Some of you were not reading this site back when I wrote “I wept”, and some of you were. If you are curious enough you can go over and read it. It makes an interesting read everytime I go back memory lane. Today’s article is however not a mere recap of why I wept back then. Today’s article is about why I wept today!
Just incase you don’t know, let me remind you once again, that I percieve my tears as precious. So precious that you are likely to find gold before you see tears in my eyes. I have discovered however, that while it might be difficult to share tears out of pain, I find myself getting moved and touched by care, concern and certain fundamental life issues. Today I held back the tears without success, with a handkerchief in my pocket and ladies from different nations around me, I tried to play the man with a heart of steel, to watch and nod rather than allow my lacrimal glands take the day, but it happened again. Like Shakepsear said – “To weep is to make less the dept of grief”, I felt better after.
It wasn’t out of sorrow, thankfully, it was out of concern and compassion for people like you and I. People like you and I who have the capacity to do a lot more than we are doing. People like you and I who have accepted the stereotyping of society. People like you and I who are bound for the grave with virtually all our talents and resources untouched and still loaded. People like you and I who are so quick and sharp with excuses, that we have become incapable of venturing into anything. While I listened, my heart melted, my siliva dried, my ears openned and I heard Gods’ voice in my ears, and my eyes gave way to warm tears. What happened? Follow me.
I came to Malaysia for many reasons, but most importantly to observe and to learn. I attended this conference with different nations of the earth in attendance, a stadium filled with about 7,000 leaders from around the world, and this morning a few of the speakers were sharing about their backgrounds. What life handed them, and how they were able to dream their way out of poverty into abundance. I listened to a lady that shouted on top of her voice a resolution she made at 8 after being forgetten in school and in the rain by her father. She resolved that being born poor was not her fault, but if she died poor, it would be her fault. Her grass to grace story is for another day, and certainly not what made me cry – I am familiar with grass to grace. I listened to another person’s story who was born with a silver spoon. He enjoyed all the normal luxuries of life, finished from school and landed a great job. He worked hard for quite some years, and resigned to start a manufacturing company with a few of his friends. He had about 700 employees, the company grew well until all of a sudden his word crashed like a pack of cards. He had literally empty his cup and start over again, with his driving dream being to be able to send his daughters to the best schools. His story moved me, but not yet to tears.
The high moment for me came when two people from a team of 12 special people were called to the podium to address the audience. I knew that these two people were deaf and dumb, but I didn’t realize that I would ever get the benefit of learning from their point of view. They couldn’t talk, so someone had to look at their sign language and interprete to us. The first one “spoke” about not being able to hear the negative things that people say about their business and what they market, they can see it, but they refuse to be affected by it. They chose to maintain a positive mental attitude against all odds. The second guy was the one that took me off, he said that this was the second time he was sponsoring himself to Malaysia, the first time he came with one other person, but this time, he came with 12 other speech impaired people, and some of them had gained financial freedom. He went on to share how he had gotten support (not cash, encouragement) and how without being able to hear or speak, they were making a difference by marketing! At that point, I couldn’t control it anymore, I wasn’t crying for them though, I was crying for you and I?
I heard God ask me what I was using my voice for. In that moment I lost my voice and my siliva dried, as if to show me how it feels. In that instant it became clear to me that all our excuses are mere shells around us that simply need to be cracked. “I am shy”, “I can’t”, “I’m not good at talking to people”, “I don’t know how to”, “I’m busy”, “How do I know when to”, whatever it is that comes easily to us as a reason we’ve given for many of the opportunities that have come our way, they are worthless. The least you can do is deliberately go out on a limb and learn, try, fail and exhaust the options that you have.
Just yesterday I watched the video of the most amazing record winning fisherman who had no hand and no legs. Now today I see first hand marketers that can’t say a word to you becoming successful. Whenever I read the quotes of the lady – Helen Keller, my heart skips a beat. I’m reminded of a woman who could not hear and who could not see, I’m reminded of how she summounted the odds against her and lived a life more fulfilling than many of us. In case you have not stumbled on any of her quotes, remind yourself of this – “Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is a daring adventure or nothing at all”. She couldn’t see, she could hear, yet she learned to speak more than one language, yet she authored quotes and books. Yet she goes into history as a great one!
You- have insignificant problems! You- need to make up your own reasons for failing to try! You sit in one spot in one place and philosophise rather than strategize. I listened to a hotel staff turned network marketer talk about how he recieved 71 rejections in 3 months, and how he later went on to buy his dream car and 13 houses! As I listened my heart travelled back to Nigeria without Visa, and thought about my people, about my race. What is holding you back from living your dreams? Tonight I met a man who climbs mountains just because they are there and the world says it hasn’t been conquered. When did we ever desire to be victors and not victims? When ever did the African have a craving to rule the world or even his/her own limitations?
We have no excuses for occupying a lowly estate, the table of life has on it all we crave and desire. The distance between what we are and what we are capable of is courage. No tree can make a forest, we’ll not do it alone, we’ll do it together. If you are reading this, it’s because somehow we are connected or are meant to be. Let’s raise ourselves up, let’s raise our fellow men, let’s raise our nation! We can, we will, we must!
