THE BEST WAY TO SAY 'I AM NOT AN EXPERT'

"You must continue to gain expertise, but avoid thinking like an expert." - Denis Waitley

There is this day that I was being hosted on one of the premier TV stations in East Africa. My host was a top notch lady journalists who had a knack of taking scoff at ‘pretenders’, and on a live international audience she reveled in bringing ‘celeb’s down. My celeb status was from my breakthrough book titled ‘Permission For Greatness’. In this book, I talk passionately about parents and guardians training their children and not abdicating that responsibility to the ‘traditional education system’.

Now, that topic is not necessarily an easy topic. We are talking about education, a sector in which governments dedicate billions of dollars. So after my host had hyped me up well enough to bring me down, she went for the jugular, and popped up that million dollar question: Mr. Namale, seeing that you are no expert in child development, no expert in education, no expert in mentoring, what makes you think you can run with such a huge project that basically touches the lives of children?

A single moment or event, a single email or phone call, a single day or season can easily alter significantly the life and times of a Life Signatures visionary. I have also noted that a single passion, a great focus and relentlessness can lift up a visionary from every knockout punch that is thrown against them.

Our generation has had a knack for years of seeking to check out people and make sure that they are experts before trusting them. The word ‘expert’ can be rather intimidating. It can also be overly hyped, and if we are not careful, that word can lock out very many passionate people from fulfilling their Life Signatures.  Of course it goes without saying that the word ‘expert’ can open doors for you like nothing else can. 

Very many people the world over would remember a history making Kenyan woman who was awarded the Nobel Peace prize earlier on at the turn of the decade. Ms Wangari Maathai who passed on few months back is not remembered for her ‘expertise’ in the things she studied. Guess what elevated this woman to world prominence and relevance? Planting trees!!! Now, let me ask you a question: How many experts out there do we have in planting trees? How many have you heard about? For sure, there are some guys in this world who can name the botanical names of trees from front to back and back to front…yet their expertise does not affect Life Signatures in any way. That should teach us something.

This, I believe is the fifth time I am saying this on this blog: As long as it matters to you, it has its place in this world. There is nothing as empty as an ‘expert’ who has no heart energy in what it is they are championing. Someone somewhere has said that they would rather be an AUTHORITY in something than be an expert. There is a difference. I believe experts have head knowledge in a thing, Authorities have heart energy and are passionate about this even if they are not yet ‘experts’

I have read somewhere that ‘It was a group of experts that made the ‘unsinkable titanic’. It was one amateur who made the ark for more than 100 years. The unsinkable sank, 1the amateur’s ark floated’.

So next time someone sticks a microphone in your face to accuse you of not being an expert, this is what you should say: “Yes, I am not an expert in this thing, yet one thing I know: This stuff matters to me a lot. I feel this more in my heart than I feel in my head.It is important that this is done one way or another. I am not in this for accolades, I am in this to institute it and make a difference because it matters to me, it is critical to me that this happens, and I am not just about to count myself out because I lack this and that. Whatever it takes, this project will be done, and I will not be dissuaded by bystanders disqualifying me. It matters to me, and it is important for me to do this"

For the record, It did not happen of real, the TV Interview. It happened in my mind, one of those mental blocks that come to question your resolve. So let me say this, that Permission For Greatness matters to me a great deal. It is important to me...and so shall it be that I will persist until its fruition. If expertise is needed, I shall hire it. As far as I am concerned, I am the Champion of Permission for Greatness, PERIOD!

IN SEARCH OF A KING MAKER

The essence of the connection revolution is that it rewards those who connect, stand out, and take what feels like a chance~ Seth Godin

Some of you might be familiar with a Visionary called Mike Murdock. What you might not know is that he once followed me on @twitter. I never used to be serious those days. I could be careless with my tweets. Sometimes I could mix nice Life Signatures stuff with non sensical jokes. There was this day that I posted one of the most 'heavy' tweets concerning Life Signatures. I was quoting the founder of Experts Academy Brendon Burchard who says: and in the end, Did I love, Did I Live, Did I matter?

It seems to me like Dr. Murock was so much intrigued by that quote that he immediately Retweeted it to his 50,000 plus following. What happened right after that is that very many people started following me on Twitter immediately. I had a King Maker in the name of Dr. Murdock...yet I had no content! As you would imagine, all those followers started dumping me like a dog ridding itself of fleas. Reason? I was not deep, I did not have content.

In our day and age, we have glorified the Idea of ‘Technical Know Who' as the sole method of elevating us to the next level. I must admit friends that we are all in a web of connections and those connections are critical to where we are going and what we need to accomplish. In fact, for a good measure, there is a project I am championing that spells this fact strongly. Think about it...have you ever been in a mess? Have you ever been in a dire situation once in your life? Aren’t we able to trace your 'breakthrough' to a connection somewhere? I am almost sure that that is the case. Then again, have you ever had that major break in your life that surely defines who you are from that moment? Most probably, we can still link that break more to your connections than to your skills.

People are always on the lookout for a King Maker. You go speak somewhere, and at the end of your talk, you are flooded with people wielding their business cards. Some think you can do business together, which is OK, some think you can elevate them to an opening that they have been looking for all their life...which is still OK. You see, there are two things that are critical to this King Maker business. The first thing is TRUST. I have seen business empires built specifically on that word...TRUST. I read somewhere that America's foremost Motivator Zig Ziglar went dinning at some place in his hometown...he received so much benefit to the currency of his mum's name. They as much told him that his mum's name was enough, like money.

The next thing that is critical to this King Maker business is VALUE. Remember my Mike Murdock encounter? Let me say this: I am one of the proponents of Personal Branding, and I have spoken to several groups on the same. We all need King Makers in our lives...and of course we all need those trusted connections that will help us in our Life Signatures. However, it makes no way for us to be as empty as a desert in terms of our VALUE ADD in life while at the same time thinking that a single connection will do the trick. What King Maker wants to be recognized with a valueless lackadaisical character? What King Maker will front a vision-less, purpose-less, salary-seeking individual? Trust finds its light where value has been built. The two go hand in hand. That being said, it is almost difficult to trust someone you have just met to the level of dealing with them, unless of course they show ‘passionate value’ to their cause.

I have found out that instead of seeking for a King Maker, I would rather start giving value to just one person around me. A neighbor, a friend, an acquaintance and so on. Two things will happen. First, I will have the opportunity to refine my VALUE. Great value is built over time with myriads of reviews. Now that statement is worth a double take...The second thing that happens is that that one person, when thrilled and served well by my value add will no doubt tell their wife...or their neighbour. Before long, my deserted diary gets filled up a month upfront! Then when a King Maker with a bigger influence shows up, I already have a foundation. That is the secret...you need no Masters Degree to achieve this.

It says in Proverbs: Do you see a man SKILLED in what he does? He will not stand before obscure men, but before Kings. So this is the reverse order. Instead of people frantically looking for King Makers, it is important that we be about our businesses with diligence. It is important. Instead of complaining that people from other tribes are being preferred, we had better spend time building our 'content', or VALUE. There is a group of individuals in Uganda who are soliciting for one million people to March to the capital for 'Uganda's liberation'. They have been doing this politicization on Facebook and each time I see their message, I challenge them with a question: What is your VISION? Who are you guys? What are you offering? For the most part, this complaining bunch's sole mission is to unseat the status quo. Then what? See, that is what we need to sort out first before we can seek prominence. Prominence in my estimation comes from relevance. I had a minute of prominence when Dr. Murdock elevated me, and lost it immediately since I lacked relevance.

The King Makers will most definitely come our way. They always do. In fact with VALUE in our foundations, King Makers will be pointing us out instead of us seeking them out. Again, let me say this: Our success in life will not necessarily depend on us seeking King Makers. On the exact contrary, our success in life comes when we focus on building our brand and value.

Are you seeking for a break in your Life Signatures? You are the King Maker! Get started by building worthy content, as you slowly gather connection that will help you nurture your Life Signatures. There are many King Makers in this world full of connections, yet the foremost King Maker is ourselves.

Have a King Size week day wont you?

BEAR HUG FAILURE

When Watoto Children's choir is mentioned, very many people the world over will recognize them. This includes former US President George W. Bush, as well as her Majesty the Queen of England (Who is looking forward to meeting them again this May 2012). Sometimes, the visionaries behind this facet of their vision seldom have their story told. You might remember that some months back I wrote on this blog about a thorough and sobering production that the kids did depicting the LRA war in the Northern Uganda. This production is more impactful than what is doing rounds on the Internet these days about Joseph Kony, seeing that the actors were mostly former Child Soldiers in the LRA.

On Resurrection Sunday April 2012, I attended Watoto Church service, where Marilyn Skinner, wife to Gary Mark Skinner gave a sneak preview of how it was in the formative years of their missionary work to Uganda. I was enormously moved when she gave an account of the civil war in Uganda at the time that herself, husband and kids had moved to Uganda in pursuit of a Vision of 'raising and English Speaking church in down-town Kampala'. Those were tough days when goons would systematically target houses, rape women, kill men, and take everything in their house including light bulbs and sockets! One day, Gary was off to Canada, and these goons came by for Marilyn. According to Marilyn, the goons tried for more than three hours to break through a wooden door but failed. Now that speaks of God's protection, albeit not in a spectacular format to the casual observer.

The most touching thing about this story is this. That Marilyn had just about had it! She was ready to give her husband a piece of her mind when he came back! Not only that, she was done...she thought of going back to Canada and abandoning the whole thing altogether. In a split second of decision making, there would be no Watoto Church. There would be no Children's choir. There would be no Restore Tour. There would be no Watoto Church in Gulu (Northern Uganda), or in Juba. There would be no presence of Watoto church in South Africa.

The crux of this post is that these visionaries have not always had it straight. They have had a fair share of setbacks. We need to learn from them and understand that it is OK to fail. It is OK to accept failure. One of the reason as to why many people do not attempt great things is because we fear to fail. I have come to learn that as long as we are in this world, we will experience setbacks. No one is immune. God himself has experienced set backs...major ones at that. He has experienced setbacks with Adam and Eve, with Abraham, with King Saul, and with King David. He has experienced several setbacks with Lawrence Namale...and in all that, God has been relentless in believing in humanity.

Watoto Church had/has a vision to have its presence in South Africa...and in earnest, set out to partner with a church there. That was about a year ago...it was only after six months that the visionary Gary Skinner decided to pull out 'instead of staying there and fighting; a fight which we I could have won'. In life, there are times to accept a drawback. There are times to accept a retracement, or even a complete reversal. The main thing they say, is to keep the main thing the main thing. That even in the wake of a retracement, we maintain our focus on the big picture.

Friend, in life you and I will face situations that are not necessarily encouraging. Our calling at those moments is never to let those 'failures' or 'drawbacks' define who we really are: Visionaries of Life Signatures. Failure is a learning curve...it is temporary. When it shows up as it surely will to all the best of us, accept it, hug it if possible, learn from it and move on stronger, better and more relentless to the passion that lies deep inside of you. Have a relentless week, wont you?

THE TRAP THAT IS THE FAMILIAR

"Familiarity breeds contempt" ~An English saying (I think)

Ladies and Gentlemen, the biggest lesson I have learnt in the first quarter of this year is this: There is a place for everyone's passion in this world. However queer, irrelevant, weird and pitiful it might seem to 'others', as long as that passion comes from deep down the core of your heart and spirit, there is a place for it in the world. Yeah, even a place to serve the world.

One big problem that dreamers and master visionaries face in the initial stages of life is this: the Validity of their dreams. You find them always wondering...how will it look like in the real world? And so you find someone kind of looking down on an Idea that they have because they think it will not be 'accepted' in this world. I tell you what? A vision is a vision. It is much better for it to be weird and done than to be cute and undone.

That being said, there is another major trap that plagues very many people. This is what I have called the 'trap of the familiar'. If you remember the story  of Jesus Christ, you would notice that He could not perform miracles in is home town. Guess why? The trap of that which is familiar kept his folks from believing that He was more of a Miracle Worker than a carpenter's son. I tell you what? The trap of that which is familiar works every day, and creeps up on us, stealing our ideas and dreams. This is how it works: You get this passion or this Idea about something...but the fact that 'you do not sweat it', you kind of think "Arrgh...what the heck, it is ONLY that". For some reason, we expect to work, sweat, with smoke coming out of our ears out of serious thinking, before we can take an Idea seriously. I have had some writings done in the recent past that I thought, "Oh well, I just filled up some space today...I didn't feel that post at all!"...only for comments to come in thanking me for that very post that I thought had no place. The trap of the familiar. At some point in time, I did not post a single message on this blog for weeks, until I started receiving phone calls and emails, people asking, "What's up? You don't write no more?"

We expect to follow something because it is grandoise...but we shun the important things that resonate with our hearts, since they do not have any signs of grandiose. Writers would relate with this: Have you ever gone back to your 'drawing board' or 'recycle bin' and re-read some of the things you were toying with? You normally exclaim! I have asked myself sometimes, "Whoa, who in the world was that writing? What was he thinking? Was that me?" And guess what? I am exclaiming at stuff that I have unearthed from guess where? My rubbish bin!

It is time to restore some files from the 'recycle bin' people. Look, if it matters to you, I guarantee you that it matters to the world. There is a place for it in this world. It could very well be the basis of your Life Signatures. Think about it for a moment...do you receive these mighty ideas of revolution on a daily basis? Hardly! In fact, if you do not take charge of the small 'familiar' ideas you have already received, you start losing the IDEAS.FM network.
 
One of the most dangerous killers of potential and dreams is that thing called PRESUMPTION. People do nothing because they presume. People let down their guard because they presume. People presume because  they are too familiar with their idea or potential. Presuming people especially on their own selves end up being so scornful of what they end up seeing in the market place what was once their ideas...and guess what? They still do nothing. This leads to absolute contempt, seeing only the negatives in something than the positive potential it has. A man was killed by guess who? God Himself, because he was presumptious. We have already discussed about leveraging on what is already existing in the market yet still resonates within one's gut.

Friend, could there be death in your life because of familiarity? Could presumption be wasting away your skills, potential, dreams, vision? Only you can find out.

Have a contempt-free week, wont you?

HOW TD JAKES WAS DISCOVERED

The most negligible thing you could see is a single drop of water over a large rock. Again, the most benign thing you could watch is a single 'powerless' ant scurrying away with a single crystal of sugar from your table. Those two events are never spectacular by any chance, yet I would tell you this: They are critical to Life Signatures. I have come to notice that Life Signatures are never formed by pomp and polemics, but by simple, ordinary events and actions that mean something to visionaries. Let that drop of water do its thing again over that huge rock. Let it drop again, and again for years. After that, you will begin to take note. It is a function of time and TIMING. Now the question we need to ask ourselves is this: Which drop is the most important in making a mark on the rock? The first one? The last one? No, each and every drop is equally important like the last one that finally makes the mark.

I have been listening to something inspirational by a guy called Perry Stone. He's message is titled "When Broken Vessels Sing!". Wow! Now, if you are not that spiritual savvy, a vessel in this case refers to a human being fashioned by the Almighty God for the sake of Life Signatures. No apologies folks. That's just it. Let me quote him here verbatim:

"See, you may be familiar with a man called Bishop TD Jakes. Bishop 'Get ready, get ready, get ready, get ready... TD Jakes.

A lot of people are familiar with Bro Jakes' Ministry now, but wouldn't be ten years ago when he pastored in Charlton West Virginia in a church of four hundred people. When TD Jakes said that 15 years before he ever got on TV, he often worried at how they would pay the bills at his house in his church, how he used to go to the woods and walk around and preach to the trees because he didn't have anybody to preach to...but you see Bishop Jakes was a Chosen vessel who was on a shelf in a closet being hidden because it wasn't TIME for him to be known.

One time Carlton Pearson as I understand it met Bishop Jakes, heard him preach and met Jan Crouch. He said, "Jan, this man would like to give you a video", and Jan said, as she always does, "I don't have time to listen to everybody's videos, we've got hundreds of them coming in in a week"! And Carlton Pearson said, "Would you trust me,listen to this man preach on tape please listen". So she had somebody listen. Somebody came and said, "Jan, get in here and listen to this man preach!"

She said: I WANT HIM ON T.B.N AS SOON AS WE CAN BOOK HIM. Bishop Jakes got up there and milked the word baby, he milked that thing that there wasn't any milk left...and Jan said, "My God I have never heard a man in my life walking in shoe leather preach like this man can preach, I WANT HIM BACK". TD Jakes went from 400 to 1000 in Charlton, then he went to Dallas Texas, where he now has 20,000 members...and God has blessed that man to the extend that he had a conference in Atlanta, and had the largest crowd that met together in this Dome....oh, you don't wanna hear what I am talking about, somebody help me right now!!

I do not know what it is you are doing that is considered 'non-impactful', 'un-important' or 'un-noticed'. The true measure of Life Signatures is hanging on to those things in the days when you are hidden. If you can do this, then the day you are discovered, you will still  have that strength of no struggle to duplicate the things you were true to in the secret out in the limelight. You need not get discouraged because someone has not picked you. You need not get discouraged because someone has dumped you. You need not give up because nobody notices you or your efforts. This is the third time I have said it on this blog, and let me say it again: As long as you have found your voice, your passion, your vision, or what matters to you, I tell you, put your hands to it with reckless abandon. There is no other calling but this.

Soon enough, even if the world does not 'discover' you, you will find that you are leading such a fulfilled life. Such a life of purpose. You will find that you look forward to each day with much enthusiasm, because you have already discovered yourself. Let me tell you this, before the world discovers you, make sure you discover you! And as you embark on your little unnoticeable venture, I have this gut feeling, that as long as it matters to your heart, as long as it is important to you, somebody somewhere will 'get wind' of what you are up to. It could be a King Maker (Blog post coming up), it could be a tweet you sent out, an email, an acquaintance to an acquaintance...as long as you set yourself on fire with what you have discovered about yourself, get ready, the world is coming to watch you burn!

As sure as the sun is out there today (I hope it is on your end), I can tell you that there  is someone, or even a community, or even a nation, or even a whole region, or even the whole wide world that will 'discover' you. Here is the shortcut: You do not set out so that the world discovers you! No, that is not the focus. The focus for you is that you stay relevant to the dream and the passion and the vision. Seeking the world's attention cheapens you. Staying relevant to the vision deepens you (Selah)

You see, great men and women never set out to be great. Greatness was never their focus. No, great men and women stayed the course on what MATTERS to them, never wavering. What is it that MATTERS to you today? How about in your whole life? What really MATTERS to you? Find that out. That is your calling! Have a discovery day, wont you?

YEAH BUT...WHERE IS THE MONEY?

"How will money in the hand of the foolish get him wisdom, seeing that he has no sense? "~Proverbs 17:16 (BBE) 

Let me ask you a question. What is the best time to shop for a car? Now, this is not a trick question. It is an important Life Signatures question. What is the best time to shop for nice sofa sets and curtains? Let me tell you when: The best time to shop for stuff is when you have no dime in the pocket! You know why? You tend to be very objective and you tend to have lots of time and patience to get the best at the perfect price. Woe to you if you had MONEY enough to purchase your type of car...and you have not taken time to shop around. I assure you that the first car dealership you enter, you will drive away with a vehicle. Then later on after the 'itch' you had to get that vehicle has been satisfied, you will start realizing that you could have waited longer, you could have shopped more, you could have compared prizes more...you could have gotten a better deal!

 Have you ever had this statement: "I wish I had the money...I would..." The flip side of my earlier question is this. Very many people are hand-cuffed in the illusion that without cash, they can do nothing. So you do not find people shopping for where they wanna go or what they want to own...because they have no cash right now. You find a visionary like me not writing a book...'because I have no cash to publish'. Isnt that just pretty myopic? Honestly speaking...the many things that we abdicate doing, do they really need cash? How much cash do I need to finish a manuscript? How much cash do I need to put a magazine together before it is published? How much cash do you need to do something about that thing that you are passionate about right now? Hardly a dime in most cases!!

Yes, in the end, I will need the cash for my website, my new books, and all the projects of Life Signatures...but that is just that...IN THE END. Which tells you that we can do something NOW with the fire within us...even when there are no VISIBLE funds to bring the project to completion. Look at it this way. There is a big passionate visionary, whose vision is to finance all the 'stalled' Life Signatures projects. All he wants is to see the passion, and the project...and inject in the finances. Pray tell me...do you think he will finance whatever vision is in your ka-head? Hardly! Do you think he will finance the invisible project? However passionate you are about it, if you have not done what you are in control of right now, you will not be in luck. In fact, If he was financing my book, he will very well like to read my manuscript. Now...where is that manuscript? Do not tell me you don't have it since you did not know where money to print it will come from! Break those illusionary handcuffs off of you that tell you you can do nothing until cash shows up! Cash hardly shows up where there is nothing!

I hope we understand the gist of this message. Stop sitting on your laurels because you do not see the end of your project right now. You are not God Almighty! He's the Only one able to see the end from the beginning with all dimensions. Our calling is to take charge of what is in our domain right now. Do not say you cannot sing because you do not have money. Money does not make your voice smooth...practise does!

It is difficult to talk about Life Signatures without touching that subject of the all mighty dollar. It takes provision to finance a Visionary's dreams. Yet I have come to realize that money is simply the grease, the oil that makes the machinery synergize. Without cash, it is impossible to bring the vision to fruition. Yet, the cash is not Paramount! Without the vision, forget about the cash! What do you need the cash for?

All visionaries should come to that place where they have no dime to finance their vision. In fact, very few visionaries really start out with all the pieces of the puzzle in place. Much as it would be OK to have everything in place for our dreams and Visions, I prefer that we only have the seeds, the concept of the dream. This way, we can do all there is to do that is within our control for the sake of the vision. In fact, how badly are we passionate about the dream? It will show when we keep on believing despite the seeming 'lack' of money. Listen, the other way of spelling money is V.A.L.U.E. All you have at the moment without the money, is to add concept after concept to the dream thus building multiple VALUE. Then when the money comes (It shall surely come, I tell you), you will then move with utmost speed. Remember the Chinese bamboo that is watered for four years even before it sprouts from the ground then shoots up to 45 Meters High in two months? That is the VALUE I am talking about.

The worth of an individual or a vision is not the amount of money in the petty cash box right now. This statement is deep and worthy of a retake. My worth is not necessarily my money...that can get lost tomorrow. That is why misplaced elements will always shoot at you when you exude passion about your dream, "Yeah, but where is the money?" They are gauging the progress of your dream and Vision with how much money you have to throw around. Just because there could be no PHYSICAL cash to show of your efforts right now does not mean you abandon the vision to something that brings in QUICK CASH. There is nothing like quick cash. It is a fantasy. Real steady flowing income more or less follows VALUE. I do not necessarily need Cash to build VALUE do I?

Have a week full of VALUE wont you?

WHERE DID THE FORWARDS GO?

I have realized one thing in my adventure in writing. People love to read personal stories. People love a personal touch and absolutely abhor 'forwards'. Remember the era of forwards? Where have all those forwards gone to? I hardly receive any forwards on my mails these days...I do not know about you. That to me is a sign of something that has happened. Either my abhorrence of them forwards has sent a hint to my 'friends' who love them and they got the hint, or..well, we just grew up.

As usual, our talk is on none other than Life Signatures. You see, I have been taking a stock of this blog from the very first time I posted. I have realized one thing. IT IS OK TO COPY! Now, I am not writing from the peak of the mountain of success. I am not looking down from above to everyone who is attempting to scroll up that mountain. Rather, I am writing as a fellow traveller, a fellow pursuant of Purpose. I am writing as one who is part and parcel of the journey of Life Signatures.

Let me be honest with you. I HATED copying!! Period. I hated it when people sit on their laurels and wait for an Idea to copy and paste. I have however come to learn that in Life Signatures, that hatred can be misplaced. I mean it! You see, few days ago, I was part of a CEO's breakfast organized by Inspire Africa, a function where the chief guest was non other than Uganda's First Lady. (I am the CEO Life Signatures, thank you very much!) What you might not know is the total abhorrence I had for this TV Show. I kid you not! Why? Because I tuned in found out that the show was being run on more or less the same concept as the famous TV series 'APPRENTICE' by a certain MR. Donald Trump.

Do you remember 'The Apprentice Martha Stewart' Show? I hated it! Why, I thought that Martha Stewart was not original enough. It is the same kind of thinking I had for Inspire Africa. I thought Martha Stewart more or less chewed Donal Trump's Idea, and regurgitated it coming out a cheap copy! Yet if you had asked me what I had to show of myself with that hatred of mine...you would find nothing tangible...talk is cheap I tell you!

The first time I heard of Inspire Africa, I brushed it aside in un-adulterated scoff! Never mind that the CEO Inspire Africa was one of my Cell Members at church for more than a year. The format, the tasks, and even sometimes the speeches were more or less the same format as the 'Apprentice'. But boy was I wrong! I should have titled this post, 'Swallowing my Pride'.

Here is the reason why. As long as something is RELEVANT to your heart, it resonates with your passion, it MEANS SOMETHING to you, you can copy as many times as you want! I have done the same! You think all these things I talk about on Life Signatures are original with me? Far from it! The quotes, the stories, the statistics and so on are not all original with me. But guess what? I am passionate about these stuff. It means a whole lot to me writing about Life Signatures. It is part and parcel of me. When I started writing, much of my information was the hated 'regurgitated'. Most of it was stuff I had read and it resonated with my heart's desire and passion. But guess what? As time goes by, I have developed my own style of writing. I write from my gut about Life Signatures. As I went through my earlier posts, I realized the immaturity, the inclusion of untested concepts, the leaning more on stuff that was not mine. Brothers and sisters, that was OK. Without that copying, I would probably not be here today. Most people give up because they 'see their ideas in the streets'. Listen, as long as it burns or flickers within your heart, GO FOR IT!

You should note that even in that state of 'copying', several people were blessed. Let me say this: However copied and regurgitated your message seems, believe me, it has a place in this world! It still is relevant to this world. I encourage you to 'get help' with whatever it is that is relevant to you. This kind of copying borders on modelling things that have worked. It helps us improve on what we see being already done, yet still feels thoroughly important to our hearts.

A disclaimer here though: In an earlier post, we strongly went against doing things ritualistically. Just because somebody else did it, we TRY it out too. Our hope is normally that we will meet with the same success that they got with what ritual they applied. The focus in such a folly is on the RITUAL rather than the heart. That is far from what we are advocating for in this post. I am talking of following the flicker in your heart, only to realize that somebody somewhere is doing more or less of what it is you are doing or what you want to do. Do not be discouraged because you see it in the street. Be encouraged though just that it is in your heart, in your reins of passion.

Let nobody discourage you by calling you a copy cat! My friend, as long as you are passionate about it, go for it. You will be happy to know that Inspire Africa season one is through, and the winner was a young Rwandese Entrepreneur who won USD 50,000 to help expand her business Idea. Did the CEO Inspire Africa Copy Donald Trump? Is that question even relevant to Clarisse the winner? Nelson Tugume's vision is to raise up Millionaires in Africa through entrepreneurship, and totally annihilate poverty. He copied, he did not copy...at this point in time, It does not really matter. Does it?

You will also be interested to also know that Graham Power was the chief guest at the grand finale held in Kigali on Friday the 30th of March 2012 . He has a vision called the Global Day of Prayer...a vision that resonates powerfully in my heart. Why Am I mentioning him? Well, I was able to meet him at a prayer show that I co-host on 104.1 Power FM weekdays from 5:00 a.m. Guess what? It is because Nelson Tugume 'copied' Donald Trump! Beat that!

By all means, whether you are copying, modelling or whatever, stay put with what is relevant and resonates with your heart's desire and passion. Don't reinvent the wheel, but by all means use it! Have a wonderful Easter wont you?

FAITHFUL TO THE SPARK

Believe me, there is such a thing as a spark in everyone's soul. I feel it deep inside my sanctified gut that nobody comes empty. I dare say that everyone was intended for the better of OTHERS. After all, that is what  Life Signatures are about. My wife had two guys come visiting us, and as we were conversing, I delved into this passionate 'exhortation' about our calling in life~being faithful to that small spark. From that moment on, I knew that this is a seriously major Subject in Life Signatures that would be worthy of a post.

At the expense of sounding annoyingly repetitive and 'copy caty', Myles Munroe has said that the richest places in the world are graveyards. From that concept...do you know the greatest regret the world over? Do you know when this regret happens? Let me tell you. The greatest regret that is faced world-wide is when a soul is at its deathbed. You know that the curtain is pulling down on you. For some reason you just know. Yet you also know that the greatest omission of your entire life is not being faithful to the spark. This comes with such finality that is basically unfathomable.

The above scenario is both good news and bad news. Why bad news? Well, there is nothing you can do about the spark on your deathbed. The spark was meant to be fanned in the initial and prime years of your life. Such a sorry state of helplessness. Such a heavy sense of WASTED years even though your life was filled with all the activities, all the motions. Such a heavy sense of regret. Friend, that is the hard knuckled bad news for you. Do you like it? Are you ready for it? It is always forthcoming, unless...

Now, how about some good news? Are you ready? Anyone reading this post today (I encourage you to share this message with as many people as possible) has that proverbial second chance. Well, unless of course you are some kind of dead phantom moving around in cyberspace. My point is here is two fold.

First, YOU are still alive...and therefore you and I have that opportunity to be faithful to the spark. Secondly, the spark is not just that. It is an extremely powerful force that I dare say is older than you. Your spark was here before you were created. In fact, you were created centered around that spark. It is so awesome a power that no amount of heartache, rejection, sin, tribulations, embarrassment, lack, hardship and anything negative from whatever place you can think of can turn it off! It has been rained on by myriads of goods and bads...but friend, the spark still lives on!

Your calling and mine my friend is to be ever faithful to that spark. One thing is for sure here...nobody else can fan your spark to a mighty fire. You know why? Well, because they have their own sparks to fan! On the same token, you cannot fan somebody else's spark...you've got your own! Everyone born is called to have a Life Signature, and that calling is to be faithful to the smallest embers of fire that lie within us. This and this alone is one of the most precious treasures in the world...much more precious than the oil that they have just discovered in East Africa. You think nuclear is powerful? Wait until your spark is fanned into a mighty fire!

You see, a wavering spirit is the enemy of success, whose first born is failure. Much as it is OK to try this and that (sometimes we really cannot realize the spark at the first go), eventually we must settle down in life to what really matters. What really matters might not be what the 'system' has said. It might not be what our parents, guardians and teachers have indicated. For the most part, what matters in life is that one thing, that authentic spark that has been flickering in the distant benign of our very core. That spark, ladies and gentlemen is the reason as to why we are alive today. It is our true passion, our true calling...and we are not greater than it. We need to be true to it, and fan it aflmae.

We already mentioned earlier that Life Signatures have two facets: What you have control over, and what you have no control over. Ours is to stop worrying on what is happening in the iDimension and focus our energies on fanning our spark. At times it seems boring, tiring and frustrating, but we have got to remain faithful. And of course there is that small matter of 'life not making sense at all' even as we fan our sparks. Today, you might be in a painful or even an embarrassing life situation. Make sure that that small 'punctuation' does not define your view of life. Instead, let that punctuation make your Life Signature appear human, and believable. If you look at the life through the glasses of the 'punctuations', you risk neglecting the vision and belittling the spark.

Today you could be stuck in an embarrassing moment, tomorrow you could be dining with CEOs and first ladies. That is Life. Being faithful to the spark is by a large margin also a function of our mentality. This means that in the wake of the 'punctuations', your mental accent and affirmations is that 'all is well...all will be well, and in the end, I will not regret'.

Some of my readers have no clue that at times I felt like giving up writing this Life Signatures business altogether. You  have no clue that at some point in time, there was no laptop, let alone internet connection. I could literally save coins to access an Internet Cafe to do a post. You see, for me, one of the things that is sparkling in my life is this blog. I have learnt to be tenacious and faithful to that spark...even if at times am not sure anybody would read it. Yet let me tell you one thing, there are no less than three books on Life Signatures on this blog...as I stay faithful to this spark. Do not be surprised if the title of this post is a book few months from now...and that my friends, is the fruit of remaining faithful to the spark. Does this make sense to anybody?

PS: There was also this other time that I had to deliver a Keynote speech to a distinguished group of people. My punctuation at the time was such that I had no food in my house to feed me and my wife, let alone fuel to put in the car...but that story if for another day.

Stay faithful to the spark, wont you?