A few weeks back, I had a first hand experience of Nairobi's rain torrents, floods, gridlock traffic jams and all. I was quick to learn several things. I also came to terms with the fact that naturally, I seek the most comfortable solution to predicaments, something that does not 'disturb the peace' around me. You see, when it started raining, I had no umbrella and I thought that the easiest way not to be rained on would be to get a special hire to drop me right at the doorstep. It turned out that the availability of a special hire was, well, scarce...which tells you that if I were to find one, the prices would be through the roof.
I quickly knew that the more I waited for a special hire, the more delayed I would be...so I hopped onto my Legzus, took 'roote eleven', and headed for the nearest bus stop. As you can imagine, there were no public transport vehicles that had space for me. They were packed to the brim...and even if they were available, they would not move, thanks to the congestion on the road! Again, I was quick to think, did some mental calculations and decided that my Legzus should be strong enough to take me home. Now, there is something interesting about my psyche. Just the fact that I had in my wallet dime enough to pay for a special hire for the journey of my legzus freed me. I can almost bet that if the dime was not available and I was trekking all the way home, my Psyche would have been really low.
Anyway, the first lesson is this: At the earliest opportunity, acknowledge the discomfort, find a plan to keep the vision in motion. Motion is extremely critical to the fulfilment of your cause. Yeah, I know they would tell you something like, "Do not just have motion without progress", but I would tell you that I'd rather a moving man, than a stagnant one. A moving man attracts Ideas and better ways of doing things. A stagnant man allows the message of defeat and impossibility to sink in. At the onset of motion, there might not be progress, but that motion is critical to the mind...
Then, as I walked along, I realized another thing. The hottest selling commodity in Nairobi is....SPACE. I need not belabor this. It takes you just a stint on the Nairobi roads to realize this...how motorists get sucked into the nearest available space to their left, right or in front of them, and how haughty they protect that fort! It is amazing. I wonder who mentors the motorists in Nairobi.
So I get to this small stream of Water on the road. To cross it, I had to skip hop and jump before I could safely and dryly (key word) land over to the other side. True to the assessment that space is critical, there was a woman standing smack in the middle of where I was to land after my neat hop skipping and jumping. The result, I ended up submerged ankle deep in dirty Nairobi water! She did not apologized. Her focus was on her hopping skipping and jumping to the opposite side.
The second lesson is this: What cannot kill you, will make you strong! For some reason, after facing what I had feared (getting soaked with water), my attitude changed. I realized that I could wade through the water. In fact, a few meters later on, I came across a mighty river of flood water. It was so mighty that vehicles from both sides had stopped, not willing to risk the crossing. Guess what? There was no other way round. We had to pass through that place. Now, my being incensed by the lady who did not give me space was useless. This time round, I had to wade through that water...KNEE DEEP!
And wade through the dirty water I did...but that was not before a quick mental calculation was made: "Should I remove my shoes and wade through barefoot like the rest of the people?" Something quickly told me that my feet were more important than my shoes...and my shoes were meant to serve my feet, and not the other way round. That is the third and final lesson: In life, people are more important than things! That statement is a statement of focus. It will determine what kind of life a visionary will have. It will determine what kind of definition you will have around such things as prosperity, wealth, money, success, significance, greatness. My take is that if your definition does not include that O-Word...you have missed the boat. The word is OTHERS.
Have a blessed day, wont you?
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