THE SUCCESS PRINCIPLES #14 DON’T WAIT FOR CLARITY

Martin Luther King Jr. once said “Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase. Just take the first step. You must be willing to start without necessarily seeing the entire pathway from the beginning. You must be willing to make an attempt and see how it unfolds. Often we have a dream and because we can’t see how we’re going to achieve it, we’re afraid to start, afraid to commit ourselves because the path is unclear and the outcome is uncertain. Sometimes in the quest to find the right path of life, it always seems you are driving through the fog, where you can only see the road 10 yards ahead of you. But if you keep moving forward, more of the road will be revealed, and eventually, you will arrive at the goal.

Every dreams, goals, aspirations or vision will always come with a sense of doubt and fear. We all have that moment when we pause in the journey of life to ask ourselves “Is this really what i want to do with my life, is this what am really called for, what if I proceed and it doesn’t end well?” Those moments of doubts and uncertainties, sometimes in life, we might not have absolute certainty of how the journey might look like, but we just need to trust our gut. No dream worth pursuing is 100% clear at the beginning. You need to face your fear and as you proceed, the road will become clearer, just don’t stop.

We can project how the future would look like, we can visualize a better tomorrow, but the starting can be confusing and frustrating. Sir Richard Branson, the founder and chairman of the Virgin Group wrote in his autobiography.

“My interest in life comes from setting myself huge, apparently unachievable challenges and trying to rise above them… from the perspective of wanting to live life to the full, I felt I had to attempt it.”

I dare you also to give an attempt to the dreams in your heart, through thick and thin you will get there. Don’t wait for the green light, nobody will tell you to go, but you just have to make an attempt. Branson started out with his record store business, which serves as the genesis of his empire; Virgin Mobile, Virgin Airline, Virgin Atlantic, Virgin Money, Virgin Rail, Virgin Media, Virgin Comics, Virgin Health Bank, to mention a few. In the process of giving a close attention to your intentions you automatically attract people that give a better expression to your decisions. Good to know that the name “Virgin” was suggested by one of Branson’s early employee.

In his book “When all you’ve ever wanted isn’t enough.” By Harold S. Kushner, he illustrate the story of a young man who keep on praying to God endlessly to help him win the lottery. He prayed for weeks, months, waiting on God to hear from him. After a long time of praying and waiting, the heaven eventually open and God spoke “Young man, if you want to win the lottery, please help yourself by taking the first step of buying the ticket.” I enjoin you, prayer is good, but please, go buy the “ticket.” Don’t put your life and dreams on hold because of someone else’s validation or opinion. You are the captain of your ship, master of your fate, and author of your destiny.

So many Christian folks spent hours, days, weeks, and months even years praying, fasting and waiting on God to give them a dream for their life. They wait endlessly for that euphoric moment and they seems to be disappointed or tired of waiting. When would that prophecy come? That moment of “Thus says the Lord.” Waiting on God is good but sometimes people use this as a lame excuse for not doing what they ought to do. I would rather recommend you look deep down inside of you and decide what you want to do with your life and trust God enough to see you through it.

In reaching out for your goals and dreams, sometimes, you make failed attempt, Mary Kay Ash once said “For every failure, there’s an alternative course of action. You just have to find it. When you come to a roadblock, take a detour.” One of the lessons life has taught me is, even when i can’t move forward, i can either turn right or turn left, but i have to keep moving. I’m not lost, I’m just exploring.

If today doesn’t bring you the joy you anticipated yesterday, don’t quit. Keep moving. If you are “singing” and it seems no one is listening, don’t stop, keep singing. If you are “writing” and it seems no one is reading, don’t quit, keep on the good work. All your pursuits and struggles are being noticed by someone out there. Very soon you will get there. But don’t wait for clarity.