REDEFINING THE PARAMETERS: Where "challenges" stand.

Almost every waking day of our lives, we hear stories that suggest that we can be, do, or have anything we want. The amazing thing is that, we see proofs and evidences that attest to these assertions when we listen to the stories of successful people. In fact, these stories have become our number one “Motivational Speakers”. We listen and listen until we think we are inspired. We have even committed to memory most of these success stories.

However, most of us wonder why these success stories never become our own stories. The fact that some of your questions are about to be answered eliminates a degree of fear. Let's go ! First of all and most crucial,  you must know that as many lessons as we learn from success stories, I think we often forget one very important ingredient. What that ingredient is will be revealed soon.

How many success stories have you heard of or read about that occurred on a bed of roses? How many people do you know about who failed several times before making it? You probably may have heard so many stories of the latter but little or none of the former. Why do successful people keep on mentioning to us how they struggled to do one thing or the other and how they eventually did it? Is it because they did not plan well? Is it because they did not do things right? I am pretty sure I have got you thinking somehow. The answer to these questions is what this post seeks to address.

A story is told of a man who was ripped off his own company when he made a mistake in the contract he signed. His once popular cartoons was thwarted when high indebtedness caused his cartooning business to go bankrupt. This man has experienced some serious discouragement before-like been fired for "lacking imagination" and "having no original ideas". Notwithstanding, he became an innovative animator and entertainer who changed the world of motion picture production. His name is Walt Disney.

A story is told of a woman who was divorced, trying to raise a child on her own while attending school and writing a novel. She was nearly penniless and severely depressed. Her manuscript for Harry Potter was rejected by several publishers. Notwithstanding these, she has become one of the richest women in the world through the previously rejected Harry Potter which is one of the greatest movies of all time. She goes by the name Joanne Kathleen Rowling.

If you study the above stories carefully, you will notice that one thing is common to these people. There is what I call a differentiating factor. Prior to their success, they were faced with one obstacle or the other. I say they experienced “CHALLENGES”; the missing ingredient which when understood makes a big difference. It only makes sense to say that the "CHALLENGES" definitely played a role in their achievements. We sometimes get to points in our lives where we want to give up on our dreams because of difficulties. As students while in school, we dream big, we make big plans and most interesting of all is we smile at the brightness of our future. But when we leave school and are hit by the wind of the realities of life, we lose our balance. Now, the problem lies not in getting up, but in getting up and still possessing the willingness to pursue our dreams- not settling for less than we deserve. The good news is that there is no need to worry; it is nothing new, it is all part of the journey to success.

There is a reason only few people push boundaries to achieve greatness. That reason is that they understand how to use challenges to their advantage. The icons of history were made icons through the challenges they were confronted with. The key to overcoming challenges is understanding its nature.

Now that we have discovered the missing ingredient in most success recipes, we shall continue to understand its nature in our next post dubbed; The Nature of Challenges.