As I re-read Pope Benedict XV1’s speech addressed to an academic audience at the University of Regensburg on September 12, 2006. This speech incited Muslims to demonstrate against the Pope for calling their religion a violent one. For more on this speech click HERE. I became very convinced of the effect of perception to the degree of success we attain in this world. How we interpret circumstances is the key difference between success and failure. It is not new that everybody has a belief system that seem legitimate to their eyes, but it is rather true that it is not every belief system that is successful. The journey to true success has been a major quest to my everyday living and I hope to convince you with my less than 30 years experience in life that being right does not always translate to being successful. 
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I had an eye opener to the reality of perception one beautiful morning when a colleague entered the office and announced that he had bought a red Volkswagen car. He was so thrilled that he drove it to the office without the license number plate. I was not so interested because in my mind’s eye I saw a used Volkswagen Golf car (maybe Golf 3, at the best Golf 4) but in order to felicitate with my joyful colleague, I got inquisitive. I followed him to where he parked the car to give a test drive. I almost tripped when I saw my colleague using his key to open a Touareg. Alas, my perception of my colleague changed immediately. I could not fathom how a colleague that earned the same salary could purchase such a car.
If I told you I have a red Volkswagen car, what does your mind tell you? A Bug, a Passat, a Golf, a Santana or a Bora? Whichever one you come up with determines your level of thinking. The best answer to such question should have been a question – what type of Volkswagen car? Understanding this has actually opened me up to various multiple perceptions when dealing with issues. What do I view as success? What does my neighbor view as success? What does my dad view as success? What did I view as success when I was in high school, in the university, as an employee, as an entrepreneur? Since the lenses are different, the answer to this question would be different. This is the reality of life.
Arming myself with this tool (Multiple Perspective), I greatly understand the effect of the Pope’s speech. When you ask an average Christian’s view on the agitations of the Muslims on the Pope’s speech, the response always converges to the same thing – the Pope was only saying the truth. In their minds’ eye, the Pope was right in his execution and excuses like the Pope was quoting examples from Professor Theodore Khouri as an alibi. To be successful in any given endeavor, one can not assume the position of being right but the position of tutelage. This is the universal position that produces success. The bible says it in a better way “everyone seems right in his/her own eyesâ€. Even the armed robber that kills for money believes he/she is right. I am yet to see a human that does not justify his action whether it was generally regarded as wrong or not.Â
So how do we gauge the truth when we see differently? Will knowing the truth make us successful? Is telling the truth a successful approach? In order to fully answer this question, I will let us into a story of 2 pieces of marble. Marble A was a statue visited from all over the world while marble B was the pavement the visitors walked on when visiting marble A. Marble B was so angry with the attention given to marble A that he questioned the reason why it had so much influence. Marble A reminded him of the days when the sculptor wanted to carve both of them and Marble B refused the carving and claimed it wanted to be left the way it was.
This is the general reaction of most unsuccessful people; they congeal, therefore refusing fluidity, they stick to their opinion, therefore refusing others, they believe they are always right while others are wrong. I remember replying a comment on one of my articles without acknowledging the view of the person that made the comment. That was very wrong of me; I acknowledged it when I was told by a friend and guess what? I was better for it. I learnt a better way of getting my ideas across; it was cool.
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Straight to the subject, I would rather be successful than be right. What do I gain by being right? I will gain nothing except a boost of ego and a sense of pride. What will success give me? The opportunities of these are numerous; I don’t think my whole site can contain it……………..
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