Are You Living By Sight Without Vision?

That is a question you must answer before you can ever reach your full potential.

As you will learn, living by sight without vision will stall the glorious plans God has your life.

Your faith will be stirred and your determination tempered as Abuta Ogeto shows you how to zero in on your God-given vision. You were born to win and this is your welcome into the winner's circle! We walk by faith and not by sight!

If you are operating by sight, you see the problems and challenges all around you.

You see how many bills you have to pay; you see that your company is downsizing; you see things that threaten your security. 

Sight without vision is dangerous because it has no hope.

Many people have been living by sight alone, and that's one reason they have all kinds of medical problems- muscle tension, migraines, high blood pressure, heart disease, ulcers, tumors, and so on.

Living by sight can kill you. 

Life is so full of depressing things that you need to learn to live by vision and see with the eyes of faith.

Remember that sight is the ability to see things as they are, and vision is the ability to see things as they could be. I like to go a step further and define vision this way:

Vision is the ability to see things as they should be.  Maybe you are going through a hard time right now and you're disheartened.

 You've lost your vision edge.

Perhaps this is because of your surroundings. Sometimes, the environments we live in are not the best for fostering vision. What people say to us is not always encouraging and can be very discouraging.

I have been tempted to be disillusioned and discouraged many times.

Even though we know that the discouraging things we see and hear are temporary, they still can distress and depress us. We must keep our visions constantly before us, however, because the visions in our hearts are greater than our environments. 

God gave us vision so we would not have to live by what we see.

The Bible is very clear that "without faith it is impossible to please God" (Hebrews

11:6). If you try to function in any other way than faith, you will malfunction. That is why worry is ungodly and fear makes your vision short-circuit.

You were never meant to be afraid.  

Jesus was filled with faith, and He was the calmest person on earth. He slept soundly in the middle of a storm. When His frightened disciples woke Him up, He asked them, "Do you still have no faith?" (Mark 4:40). He was telling them, "If you have faith you will be able to sleep during a storm, as well." You may be saying, "This doesn't sound very practical."

It is, however. 

I have been living this way-by faith instead of fear-for over twenty years, and it's been so much fun. I don't worry for very long about anything, because I believe that, ultimately, everything is on my side.

Even the schemes of the devil work to my benefit.

All things work for my good because I am called according to God's purpose. (See Romans 8:28).

YOU MUST HAVE A DREAM

If you have a dream, or if you want to discover your vision, remember this: God loves dreamers. He gives visions, and He is attracted to people who love to dream big. Don’t forget that you are unique, special, and irreplaceable.

You are not meant to be like anyone else.
When you decide to be part of the norm, your destiny is shortchanged. God wants you to stir up the gift He has given you and to develop it to the fullest.

Take a Lesson From The Winners and Doers…

What is the difference between the dreamer who realizes his dream, and the dreamer whose dream becomes a nightmare of unfulfilled hopes?
The dreamer who succeeds is someone who has a clear vision and acts on it. As long as a person can hold on to his vision, then there is always a chance for him to move out of his present circumstances and toward the fulfillment of his purpose.

Living Your Life’s Vision!

If you feel trapped, underemployed, or underutilized in your job; if you own your own business and want it to grow; if you want to know how to pursue your goals in life; if you are the leader of an organization or group; if your children are grown or in school now, and you are considering reviving old interests, or wherever you are in life right now, my desire is that you will be inspired, motivated, and challenged to get back in the race toward your dream, to get back the passion toward your goal.

I want you to achieve your greatest in God’s purpose for your life. I want you to get off the rocking horse and find a living stallion— your life’s vision.
To do this, you need to understand and put into practice principles that transcend current trends and even conventional wisdom.

In this way, your success will not be dependent on the state of the economy, what careers are currently in demand, or what the job market is like. You will not be hindered by what people think you are capable of or your initial lack of resources.

Take Your Life Out of Neutral!

You are the sum total of the choices and decisions you make every day. You can choose to stay where you are, or you can choose to pursue your dream. I challenge you to stop making excuses for why you can’t accomplish what you were born to do.

Take your life out of neutral.

You possess the power and the responsibility to determine your future and destiny. Remember, you were created to accomplish something that no one else can accomplish.
Never expect anything less than the highest thing you could go after. Don’t let people tell you, "You shouldn’t have high expectations." Dream big.
No matter how challenging it gets, don’t give up, because your vision is the key to fulfilling your life’s purpose.

THE INVISIBLE BECAME VISIBLE

THE INVISIBLE BECAME VISIBLE

In the beginning, God was pregnant with the universe and all things were made by Him. But how did these things come out of Him? How was the universe formed? All things were formed at God's command. He spat them out poof! From the invisible came the visible. Things that are seen came from things that were unseen.

By faith we understand that the universe was  formed at God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible (Hebrews 11:3).

God always had everything in Him, but we couldn't see it. All we now see was once in an invisible state. (Please note that invisible does not mean nonexistent.)

All the buildings we see and the businesses we frequent people making money and investing money all that stuff began as ideas. We couldn't see them because they were in somebody's mind. The stores where we shop, also everything on the shelves and racks in those stores, began as ideas in someone's mind. They didn't exist before, yet they did. Although they weren't present in their current form, they existed as d pulleys and lumber and concrete and nails, cotton and wool and flax, steel and motors.

Someone had an idea. Through work they put their idea into things that are visible. Today they take your money. Everything starts in the invisible state. Everything we now see used to be unseen. 

In the beginning there was only God. At creature the entire unseen universe became visible. Everything that has been created was made by the word of God. Although it already existed, God spoke so that what was invisible could become visible. You would never have known it existed, except God spat it out in faith. 

By faith God spat out what was in him. Everything in Him started to come forth. What we now see was birthed by God from what was invisibly within Him. Whatever you see came from the unseen nothing exists that was not some time in God. Thus, faith is not the evidence of things that do not exist. It is the evidence of things that are not yet seen. Everything we see has always been.

YOU ARE NOT JUNK

There are many people who are being passed by because others don't see what is in them. But God has shown me what's in me, and I know it is in you too. My job is to stop you and say: "Can you see what's in you? Do you know your potential? Do you know that you are not just someone born in a ghetto over the hill? There's a wealth of potential in you."

A sculptor sees so differently. They say Michelangelo used to walk around a block of marble for days, just walking around it, talking to himself. First he would see things in the rock; then he would go and take them out.

Insight like that of a sculptor is seen in the Bible. When the world dumps and rejects you, you land on the garbage heap of the world, God walks along and picks you up. He looks deep within you and sees a person of great worth.

Don't ever let anybody throw you way. You are not junk. When Go looks at you, He sees things that everybody else ignores. you are worth so much that Jesus went to Calvary to salvage and reclaim you. The spirit of God connected to your spirit is the only true judge of your worth. Don't accept that opinions of others because they do not see what God sees.

When God looks at you, He sees things that everybody else ignores.

WHOSE WISDOM GOOD PEOPLE??

WHOSE WISDOM GOOD PEOPLE??

Wisdom is supreme; therefore get wisdom (Proverbs 4:7). Wisdom protects us from the dangers of knowledge.

Potential is dormant ability. (The word dormant literally means "that which is, but it is just lying there below its full strength, unused.") It is also reserved power, untapped strength, and unused success. Potential is everything that a thing is, that has not yet been seen or manifested. Everything in life begins as potential. all things have the potential to fulfill themselves, because God created everything with potential. There is no fulfillment in life without understanding the reason for being. if we want to know the real potential of something, we first have to know what that thing was created to do.

So if you have a seed in your hand, kernel of corn or a pea, you will never get the seed's complete fulfillment until you know that there is a plant inside that seed. It is only as we look beyond the seed to the plant that we understand its true potential.

The same is true of our relationship with God. God created each man with a great wealth of potential. Too often, however, we look only at what we presently have. We look at our last dollar and say, "All I have is one dollar."

But God says, "No. That is not all you have. If you only knew the potential of that dollar."

And we reply, "But God you don;t understand. There's a one next to that '$' thing."

Again God says, "No. if you could just take this dollar and put it into a certain condition, it would multiply."

The potential of everything is related to its purpose for being. Before we can understand the potential of a thing or person , we first must know the conditions under which it was meant to exist. Thus the most important thing for you and me, as human beings, is to try and find out for the rest of our lives what is the purpose for everything in life. That is our main goal. Unless we ask ourselves, "What is the purpose for everything in life?" we will die without having experienced the potential of everything. We will miss the wisdom of God in creation

WHY WERE YOU BORN

  WHY WERE YOU BORN

There are people I have met who are progressing in life and affecting other people's lives, people like Monday Orucho, a tremendous man who has touched many people's lives, or PLO Lumumba, who is inspiring people all over the world to help them improve their self-esteem all seem to say the same thing: If you feel good about yourself, you will feel good about other people. In other words, only after you see yourself as a worthwhile person can you appreciate others as worthwhile people.

Monday Orucho can call you and you feel new and inspired. PLO can clear all doubts in you when you chat on phone. They feel good about themselves. 

If you feel good about yourself, you will feel good about other people.


What about you, do you feel good about who you are?

That's a very important insight because many people do not feel good about themselves. They look at themselves and wonder why God made them; or they doubt that anyone can find any good in them. But remember, God sees what others, and we ourselves, can't see. God looks at us and see that we are worth feeling good about. We are special to God. We are valuable and important

THINKING OF LIFE AGAIN

Charles Dickens is widely considered the greatest writer of the Victorian era. He wrote almost twenty novels of quality, dealing with profound themes, building remarkable literary characters and unleashing withering social criticism. There is a striking similarity in the plot structures of some of his best novels. This common thread is the disadvantaged, oft-orphaned child who strives to overcome a challenging childhood.

Think the eponymous Oliver of Oliver Twist, the industrious Pip in Great Expectations and the unfortunate Nell in The Old Curiosity Shop. My favourite such Dickens is David Copperfield. Surprising, since I gave up the book half-way on my first reading. I read the book years later with contrasting results. Copperfield is considered the most autobiographical of Dickens’ novels, and was also his personal favourite.
The first chapter, delightfully named ‘I am born’, has an auspicious opening: “Whether I should turn out to be the hero of my own life, these pages must show….” This grand start hearkens to the immortal heart of youth that ever yearns for heroism, ideals, valour and conquest. So of all Dickens’ characters, Copperfield is a creature after my own heart.
Youth differs from age in the spirit of adventure, the courage of conviction and the heroism of ideals as fresh as the first flowers. The young thrive on ideals. They are inspired by hope not fear, attracted more by good than evil. True youth is driven by a spirit of heroism. Nothing is more distressing than to meet young cynical people who have lost their ideals or never aspired to heroism. Thus in Dickens’ difficult novel, Hard Times, Louisa was tragically drilled to suppress sentiment and value only ‘facts and calculations’.
The spirit of the Greek hero Achilles and the drive of the famed Hercules bubble under the skin of youth, ready to be called up to the surface by the conjurer of hope, the visionary. But also, easily corrupted by the usurper who appears disguised as a prophet but concealing a spirit of manipulation. So it is distressing to see the push for liberal sex for the youth, dressed as a condom campaign, supported by the government.
The cynic believes the young are incapable of controlling themselves. So the false pragmatist rails at any actual or imagined ill in society, from environmental degradation to tribalism, from smoking to corruption. Yet these same persons are surprisingly content with moral, emotional and social pollution among the youth, and thus timidly counsel them, “Since you must have sex, use a condom.”
Recent studies on youth contraception and cohabitation should trigger a reassessment of the ‘C-word’ campaign, at least to counter false advertising. A study published in the Journal of Marriage and Family in 2010 showed significant positive relationship outcomes for couples who delayed their sexual involvement until marriage.
Other social studies have shown strong correlation between early sexual experience or multiple sex partners and higher rates of marital instability. They conclude that young people who practice sexual restraint are more likely to later experience the benefits of marriage, including various desirable life outcomes associated with marriage such as greater financial stability, improved physical and mental health.
Condoms also have contraceptive failure rates. But the real deal-breaker on condoms is that every apparently-protected sexual act actually harms the character and commitment of the young person and their future relationships, as Glenn Stanton explains in his recent book, “The Ring makes all the difference.”
Why not embrace an approach that challenges and inspires the youth to live up to the great ideal of fidelity? This ideal marks the final uplifting scene of David Copperfield when David’s friend Agnes is revealed to be his true and faithful lover: “Oh Agnes, oh my soul, so may thy face be by me when I close my life. So may I, when realities are melting from me like the shadows…, still find thee near me, pointing upward!”

FAMILY INTERGRITY

Have you ever experienced regret? Not the casual passing kind, but an entrenched piercing regret? The kind that comes with heartbreak? As Fulton Sheen explained in ‘Three To Get Married’, “a broken heart is not a fracture of a single heart but the rupture of two hearts once united in the rapture of a single love.” Have you ever suffered such loss?
In contrast, is there anything more uplifting than a small child’s eyes, than its smile, its laughter? Can the dancing eyes of a child fail to melt the hardest heart? Can any tragedy compare with the violent loss of childhood innocence? Those who have suffered real loss may understand something of the tragedy of innocence lost, a replay of the first ancient tragedy of man, the tragedy of the lost paradise of Eden.
Mankind’s first tragedy moved John Milton to compose his epic 350-year-old poem ‘Paradise Lost’. His anguished prayer bears repeating, “O Spirit… say first, what cause moved our grand Parents, in that happy state, favoured of heaven so highly, to fall off from their Creator and transgress his will? … Who first seduced them to that foul revolt?” Milton later puts into the mouth of the villain Satan this fearful defence: “Better to reign in Hell than to serve in Heaven.”
The social institution of ‘marriage and family’ survived the ruins of the ancient Paradise Lost. It was later renewed through the redemptive Easter events dramatised in Milton’s ‘Paradise Regained’. It now exists to rescue human love from corruption and to defend childhood innocence from violation. Thus Fulton Sheen affirmed marriage and family as follows, “The pleasure associated with love is the frosting on the cake; the purpose is to make us love the cake, not ignore it.”
It is egotism and the decline of reason that make decadent civilisation give primacy to sex over human love. This may be unknown to some media persons whose casual approach to sex, marital fidelity and family integrity is eroding our society’s capacity for love. Through the print and electronic media, these priests and priestesses of libertine sex continue to curse the Kenyan family and seduce it to a foul revolt.
The purveyors and consumers of libertine sex crave ecstasy as the pathway to love. What they find though is the bitter dregs of marriage perverted, family destroyed and a mirage of love that doesn’t satisfy. Martin Luther King’s unanswerable words ring out, “On the bleached bones of dead civilisations are written the words, ‘too late’.” The Kenyan family should be saved before it is too late.
Available statistics show that family is essential for the good of children, and marriage for the good of spouses. Physical, psychological, social, economic and spiritual wellbeing derive from marriage and family. A recent American study showed that children living with cohabiting parents, or with the mother co-habiting with a boyfriend, are respectively four and eleven times more likely to be sexually, physically or emotionally abused or vulnerable than children living with married biological parents.
Family integrity is in the best interests of our children (art 53(2), Kenyan Constitution). Stable family secured from adultery, cruelty and whimsical divorce is also good for men and women, and the basis of social order (art 45(1)). By nurturing our positive cultural heritage (art 11, 44), we can safeguard marriage and family. Thus the drafters of Kenya’s Marriage Bill should reject subtle proposals that cheapen marriage. Come-we-stay should not equate to marriage. No-fault or on-demand divorce, which treats sacred covenantal vows as worth even less than simple contracts, must be rejected. And polygamy should be limited by granting veto rights to women in customary marriages.
Have you ever been really happy? Not the contentment of a healthy animal but the stable uplifting joy that grows even through pain? Look into it and you will see that such joy, which implies a personal gift of self, always springs from family or similar community of love. Don’t you care to share such joy?

A CALL FOR INTELLECTUAL HYGIENE IN KENYA

IT IS NOT ENOUGH

(This is an excerpt of my latest paper, "A Call for Intellectual Hygiene" )
Bertrand Russell was a great Mathematician and Philosopher. Though his 1927 book "Why I am not a Christian" is not a good read for staunch Christians, it communicates a value that cannot be seen in many intellectuals (or non intellectuals) today. He could not just follow what he did not understand. His 1927 Papers also assert why intellectuals have to stand by their own. No wonder, when he won his Nobel Peace price, he was uneasy why the people who could not comprehend his mathematics could find a reason to believe he was the winner.

Bertrand said, "The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, and wise people so full of doubts." And the same can be seen in Kenya, and especially in the young minds in universities who are supposed to inject clarity of though and reason to the ideals of the country and the thinking of its people. Poor minds!!
Albert Einstein could tell you that any fool can know, the point is to understand! But my problem is that the so called intellectuals cannot give you an ear. They will instead employ their intellect to demean you, abuse you, and direct all manner of vendetta and vengeance for seeing a fault in them. And especially if you are a young man, or woman.That is why Abigail Van Buren said that “The best index to a person's character is how he treats people who can't do him any good, and how he treats people who can't fight back.” Oh, Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish, so said the legendary Euripides Bacchae!!
Look here good people. An intellectual who uses his intellect to defend the corrupt, manouvre through laws, manipulate policies for the wrong, and even ensure that generations are weakened is as good as evil. When intellectuals do not stand firm, then we fail. They are like mothers of destiny. A gaze down the memory lane tells me that it was the likes of Willy Mutunga, Prof. Micere Mugo, Prof. Ngugi wa Thiong'o, James Orengo among other intellectuals who stood firm and the result was the democracy that Kenya enjoys. I do not want to explore the sorry side of the politics in it but the point is that intellectuals were the solid backbone of the transformation. Look at the US, the civil rights movement was inspired by intellectuals who were not compromised at all. King himself had several degrees!!
When you study Mathematics, don't study to know it, understand it and be a better person because you are a guru in Math. If you cannot be better, freer or wiser when you know or get educated, you are as good as a deadly and poisonous concotion.
(The paper will be discussed in the Africa Leadership Academy Annual Convention in October)

 A CALL FOR INTELLECTUAL HYGIENE AMONG THE INTELLIGENTSIA 

{An abridged version of Abuta Ogeto's latest paper}
 


Life can be a very hard nut to crack if you create a gap between your life and wisdom. But in my interaction, schooling or listening, I realize that the most that the most important thing in life is to make a decision, and for that case a very good decision. A decision you will stand by even if the world went against you. The question is, have you made that decision. Again, have you made that decision(s)?

the tragedy is that in Africa, people refuse to think. And that is why most decision are made by the West and soon by the East. and we complain saying that they have enslaved us and they are dictatorial. The only strength they have capitalized on is THINKING and for that matter, thinking right and powerful!!

Listen good people. When Joshua was faced with a tough decision when leading the people deviant former slaves to Canaan. As is recorded in Joshua 24:15, He said, " As for me and my family, we shall worship the Lord, and indeed, he stood by his decision. When Jesus was faced with the reality of his crucifixion, it was painful but he said, "If it is your wish that I go through all this, hen let it be so". And indeed, he endured he painful whips and nailing to save the world.

Mother Teresa asked people not to complain when in a dark room. "Let each one light a candle and the room will soon be consumed in light".

I am a practising Catholic and when I read the doctrine of the church, I read about the Benedictine order where Monks have to undergo Conversatio Morum (Latin for complete change). Its a hard decision but when you make it, you must be ready to stand by it.
But as young Angolan Economist, Dampisa Moyo, explains in his book, "Dede", Africa is home to a theatre of researches courtesy of foreign organizations like world Bank and IMF. But what decisions have Africans made by themselves. You can now understand why we demonize saints and canonize the corrupt. That's why we honour fools with unschooled opinions and give them standing ovations when they pour their "wisdom" (or lack of) upon us. But when an intellectual and moral citizen gives his/her opinion, we jeer them. But what irk me is when intellectual endorse fools!! They cow down upon people who are out to satisfy their egocentric ambitions. The questions is, if the intelligentsia have dirtified their minds, where do we go from there??
Education is for life, not livelihood!! If you think I am wrong, why are there adverts telling us "wash your hands, wash your hands, wash your hands", we take education for livelihood instead of life, where livelihood is part.

A time will come when we have to make a decision. we may postpone it but it will just cause more worry, suffering and loss. Lets avoid so much empty talk. The spirit is only powerful if the decision is solid. MAKE A DECISION!! If Socrates or John Stuart Mill was alive, he could have wondered how petty the intellectuals have become. He could have wished to swiftly switch back to his grave.

When developed civilizations are talking about superior technology, we are talking about removing jiggers and washing hands. When the TRUE intellectuals are standing out and tall, our mediocre intellectuals are worshiping money and power and soon, they are ousted out of office.

I have to say that the problem is so worse that it has gotten into the Church as well. And very few clergymen can stand by the true word in the Christian's Bible, the Islam's Koran, Bhagavad Gita or Vedas of the Hindus.

Just as the Catholics say, Mea culpa, Mea culpa, Mea Maxi Maculpa, we ought to accept the fault and Make a decision. We have to be clean. And clean indeed we must be.

Therefore, I wish that we think clean and act as so. Let us act and live to the true meaning of our creed. and I repeat, if intellectuals have refused to think, what else can you expect.....DISASTER!!! Period!!

Abuta is an Actuarial Science Student, Author and personal Development Consultant at The Ignition Talks (Inc)

LEADING FROM YOUR STRENGTHS

We live in an environment that is constantly changing. Downsizing, reorganizing, reengineering, and outsourcing have become household terms. The reaction for the average worker is an endless expanding of their skills in the hope that they can become more marketable in the shifting labour market. Is that the best approach?

That may be a good reaction, but a poor response. Becoming a jack-of-all-trades and a master of none is not what today’s knowledge market requires. It demands depth not breadth, focus not frivolity.

The market is beginning to align itself to the age long philosophy of enduringly successful people. For ages they have deepened, focussed, and played to their strengths while managing their weaknesses. They have found greatness in their strengths, while the populace seeks it in vain by living one long big remedial life of fixing weaknesses.

If you have to specialise, and in these times, you must, your odds of standing out in your industry will be proportional to the degree your specialisation plays to your innate strengths. Strengths, activities you are naturally great at and that leave you feeling energised, is your foundation for greatness.

As the world around us changes, one thing remains constant within—your natural abilities. You may build on them and make the most of them, but you cannot change them. Why then not settle and build on the changeless core instead of chasing after the mirage out there.

Wired a certain way and endowed with specific abilities, you possess the potential of becoming great only in harnessing the core of your strengths—your talents. Fuelling your abilities with your ruling passions, create a masterpiece of what your hands find to do. 

Move from living for the weekend to looking forward to Monday. Live as James Michener remarked when he said, “The master in the art of living makes little distinction between his work and his play, his labour and his leisure, his mind and his body, his information and his recreation, his love and his religion. He hardly knows which is which. He simply pursues his vision of excellence at whatever he does, leaving others to decide whether he is working or playing. To him he’s always doing both.” Live a strong life!

THE MEDICINE IN WISE WORDS

THE MEDICINE IN WISE WORDS

One of the habits that I have endeavored to keep in me is reading great stuff. Reading supplies the brain with wit and exorcises stupidity. Of the hobbies that I have developed is writing. Why have knowledge when it cannot reach as many people as possible?

Of all hundreds of poems I have read, three of them overwhelm me. Forget about those fake ones about "love" written by minds smitten by adolescent tantrums. I talk about wise stuff written by real men and women.

The now aging Marjorie Oludhe McGoye wrote "ATIENO YO!" which flows masterfully but leaves heavy punches on oppressive employers. The other poem I read and re-read is Robert Frost's "THE ROAD NOT TAKEN" which has heavy lessons for life. But one that boils me in a pot of inspiration is Ruyald Kipling's poem "IF"

The poet asserts,

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too;

If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with wornout tools;

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with kings - nor lose the common touch;
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run -
THEN
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And - which is more - you'll be a Man my son!

THAT IS WHY SOME WRITER APTLY INTERJECTED, "MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON WISE WORDS FROM WITTY BRAINS"

THE GAP BETWEEN KNOWLEDGE AND ACTION

Have you ever wondered why, a lot of times, you just can’t seem to make progress in life despite the fact that you know so much about what it takes to succeed? There just seems to be a gap between what you know and what you actually do. I call this The Gap Between Knowledge and Action.

Over the years, I have gotten many enquiries through my motivational campaign ‘The Ignition Talks’, from people who feel frustrated and unable to progress in life. Quite a few indicated that they have read a lot of different personal development and motivational materials over the years and acquired a wealth of knowledge in this way. But, for some reason, they just couldn’t get past reading or listening to such materials to actually living the life they desired. 

Often this was accompanied by a sense of frustration and the feeling that perhaps such things just don’t work, or at least not for them. That is usually how we get to feel when there is a gap between our knowledge and our actions. It’s when you know what to do and how to do it, but you just can’t get to actually doing it. 

I have attended and listened to many seminars myself over the years. In many cases they were great seminars, giving really useful information. But I noticed that in all likelihood, most people attending the seminar would put the seminar materials on their shelves afterwards and pretty much not act on the information, even though at the time they received it they were very enthusiastic and excited about it. But somehow, as the days go by the routines of daily life get in the way and the initial zeal just dies out. 

It was in a coaching session that I came to realize what exactly that gap was. I found out that the missing ingredient is usually Clarity. Or rather, I should say, it is lack of clarity that keeps us stuck in a certain pattern. By lack of clarity I mean three basic things:

 Your fears
- Feeling Powerless
- Lack of Focus

Your Fears

By far the biggest obstacle to taking action is your fears. These may be fears that you are aware of, but quite often it is fears that you may not even be consciously aware of. For example, like many people you might like to start a business and have a lot of business ideas in this regard, but maybe you find yourself unable to take the next step. Something holds you back. Until you recognise and deal with that issue you may find yourself stuck.

I know of a person who had such a problem. She had gone into business several times and nothing seemed to have worked out. During one coaching session, she discovered what was holding her back.

You see, this lady’s parents had divorced when she was very young. After the divorce, she lived with her mother who was not wealthy. Her father, on the other hand, was wealthy and would get her expensive gifts and generally provide for her materially. Well, through coaching, she discovered that she was actually sabotaging her chances of success because to her, being wealthy meant being like her Dad. She felt that by being wealthy she would be betraying her mother who was not wealthy. So although outwardly and logically she was in business to make money, inwardly, she was afraid to make money, because she felt it would make her like her like the person she did not want to be, that is, her father.

It is important to be clear on what your fears are. They are by far the biggest obstacle that you have to deal with in order to move ahead and succeed. The example I have given also illustrates that knowing the origins of our fears is very important in dealing with them.

You may know what your fears are, but may not be clear on the reason you feel that way. The answer usually lies in the origin of the fear. Coaching and counseling can help you dig deeper and understand yourself better with respect to your fears. 

Feeling Powerless

The second obstacle is Powerlessness. Powerlessness occurs when you are living in a state of low power. In this state you will find that you generally feel less energetic, blame yourself or others, you are judgmental of self and, at times, even angry. The best way I would describe this state is the feeling of having a weight on your shoulder, or a feeling of heaviness in your chest or heart, particularly when you think about your future and your plans. It can be such a drag and every step can take so much effort.

Part of the answer to dropping this weight lies in learning to let go of the negative things in your life. Once you do, you are able to move ahead to a state of higher power. When you are in a state of higher power you let go of blame, judgment, anger and negativity. You drop that weight from off your shoulders or loosen those bands that are constricting your heart and mind.

Then you begin to feel refreshed and light. It becomes easier to move ahead without the clutter of negativity. In a state of higher power, wisdom and intuition are more accessible to you. The process of letting go of such judgments, blame and negativity need not be a lengthy or difficult one. It just needs to be focused and deliberate. Again, coaching can be very useful in this area. There are even some self-coaching tools, such as the Brain Walk, that can help you in this regard. Using the Brain Walk once a day for five to ten minutes, for example, you can energize yourself and get yourself in a state of higher power easily. Another thing that can help you to get to a state of higher power is your spirituality. We often neglect prayer and reading God’s Word, but they are the easiest and cheapest means of getting rid of negativity, blame and judgment of self and others. Meditate on God’s word and pray earnestly. The Bible says the “effectual, fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.” It will avail you the power you need and give you the courage to move forward without fear and heaviness.

Lack of Focus

Once you have recognized and let go of your fears and are in a state of higher power, you need to add Focus in order to move from knowledge to action. By focus, I mean your vision in life. What is it that you want to do with your life?

Part of the reason that knowledge you have is not being put to use may be that there is nothing for you to focus it on. There is nothing pulling you in a certain direction. So today if I tell you about investing in real estate you will be really excited about it, and tomorrow if I tell you about multilevel marketing you will be really excited about that too. The result is that you be pulled in many directions and end up remaining stationary despite your unfocused efforts.

Acting consistently and towards the right purpose is important. Work out your vision. Work out your purpose. Be clear on what you want in life. Once you do it becomes easy to say no to things that will not add value to you. It becomes easier to say no to distractions and you will then know what knowledge you need to acquire and concentrate on in order to reach your destination. 

If you want to get what everyone is getting, do what everyone is doing.

I have chosen this topic because it is something that is very dear to me and something I have made a personal philosophy and which I endeavor to live by.

Abuta Ogeto is an Actuary and Motivational Speaker

The Four Demons

The Four Demons

We have them but we deny that fact, they haunt us but we glorify them, they are bad but we can’t realize it.

                                                                                   

I have previously traveled to various parts of our country as I undertake the duty given to my calling. I have to say that what I have seen always baffles me to bone. I have seen a generation doomed in another generation in bloom. What brings out these two diverse differences is really out of my wit. I do not know why this is happening given that we are in the 21^st century where information spreads like bushfire.

My dear readers, I have seen four demons that govern our people and make all these differences we see. I am scared that the people are immensely possessed by the demons that a mere prophet cannot avert that easily. It is so bad that even the greatest powers that be are in fear of facing and fighting them. If you do not mind, I am so much ready and willing to take you through this less travelled path. I guess that it may not be that sweet but I have to say regardless of whichever barrier that may come my way. I deem it quite necessary to speak it out.

Why is it that we take these stereotypes so seriously and gauge ourselves by that yardstick?

The very first demon is the demon of IDENTITY. This is one of the commonest in the whole universe. You must have heard that some communities are naturally thieves; others are immoral while others are untamable barbarians. It must have been heard by you that some communities are lazy, ignorant and have primitive cultures. These stereotypes have made many people fail to identify their real selves. This is what leads to an identity crisis.

 Most people have been broadcasted to be poor, academically below par, unable to present themselves well or are incapable of being leaders.

It is surprising that those who say it loudest have never interacted with them in the first place.

So, what water or truth do these sentiments hold? Why is it that you take them so seriously and gauge yourself by that yardstick? This is what we call complete nonsense.

It is also important to note that people take some careers to be more important than others. They say that doctors are most successful people while teachers are the least successful. They purport that businessmen are the richest while farmers are the poorest. In the real sense that is not the case. This identity crisis has even gone down to students. Those in district and county schools consider themselves to be less bright than those in national schools. This mentality only is enough to make one fail. They develop a low esteem of themselves and more particularly a rift and fear of their capabilities. They do not realize that they are the same bodies but only covered with different clothes.                                                                                                                                                                                                           

I would like to change that notion in you. When results are out, it is not only students from national schools who feature but several others from little known schools make prominent appearances. Haven’t you seen it happen? I would like to tell you that I have seen doctors who own big hospitals while others struggle to eke out a living. Some even strike for better pay. Where then is this stereotypic success that ALL doctors have? I have seen prosperous and financially well off teachers who even lend businessmen money to bail them out of bankruptcy. I ask again, where does this stereotype gain acclaim from? It is in most cases a complete opposite state of affairs. It calls on you to define your own identity in a clear manner and not to rely on any other person’s opinion to do it for you. Doomed are you if you do not figure out your real person that you will be known for.

“If you do not define who you are, then someone will define who you are, in the way he wants, and you will be forced to accept it the way he has defined you.”

In the true way of it, none of these stereotypes are true. It only needs the knowledge of yourself for you to know who you really are.

Some time back when I was a teacher, I used to ask my students who they say they are. Unfortunately, most of them could not forward any reasonable definition of themselves. But for those who tried to coin a proper description of themselves, you could note that their academic performance was commendable. I concluded that in most cases the most effective and successful people are those who strive to know their true identity and interrogate it wisely.

From this knowledge, they are able to affect change in themselves and what they do.

Identity made Martin Luther King lead a revolution that restored sanity and preserved the rights of the blacks. He freed them from the chains of slavery. He fought tirelessly and though young, he knew he will, and sure, he did.

Identity made Olusegun Obasanjo move from a poor background and walking barefoot to school, to become the president of Nigeria.

Identity made Oprah Winfrey move from grass to grace. She presents a show that is acclaimed worldwide for the inspiration that it brings to people’s lives. It should be known that they did not own a TV while she was young.

Indiscipline is filth and failure in manifestation. (Victor Otieno)

Identity made Barrack Obama clinch the US presidency although being labeled a monkey because of his black roots.

Identity made PLO Lumumba the best orator in Kenya and beyond although he was born in Pumwani, where pure English, French or Kiswahili was seldom spoken.

Identity is what is what is going to drive you from doom and damnation to glory and greatness. Yes, it is identity and no other thing.

Impunity

The second demon is the impunity demon. This impunity has become so inherent in us and we have taken is as usual and normal. We   have developed a sense of wrongdoing and embraced it gracefully. We have been made to know that it pays nothing to obey the law.

Most people have defined success path wrongly from what they do and believe in. If you want to be graceful, you must steal and break the law. This is incredible! We must engage in corrupt dealings for you to succeed. We have come to embrace this fact as self-evident and true. Students have taken it virtuous to cheat in exams and pass without much ado. Wrongness has been replaced with righteousness. This is impunity! What is more exceptional is that, as people indulge in illicit and undignified means to gain benefit, they are insensitive of morals and the law. They are aware but never mind.

Our young generation is growing up knowing that all is gained through impunity. Merit is no longer valuable; it is a great undoing instead. With this outline, is hell not coming early to us? Are we going to be able to elude it? Each day is going to add and renew deep and painful wounds that no concoction can cure.

Paul, one of the greatest missionaries in history, was, at one time, a persecutor of Christians. He killed and maimed at will. He didn’t care in any way. Persecution is what he liked most and did best. But on one of his numerous undertakings, he met God through a torch. He was blinded. On restoration of his sight, he changed his name to Paul. He was no longer a man whose name was synonymous to terror, horror and death. He was no longer a man of impunity. From impunity, he transformed to become the missionary whose work we celebrate to date. This is the man that Jesus laid the foundation of Christianity on and said, ’he is the rock.’ Yes, a rock. He forgot impunity and became virtuous.

In my high school, a student in our class way quite undisciplined for a long time. Teachers punished him again and again but all was in vain. He made noise and absenteeism was his second name. Being on the wrong side of the law was his order of the day. But a time came when he was made a prefect in charge of the school environment. The boy underwent total reform. I do not know how it all happened but he changed. He performed his duties with zeal, dignity and diligence.

The path was worn and slippery. My foot slipped from under me, knocking the other out of the way, but I recovered and said to myself, it is just a slip and not a fall. (Abraham Lincoln)

 He improved tremendously on class attendance and academic performance generally. Come KCSE, he scored an A-(minus).

When I enquired on his change, he told me, indiscipline is filth and failure in manifestation.

The third demon isfatalism. We tend to think that only the worst will happen. We do not believe that we can have a breakthrough at any given time. All we know is misery and failure. The challenges that we face do not act to show us any positive way or even correct ourselves and begin to progress.

We should shun the chains of this demon for us to see the positive big picture of ourselves and our future. This is a clarion call for us to embrace and learn from our failures. We should develop ourselves forever in a manner that even our dear Lord will be proud of.

Bob Marley averted fatalism to become one of the greatest reggae musicians in the world albeit coming from one of the poorest estates in Jamaica. Poverty and disadvantage never destroyed his enthusiasm dreams and the spirit of greatness. He fought on and believed in great things. Fatalism is one thing that could not be seen in Bob. His songs have stood the test of time and continue to inspire and entertain generation after generation. He has indeed kept his legacy despite being physically absent from the real world. Why can’t we do away with this demon then?

When Professor Ali Mazrui was young, he did not qualify to go to university directly. He taught not to employ fatalism in any way. At a certain time, missionaries came and wee looking for a translator. It was only Ali Mazrui who could do that job. This is because he did not throw the knowledge away although he failed to move on to college. He translated in flawless English that the missionaries got astounded and sought for a scholarship for him in England. One man Ali Mazrui went to Manchester University in England and graduated with distinction. He did not allow any fatalism again; he perused his masters in Columbia University in New York. He did not stop there either but went on to Oxford University to acquire his doctorate degree. Upon its acquisition he was invited to Michigan University as a professor and headed a political science department. The state university of New York could not wait to call him as professor of humanities. He performed the duty well among other high profile scholarly works he had undertaken. This is a complete example of a man who fatalism is just but nothing. Is it nothing to you too?

Nelson Mandela believed in the deliverance of the black South Africans from the apartheid rule. He endured all manner of undignified treatment and more particularly his long time stay in prison. 27 years in prison! He became the most respected prisoner in the most respected prisoner I the world. He believed in something big, something great and something successful. Indeed, in 1994, so Africa was free from apartheid rule. He rose to become the president of the country whose interests he fought for almost three quarters of his life. For Mandela and his likeminded colleagues, fatalism was nowhere. It did not exist.

As if that is not enough, Abraham Lincoln is another perfect example of why we should fight fatalism to bone and drive its spirit to inevitable extinction. This gentleman passed through many tribulations before becoming the 16^th president of the U.S. his speeches were the most quoted in the American history. But early in age, he had many hardships. Surprisingly, all this never killed his vigour. In 1832, he lost his job and could not get into law school. In the same year, he was declared bankrupt in business and spent 17 years paying for the debts arising thereof. In 1833 he was defeated for legislature and again in 1834. That same year, his fiancée died and his heart was broken. In 1835, he had a nervous breakdown and spent six months in bed. In 1836, he was defeated in becoming the speaker. In 1838, he was defeated in becoming an elector. Come 1840, he never made it to congress again. In 1849 the senate narrowly escaped him. In 1854, the vice presidency escaped him. But come 1860, he was elected as president of U.S.A with a landslide victory with over 96%. And this is the Abraham Lincoln that many might not have known.

Are you little discouraged? You have tried and tried and you seem not to be achieving any dream? Do not be discouraged. It took Abraham 30 years to become president. How many years have it taken you? Don’t be fatal, be resilient. It does not matter how many times you have failed in your business or exams. In raising your family or career, what matter I s your resilience. In bettering your life and aspirations, never be fatal. Fight on still. Why should you give up? Lincoln is known as the most resilient man in history. Do his challenges inspire you? If yes, then get encouraged.

A student once wrote me a letter appreciating how my talk had helped her fight fatalism. This is what it read.

Dear Abuta,

I am writing this to let you know how wonderful your presentation on Dissing the Dis of Despair was. You straightforwardly told the story and captured the attention and imagination of everybody in the hall. I discovered that I was suffering from the disease of giving up whenever a little challenge comes my way. Hearing you speak, I thought you were talking about me, but I discovered it was the same case to many of us.

 You deeply moved me and I dare commit myself to think smarter, generate many ideas and more importantly, never ever despair. As I listened to the story of your past, the constant barriers to kick yourself off, I find every reason to pursue my course to the highest point possible. Your exceptional ability in delivering messages has helped me gain a vision for something bigger than what I currently know. I thank god that you came to my life because you really inspire me.

 May God bless you.

We decided to introduce new ideas that never existed before because Singapore was not like any other country (Lee Kuan Yew)

The last demon is the demon of infertility. This one demon that is so bad that it can cause deadlier havoc than the aforesaid three. If it possesses you, then it will take a while for you to be realistically alive. The infertility I am talking about is not the one you know, the biological one. It is the infertility of ideas. We are not at all times ready to create a good ground for fertility of ideas to thrive. We often kill any ground that shows capability of giving birth to ideas. In simple words, we hate producing new ideas. Have a look at how we appreciate those who produce or disseminate ideas. We should know that those who have thrown this demon out of their lives have achieved remarkable progress and success in their lives.

They have had a great impact on humanity. Singapore’s founding father, Kuan Yew, said this in his book. “We decided to introduce new ideas that never existed before because Singapore is not like any other country.” The people of Singapore went on to produce ideas that moved them from third a third world country to a first world country. The demon of infertility was destroyed and driven to extinction.

The gentleman who discovered M-PESA must have averted infertility out of him completely. He did not mind whether he was a Kenyan or not, whether poor or not. He went on to discover something that the world has embraced. Is this not colourful? Yes indeed. As we enlist the services of M-PESA, we should know that infertility was cultivated and a superb product was created.

It is only when fertility completely replaced infertility that Brin and Brian discovered Google. They produced an idea that has changed the world and its entire people. An idea that has helped disseminate information and fight the common enemy-ignorance.

An idea that has employed millions and earned them a living. It is then, and only then, that we realize that infertility should be thrown into the grave and rest there in pieces.

May infertility die and rest in pieces (B M O)

Fertility made Bill Gates the richest man in the universe after coming up with the brilliant Microsoft idea. This is the idea that has made it possible to have this document the way you are reading it. Bill, despite performing poorly in school, he never allowed this demon to posses him. He was labeled a dummy who was incapable of learning but later employed those who were brighter than him in class. Once again, we have every reason to execute this demon at whatever cost.

Fertility enabled Kikelenzu secondary school in Ukambani to become the best school in Physics in Kenya. The students did not let the low regard of their school or their past failures prevent them from showing the country what they are truly capable of. They knew they were fertile, they could produce and indeed they produced. It should be noted that they did not just produce but produced the best. That is what fertility makes of you and gives you.

Fertility of ideas is what is going to transform you from who you think you are to who you really are.

Fertility is what is going to bring you out of darkness and put you into perpetual light.

Fertility is going to propel you from grass to grace.

Fertility, I say, is going to shake the failures in you and their foundations.

I have said it time and again that between the fight of the lion and the shark, it is the terrain that matters (Dr Wale)

Fertility, my dear friends is going to use the rabbles of your failures to lay an unshakable foundation of striking performance.

Fertility is the vehicle that is going to move you from third world and establish your home in the first world. I challenge you today to have the productivity that is unparalleled in the whole universe. Embrace fertility and attain what you could have achieved long time ago. May infertility in you die and rest in pieces.

May fertility be born in your life and live there eternally. May you have a fertile life, studies, service or even leadership!

As you strive to avert these demons, it is good to know where to tread and fight. It is essential to know who you deal with and the school of thought they belong. It is senseless to explain sense to the mad. It is pointless to explain something to the dead 

I have said time and again that the fight between the shark and the lion is determined by the terrain.  If the shark fight with the lion in the jungle, it is quite obvious that the lion will win.

Likewise, if the lion fights the shark in the ocean, it is undisputable that the lion will be defeated. This is because of the terrain. In the jungle, the shark cannot swim nor take in air. It does not have such a biological design to enable it to do so. The lion cannot survive in the ocean because it can neither swim nor breathe. It will just die even before facing the opponent

The terrain therefore matters greatly in our lives. If you are the lion, do not fight your way to success in the sea. If you are the shark, never attempt to undertake any plan in the sea. The implication of the terrain is this. There are people who possess the ability to gain insurmountable greatness but they do fight in the wrong terrain. Many people are sharks but they do not know it because they are on land.

 Other people are fierce lions but they do not recognize the ocean they have put themselves in. No wonder they are defeated.  To bring the point closer home, one should undertake an activity he/she knows best, with the people who inspire him/her most and most importantly, in an environment that can help you achieve the climax of your success.

A student should not dream of success if he/she spends time with people who seldom study, do not value studies and are always absent minded when it comes to matters of studies. A businessperson who wants to succeed should not associate with people who take business as theft, cannot give any progressive idea or those who yearn for the day his/her business will fail. It should be otherwise instead.

At all times, one should try to make a new people, a new inspiration and a new environment out of the one he/she has. You are the force that can put you wherever you want to be. Remember that if you fail to say what you want and endeavourto get it, then, you will be given something that you do not like and be forced to take it.  

As I conclude this chapter, I hope that the revelation herein has enabled you to discern the demons that possess you. I believe that you are going to avert them and sharpen your edge of competence in improving the standards of all that you do. I once again challenge you to take the challenge and define yourself better than ever before.