Just Do It. You Are Enough!

It took Madeline Balletta deliberate prayers, research and following her intuition to build Bee Alive, a multimillion-dollar firm.

It took Henry Ford a mastermind group to build a name you and I know because it goes beyond the Ford motor vehicles. It also took Serena Williams a devoted father and faith in herself to conquer the World of Tennis.

None of them qualified for a faultless angel, born-genius or a demigod. They are all human. But they were fueled by a simple phrase, ‘You are enough’.

So here is a question for you.

What will it take you to rise to where deep inside your heart you know you ought to be? Share on X

After more than 5 months of toning down the daily operations of most companies, the world has witnessed an unfathomable nightmare. Some businesses completely shut down, jobs disappeared into the thin air and education systems came to a standstill. Some are yet to resurrect from the COVIDeath.

That is the sad side of the story.

But there is a sunny side to it. And it goes like this.

New businesses have been born. Hoteliers have turned to construction workers. Teachers have metamorphosed into vegetable hawkers. Lawyers have embraced poultry farming. High school students have become mechanics. And housewives taken online podiums to become motivational speakers.

Oh, lest I forget, the shyest kid on the campus has completed his second romantic novel.

A little birdie tells me that this story has just begun.

So again I will ask, what will it take you to rise to where deep inside your heart you know you ought to be?

Now that I have your attention, let’s dissect the heck that just passed you by.

The Four-Letter Cussword

In case you are wondering where I got the details of the sunny side of the COVID story, they are all folks I know. Personally. I’m yet to wrap my head around a shy kid and steamy novels. Seriously.

And no, he doesn’t watch what you think he does.

He says he has an imagination he finds difficult to express in spoken words. But he has no problem sharing the secrets with Microsoft Word. I wonder what work he will venture into after college.

So what has this got to do with you?

You see, there is a dirty habit in the mind of most humans where ‘Work”, the four-letter cussword, is defined as what you do after college. And if you went to the college your mother suggested after high school, chances are you are living your mother’s dream. Or her father’s. If not the one she wanted for her rebellious younger brother.

Meaning, the work you do to earn a living is so far removed from what you would love to do. That is one extreme and since you act happy about the whole ordeal, I shall let you be.

The other extreme end has the few lucky fellows who managed to break the curse and are paid for having fun.

Even at gunpoint, people who do what they love to earn a living won't give up the trade. Don't mess with them though, they'll slap your face with excellence without apology. Share on X

In between are guys who for lack of a more respectable word are ‘lost’ between making good use of the COVID holiday to strip the curse out of work, and doing something they enjoy. I mean, 5 months of home-cation have gone and they still talk about the work they hate to report to on Monday.

Seriously?

The Curse of Not Enough

When I began writing this article, I meant to talk to the girl who sits on the other side of my mirror. But she insisted that I share it with you. So here we go.

Like many people in the ‘in-between’ team, I have had my own share of getting lost right before the open gates of opportunities. I have had great chances to rise to a world-class motivational speaker flashed before me but I blinked instead of diving in.

I have also had several opportunities to advertise my very controversial book, Millions of Robots on radio and TV programs and make it a best seller. But each has passed as I freeze every time the door slides open.

Let me explain.

It all starts with the cussword, ‘Work’. Every time I want to rise to the motivational speaking arena, I’m faced with the question, “Is your story moving enough to make your lessons both desirable and memorable?”

For speaking to qualify for a worthy career, it must attract a reward. And don’t fool yourself that a standing ovation and mighty claps qualify. Such cannot pay bills, leave alone make my mother proud. And Yes, that counts.

That seems to disqualify motivational speaking from the class ‘work’.

Then comes the issue of the book. I have ceaseless choking questions in my mind about it. Despite selling several hundred copies of the book, I wonder;

Is its message moving? Does it qualify for ever-green? Why would parents and parents-to-be embrace it especially after wasting more than half the year waiting for the current system to qualify their children? What will the teachers say about it now that it strips naked education systems in Africa?

Am I really worthy of anyone’s ears?

Am I worthy of taking space in their brain or am I yet another fly in their soup?

Am I sure that I’m worthy?

Am – I – Sure?

Yes Baby, You Are Enough!

Ever heard of analysis paralysis?
You just witnessed it in the section above.

It happens when you dissect your dream analyzing every drop of blood, bone and muscle for what could go wrong if you pursued it. The end product is not a PhD thesis. It is a pile of misfortunes waiting to happen.

In short, a thousand ways to die if you ever dare pursue what you have always wanted to do. It remains undone.

So, you watch that door swing open, you wait for a whole hour wondering if you should hop in until it shuts right before your face. Well, it cannot stay open forever.

You forget that you have to wait for life’s pendulum to swing at the same speed, same direction and be at the right spot for the opportunity to recur.

Baby, besides dying, what is the next worst thing that could happen while trying out the fun thing you dream of doing?

Don’t get me wrong when I call it fun. Just because it is fun to do, doesn’t mean it is easy or that you cannot fail. Fun simply means you enjoy doing it, solving its difficult kinks and serving other people with it.

So yes you will fail. A dozen times, if not a thousand.

Audition for that band, sing before a crowd, apply for that job you love, say hello to that guy you would like to partner with in business and convert your ride into a mobile veggie shop. Of course you will fail, but don’t you see that is part of the adventure?

Failing does not make you less human. It confirms that you are one. My advice is, human up, you are enough.

Embrace the What Ifs.

When ‘What if I apply for the job and get a negative response?” shows up, respond with, “Then I will try again or elsewhere.”

“What if the preferred partner ignores my greetings?”
Chances are they didn’t hear you speak because you actually whispered. Try again. And this time, work towards becoming their friend first. You will have a chance to know them better. Maybe they aren’t your type in the first place.

“What if I try selling the vegetables but end up at a loss?”
Learn the market tricks and try again. Start with a few items so that you observe buyers’ behaviour.

Realize that no matter who you want to become, there’s a learning curve to obey. So allow yourself some level of vulnerability during the learning season; a moment when your nakedness or stupidity is exposed. That’s where it hurts, but it is also where you learn and become!

Why do you treat failure, pains and mistakes as if they are not part of the story of your assession of who you must become?

They are not there to discredit you or make you feel less human. Instead, they breathe life into a particular chapter of your life. Without them, all your achievements are a by-the-way; a seaweed floating in the ocean. Such are pretty for a moment but lack the lasting effect. They are in the real sense monotonous!

You are only complete with the misfortunes. Otherwise a ‘too good to be true’ kinda story. Boring.

Just Do It! You are Enough.

There are only two and a half months to go before the year ends. Don’t let that bother you. Instead, hop through the open doors and assume the driver’s seat of whatever it is you have always wanted to do.

Then, pray like Madeline if you must. Surround yourself with a cheering squad of masterminds like Henry Ford. Get a fatherly coach like Serena Williams. Above all, follow your intuition.

Do what you must to be who you have always wanted to be. You have all that it takes, and much more. You are enough!

One more thing. What the world is experiencing right now is not a rehearsal of COVID-19, it is the real deal. No matter how long it takes, it will continue to exhibit opportunities for both loss and luck in the same measure.

You can either complain about it or build something worthwhile from it. But you can only cling on to one, and by so doing let go of the other.

This is your chance; embrace it, share your thoughts here about it, and let the world know. You are enough!