If all the wealth of the world were seized from everybody and shared equally to everybody, with everybody getting $1m each, what would happen in five years’ time? Would everybody be financially comfortable? Would poverty be eliminated?
This is what will happen. In five years, much of the world will return to the hands of the rich. There will be some people whose financial status will change for the better or for the worse. But the bulk of the people will return to how they were before the money was shared.
The reason is simple. Many of the poor and those pretending to be financially comfortable will buy good cars, wardrobe, phones, and electronics. They will change their apartment, furniture, and children’s schools. They will go for family holidays overseas, celebrate their birthdays and wedding anniversaries in a big way, and make donations at different forums.
Slowly but steadily, the money will continue to flow away from the hands of many to the hands of a few. Not long after, many wealthy people will regain their wealth, while many others will return to their world of want and struggling, blaming their fate, the world, the government and their wicked and stingy friends and relatives as the cause of their situation.
Wealth does not equate to success. Success does not equate to wealth. However, success and poverty rarely cohabit. More often than not, wealth is a reward for success.
So many people succeed in life without being taught that there is a formula to achieve success (and acquire wealth). Many people in this category were challenged by a need or a handicap.
However, there are a greater number of people who just get by in life; people who struggle without much to show for it; people who fail despite their “best efforts.”
Those who are conscious of success are more likely to succeed than those who are not. But those who put the secrets of success into practice are certain of success.
Are the secrets of success really secret? No. Almost everybody knows most of the secrets. The problem why everybody is not yet very successful is because the success knowledge of so many people is skewed or shallow and theoretical. So many people cannot withstand the pressure of life and are not willing to make any sacrifice. Therefore, knowing the secrets of success is not as important as using those secrets.
Success is never taught in school or university as a subject. The young ones are not consciously made to know that there is a systematic approach to success. What most people are made to believe is that success and wealth are a matter of luck. Some discover that there is a formula for success after years of being tossed around by life. Regrettably, many get to know that only when they are too old and incapable of turning the clock back.
Success is not the sole preserve of certain people. There are no sets of people that have been anointed to succeed, neither are there those condemned to fail. Successful people are not the smartest, the most intelligent, the strongest, the biggest or the fastest. Successful people are everyday people with everyday IQ, who were raised in everyday environment, went to everyday schools, and made everyday grades. What distinguishes successful people from others is that they have learnt the secrets of success and have put them into practice consistently and religiously for several years. Success is therefore a matter of choice, not an accident.
Consequently, it is imperative that human beings are consciously guided towards success while they are still children. Once a child becomes success-driven, he or she is sure to succeed.
In the same vein, adults who did not imbibe the secrets of success while they were young should not despair. Success does not close its doors to late starters as long as they are willing to pay the price. What success demands of them is that they learn its secrets and ensure that they genuinely and whole-heartedly use them.
Furthermore, a person does not succeed the moment he starts putting the secrets of success into practice, just like a seed does not become a tree the day it is planted. The most important aspects of the journey are the takeoff and the persistence.
Since the beginning of life, that which has made men succeed has not changed much. The variation is that while success had much to do with strength in ancient times, it has everything to do with the mind today, levelling the ground for both the weak and the strong, men and women, and the young and the old.
Different studies of great achievers have shown that everyone who is not mentally incapacitated has the capacity and ability to succeed in any chosen career. With the exception of the ability to think, poverty, illiteracy, age, sex, height, religion, blindness, loss of limbs, deafness, dumbness, or whatever ‘disadvantage’ is no excuse for failure or mediocrity. Experience has shown that those with physical or social disadvantages have a greater chance of success than those with none.
Teaching people what to do to succeed in life is like preaching a sermon to a congregation. Many of the worshippers have heard all the sermon topics over and over again that they are not moved anymore. However, in the congregation, there is usually at least one person who is touched by every new sermon and takes a decision to turn around. That is the reason for this piece. If it touches someone so much that the person takes a decision to make a u-turn and follow the path that leads to success, it would have achieved its aim.
I have intentionally written this book in a conversational, informal and humorous manner, laced with stories, to make it fun to read. The Part 2 of the book features interviews of some select Nigerian brand ambassadors. They were chosen from different sectors and for their different backgrounds and challenges so as to get different perspectives on the issue of success. Despite the problems associated with fixing and conducting an interview with a CEO, I insisted on having face-to-face interviews with them rather than sending questionnaires across, so that the responses would be spontaneous, detailed, deeper and richer for the benefit of the reader. For this and other reasons, some of the people who were pencilled down to be part of the book did not eventually feature.
So, who has a genuine reason not to succeed and be a great achiever in his or her field? This article offers some perspectives, insights and answers.
I believe that there are two routes in life. One is a 10-lane highway running southwards. It is peopled by all manner of human beings – some in racing cars, some in regular cars, some on motorcycles, some on bicycles, some on skateboards, and some on foot – all racing down the slope, wittingly or unwittingly, towards the same destination: the valley of mediocrity, failure, poverty and privation. On the other side is a footpath that runs northwards. It is a winding path that runs up a hill. It is filled with stumps, roots, stones and mud. The traffic on it is very low. Now and then a man or woman jogs past with clenched teeth and furrowed face. Each of them is inching consciously but steadily towards the castle of success and prosperity.
So ask yourself and answer truthfully. On which of these two routes are you travelling?
–Twitter @BrandAzuka
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