Author name: Tochukwu Maxwell

Always bear in mind that your own resolution to succeed, is more important than any other thing. Abraham Lincoln. So far we have seen fear and mediocrity as banes of success, however, the list goes on and on. But one final Bane I will want us to look at is one that walks with us daily. It seats where you seat and lies with you, it craves for ease and comfort,  it wants to marry a rich man or a great lady but it does not want to prepare for that feat, it wants to sleep in but also want to be wealthy,  and it tells itself, “what will be will be” It is YOU Only “You” can become prideful; only “you” can have “humble pride” Pride is simply the over estimation(and something under estimation) of self. If God says you are great, it would be pride to say you are the greatest and it would be a “humble pride” to say you are the least. It is YOU who procrastinate -procrastination is more subtle than fear. Whereas fear simply says do not do that, procrastination says, “that work is hard, let me do the easy one first, then later I do the “hard one” and in most cases we end up never doing the most important task, “the hard”. Not because you cannot but the YOU is enjoying the pleasure of ease, the company of mean men, and the flattery of comfort. Procrastination is subtle because you can go about feeling that you are doing something but cumulatively, it’s a barrel of nothing: an empty container that weights no more than a feather in the balance of life. Beware of the consequences of procrastinating a more important task for a less important one. In addition, indecision, laziness, hate, envy, discrimination, indiscipline, and lots more are things that you (rather we) entertain (directly or indirectly) in our lives for we are for all times and purposes our own worst obstacle. You may be destined by God, to be in charge of an undertaken that is among the most ambitious and faithful of the 21st century; an undertaken that will impact the lives of millions, and yet, YOU can decide not to go through with it by choosing the road of least resistance. Because YOU have decided to settle for less. The Antidote If there is any fault in a product, you take it to the manufacturer for a fix. 1. God 2. You The solution is God and You. Here is what my friend Philemon Agebe wrote about God and… in a fine truth titled “Deo et.” Deo et means “God and” in latin. The underlying burden of this article is nothing other than the invaluability of God in Creation. There is no meaning in life outside of God; As a part of the Productivity tour, Deo et will place God side by side everything. You can fit anything into the space after the “and” and there will be meaning. God and Productivity; God and You; God and Evil; God and everything: The classic is “Deo et”. Therefore, for you to overcome and become a success, you must be in affiliation with God and partner with Divinity.

2. Mediocrity:Whatever is worth doing is worth doing excellentlyThe assumption that average is enough is the reason for stunt progress in the lives of so many.Someone said the challenge is not that we aim too high and miss, but that we aim too low and hit. The mediocre lifestyle is actually living less than we are capable of. Example, you were asked to lead in a song, you sang like you hated singing and you are a choir member; your excuse was that you do not want people to feel you are “over sabi” (Someone that gives more than their best). You were told a week before that you will be taking the opening session of a program, you said okay, but you came up and delivered your session like a fish out of water, your excuse; “I have stage fright”. But you never made any attempt to conquer that fear. This is mediocrity, a bane of success and contrast of excellence.Many people can dance, many can sing, many can talk but only those who are outstanding get a chance. The AntidoteAn Excellent spiritThis an attitude of excellence.We are in a day and age where people are promoted on the basis giving a far above average input that yields far above average interest. Daniel a foremost politician of the monarchical system of the Babylonian empire yet he was relevant, sorted for, and promoted to high ranking positions in four regimes. Even if the seating monarch came to office by bloody coup d’état, he still sort the counsel of Daniel who from childhood to adulthood gave his best (God-ability) in whatever he did.In whatever you do, where ever you are, live as though you are the best actor in the story of your life.The best man is he who is yielding himself to the beatings of the Blacksmith; the mouldings of the Porter; the pruning of the Husband man; the chiselling of the Sculptor and the making of his Maker. to be continued….