IMPETUS TO ACHIEVE:

IT’S ALL BORING MONOTONY UNTIL IT YIELDS

SERIAL Entrepreneur Theo Paphitis wrote in his book entitled Enter the Dragon that if you can bore yourfriends in the bar with how rich or successful you will be in the future, then you are half way there. I couldn’t agree more. There is something about a burning desire that makes people constantly talk about what they would very much like to achieve. These desires are often not shared with every Ji m and Jac k but there will always be those that we like to talk to. talk dividuals Some people bitious close The to of relatives people who will path. them for are be Others maybe that different our and on we a favourite friends. like similar may choose reasons. minded be am- in- Y our to still, because others when may something not be as is close constantly inevitably on bound your mind, to blurt you it out. are ings. This is The the interesting nature of human thing about behaving an ambitious dream constantly on your mind is that for you, it’s something real and achievable as you go step by step, year in year out in order to actu-alize your plans. Y et ironically, for many of the people that you share your aspirations with, it is just another day of your usual talks that do not yield results. It can really be disrespectful and demeaning when people view you as a specialist talker and not a practical action oriented individual. They know not all the times that you have made a serious effort at actualizing your dreams, all they see is someone who has been talking the talk for eta while with little to show for it. Now don’t get me wrong dear reader, there do exist actual talkers who will never get anything done. attitude ous traits. personal What’s Y and ou a can and important few tell professional other from to obvi- note their is rious that minded even when individual, you are some- a seone of purpose, working for with as long a real as sense your ized there is little to tell between you and the typical non action oriented talker. That is where the irony lies. So this is what it is basically. Take the world of business as an example: when we are all starting out, given our backgrounds and individual profiles, there maybe one or two people that you’d bet your bottom dollar on togo all the way and build a business that lasts. There will also be that category of individuals that you may rate as least likely to succeed for a number of reasons. You will probably even rule out some of these completely. As is often the case with identification of talent, those that are placed as favourites do indeed come out on top, and indeed those that are placed as least likely tend to also take their place in the natural order. The issue however, is that at the start of the race, there will be those people that refuse to recognize the different categories of individuals aspiring to build a business. They may even treat all with contempt and tell themselves that such will be the status quo until people actually succeed. This is why I am saying that one’s journey to success is all boring monotony until it yields. When you are aspiring to build a business and you are going around looking for funding, how many people give you the time of day? It doesn’t matter how good your project actually is, few people will care to invest when you are little known. Y ou can visit every lead there is including commercial banks and you may not be given the support that you are looking for. Sometimes, you can even get the feeling that perhaps you need to be rich first whereby you do not need the funding and that is when investors will be willing to fund you. Such is how the world works. It can be quiet disheartening and even demoralizing to pursue your agenda where the environment operates that way, but this is why you need strength of character when you are embarking on a certain journey. If you can’t stand the heat, then get out of the kitchen! It’s that simple. So keep dreaming and believing. And when you hear that you are well known among friends and family circles for talking the talk, do not be disheartened for it is always that way when one is coming up. eople will find you boring and monotonous until you succeed. And when you succeed is when everybody will care to remember your story. All of a sudden, people will want to be associated with you, telling everybody they know how they have known you since childhood and how you are very close friends. That is how life goes. So to all the young Zambians out there breaking a sweat working like slaves today in order to live like Kings and Q ueens t-o morrow, I say to you: if you hear that people are whispering all sorts of things about how you simply dream and talk and nothing has come out of it for years, do not be bothered. There is actually a huge advantage in being viewed as an underdog. Those that talk all sorts of rubbish will never see you coming. People tend to take notice of upcoming persons in society with a very biased view on family name, length in connections and the like. If you do not have these, again do not be bothered. Y ou shall emerge as a dark horse to claim a glorious victory. They may call you a talker or dreamer today, but they don’t know that you have one more trick up your sleeve. Those of us that pursue big dreams with serious aspirations are boring, monotonous and often written off until our efforts yield fruit. Share your views: muyangwamukuni@ gmail.com