Meet you at the Top!

Meet you

at the

Top!

Meet you

at the

Top!

A Leadership & motivational perspective

to Excellence in

Personal, Professional & Business Life

HAPPY MULWE

Copyright © 2018 Happy Mulwe

Published by Happy Mulwe Publishing at Smashwords

First edition 2018

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without permission from the copyright holder.

The Author has made every effort to trace and acknowledge sources/resources/individuals. In the event that any images/information have been incorrectly attributed or credited, the Author will be pleased to rectify these omissions at the earliest opportunity.

Published by the Author using Reach Publishers’ services,

P O Box 1384, Wandsbeck, South Africa, 3631

Edited by Cathy Eberle for Reach Publishers

Cover designed by Reach Publishers

Website: www.reachpublishers.co.za

E-mail: reach@webstorm.co.za

CONTENTS

Foreword

Dedication

Acknowledgements

Preface

Chapter 1: Why You Can’t Fail!

Chapter 2: Operating at the Top

Lesson 1: Be the Brand You Were Created to be

Lesson 2: Be a Distinctive Visionary

Lesson 3: Life is a Contribution!

Lesson 4: A Brand or a Commodity?

Lesson 5: From Self-confidence to Passion

Lesson 6: Three Key Principles of Top Performers

Lesson 7: Three Skills of a Branded Leader

Lesson 8: Remove Those Barriers

Lesson 9: People in Your Success Equation

Lesson 10: The Prominent Minor

Chapter 3: Opportunities

Lesson 1: The Face of Opportunity

Lesson 2: When Opportunities Shift!

Lesson 3: Making the Most of Your Time!

Lesson 4: The Dirt Factor

Lesson 5: Spectacles For Better Sight

Chapter 4: Challenges and Opportunities in choosing Your Career

Lesson 1: The Parental Factor

Lesson 2: The Knowledge Factor

Lesson 3: The In-thing Factor

Lesson 4: The Debilitating Factor

Lesson 5: The Money Factor

Lesson 6: The Aptitude Factor

Lesson 7: Looking Ahead

Chapter 5: Developing your Career

Lesson 1: Experiencing a Career Plateau?

Lesson 2: Should I Call it Quits?

Lesson 3: Promotion and Career Development

Lesson 4: Attending to Gravity Issues in Your Career

Lesson 5: Secondary Careers

Lesson 6: When the Economy is in Turmoil, What do You do?

Lesson 7: You May be Overqualified!

Lesson 8: The Leaders, the Mediocre and the Complainers

Lesson 10: Developing Your Career - Let’s Put it All Together

Lesson 11: Celebrating Your Birth Date!

Chapter 6: Value Addition

Lesson 1: Adding Value to Your Personal Life

Lesson 2: Do You have Problems to solve?

Lesson 3: Willing Buyers and Willing Sellers

Lesson 4: The Best University in the World

Lesson 5: We All Have Something to Offer

Lesson 6: Value Addition and Your Customers

Chapter 7: Excellence is the Key

Lesson 1: The Irrefutable Power of Excellence

Lesson 2: Piggybacking

Lesson 3: The Making of a Professor

Lesson 4: Excellence From an Autobiography!

Lesson 5: Get Rid of the Dross

Chapter 8: Making Resolutions work

Lesson 1: Nuggets for Making Resolutions Work

Lesson 2: Troubles in the Midst of Resolutions

Lesson 3: Combination Therapy For Maximising Our Resolutions

Lesson 4: See it, Say it, Do it!

Chapter 9: Reaching your Potential

Lesson 1: Is the Grave the Richest Place?

Lesson 2: Potential and the Behavioural Theories

Lesson 3: Never Live For Yourself

Lesson 4: What is Your Overriding Purpose in Life?

Lesson 5: Mentors and Potential

Lesson 6: Take it Easy

Lesson 7: Of What Use is Potential if You Can’t Use it?

Lesson 8: Is There Such a Thing as Sweat-free Success?

Lesson 9: The Law of Opposites

Lesson 10: Potential is Disguised in Insignificance

Lesson 11: Key Thoughts to Remember on Potential

Chapter 10: Strategic Foresight

Lesson 1: The Power of Strategic Foresight

Lesson 2: How do You Define Success?

Lesson 3: Nature’s Lessons on Strategic Foresight

Chapter 11: Postures for Strategic Advantage

Lesson 1: Good Morning Mr. Banda

Lesson 2: Why Are You Still Unmarried?

Lesson 3: The Expensive Life of a Poor Man Syndrome!

Lesson 4: Who Knows You?

Lesson 5: Who Are Your Real Friends?

Chapter 12: Change - A Constant in Life

Lesson 1: Some Thought-provoking Ideas on Change

Lesson 2: Understanding Change and its Triggers

Lesson 3: Key Questions on Change

Lesson 4: Lessons From Change Around Us

Lesson 5: The Demands of Change

Chapter 13: Harnessing the Power of Education

Lesson 1: Education - The Great Equaliser

Lesson 2: Education and the Law of Use

Lesson 3: Of Baby Boomers and Millennials!

Lesson 4: Education and the Troubles of the World

Lesson 5: An Incredible Story From Sky News

Lesson 5: Simplicity and Humility

Lesson 6: The Defining Difference

Lesson 7: The Military Academy Mentality

Lesson 8: Harnessing the Power of Education - Reloaded!

Chapter 14: Creating a Legacy

Lesson 1: So, What is a Legacy?

Lesson 2: Legacy and the Art of Listening

Lesson 3: Building Your Legacy on the Legacy of Others

Lesson 4: Legacy and the Use of Life Coaches

Lesson 5: Mentors in the Legacy Equation

Chapter 15: The Top Slot is waiting for you!

Lesson 1: Cracking the Interview!

Lesson 2: When the Storm is Over, You Must Still be Standing

Foreword

I am pleased and privileged to endorse, Meet You at the Top. This book is a crystallisation of unchanging, immutable and ageless principles that are conducive to successful living. Happy Mulwe has through this book demonstrated his passion and grasp of these principles.

Arranged under the decisive principles of life, such as integrity, excellence, diligence, vision, focus and life balance, Happy Mulwe has shown that these principles apply both to professional success and deep personal satisfaction. The anecdotes and quotations in this book, make the work practical and a sure guide to anyone wishing to discover pathways to successful living. It is said that life is precious and one cannot afford to waste it in mediocrity.

I therefore urge you to study the principles, and put the principles into practice. Your life will certainly be changed.

Patrick Matibini

Dedication

In many places where I have been invited to speak, people have frequently asked me to put my teachings into the public domain. This book is, therefore, the result of numerous such requests. I am eternally grateful and indebted to the Almighty God for giving me the time, grace and opportunity to finish this project. This book is dedicated to my dearly beloved wife, Musenge, and my two children, Mapalo and Charisa, whose lives have been a continuous source of joy and inspiration keeping me moving forward. I have learnt the wisdom of life and success from my interaction with them, more than from any other earthly mortal.

Acknowledgements

I want to sincerely express my gratitude to my work associates, friends and family for the encouragement to have this book published. I also wish to very sincerely thank my sister, Ethel Sidubekile Matibini for suggesting what became the ultimate title for the book Meet You at the Top. Words may not describe accurately my deep appreciation to the Hon. Dr. Justice Patrick Matibini, SC, MCIArb. MP. for giving me the distinct honour and taking the time off his busy schedule to both read the entire book and to write the foreword to this book. I cannot forget the invaluable support and dedicated professional work done by Sally, Evie, Alison, Lodewyk and the entire team at Reach publishers. To all, I say, Thank you very much.

Preface

I wrote this book because I believe that my personal experiences in life have taught me something about how to be on top in whatever I am doing and that these experiences can spur another person on to success. I do not consider myself to have arrived at the top. I am personally striving to get there. As I take this journey, I would like to invite you to join me at the top because I am sure I will make it to the summit. That is why this book is entitled, Meet You at the Top. My primary intention is to supply you with the impetus and motivation in life to lead a fulfilling life that is as exciting as it is explorative in reaching new frontiers of excellence. It is a book about personal change management which must start in the mind. This change is then intended to lead to a change in behaviour and to be a catalyst for societal and organisational change that will lead to excellence and high productivity.

This book is targeted at individuals and groups of people from all walks of life. It is a motivational book on leadership and how one can climb to higher levels. It is a leadership book for students in high school and at university; it is a book for academic scholars, as well as a leadership book for professionals from all walks of life. It is also a book intended for people who wish to soar higher in business, get grounded on some key concepts or simply for personal motivation. But it is certainly not a book for people who do not want to consider alternative thought processes.

The book is written in a simple and readable format. The reason was deliberate. It is intended to be read by people who are busy and can read a short lesson at a time. Each chapter, except the first chapter, has several lessons. In each lesson, the book endeavours to explore answers to three fundamental questions. These are: The ‘what’ aspect. In this case, I have provided a brief narrative of a particular concept. I call it the knowledge-sharing section as it stimulates the mind to conceptualise the issue at hand. The second aspect is the ‘why’ question. Under this premise, I have tried to give a compelling reason or rationale for the concept. This provides the reader with a reason why the concept is crucial and seeks to engage the heart. The last part pertains to the question ‘how?’ In dealing with the ‘how’, I share practical insights and offer suggestions as to what you can do to jump-start your action. In most lessons I have shared practical life examples from my personal life, from others, and even from corporate entities, as well as from nature, on how the whole concept really works. At the end of each lesson, there is a short section called the ‘application nugget’ to help distil at least one of the key concepts that has been chosen as a take-home for personal meditation and action.

For best results, the book should be read one or two lessons at a time and then one should allow for personal reflection and action planning. This can be done for both individuals and for groups in the workplace or in team building sessions.

One

Why You Can’t Fail!

Many people can and have given countless reasons why it is not possible to succeed and to get to the top in this life. Their reasons are varied. They range from high-level academically researched, peer-reviewed and validated reasons, providing 1001 excuses why it is impossible to succeed. The reasons range from circumstances, to the economy, education and the list is endless. But I dare tell you, as you hold this book, that success is more a product of the choices, than it is a game of chance. Success is possible for all men and women to achieve and that includes you. I dare say that today, as you begin to read this book, you are sentenced to succeed. It is impossible to fail unless you are determined to do so!

As far as I am concerned, all human beings are born with an inner instinct to survive, thrive and succeed. At the point of birth, it is not only the mothers who are determined to push the baby out, but the baby who also tries to push him/herself out of his/her mother’s womb when the time arrives! Equally, the terminally ill patients, in spite of their failing strength, will struggle against any person who deliberately tries to finish them off! All of us want to succeed at all costs. I am yet to find a man or a woman who derives pleasure from a life of failure and penury!

Roger Banister is one of the greatest sportsmen the world has produced in the field of athletics. Before him, most of the theorists had documented the impossible in the field of athletics. Scientists had set a limit on how fast a human being could run. They had done computations and analysed the impact of the wind on the runner and provided all kinds of explanations why it was not possible to run a mile in less than four minutes. They postulated how much air the lungs could possibly get in and out per minute! Nevertheless, Roger Bannister of Cambridge University broke the world record several times at the same university where such records were held! Ever since, many young people have broken that record on the athletic field. Henry Ford once said, If you think you can do a thing or if you think you can’t do a thing, you’re right! From today, the word ‘impossible’ should never be part of your vocabulary!

All human beings are wired for success. There is a part of our DNA that hates failure and espouses success. You and I will take a journey in this book. It is an exciting journey that will keep us motivated to keep moving forward. Think about this: God made man, man made cars. All cars, regardless of model or make, move faster when going forward. There are several gears for going forward, but there is only one gear for going in reverse! People only move effectively when they go forward. They will be slow when they move backwards! If you are moving slowly, it is possibly because you are driving in the lowest gear, and for every low gear you consume a lot more fuel and energy, but cover much less distance than you would have if you were moving forward in a higher gear! This book is my gift to you to enable you to engage a higher gear so that you can cover more distance with less energy. The journey of life is about going forward as opposed to going backwards! It is about reaching new frontiers, conquering them and going on to the next and higher level until the only flag you see is spelt S-U-C-C-E-S-S! You will succeed because that is your portion in life. I see success in my life and it cannot elude me. It’s my portion. It is also your portion. Go for it! Your creator has sentenced you to succeed!

Two

Operating at the Top

Lesson 1

Be the Brand You Were Created to be

If some people don’t know you or about your products, it is probably because you or your products are not meant for them.

In today’s fast-paced, sophisticated and high-tech world, one term which aptly fits the goings-on is that coined by the proponent of the evolution theory, Charles Darwin, who talked about ‘survival of the fittest’. It has become increasingly clear that the world is fast becoming very competitive and that survival seems no longer to be an option, but is the only option for those who want to achieve the best in life. It lays before all of us the need to operate in the top slot, in the quadrant where champions transact their merchandise. But, contrary to the survival of the fittest theory, I must say that the best in life comes to men and women who understand who they really are and what their assignment on earth is about. If life was just about the survival of the fittest or the strongest, then elephants would not be killed by lions and the dinosaurs would still be here. The principle of life is that every seed that is given its rightful environment will grow and multiply. It’s not about physical strength, financial muscle or ingenuity, but about understanding who you are and fulfilling your unique assignment in life.

In our time and age, we hear about blue-chip companies. These are also regularly referred to as High Performance Organisations. Under the reign of Jack Welsh, the former leader of General Electrics, the highest performers constituted only 20 per cent of the total head count. In recent times, some companies have put the percentage as low as 5 per cent. These celebrated men and women are the cream of the crop, and, in some instances, the ones who are on the jealously guarded talent list! These premium employees who are highly sought after by competitors, are the primary target of all retention plans of the organisations and institutions they serve. Their perks are distinctively higher and are clearly differentiated from those of all the other employees. Their contribution to organisations is highly rewarded.

Our concept of operating at the top, which is the title of this chapter, is derived from this concept of the top tier high performers who are greatly rewarded and sought after globally. From the outset, therefore, I wish to underscore the fact that, to operate at the top, one needs to be in this top slot. The following lessons in this chapter highlight key variables that distinguish the "cream’’ from the rest. I share practical insights into the lives of the top performers and challenge you to walk the walk and talk the talk of the top performers. Let’s move!

Consider the Pay-offs

When you operate in this top slot as an organisation, as an individual, as an employee or as a student, there will be many benefits that will accrue to you. Firstly, you are an automatic leader, even if you don’t hold a position or title. What else? There is recognition which renders you an icon in your own sphere of influence. If you are a student, it is easy to win scholarships, awards and honours. As a business, there is no end to the number of clients who will enquire after and enlist your services. Because you become a brand on your own, your goods and services become what marketers call specialty brands which fetch a premium price and do not need any serious marketing effort. Top flight performers are specialty brands! If you are such a one, your clients know you and know where to get you. If you claim to be a specialty brand, yet some people don’t know you or about your products, it is probably because you or your products are not meant for them! None of us can pretend that we don’t need the benefits enlisted above because we all do, but what does it take to become such a person or company, employee or professional? What does it take to become a brand?

Personal Branding

As you may already have discerned from the foregoing paragraph, the first mark of distinction between men and boys or girls and women is the concept of branding. You need to brand yourself! In the world of business, any talk about toothpaste is never complete without talking about Colgate. Those of us who grew up on the Copperbelt, (ba kopala) and especially folk from Ndola, could not talk about washing powder in Zambia, without the mention of ‘Surf’ even if we were clearly referring to other detergents. Even if not too many people now use the ‘Surf’ brand, they still use the word as it has become synonymous with other detergents and washing powders. If you talk about pain-killers, the generic product, paracetamol, is synonymous with Panadol! Colgate, Panadol, Coca-Cola and Surf are simply brands that operate in the top slot of convenience goods and may well qualify to be termed specialty brands. Personal branding is the same. It is about how you stand out from the crowd. This could be in character, dress code, intellect, creativity or poise! It is your uniqueness. I call it your distinct flavour that you bring to life!

In commercial marketing you can brand a product in several ways. Lee (2007) postulates that you can brand yourself relative to the market leader, by repositioning, through innovation, against the trend, as value for money or through distinct attributes.

Relative to the market leader means that you position yourself against the best in your class. You benchmark yourself against the best ‘guys’ in town. I recall, way back when I was doing my secondary education at Lubuto Secondary School, that I was quite competitive. Once, a classmate who happened to be a good friend, named Given, came out tops in a Biology end-of-term test. My Lord, did she boast? I took her taunts personally. From that day on, I challenged her and told her that from then, going forward, she was not going to beat me in the subject again! Until my graduation, she was always below me! My branding was based on being the best student in Biology in my class until I left Lubuto Secondary School. I worked and did everything in my power to ensure I was better than the best. The best for me was Given. I positioned myself relative to the best and succeeded.

Repositioning is about how customers perceive you. What perceptions do people hold about you? I have not read the competitive strategy of Daimler, Toyota, or indeed Nissan, but, as a customer, I see that Mercedes Benz is positioned as a high performance, no-nonsense luxury car! Toyota vehicles are positioned as excellent, affordable cars. What is your positioning statement? Decide exactly how you want people to perceive you. A friend told me about an experience he had in high school concerning a prefect who really had a voracious appetite. He would do anything just to get some food. They nicknamed him Ifintu ni bwangu literally meaning Things must be done FAST. One day, Mr. Ifintu ni bwangu booked an eighth-grader for coming to class late. When he was about to punish the timid and fearful boy, the boy showed him half a bun! The man just said, Give me half of it and you are off the hook!. What was the perception of him throughout the school?

Another way to brand yourself is by becoming innovative. What things are you doing to build a reputation for innovation or creativity? You can also brand yourself by going against the trend. If everybody is reducing their prices, you might choose to keep your price high! If everybody is cohabiting on campus, you can choose to be radical, different, and go against what everybody else is doing. That is how some people earn nicknames such as Bible Boy. In a case where everybody is dealing in homogenous products, you may brand yourself by giving unique features and creating value for money for your clients. For example, when your competitor consultants charge their rates based on course fees and the hire of equipment, you may choose to give free equipment and just charge for your service. In this way, you brand yourself through value for money.

Even though branding yourself will earn you a place among the eminent, I don’t know of any other method that enables branding more easily and effectively than being unique! Each one of us, as human beings, is unique and we each have a unique assignment to accomplish in our lifetime. That is why our fingerprints are unique. Each of us is wired differently for success. The moment we discover our uniqueness as our contribution to this life, we can begin to operate in the top slot. That is also the moment that we begin to attract our true worth and wealth. We must claim our spot in the affairs of life because no one can compete with a person who is operating in his or her God-given gift. Your God-given uniqueness is inimitable. Anybody who tries to copy your uniqueness will fail, because your uniqueness can not be imitated. It is your signature for success. Walk in your inimitable endowment and see treasures become drawn to you.

Application Nuggets

What is your unique set of gifts?

Which of the mainstream branding methods will you use to brand yourself?

Write three things that you will start to do today to brand yourself.

Write three things you will stop doing in order to brand yourself effectively.

Remember

If some people don’t know you or know about your products, it is probably because you or your products are not meant for them

Lesson 2

Be a Distinctive Visionary

"People who operate at the top are self-renewing icons who renew themselves by seeing farther than everyone around them and working and walking daily towards their one invigorating vision."

When creating a brand, the creator must understand in his/her mind very clearly who the target customers are, who the brand is intended to serve. S/he must visualise what s/he wants the brand to accomplish before s/he can write the blueprint of how the brand should be created. If you really want to operate at the top, it is not different. You will need to brand yourself and the starting point is by developing a compelling vision for yourself. So, let us start this lesson by debriefing you on the issue of what a vision is and what typifies a distinctive visionary.

A vision is a clearly-articulated, long-term aspiration that an individual, or a group of people, or organisation, seeks to achieve or become. It is a mental picture of a desired optimal end. This mental picture creates the motivation, the impetus and the drive for achievement. A distinctive visionary is one who is a carrier of such a vision.

A good vision has certain characteristics or attributes. Without going into too much detail, let me just say that a good vision should be long-term. Most vision statements that I have read have actually been sculpted in such a way as to possess an inherent ability to outlive those who wrote or found them. Another important attribute of a high-quality vision and or vision statement, is that it has a transformational and inspirational nature. This makes those who run with it enthused to see its realisation. In addition, a good vision should also be broad enough to challenge those who translate it into action to always find room to do more than they have already done.

It also almost goes without saying that a good vision must be unique. It must not confuse people when it is discussed. If your vision sounds like another organisation’s vision, then it begs for re-configuration. On a personal level, the same principle applies. You need a personal vision that meets all the attributes described above. It must also be a true reflection of who you are and your unique gifting. Remember that there are no two persons who are the same. Let me close this section by stressing the fact that a good vision strikes an unequivocal code of clarity that is unmistakable. This means that your vision should be so clear that if an independent person read it, there would be no confusion in his/her mind as to the direction of your life. Great organisations distinguish themselves in this way by making sure that their vision for the future is so clear that any CEO who jumps onto the ship has no doubt as to which direction the organisation should be steered in.

If we are to pick one of the attributes above which one would really stand out on a personal level? I believe that it would be the attribute of being unique. Even though all the other attributes are important, I am of the view that people who perform at the very highest level in life possess an innate ability to see things using a unique lens. They can see better, clearer, bigger and further than any other person in their area of uniqueness.

Let us amplify this. When we talk about you seeing things differently, we need to qualify what this is not. It is not about being a super human being. It is not about seeing a table and calling it a chair, even if some people use tables as chairs! We are talking about seeing things differently from the point of view of your uniqueness. As humans, we don’t become great because of our commonality. We become great by harnessing our unique attributes. If, in a team of five people, all the team members see things exactly the same way and can say exactly the same thing, often, some will certainly be pretending and not employing their mental faculties well. Trust me, such a team is headed for failure and doom. The strength of any team lies in the uniqueness of the individual members, their leadership voice, thought, ideas, expression and the flair that they bring to the team. It lies in the uniqueness of their perspective. If all Army Generals see their enemy through the same lens, they are headed for a grand defeat.

A good example of seeing things from a unique perspective can be viewed in soccer. In any soccer team, all members of the team will be playing to win the match. But, for a moment, I invite you to think about the different players and their respective roles. In the team, the goal-keeper sees things from the perspective of making sure s/he keeps a clean sheet and frustrates the shots of the opponent. A defender sees things differently, too. S/he primarily sees how to make sure the ball is not played in his/her zone area. A midfield player, on the other hand, sees the game from the perspective of how to fight effectively for the ball and pass it on to the strikers efficiently. A winger sees him/herself as one who can accurately pass the ball to a place where the strikers have a vantage point to score. As for the strikers, their concern is about shooting the balls through the goals and scoring as many times as possible, yet all these players are part of the same team.

Another example should be able to help you see how to walk with your unique vision squarely. Think about the development of the strategic direction of an organisation. If a company seeks to achieve a profit after tax of K100 million, the different directorates will need to work together. The Marketing and Sales sections will see things from a revenue perspective and consider the kind of marketing strategies they will need to develop. The Accountants will be concerned with cost optimisation, balance sheet optimisation and how to manage the resources well. They will also be looking to source income for investment. The Human Resource Department will strategise how to attract and hire, develop and retain the best employees as a means to reach the target. In short, all these actors will see things through their functional expertise lens.

When I talk, therefore, about being a distinctive visionary, I am saying that each one of us must find our unique aspiration or philosophy that drives our lives. We must develop a compelling vision that is bigger than ourselves and is able to outlive us. This vision should be the very essence of what our earthly assignment is about. It is a statement of intent. It is a pay-off line. It sums up what we hope to contribute to others in our lifetime. It is our noble purpose that will be left behind, engrained in the lives of others that we touch, consciously and unconsciously in the short time we traverse this old planet. For me, this vision is encapsulated in my pay-off line that reads as follows: I shall always aspire to inspire before I expire. In stating this, I have deeply introspected and reviewed my strengths and weaknesses. I have also defined very categorically how I hope to inspire. It is through my personal life, my speech, my writings and my earthly accomplishments. This is my unique or distinctive vision. What is yours?

Having said all this, the question that still begs to be answered is this: How can one discover this unique vision? To answer this question, let me begin by stating that one’s unique vision or noble purpose in life is not discovered in a day. It is discovered gradually. I may as well say it is discovered over a lifetime. There are, however, a few pointers that can help one to unearth this vision.

There is no brand that is created for itself. Similarly, every noble purpose is never self-serving. It is always externally focused on the target audience. To discover purpose, one needs to look externally at the greater good of others. What is it that you think you can contribute to the greater good of other people? This greater good can be many things. For me, it is about inspiring hope and lighting the smouldering flames in people and organisations. For you, it could be bringing laughter to the downtrodden. To another person, it could be providing shelter to the homeless. To yet another, it could be developing holiday activities for those who have none! What is the greater good you think you are wired for? From the leadership perspective, a distinctive visionary is seen as a transformational leader whose life possesses wealth of character and charisma, ability to intellectually stimulate and engage followers and to show unfeigned and deep interest in the success of individuals. It is about lifting the candle of hope and helping others achieve more.

Another avenue to use in discovering your purpose and vision is your area of pain. What are the things in society that cause you pain when you see them happen? It may be the way in which things are done that you are uncomfortable with that always causes you to wish you could do something to make a difference. If you are a teacher, you will often find yourself thinking of how you can explain things in a simplified manner. If you are wired for a medical profession, you may often be possessed by compassion when you see sick people. You almost jump out of your skin with wanting to take care of them or attend to them. If your noble purpose is to be a builder, you will easily be disgusted by poorly-constructed, sub-standard buildings. Similarly, one who is wired to be a fashion designer will easily become upset by badly sewn garments and will be quick to spot fashion disasters! What really pains you consistently in your constituency? By constituency, I mean your society; I mean your church group; I mean your youth group; I mean your family; I mean the community you live in or even the places where you shop.

Another thought that can trigger the discovery of purpose is the joy factor. When you find your purpose in life, you find your joy. Each time you do one thing that relates to your purpose, you also find lots of joy. In most cases, you do not have to think twice about an invitation to do something that is in your purpose. It brings you so much joy that you could do it over and over again. Your area of purpose and uniqueness also gives you so much energy that, when others are struggling, you will have done the task effortlessly with amazing results. That is what your unique vision should be.

As indicated earlier, you do not find your vision in a day. You discover it daily. In fact, your noble purpose, distinctive vision and the ultimate mission statement of your life can be refined over a long period of time, until it begins to resonate with your deeper convictions of what your life is all about. This vision must also be so flawless and forward-looking that people who hear you or ‘read you’ will never be at a loss as to where you are headed and what you stand for. You are a brand! That is right! You are a brand. Today, even though Martin Luther King has passed on, his vision remains! People know exactly what Martin Luther would have done or would not have done! They are still interpreting and fighting the battles he started many years ago! That is what your vision should be.

But what should the vision cover? As already stressed, your vision should be a long-term goal. It should be seated deeply enough within you to serve all the varied aspects of the total being. It addresses current and future needs. These should include the spiritual, physical and health needs, soul (intellectual or academic needs) and financial needs.

Application Nugget

I once read a story of a divorce case that was reported in one of the daily tabloids. It was about a man who had bought a coffin and put it in his matrimonial bedroom. The wife filed for divorce because she found it morbid that a man in his normal senses would do such a weird thing. The divorce was granted! When asked why the man had done such a thing, he responded that he did not want the wife to suffer the pain of looking for money to buy a coffin upon his demise. Even though most of us would judge this man with a superstitious bias, the truth of the matter is that the man was a visionary! He saw the end coming and did something to prepare for it. He wanted to be remembered for caring enough so as not to trouble his wife with worries about money for coffins in a moment of sorrow! As a matter of fact, some people go so far as writing the programme for their burial and even record their words of thanks before they die and put these on video! It’s all about vision. It’s all about seeing things differently. Branded persons have a clear vision of where they are going and write this down before they start moving!

Operating at the top in ANY ASPECT OF