MASKS AND THE D-WORD!

As we choose our high road of success, it is prudent to look for encouragement in the momentum we have built rather the immediate results of our actions~ Life Signatures

Oh the things our dear ladies go through to look hot! There are as many products out there to spruce up a babe and the most interesting products are the natural ones. It always is a hilarious moment when wifey comes out of her chambers with a yellow face. I tell you, the only thing you see on her ka-small rounded face are three shiny objects-two eyes and teeth!! (Ka is Swahili for small tiny beeny and little. Isn’t it awesome a language? Two letters for an entire phrase...but I digress!)

She calls that stuff a mask…which reminds me of an occasion one day in high school when a cheeky guy sneaked in on a group of us wearing a mask…a real monkey looking scary mask. Now you must know that it was a season where there was some kind of hysteria in school to the effect that dead old boys were appearing to students in their sleep. So when Mr. Mask showed up…the drama was worth filming. I have never laughed to such pleasurable pain in my ribs!!

You see, there are always great lessons in these stories. A great philosopher said that simple things are yet difficult things to do. They are not so many ingredients to Life Signatures-success, significance, wealth and greatness. I have read a magazine where writers have done an A-Z outline of principles of success. The truth is, not all of them are applicable in one lifetime. Not even all of them are relevant to everybody. Now, the magazine guy is OK to present all those to a larger audience, however, success will always have ONE CANDIDATE…who is me…and of course you!

To be honest, succeeding is all about RELEVANCE…it is all about what I want to accomplish using the most relevant tools to me. Now, as much as your relevance and mine will inevitably vary (that is why all that maneno [Swahili for hulaballoo] off two guys seeking to be compatible before they get married is hogwash), there is always a binding gel that cuts across the divide. That is what we are talking about in this great post today. Yes, they could tell you that success is all about goals. Others will tell you its about modeling. Still others will tell you it’s about focus, money, networks and connections, leverage, loverage (Read that somewhere), and so on. For all I know ladies and Gentlemen, Success is never INSTANT. Potentially it is, realistically it’s not. So what’s the common denominator? What’s that gel we are talking about?

It is called paying-the-price! There you have it; you can now log out and forego my tying in masks and paying prices. I have come to learn that at any one moment in time if I am not paying any price for where I am going, then I am either stagnant or has backslid altogether! Check it out in your life. If you find yourself unhappy with how things are chances are that you are not paying the price for where you wanna go. I used the phrase “paying the price” for that little D word that gives us discomfort whenever we are not congruent with our pursuits. That D-Word is called Discipline!

I will never forget the day my wife tried to apply her home sprucing up techniques on me. It’s called steaming. Apparently, I was to cover myself with some large towel and immerse my rugged face into a bucket of steam. Well, that looked weird…I mean come on. This is Lawrence we are talking about. What are people gonna say when they see me in that position. It doesn’t just sound woowoo, it looks woowoo! But wait, I was not just to do that for a split second to fulfill all righteousness according to my wife’s standards…I was meant to stay there for a whooping f.i.f.t.e.e.n minutes!

Needless to say, I could not make it. I gave up much to the dismay of my wife…who also vowed not to try helping me anymore since I could not be helped!

Let me say this. For each and everyone of us to live a meaningful life, we are going to have to embrace the D-Word. Know this beforehand…it is not fun, neither it is on vogue. There is no swag in it. I have learnt that in the initial stages of applying the D-WORD, I find myself doing stuff that are even a mockery to myself. That is the real test of Discipline-when the very action of your discipline appears a mockery to yourself, let alone the casual observers.

Discipline is personal. It is internal. I have come to learn that I either take it up now, or I will be forced to take it up later by circumstances that will come as a result of its neglect. One of the biggest problems we have in accomplishing things is putting on of masks. We want to appear as if we have it all together. We do not want to be seen as struggling. In fact whenever we do achieve, we cut this aura around us that says, “There was nothing to it…it was easy…it came naturally”. See, that is the problem of wearing the mask. I have found out that I cannot put on a mask and be disciplined at the same time. What I mean is that I cannot go about in delusion of success as a measure of pleasing people around me and at the same time be a discipline applying pursuant of success

I have seen people laugh at women loved on a grander scale (read large women) who are jogging and excersicing to keep fit. The self same mockers do not even have a nutrition/health routine or discipline. The worst that the said women could do is settle…just because some non-entity somewhere will laugh. Let’s face it, there will always be those non-entities. They were there when I thought I had a good voice for radio some years back. They laughed and well, I chickened out. That I am on radio every single weekday is a testament of a fulfilled desire, albeit having given up sometime back. They were there when I thought I was a good actor…and then I did not listen to them. They were there when I started writing…and some are still reading. They are frogs whose croaking won’t stop the cow from drinking water.

The worst of these non-entities are our own internal voices. The good news is that there is always that still small voice that nudges and urges us to take the high road of the D-WORD. It is an internal battle. Friend, the die has been cast. Both sides have already voted. At this moment in time, it is only your vote-one vote that will decide this Life Signature. And Oh! The power of one! One minute! One Word! One Email! One move! One event! One incident! One vote! And most importantly, ONE DECISION! Is it not one vote that made the tyrant Hitler become the leader of his party? The power of one…is and has always been within us.

It is time to get off the mask…and cast your vote for the high road of the D-WORD. And as you do, decide what things are those that you HAVE to do daily on that high road of the D-WORD. The true measure of those things is when the self screams against them (remember my face-steaming experience?) In 2012, these are the very things that will take us to the top-not the better job, better spouse, better car etc. What do you think?

OF HEARTS AND ECHOES

"Watch out when he has his heart set on something...he is unstoppable". You have probably heard that statement several times. As I was reviewing this and that of my blog yesterday, I got very interesting information. One of the most referring websites to Life Signatures is a blogspot by non other than Winnie Thuku, author of the book 'Broken to be made Whole'

Winnie's is not doubt a Life Signature story that depicts beauty for ashes. I met Winnie some months back in Nairobi as she was preparing to get married. Her book was already out and I got myself and copy. Now, I had never met Winnie before in all my life...and this is the beauty of the 'HEART'. It is even more interesting that Winnie's Blog is Titled 'Echoes of my Heart', a topic that I have intended to write about for quite some days now.

You see, Life Signatures can never be manifisted without the heart energy. Words such as zeal, ferver, passion, on fire, in the zone, anointed, unction, peak performance are mostly related to the heart and not the mind. Of course silent revolutions are normally fired by change of mind...or some awareness. Mighty turn-arounds are on the other hand fueled by the heart energy. The paradox of it all is that you can never be forced to have heart energy. For the most part, pure heart energy is normally innate, coming to each individual naturally.

That is why as I find it ridiculous for people, for example,  to hunt down crocodiles and when they catch one, they exclaim  'oh, the's a beauty!!!' It could be weird to me, but who cares? Their day has been made. Something inside of them propels them to do this, something deep inside of me SHUDDERS and cringes at that kind of a lifestyle.

In 2012, the most fulfilled individuals will be those whose HEARTS ARE SET on something. I have found out that a heartset for the most part is normally one single thing. The rest of the stuff normally revolve around it. It is seldom a host of many pursuits...it is normally one passion. Of such, Martin Luther said "If a man has not discovered something that he will die for, He is not really fit to live". Whenever you see a man/woman go about their passion with all their heart, things happen. People watch. People take note. People want to join in. Tears flow. Lives are changed. Legacies are painted. My challenge to the reader today is a question: What is the condition of your heart? What is your heart set on?

The inevitable thing with passionate people is that for some reason, their heartbeat will resonate with someone else of like passions. It makes no difference where they are, how educated or uneducated they may be. Heartsets normally echo globally to men of like passions and soon enough they hook up. Several months back, I was in a bookshop doing some research. I came across a Ugandan writer's book "After University, What next?" For some reason, my heart bet with so much longing for Ambrose Mukiibi's audience. I must have forgetten all about it.

You will not believe what happened at the beginnig of 2012. I had been invited as one of the facilitators of Rotary Youth Leadership Awards (RYLA). Guess what? The person seated right left of me (Excuse the English) was none other than Mr. Ambrose Kibuuka Mukiibi himself in the flesh. To crown the whole thing up, I had to dash back to Kampala from this Gulu Seminar the same day...and Ambrose had the same need. I ended up driving Mr. Ambrose all the way from Gulu to Kampala-5Hours of a fulfilled heartset! Beat that!!

You see, you gotta set your heart on fire. You gotta have a longing that makes you cry "Oh..that it will come to pass". Like this preacher who used to pray, "God give me a soul or I die!"...or the other who said, "I put myself on fire, and the people come to watch me burn!" When your heart it set for whatever it is in 2012, I can guarantee you that the people that matter will hear its echo and you will be in business. But oh what a pity if your heart was empty with no passion, focus, zeal for anything?

IT HAPPENED TO ME.

“Thereare a whole lot of things I stink at. I just make sure I don’t have to do them to be successful.”~Dr. Marshall Goldsmith

I really never mean to do this: Taking the intimate submissions of people and paste it hear as an example on the blog. I have learnt that although we are living in the age of social media, there are some things that cannot really be put out there in the public. I had a good lesson few weeks back when I posted something spiritual on my Facebook Page...only to fight with a fellow believer ON MY OWN WALL...about what was absolutely intimate, personal and crucial for me.

So when I address this following story, I do so humbly but soberly. I did not go looking for this story, but it came by my attention. The reason as to why I have to address this is that it happens multiplied millions of times all over the globe. It also happens not just once, but it is guaranteed to happen every year as sure as the sun rises and sets. It happened to me. It might also have happened to you, most probably.

It is that single event that is responsible for heartaches, anxiety, disillusionment, rejection, apathy and to some extreme cases, high blood pressure and even death. The most interesting thing is that many kids are exposed to it year in and year out. It is so paradoxical that something that is supposed to qualify the youth and give them direction to have depth and meaning in life churns out the side effects mentioned. A good percentage of the youth who escape the side effects always end up in life "just getting by". They live a life devoid of purpose and passion, they are not even bothered about Life Signatures, as long as they get by.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I am talking about...EXAM RESULTS. I was privileged on Saturday 11th February 2012 to be on a show on 104.1 Power FM in Uganda called "Ask The Pastor". Now don't ask me if I am a Pastor coz I wont answer. The results for High School students who sat for their exams last year just came out last week. On the show, this young girl calls and in between her sobs, she wonders why bad things happen to good people. She has failed in her exams yet she prepared, prayed and believed God to pass. Her parents are disappointed. Her life is messed up (According to her). She does not know what to do. Believe me, that is just a sample of many others out there.

Can someone's life be defined by their failure or success in an exam they took in an is education system? You see, this is a crucial question. To be honest, I believe that all efforts to educate the youth and even adults are laudable. Education is a basic human need and even a right. It ranks up there with food, shelter and clothing. However, I believe that far more important is the definition of our WHY. There is a heaven and earth difference between a candidate who has failed their end year exam YET knows their Life PURPOSE...and one who has passed their end year exam and are still clueless as to why they were born in the first place.

The most unfortunate thing is to focus our lives on passing an intellectual milestone as the sole answer in having a better life. In fact it is unfortunate to focus on having a better life rather than having a meaningful, deeper and useful life. When we focus on surviving rather than thriving, we are selling ourselves too short. Can there be relevant and purpose-filled individuals despite their 'failure' in academics? Of course there are countless out there.

Our education systems and way of life are based on time-honored principles which if not altered become obsolete in themselves. The trouble is that these principles have become part of the norm and are not questioned at all even when they are wrong.

When students sit for 'major' exams and come out crying when results are announced...I submit that the problem is not the just the students...the problem is also in the Education System! When parents turn against their children regarding them as 'wasters of funds which would have otherwise done something constructive' just because they failed a one-month-exam...something is wrong, terribly wrong somewhere. When the self same parents spend gazillions of money in 'coaching programs' where kids are taught how to 'pass exams'...and not on who they are and their life's purpose...we are missing the whole point.

There is lots of folly in exposing kids to situations where they must work hard in what they are not good at since their success (read passing exams) depends entirely on those things. And it is absolute folly for us to OFFICIALLY BRAND KIDS FAILURES at many levels of their advancement (or is it disqualification) in their education. What message are we sending? That they are not needed? Imagine a 16 year old kid...with more than 70 or so years to go...being officially branded a failure! What a tragedy! But it happens...and It happened to me. There are lots of emphasis in this folly that even myself, after completing my High School with a Mean Grade of B-(Minus), and dad being disappointed by my performance, I offered to go back and make it better! Can you believe that? I had passed...but...sigh...anyway. Let me not get worked up here.

My message to all out there who have been labeled by an academic system is this: Your latter will be greater than your past. Though in our day and age you are affected by Academics, your life can never be defined by an academic exam, your passing or failing it. I think I read somewhere these words: I CAN is much more powerful and important than IQ. In anycase, for the most part, in academics, the exams will only test you on one thing...what you have learnt. What about your giftings, talents? What about your deep seated desires, dreams and passion? Do you think these are useless? No they are not. You think you failed? Your life begins now. Remember, there is a hidden hand in 2012. Go for it.

To all parents: You are doing an awesome job sending those kids to school, providing for them and being there for them. But know this. I have been a child before, and that is why I am passionate about this subject. Your child is not a failure just because they flanked in their grade. As much as we must not excuse laziness and lethargy on their part, we must not approach this subject with such brutal finality after they have 'failed'. I know it is not that simple, but that is why we are parents in the first place. Our job is to believe in our kids...mold them to success, significance and greatness relentlessly. Believe me, it is worth it!

THE HIDDEN HAND IN 2012

A happy new year to everybody! Congratulations that you made it this far. You know, if we had no use to this world, we would probably be dead by now. Yes, even if you are longing for death at the moment...I am sure you are of use to this world, and that is why you are alive today.

I honestly wanted to start bloggign this year by the Title 'The Same Old New'...and am thinking the message therein is important and one day it will come to the fore. So 2012 is here with us once more. What a privilege!  What a great opportunity to be alive in this day and age! I have two thoughts to share as we start 2012 the same old new way.

A friend of my wife's joined the Army some few months back. When he came visiting, there was one message that was always on his lips. He said that whenever we see soldiers and security forces mingling with people freely, we have no clue, no idea what is at stake. We go out demonstrating about our freedom of expression but sometimes we have no idea what it takes to first of all gain that freedom and most importantly...keep it.

You see, the most involving part is the KEEPING...far more involving than the GAINING. Those are the two things that I need us to focus on. It kind of explains the massive reasons as to why many new year resolutions are as we speak a smoke in the wind. I just met a friend few moments ago. As usual i popped up that question: Whats up for 2012? He said, "Well, let's wait and see, last year was a series of exams, but now that I am alive...let's wait and see". My assessment is that he will probably do the normal ordinary survival in 2012, nothing of Life Signatures nature.

The crux of this post is the same old admonition. Before we can launch into the deep of 2012, it would be beautiful to dream about it. I always tell people that with dreams, you are not holding yourself responsible for their fruition. That way you are free to dream big. Just like the soldiers who are giving their lives daily for the sake of maintaining freedom and security, I also need to count the cost of bringing my dream to fruition. Nothing happens without a hidden hand...and it is the hidden hand that you can count on in 2012 to bring your dreams to fruition. In any case, the hidden hand is mightier than myself...and so I can pride in that fact and I can dream big....and if at all my dreams do not materialize...I have not lost much.

The tragedy in 2012 is to "wait and see". I would say that the best way to put it is: Let's see...and then wait (or work to manifest it). Big visionaries are already counting 2012 gone, done and dusted. Why? Because they have already seen it through before it actually ends. If there is someone out there thinking that we still have lots of time left in 2012, "I mean...its only February"...probably you have not dreamt.

I have encouraged people the world over to have a thematic approach in this year. Yes, you got to pay bills, advance your career, marry her, build that house...and so on. However, If you could take some time and identify one theme that you can devote all your life on in 2012, you will become more relevant and prominent than "waiting to see". After you got your theme, I believe it would be nice to identify some non-negotiables around it. Those things that must be done on a daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly basis to bring that theme to fruition. Before you know it, your family, your friends, your world, and most importantly the World itself will identify with your theme and most probably rally behind it.

That my friend, is the hidden hand I talked about...the hidden hand that will stay inactivated unless I venture by faith out there to fulfil my God-given potential....and that is the beginning of living a Life Signature!