For every minute spent in this world, an average of 256 births is recorded globally. On the other hand, an average of 107 deaths is recorded around the same minute. In between these births and deaths, there are so many wastes and missed marks. The ultimate sin is to not live fully. I just got to learn that the word SIN is a Greek Word, (ἁμαρτία hamartia), SIN, the original meaning is the failure, being in error, missing the mark, especially in spear throwing. The real sin of life doesn’t only converge for the purpose of making heaven and hell. The worst sin really is to miss your mark (purpose). Somebody once told me a non-religious definition of hell. He said, “On your last day on earth, the person you became will meet the person you could have become.”
This article is about optimising life. It’s about variance, our Lifetime Performance Variance (LPV). It’s about bridging the gap between who you are choosing to be and the best you could have been. It’s about that capacity you can stretch to.
Every individual is given a rare and peculiar gift which is simply indispensable; the gift of life. However, there is a need for each of us to fully maximise our lifespan before our final breath. Some do, some make the best of it, while most don’t. There is a popular norm that “life is not fair”, and I agree with this. Life will take you to the middle of the river and leave you to decide whether to swim or drown. Our choices and decisions are what determine the theme of our entire life.
Personally, I feel that these three are the most personally horrible things in life:
1. Seeing your mom cry.
2. Seeing the love of your life fall madly in love with someone else.
3. Failing to recognise opportunities right in front of you.
In Nigeria, the number 3 happens every day. And it goes on.
A legend, a classic story is told of a young man who wished to marry the farmer’s beautiful daughter. He went to the farmer to ask his permission. The farmer looked him over and responded, “Son, go stand out in that field and I’m going to release three bulls, one at a time. If you can catch the tail of any one of the three bulls, then you can marry my daughter.” The young man stood in the pasture awaiting the first bull. The barn door opened and out, ran the biggest, meanest-looking bull he had ever seen.
He decided that one of the next bulls had to be a better choice than this one, so he ran over to the side and let the bull pass through the pasture out the back gate. The barn door opened again. Unbelievable. He had never seen anything so big and fierce in his life. It stood pawing the ground, grunting, slinging slobber as it eyed him.
Whatever the next bull was like, it had to be a better choice than this one. He ran to the fence and let the bull pass through the pasture out the back gate. The door opened a third time. A smile came across his face. This was the weakest, scrawniest little bull he had ever seen. This one was his bull. As the bull came running by, he positioned himself just right and jumped at just the exact moment. He grabbed…but the bull had no tail!
This is the same reason why so many persons are out there unachieved and unfulfilled, looking out for the most comfortable conditions. At times, “our comfort may not be in our comfort zones.” It’s safe to say that opportunities are not called upon but seized! It is not a myth that wealth and fulfilment lie in the mouth of a lion, it really does. Being daring, audacious and proactive is key to seizing opportunities.
Procrastination is a deadly narcotic that ruins opportunities. A man’s strength is not only in thinking fast but also acting fast. As the saying goes, a lifetime opportunity can only be seized within the lifetime of that opportunity. Whoever waits for a perfect time to accomplish a task, may just wait to achieve nothing. It is only he that sees the future that can seize the future.
While others are complaining about constant rain, someone is capitalising on it and providing umbrellas and rain boots for capital gains. While some are worried about the scorching sun, another person is thinking about providing chilled water and drinks to quench thirst. Life is not about situations, but about creating meanings out of those situations and experiences. When it comes to events in a time series, things like anniversaries and funerals mean nothing, the two most important days of a man’s life is:
1. The day he was born.
2. The day he finds out the reason why he was born.
Sadly, it is possible to live all through on earth without knowing number 2, most people don’t.
Featured Image Source: Tematica Research
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