The Picture You Carry2

THE PICTURE YOU CARRY II

“We can’t become what we need by remaining what we were” – Oprah Winfrey

Chances are you know or can recognize the following names: Mahatma Ghandi, Alexander the great, Thomas Edison, Karl Marx, Martin Luther King Jnr., Stalin, Hitler, Ronald Reagan, Nelson Mandela, Elvis Presley, Bob Marley, Saddam Hussein, Fidel Castro, Indira Ghandi, Billy Graham, Julius Nyerere, Sir Ahmadu Bello, Ma’o Tse Tung, Sochiro Honda, Pele, Maradona, Isaac Newton, Sani Abacha, Bill Gates, Leonardo da Vinci, Obafemi Awolowo, …….Nnamdi Azikiwe.
You can agree with me that the list above and many more are familiar faces that have at one point or the other helped to shape our present world. Now these are not necessarily known for their good deeds. Some were evil personified but we cannot deny them their place in history. The truth is, they all carried a picture they believed in, a picture they pursued with everything they have –spirit, soul and body. Nearly all changes in every area of human existence had come through people motivated by good or evil. Great civilizations, modernizations, industrializations and developments in various fields of human endeavours had all come as a result of the actions of individuals of those who came, and saw the world as it is, and decided to mould it into their specifications. Rather than follow the crowd or fit into the norm, they decisively curved, fashioned and rule their world based on their imaginations, reasoning’s and giftings. Of course, the world has no option than to give them their rightful place. Remember, those who read history and those who make history have the same time. Greatness is embedded in each and everyone. Nobody was born to be insignificant. We were all meant to be a part of history; we can all leave behind footprints in the sands of time. Those who died unnoticed, unheard, unheralded, or uncelebrated were either ignorant, fearful or had no picture in their minds worth living or dying for. You can never enter the record of who is who if you are not willing to dare to be different. The people who make impactful impressions are never afraid to step out of the crowd, to do what they can do best, based on the picture they carry. As a result, they never settle for the mundane and the mediocre neither do they listen to the voices of failure. They were willing to carry on even in the midst of ridicule, shame, criticism, hardships, discouragement, and the likes.
Those who mind their weaknesses, lack or smallness never amount to much. Never compromise your greatness by listening to shallow and small thinkers, who constantly remind you of what you cannot do, become or achieve.
The world is full of so many nobodies who would have been but are not, because they sacrifice who they are for what they are not. We cannot afford to sacrifice the picture we carry on the alter of fear, the streets of procrastination and wrong thinking.
Those who give veto power to the opinion of others rarely reach success avenue. What you see is what ultimately becomes your reality.
If Noah had listened to the voices of reason in his generation, he would have drowned and sank like lead. He carried a different picture that the world of his time couldn’t identify with. Others may not believe in your dreams but don’t disbelieve yourself.
Life is about destiny, it is a tragedy to be a part of a wasted generation. You can’t do what everybody is doing. You are not everybody but you can excel in your area of giftings, talents and abilities. All the people who make history come from different backgrounds and professions. It simply means that no matter what you do, there is a place for you at the top. The sky is too wide for two stars to collide.
What picture do you carry? What do you see? Remember, those who make the greatest impressions are not necessarily smarter, more intelligent or better in terms of character. They simply know how to turn their dreams into reality. The right picture backed by the right actions will enable you to turn your dreams into reality. You can accomplish great things even if you were born with a plastic spoon or no spoon.
The people who have contributed positively to the societies we live in had come from every imaginable background-young and old, black and white, short and tall, educated and uneducated, male and female. God is no respecter of persons. Whatever you imagine you can achieve, if you are committed, determined, and focused, and if you are willing to work hard enough and to persist long enough.
Many well educated people and some who had come from advantage backgrounds accomplish little or nothing because they don’t carry big pictures of what they truly want out of life.
These are often frustrated in the game of life, doing jobs they don’t like, acquiring things they don’t appreciate, and having relationships they don’t enjoy. In the end, they are buried in the grave of nothingness. At best their names appear as foot notes in history.
For the use of your life to outlive your life, you must be focus to making a difference, you must have a burning desire, you must think beyond yourself, your family and your ward. You must be willing to develop your natural talents and abilities, and to give something to your world no matter how small.
Life is not about how long you lived but how much you gave. Methuselah lived 969 years without joining the company of the most celebrated. Long lived does not mean well lived. Remember, life is not measured by duration but by donation. The tragedy is, many people have time but don’t know why. They have keys with the wrong notches. They carry the wrong pictures. They don’t know why they have breadth in their nostrils and strength in their joints. They don’t even know the reason why they wake up in the morning. As a result, they don’t exploit the potentials within them.
Friends, we were not born to occupy space. We can all make a difference and become a reference. We all have time to give our dreams a chance. The purpose of time is to live a life of purpose. It is to think, to plan, to work… and to contribute meaningfully to our world, by impacting it positively while serving the creator. You will not be remembered for the clothes you wear, the cars you drive, the food you eat, the mansions built or the gold you have in the bank vaults, but by the impact you make, the leadership you gave and the legacy you leave behind.
Step out and launch out. If you spend your life doing nothing, or the pursuit of non-essentials, you will ultimately become nothing. Life is about destiny and destiny is not a matter of chance. The future is what you make it based on the picture you carry. Those who remain on wish craft street often end up in nobody close.
There are enough deposits in you to make a difference. You can make impact. It’s all in you. What you believe is what you become. Your future can only be limited by your imaginations.
Keep on dreaming, keep on believing, keep on taking the right steps, keep on hoping, and keep on making things happen.