persist

May 31, 2018

Painting Your Masterpiece

Habits, Productivity, Work bold, chaser, goal, goals, growth, persist, personal growth 0

“You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step” – Martin Luther King Jr

Leonardo Da Vinci is one of the most brilliant painters of all time, who at the time of his death at 67 had only finished 15 paintings, an interesting point to note for someone with such artistic gifts and also considering artists like Van Gough had over 2100 artworks in a decade. It is alleged that the Mona Lisa, which is now the star exhibit in the Louvre Art Gallery in Paris was ordered by the Italian Pope Leo X around March 1515 as a welcoming gift for Isabella d’Este. She would be visiting the Pope seven months later so Leonardo had ample time. When the Pope was told the gift wouldn’ t be ready by the time his guest arrived, he exclaimed “This man will never accomplish anything! He thinks of the end before the beginning!” Da Vinci finished the Mona Lisa a solid 15 years later.
Like most people, you could be struggling with getting started or finishing a project you are working on because it seems so complex or huge. Maybe you want to study for an exam, or maybe you keep putting off redecorating your house. Perhaps you can’t get started with that business plan you have dreamed about.
Now it’s time you get that project going and I will show you how in these few steps.

#1. Write down your big goal
The first step is scheduling what needs to be done, when it needs to be done and how it should be done. Writing down your task allows you to see it in smaller bits and also prioritise them by importance or difficulty. Once you have it down on paper, you can plan on how to tackle the tasks that you are most worried about. The one thing I have learned over the years is that what gets scheduled gets done that is why writing things down is important.

#2. Get Prepared
Once you have the task written down, it’s time to prepare for your project. Here you need to be seriously critical in looking at your distractions and getting rid of them. A lot of people complain that they do not have time to chase their dream but the truth is they are just not prioritising the dream. There is something else taking the time that your dream needs to get off the ground, so what are your distractions? is it the TV? Are you obsessed with social media? Does family, friends or colleagues constantly interrupt you?
Are you surrounded by clutter? Clear your space and make it convenient for you to operate at the highest level of your creativity. Gather together everything you need to start your task but don’t make a big deal out of it as this may become a distraction as well. For example, if you are supposed to start a business, looking for office space is not preparing the ground, it’s a diversion. Get the necessities done first.
Also look at what you can do alone and where you can ask for help, this helps with the division of labour. Lastly, get an accountability partner, this could be a friend, spouse, colleague or mentor that you can talk to and they help you to keep your commitment to your project.

#3. Get Started
Stay away from a complicated plan to achieve your task, simplicity makes it easier to get started. Perhaps you are already obsessing about your first steps and maybe that is the reason you kept putting off the whole thing. Now it’s time to put your plan in motion, it is time for that first step. If it is complex or daunting break it down into smaller steps until each one looks like it will take no more than an hour to complete.
When I started writing my book, I knew it was a great task but all I did was just start writing. So whatever it is you want to start, go for it, you can do it. There are no distractions, no excuses, just jump into it and do it. Write that first chapter, paint that picture, put in that hour at the gym, make that healthy meal today.

#4. Reward Yourself
Now that the first step is out of the way, it is time to reflect on how that went and take a break. Have a coffee or a snack, take a walk, play a game or watch your favourite movie. Reward yourself because you deserve it, you have taken the first step to realising your dream. Beware though – it’s just a short break. You are not packing for the day so this is not a celebration, it is a dangerous time because procrastination is just a heartbeat away. Do not get sidetracked or you will be away with the fairies again, stay in control and keep your head in the game.

#5. Build a Habit
Take another look up the mountain towards your goal, what is your next vital step? Maybe you have learned something from the previous step that inspires you and propels you forward. Or perhaps there are changes that need to be made to ensure consistency. Whatever it is you are now at a place where you can create a sustainable habit that will increase your efficiency. Cultivate a routine that will get you working effortlessly, maybe you are a morning person and you work better it the first hours of the day. Or you prefer working at night where there’s quiet.
You need to find your sweet spot and you will realise your task will be completed in no time.

If you follow these simple steps you will be proud of yourself in no time for completing that one thing that you always used to put off. So keep working step by step and every now and then stop and check your progress, make adjustments and reward yourself. I am sure you will feel better about yourself. Procrastination can be beaten after all and like Leonardo Da Vinci you can finally complete your masterpiece.
Remember, you do not need to see the whole picture for you to get going, just take that first step and you will see everything falling into place.
What is it that you have been struggling to start? Share with us your stories in the comments section.

May 17, 2018

The Power Of Growth

Habits, Leadership, Productivity, Success chaser, dream, goal, growth, lifestyle, original, persist, personal growth, plans, Real 0

“I must create a system, or be enslaved by another man’s” – William Blake

As human beings, there is a one constant in our lives. We grow. Every day of our lives we are evolving physically, mentally and spiritually because of the power of growth working inside us. It is such a phenomenal power that from the time we are in our mother’s womb, to the time we are buried in our graves, we have this drive to grow.
As we get older, our growth needs begin to differ and become quite complex. They are no longer just based on the process of human nature, some want to grow muscle, whilst others want to lose it, others want to grow financially, spiritually, academically and relationally. What I have come to realise is in all its forms growth has a pattern that we need to follow.
In the book World War You – How To Overcome Yourself, I wrote about the 3 things you will need in order to grow successfully in any sphere of the word.
The first truth is you will sacrifice for your growth, it will be painful, your body, mind and soul will be pushed to their limits because they are about to be transformed and made ready for a new dimension of purpose.
If your friends do not understand this level of hunger you are going to need to change friends because you cannot afford to be held down in the name of fellowship. If your business associates cannot understand your desire to get to the next level, you are going to have to leave them behind because there is no amount of money or business associations that can quench the fire of growth.
Here are the 3 things that you will need to understand and embrace:
i) Desire ii) Sacrifice iii) Action.
Without embracing those elements your growth will take a while because you refuse to migrate to a higher level of operation and thinking.

Desire
The dictionary defines desire as a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen. It has synonyms such as craving, yearning, covet or aspire, all that have a deep connection to one’s emotions and intellectual drive. Aristotle wrote in “De Anima” that the soul is seen to be involved in motion because animals desire things and in their desire, they acquire locomotion. The moment you set your eyes on an area of growth, it begins to change you from within, it begins to transform you from the inside out. You must want to grow so bad that you begin to prepare for it even before you see it. Before it is tangible, you begin to move things around and putting them in place so that when it happens the environment is ready.
You do not get a drivers licence when you have bought your first car, yes I know someone reading this has done that but that is not how it goes. You desire to get a car and you begin to save up for it, you get a licence so that you know how to drive it then you begin to shop around for the car that you want.

Sacrifice
The dictionary defines this as giving up something of value for the sake of other considerations, it has synonyms such as forgo, relinquish and cede. The first thing to understand here is that growth requires everyone to sacrifice something because it involves parting of one’s own self-liberties. The second thing to understand is that in all forms of sacrifice a lower dimension of yourself is surrendered for the higher dimension of yourself.
Once your desire is greater than yourself or your environment, the process of sacrifice begins because your thinking is no longer governed by your own mind or your circumstances.
At this level, you begin to forgo certain luxuries or necessities because they would have become a lower principle in your quest for a higher one.
Your growth is not about you being better than your friends or your environment, it is about being a better version of you and because of that a lot of relationships are tested and boundaries are broken.

Action
An action is defined as the fact or process of doing something typically to achieve an aim or a goal. It is associated with other words such as measure, movement and work. The book of James says in chapter 2:17-18 “Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being alone. Yes, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me your faith without works, and I will show you my faith by my works”.
You need to prove that you can back the desire that you are showing around by putting words into action. I used to be at that place where I would have amazing ideas but they would all die as mental constructs they would never see the light. This was particularly frustrating because more times than not, I would then kick myself when I saw the same idea executed because I would then say that could have been me. So this final dimension is important to your growth because it seals everything for you, it demonstrates your capabilities in an undeniable manner.
The moment you prove that you are ready to move forward, the environment aligns itself with your actions, people begin to take you seriously they begin to listen to what you have to say and offer because you would have presented a full dimension.

Though this is an exciting way to harness growth, it is also one of the most gruelling because you are venturing into unknown or unfamiliar territories. I have seen and heard of many people giving up because they just do not know what to expert and some can not deal with sacrificing their comfort zones for zones that are not familiar.
The only way to make it out successful here is to remember that the vision or desire is greater than yourself and that the new you that will emerge on the other side is way better than the current you.
Join us below and share with us your growth hacks in the comments section.

May 10, 2018

5 Barriers To Success

Buisness, Habits, Motivation, Productivity, self growth, Success, Work barriers, chaser, development, Different, dream, goal, goals, growth, life, motivation, persist, personal growth, Real, self acceptance, true 0

” The cemetery is full of unfulfilled dreams…” Unknown

A lot of people are dying with unrealised potential, but that isn’t the worst of this, because there are people still living that are also failing to live their purpose.
I am often asked this question, “How do I know my purpose and how do I make it happen?” And my response is your purpose or gift is anything that comes naturally to you that everyone else struggles with or finds challenging.
I know this seems open-ended but if you take time to pay attention to yourself as you go through your likes, hobbies and strengths, you will surely find that one thing that you are so passionate about.
Though finding a purpose to me seems fairly easy, the most difficult part of this journey is getting to your promised land. There 2 critical things you need to know here, A) It’s never too late to chase a dream, and, B) There will be obstacles that stand in the way of your dream
Once you work on those critical aspects you will notice that it becomes easier to follow and fulfil your dream. So I have taken time to look at some of the major dream killers that I find very common in a lot of people and these are:

1. Laziness – I just thought we should get this one out of the way first, a lot of people will not admit to this automatically but let me show you something. If you neglect yourself, your career, family and home you run the risk of losing your security and support structure. This is a result of living in a false luxury, a world that has no form of hardworking in it and this has negative consequences in the long run. So I’d say begin by making a list of all the things that you value and are dear to you, and next to them write at least one thing you need to do daily to protect them.

2. Procrastinating – This will kill many dreams than failure ever will. Ask yourself if you are that person who has a million ideas but not one has seen the light of day, or that person with great advice that you never take yourself? Progress is not about words but about actions, no matter how good you articulate a plan, you are remembered for what you did and not what you said. There is a need for discipline to start and see things through to completion. Remember, no one will do the work for you, so it’s time to get going. Do not be all talk and no action, be a doer.

3. Feeling Overwhelmed – Life has a way of stopping people from doing exactly what they set out to do, and you know what that is very true. Things get so difficult that your only option is to STOP! This is generally because the way we plan is not adequate, and I mean we do plan but our plan is not enough. For any project or goal to be achieved you need to break it down into smaller manageable tasks, think of working on a jigsaw puzzle. It looks so big as a whole but if you break down the pieces and start working on smaller sections at a time you will realise that a thousand pieces aren’t that many.

4. Lack of Commitment – The dictionary defines the word commitment as “the state or quality of being dedicated to a cause…”, meaning there is a high level of dedication required for a dream to be achieved. This means there will be a lot of sacrifices, a lot of uncomfortable situations, there will be the risk of being misunderstood or even being alienated because of the relentless pursuit of your dream. Now I need you to take time to answer these few questions about your commitment and see how you score, Do you have a plan to help you achieve your dream? Are you willing to put in work to learn more about your dream? Are you willing to try it even if you don’t see success at first? Do you have anyone you are accountable to with your dream? Do you have anyone mentoring you or teaching you? How bad do you really want to succeed in your dream?

5. Lack of Confidence – Failure is part of the process, and if you FEAR failure you will never start anything because in your mind you are already defeated. Understand this, every dream starts as a mental construct and it is then fleshed out from there, so the mind is a very powerful tool for seeing fulfilment.
Past failures, insecurities, deep hurt and trauma can cause you to look down upon yourself or feel inadequate. I am here to tell you that you control your confidence and do not allow anything negative to immobilise your action. There are many success stories that have come out of the most adverse situations all because those people chose not to give up.
Find a mentor or person that has succeeded in the area that you wish to pursue, take time and learn from them, even by observation, gain knowledge and believe in your God-given ability to see your dream through.

No matter where you are in life today, it’s not too late to become who you are destined to be. Your current situation might not reflect it but you born to be great and you will be great if you apply yourself and overcome the barriers ahead of you. If you want to learn more about how to overcome yourself, follow this link and get a copy of World War You and begin your journey to greatness.