Moment of Sober Reflection

Lovelife4sale asked me how I was feeling the NY spring feeling weather. NYC would have been a better insert and the operative word should have been "enjoyed". Cos this is my final answer:

God bless Upstate New York weather! I was just ready to break out into my nice outfits and flats in NYC before Upstate came calling. And that’s what I found….smh….Only till May…Only till May!

Moving on swiftly, I have a short story to tell. Sit back and read it just like I have called it, a story.

Nehemiah got a leading from the Great One to go and rebuild the wall of Jerusalem. It had been in ruins for a while and that had been a sore spot for Nehemiah. He shared his vision with the people and was able to mobilize some of the youths to join him on the mission. However, two of those youths actually laughed when he shared his vision. Their names were Sanballat and Tobias. By their reasoning and from their perspectives, Nehemiah and the mobilized were on Mission Impossible I. They scorned him, his idea and the people who believed in his dream. They even enumerated the reasons why it was an impossible task. Nehemiah was convinced in his mind that he had had the injunction of the Great One so he went ahead anyway. At the end of the day, a wall that was supposed to take about 3 years to build, took only 52 days. That is not the full story but for the purpose of this post, let’s end there.

When you have a vision, it is foolhardy to expect that everyone will believe in it. There will be one, two or more Sanballats and Tobiahs who will give you reasons why that dream can never see the light of day. 

Defense mechanism #1: Prepare for some naysayers.

What is worse than the naysayers is when you are the Sanballat and Tobiah of your own dream. 

Confused? Or you think this is impossible?

I like to think of myself as a very rational and realistic person, but I am soon realizing that most times, eventually, it comes off as being cynical and pessimistic. I have had several ideas to do things, both for my good and the good others, but killed the potential by over analyzing. 

I can feel the hackles of “realists” like me rising already. Do not get me wrong. By all means, still be realistic. Be aware of the pros and cons of your decisions. However, you still need to remember that you CAN"T PREEMPT EVERYTHING that can go wrong with it. As an extension, it is IMPOSSIBLE for you to mitigate against ALL possible mishaps. Even in statistics, there is never 100% confidence interval. It may be close but it is never 100%. 

One of the characteristics of entrepreneurs is their ability to take risks. Remember this scientist (who I can’t remember) who experimented 1000 times (I think) before he got it right? You really think he didn’t despair at some point?

He sure must have. The important thing though is that his outlook and definition of failure is different. The 1000 times of not getting it right to him was just 1000 ways of not getting results. The higher your fear of failure, the lower your chances/tendencies to be innovative and creative and to take initiative.

So what if you don’t get it right?! On to the next, babe! Or maybe just like the scientist, back to the drawing board! Be less of a Sanballat and Tobiah to yourself. GET UP from your mat and DO SOMETHING! You never know!

By the way, am I the only one who thinks Asu Ekiye is aging into a more and more good looking South South Prince? Deng, that man looks good! Dance away your stress to this visually and audibly rich song:

Till I pay my next rent on this space,

Forget! This Space = Eniye!

By the way, today/tomorrow….02/04….makes 4 years that I met YY. I feel so blessed to be a part of that young man’s life. Say a word of prayer for us when you can…..;)

I love you guys, I really do.