INTERESTED OR COMMITTED

Interested people read a book; committed people apply the book 50 times. That is the difference between knowledge and wisdom. Do you wonder why many people know so much but get little result? It is due to lack of wisdom… lack of application. Wisdom is simply wise action. Wisdom is the right application of knowledge. Knowledge without wisdom (wise action) is fruitless. True wisdom results in decisive action. Knowledge is the accumulation of facts while wisdom is applying the facts. If you have knowledge but do not apply it, you lack wisdom. The reason many people are poor is because they are interested in being wealthy but are not committed to being wealthy. Interested people know some things; committed people apply what they know. For instance, interested people know how to bake or cut hair or write or cook or teach but won’t go ahead to do it. They’ll rather sit down lamenting over why government is not creating jobs. They prefer to wait endlessly for non-existing ready-made jobs. Committed people, on the other hand, get out there to search for where they can apply what they know. They won’t stop until they lay their hands on something.

Interested people want to start a business; committed people start a business. Do you know people who always talk about what they want to do? Do you know people who are always looking for money to start their business? Do you know people who want to rent an office space and furnish it before they have customers? Do you know people who have no heart for learning yet want to run a business? These are interested people and there are many of them. Do you know people who will offer to work for free to acquire the relevant skills they need to start a business? Do you know people who would save money monthly from their hard earned income in order to register their own business? Do you know people who would start from their one room apartment and still be bold to tell people about what they do? Do you know people who would not take no for an answer? Do you know people who would go out fully energized after failing for the hundredth time? These are committed people but there are few of them also.

Interested people want to be rich; committed people become rich. Interested people look rich. They drive expensive cars bought on loan. They wear designers’ labels. They live in exquisitely furnished apartments. They dine in expensive restaurants. They go to club every night. Interested people gather together to discuss about the rich and their lifestyle. They work on jobs that pay high. They work forty hours a week on their job and one hour a week on their work. They live in a fantasy world. Committed people plan to be rich. They live in cramped apartment. They ride taxis or rickety cars to put the money in their business. They eat noodles for breakfast. They work on their business everyday as time permits. They work to learn not to earn. They live in the real world.

The difference between the interested and the committed is willingness. Ask yourself: ‘How willing am I?’ Am I willing to trade short term comfort for long term extra-ordinary life? Am I willing to painfully work hard on my dream today to avoid being trapped in the rat race and living on pension at old age?

Commitment is focused attitude towards work. It is the willingness to employ the required forces towards a set goal. It is giving your dream or vision all that it demand of you until you get the desired result. The world does not favour the interested; it favours the committed. When you make up your mind to be committed, God releases all kinds of forces to help you. Your placement, achievement, or accomplishment in life is directly proportional to your level of commitment to whatsoever it is that your heart believes in.

TIME OR MONEY

Today, technology is rapidly changing the way we live and do business. Technology has simplified a lot of operations which used to be time consuming and people driven. This, however, is not without effects. For example, Information and Communication Technology (ICT), has turned the world into a global village. If you are a career person, your competitors are no longer your colleagues in the office and if you are a business person, your competitors too are no longer the businesses next door. Whoever you are, your real competitors are just a click away. The World Wide Web both created fierce competition among businesses and at the same time tremendous opportunities for business expansion. ICT gives us access to loads of information. This increasing access to information brings about stiff competition among businesses. Stiff competition usually brings decline in revenue for many businesses. But because one of the purposes of starting a business is to make profit, organizations usually opt for what is referred to in corporate circles as downsizing so as to remain in business and make profit.

The significant effect of downsizing is that 5 people now do the job that ordinarily 10 or more people would do. What does this leave us? It is that we now have fewer people who have lots of money to spend or invest but with no time to meet their needs and then more people who have lots of time to invest but with no money to also meet their needs. The former needs time while the latter needs money. Now, time or money, which do you need and which do you have?

In economics, the basic definition of money is this: “Money is a medium of exchange.” I hope you agree with that? Now, the question is: “What do people exchange money for?” It is basically VALUE. Therefore, if what you have is a lot of money to spend and/or invest but no time, what you need is value for your money. And if what you have is a lot of time but no money to spend and/or invest, what you need is value for your time. Value for money comes in the form of products or services, while value for time comes in the form of money (in most cases). If you fall into the latter category (majority of people do), this article is for you. Instead of complaining that government is not providing jobs, I suggest you start using that time you have in creative ways to create product(s) or service(s) in exchange for the money that you need. If you do not have any skill, go and acquire a skill that will enable you create value in the marketplace. People don’t pay for cheap; people pay for value. Create something of value then identify those around you who have the money but who also need what you have to offer and strategically market what you have to them.

Look around you. Many people don’t have the time to babysit, go to the market, drive themselves or their family, tidy up their accounts, type their manuscripts (I’m one of those), cook their foods, clean their clothes or house, fix their vehicle, organize their itineraries and so on. What you need do is to identify a target market and package your value for them attractively in exchange for the money that you need. Start right now, identify what you have (time or money) and then wisely convert it into what you need.

RENEW YOUR ENTHUSIASM

            Not long ago, I ran into a childhood friend of mine in one of the multinational organizations in my country. She happened to be a staff of the organization. After exchanging some pleasantries and reflecting back on our childhood together, I asked her, “How is life on this job?” Thinking I was going to hear a satisfied employee tell me all the good things her ‘fat’ income has enabled her to do, I got a shocker when her mood suddenly changed to a sad one and she said to me, “I want to quit this job.” I quickly replied, “Are you out of your mind. Do you know how many people would do anything to have this job of yours and yet you want to leave it?” Then she quietly responded, “Up until now, I have merely been existing. I desire to really live and the only way I can do that is to do what people like you (referring to me) are doing - following the Creator’s plan for your life.” At that point, I understood clearly what she meant and I questioned her no further. 

           As I left her that day, I thought of the many gloomy faces that I see around daily – faces which are reflections of broken spirits. I thought of the many faces of people that I see going daily to jobs they never liked, I thought of the many faces of young undergraduates studying courses in school that they are not interested in, I thought of the many faces of married people that I see who wished they never met their spouses, I thought of the many faces of young graduates who blame everybody and everything for having no job. The more I think the more I see many shattered dreams, the more I think the more I see many people walking about with broken spirits. Then the words of my revered mentor, Dr. Myles Munroe, which says, “The greatest tragedy in life is not death; the greatest tragedy in life is to be alive and not know why” came to my heart. 

           My friend, you can avoid hopelessness and a broken spirit, you can live with renewed enthusiasm everyday. It begins when you discover your reason for existence. That reason for existence is what is referred to as purpose. It is when you discover your purpose that you really start to live. Life without purpose is mere existence; life without purpose is an experiment. Unfortunately, billions around the world today are experimenting with their lives.

          Your career is in your purpose, your spouse is in your purpose, your fulfillment is in your purpose, your future is in your purpose. When you discover your purpose and begin to live it out, your spirit will come alive. Our Creator didn’t put us on earth to find something to do, something to do necessitated our existence. Renew your enthusiasm; find the purpose for which the Creator placed you here.