GO FOR IT!

LIVE YOUR DREAM

Randy Pausch, an American Professor, was diagnosed with Pancreatic Cancer and given a 3 to 6 month terminal diagnosis. A month after he was given this diagnosis, he was invited by Carnegie Mellon University where he gave such a captivating lecture titled, ‘The Last Lecture, Living Your Childhood Dreams.’  His Key advice: live your dream!  

At his commencement speech in 2005 at Stanford University, Steve Jobs, who was the CEO of Apple gave another startling speech; and his emphasis was not go out and make lots of money or be the best at what u have studied, but rather, go out and live your dream; do what makes you happy. 

When I completed my masters last year from University of Warwick, I started working with a financial institution as their legal advisor, the money was okay, great team…BUT, something was amiss!! What was it? There I was, doing exactly what I was educated to do, doing exactly what society required me to do; practice as a lawyer since I was educated to be one. 

 I resigned three months after to live my dream; motivational speaking! Was it an easy decision? Absolutely not! At the time I resigned, I had only two hundred thousand shillings to my name, my family was going through such a difficult time, so much so that leaving at that particular time seemed to be like such a crazy decision to make. But in spite of the pressure not to resign, I still chose to follow my intuition…and that’s one of the most profound pieces of advice that Oprah Winfrey gave to the Stanford University students in 2008; have the courage to follow your intuition. And so I did!

The long and short of the story is that a few days after I left the bank, I miraculously got a job with a motivational speaking firm, which was looking for someone at that particular time…and there I was, right on time. Here’s what I learnt from that experience; it is extremely pertinent that you treat the fulfillment of your dreams as a matter of urgency; if that inner nudging from within tells you that it is the right time, act on it! If you delay, you might miss the right opportunity.

The ramifications of pursuing my dream? Joy, satisfaction and the renewed sense of purpose; isn’t that what we’re all looking for? All that we do is simply a quest for fulfillment.

But, where did I get the strength to pursue my passion against all odds?  What gave me the strength to defy societal dogma?  The Great Book says that the truth will set us free! What are some of the truths that I was aware of that helped me make such a difficult but fulfilling decision?

1.       HAVE AN ABUNDANCE MENTALITY AS OPPOSED TO SCARCITY MENTALITY.

Someone once said that live as if the world is conspiring to bring good into your life, because it is. People with an abundance mentality believe there are enough resources available to accomplish their goals. They believe that if they need people to attain their goals, the people will show up, if its money, it will show up.  So that’s what I believed; I believed that all the resources I needed would show up, and they did!

2.       BEING AWARE OF YOUR MORTALITY.

At Stanford University, Steve Jobs said that one of the most liberating truths is remembering that we will all die, there’s no two ways about it. You see, remembering that gives you the boldness to take the risks to realize your dream. Les Brown said that fighting for your joy may entail taking risks.    And that’s what I did; took the risk!

3.       HAVE THE COURAGE TO PURSUE YOUR DREAMS; AVOID CONFORMITY.

One of my parents’ concerns was really what they would tell their friends!! They were more comfortable telling their friends that am a lawyer and not a motivational speaker! But, is that a way to live your life? Are you going to let societal dogma rob you of your happiness?! A farmer once popped a tiny pumpkin in an empty jag; the pumpkin grew until it completely filled the jag and could grow no more. When the farmer broke the glass jag, out came a pumpkin that was exactly the same size and shape of the jag.  Earl Nightingale said that one of the most profound problems in society is conformity, conformity to certain dogma without even knowing why, without questioning it. Hence, don’t allow the jags of societal dogma to limit your growth. 

4.       REALISE THAT YOUR ACRES OF DIAMOND ARE IN YOU.

A story is told of an African farmer who heard stories of people who were discovering diamonds from far off lands. Excited, he sold off his own farm and went looking for the diamonds. However, years went by without any traces of diamond. In a fit of despondency, tired and discouraged, the farmer drowned himself in a river. The man who bought his farm at such a low price later found a rare stone in the spring that ran through the farm. He later found out that that stone was diamond; that farm later became one of the largest diamond mines in Africa! The farmer who sold the land literally had acres of diamond on his farm!

Doesn’t that story reflect how we think? We more often than not believe that someone else’s grass is greener than ours; we complain about our family backgrounds and argue that if only we were born in different families, we would be a whole lot happier. All of that is just rubbish! When God created us, He placed within us such amazing gifts, which if discovered and explored, potentially have the ability to usher fulfillment into our lives. So quit complaining, find out where your passion is and pursue it; the creator has given us the power to design the phenomenal lives that we deserve. GO FOR IT!!