By Goke Ilesanmi
It is believed in the traditional Yoruba society of Nigeria, my tribe, that names are a very important aspect of people’s identity. Beyond the issue of identity, the Yoruba also believe that names have something to do with how people will eventually behave, and even determine their (people’s) fortune or ability to succeed in life. That is, to the Yoruba tribe, there is a spiritual or telepathic connection between names and progress. Apart from being given names in infancy, the way we behave or our approach to life also determines the (nick)names people call us. For instance, nobody has ever named his or her child “armed robber”, “rapist”, “kidnapper” or “prostitute” in infancy, yet people’s vices end up giving them the tag of adhesive bad names that may even overshadow their real names. As regards bravery, a male that is extremely fearless or outstanding is regarded as a hero, while a female that has the same quality is a heroine. (The females should not be offended that “heroine” is not reflected in the headline. It is not because I am a male chauvinist; rather it is done to achieve economy of words or compactness.)
Implication
As far as attainment of success is concerned, males who are prepared to achieve their goals by confronting obstacles with enviable dose of bravery are regarded as heroes, while females who have the same attribute are heroines. However, those who are too afraid to achieve God’s purpose for their life, the cowards, are nicknamed “zero”, that is, “nothing”. In other words, these are people who are not prepared to transform their living state from nothingness to greatness. Heroes and heroines look for possibilities in seeming impossibilities while those who go by the tag of “zero” look for impossibilities in clear possibilities.
Revelation
To become a hero or heroine, one needs to focus on achievement; catch the spirit of a hero or heroine; reject rejection and tap into his or her secret power. Look, you were born with a heroic success manual tied to your hand. You were born with the power and ability to achieve personal greatness. It is just a matter of discovering your own special talents and skills. It is only very few people that have a major experience of direction in which they quickly know exactly what they are naturally endowed to do or how they can apply their talents to a particular engagement. So discovering one’s talents is a major challenge that one must face with determination.
Anybody that is prepared to unlock the potential for greatness lying within him or her needs to change the way he or she thinks about personal greatness. Personal greatness is not about one believing that he or she can achieve superiority over others; neither is it about developing pride. It is also not about being better than others. As Tim Lavender, a great motivational speaker and author paradoxically puts it, personal greatness has nothing to do with being exceptionally intelligent, rich, famous or politically successful. Rather, it is about one becoming foundationally great before others so that they (others) can be influenced to become greater than they would otherwise have been. In other words, it is about unlocking one’s potential such that it overflows into other people’s lives to generate positive results.
Exceeding traditional limit
To become a hero or heroine, one needs to be prepared to accomplish something outside of his or her comfort zone. There is a book entitled “Reach for the Sky” which narrates the stories of the valiant heroes of the sky during the Second World War. I think the book is so entitled because the limit of the physical battle was (and still is) the sky. But the battle against impediments along the path of one’s success goes beyond the sky and permeates everywhere. That means the sky is the beginning and not the limit of the sphere of our battle for heroic success.
Persistence and bravery
To achieve the heroic success, one needs to be persistent because persistence is the builder that can help one to re-mould his or her life from the debris of defeat. According to Alan Mushegan, Jr., a renowned author and motivational speaker, “Like a phoenix, true heroes will often arise out of the ashes. The Lord will miraculously take the things we least expect and use them to transform lives.”
To be able to tread the heroic path to success, one needs to overcome his or her fear. This can be achieved by combining discipline with desire. Dr. Bill Newman, a distinguished Australian motivational speaker says one should not be afraid to take risks and explore new adventures. Newman adds that it is wrong for one to think that success comes easily to others but eludes him or her. Newman educates that we need to learn how to be people who can turn problems into possibilities.
Focusing on the benefits
To become a hero or heroine, one needs to focus on the benefits rather than stress of the heroic journey to success. It is a fact that the road that leads to heroic achievements is tortuous as it is full of obstacles. But one needs to be so determined to achieve success by moving ahead and observing the proper road signs as already indicated in the goal manual tied one’s hand at birth. The manual will surely give one the clue as to how to reach his or her first destination and probably continue with another success journey if he or she has set more than a goal. Most people become so distracted in their heroic journey to success that they fail to make it to their destination. Mushegan, Jr. says, “It is so easy to become sidetracked. Often, we have noble plans until something pops up to distract us. I am sure you’ve had an important project to accomplish, yet the task stays in limbo because your attention is diverted.”
Last words
To become a hero or heroine and drop the nickname of “zero”, one also needs to seek divine assistance or connect him- or herself to the network of God. It will be difficult to succeed without God. There is need for one to commit his or her engagements into God’s hands today, so that He (God) can help interpret the goal manual tied to one’s hand at birth and make one easily discover the pathway to heroic success. Therefore cling to God and learn what needs to be done to become a hero or heroine.
GOKE ILESANMI, Editor-in-Chief/CEO of https://www.gokeilesanmi.com.ng and Managing Consultant/CEO of Gokmar Communication Consulting, is a Certified Public Speaker/Emcee, (Business) Communication Specialist, Motivational Speaker, Career Management Coach, Renowned Book Reviewer, Corporate Leadership Expert and Editorial Consultant.
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