BE A FANATIC

Whatever you do and especially if you have to do it, then do it excellently. My father drilled this lesson into me from an early age when I was too young to understand its value. I have come to understand that the world is a very tough place to be. Darwin got it right; it is a place where survival tends to favour the fittest and the weak are not only eliminated, but they are quickly forgotten. Excellent demonstration of ability and power earns you respect because it illustrates the story of our development as the human race. Through innovation, discovery and gritty hard work we have discovered and created the sources of our comfort and sustenance as human beings.

What does this say to you as an individual? Strive to become the best in whatever field you decide to embark on. If you are an athlete, be the best in your chosen sport. If you are an academic, set very high standards of achievement and if you are in Medicine, set the bar of your goals so high that your peers can only marvel. In business, politics, science, law, technological discoveries- the aim for an individual is to not only build on structures that your predecessors have erected but to go beyond yesterday’s achievement.

Be a fanatic at something and produce sublime and spectacular achievements. Of course this will not come easy.  It could be a lonely journey because very few have travelled that route or none. You may have to work on it for many hours every day. Many special achievements require a special kind of concentration; patience and meticulous attention to detail .You will have to work very hard and will sweat a lot. It was comfortable when you were sitting in your comfort zone and doing nothing .This is unfamiliar territory, the rules have changed and there is the looming threat of failure but you are not taking that option. You may still be working, all alone, way into the dead quiet night when everybody else is sleeping but keep working, joy comes in the morning. In short, you have to be prepared to go to extra-ordinary lengths, adopt unusual methods and resort to your utmost unusual will-power to produce unordinary results.

Very few valuable things will drop on your lap if you do not get up and go out there looking for them. To be the best you will have to work in an extra –ordinary way to reach an excellent level. Set the bar higher, ignore pain, set outrageous targets, prepare and plan in extra-ordinary detail and be prepared to exert yourself with superhuman zest and zeal. Many will say you are mad, they do not understand your hunger and inspiration. Ignore them and keep working until you achieve it. Do not conform to the ordinary, go for the special.

So, do the best to be the best.

EDWARD NGUNDU

edwardngundu@yahoo.com