threaten and scare you.
Instead of being problem-minded, be opportunity-minded. Instead of seeing doom and gloom, see opportunity.
Track the script running in your mind. If it is negative and disempowering, make a move and change it.
Choose what you allow yourself to dwell on.
When others are obsessed with the past, extend and amplify your vision.
Instead of retreating into your shell of fear, take action and make a difference. Stop looking for safety and stretch towards opportunities that are begging for you to come and dance. See possibilities where others see impossibilities.
Where others see nothing, build there.
Challenge
When times are challenging, fresh thinking needs to be served.
When the cloud looms large, dare to dream.
It is in winter that you prepare for summer. The best time to dream is when you are on your back foot. It is when you are in a hole that you must nurse vision.
Greatness is the ability to think clearly in the midst of challenges.
Stop postponing life to tomorrow.
Engage the present moment. Dream big and take bold action.
See beyond your gorilla.
In “Macbeth” (Act 5, Scene 5, lines 17-28), Shakespeare gives us these sobering and warning lines:
“She should have died hereafter;
There would have been a time for such a word.
— To-morrow, and to-morrow, and to-morrow,
Creeps in this petty pace from day to day,
To the last syllable of recorded time;
And all our yesterdays have lighted fools
The way to dusty death. Out, out, brief candle!
Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more. It is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury
Signifying nothing.”
Do not lose the taste of life because you are too scared to face today.
Pack so much meaning into what you are doing with your life so that your life will signify something.
Be present-minded and engaged.
Dare be crazy and stop making the complaining noise of fools.
Do not postpone living until tomorrow.
Dream
Dream with your eyes open. Dream on paper and explore possibilities.
Dreams do not have parameters, except the ones that you set.
Do not crop your dreams to fit other people’s cynicism. Do not shrink your life to fit someone’s unbelief and fear.
Do not make your world very small because you are trying to fit into other people’s small dreams and comfort levels.
Crazy
In the 1990s, Apple ran adverts that celebrated “crazy” people who changed the world. The adverts ran with the following caption: “Here is to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They are not fond of rules.
“And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them. About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things.
“They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones who do.”
Stop creating trouble for the sake of making a name. Dare to dream of changing the world and making a positive dent in it.
Those who think they are crazy enough to bring change should just do so. Get tired of the boring normal.
Dare to do things that are great and inspiring. If faith does not move you, then move it.
Childlike
Gaze at the wonder of life, its promise and possibilities. For greatness, practise neoteny.
This is the quality of extended childhood. It is the tendency to maintain youthfulness even as you grow older.
You are truly old when you replace your vision with regrets.
So long as you are receptive, imaginative and excited about life, you cannot grow old and irrelevant. Keep learning new things and expanding your skills.
Stop looking at your birth statistic as a liability. Retain the wonder, curiosity, drive, excitement and the “can-do” spirit of childhood. Do not surrender your dreams to the despair, despondency and cynicism of those who are frustrated and sad.
You are not as old as your birth certificate but as your doubts and fears.
Do not let age scare you and blunt your creative urge. Think like a child but behave like an adult.
Dream like a child, and execute like an adult.
Unless you think like a child, the world may pass you by, leaving you bitter. The tragedy in life is not death, but what you allow to die while you are living. Embrace and stimulate possibility thinking, fresh dreaming, agility of thought and vibrancy of spirit.
Think
Stop crowding with the crowds, at least in your thinking.
No one who follows the crowd will have a crowd follow him.
Be divergent. Be different. Be bold. Do your own thinking. Most challenges are overrated.
When you start thinking, possibilities are conceived.
Challenge your assumptions; blaze new paths. What would you do if you were caged with a gorilla?
Do not give up; fight until you win. Outlive your challenges. You have more strength than you think.
You are stronger than your problems.
Go for greatness.
Committed to your greatness.
Milton Kamwendo is a leading international transformational and motivational speaker, author and a virtual, hybrid and in-person workshop facilitator. He is a cutting-edge strategy, team-building and organisation development facilitator and consultant. He can be reached at: [email protected]
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter