Patience leads to greatness
You may want it all, and want it now, but life always has a way of reminding us that patience is the key to greatness.
YOU may get it at some point, however, the key is not to get stuck and go to seed, but to continue renewing yourself. Things take time and time takes its toll on people and things.
Greatness is a journey and every journey has its tolls. Be willing to be patient, work your way and keep whatever is dying alive. Press pause if you have to, but do not press stop.
Life requires an attitude and way of thinking, seeing and believing. Greatness is an inside job before it can ever be an outside preoccupation.
Mr George Bernard Shaw said to be patient you require a mindset. He also knew that to keep on keeping on you need a personal manifesto. This is why he emphatically wrote:
“This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognised by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of nature instead of a feverish, selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.”
Those are weight words. You do not have the luxury of being a ball of attention that is yelling out like a victim. Complaining is not bravery.
It is doing something with those complaints that makes all the difference. It is working out your life despite your disadvantages. It is having the patience of process and not always appealing to luck for favours.
Mr Shaw went to to give his opinion, when he said: “I am of the opinion that my life belongs to the whole community, and as long as I live it is my privilege to do for it whatever I can.”
That is called an abundance mindset. Of seeing the whole and not just our own little bubbles. You below to the whole community. Make it your calling to make a difference where you can with whatever you can. Elevate you thinking and perspective. Be willing to think bigger and do greater things to make a difference. Nothing happens unless you are willing. It is your decisions that make a difference and create the difference.
This is why Bernard Shaw closed his immortal poem with these words: “I want to be thoroughly used up when I die, for the harder I work the more I live. I rejoice in life for its own sake. Life is no “brief candle” for me.
It is a sort of splendid torch which I have got hold of for the moment, and I want to make it burn as brightly as possible before handing it on to future generations."
Stop preserving yourself and being halfhearted and non committal about what you care for. Jump in and give yourself wholly. Shaw did not want to do the basic minimum and die with his potential untapped.
He wanted to use everything that he has. He wanted to work through and through. He was all in, in the game of life. Patiently hold the candle and do your best where you are and with whatever you have. This is not a dress rehearsal.
You are not practising to live. You are alive already. Live intentionally and take what you do seriously. You are either a plus or a minus factor to those you serve. Seek to multiply potential and not to be the divider. Give more than you are paid for and do more than you are asked. Obey the call of your times and the challenge of your generation. You are not here by accident, nor were you born at this time by luck. Fill the shoes you wear with a patient grace and attitude of handwork, always seeking to make a difference wherever you go. Stop hesitating, living apologetically and express life fully.
Mr Shakespeare’s stage
You have a part to play in this big stage called life. No part is a humble one, if you can bring your talent and attention to it. It's what you do that brings dignity to the part you play, roll you occupy and the station at which you serve.
In his celebrated play: “As You Like It”, William Shakespeare has a scene where Jaques says to Duke Senior:
“All the world’s a stage,
And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts, His acts being seven ages. At first, the infant, Mewling and puking in the nurse’s arms. Then the whining schoolboy, with his satchel And shining morning face, creeping like snail Unwillingly to school. And then the lover, Sighing like furnace, with a woeful ballad Made to his mistress’ eyebrow. Then a soldier, Full of strange oaths and bearded like the pard,
Jealous in honour, sudden and quick in quarrel,
Seeking the bubble reputation
Even in the cannon’s mouth. And then the justice,
In fair round belly with good capon lined, With eyes severe and beard of formal cut, Full of wise saws and modern instances; And so he plays his part. The sixth age shifts Into the lean and slippered pantaloon, With spectacles on nose and pouch on side; His youthful hose, well saved, a world too wide
For his shrunk shank, and his big manly voice, Turning again toward childish treble, pipes And whistles in his sound. Last scene of all, That ends this strange eventful history, Is second childishness and mere oblivion, Sans teeth, sans eyes, sans taste, sans everything.”
You may be able to relate with these seven stages of life. Whatever stage you are in, patiently work your way and do your best.
Renew yourself and bring the best of life's expression to the stage.
Do not wait for perfect circumstances to make a difference, be relevant and make a difference where you are. Stop looking for someone to create favourable circumstances for you.
True heroism is confronting your realities and positively affecting your sphere of influence. You do not have to wait for your twilight years to make your mark. Do not excuse yourself and do not regret that time is gone.
So long as you can breathe there is still something you can do to make a difference. Answer the call to be a difference marker and a torch bearer. There are so many questions, few people daring to answer them. So many challenges, and few are willing to take them. Will you take the challenge to be a difference maker? We are all called to serve faithfully and diligently. We all sit on the stage of life, with our turn to perform always beckoning. Other people's stages and parts may look wide, elevated and decorated. Patience, patience, patience as Shakespeare admonishes because nothing lasts forever. Every place of service is special. Whatever you do for yourself or someone else is worth doing well. All work, regardless of other people's opinions, that uplifts humanity has dignity and importance. No one can make you feel inferior without your permission. It is not just about the money, but the patient service and dignity with which you serve that matters. Keep renewing yourself and your appeal. No one can look down on your work when you do it with passion, excellence and dignity. There is no big or small work, all there is honest work and faithful service. Work should be undertaken with painstaking excellence, knowing that it is always a privilege to serve. You do not need an arsenal of power to be abusive, it all starts in your attitude, mind and values. Power, money, position, roles are simply platforms that reveal what is within.
Clean your street
Martin Luther King was inspired when he said: “If a man is called to be a street sweeper, he should sweep streets even as a Michelangelo painted, or Beethoven composed music or Shakespeare wrote poetry. He should sweep streets so well that all the hosts of heaven and earth will pause to say, “Here lived a great street sweeper who did his job well.”
Your work is your life's torch, hold it bright and dear. Live your life with dignity and respect. It is not where you are that matters, but what you do where you are. Sweep your street and do not wait for someone to pick the papers you litter. Whatever you do, bring mindfulness, creativity and pride to it. Do not wait for a large office and fearsome title before you serve with excellence and dignity. Stop being obsessed with fame and titles, focus on making a difference, bringing solutions and answer the call that others flee.
Anytime you have a chance to serve, serve well and patiently. Serve faithfully, with dignity, grace, humility and honour. Renew yourself and give your best.
Let your work speak for itself and do not be too much in a hurry to speak for the work. It is not where you get buried that matters most, but what gets buried in people's hearts as you serve and interact with them. May the whole of heaven declare a celebration and salute your service whether you die or live. Make yours a noteworthy life and indelible contribution.
◆ Milton Kamwendo is a leading international transformational and motivational speaker, author, and a virtual, hybrid and in-person workshop facilitator. He is a cutting-edge strategy, team-building and organisation development facilitator and consultant. His life purpose is to inspire and promote greatness. He can be reached at: mkamwendo@gmail.com and his web-site is: www.miltonkamwendo.com