Nothing ventured, nothing gained

This British proverb reminds us that in order for us to achieve our objectives in life, we have to venture out and take risks.  Far too often our skills and talents remain latent for fear of failure, rejection or disappointment.  Too often we allow those who dare not take positive steps to stop us in our tracks and block our path to greatness.  We worry about losing the little we have, not realising that once released the seeds are sown to be harvested in due course.

This is how I see it:  There is no perfection in life; indeed life is packed with uncertainty and the onus is on us to make sense out of the chaos of the universe and carve out a niche for our own comfortable existence. Sitting on the fence and waiting is not an option.  In the words of the 26^th President of the USA Theodore Roosevelt:  "Far better is it to dare mighty things, to win glorious triumphs, even though checkered by failure...than to rank with those poor spirits who neither enjoy much nor suffer much, because they live in a gray twilight that knows not victory nor defeat."

Fear stifles creativity.  There is an old Spanish proverb “Con esperanza no se come” which translates [sitting around] in hope will not put food on the table.  It is far better to step out in faith and do the work, considering that the opposite of success is not necessarily failure but lessons of life that prepare us for the rest of the way.  Since “there is no such thing as a free lunch” we should never be tempted by those who would like us to believe that there are easy ways to access large sums of money. It is surprising to see how many people are conned day after day by those who choose to make a career out of scamming.  The Jamaican proverb puts it well: “If yuh waah good, yuh nose haffi run” (If you want good your nose has to run) which basically means, you have to work for what you want. There is no such thing as something for nothing.  Even if it’s from your parents with their unconditional love for you, they want your respect and they also want to know that you will make good use of their gifts.

If you believe in yourself, you are well on your way.  If you don’t believe in yourself, how do you expect others to believe in you?  Are you prepared to put the work in?  Remember, there is no free lunch.  Are you willing to continuously improve your knowledge and skills?  We should all continue to pursue personal and professional development opportunities by attending seminars, networking events, self directed learning and other available media, for it makes us more informed and thus more competitive, and we know not when those skills will be called into action.

What the mind can conceive and believe it can achieve (Napoleon Hill).  Do you think it? Do you believe it?  So why can’t you do it? If we want to succeed we have to take action.  Doing half the work eg, building a website and then waiting for sales to increase is not the way to go.  Once we decide on a course of action we need to develop the right mindset and persistence to counter those who will no doubt undermine our efforts with their negative vibes.  Do not be afraid to make mistakes but be afraid to make the same mistake twice.  Get some good company to support you when the road gets rough:  like-minded people who can share your vision and help you on your journey.  And when the money comes remember the Latin proverb: Money should be mastered, not served.