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“The means justifies the end and not the other way round because when you achieve the end without a valid means, the end becomes ephemeral.” – Dipo Tepede

 

I want to take this opportunity to thank you for being with me through 2008 when my theme write-up was basically about entrepreneurship. I was able to decipher why fewer people venture this path though it promises a life of financial independence and subsequently creates a chain of economic abundance for the city. Uncertainty is the reason for minimal traffic to this all important path. You may read Burden of Entrepreneurship to understand more.

 

Whenever, I am asked to speak on entrepreneurship, I open my audience to the greatest fear of entrepreneurship – uncertainty. We discuss on multiple streams of income as a panacea to uncertainty and seasonal flow of cash. On hindsight, I discovered that multiple streams of income though good is only a survival mode to uncertainty not a springboard to great wealth which is needed to create influence (please, read my write-up on Purpose).

 

To get to the height of influence in whatever field you choose, you must go through process with patience and faith. Infact, the real cure to uncertainty is taking the step needed to your dream. If you dream of being a doctor, you must do what you can to get to Medical school; when you get to Medical school, you will be sure it is just a matter of time before being a doctor after going through the process. The process may be steep but that is what you must go through.

 

I have never climbed a mountain before but I remember climbing a hill with a group of friends. Our aim was simply to picnic on top of this hill. As we kept climbing, we had no idea how the top will look like; we definitely had an idea but we were not sure what to expect. This uncertainty was scary because the climb was very strenuous and at the same time exciting. There was however two things that gave me confidence that we will definitely get to the summit;

 

1.      People have climbed to the top of the hill before and have created a safe path to get there

2.      We were judiciously following the path that has been laid out so we were sure of getting to the summit.

 

The number (1) mentioned above is called modeling; it is easy to achieve what someone has achieved before and number (2) is called process; it is simply follow the principles that a model has set. No matter how uncertain we were about an endeavor, we simply need to identify a model and follow the principle of the model. No matter how high the hill was, as long as we patiently follow the principles of the model, we will get there.

 

Have you noticed that once a record of any kind is broken, so many people start breaking the same record? This record may have been unattainable but if one person attains the record, it becomes easier for every other person to attain the same record. What does this tell me on a personal level? There is really nothing impossible, just discover someone that has done it before and follow the principle the person used.

 

We are quite fortunate in this generation because we have so many models before us who have exploited uncharted regions. So the question is not if we would succeed but if we are willing to succeed, if we are willing to go through the process to achieve the desired end. The process is definitely not a low hanging fruit because if you are willing to climb the mountain, you will know the strain associated with climbing it.

 

So what happens if you decide not to climb the mountain? Let’s take a look at a recorded history in the bible about two brothers who decided to offer gifts to God; Cain, the eldest, offers the fruit of the ground while Abel offers the firstborn of his flock and the fattest portion of it. Abel definitely took the difficult terrain because he knew that would be accepted but Cain took the low road and the gift was not accepted.

 

God’s explanation to Cain when he was not happy about the situation summarized the concept of process; “if you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin crouches at your door: its desire is for you but you must master it. If you decide not to climb the mountain of uncertainty and stick to the comfort of the plain, sin crouches at your door, ready and willing to sniff you because you will surely not be accepted.

 

We definitely live in an uncertain world; nobody can actually predict tomorrow but we can predict the way tomorrow will be after observing some certain process. It is important to note that God will never tell us our tomorrow but will allow us extrapolate our tomorrow from whatever we do today or even if God tells us about our tomorrow, God will tell us what we ought to do to get there because there is no tomorrow without today’s process.

 

The process is definitely not easy especially if you start the implementation; Jesus Christ felt the pain when he was about to be at the right hand of his father; “Lord, if it is your will, let this cup pass over me”. Surely if Jesus could feel this excruciating pain when he was about to save the world, you must understand that every glory has an overarching theme of pain. However, there are ways to mitigate this pain while going through the process;

 

1.      You must see the end from the beginning though the end may be a bit blurry; seeing the end makes the process easy to accomplish.

2.      Encouragement from mentors and models make it very easy to transit through this process.

3.      Sharing experiences and resources with fellow mountain climbers will enable the journey very enjoyable.

 

This year, I will be writing more on process; the number (1) solution above to easing the pain of process is your responsibility while I will try my possible best to provide the number (2) and (3), through interviews and articles. This is the promise of God to Himself after destroying the earth during the days of Noah; as long as the earth remains; seed time and harvest, cold and heat, summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.