Friday, October 26, 2012

Fear! A recipe for greatness

Have you noticed people who are unaware they are sick and the day they become aware of their sick state that is when they start feeling very sick? I heard of a guy who has HIV for God knows when and not until the day he was told of his status (through his girlfriend) did he began to feel sick. I have heard of people who while climbing a tall mountain become afraid only when they look down. Many have reached heights or conquered challenges when their attention was not totally focused on the obstacles in front of them because at that time there was nothing to fear. Awareness to the obstacle breeds fear and has deprived many of the goals and victory ahead. The bible even taught of one Peter who walked on the sea while looking at Jesus and not until he began to see the turbulent sea wave did he began to sink. His fears were awakened when he became aware of the environment he was in. Of a truth fear has torment. It has ruined many; it has broken many homes and destroyed many relationships.

It is true fear can be destructive, but many through fear have achieved innumerable feats. These people have become great through the motivation derived from their fears. To some this fear is poverty; to some it is illiteracy; to some it is sickness or their spouse, boss or business. So many people have turned this fear to their favor; some have stopped the mouth of lions, some have conquered nations, some have gotten great jobs, married pretty women, obtained promises, were valiant in fight, escaped dark situations, led small armies to victory, built empires, became great inventors, utilized opportunities, attracted benefits and above all, many have become great. I am not interested in fear analysis for now; I am just convinced it is a recipe for greatness and I do hope you will understand when you are through reading this piece.

The story goes of a wealthy man who had only one daughter. When the daughter was of marriage age, the father sent news around town that all the eligible young men should come to compete in a test which would determine who was fit to marry his daughter. On that set day, all the able-bodied young men came out. Some came with paper and pen and others with cutlasses and swords. The rich man took them to his swimming pool and addressed the men: "Any of you who can swim from one end of this swimming pool to the other would marry my daughter. In addition, I‘ll give him $5m, a car and a house so they can start life well. I shall be waiting to meet my son-in-law at the other side. Good luck!" As the young men, all very excited at the prospect of winning, started taking off their shirts, a helicopter came over the pool and dropped snakes and crocodiles into the pool. Immediately all the men turned back and started wearing their shirts again. Disappointed, some of them said let the man marry his daughter, I can't enjoy d prize when I die.... All of a sudden they heard a splash in the pool. Everybody watched in amazement as one gentleman struggled his way across, avoiding the snakes and crocodiles. Finally, he made it to the other side. The rich man could not believe it. He asked the young man to name anything he wanted but the man was still panting uncontrollably. Finally, he got himself and made a request saying "Please someone should show me the idiot that pushed me inside this pool".

Funny huh? While fear has made many to shy away from the goal, fear has made many as well to obtain victory and achieve their goal. Some people see the hole in the doughnut while others see the doughnut in the hole. It all depends on what you see and how you see it.
While watching the ‘Karate kid”, I was inspired when Jacky Chan asked Jaden Smith why he wanted to keep fighting…his answer was puzzling. “But why do you want to keep fighting Jacky asked? Because I am still scared he answered”. I would think, fear would make him want to quit fighting, I would think his broken leg would shut him down completely; I would think the fierceness of his opponent would make him run away like a whirl wind. Well not for this young hero, his fear was what drove him hard like the guy in our story. Mind you, this guy (Jaden Smith) did not compete basically for the trophy; he competed to win over his fear which is a higher trophy in my opinion. I don’t know what is holding you down or depriving you from achieving that dream of yours. My father told me, not until your dream scares you terribly, you have not started dreaming. You shouldn’t be afraid to dream big; if you are afraid because of the hugeness of your dream then you are on the right path so says my father. But that fear should be your drive and motivation towards achieving the goal. That fear in my opinion is a good one and will set you apart. It will certainly beautify your life and put you on the path to greatness if not greatness itself.  If you master your fear, you can conquer all and anything.
May your future be bright. 

6 comments:

  1. Wonderful piece,thanks bro

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  2. No problem my friend. Wish you had signed in so I can discern who you are. I am grateful you found the piece useful

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  3. Wow...great writing...interesting,mfunny and educative. All in one...

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  4. Wow! This is refreshing and highly inspirational. God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of Power, Lve and of a sund mind.

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    1. Very true Zebbook. He has given us the spirit of boldness. Thanks for the info on tweeter. I am grateful

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