You only live once, but if you do it right, once is enough― Mae West. Life can be very tough and challenging at times but we always have to keep on fighting ahead. Knowing some things very early in life will help you to avoid certain mistakes. This write-up is a guide to help you in your effort at succeeding in life. I am a very young person and may not know it all but I pray the following points aid you in your effort to succeed in the journey of life and achieve your God given purpose in life.
Show respect to everyone. Everyone is gifted in one way or the other. Therefore if
some is bad at a task, it doesn’t mean the person is good for nothing. There
are so many other ways that this same person could be useful. One the most
embarrassing things that can happen to you is for someone you disrespected to
show you the way on an issue.
Live within your means. Try as much as possible to budget the resources you have
and live within it. If you have to borrow money, use it for something that will
yield profit. Living within your means does not mean you should go for cheap
stuff. Sometimes, cheap things end up been very expensive in the end. For
example, if you want to buy a car, all things being equal for the same brand of
car, a 2008 model will be better than a 2002 model. The question is if you
can’t afford the 2008 model but can do with the 2002 model which in the end
results in the mechanic becoming your friend because of the frequency of your
visits to his shop then what is the point. It is sometimes better to go out of
your means to borrow an interest free loan from a friend or family member to
purchase the 2008 model since its maintenance cost is low and will save you
money in the end.
Be faithful and committed to whatever you are involved in. The reason why most employers will
select someone with first class over another with second class or third class
is not because the one with the first class is necessarily better but because
his grades are a sign that he takes whatever he does seriously. So your
ultimate reference in life not your former boss but how dilligently you carried out previous work.
Commit to lifelong learning. Education is the investment with the highest yield. Earning
a single degree can reap you returns for life. Get a master’s degree, a
professional certification and most importantly keep reading books to enhance
your understanding of new issues and get more knowledge. Attend conferences on
personal development and on areas where you have practically no idea. Your
introduction to a new area could be the beginning of success. Try reading one
book every week or read an article a day to enhance your knowledge.
Observe the Pareto (10\10\80) Principle. For every amount you earn, put 10%
into an investment instrument, tithe the next 10% and live within the next 80%.
If you can, you can increase the amount to 20/10/70 as this will speed up your
effort to become financially independent. Being financially independent will
help you achieve and overcome so many obstacles in life. Money is not everything
but it makes the world go round.
Network, network, network. Have you heard the saying that “you are three people away
from connecting with that person you look up to”. It is important that we
continue to get to know more people as the days go by. The reason basically is
that you need people to help you to solve the problems around you and the more
people you know, the more the likelihood that you will bump into one of them
when you are in need.
Believe in higher authority. It is dangerous to live in this world and think that the
world just came into being by some magical or scientific means. Believing in a
higher authority (God) makes it easy for you to humble yourself since we are all
where we are by his Grace. Whatever you believe in, always do unto others what
you expect them to do unto you. This is a universal principle and you don’t
need to attend church to reap its benefits.
Take time to travel. Travelling allows you to get to know at firsthand what is going on
around you and reduces your over reliance on the media for information which
may have been blown out of proportion. It also helps you to develop different
perspectives on cultures and help you to relate with people from all spheres of
life. If you cannot afford to travel abroad, you can begin by exploring your
own country. Once you are done with that, then you could consider travelling
outside your country. This demands careful planning and preparation both
financially and a bit of reading here and there about your possible
destination. Setting up a special account for this purpose and saving a little amount
every month for that trip will be very helpful.
Maintain a good circle of friends and never cut off relationship completely with any of them
no matter what unless your life or reputation is at risk. Remember your friends
are human beings and they also have their own short comings. It is likely that
they will offend you but always do well to forgive them. If you find it
difficult to forgive your friends when they offend you, assume that they are
your siblings and people don’t normally do away with their siblings forever.
The point is you never know what situation you may find yourself in tomorrow
and that person you cut off would have provided the needed help.
Develop a strategic life plan. A Strategic life plan is like a business plan for your life. It is a guided process by which an
individual takes stock of his or her life, clarifies goals and challenges,
identifies the steps needed to move forward and connecting the mind with the
goals. It is important for you to plan your life, putting
in place a 5 year strategic plan of how your life will look like in 2018 and
working towards it challenges you to work hard at it. That plan should be
holistic entailing how your social, career and religious life will be and
putting in place measures to work towards that using the resources you have.
Remember that life is how you make it and we are an embodiment of the decisions
we make in life.
Fail forward. So
much as we all dread failure; it can be a good thing. At the beginning of the 2013/2014
English Premier League season, my favourite team Arsenal suffered a massive 3-1 defeat at home to
Aston Villa in their first game. There
was huge out cry from the fans with some even calling for the head of our coach
Arsene Wenger. Check the league table today and you will notice they are lying
comfortably at the summit of the table. This story should tell you that failing is not as important as how you respond to it. Show me a man who has not experienced failure and I
will show you a man who has not achieved. So what is the best thing to do what
you experience failure? Sit back, relax and assess yourself and identify the
mistakes you made that caused you to fail and make sure you rectify them in
your endeavors ahead and success will certainly follow. When failure comes don’t
give but rise again and fail forward but most important learn the lessons.
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