Do it anyway (2)

By Tope Popoola

I once read a story about a young lady who decided to invest all her savings into giving herself her first transatlantic cruise. On her first evening out in the restaurant, she noticed a young, handsome and rich-looking man also dining all by himself. Subsequently, at every meal, she picked for herself a seat at a corner table that allowed her to get a good look at this attractive young man.

Having noticed the undisguised attention, the young man one day summoned the courage to leave his table and come to where this young lady sat. “Excuse me, madam”, he said, “it could be my imagination playing games, but I have a strong impression that you have been consistently looking in my direction for the past few days. Is anything the matter?”

She blushed and answered demurely; “Oh no. No problem at all. It’s just that I can’t help but notice how much you look like my first husband.” Feeling thoroughly embarrassed, the young man replied, “I hope you don’t mind me asking but how many times have you been married?” Giving an innocent smile, she replied, “Oh no. I haven’t been – yet. But I have a strong feeling I soon will be”.

They were married a few months thereafter. Faith is of no value unless it is acting on its convictions, values, choices and decisions. The greatest of dreams become a nightmare when not acted upon. Great men and women became so because they DID something. At some stage in our lives, we fear the prospect of failure. However, if you live your life constantly in fear of failure, it is a guarantee that you will never savour the joy of achievement.

Whatever decisions you need to take today about family, work, career, spiritual growth, relationships, or business, move them from the tray of intentions and translate them into decisions. According to John Hagee, ”Decision is the activity of the will in response to the information gathered and evaluated by the mind.” But it is not just enough to take a decision on your convictions. You must ACT on your decisions. Every action you refuse to take is a potential success you refuse to attain. Too many times, we want to wait until all conditions are right before we start. But according to one of my mentors, you don’t have to get it right, just get it going.

You probably have heard the story of mice who gathered at a conference to decide how to deal with the cat which had been decimating their population progressively. After long hours of deliberations, they decided to set up a committee to critically look into the matter. The committee held several meetings and eventually came up with a foolproof idea that would forever take care of the cat. At the plenary meeting when the committee report was to be presented, the atmosphere was tense. Between the last plenary meeting and this, more mice had been murdered. The Committee chairman cleared his throat as he stood to present his committee’s report.

“We have come up with a plan that when implemented, will take care of Pussy cat finally. His killing days are over. Our condolences to the families that have lost their members. Having considered all suggestions, we came up with this; we will get some of us to tie a bell around the cat’s neck.

With the bell in place, we would all know when the cat is approaching and we can all take cover” He had hardly finished when the venue erupted in thunderous ovation. Uhuru! Freedom at last! Every mouse present took turns to shake hands with the Committee members for this ingenious solution. When the commotion died down, the Chairman called for volunteers who would do the job of fixing the bell on the cat’s neck. The hall went dead. At best they spoke in whispers but not a single mouse was willing to risk his life to do it. Unfortunately, what the mice did not understand was that as long as the cat was in the house, death was for all of them, a matter of time.

Lesson? What you refuse to do can actually do you in! Confront your worst fears. What you are afraid of may actually be afraid of you. Have you noticed that most of the things you are afraid of don’t actually happen? Failure? The factory of life never produces true success without it! So hit the road and do something. Even if it doesn’t work first time, you will learn a life-long lesson.

Remember, the sky is not your limit, God is!