NURTURE YOUR SKILL

I’m a guy that enjoys going to the gym once too often (maybe a little too often. You know how people say you can never have one too many, well…)

I’ve heard all the names a gym bug can be called- Mr Muscle, Ramapanta, Superman- all of them (well, at least I’d like to believe). 

But the bedrock of my mentioning the gym is that every person that works out knows that RIPS and CUTS define the body.

Now you have to realise that this applies in your ability to be great at what you do (no, not the rips and cuts). In your hustle; your grind; your journey to your greatness, SKILL and HARDWORK define your success. 

A friend of mine once recommended that I read an article, and the article spoke about how the neo world doesn’t care about who you are, but rather what you can offer. Day by day I’m learning the truth in this, myself.

A lot of people are afraid to quit their jobs, or move up in their jobs because they don’t nurture their skill. They don’t pay attention to their skill. 

THE WORLD CAN’T KNOCK YOU DOWN WHEN YOU ARE EXCEPTIONAL AT WHAT YOU DO!

Dr Martin Luther King Jr himself once said, “Leave a mark wherever it is that you are; with whatever it is that you do. If you are a contractor, be the best damn contractor that has ever been. If you are a street cleaner, be the best street cleaner that people can even realise when the street hasn’t been cleaned by you”.

Nurture your skill. Develop your skill. Work every day, very hard to build your skill. Learn new techniques or critiques, benchmarks, limits, flaws, advantages and disadvantages. Whatever it takes to excel in what you do. 

Your skill is your most valuable asset in life (it goes without saying that next to your mind). But without skill, you’re just roaming. Taking whatever comes your way, only because there is nowhere else that you can go.

People aren’t happy with what they do. A lot of people complain every day, but they rarely do anything about it, not because they don’t want to, but because they can’t. They don’t have the skill.

You have to understand that I’m not saying that when you have skill you won’t lose your job, or you will automatically become the worlds’ most sought after, whatever it is that you do. But I’m saying that when you have a skill, and you have developed your skill, and you know you’re good at it, then getting fired, or in fact quitting is not a nightmare for you, because they may have taken away your salary, but not your skill.

There’s someone out there who is looking for what you have to offer. Someone out there is looking for that exact skill. Sometimes, even, that someone is yourself. When you have the necessary skill, you stand a chance to develop yourself, develop your community. With the skill you open opportunity. You have a chance. You have what many think they don’t have; options. 

NURTURE YOUR SKILL!

In a diversifying world such as the one we live in, one has to realise that the future isn’t something you walk into, or arrive at. 

The future is created!

Close your eyes and envision whatever it is you think the future will look like 30 years from now. I can promise you, 99,9% of the things you thought of are creations (technology, infrastructure, industrialisation). 99,9% of the future that is now (follow, it’s the future because people in the 1980s thought of it that way) was created. 

Creation requires thinkers and doers, but more importantly, it requires… (drum roll)… yes, you have it, SKILL!

So nurture your skill, because it is the most important asset you’ll ever own (that is next to your mind). 

Now…

Rise and Shine!

STEP UP

It’s your life!

The lack of correspondence between you and a successful person is that they take responsibility of their life. It’s people who stand bold and take courageous strides to prevail. People who say, “I will determine my future.” Are you a match to any of them? If not, then perhaps it’s time you STEP UP. As you read this, you sit in awe, pondering what is the most essential quality of a successful person? Well I don’t have a short and snappy answer to your marvel. But if you could read on, then perhaps you can find out.

Firstly, rule out intelligence or IQ, lack thereof of these mentioned factors have a little to do with your tomorrow —being intelligent doesn’t automatically deem you less or more possible to succeed. Neither is it hard work, although hard work it is the price we pay when we undertake a road to emancipate ourselves financially or even personally really. Hard work is not the determining factor; it is merely a feature in a pool of factors that will fashion your success. 

While your curiosity inflates at an alarming speed, just know that it’s neither education, knowledge nor is it training that will sculpt you to a successful being. Indispensable as they are, they will add no value to a person who is not in total control of their life. If you don’t step up, well… whatever qualifications, training, knowledge and experience you might have, forget, you won’t make it. If you don’t have drive, if you’re not driven then you’re not up to par. You’re not ready and you’re going to need to step up before you can be count amongst the greatest.

Believe it or not, the sole most critical attribute of a successful person is accountability. You didn’t see that coming did you? 

According to, Dr. Mohammed Benayoune, Life Coach, as he writes, “as soon as a person takes charge of their life, they are set on the path of success. On the other hand, if a person abdicates personal responsibility to other factors, such as the economy, the government, an employer, family or neighbours, no amount of intelligence, hard work, education, planning or skilful execution can help achieve the desired success, because these other factors will decide which direction life takes.”

How do you really know that you are an answerable person? Well, ask yourself this single question, and be honest with yourself since you don’t have to tell anyone else. When was the last time you blamed someone else for something that happened to you? Are you blaming the current economy crisis for your financial problems? Are you blaming the government, or your boss? Are you blaming the weather for being late for work? Are you blaming your colleagues for the lack of progress in your career? Are you blaming your parents for not giving you a head start in life? 

Okay, let’s say these factors mentioned above might have played a certain role that resulted to what or who you are today. So what are you going to do about it? Is complaining about it going to change things around? It’s either you step up and hold the blame game, or you can keep on pointing fingers why you’re not successful. Let’s hope your life partner and kids will not get tired of your unending tedious story that always starts with, “If only…”

The bottom line of the story is that if you are in the habit of assigning blame, then your accountability as a person is incomplete. Taking full responsibility of your life is vital to personal success. 

But it’s not going to be easy. Taking charge of your life is a skill, and just like with any other skill, you can practice personal responsibility. This is the time you adopt a new character, a character that seeks to correct your persona. The question remains though, “how do I do it?”

While your mind attempts to digest this, stay put as we will be [next Friday] focusing on how to practice to be responsible in order for your greatness to manifest. 

 

So Rise and Shine!

CREATE!

“This is your life, and it’s ending every second of the day.”

There are an estimated 7 billion people on this planet. I can guarantee you there are over 10 people around the world who are just like you (and I mean literally); over 5 who are doing exactly what you are doing; and 1 who can do it better. 

What will be your trademark?

It may seem like you have a long time to do what you have to; accomplish what you’ve been told to accomplish, and be who you are told to be. Let me let you know something, you only have 24 hours.

24 hours, 1440 minutes, 84 600 seconds, every single day, and that’s it. Nothing else. Every day you wake up, there’s a portion of that time that you’ve wasted. As you’re reading this now, just ask yourself, what do you have to show for all the 24 hours that you have had?

No one is gonna do it for you. People can walk the path to your destiny with you, but they can never walk it for you. And you only have 24 hours, to make your destiny a reality.

24 hours. 1440 minutes. 84 600 seconds every day to make something of yourself. 

“This is your life and it’s ending every second of the day”

It doesn’t matter who you are, where you’re from, or what you have, just create. There’s probably someone with 10 times less than what you have, who is doing 50 times more than what you have done. People are hungry out there and its about time you developed the same hunger.

No excuses! No maybes! No buts! No what ifs!

Get up and do something. Anything! Start with wherever you are, with whatever you got.

My girlfriend told me a story about the Wright brothers. They invented what we now know as the aeroplane. These guys had started with the most ridiculous inspiration in the world. After doing a slight research on them, it turns out they saw a pigeon landing from flight, and were both inspired to make man fly (I know impossible right).

Sure they both had jobs. Sure they both could’ve chosen to stay in their little comfort zone, make their parents proud, work as a publicist for a ridiculous community newspaper, and the other an editor, or after quitting go on to be bicycle manufacturers for the rest of their lives, get married, have kids, have insurance and live a very comfortable and BORING life.

But the Wright brothers heard the call and rose to their prime. They cashed in their entire savings, from their previous jobs, and used the backroom of their then bicycles shop to design and test everything. 

They went from wings attached to a bicycle, to gliders, to the first ever motor powered airplane.

The Wright brothers didn’t care about anything else except getting man into the air. They received criticism, people lambasted them, but they kept on. They had no funding from anybody whatsoever until they made their first motor powered airplane. 

While on the other side of town, an engineer was given $3 million, and paid extensive amounts to do the same thing (develop an aircraft). He got the best architects, best designers, paid to get some of the best equipment, and still failed to develop an aircraft.

”Mentally you have to believe it before you can physically start it”

Do not ever underestimate the willpower of a human being. You’re powerful!

So decide now. I promise you, after you make a decision; when you decide to start living to fullest potential; when you decide that you’re gonna leave something in this world worth remembering, everything about you changes. 

You don’t speak the same. You don’t behave the same. You’re very careful about the things you let into your life, the people you allow into your life, and everything in the universe conspires to help get to where you wanna be. 

So start wherever you are, with whatever you have.

Because you only get 24 hours to leave a legacy!

24 hours! 1440 minutes! 84 600 seconds every day to be great!

How are you gonna use your 24?

I want to end this article with an excerpt from a commercial Micheal Jordan did, while in his prime:

“Maybe it’s my fault. Maybe I led you to believe it was EASY when it wasn’t. Maybe I made you think my highlight started at the FREE THROW LINE and not in the GYM. Maybe I made you think that every shot I took was a game winner. That my game was built on FLASH, and not FIRE. Maybe it’s my fault that you didn’t see that failure gave me strength. That my pain was my motivation. Maybe I led you to believe that basketball was a god given gift, and not something I WORKED for… EVERY SINGLE DAY OF MY LIFE! Maybe I destroyed the game. Or maybe… YOU’RE JUST MAKING EXCUSES!” 

Rise and Shine!

Wake up, you only have 24 hours a day —just like everyone else, Mark Zuckerbag, Donald Trump, Patrice Motsepe, DJ S’bu, like anyone else really. Waiting for the sun in order to wake up is like waiting for the future, failing to recognize that TODAY is the future you spoke about yesterday. The sun will find you few minutes if not, which I sturdily esteem, hours ahead of your errands. 

  

It’s a new day, yes —the future we’ve been all waiting for, a new day presenting us with possibilities. It’s a day you said you’ll paint a mark that will live to tell the tale. It’s a story that shall never elapse, that shall never fade.

You’re the writer of a story that will serve as a manual for success and inspire the next generation to engineer a better world.  

WAKE UP!

Don’t you dare set “snooze time-out” on your alarm, you decreed the alarm to wake you at six, and it is your time to wake up, not five past six. KICK those blankets, it’s time to shine, don’t be fooled by the “dreamland.”

Time is inestimable to be wasted, it can never be regained. Your slothfulness is delaying your greatness. Your greatness lurks materialisation. 

 

The world is waiting for you —you’re the star you see in your role-model. The world awaits your involvement that will correct the socio-economic and bring about pleasurable change. You’re in this earth for a purpose. Do you know your purpose? If not, perhaps then it’s time you wake up and try to find out what’s your purpose. Everyone else has one; we’re all here to offer our contribution. 

What’s your schedule? 

Despondently, it so appears that some individuals fail to wake up due to the mere fact that they perhaps have not anything to do. You’ve just completed your matric, I’d like to think, you’re not registered with any of the higher institutions of learning —unfortunately but not all hopes are lost- and neither do you have any commitments beside waking up and looking for a pot of tea.

For you, there’s no need to wake up early —gods please help your disorientated child. That’s the problem. Your problem is that you have zilch to do. Perhaps it’s time you sit down for a deep self-introspect and maybe uncover what to do, what you stand for, what makes you tick for Jacob’s sake? 

How do you spend your 24 hours? What’s on your schedule, what are your priorities? Do you even have any?

You can either whine or grumble about not having anything to do, or find something to do. If there’s so many excuses for one not to wake up to take up the world, bringing about a change which you so desire, then why not utilise that energy into something positive and further find reasons why you should wake up and begin to work on your lifetime plan.

Rise and shine to take on the world. The day you realise that the antagonist is within you, it is the day your greatness will manifest. You are the enemy that is holding you back. Your fears, disbeliefs, doubts and timidity are holding you back. They, unfortunately, seem to be in control of your life, and you come second. The day you decide to break-away from those shackles that are keeping you mentally-incarcerated, it’s the day you’ll start to shine.

So rise and shine.

By Rise and Shine Team