The Law Of Kindness

I have to pinch myself sometimes to be reminded that I just could be the luckiest man alive on planet earth.

I live in a democratically run country. I have freedom of religion. I have an abundance of food, the ability to earn as much money as I want, and plenty of opportunity at my disposal.

I can drive what I want and where I want. I can travel freely throughout the world. There are no limitations placed upon me and my dreams. I am loved by my family and my friends – even when I make mistakes.

I can set goals. I can make plans. I can sip lattes, read books, listen to music, watch films,  swim in the ocean, paddle up a river, climb a mountain, and breathe in the fresh air. To do these I don’t ever have to ask anyone’s permission.

I can tap into the latest technology available and communicate with my friends in an instant – whether they live in Peru, Panama, Paris or Portugal.

But with all that freedom I am ruled by one law – the law of kindness. And that law states that the more that I get the more responsible I need to be when it comes to giving.

Get more? Give more!

For I have walked the streets of poverty. I have visited the corridors of leprosy colonies. I have smelt the stench of lack and I have heard need’s cry.

So I am fully aware that as a citizen of planet earth I have a responsibility to reach out to those around me and to  share what I have, as directed by the one who created kindness, with those I am divinely brought in contact with all the days of my life – demonstrating the spirit of the law called kindness.

Poss-Ability

Every one of us has been given certain abilities. But in life, if we are to ever stand above the crowd, we must take those abilities and develop them if we’re ever going to make a significant contribution to the world in which we live.

I must admit that I have come across individuals more talented, more intelligent, more handsome, more connected, more capable, more financial, more able than myself who have failed to reach their full potential, because they have never fully developed or even used those abilities to benefit others.

And yet I have observed others who lack the charisma, the charm, the opportunity, and all the things that one would consider necessary to live an influential life, and yet they have soared. They have turned their limited abilities, in the eyes of others, into what I would call ‘poss-abilities’.

And what is required to take the ordinary and turn it into the extraordinary?

Here are just a few courageous qualities that I have identified in those who live lives filled with ‘poss-ability’.

1. They Have The Courage To Dream

Dreamers are those who dare to live differently. They are forged with a desire to make a difference, to contribute, and to inspire. And it all starts by having the guts to dream something bigger than their ability.

2. They Have The Courage To Take Action

A dream on its own is simply a dream. A dream backed up with a plan and corresponding action is a dream being fulfilled. It positions the dreamer to do one of three things – win, fail, or to have an opportunity to learn from their mistakes. Through the lessons they learn they will become stronger.

3. They Have The Courage To Persist

Once action has begun, there is going to be a time where persistence will need to kick in. This is the period between identifying the dream and actually fulfilling the dream. This gutsy persistence separates those who think that they have a dream from those who know for a fact that the dream is real and true, and will require a double dose of determination to see its ultimate fulfillment. This is where the champion takes over – all the way to victory.

Through these courageous qualities someone’s ability is totally transformed into that wonderful creature called ‘Poss-Ability’.

Those That Move

‘All mankind is divided into three classes: those who are immovable, those that are movable, and those that move.’ Benjamin Franklin

1. Those Who Are Immovable

There are those amongst us who are stuck. Stuck in tradition. Stuck in their ways. Stuck in comfort. Stuck in religious thought-sets. Stuck in bad habits. Stuck in mindsets. Stuck.

And there is a chance that as they live stuck they will die stuck. Immovable. Not even an atomic bomb will move them. In business, if you’re stuck, you won’t be in business for long. Immovable in life, in family life, in organizations, in education, in institutions, in politics, in anything and everything.

To be stuck is to be unstuck – destined for destruction. Immovable.

2. Those That Are Movable

This is a better place to be in. But again this is where we need to ask the question, ‘Where do I move?’ This is not being in a position where you are moved by every rumor. This is the place where you are to be moved by convictions, by passion, with a sense of purpose and direction. Not moving as a result of a knee jerk reaction to changing circumstances.

This is positioning yourself in the company of wise counsel and sound mentoring. This is choosing wisely and selectively. For otherwise you will be battered by every passing wind that blows your way.

3. Those That Move

These are the directors of their destiny. These are the voices in the wilderness. These are the up-stream swimmers. These are the original thinkers. These are those who chart their own course. These are those who don’t wait to be asked. These are the trendsetters.

These at times are the eccentrics. These are the fashion manufacturers. These are the movers. These are the shakers. These are the speech makers. These listen to the beat of their own heart. These are the history makers. These are the leaders of yesterday, today and tomorrow.

I have a question for you – Who are you, and whom do you wish to become?

ThroughOut

‘Often the best way out is through.’

All of us at some time in our lives will feel hemmed in, surrounded, blocked, hindered, or delayed by life’s circumstances. This is not the time to run, nor to even stand still, resigned to the seeming fate or thought that this now is to be your lot in life.

We were never born to stagnate. We were never created to crumble. We were brought to planet earth to conquer and to overcome.

And so when your enemy surrounds you – that is the time  to take up arms and declare war. Wild animals know this, for a wild animal, when it is backed into a corner – this is when it is most vicious. For it knows that there is only one way out of their predicament and that is to go forward.

Confrontation is your greatest friends in these times – and as you confront your fears, your bills, your lack of opportunity, your sickness, or anything else that is opposing your future success, this is the time to come out with all guns blazing. And then watch them dissipate before your very eyes. Smoke – that is all they are. There was no fire there after all.

Be the maker of moves, the implementer of strategies, the proponent of plans, and you will make your way out by going and growing through.

The Measure Of A Man

I’m pondering this afternoon about where all my schoolmates are now. What have they achieved? What influence have they had? What level of success have they accrued? What significance are they effecting? What impact are they having?

For what is the measure of man or a woman’s life?

Some have said that you can measure a man’s life by those who have measured their lives against them. I truly believe that one can measure their life by whether he or she has done what Allah (God) has called them to do.  But only a man or a woman and Allah can come up with that answer.

Men are so quick to judge, so quick to condemn, so quick to advise. But dare I say this? Unless you have walked in the shoes of another, you and I have no right to do any of what I have just listed.

Can we know the pulse of another man’s heartbeat? Can we discern the size of another man’s dream? Can we know the mission that his Allah (God) has assigned for him to perform?

Then why are we so obsessed with fixing others?

You and I have not been born to fix. We have been created to love. So let us stop judging, and if we fail to fully comprehend, then let us lean in little closer, ever seeking to understand and learn, in the spirit of love.

Overcome the overwhelm

There are times in all of our lives when we are swept away by an avalanche known as life’s experiences. It could be an unexpected death in the family, a job retrenchment, a failed buiness, divorce, legal litigation, or even an investment that went wrong.

And it’s at times like these that you may feel like you’re drowning under a deluge of happenings that you hadn’t planned on.

So how do you overcome the overwhelm?

1. The first thing is to stop and make a list of all your assets. Apart from that which you’ve just lost, what other fine qualities are still a part of your life? Did you know that your smile is one of your greatest assets? Restore your faith and confidence by reacquainting yourself with yourself.

2.The next thing to do is to make a list of all the things you need to do to get back on track. You have faced a derailment, and by listing these things you can begin to assess what is required to move forward. A list always puts things in a better perspective.

3.Tackle these steps – one step at a time. It is far better to do one thing than to do nothing at all. It is far better to move one centimetre forward than to stand still. For example, if you’re facing a multitudinous number of bills that need to be paid – the first thing you may need to do – before you attempt to pay anything – is to talk to your creditors. By being open and honest with them you will find that they will work with you as you restage your recovery. Clear communication is the key. And when it comes to prioritizing your list – break them up into groups identified by their level of urgency.  Not every task needs to be completed today.

By following these three simple steps you can turn your overwhelm into an overcome each and every time.

Don’t Be A Doormat

To walk in humility is not to be used as a doormat. Stand tall in the knowledge that you have been created for greatness. Know this. You have been born for a time such as this.  So be proud of who you are, of what you know and for what you can do.

When Allah (God) created you He knew that He was creating something unique, something extremely precious and special.

You have a gift upon your life that no other human has been given. So be yourself. And take that gift and unwrap it so that we, as the recipients of the gift of your life that you offer, can receive it with great joy.

If your gift is to write, then write. If it is to paint, then paint. To speak, then speak. To build, then build. To compose, then compose. To support, then support. To create, then create.

But whatever you do, don’t do it half-heartedly. Do it with passion, and with a conviction that you have something of incredible value to offer the world.

And know this, that no matter who may criticize, or condemn – you are worthy and you are highly valued.

Be assured – because it’s a fact. God has never once created anything or anyone of inferior quality. Even with any flaws that you know you may have – you were created absolutely perfect.

Miss Understood

No matter what you do, you will not be able to please everybody.

If you speak to an audience of one hundred people, it is said that three of the hundred will not like you. But do we get concerned about the three, or rather press on with the ninety seven?

The more influence that you have, be assured that a dartboard will become part of your everyday wear.

People who do nothing with their lives are rarely targeted. It is only those who truly make a difference who will find themselves in the firing line.

But it is at that very point that a true leader will rise up above any criticism and simply brush off the mosquito bites – no matter how hurtful they may be – pressing on with the fulfillment of the vision for their life.

It is so easy to set yourself up as a critic, but few can willingly take on the role of being members of the group called ‘the criticized’. For history tells us that a great person’s companion throughout life is a lady called ‘Miss Understood.’

But it is how you entertain her that will make all the difference of how you fair in the(in the words of the wisest man who ever lived) ‘dog eat dog’ world that we live in.

Here are a few ways that you can do that:

1. Listen

Whenever there is a misunderstanding, listen. Because at times there is a possibility that there could be an element of truth communicated to you.

2. Learn

As a fellow traveler in this world, we can always learn something about others, and about ourselves when a misunderstanding occurs.

3. Improve

If you glean a truth from what ‘Miss Understood’ has shared with you, then apply it to your life immediately. You will be richer because of it.

4. Don’t React

Now if the misunderstanding has arisen from a clashing of belief systems, then resist reacting. Be big enough to let it go. You can’t change others, if they choose not to do so. Simply love them – even those who have failed to comprehend your heart. Time passed has a habit of bringing forth truth in its truest of light.

So take care of  ‘Miss Understood’, your fellow traveler, as you continue on your journey towards a life of outstanding influence and significance.

Be trendsetter

Take a path less traveled by others and tread your own.

Oh you may have to break open virgin territory that requires the use of a machete or a front-end loader, but that is the way of the pioneer. That is the trek of the adventurer.

They don’t want to take the beaten path. They want to push out the boundaries and break down the traditions of men. They want to ask the hard questions. They refuse to accept the statement: ‘that’s the way it has always been done around here.’

When everyone else is going right, they will be going left. When everyone is going up,they will be going down. When everyone is going under, they will be going over. When everyone is queuing up behind everyone else, they’ll go and stand at the front of a new queue that they just created, because they can.

So be a trendsetter. Be a revolutionary. Be confrontational if you wish. Create your own brand called You Inc.

Don’t put up with the way things are done. Do something completely outrageous and brand spanking new. Push against the restrictions. Extend your tent pegs. And if it says, ‘Wet Paint’, just don’t touch it. I dare you to grab it with both hands. Be radical. Be loud. Be large. Be huge. Be-autiful!

And in being you, make sure that everything you do will create a better world for all of us to live in, because you have decided to join the long list of inventive minds, who have lived throughout the ages (and are now heralded as champions), who chose to tread their own path.

Character’s Code Of Conduct

Character is the inherent complex of attributes that determines a person’s moral and ethical actions and reactions. It also speaks to me of moral rectitude. And rectitude is defined as righteousness as a consequence of being honorable and honest.

I have lived long enough to observe the outworking of lives lived with or without character.

Now please do not misunderstand me. Bad things still happen to good people. But there are those whom I have, in the past, perceived as being the possessors of a flawed character, who are now either dead, destroyed, imprisoned, or are currently under-performing in respect to their full potential. I do not stand in judgment. I simply observe.

Those whom I viewed as having strong moral character, on the other hand, no matter what life has thrown at them, have gone on from strength to strength, and continue to grow stronger, in both character and influence, with each passing year.

Those who live their lives by a moral and ethical code, for an extended period of time, and I’m speaking of decades here, will reap the crops resulting from the good seed that they have continued to sow throughout the years.

Those who choose to sow wild oats, as it were, are twenty to thirty years down the track having to deal with the ‘weed’ ramifications that have arisen from those earlier plantings, many of which were planted while they were yet youths.

I learnt in science at school that for every action there is a corresponding reaction. I read in other self help books that what we sow we will reap. These are laws. And by our co-operation, or lack of compliance to these laws – our futures are determined.

So the important thing is this – that we embark on character’s code of conduct as early as possible in our life – so that we can begin to enjoy the fruits of a long life that is defined by righteousness, morality, honesty and honour. And add to that list blessing

The Brick

A young and successful executive was traveling down a neighborhood street, going a bit too fast in his new Jaguar. He was watching for kids darting out from between parked cars and slowed down when he thought he saw something. As his car passed, no children appeared. Instead, a brick smashed into the Jag’s side door!


He slammed on the brakes and backed the Jag back to the spot where the brick had been thrown. The angry driver then jumped out of the car, grabbed the nearest kid and pushed him up against a parked car shouting,“What was that all about and who are you? Just what the heck are! you doing? That’s a new car and that brick you threw is going to cost a lot of money. Why did you do it?”


The young boy was apologetic. “Please, mister..please, I’m sorry but I didn’t know what else to do,” He pleaded, “I threw the brick because no one else would stop…”


With tears dripping down his face and off his chin, the youth pointed to a spot just around a parked car. “It’s my brother,” he said. “He rolled off the curb and fell out of his wheelchair and I can’t lift him up.” Now sobbing, the boy asked the stunned executive, “Would you please help me get him back into his wheelchair? He’s hurt and he’s too heavy for me.”


Moved beyond words, the driver tried to swallow the rapidly swelling lump in his throat. He hurriedly lifted the handicapped boy back into the wheelchair, then took out a linen handkerchief and dabbed at the fresh scrapes and cuts.


A quick look told him everything was going to be okay.. “Thank you and may God bless you,” the grateful child told the stranger. Too shook up for words, the man simply watched the boy push his wheelchair-bound brother down the sidewalk toward their home. It was a long, slow walk back to the Jaguar.


The damage was very noticeable, but the driver never bothered to repair the dented side door. He kept the dent there to remind him of this message, “Don’t go through life so fast that someone has to throw a brick at you to get your attention!”

To Live A Rich Life

‘Actually, I don’t have a sense of needing anything personally. I’ve learned by now to be quite content whatever my circumstances. I’m just as happy with little as with much, with much as with little. I’ve found the recipe for being happy whether full or hungry, hands full or hands empty. Whatever I have, wherever I am, I can make it through anything in the One who makes me who I am.’ – Apostle Paul

In the pursuit of happiness many believe that an abundance of money will cure all ills.  But it has been my observation that wealth without a plan to use it for the betterment of others, other than yourself, can develop into a cancer that will ultimately consume and destroy you.

I have dined and lived amongst Lakhpatis, and I have slept on the dirt floor of a village hut. And it is my conclusion that it is possible to at times have greater peace and happiness in a hut than in a mansion.

Wealth is comparative, and it is foolish to compare what you have or don’t have with another. Compared to Bill Gates I am poor. Compared to the refugee I am a billionaire.

If you want to feel rich, then spend some time amongst the poor. If you want to feel poor, then spend some time around the rich. If you want to live a balanced life, then do both. Learn from both ends of the spectrum, and then live true to yourself.

Money is a powerful tool to be used for good. The love of money is what is evil.

When it comes to money – let it be the water and you be the pipeline that transports it to where it can purchase that which can do the most good. Don’t be a reservoir. Be a channel. Don’t be a dam. Be a floodgate.

But in your giving, be discerning. Give a hand up and not just a hand out. Care for the widows. Feed the orphans. Rescue the perishing.

Be the solution, not the problem. Share what you have – no matter how big or how small. For true living arises from a life that is dedicated to true giving.

Dust off the dream

I was challenged recently to dust off some old dreams that I had allowed to grow stale and rusty from lack of use.

It’s so exciting to dig them up again. It’s like being an archaeologist stumbling across an ancient relic and a new dig. For the old adage is true – where there is still life there is always hope.

It is never too late to refresh an old dream, to dust it off and go again. You simply need to relook at it with new eyes and renewed enthusiasm that is fired by your original vision.

So what dreams have you packed away in a box, stuffed in the attic or stored away in the garage?

It’s never too late to go again. You’re never too old to dream ridiculously outrageous dreams.

The only way you will truly fail in life is if you choose to stop trying.

Try. Try. Try. Try again.

Fail. Fail. Fail. Fail as many times as you need to until you succeed.

Pull out the old dreams. Restore the vision by buying yourself a brand new pair of visionary glasses. Put them on as you roll up your sleeves while surrounding yourself with your personal cheer squad, and dare to dream again.

Why?

Because dreams come true – and why not you?

Join me as we pursue our dreams together – and on our days of achievement let us rejoice together – in the fact that we had the courage to pursue our God-given dreams that were given to us to define our significant lives

The Fate Of Imitate

To be bound by imitation is to live a life of mediocrity.

Escape while you can. Tap into the uniquity that resides within you today. Commune with the creator who takes up residence in your heart and in your mind, and surprise the world with yet another moment of superb genius.

Attach passion to everything that you do, every word that you write, and every syllable that you speak.

Do not fellowship with the dead. Oh, yes, they walk, they talk, they squawk, but they are as parrots who simply repeat what others have uttered. There is nothing original about them at all. And within their utterances there is no soul. Their skeletons lack flesh. Their soil lacks nutrients. Their air lacks oxygen.

Bring with you – in all you do or say – trace elements that enrich and empower those with whom you meet. Never leave those whom you touch poorer for the experience. In contrast, may they leave your presence filled to overflowing, busting, gorged, stuffed – replete.

Don’t be as those who drain the very life out of those around them.

Flood. Drench. Drown.

They will not perish. They will in fact thirive and come back for more, because they have spent time in the presence of one who refuses to imitate.

The Fire Of Thought

Emerson writes in his lecture to divinity students that, ‘The true preacher can be known by this, that he deals out to the people his life – life passed through the fire of thought.’

I agree with the master of philosophic thought, because for me to be an effective writer and communicator I need to draw upon the lessons learnt from experience – and it is then that my words, whether written or spoken, have their greatest universal power to impact others.

Theoretical thought is useless. Practical thought is applicable and relatable. It is as I bleed onto the page that others can receive their own personal life transfusion. It is as I pour myself out in word form that others can be filled. For it is in the refining fires of thought that life can receive its greatest expression. Unashamed recordings of beliefs, ponderings and heartfelt unveilings are the very things that can empower others to become the best they can possibly become.

It is the electricity of our written thoughts that light the minds of men. It is as we courageously thrust our fiery thoughts onto the page that others are urged, spurred, challenged, inspired, and motivated to accept nothing but excellence.

Words are the igniters of dreams, the fuel of faith and the hands of hope.

Write and deal out your life. Journal. Take those thoughts and let them spill out and over every page.

Speak. Let those life-giving words fall from your lips. Don’t withhold the flow. For by letting them splash as a gushing stream, the deserts of men’s souls – of those who surround you and for whatever reason are dying of thirst – will once and for all be given the chance to blossom once again as God’s children have all been designed to do.