Breaking Through Barriers

We all experience moments in life when obstacles seem to crowd out our goals and aspirations. Whether you are a leader of an organization, an employee in a department, a small-business owner, a student, the President or even just a regular guy, we have all experienced many barriers to our goals. I’ve seen so many people with great dreams that would add tremendous value to society but every time they try to plug into their dreams, they get knocked down by societal barriers.

Regardless of your situation or status in life, I want you to know that you can smash any barriers that hinder your life goals and your organization’s direction. I know this full well because my life has been about smashing barriers. I come from a community that is not well regarded in terms of access to higher positions in my country – Kenya. I was denied the opportunity to come to the United States four times before I finally got the Visa. I came to this country with a big dream and only $140 in my pocket. Imagine all the barriers I have had to surmount in order to get to where I am now. When I told people that I wanted to speak for a living, a lot of them said, “You are barking up the wrong tree, son. You’ve got a heavy African accent, no money, no contacts, ….how do you ever expect to do this?” Well, I didn’t have to know the “how” since I had a solid “why”. My passion has been one – to help people – and that is why barriers are getting smashed as I begin to slice the frontiers of developing people and empowering them to live a better life. Here are some ideas:

Three Core Hammers for Smashing Through Barriers

1. Generate a Solid Idea of Your Life Purpose

Purpose is the key to understanding the “why” of life. When you know what your purpose is, you will not lose heart in the face of obstacles and barriers. Understanding purpose enables you to stay committed and motivated towards pursuing your goals. Purpose produces passion and that is essential in overcoming challenges. Leaders in organizations need to have a clear picture of what the organization’s purpose is.

2. Develop an Enduring Vision

Lots of people have vision but very few stick to it when barriers come their way. If you will smash through barriers, you need to have an enduring vision. The United States as a country has come through many generations of challenges because of an enduring vision that was cast by the founding fathers. I succeeded in finally being able to come to the United States because I had an enduring vision.

3. When Knocked Down, Get Back Up!

I like reading biographies. One of the stories I have enjoyed so much was that of Abraham Lincoln. Lincoln had a steady stream of barriers throughout his life and he smashed through all of them. Look at this:

In 1816 his family was forced out of their home. He had to work to support them. In 1818 his mother died. In 1831 he failed in business. In 1832 he ran for state legislature and lost. In 1832 he lost his job and wanted to go to law school but couldn’t get in.In 1833 he borrowed money from a friend to begin a business and by the end of the next year he was bankrupt. He spent the next 17 years of his life paying off this debt. In 1834 he ran for state legislature again and won. In 1835 he was engaged to be married. His sweetheart died and his heart was broken. In 1836 he had a total nervous breakdown and was in bed for six months. In 1838 he sought to become speaker of the state legislature but was defeated. In 1840 he sought to become elector but was defeated. In 1843 he ran for congress and lost. In 1846 he ran for congress again. This time he won, went to Washington and did a good job.In 1848 he ran for reelection to congress and lost. In 1849 he sought the job of land officer in his home state and was rejected. In 1854 he ran for Senate of the United States but lost. In 1856 he sought the Vice-Presidential nomination at his party’s convention and got less that 100 votes. In 1858 he ran for US Senate again – again, he lost. In 1860 he was elected President of the United States.

My! That’s a long list of barriers for just one single guy! But you know what? He had purpose and vision plus he got back up each time he was knocked down. You can do it too! Let’s smash through barriers!

Here’s a helpful resource:

Battling for your Prophetic Destiny is packed with insight on how you can conquer every barrier as you pursue your purpose. Your destiny is secure!

Let Your Personality Bloom

My one year old son has been developing so fast. In many ways I think he’s got the greatest personality ever possessed by any human being. He is just such a joy. Very expressive. Vibrant. Laughs a lot. A fast learner and such a wonderful human being to have around. The stunner and I feel deeply honored to be his parents.

Well, he’s been making rapid progress in the development of his own personality. He’s been giving us all sorts of smiles, squeezing my shoulder affectionately when I carry him, leaning forward to give the stunner and I kisses and bonding with us in many different ways. It’s just amazing watching him develop his own self, solidify his trust in us and become more independent.

Watching my son like this has enabled me to gain a lot of insight into human personality. Junior is just being himself. There is no outside force that is coercing or driving him to be someone that he is not. He is a born natural. So is every other human being on the face of this earth. We are all wired to be born naturals. The influences of society and our environment lead us to be what we are not.

Let your true personality shine through. You are a born natural. Don’t be a fake, or worse still, a cheap copy. 

Investing Time in Preparation and Personal Growth

There is a Kenyan saying that “He who spends time adorning himself knows he is going to a dance”. This saying came to mind a few weeks ago as I watched my wife spend a significant amount of time in front of the mirror. When I jokingly told her that she was spending too much time using cosmetics on an already stunning and gorgeous face, she responded, “Stop it, honey … I’m not spending time here, I’m investing time”. Immediately when she said that I thought about the Kenyan saying above. Through this simple interaction, the stunner had just contibuted towards refreshing my mind with brilliant insight.

Let’s explore the saying. For the purpose of clarifying the idea of what I’m sharing today (and staying on the same track with my wife’s thinking), let me say it this way, “She who invests time in preparing herself knows that there is something special in her future”. The stunner invested a significant amount of time in preparing herself this morning because she was expectating to meet a client later in the day.

Preparation is the key to securing your future. Are you adorning yourself? You should be, because there’s a dance awaiting you. The dance is the future that you were destined to live. One of the most beautiful things in life is a man or woman who is ready when his or her time comes. You may not be in the ‘dance’ of your life right now, but you can prepare because the truth is that every human being gets the opportunity to experience their dance. The problem is that very few are ever ready when the moment comes.

Start adorning yourself. Invest in personal growth. Read books that will prepare you for the future. Develop yourself into the kind of person who will shine on the dance floor when destiny finally says, “Here’s your chance”. Get ready! The quality of dance you expect in your future determines the amount of adorning you will do today. Raise your expectations. You shouldn’t be expecting to go to some mediocre dance. Your goal should be to dance in the most sophisticated dances reserved for the ones who have invested heavily in themselves.

One very important closing thought: Life was never meant to be a battle. Life is supposed to be a dance. Larry D’Anges said, “If you don’t learn to dance with life, life will pass you by and get another partner“. And I say this: “If you don’t learn how to dance today, you won’t shine on the dance floor tomorrow“.

There is no secret; It’s ACTION that counts!

Everyone has been talking about ‘The Secret’ and how it contains the one thing that will enable you achieve anything you want in life. In today’s blog I’d like to share my idea of what the key to success really is. The key to success is simply one thing: action. Successful people act – and when they fail, they don’t quit. They act on something else that will bring them the results they desire: a new methodology, a new strategy, a new idea. Thomas Edison was a great inventor because he acted on his imagination. Florence Nightingale etched her mark on history because she acted to remedy a social situation. When darkness surrounded her, she lit a lamp and kept on working, earning the name of The Lady With The Lamp. Lance Armstrong is great because he acted on his dreams. Oprah Winfrey is loved because she is acting on her dreams. Massive action is the key to greatness. Greatness does not mean being famous. It simply means realizing your personal potential. 

You breed success by being successful in small actions. Think of a sport like boxing. It’s easy to see in boxing that the key to the knock-out is the consitent jabs. Short consistent jabs could easily open up an opportunity for landing the upper-cut. If you want to be successful you must tuck many small wins under your belt by acting consistently on your dreams. You do that by staying active. If you fail you don’t quit, you stay flexible and continue engaging in massive action. Constant action will provide you with opportunities that you never saw coming. Go on. Breed success. There is no secret.

Failure is never final!

One of the things that would greatly improve our performance in life is an understanding of the fact that failure is never final. What causes us to quit in the face of failure is our attitude. Your attitude determines your altitude. Failure does not mean that it is over.

While reading through some of my material I came across a poem that I think would be worthwhile to share.  

When things go wrong as they sometimes will,
When the road you’re trudging seems all uphill.
When the funds are low and the debts are high,
And you want to smile, but you have to sigh.
When care is pressing you down a bit,
Rest if you must, but don’t you quit.

Life is queer with its twists and turns,
As everyone of us sometimes learns.
And many a fellow turns about,
When he might have won had he stuck it out.
Don’t give up though the pace seems slow,
You may succeed with another blow.

Often the goal is nearer than
It seems to a faint and faltering man.
Often the struggler has given up,
When he might have captured the victor’s cup.
And he learned too late when the night came down,
How close he was to the golden crown.

Success is failure turned inside out,
The silver tint of the clouds of doubt.
And you never can tell how close you are,
It may be near when it seems afar.
So stick to the fight when you’re hardest hit,
It’s when things seem worst that you mustn’t quit.
And that’s worth thinking about.

Friends, develop a success attitude. That will be the key for prevailing over the arrows of failure. Failure isn’t final!!