Sharpen Up!

Having a been a keen student of life and its practical dynamics, I have seen that while some people struggle all their lives to eke out a living, some others have abundance, opportunities and recognition beyond what they can ever imagine. These people seem to be constantly going up and life seems very robust. While everybody desires a larger life than they are living presently, few seem to know the way.

For the man who must go up and stay up, mediocrity is not an option. The world is full of mediocre fellows who must manage through life and wallow in penury. This is because the surest way to stay down in life is to be a mediocre. Who is a mediocre? A mediocre is an incompetent fellow. According to Encarta Dictionary, it means average: adequate or acceptable, but not very good. It also means ordinary, unexceptional run-of-the-mill, second-rate, pedestrian, commonplace, middle-of-the-road. All these describe a mediocre, and what a wonderful portrayal of failure!

Fortunately, it is imperative to note that though you may have started out as a mediocre, you do have the power to change it. You can become so sharpened up that it becomes impossible to trace mediocre back to you. By sharpening up, I mean becoming highly skilful, very competent. You can become very competent if you want to.

The world is in need of competent fellows. Great companies and organizations the world over will pay anything however high just to secure the services of a competent professional. Competence is powerful. It gives you a say in the decisions of your life. It makes you attractive and desirable. It empowers you to negotiate your reward. It gives you options. Indeed the more competent you become, the more options you will have in life.

You see, you can become so good and proficient that it will be virtually impossible to undermine you. You can become a luminary and icon. When you hear the name, ‘Michael Jackson’ what comes to your mind? What of Michael Jordan, Diego Maradona, Martin Luther King Jr., Dr. Condoleezza Rice? Each of these individuals stands out indisputably in their fields. Sincerely, everyone can become great in his area of calling.

For that to happen, we must become focused in our areas of interest and become so proficient there until our competence becomes visible. We were not created to be Jack of all trades, master of none. We were created to be specialists, competent fellows. So if greatness is our goal, then skilfulness and competence is the road. Become competent and you will be distinguished.

Finally, to be competent we need constant training. Without proper training it will be impossible to reign. What is inside us by way of gifts and talents must be sharpened and that can only happen by training. We need to submit ourselves to strenuous discipline so as to maximize our lives. This is the road many wouldn’t want to travel in but those who do have wonderful result as proofs to show. Throw off the robe of mediocrity and watch your life metamorphose to something bigger than you can ever imagine.

Greatness

Most commercials today are in the business of using the term greatness in trying to convince their audience to purchase their products and services. Tying greatness to their products creates the notion in the minds of people that getting those products will make them great or enable them to achieve greatness. While the ultimate desire of every man is to be great, the road to greatness may be far from the products advertised.

Inherent in every man is the desire for greatness. No one wants to be a push over. Everyone desires to be highly respected among men. That in itself is never wrong. And since many advertisers know that, they present many roads to supposed greatness. But I have come to discover that the road to greatness is the one less travelled. The reason is so obvious – it isn’t very fashionable. It doesn’t look like it.

What is greatness? Simply, it is to be powerful, influential and durable. It is magnificence. Every normal thinking man will want to exert all of these among other people. I have seen people like the Psalmist noted, who rose up suddenly and exerted so much influence but they were like the shooting star. All of a sudden they are nowhere to be found. They had fizzled out suddenly. But why does this happen always, you may ask? The reason is not far-fetched. It is because the basis was either not in place or was violated. What then is the basis for greatness? It is virtue.

Virtue is the only solid basis of greatness. It’s not one of the solid bases; it is the only solid basis.
Virtue deals with godly and moral principles. Daniel Webster states clearly that virtue is nothing but voluntary obedience to truth. From the above statement we can deduce that without a proper knowledge of the truth, there is no basis for virtue because virtue rests on the foundation of the truth. The only truth on which virtue can draw its footing is the Word of God. This proves to us that without the knowledge of God’s Word, we cannot be virtuous. We may have what looks like virtue but can’t be it.

In subsequent writings, I shall pick and examine some of these attributes of virtue that will enable our lives to be properly integrated. Don’t ever forget that you were born great. And if you were born great, then anything less than greatness will amount to an aberration and travesty of purpose.

Fading Glory

Man is richly endowed by His Maker. He is so blessed that all other created things envy him and his position. He was created to be the ruler of all other created thing, to exercise enormous authority on earth and determine so much here. He was also blessed with so much ability to know and learn. He was endowed with the ability to develop ability and to learn how to learn. He was blessed with unimaginable potential and capacity. He was also blessed with the ability to improve and appreciate. He was given the ability to love and be loved, to appreciate and cherish beauty. You realise how beautiful the lady you recently saw was. No other creation has that ability. I think we owe our Creator so much gratitude. He is so benevolent.

For many years I have read the Bible. With each passing day I see how true its teachings are and how relevant they are to our daily life. The wise man, Solomon stated unequivocally, “Favour is deceitful, beauty is vain but a woman that fears the Lord, she shall be praised.” Why do people go after a so called beautiful lady? Why are men willing to die if only that will enable them have access to a beautiful lady they have seen? How come men do everything just to pursue and get a hold of what God said is vain? Doesn’t it baffle you how we can be so blind? Why do we pursue beauty?

I think we pursue beauty because we don’t realize how vain beauty is. For instance, a lady doesn’t need beauty to be faithful in a relationship. She doesn’t need beauty to be a good wife, she doesn’t need beauty to be a good cook, and she doesn’t need beauty to take care of the home. She doesn’t need beauty to be pregnant; she doesn’t need beauty to give birth, raise the children, serve God and do so many other things a lady is supposed to do. Sooner or later the man realises that there is more required in a lady than that she is beautiful.

You see, what is attractive may not be important. Beauty attracts. But if the only thing a lady has is beauty, then she is of all ladies the most miserable. There are things that are more important than beauty. The most important is character. Character is superior to beauty a thousand times over. Many men will toy with a beautiful lady but will want to settle for a serious relationship with a lady with good character. Character is the inherent complex attributes that determine a person’s moral and ethical actions and reactions. Character is cultivated and cultivatable. A lady who has taken time to work on herself and allowed God, people and environments to mould her into a responsible lady is worth more than all the beauty queens of this world who are without character.

A well-cultured lady is humble, God-fearing and trust-worthy. Can you trust a lady because she is beautiful? Can you hand over your business to a lady because she is beautiful? Can you ask a lady to oversee a multi-million dollar project because she is beautiful? I do believe your answer to these questions is emphatic NO. If so, then it’s time to pay attention to the things that matter.
Nothing is as fading as beauty. If you doubt me take a second look at your grandmother if you still have one. Many years ago she could make most men bend their necks to her direction but today... Let’s be real men and go for what is real. I married the most beautiful woman on earth and I thank God for it. But I don’t think I would’ve married her or be enjoying her today just because she is beautiful. She is a woman of great and superior quality than thoughts can imagine. I am eternally grateful to God for the privilege to be her husband.

For us not to go for vanity we must not be vain ourselves. This is because we can only attract who and what we are. We can only attract our kind. We must become men of integrity and allow principles to guide our lives. We must be God-fearing to attract God-fearing ladies. Take a second look at yourself. Are you the kind of man a quality woman will want to identify with? The answer to that question will make all the difference in your life.