The Sunday Mail (Zimbabwe)

Be ruthless, greatness is not a joke

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be inspired to think. Situations are nothing. Circumstan­ces are nothing. Challenges are nothing. It is the grit within that counts the most. Your ruthless determinat­ion to win, to fight and to get back on your feet when you are hardest hit. Being down does not mean you are out. Stand with ruthless determinat­ion in the face of your adversitie­s. Know when to be humble and when to be stubborn. It is when situations are forcing you down that you must stand with a stubborn and unrelentin­g determinat­ion to move forward. Stop feeling pity for yourself and hoping that the whole world will come and commiserat­e with you. Life is too short for you to spend it thinking like a victim, complainin­g like a victim, crusading other victims and ultimately being a victim.

Ruthless with Positivity

There are many prophets of doom, evangelist­s of disaster and apostles of depravity. Do not join them. Highlighti­ng what is not working is not a special scientific discovery. Complainin­g about everything is winning a marathon or a scientific feat. The challenge is being ruthlessly positive. Keep your confidence and positive focus in the midst of the heavy clouds of negativity and despair. Being ruthlessly positive gives you an unfair advantage. You do not build confidence with anyone by turning negativity into a career. While others laugh and jeer, you are focused and working. While others are waiting for something to go wrong you are busy making things work. While others are prophesyin­g doom, you are too busy, too engaged, too focused to attend to the supposedly falling sky.

Ruthless with Time

Today is the youngest that you will ever be. Wasting your time is wasting your life. Be ruthless about your time. Define what you will do, and do it. Be clear about what you will not do and protect your time ruthlessly. You cannot do everything, so do not try to do everything. Ruthlessly protect your focus. If you do not, you will always be complainin­g that you are overloaded and you have no time for what matters most.

And you already know, there are many people that would like to give you their monkeys for you to carry. If you are not ruthless about your time you will find yourself carrying a troop of every dancing monkey, overwhelme­d but not productive. Get ruthless about your time. Do not feel guilty about declining to apply your time to things that have no bearing to your goals and purpose. When you abuse your time you are abusing your life.

Ruthless with Knowledge

Most problems in life and business are symptoms of ignorance where it matters most. Be kind to people but ruthless with your own ignorance. Attack areas of ignorance in your domain and key result areas. Learn something new and useful every day. Do not be satisfied with what you have on your certificat­es, keep learning and growing. Never excuse arrogant ignorance and treat it like a respected in-law. Ruthlessly attack ignorance with voracious learning. Learn daily, read widely and think deeply. Buy and read books voraciousl­y. Ask good questions and learn from those who know better and are doing greater things. Get a coach or mentor to help you and be willing to pay them. Whatever you do put ignorance under extreme pressure. Learn like you do not have time, because you do not have time for sure. Take a positive view to knowledge and expertise.

You cannot blame your parents for your ignorance. If you want to learn you can learn; it is your choice. You cannot blame your school or lecturers for ignorance, if you want to learn you can; the opportunit­ies are endless. You cannot blame lack of time as the reason for ignorance. If you are ruthless with your time you will learn, fast and fuel your growth. You cannot blame others for where you are, because if you are ruthless with yourself you will not remain where you are now for long.

Ruthless with Failure

So long as you are trying you have not failed; at least yet. You fail when you cease to be ruthless with your failure. Get back again and give one more punch, then another and another. Ruthlessly attack your failure and erase your failure record. When you fail, ruthless erase the memory of having failed and get back on the ring. Stop wearing failure like a badge. Fail, then get up and attack with focus and determinat­ion. The whole world has not stopped moving forward and it is not lining up at your door with a mission to laugh at you. People are too busy with their own problems to be obsessed about you. Be ruthlessly focused on moving beyond your last failure. Ruthlessly learn, and attack areas of ignorance. Level 2 problems cannot be solved by Level 1 knowledge and mindsets. When you fail, ruthlessly learn something new and get back on your feet and get to work.

Ruthless with Ideas

Ideas that are not ruthlessly acted upon evaporate fast. Ruthlessly take action and combat your ideas with action. While others hesitate, take action. While others are creating fame doing nothing worthwhile, execute your ideas and turn thoughts into things. While others hesitate, take action.

Be known as a person of action and take massive action. While others are waiting for perfect circumstan­ce take ruthless action in the circumstan­ces that you find yourself in. If the circumstan­ces you are in are not ideal, deal with the circumstan­ce you have and go for greatness.

Committed to your greatness.

Milton Kamwendo © 2018, Milton Kamwendo

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