Let's get motivated

Promise is passionately involved in community service. She give motivational talks in schools across Africa in addition to reading her works as part of her contribution towards moving the entire social system upward.

Here’s what she thinks. You Can Do All Things If You Really Want To.
At a seminar on Self-motivation and Strategies for Business-growth, a brilliant young man who took notes all through the seminar and asked at least half of the entire questions we had at the seminar finally put down his pen and said, “you know, I’ve been thinking about John Foppe who tackles life with his toes since he was born without arms, he eats with his toes, achieves incredible feats with his toes and motivates millions of people everywhere despite his handicap.” He paused, thinking. For at least three minutes, everywhere was quiet as I assumed that everyone in that hall gave it a thought, even if it was for less than a minute. Then the young brilliant man continued, “if he could do it, I can do anything I set my heart after.” As though he was trying to convince himself, he repeated, “yes, I can. That man turned all his disadvantages into something to be proud of.”

I could claim that brilliant, young contributor, even if it was just for his right thinking. He re-echoed my favourite quotation: “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Phillipians 4: 13
For me, he has provided the basic tools for the long journey he must undertake, and these are the impetus and willingness to set off. The seminar provided him with the stimulant, exposing him to ideas and jogging up his memories of the things that had challenged him in the past. These were things he probably had overlooked, things that burned in his heart at some point, the light of which he allowed to go out for whatever reason. There at the seminar, they were lit again. And if he were keener this time and would go all out “to get things done”, it would not be a small fire that was lit, it would be one that would shine forth throughout his life.

The example of John Foppe is one I am willing to use again and again. Here is a fascinating young man who has indeed become a world figure and one of the important personalities across ages. When he was born without arms, people would have seen him as being badly deformed. As he grew up, he could have become so moody and depressed that he would have taken the easy way out and committed suicide. He could have ‘deserted himself’ and became a burden unto the society and his Government by resorting to ‘cheap blackmail’, baring his handicap and begging. He could have become desperate and launch his venom against everyone as armed bandits do. But he did not take any of these silly options. He ‘decided’ instead to go into the storeroom in him to drag out all the beauty, rare intelligence, compassion, motivational skills, courage, winning spirit and resourcefulness in him. He handled rejection and worked for ten years with the great motivator, Zig Zigglar whose protégée he was. We must note that it was a conscious effort on his part to transcend his limitations knowing he could do all things. Instead of whining over his problems, he became an enthusiastic and creative problem-solver and got listed as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Americans. Now he is called upon by Organisations to position people in the right frame of mind for accepting changes and tackling challenges. Everybody attests to the fact that John Foppe is amazing and this was because he decided to be amazing. The credit goes to him for that brave decision which he followed through with the right ‘mix’ of action. We must note also that he did not give up along the road. He followed his decision to do the great thing and he HAS DONE IT. We have seen him do it and we are glad. Who could have told us that the toes could be put to such ingenuous use as John Foppe did, that the toes could literally put food on the table? John Foppe made his toes do it, as it appears with ease, and we marvel at him when he does it. He has no hands, yet a good number of people who have both hands and are able bodied in every sense of the word, would often lament that “life has been unfair to them’, ‘that their life is ruined’ because they encountered a little problem which could indeed make them finer human beings if they looked at their problems from a positive perspective. John Foppe said, “I acknowledge life is tough, and I still struggle. The tips I offer are grounded in my lived experiences of wrestling with my own problems."

But I bet you, it wasn’t easy for John Foppe initially. He went through pains, doubts, moments of indecisions, bouts of fear, challenges and more challenges but he did not get drowned in all of this, simply because he made up his mind not to give in to each of these ‘temptations’. Instead, he developed himself, fought all the odds against him and turned these ‘foes’ into ‘friends.’ Now he has become a blessing to the world as he goes round the world influencing people, transferring creative energy into people, building minds and repairing broken dreams.

You see, he believed he could do all things. He knew he could do all things. And why not? Our God can do all things and we are His children. As God’s children, we have inherited His power. It is our inheritance. Our incredible Father can do all things and so can we. I can still hear the good old voice of the great psalmist, King David singing: “all things are possible”. Indeed it is true. The word “impossible” ceased to exist in my affairs the moment I realized this awesome truth. This truth also has afforded me the courage to go on, stretch and reach for the heights.

I encourage you to do something this week. Put aside this word: impossible.
Don’t let it feature in your affairs this week no matter how intrusive it gets. Where you had earlier told yourself that this and this are impossible, now tell yourself that EVERYTHING, and I mean everything, is possible. Do away with these and similar expressions: “It just does not work with me,” “I have tried it countless times to no avail”, “I know myself very well, this just won’t work”, “There is just no way I can achieve this,” “I have already given it my best shot and failed woefully, save me the embarrassment.” “Well, if you say I should, let’s see how it goes.” This is rather weak. You need to appreciate the truth about yourself and that is this: YOU HAVE THE POWER OF IMMENSE POSSIBILITIES. I could repeat it a million times. I wish I could drum it into my loved ones, into you, my dear reader and ensure that it takes root in you, for you need to know, see and accept this fact. It is no fiction. All you need really is to plug into the power within you. Plug into God in you. Is there anything too difficult for God to handle? I am afraid you have to answer this question yourself. Whether or not you believe in God, the power of God in you is profound. That is one of the beautiful things about God. He gave everyone everything whether or not He is acknowledged and appreciated. His gifts are free for everyone. Use your gifts. Use your power to do all things. My primary concern here is to encourage you to USE THE POWER in you. It is already in you. It is inherent. Seek it out. Dust it up. Use it and you will be amazed at the wonders of your being.

Do yourself a favour and tell yourself that there is nothing you cannot achieve. You can give yourself many other reasons to back up this claim. But the one I give myself and sincerely believe in is that God, my father (and incidentally, He is also my LOVER), can do all things and has imbued me with the power to do the same. I don’t look at things with my eyes alone. I look at them essentially with the eyes of God. I don’t tackle problems with my strength alone, I face them with the power of God. I invoke His awesomeness and claim His almightiness.

The truth I must tell you is: If you accept that you are incapable of attaining the height you want in life, you have already set your own limitations and unfortunately, you will be guided by them. The psychology of mediocrity is not far removed from this position. But if you entertain no limitations, you will not likely leave anything to chance, instead, you will map out your strategies and follow them through to hit your mark. If you shoot the wrong arrows or your arrows go in the wrong direction, you will not relent until your arrows are ‘deftly’ shot and they ‘find their target’.

When you have assumed a positive disposition toward your affairs, it will reflect in what you believe, say, accept and do. For instance, if you are an alcoholic and you want to drink moderately, don’t say you have drunk all your life that you can’t possibly stop now. Tell yourself that you can in fact stop because you really do want to stop. Swing into action immediately. Don’t procrastinate. Once you have made up your mind, don’t entertain any unnecessary delay. It’s your life, you know. And it is in your own interest to make the best of it. Some people can take the bold step and stop at once. But I actually recommend the self-involving, disciplined, gradual and steady reduction of the bottles and glasses of drink until you get accustomed to what is suitable for your system. And if you have decided not to touch it ever again, you should be able to discipline yourself to the point where you can sit with those who drink and tell yourself that this indeed is good riddance. You can do this with anything you want to get rid of entirely or reduce drastically such as smoking, excess fat, stealing, lying, flings, indolence and whatever constitutes a negative influence on your life. Go right ahead and replace your negative tendencies with very positive and vibrant ones. Go for the best things in life and get them. Remember, you have the head for everything good. Just think of it and GO GET IT. You can and should.