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The journey of greatness has countless obstacles strewn along the meandering paths. It is like the proverbial narrow road that leads to salvation. The path of mediocrity is wide and does not require any effort beyond just hoping for change and improvement. Sometimes what we call obstacles are merely lazy excuses that we choose. Any path that does not have obstacles most likely leads to no place worth going. Anyone craving for a life without obstacles is probably a loser who is too scarred to live a fulfilling life.
Get some rest and then come back
Obstacles are really funny. They do not look the same size every day. Sometimes all we need is just a day’s break and when we come back the obstacles are never the same size they were yesterday. Obstacles are intimidated by a stubborn and determined faith. Every person daring to go for greatness knows that there is something called the “power of a made up mind.” It is easy to dawdle and procrastinate when our minds are not yet made up. Obstacles favour the uncommitted. Most obstacles simply melt away when we make up our minds to walk boldly and courageously through them. It is better to do something bold, risking the possibility of failure than to do nothing and celebrate self-preservation.
The essence of opportunity
Where the most obstacles and problems abound – there opportunity lies. Underneath every heap of obstacles there are opportunities waiting to be exploited, miracles waiting to be experienced and greatness waiting to be unleashed. We are born for greatness, engineered for success and endowed with creative talent beyond our wildest dreams. Obstacles inspire creativity and spur motivation. Anyone who is feeling idle and purposeless in life needs a healthy dose of obstacles as a motivational jolt. The rewards we get from solving problems and dealing with our obstacles head-on far outweigh the presumed comforts of inertia. We experience the greatest satisfaction when we are turning obstacles into opportunities.
The obstacles that flatten some raise others to imposing heights. The problems that drive some to insanity inspire others to creativity. The difficulties that get other people to flee are the same ones that get others to fight it out. Problems always start when we think our obstacles are special, impossible and insurmountable. Impossible is always an excuse for lack of creativity and courage. We always tend to overestimate the strength of our obstacles and underestimate our own strength.
Utilising the power of prayer
In his book, Managing in Turbulent Times, Peter Drucker (1980) has these opening remarks: “In turbulent times, an enterprise has to be managed both to withstand sudden blows and to avail itself of sudden unexpected opportunities.” The obstacles in business are many and varied. In our turbulent times it is impossible to understand everything. Anybody who can kneel to God in the face of insurmountable obstacles will be able to stand up with a new courage, fresh ideas and at times finds the problem dealt with. Sometimes we are the real obstacles in the path to greatness. Sometimes the best way to look at an obstacle is to look within and to deal with our own logs – and the logs can be so yawningly big. Looking at the obstacles within is more challenging but very critical. Until we stop ignoring the obstacles within and looking at the facts in the face we will delude ourselves into oblivion. To your greatness! Milton Kamwendo |
Joyce Mujuru (born 1956) is a Zimbabwean politician, who serves as a vice-president of the Zanu-PF party, alongside fellow vice-president Joseph Msika and president Robert Mugabe, taking a position left vacant following the death of Simon Muzenda. This puts her in line to succeed Mugabe, if he retires in 2008. Along with her husband, Solomon Mujuru, and other Zanu-PF party members, she is the subject of personal sanctions imposed by the United States. [1]
