WHAT DO YOU HAVE ?

We are all born with the potential to do and achieve things beyond what we limit ourselves to. Everything in us speaks ability and  the capacity to excel .At birth , a baby has a whole lifetime ahead of them and their 100% is sealed then .What then happens between their birth and their death are a series of compromises ,bad decisions ,settling for mediocrity and the pursuit of bad indulgences leading to most people having lives of disappointments .Most people sell their birth-right like the biblical character Esau who gave it away to his brother Jacob for a bowl of soup because he was hungry. This metaphor is a commentary on how we sometimes elevate momentary comfort and pleasure above sacrifice for more worth-while and lasting pursuits.

Often-times you hear people giving excuses that they can not do anything because they have nothing in the first place .I have seen a lot of people abandon their dreams because they cannot afford to even start and others keep saying they would pursue their dreams if only they had this or that .It is true that for whatever you want to do ,one of the first questions you should answer is what resources  you have to use for the accomplishment of your task. However, armed with a positive attitude, indomitable determination ,a never say die spirit and  such tenacity which considers the realization of those goals as a matter of survival-life or death, the question of resources ,although important really becomes answerable.

Ask yourself what do I have and no matter how small ,the journey of a thousand miles will always starts with the first step. A friend of mine born in rural Zimbabwe-in an environment of very narrow opportunities once approached me and asked if anything could work out for him in the city of Harare. Then ,he could hardly afford his rent, food, clothing and was basically poor and broke even by the low standards of a third world country .After our discussion we agreed that the only resources he had to start with was $10 and his determination. I saw his small business grow from one basket of tomatoes to a nation –wide enterprise of fruit and vegetable shops. Of all the big success stories I have come across ,this one is more awe-inspiring for demonstrating that the beginning of your dreams does not have to be very  elaborate ,the issue is what do you have and are you willing to start with just that?

So, start with what you have and go all the way.

By EDWARD NGUNDU

edwardngundu@yahoo.com