No More Outsourcing

When great American jazz musician, Ray Charles was going blind, his mother told him,” Ray I wont beat around the bush with you. You are going blind. The doctors say there is nothing they can do, so we got to do it ourselves”. There is a time in life when nobody can do anything for you. Not even your brothers, parents, friends, sisters or neighbours. In moments like this you have to do it for yourself! Your employer can only do so much. There are aspects of your life which cannot be out sourced. Your future and your destiny cannot be left in the hands of your employer, government, or anybody for that matter. Life will not stop because you have a selfish employer; you are in the diaspora or under a despotic government. I want to persuade you to take a stand and be in command of your destiny. No more delegation, no more outsourcing. Do it yourself!

Failure Is An Inside Job

By searching into the gold mine of his soul, man can get all the answers to his life and the world around him. Many times it is easier to look through the window and blame it next door. The enemy lies within! You just need to look into the mirror and talk to the wo/man in the mirror because s/he is the problem. Infact someone once said that when you point your finger the other three point back at you. No matter, how daunting the circumstances of your life may be, the greatest battle you wage against failure occurs on the inside. The developing nations are always quick to blame the West for their economic woes, but they never consider corruption, cronyism and bad economic and political policies. Infact some countries behave as if the world owes them a living. It is the way most people behave – beggarly and dependant.

It’s Your Call

The capacity for choice is a God given human ability. You can choose today to discover your passion and influence the world around you. You can also choose to just coast through life, being neither ‘powerful beyond measure’ nor ‘powerless beyond description’. In other words being ordinary and taking your ‘chosen’ place amongst the trivial many. You can even choose to do nothing and follow where the path may lead. Actually the world has the immovable, the moved and the movers. There is a place for everyone only that you choose. It’s your call to answer to your calling. It has to be something to live for, and if necessary die for.

Facing Up To Your Responsibilities

How many times do you look for salvation to come from elsewhere, and not from yourself. You surrender your destiny to others, and become a slave doing the bidding for your master. You do not take charge of your life and wait for fate. Do something with a difference to make a difference to your life. Do not go with the flow – rules are for those who cannot make their own. If you need to break ranks to walk in your purpose and destiny so be it. You have one life and you better use it as your Maker intended. If you were waiting for someone to give you something, you better get the thing yourself with your own means. If your employer is giving you a raw deal, you better learn to cut your own deal. There is no need to pity party and look for sympathy, seek a solution to your situation.

Creators Of Destiny

The capacity for creation is an innate ability. You hold the key to every situation. It means you can create your future, as you desire it to be. There is nothing like, “whatever will be will be”. No a thousand times no! It’s not up to God, it’s up to you! Be certain of the course that your life must follow. Stay the course no matter what happens. In aglaflation (food inflation), hyperinflation, sickness, in the valleys, in the rough, in the bunkers stay tuned to your destiny. Rivers of great character, cut through the hardest rock. Talk your faith, and kill your fears. You create your future by your actions today. The way you respond to life determines where your life will go. Destiny is in your hands.

Mental Toughness:Courage Under Fire

A few months ago I wrote an article on “A Call To Leadership”. In the article I highlighted the need for a new leadership paradigm in every sphere of our life – church, politics, business, family among others. At the time, Kenya was burning. Today as I write Zimbabwe is experiencing a constitutional crisis. I salute Zimbabweans for their sense of humour in the face of great challenges – all the jokes about children named “Harmonised, Rigged, Ballot, Free and Fair (twins)”. However right now what’s happening there is not funny. Every Zimbabwean and indeed the whole world have been on an emotional roller coaster over the last 2 weeks. How can one survive an adverse environment? I want to share about a quality which makes you a champion in any environment – Mental Toughness.

Mental Toughness

Mental toughness is the ability to consistently sustain one’s ideal performance state in spite of competition or environment. It has roots in sports psychology. In competitive sports the winner is not always the most skilful, but the one with the highest threshold in terms of mental toughness. In practical terms, it is your ability to overcome challenges, through controlling yourself, commitment to your goals and confidence in your abilities. Mental toughness is learnt, not inherited. The ultimate measure of mental toughness is consistency. I want to share with you the 4 C’s you need to become a champion anywhere, any day.

You Savour A CHALLENGE

Champions revel in challenges and not problems. A challenge is the extent to which you see problems as opportunities. It is also known as change orientation – to what degree are you willing to change yourself to overcome your environment and competition. To play against the best soccer team is a challenge not a problem. It is an opportunity to also become a champion. To compete against Tiger Woods is a challenge and not a problem. To run a business in a hyper inflationary environment is a challenge not a problem. Having no money in your bank account is a challenge not a problem. To be diagnosed with HIV or diabetes is challenge not a problem. Are you a champion?

You Are In CONTROL

To be a champion you need to control yourself and your environment. You need to have attention control. It is the ability to tune to what is important and what is not important. You are not sensitive to everything including what your environment , mind or your body is telling you. The newspapers and TV might be saying all sorts of negative stuff – so what! You are not controlled by sickness, lack or criticism – you take instructions from the Head Office in your heart. You attention is on the right success triggers. You also have attitude control. The right attitude produces emotional control and right flow of energy. To overcome low attitude control, identify positive and negative attitudes. Control negative emotions like fear, anger, envy, frustration and temper. Negative energy results in inconsistency. Be energised with joy and determination. It helps you to maintain the required arousal level to achieve peak performance.

You COMMIT To Your Goals

This is “stickability”, which is your ability to carry out tasks successfully despite any problems or obstacles which arise whilst achieving the goal. Champions concentrate their energy and efforts on what they want, blocking out anything or anyone who threatens that focus. You need to concentrate on the attainment of your goals with an intensity that borders on obsession. Once the goals are set, put mental blinders on and move forward with dogged persistence and ferocious tenacity. Let it become your food and drink. Commitment means it is the only thing that matters to you. You rise above politics, economics and social factors and soar to your destination.

You Are High In CONFIDENCE

This is the self belief to execute goals successfully. You can develop self-confidence with practice. The key ingredient is belief in self. You develop self-confidence by elevation of self-image, learning to stay calm, goal setting, positive thinking and self discipline Confidence feeds into self motivation which is a source of positive energy. It helps you to endure pain, discomfort and self-sacrifice. The majority are primarily motivated by extrinsic motivators, such as money and rewards. A champion like you is motivated intrinsically by dreams, desires and passions. This is a fire that cannot be put out. A fire that burns hot in the coldest night! The key to finding the true power of the individual lies in the deep recesses of the psyche. There is vein of gold in you – just digger deeper. This vein is an emotional high point, known in performance circles as the white moment. The white moment is the strongest emotional driver of performance. It pushes far beyond your threshold of pain, to accomplish feats that to the common man seem impossible.

Champions dwell on the rewards of success. Losers focus on mistakes and failure. Do what’s necessary NOW. Be in the present. Then you don’t have to worry about what happened yesterday or what’s going to happen tomorrow. Thus, two-thirds of your worries disappear. You can’t control what nature and others do. You cannot control politics and economics. You can control your response to what happens.

Soar like an eagle above all the storms! O seh shalom bimromav. Hu ya’aseh shalom aleinu V’al kol Zimbabwe (May He who makes peace in High Places, make peace for Zimbabwe).…. Peace be within your walls, Prosperity within your palaces