The finish line matters
Imagine what you will become when you succeed. If you are an entrepreneur, what sort of joy will engulf you when you win that contract that you have gone to the length to prepare? If you are an athlete, how excited will you be to represent your country at the world stage, with all the television cameras set just to cover your victory? If you are a student, how memorable will it be; that moment you will put on a gown while holding your qualification with a distinction? In anything that you do, how comforting will it be to hear people mentioning your name and singing praises of your success? That is what you should aim at— the finish line
Never lose sight of the goal. Many circumstances you will encounter in life will, by and large, be curtaining your goal. Tear away the curtains of frustrations you meet along the way, the curtains of failure, the curtains of disillusionment. Make your goal visible to you all time. Write your goal on a piece of paper and paste it at the most visible places in your bedroom so that every time you retire to sleep you reflect on the goal and every moment you wake up you are constantly reminded of what you want to achieve in life.
Writing on the ‘7 Habits of The Highly Effective People’, Stephen Covey emphasises that you begin with the end in mind. Beginning with the end in mind gives you a clear understanding of your destination. It means you know better where you are going so that you understand where you are now and be able to devise that the steps you take are always in the right direction.
Covey teaches: ‘By keeping the end clear in the mind, you can make certain that whatever you do on the particular day does not violate the criteria you have found supremely important and that each day of your life contributes in a meaningful way to the vision you have of your life as a whole.’
Focus on the finish line. Abebe Bikila won the Olympics in 1960 in Rome and amazed the world as he ran barefoot. He did not care that people would look at him as a lunatic. He was never bothered that those in shoes would have an advantage over him. He was focused on the finish line and he made it. When you undertake whatever you undertake, with the end always in focus, you are destined to make it.
If you are a businessperson, do not waste time blaming inflation, interest rates, tough economic environment and all other excuses. Focus on delivering value in your business to offer your customers best products and services so that profits rise. Businesses grow even in the hostile Mogadishu in Somalia. What hostility are you facing? If you are in agriculture, do not blame the weather. In the desert in Saudi Arabia, they grow tomato just as the Israelis use limited space to maximise agriculture. Seek no excuses, focus on the finish line and you will make it.
On the men who built America, Andrew Carnagie focused on making the cities of America stand tall on steel and he made it. John D Rockefeller transformed the night with kerosene lamps. J.P. Morgan and Thomas Edison made electricity light homes from coast to coast. Henry Ford made a vehicle to be affordable to the average American. William Kamkwamba built a windmill from rudimentary products; a Standard Seven dropout in Mulanje made his own radio station. People that cross seas are focused on reaching the finish line. They care less about the circumstances they pass through – victory is all that matters upon reaching the finish line.
A vibrant writer who gives a great insight on hot topics and issues
