THE SECOND BIGGEST ENEMY AFTER FEAR AND ITS 6 CURES

“Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.”~ Calvin Coolidge

No doubt that the greatest hindrance to progress and success is fear. Everyone agrees about this. However, at some point in time, there are those who will dare face it head on and break it's hold on them.

I have come to realize that fear has a very strong relative...whom many people will face immediately after smashing him in the face with an inspired action.

In my very first post on Life Signatures, I encouraged people to break the paralysis that fear brings by being active in doing something...anything. That message still makes sense. There is no bigger cure of fear than a visionary finding something physical to engage his mind in. Fear's primary agenda is to paralyze people from expressing their signature on earth.

For many people who are in the process of conquering it, they know that fear is not conquered by one blow of action. It is conquered by incessant and persistent action. That is why fear has cropped up a very strong relative called inconsistency so the two of them can be successful in their primary agenda.

You know that it has been rumoured that habits create character. Habits are born out of persistent and consistent action. Consistent action is both a function of passion and discipline.

I have come to learn that we were created to be engaged in something we are passionate about. Yet I have also learnt that that passion will not come to the fore by itself...passion must be pursued by persistent action.

Let me say it again: The second biggest enemy after fear is inconsistency. When you go out and start something then you break the cycle...you get exactly what fear wants you to get in the first place...paralysis.

If you see a successful person, they most certainly would have paid the price of staying consistent in their pursuit of dreams that matter to them.

Many people will tell of their varied secrets of success, but none of them beats this: Never Giving Up!

Here is what you can do to guarantee consistency:

1. Plan your actions: Before hand, make sure that you have set aside two things: Time and Place for the action that you will be taking. Make sure that everything on your timetable is planned around your inspired action. The biggest reason as to why people are inconsistent is because they do not plan to be consistent!
2. Track Your Actions: There is a lot of inspiration that comes from daily tracking your action and rewarding yourself some scores whenever an action or actions are completed. These will effectively help you track your performance index. Granted, sometimes the chain might be broken, but with a tracking formula, you will be able to record the reasons as to why the chain was broken and act on them.
3. Use manageable pieces: People give up because they bite off way too much than they can chew at a go. Someone has never run 4 Kilometers in years...yet they want to start off by running 10 Kilometers on their very first day of taking inspired action! It will backfire on you. Start slowly, increase the temple over some days. Take your time. Remember, it is a coalition of small things over time that will guarantee major changes...not grand and major things at once.
4. Use small time intervals: There should be a very minute time interval between your inspired actions. A long delay between your inspired actions attracts laziness and causes you to be susceptible to breaking the chain of inspired actions.
5. Accountability: Throw your heart in the ring. Tell someone like a mentor to hold you accountable on a consistent basis on the action that you promised to take
6. Review your progress occasionally: It is important to take a look back at where you have been. See how you have been doing. See what can be changed. See how better we can do some things.

It is not just taking action that kills fear, it is incessant persistence of inspired action that finally delivers the goods.

Have a persistent day, won't you?

THE SINGLE MOST POTENT CURE OF DISAPPOINTMENTS

 “What on earth would man do with himself if something didn’t stand in the way?” ~
H. G. Wells

 

There is no doubt that we all face disappointments at various levels in our lives. It would be naive of me to suggest that there is a foolproof cure for disappointments...yet I know that if I had the formula to circumnavigate them, my phone would be buzzing off the hook. I kid you not.

One of the people that I know would never bother to call me up for the formula of avoiding disappointments include Mike Murdock, Bill Gates, Peter J Daniels, Steve Jobs (if he was alive), Uhuru Kenyatta and yes...Raila Odinga...and well, Jack Bauer.

Why? Simple. All these great visionaries and many more others know the importance of uncertainty in life. They know that planning is indispensable...yet not all plans will go according to the book. I heard Peter J Daniels (a self schooled Billionaire) say yesterday, "Make a decision and move on...you can always change it...it is better to have a decision than have none".

See what I mean?

Anyway...the crux of this post is about anticipation. Let me say this...life does not offer us one outcome on all expectations.

That little statement is extremely critical. Scores of people have been disillusioned, disappointed and left stuck for great seasons of time because they do not appreciate that statement. Let me say it again: life does not offer us one possible outcome on all of our expectations.

This can easily be controversial especially in the Christian circles, since it kind of suggests that it is useless to have faith. Yet very many Christians have been single-minded in having faith in one thing...so much so that they never dared to consider or better still to clarify the all rounded gist of the outcomes of their expectations.

Can I give you the life Signature's definition of 'Wealthy'? Here it is: Being wealthy is simply having a luxury of options. And here is the thing...the more we stay unplanned on our alternative outcomes,  the more we deny ourselves of the necessary options that will keep us on our feet. I think successful people constantly avail themselves options even in their single minded pursuit of their main life goal.
 
My advice today is simple. We need not just to talk about it...we need to really have a well documented 'Plan B'. No kidding! If you are expecting something...it is very easy to go sleep and become complacent...and PLAN ONLY in one direction of your expectation.

This is wrong. For the sake of managing disappointments and really moving on in life with great resilience it is important that we come face to face with the very opposite of what we expect. 

It is important that we analyze it thoroughly:

1. How will it affect you?
2. Who else in your life will be affected?
3. What projects will be affected?
4. How will your vision be affected?
5. How will my non-negotiables be affected?
6. How will my daily projected routine be affected?
7. What are the options that you have in case your expectation did not materialize?
8. When can you get started on these options?

These are critical questions to ask and not just ask, but also have the documented answers to them.

It is normally said that failing to plan is planning to fail. Let me say that only having plan A is a recipe for disappointment.

So you expected a breakthrough in one thing...you waited for it and it never materialized...what if you did not have a plan B...and all you had is faith?

Here is what will happen to you.

1. You will probably be thoroughly disappointed.
2. You will probably be pretty much derailed...
3. You will probably lose direction
4. You will probably lose time
5. You will probably lose motivation and inspiration
6. You will start looking down on yourself..counting your losses instead of your blessings

However, if you had a Plan B in place...

1. You will mentally acknowledge a disappointment and at the earliest opportunity, navigate away from it.
2. You will stay an action oriented person
3. Your life will not come to a stand still
4. You will build lots of resilience in your life
5. You will effectively be fully in charge of your life
6. You will be able to take back your life after giving it away to an expectation.

Brothers and sisters....do you have a PLAN B? If not...you really need to have one...especially most of you who have expectations in the immediate or near future.

Does this make sense to anybody?