Greatness awaits

Greatness Awaits
Copyright © 2016 by Munatsi Sande. All rights reserved.
Published in in part in Nairobi Kenya by: Success Edge Enterprises.
P.O Box 75175 – 00200 Nairobi Kenya E Mail nganga.successedge@
gmail.com.
And by Shabach Publishers
Layout by Mansion Arts Limited. www.mansionarts.net
Cover Design By Ted Courage Lazaro
No part of this publication may be reproduced or distributed in any
form without the prior written permission of the publisher.
For Enquiries Contact: Munatsi Sande
Tamika Business Solutions
munatsy@yahoo.com
Isbn no 987 0 7974 6720 0

LEADERS REFLECTIONS ON
GREATNESS AWAITS
The book you hold in your hand contains within its pages practical
insights that will enable you to dig deep into the corridors of your
authentic self.You were created to be and bring into fruition the seed
of greatness planted in you.With an ear towards Heaven and empathy
for the needs of the men and women in our society, Pastor Natsi has
crafted this book to help readers realize their ultimate purpose. I am
convinced that every person that is aware of the greatness within
them will find this book a strategic catalyst to help them discover who
they truly are. The words penned in this book resonate with the heart
that Natsi has for his generation. It gives me great joy and I consider it
a great privilege to recommend ‘Greatness Awaits” to you.
Pastor Paul John
Senior Pastor Fristadon Falun, Sweden
We are all created with a purpose. None of us exists by chance. In
light of the predetermined purpose of God and His sovereign will
concerning our lives, we have the responsibility of tapping into the
knowledge of the greatness locked within us. Pastor Sande takes us
into a depth of exploration on how to unlock this greatness that we
carry.Ihavebeengreatlyinformedandinspiredbythisbookandwould
recommend it to everyone who wants to unlock the greatness that
God has deposited in everyone of us.These principles if applied, are
capable of shifting one’s life radically. Greatness awaits for everyone!
Rev. Elias Ndeda
Eagles Christian Center, South Africa
Pastor Natsi just hit the nail on the head! I have read many books on
greatness, purpose, pursuance of destiny, etc, but this just tops my
list. It is simple yet profound, provocative yet educative, it pushes
you to truly want to reevaluate your pursuit of greatness. If you were
derailed from your path to greatness, this book just realigns you and
brings you back on track.

The principles highlighted here are solid and may I add, time tested.
Natsi also brings his life’s experiences into this book in a way that
helps you understand that he is not sharing theory but pouring his
very life into this writing, giving it the authenticity needed.
To be honest I couldn’t put this book down once I started reading it, I
was highly blessed by the insights I received as I read through. For me
it’s a breath of fresh air as far as this subject is concerned.
If you are tired of mediocrity, if you are tired of living an ordinary,
boring kind of life, if you are saying,“surely there must be more in life
than I am experiencing,” then let me dare you to read “ Greatness
Awaits”
Rev. Matthew K.wambua
Senior Pastor Deliverance Church Donholm Nairobi - Kenya
Everyone who reads this book will be challenged to look within
and respond.The reader will be inspired to pursue their God- given
destiny and purpose as they look within and see their inner power
and potential. Natsi reveals a humble yet decisive approach to self
confidence that we all need if we are to pursue God’s best for your
lives, I read the book and I loved it.
Alastair Geddes…USA
Founder of Faith Ministries Churches
It gives me a great pleasure to endorse my mentor’s book. In this
book, Greatness Awaits, Munatsi Sande eloquently articulates that
you carry the seed of greatness and he gives you the keys to unlock
the greatness in you. Many were my Aha moments as I found myself
engrossed in the pages of this gem of a book. I highly recommend it.
I know it will be one of your most valuable investments, ever.Your life
will never be the same after interacting with it. Happy reading!
Dr. Patson Dzamara
Author/Leadership Coach/Speaker

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
It takes a team to turn an idea into reality.This book is no exception.
Every good book is like an orchard. It requires time, energy and the
diligent attention of skilled men and women. I therefore wish to
acknowledge some of the strategic people that helped to turn this
idea into a reality.
I may not have enough space here to appreciate all the people who
have been partners, friends and encouragers in this journey. Just in
case I don’t get to mention you personally, kindly note that it’s because
space may not allow. But my heart truly does bubble with gratitude
for you.
I owe a debt of gratitude to an amazing man in Nairobi, Kenya Boniface
Nyoike Nganga and the Success Edge team who pulled the concept
of this book out of me. There are people you will forever be grateful
you met in your journey. For the great work of engaging step by step
to make this seed a reality, I honor God for you, you laid down your life
to mentor and challenge me and today we see greatness unfold. You
deserve a medal of honor.
My spiritual parents Dr. Shingi & Wilma Munyeza, thank you for seeing
more in me than I saw in myself. You have allowed me to take steps
and strides towards leadership growth. Bishop Ngwiza Mnkandla,
Pastor Harry Baker, and Pastor Dave Richards; you have made a mark
that cannot be erased in my life through your exemplary lifestyles.
MCC Life Centre I cannot name you one by one, thank you for putting
up with me.You have proved your great capabilities as my spiritual
family.SpecialmentiongoestoMrs.DometilaMushakweforsacrificing
your time and effort to edit this book with your “big dictionary”.
I am grateful to the radio host of the Breeze Show (Tariro & Iyati); in
your own unique way you were used by God to unlock an aspect of
greatness that I had not realized.

They are people who paid the price privately but generously to make this
project a reality and that is my family. My wife Cynthia and our beautiful
children, you are the best of the best. To my mother for believing in me
and speaking words of greatness to me as I grew up. Certainly no group of
people deserves more acknowledgements than you, the readers, I thank you
in advance for taking your time to invest in your life. I really hope that this
treatise inspires you to greatness.

FOREWORD
It is a known fact that God created us for a reason but the challenge is to
discover what that reason is.The world is currently being bombarded by
many propositions on how to discover that purpose. Being a student of
purpose discovery myself, I am always very cautious of going through
books and courses that take you on a theoretical path and still leave you
asking more questions.You almost wish you hadn’t wasted your time
and you become even more skeptical about your purpose than before
you read that book or before you went through that programme.
Pastor Natsi is an anointed speaker, teacher and mentor who has the
ability to bring out difficult things and make them simple for easier
implementation. In Greatness awaits, he brings out the complex
issues of purpose and direction in life to much simpler, practical and
implementable principles and concepts for everyone regardless of
their orientation or age. The journey through this book will guarantee
anyone the direction and purpose they would probably never get.
His vulnerability about his own personal experience makes the whole
journey of self-discovery easier and enjoyable. He brings it home by
ensuring one goes through the practical steps at the end of each principle
by encouraging the reader to engage in reflection for application.
His many years as a youth pastor gives him moral authority and practical
insight on the struggles of people. I highly recommend this book as a
manual in the journey to greatness. It’s never too late to start, therefore
start now as Greatness Awaits.
Dr Shingi Munyeza
President of Evangelical Fellowship of Zimbabwe

COMMITMENT TO GREATNESS
The resource that you hold in your hand is a transformational dynamite.
It has potential to radically change your life for the better if you will
commit to interacting with, internalizing and applying the principles
you learn. The book is divided into eight chapters. You are strongly
advised to read one chapter a week and journal your thoughts at the
end of the chapter as you also jot down specifics on how you intend to
apply the information you have learned.
Do not just read it for information, engage with it for transformation.
One of the reasons why many books don’t transform us is because
we rush through them and don’t pause long enough to consider the
implications of what you have learned. Information without application
leads to deprivation. Go beyond reading this book, mark it, write notes
on it and personalize it and see transformation occur.
My Commitment
I………………………………in this day ……………………………do
commit to following through in study and application of the principles
packaged in this book to turn my potential to greatness,
so help me God.
I hereby appoint ………………………………………..to be my
accountability partner on this journey as together we reach out to lay
hold of the greatness that awaits.

DEDICATION
This book is dedicated to a generation of pioneers. If you have been saying,
“there must be more to life than what I am experiencing”, then this book is for
you. The joy is in the journey. Romans 8:19 says; ’For the creation is eagerly
awaiting the revelation of God’s children. Indeed Greatness awaits!!!
Greatness awaits is also dedicated to a generation that is ready to ask these
five simple important yet profound questions about life which will be
addressed in this book:
1) The identity question.....who am I?
2) The purpose question ....why was I born?
3) The destiny question. ....where am I going?
4) The process question...how will I get there?
5 )The legacy question. ..what will I be remembered for?

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Foreword
Acknowledgments.
Chapter 1 - Self Awareness
Chapter 2 - Self Introspection
Chapter 3 - Self Confidence.
Chapter 4 - Self Appreciation
Chapter 5 - Self Development.
Chapter 6 - Self Sacrifice
Chapter 7 - Self Expectation
Chapter 8 - Self Push.

INTRODUCTION
The story of greatness awaits is the story of my life. I was born in a
family of ten children. My parents were from Mozambique who later
migrated to Zimbabwe in search of greener pastures. My father was a
long distance driver while my mum was very hardworking housewife.
I experienced lots of hardships growing up in a poor community in
Mbare Harare Zimbabwe. Our neighborhood was so poor that even the
poor called us poor. Drugs, crime and social ills were an active part of
the fabric of that society. Having experienced the disillusionment and
hopelessness of that environment, I often asked myself “Will anything
great ever come out of me? Is there a future dream that I can latch on to
escape this mediocrity?”
It was never easy to grow up not being able to access a good school and
being sent home from school from time to time for lack of payment of
school fees. After attending our classes in school, we would turn into
vendors selling different merchandise to help support our parents. It
was such an embarrassing situation, that we became the laughing stock
of our community. Being the younger one in our family, my school
uniform would always be a hand down from my big brothers. The only
time we would get the privilege of getting new clothes would be during
Christmas. The harsh reality of an adversity laden childhood strongly
affected how I viewed myself and my destiny. My appetite for greatness
was greatly diminished and I began to get used to just getting by and
surviving when instead of thriving. My turning point came when I was
ten years. I became a Christian and from that time, I began to spend most
of my time in church activities. As a teenage boy, I became a caretaker in
the church. Today I look back with humor because I would never have
imagined that I would one day become the pastor of the same church
that I was a caretaker of for two years.
As I served in that church, I would occasionally experience stirrings of
greatness within me. I served there faithfully and this opened up the
opportunity for me to be exposed to administration where I also assisted
for a few years.
This led to me being promoted and appointed as a youth pastor as my
seniors saw my diligence in service.Ten years later, I was made the
pastor of that church which also opened up many platforms for me to
impact countless lives both nationally and internationally.Today I look

back with a smile of satisfaction and gratitude as I see how my own
greatness has evolved. It is my reflection of my journey that challenged
me to pen down this book and share with you some of the principles,
insights and strategies that have helped me reach where I am today. It
is my hope that as you read this treatise, you will be inspired to step up,
step out and step into the greatness that you were created to enjoy. Have
a delightsome read.
For your greatness.
Munatsi Sande. Harare Zimbabwe.

Chapter 1
SELF AWARENESS...
DISCERNING THE GREATNESS IN YOU
DOYOU KNOW YOU?
In Africa, we love to greet one another. One of the best salutations
that you receive when you meet an old friend is “How are
you?”That’s a good question because it helps you feel a sense of
esteem and a sense of being valued by that particular individual. In
interacting with this book, you are about to begin a journey towards
exploring, discovering and maximizing your true greatness. You are
about to be inspired to break the boundaries of the impossible and
become everything you could be. In the process of starting this journey,
one of the most important questions that you will have to ask yourself
is “Do I know me? That’s a self-awareness question. The interesting
aspect about life is that many people spend endless hours discussing
others, analyzing others and even glorifying others but they rarely sit
down and have a conversation with themselves to ask the question
“Who am I?
Self-awareness is the fuel that ignites the
fire of greatness’ in a human being.
Foundation to becoming who you could be is accurately defining who
you were born to be. The pursuit of self-awareness demands that we
seek to connect with the core essence of our true selves. This will in
turn create a bedrock of an empowering identity that will empower
you to step out boldly, conquer the world, break limiting mindsets’ and
overcome obstacles that others are afraid of confronting.
Many people are not aware of who they are. If you ask the typical person
“Who are you?” you would be surprised to find that many people cannot
tell you accurately who they are. They identify themselves with their
tribe, their job and many other aspects of their lives that cannot truly
reflect who they really are.
Self
Awareness

Once you discover who you really are, you will be inspired to fulfil your
purpose in a grand style, step into your greatness without apology and
release your potential without hindrance. It’s interesting to note that
many people define themselves based on their past experiences and
they remain unaware of the immense potential that lies dormant within
them. Looking outside yourself cannot help you know who you really
are. Self-awareness is an inner journey that one takes as they do personal
introspection and interrogation geared towards cutting through the
clutter of wrong identity.
THE TRUE YOU
The question that begs is this “How do we embark the journey that will
lead to self-awareness that is based on truth so that we can build a life that
is not based on error? Self-awareness begins when you start appreciating
your originality. Like Author and Highly acclaimed Motivational
Speaker John Mason would say “You were born an original, don’t accept
to live like a cheap copy”. Originality means that you are the first of your
kind. You are not to copy anybody else. You are to appreciate that you
are a genuine, unedited, uncut and a bonafide human being created
with amazing potential. This implies that as you understand that you
are an original, you must re connect with your origin so that you can
appreciate your true originality and become self-aware.
You originated from God. As such, you need to have an awareness that
God’s nature resides in you. This information creates a foundation that
motivates you to view yourself candidly with an appreciation that you
have a purpose.Your confidence and self-awareness is directly related to
understanding who you are, who you are not and a realization of whose
you are.The legendary success thinker Dr Zig Ziglar was known to have
said these powerful words…“You are designed for accomplishment,
engineered for success and endowed with seeds of greatness”.
Reading these words should stir you up to realize the fact that you were
made for more. Settling for less when you were created for more is
accepting mediocrity when you have the capability to attain excellence.
Self
Awareness

Your confidence in life is directly related to understanding who you are and
who you are not...
Conversely, when you don’t discover who you are, you become a slave
of people’s opinions and a victim of life circumstances. Not knowing
who you are will always cause you to try to get your identity from things
when in actual sense you need to be discovering who you are so that
whether you have things or not, you never lose your self-confidence.
If self-awareness is this important; at what point did man begin to lose
it? To answer this question, we would have to go back to the first man
Adam and see the state that he was in before he lost his sense of self-
awareness. In the book of Genesis, we are told that Man was created
with an awareness that he was to live like God. Genesis 1:27 says that
“God created man in His own Image”.
Corruption of self-awareness came when the deceiver came and
suggested to man that he was less than who God had said he was. Satan
who is the source of deception came and told man, “God knows that in
the day you eat the forbidden fruit, you will be like God. Genesis 3:5
[Authors Paraphrase].
Adam yielded to deception and was literally convinced out of a state of
self-awareness to the point that he started feeling like he was less than
he actually was. He started feeding on what was on the outside to try to
attain what he already had on the inside. Isn’t that what many people
do? Because most people don’t believe in the greatness that they already
have on the inside, they start engaging in illogical and immoral activities
to try and achieve something that they already have.
They fail to understand that a person who is self-aware does not do
things to become who they are; they do things because of who they are.
Don’t lose yourself trying to become who you already are.
Self
Awareness

Friend, don’t lose yourself trying to become who you already are.
Become so comfortable in your own skin and uniqueness to the extent
that people’s opinions doesn’t condition you to start doubting yourself.
This is the secret that David of old understood. When he decided to take
on the challenge of conquering Goliath, His brothers who were all too
familiar with him started defining him based on his past responsibilities
instead of his future possibilities. But David had a state of self-awareness
that was unique and self-empowering. He knew who he was on the
inside and he understood that you become a victor when you believe
in yourself and you become a victim when you doubt yourself in the
presence of your enemy.
It’s important to note that in life, your enemy’s greatest advantage is
your lack of awareness of who you are. Marianne Wilson said these
powerful and riveting words that encapsulate what self-awareness does
for man.
Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light
and not our darkness that frightens us.We ask ourselves, who am I to be
brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous? Actually, who are you not to
be? You are a child of God.Your playing small does not serve the world.
There is nothing great about shrinking so that other people won’t feel
intimidated around you. We are all meant to shine. We were born to
make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It’s not just in some of
us. It’s in all of us. And as we let our light shine, we unconsciously give
other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our
own fear, our presence automatically liberates others.”
Once you become self-aware, it becomes easier to accept yourself.
You can start the journey of greatness that is earmarked for you. You
automatically begin to conquer feelings of hopelessness, inferiority and
insecurity once you discover and begin to celebrate yourself.To be self-
aware is to live fully and to live fully is to fully live!
I challenge you to come to a place where you become so self-aware that
you silence the voices of fear, men’s opinion, and defeating dispositions
that are out to stop you from being the best you can be in the world. Step
out boldly from the cocoon of self-pity. Arise on the wings of faith as you
discover the amazing person you are packaged to become in life. As you
read these words, I know there is a witness in your heart that you are
not who people say you are, you are not your failures.You are a walking
Self
Awareness

warehouse of power and potential waiting to be let lose to conquer the
world.
MY JOURNEY TO SELF AWARENESS
As you are reading this you may be wondering, “Is self-awareness this
powerful?” Well, let me share with you a bit of my story to affirm how
self - awareness changed my life. I am not the typical child who was
born with a silver spoon in my mouth. My past is littered with struggles
and challenges. I was once tempted to think that these challenges were
insurmountable. My point of breakthrough came as I read the bible and
began to discover who God said I was. I discovered that I was not a
victim and that whatever I was going through, I had the power within
myself to rise up, challenge my circumstances, conquer them.
It takes Separation to capture inspiration.
Developing self-awareness for me was further buttressed by building the
habit of spending time alone thinking and meditating on the possibilities
that were ahead of me despite the adversities that I was seeing around
me.Thinking allows you to tap into a power in you that causes you to be
agile and tenacious in fighting the life challenges that are thrown at you.
As I began to take time projecting the future that I wanted instead of
rehearsing the past. I began to worry less and dream of the future more.
This ignited a resolve in me to evolve into the greatness that I knew
was in me. It takes isolation to capture inspiration.As I separated myself
from the noise of the world, I began to capture an inspiration that caused
me to see myself in a whole new light.
Thirdly,Ibegantochangemycompanyandspendmoretimewithdestiny
helpers instead of spending time with complainers and grumblers. I
realized that you can’t murmur and nurture greatness at the same time.
You have to choose your friends wisely so that you keep company with
people who inspire you to see who you are and how capable you are.
Self
Awareness

A wise man said that associations determine destination. My decision
to delink myself from disempowering associations was a major source
of self-awareness. I like telling people that in life, its wisdom to choose
your friends rather than letting your friends choose you. If you believe
that you are an eagle, you must resist the tendency of keeping company
with chicken.
Lastly, to further develop my self-awareness, I chose to step out of the
confines of mediocrity and comfort and decided to expose myself to
experiences that were going to stretch me to my full potential.
Bishop David Oyedepo said these wise words “You will never be a
star if you keep resisting being stretched”. I stopped allowing myself
to believe that I was weak and incompetent. I developed courage and
confidence to step out and take assignments and responsibilities that
would force me to grow and discover more about myself. This is how I
became a preacher, an encourager and a motivational speaker.
Self-awareness doesn’t happen by accident, it takes deliberate steps.
Your awareness will determine your allocation. Take steps, ignite self-
awareness and become all you can be. It’s possible!!
Self
Awareness

POWER REFLECTIONS
1. What makes me happy?
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2. What makes me sad?
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3. What’s uniquely different about me?
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4. What or who defines me?
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Self
Awareness

Personal Reflections
Self
Awareness

Chapter 2
SELF INTROSPECTION...
DRAWING OUT WISDOM FOR GREATNESS
EYES THAT LOOK AND EYES THAT SEE
Life is interesting. Many times,you hear people say“life has become
so hard, there are no opportunities”.Yet in the same geographical
environment, you hear someone else say, “There are so many
opportunities, it’s just that people cannot see them.” As we delve into
this chapter on self- introspection, it’s important to understand that
it’s possible to be looking at something and yet not seeing [or fully
comprehending it]. Have you ever walked down the street with your
mind deep in thought? You come across your friend or colleague but
because your mind was engrossed in something else, you actually
almost passed them because you didn’t notice them.
As you are about to pass them, they tap you on the shoulder and you
suddenly come to a “light bulb” moment of knowing that your mind
was so far away, you couldn’t notice a friend that was just next to you.
A person who is disillusioned will never be distinguished...
This experience shows us that it’s possible to be looking at something
and not be seeing it. Dr Myles Munroe once said that eyes that look
are common, but eyes that see are rare. One of the great principles of
life that we must always remember is that looking doesn’t take much
effort. That’s why it doesn’t lead to one seeing the finer details that
produce greatness. However, seeing the finer details of life demands
a deeper level of keenness and concentration. Concentration leads to
illumination. Many times, we fail to excel because we don’t engage in
the level of concentration required to break out of mediocrity. We easily
allow ourselves to be distracted and disillusioned.A person who is
Self
Introspection

disillusioned will never be distinguished.To achieve higher levels of self-
awareness, you must demand of yourself to be a consistent practitioner
of reflection, concentration and introspection.
QUESTIONS…THE PATHWAY TO WISDOM
Everybody desires to be wise. You will never find anyone who grows
up in life desiring to be a fool. We are created with an in built drive to
desire not only greatness but also wisdom.The reason why most people
are unable to transition to a place of tapping the wisdom within them is
because they don’t ask quality questions. Dr. Mike Murdock once said
that answers are servants to questions. If you don’t ask questions, then
you haven’t created a pathway through which wisdom and knowledge
can flow into your life. Questioning reveals your passion for wisdom
and hunger for knowledge. The questions you ask will determine both
the quality and longevity of your life and relationships. Remember that
the key is not to ask quantity [many questions] but to ask quality [highly
intelligent] questions.
One of the most progressive sectors in today’s society is technology. If
you were to look at the trends that happen in the world of technology, you
will be amazed at the speed and quality of gadgets that are continually
being churned out by the day. How are these innovators able to churn
out such mind boggling innovations at such break neck speed? The
answer is in one word;“Questions”.
They continually ask themselves great questions like “How can this be
made better?” “How can this be made faster” “How can this be made
smaller” etc.As they ask these questions, they provoke a stream of ideas
into their consciousness’ that allow them to improve on a gadget and
thus deliver a better quality product into the market. Your questions
determine your life. Your quality of wisdom will never rise higher than
the questions you are willing to ask.
“Your quality of wisdom will never rise higher than the questions you are
willing to ask...”
I guarantee you that if you sit down and ask yourself better questions;
you will be surprised at how much you will draw out of yourself.
Self
Introspection

Nothing in this world will help you stretch your mind and tap into your
inner resources like questioning. It is also critical to understand that if
you spend more time asking yourself intelligent questions instead of
worrying, you will develop into a goldmine of resourcefulness. Have you
ever heard someone ask “Why am I failing?” That’s a wrong question,
the right question to ask would be “How can I start succeeding?” The
more you ask yourself that kind of a question, the more your mind goes
into a mode of looking for ways to help you succeed, excel and attain
uncommon results.
THE DEPTH OF TREASURES WITHIN
King Solomon was a profoundly wise man. From his writings, we can
easily tell that he was a man given to the exercise of introspection. In
Proverbs 20:5, he said, “The purpose in the heart of a man is like deep
water, but a man of understanding will draw it out”. Looking at this
statement, it’s obvious that there is a treasure of wisdom and potential
inside everyone on earth. The trick to maximizing it is developing the
understanding to draw it out. It’s sad that many people go through life
playing the victim and acting like they have nothing to offer.
They can see greatness and potential in everyone else except themselves.
As a result, they may enjoy other peoples company but they don’t even
enjoy their own company.They end up selling themselves short and
living a life of inferiority and defeat.
Have you taken time to look within to realize the vast reservoir of
untapped resources that are within you or are you so busy complaining
about lack of opportunities that you have become blind to the unlimited
possibilities within you. I want you to appreciate the fact that your life
is like an unmined goldmine that is rich in deposits of potential yet
unexplored and possibilities yet to be achieved. Take stock of what you
have and begin to unlock a great future for yourself. Often times we be
cry opportunities we think we don’t have and gifts we think we should
have and end up being blind to the obvious unlimited resources that
we have.The wise men have repeatedly said that it is not what we don’t
have that holds us back but rather what we think we need.
The introspection that we are talking about not only explores what you
have on the inside, it also brings you to a place where you allow yourself
Self
Introspection

to be defined from inside. Look within and discover the core essence of
who you are. When you do so, you become internally empowered and
you realize that greatness is hidden in things that you currently have
that look small.
You can’t get a talent through desire but you can develop a desire to grow the
talent you have...
The late Dr Robert Schuler famed Pastor of the Crystal Cathedral once
said that “Anyone can count the number of seeds in an apple, but only
God knows the number of apples in a seed.” A seed has unlimited
potential. One apple seed can literally start a whole forest of apple trees.
Stop despising the seeds of potential in you. See them as God’s gift to
you to create a forest of achievement and greatness.
TELLING YOURSELF THE TRUTH
One of the best favors you can ever do for yourself is to tell yourself
the truth. Nothing will accelerate your journey of introspection than
the willingness to look at yourself squarely in the mirror and be really
honest with yourself. If you are not good in something, tell yourself “I
am not good in that area, but I am willing to work hard and look harder
to find out what it is that I am good at.” As for me, I have always had
a desire to sing, but as I looked at myself and interrogated my gifts, I
realized that singing is not part of how I am hardwired. It was refreshing
for me to know that having a desire and being gifted in singing are two
very different things.You can’t get a talent through desire. But you can
develop a desire to develop the talent that you have.
We live in a generation where very few people are willing to tell
themselves the truth.We are more comfortable trying to tell others the
truth about them but we are rarely ready to tell ourselves the truth about
ourselves. Society has sold us the lie that “You can do all things you want
to”. Nothing could be further from the truth than that. Being truthful
about what you are good at is what opens the gateway to developing
it, harnessing it and releasing its full potential. It allows you to develop
confidence in what you have so that you can unleash it at its best and
at its highest. Self-introspection leads to celebration of your uniqueness
which brings you to a place of having a great self-esteem.
Self
Introspection

There are great treasures hidden on the inside of you. It’s your
responsibility to find them and grow fond of them. I love something that
King Solomon says in Proverbs 25:2 “It is the glory of God to conceal
a matter but it is the glory of Kings to search it out.” Searching is the
key to finding.Asking is the key to receiving. Exploring is the key to
discovering.
There is a king in you waiting to be released. But as scripture says, it the
glory of Kings to search out a matter. Take time out friend, look within
yourself with a searching mind until you develop clarity about who you
are, what you are gifted in and where you can most effectively deploy
those gifts to make maximum impact.
STOP WAITING TO STOP WASTING YOUR POTENTIAL
Have you ever wondered why society says that “Life begins at forty?”
It’s often said that people in their twenties are in their learning years,
people in their thirties are in their yearning years, people in their forties
are in their earning years while people who are fifty and above are in
their legacy years. The big question is “why would you waste forty years
of your life so that you can wait to begin life at forty?”
I believe that where there is little introspection, there can never be much
utilization of potential.We need to invest time reflecting so that we don’t
wait until we are forty to correct forty years of wrongs. As we stated
earlier in this chapter, eyes that look are common but eyes that see are
rare.
What you see determines what you speak.
What you speak determines where you go.
It’s possible to look at the same thing yet interpret it completely
differently.Two thieves hanged beside Jesus on either side while He was
at the cross. One saw a savior, while the other saw a fellow criminal.
What you see determines what you speak. What you speak eventually
determines where you will go. Maturity in life consists of learning to see
through the surface and look deep into issues. Introspection is beyond
Self
Introspection

perception, its engaging in inner inspection by engaging the inner
faculties of your mind to engage in issues.
It’s asking revealing questions like:
- How am I wired?
- What makes me tick?
- What makes me unique?
- What value can I add
It’s interesting that we tend to see more in others than we see in
ourselves. Inside every one of us are seeds of greatness in the form of
desires, thoughts and ideas.What we then need to do is to find ways in
which we can fertilize and ignite a fire of achievement using these seeds
of potentials in us. The late great scholar and bible teacher Dr. Myles
Munroe used to say that the cemetery is the richest place on the planet
because therein lies books that were never written, businesses that were
never started, songs that were never sung and potential that was never
released.
The greatest return on investment that you can get from introspection is
knowing your purpose. I know and rightly understand that we live in
a quick fix microwave generation where we can Google up an answer
for almost any question in life. However, it’s worth noting that some of
the things in life cannot be googled! They must be thought through and
processed with keenness and concentration. Knowing who you are is
the greatest knowledge. Being who you were meant to be is the greatest
accomplishments.
As we come to the conclusion of this chapter, I encourage you to sit
down in a place with no distractions with a pen and a paper. Engage
in a process of self-discovery and do this often. It has been said that
greatness is not achieved in a day, it’s achieved daily. As you engage
in the process of self-introspection consistently, you will discover new
possibilities of greatness for yourself daily.You’ll be ready to launch into
becoming the great person you were created to be!
As you engage in the process of self-discovery,
you will discover new possibilities of greatness daily.
Self
Introspection

POWER REFLECTIONS
1. What am I good at?
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2. What can I do with what I’m good at?
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3. What is holding me back from doing something with what I’m
good at?
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Self
Introspection

Self
Introspection

Chapter 3
SELF CONFIDENCE...
DO YOU BELIEVE IN YOU?
YOUR MAKER ANDYOUR MAKE - UP
Haveyoueverinteractedwithsomethingthatwasmadebyaprofessional
like a dress that was put together by a skilled designer? Or a suit that
was sown by a gifted tailor? There is something about the maker of
something that reflects in the distinction of what he makes. You were
created by God the master designer.The fact that you are created by an
excellent creator by default means that you are an excellent creation.
Author and bible teacher Max Lucado puts it this way; “You are not an
accident. You were not mass produced. You were deliberately planned,
specifically gifted and lovingly positioned on this earth by the master
craftsman.” The moment you begin to be aware of this amazing fact, self-
confidence will begin to explode in you. You will walk with your head
high, your shoulders raised and your self-esteem soaring; not because
you are arrogant, but because you understand that you are special.
The greatest wealth is not the wealth around you
but the wealth within you.
In the Holy Scriptures, we are told that we were created in God’s image.
This means that when God looks at us, He sees Himself because we are
His image.When you know that you are Gods image, it changes the way
you perceive, package and project yourself. Sociologists tell us that one
can never rise above the way they see themselves.
You have to see yourself accurately and believe in yourself affirmatively
before you can express yourself powerfully. It’s fascinating to know that
the more you believe in the God who created you, the more you will
believe in yourself. God never creates anything empty.When he created
the trees, they were full of fruits which were full of seeds, which when
planted creates more trees.The earth is full of minerals, precious stones,
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Confidence

animals, land and sea life. If creation is full of such great deposits, how
about you who is created in God’s image.
There is wealth within you that you have been ignoring. When you
acknowledge and appreciate this rich deposit of greatness that is in you
in form of potential, then you will begin to have an ever growing sense
of purpose and self-confidence. Wealth brings confidence. You are not
empty. You are full waiting to be emptied. You are not empty trying to
be full! That is why you should never define yourself based on material
possessions.You should define yourself based on the immense potential
of God in you. One of the things that is consistently happening in Africa
is the discovery of minerals.These minerals did not start existing the day
they were discovered.They existed even before they were discovered.
FROM INFERIORITY TO DESTINY
You cannot rise up to your greatness for as long as you are looking down
on yourself. Inferiority has never launched anyone to greatness. Many
people especially in third world countries look down upon themselves
and operate in piety because they have never believed the right things
about themselves and therefore they have a beat down sense of self-
esteem which leads to low self-confidence.A person with a low opinion
of themselves will be inferior and will not take chances to rise up to be
the person they could be.They will go around in life crawling in self-pity
and ever complaining about how unfair life is to them. It was Dr Robert
Schuller that said,“Life is not fair but God is good”
Life is not fair but God is Good – Dr. Robert H. Schuller.
The people who wait for the day that life will be fair to take action on
their potential are just proving that their self-confidence is low. Life has
never been fair. But everybody gets an opportunity to take the lemons
of unfairness that life throws at them and turn them into lemonade that
can refresh others. My story is not one of life being fair. It’s a story of the
triumph of self-confidence over the unfair seasons of life. I did not grow
up in a rich family. My background has had struggles that could have
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Confidence

overcome me if I had chosen to wallow in self-pity instead of rising up
in self-confidence. I had many opportunities to give up along the way
but something inside me told me that I could make it. I knew that I had
within me the capacity to rise up and become someone that society looks
up to. I build my self-confidence and my self-confidence in turn helped
me to build my dream.
At this juncture, it is important for me to point out the fact that self-
confidence is not the same as arrogance. Arrogance is an attitude that
springs from a heart that is full of pride. Self-confidence is simply the
ability to understand and celebrate your uniqueness.
Self-confidence is believing in yourself no matter what you don’t have.
It’s believing in the greatness in you and believing that no situation can
stop it from coming forth. I have been in places where people were asked
to volunteer to do something they are good at. It has been my observation
that many shy away because they don’t have self-confidence. In life,
people with less gifting’s and more self-confidence will always do more
than those with great talents and low self-confidence.
COMFORTABLE IN YOUR OWN SKIN
The great self-confidence question is “Are you comfortable being you?”
We live in a world of “selfies” where people are consistently posting
images of themselves looking very happy. The unfortunate thing is that
if you were to ask them how happy and how confident they are about
who they are, they would give you a totally different opinion from what
you see in the “selfie”.
The selfie rarely projects their true self-confidence. No one can build
your self-confidence for you.You must come to the place where you
are comfortable in your originality, celebrate your peculiarity and
embrace your personality for you to walk in true self confidence. As
Robin Sharma says “When your self-respect is in place, you don’t need
society’s applause.”
When your self-respect is in place,
you don’t need society’s applause - Robin Sharma.
Self
Confidence

THE SELF CONFIDENCE BUILDERS
As you are reading this chapter you may be asking “I understand all you
are saying, but then my self-confidence is so low, how do I raise it up?
“How do I become a person of self-confidence as I maintain a disposition
of humility and self-respect?” Well here are some few keys that I believe
could help you begin to systematically build up your self-confidence.
SELF CONCEPT
Self-concept is about how you see yourself. It’s critical to understand
that your self-confidence is a reflection of your self-concept. How you
see yourself influences how others see you.
In the bible, we have a story that clearly underscores this idea. Moses the
great leader of Israel sent twelve spies to check out the land where he
was leading the people to. As the spies arrived there, they found a great
land that was flowing with milk and honey. But they also saw giants. As
they came back, ten of the spies gave a bad report that was negative and
uninspiring. Two of the spies who had a correct self-concept said “Let
us go up at once and take over the land for we are well able.” [Authors
Paraphrase]. These two spies were in the company of the ten who had
given a negative report.The difference was that they had an accurate
self- concept.They emphasized their ability and not the ability of the
enemy.
A good place to start building your self-confidence is to always
emphasize your potential and abilities. Someone said that we tend to
see others through our own eyes. If you give a donkey green spectacles,
rest assured that he will start grazing thinking that everything is grass. If
you think you can, then you will! If you think you can’t, then it’s almost
certain that you won’t. The wise man Solomon aptly declared “As a man
thinketh in his heart, so is he”.
SELF TALK
Your words have power. A good question to ask yourself would be,
“What have I been saying about myself of late?” If you can’t speak to
yourself, then you will never raise your confidence. Self-confidence is
that which grows when we begin to appreciate and verbally affirm the
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Confidence

great deposits that we have in us.
Self-talk is looking yourself in the mirror and speaking faith building
and confidence inspiring words to yourself. As you speak those
words of faith, hope and possibility, they get into your soul and your
subconscious mind thus beginning to condition your self-confidence for
greatness.Your words are weapons. No matter what anybody says about
you and to you, the most important thing is what you say to yourself
when everybody else quits talking. Self-talk will build you…if you will
speak words that build you!!!
Self-talk will build you if you speak words that build you.
SELF DEVELOPMENT
Do you believe enough in yourself to invest in yourself? If you were
a company, would people be inspired to come and buy your shares
because of how valuable you are? True self confidence happens when
we invest in personal development. If you are not growing, you are
dying.You must take personal responsibility to develop yourself in
every way possible because your self-confidence depends on it. Read to
develop your mind. Exercise to develop your physical stature. Network
to expand your social structure. Do everything you can to make yourself
better.
The interesting thing is that as you strive to become better, then you will
feel better about yourself. When anyone stops growing, they become a
victim of inferiority and a captive of mediocrity.What you know is not
all there is to know, where you are is not all there is. Reach for growth
and pursue wisdom and you will be surprised at the return that will
bring in personal confidence.
SELF PACKAGING
You should dress the way you want to be addressed. You don’t
necessarily have to dress expensive but you have to dress confidently.
The first impression is a lasting impression. Sometimes a person carries
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Confidence

themselves apologetically because they are not dressed for the occasion
and they feel out of place. Dress appropriately to allow yourself to feel
special. Self-confidence is a result of an inside conviction that has an
outward expression on how one dresses. Package yourself consistently
with what you believe about yourself and you will walk with a spring in
your step because of self-confidence.Dress good, smell good, look good
and you will feel good. Build your own brand!
SELF CONFIDENCE PLUS
As you learn to walk in self-confidence, it will affect many areas of your
life positively.You will be able to handle your relationships better, make
smarter decisions and scale higher heights. Life has endless possibilities
for the individual who will walk in self-confidence. Possibilities end for
the person whose self-confidence begins to deteriorate.
One of the greatest things that I have come to observe in life is that the
higher one’s self confidence grows, the greater the risks he is able to
take and as such, the greater the potential rewards he is able to reap.You
are also able to inspire others to be confident as you walk in confidence
yourself.There is privilege, there is honor and there is respect in walking
in self-confidence. There is reward in believing the best about yourself.
Don’t allow anyone or anything to cheat you out of the greatness in you.
Arise and be who you can be. Be confident! you can do it!
To keep your self-confidence,
you have to be selective in who you relate with...
As you enjoy the benefits of self-confidence, you will also need to be
aware of the thieves of self-confidence that are around you. To keep
your self-confidence soaring, you have to be selective in who you relate
with. Allowing negative people to be your confidants will only kill your
confidence. You have to make sure that you surround yourself with
people and books that inspire you and keep you engaged and motivated.
You must stay conscious of the fact that anything that kills your self-
confidence is an enemy to your future.You must fight it with everything
you have. Arriving at the peak of your potential will demand that you
choose self-confidence over self-pity.
Self
Confidence

POWER REFLECTIONS
1. What giftings have others told me I possess? List at least three.
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2. What books will I read to help build solid self confidence in
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3. Which relationships and environments are chocking my self-
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Confidence

Self
Confidence

Chapter 4
SELF APPRECIATION...
ARE YOU GRATEFUL FOR WHAT YOU
HAVE?
GRATEFUL OR A GREAT FOOL
As we begin this chapter, I want to ask you a question;“How many times
do you hit the pause button in your schedule and say ‘Today I want to
develop my gratitude list. I want to be consciously grateful because I do
not want to be a great fool who takes the blessings and privileges of life
for granted.” When you take things for granted, you remain grounded
says Dr David Oyedepo. Gratitude is one of the major keys for unlocking
the “greatness that awaits”. When the spirit of gratitude takes over,
worry leaves and the vision of the possibilities that exist for us in life
become clearer. Ingratitude is a thief while gratitude is an activator and
a generator of the force we need to live proactive and progressive lives.
In other words, the greater your gratitude is, the clearer your vision will
be.
The greater your gratitude, the clearer your vision.
If gratitude is this necessary in our journey to greatness then the question
we should be asking is “how can we posture as people of great gratitude
for great altitudes in life?” The key lies in learning to look at life events
beyond face value. Surface symptoms are deceptive.
We need to dig deeper and look harder beyond the crust of life to see
real reasons to be grateful. Living in the 21st century can be challenging
because this is a generation that is driven by hurry and motivated by
speed. Being in a rush can cause you to prioritize the petty and ignore
the vital.
Self
Appreciation

THE THREE LOOKS
Within you, God has placed gifts, talents, strengths and treasures that
you need to take stock of and be grateful for. Never take the blessings of
life casually because if you do, you will end up as a casualty.When you
appreciate what God has put in you, then your life begins to appreciate
in like fashion.The principle of appreciation means that as you appraise
the great things in your life, you begin to develop creativity to raise
yourself to a higher level of performance and excellence.As you walk
through the pathways of life, learn to slow down, introspect and be
grateful.You will be amazed at how that will ignite fresh momentum
towards new vistas of greatness.
To do that, there are three looks you need to have:
Look Closely
When you look at something from a distance, you see the big vision.
But when you look at it closely, you see the details. Details help us have
a greater appreciation of something. This is why it is easy to criticize
someone when you don’t see the finer details that are positive about
their character. Our society is in such a rush that we fail to appreciate
the finer more inspiring things about life.We fail to appreciate nature,
health, friends and even the very oxygen that we breathe. It’s easy to
find something to complain about, but when you look closely, you will
find that no matter the challenges you are going through; there will
always be something to smile about and be grateful for.
Look Keenly and Gratefully
Those who grumble will never stumble into greatness. Instead of
grumbling, re channel the energy that you spend complaining to being
grateful. Begin to be so keen in life that you see hope, possibilities and
value everywhere you look.When you change how you look at life, how
life looks will change. A change of perspective is the difference between
a grumbling spirit and a grateful heart. Everything in life can either lose
value or gain value depending on how you choose to look at it.
When you change how you look at life, how life looks changes...
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Appreciation

When you look at life with keenness and gratefulness, you generate an
attitude that inspires and adds value to other lives. In my own journey
to purpose, I have seen people who enjoy their lives and professions and
inspire others to want to be in that field. I have also seen people who
grumble and depress others with their negativity because they have
chosen to live ungrateful lives.
Look Intentionally
Have you realized that in life,we tend to get what we look for
passionately? The Psalmist inspires us to intentionally say “This is
the day that God has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it”.You can be
unhappy by default, but to be happy and grateful, it has to be by choice.
One of the most powerful inner resources that lies unexercised is the gift
of intention. Intention is making choice to do something positive and
making a deliberate decision to initiate positive action even when you
don’t feel like it.
Gratitude is not our default setting. We must intentionally choose it.
Look within with a deep sense of purpose and you will find a million
reasons to be grateful. When you do become grateful by choice, you
activate a thousand suns of joy to burst forth in your soul. Pay attention
to the law of intention and you will unleash an explosion of gratitude.
THE WELL OF GRATITUDE
Having appreciated the place of gratitude and appreciation, we will
now explore how gratitude can help us reach new peaks of excellence.
Gratitude is like water in a desert. It’s always a refreshing experience
to find someone who is genuinely grateful and sincerely appreciative
in life. When you become a person of gratitude, you become a well of
refreshment for all around you. You point others to possibilities when
they are in the middle of adversities.There are basically three things you
must know deeply in your soul if you want to develop a gratitude that
fosters greatness.
Know That You Have Value
Nothing should make you as grateful as knowing that you have value.
The psalmist exclaimed “Oh yes, you shaped me first inside, then out,
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Appreciation

you formed me in my mother’s womb. I thank you, High God – You
are breath taking! Body and soul, I am marvelously made! I worship
in adoration – What a creation! You know me inside out, you know
every bone in my body; you know exactly how I was made, bit by bit,
how I was sculpted from nothing into something” - Psalms 139:14-15
The last portion of that statement aptly declares that we were
sculptured from something into something. I would not hesitate to
add that if you are something, then you have unexplainable,
unlimited and unusual value. You are a person of great worth!
There is no valuable in this world that has greater value than you...
The understanding that you are a person of value should unleash
gratitude within you. Sometimes, I see armored cars carrying cash with
armed personnel and I begin to wonder, “Do these people realize that
they are carrying greater value within them than the freight they are
ferrying in form of cash?”There is no valuable asset in this world that
has greater value than you.Your very life is priceless! Understanding
that you are priceless ignites in you a compelling resolve to reach for
greatness. Knowing what you have makes you grateful and causes you
to look at yourself differently with a sense of self-respect.
Know That You Can Add Value To What You Have
Be grateful, you can add value. The gifts, the talents and the resources
within you were supernaturally deposited in you by your creator to
make you a person who adds value to your world.You were not created
to just occupy space.You were masterfully fashioned to fulfil destiny and
make a difference. Africa is a beautiful continent that is endowed with
great mineral deposits and yet it is one of the poorest continents. One
of the reasons why the poverty of Africa continues to bite with harsh
reality is because; despite the fact that we have great minerals, we seem
unable to add value to them. We hard mine these minerals and then
export them overseas for value addition.
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Appreciation

By the time they come back as value added and polished minerals,
they are sold to us at exorbitant prices. A producer who cannot add
value to what he produces will remain the slave of the person who
can add value to what he produces.You may have a great gift and
talent but if you do not add value to it through training and
development, it is proof that you don’t value it and you may never
make much of it. Inability to polish what you have is ingratitude and
it will cause it to deteriorate.
Know That What You Have Can Add Value
Partofbeinggratefulisunderstandingthatwhatyoucarrycanaddvalue.
You are loaded with solutions that can make a significant difference
in your generation. Do not be little yourself; you are not little. Do
not demean yourself, you are not insignificant. Do not be devil
yourself by giving excuses to rationalize mediocrity and endorse
failure. Rise up in the understanding that you are created to be a
solution, a value adder and a problem solver in your generation.
There are people who will never become who they were meant to
be until you become who you were meant to be.We are created to be
interdependent on each other.
You are created to be a solution, a value adder and a problem solver...
You have something someone needs and you need something that
someone has. Get engaged in using what you have with a spirit of
gratitude and let this generation feel your contribution and expression
of greatness. We are meant to need each other.
You will never find one human being with all talents. Everyone has
something they are wired to do and a call they are created to carry
out. When you discover this, you will explode with the gratitude of
knowing that you are needed in the equation of life.The deposit in you
is meant to make you relevant and revolutionary to the world around
you. Appreciate it and step out with dogged determination to make
something worthwhile with your life.
Self
Appreciation

POWER REFLECTIONS
1. How often do I engage on a pause mode to express gratitude for
the blessings I have?
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2. What will I do in the next one month to initiate a process of
adding value to the gifts and talents I have discovered within myself?
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3. The greatest use of a gift is to serve. List at least two organizations
that you could volunteer in to add value to the higher cause of blessing
Humanity. What specific thing will you do to add value to them?
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Self
Appreciation

Self
Appreciation

Chapter 5
SELF DEVELOPMENT....
REFINE YOUR GIFT AND YOU WILL BE
FINE
THE REFINERY…
Oil is one of the major commodities we have in the world that has made
some countries very rich. In its raw form, it is not very expensive. But as
it is taken through the process of refinery, and impurities are removed,
its value increases. The same applies to a man with a gift. In its raw and
unpolished form, a gift may not do much for you. But as you polish and
perfect your it, not only does it makes room for you, it literally unleashes
a flood of opportunities towards you.
While enroute from Tanzania to Harare, I bumped into a magazine called
“Travel Mart”. It captured the story of how Russians were building a
new oil refinery in Uganda. I got interested in the story and as I read
further, they writer noted that Uganda has 6.5 billion barrels of untapped
oil reserves. It was estimated to take five years at a cost 2.5 billion US
dollars. This got me; thinking, “if something is of value, it will demand
a great investment of value to increase its value”.
You have great ability inside you, it’s a great responsibility to develop it.
The principle here is that potential will never produce development if
we do not put in the work of refining it. Refining something does not
change its nature. It simply transforms that commodity into a usable
form that allows it to be marketed at a greater value.
Just like there is crude oil in the ground that can be worth millions when
refined and positioned in the market, there is greatness inside you that
can be harnessed, refined and deployed strategically in your generation.
It is worth noting that you cannot turn your potential into greatness
Self
Development

through emotional excitement.You must engage in a strategic, structured
and solid process of personal development for your greatness to be fully
birthed. One of the sad realities of life is that many people die with their
“oil” in them because they refuse to engage in the process of personal
development. Friend, I want to challenge you to take the responsibility
of developing yourself seriously. Realize that you have ability on the
inside. It will take a great attitude of responsibility to develop it.
GROWING UP ASY OU GROW OLD
Recently, I came across an interesting thought that said “you must do
your own growing no matter how tall your grandfather is.” Celebrated
Author and business philosopher Jim Rohn buttressed this truth further
when he said “No one can do press - ups for you.” Every time I turn
a year older, I like investing time reflecting on what my journey has
been so far as I also explore strategic ways of investing the years ahead
of me for maximum impact. In my reflections, I like asking myself “I
have grown older, but how have I grown up?” Wise people understand
that age can increase without maturity increasing.They understand that
where there is no increase in maturity, there will be no maximization of
potential.
Growing old is automatic but growing up is intentional. Paul the Apostle
wisely stated these words in 1 Corinthians 13; 11 that succinctly capture
the process of growing up, he said “When I was a child, I thought as a
child, I spoke as a child…but when I grew up, I put away childish ways”.
Growing up is the process of intentionally putting away childish ways
so that you can get on the highway of greatness. Immaturity will get
you out of the race of purpose and cause you to be run over by the speed
trucks of mediocrity.To grow up, you must develop the muscle to stand
the heat of character formation.You must allow the fire of life to burn
away the dross of immaturity and get rid of the chaff of inconsistency
that attempts to attach itself to your person.
A wise quote says that winners do always what losers do occasionally.
Have you ever observed how sports champions carry themselves while
in training? I have seen people who prepare for hours for something
that will take minutes.As they refine themselves in private practice, they
position themselves to be winners in public performance. The question
you must ask is “What will it take for me to become all that I was
meant to be? What cost am I willing to pay to step out of the corridor of
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passivity into the arena of greatness? What traits of championship will I
need to develop in myself for the greatness within me to emerge? These
questions will help you begin to see which refinery processes you need
to engage in for your potential to be churned into greatness.
Winners do daily what losers do occasionally.
As you grow and refine yourself, it is important to understand that
you have to grow in a balanced way. Develop your mind, soul and
spirit. Neglecting one area trying to develop another one is a recipe for
disaster. You need to be balanced if you are to arrive at a place of all
round greatness. I would like us to explore three critical areas that you
must take seriously for you to lay hold of the greatness that awaits. I
fondly call them the three Ms’ i.e. your mind, your manners and your
maturity in relationships.
A} MIND REFINERY
Dr Mike Murdock says,“Your mind is the drawing board for tomorrow’s
circumstances”.You must grow your mind if you want to increase your
greatness. There is nothing in life that is as worse as a person with a great
position and a small mind. You must develop your mind by refining it
consistently with the input of sound knowledge. Your mind is like a
computer, what you put in is exactly what you will get out.Your mind
has two gates, the eyes and the ears.Whether you realize it or not, what
you what you consistently see and hear will eventually determine how
you think. How you think will eventually dictate how you act.
Your life takes the form of the thoughts that you allow to dominate your
mind. This means that when you avoid developing your mind, you
have relegated the responsibility of mastering your destiny. We need
to realize the force and power of our thoughts and begin to consciously
craft a thought blueprint that will allow us to channel our energies
towards where we want to go in life. One of the best ways to achieve
this is to educate our mind as we feed it with positive, life empowering
and future transforming material.The day you begin to develop your
mind is the day you begin to reshape your future.
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B} MANNERS REFINERY
Mannerism has to do with how we conduct ourselves.The late Dr Myles
Munroe once told a story of how one time he went to visit a certain
country. The host preacher told him that there were some young and
upcoming leaders that wanted to have a chat with him to learn a few
things from him. By the nature of his work, he was a very busy man but
he decided to give them some time.
As they walked to the table where he was seated, they shook hands and
with enthusiastic smiles sat down. However, instead of wisely asking
him questions and drawing wisdom from him, they decided to spend
the next forty minutes telling him about their achievements. I can only
imagine how he must have shaken his head in disbelief wondering
how naïve these young men were not to value the opportunity that was
before them.They were in the presence of one of the most brilliant minds
but because of their lack of manners, they missed a great opportunity to
learn.
Your conduct is the conduit of your greatness.
Mannerisms’hasalottodowithmasteringexcellenthabitsandpackaging
that will cause you to have favor and credibility. Refining yourself in
mannerisms means that you must study the conduct of excellent people,
study their vocabulary and their personal etiquette.There are habits and
dispositions that can cause you to lose credibility. How do you conduct
yourself when exited, when angry and when disappointed? All these are
pointers of how far you can go because your conduct is the conduit to
your greatness.
C} MATURITY REFINERY
The further you want to go in life, the better you must learn to relate
with people.The key to relating well with people is not in how they treat
you; it’s in choosing a response that is befitting to respond to them no
matter how they treat you. There is no place where your maturity will
be tested more than in your relationships.
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As you stretch and reach for betterment, one of the areas that must
change should be seen in how you treat people.It is only fools that assume
they will succeed in the playground of life without the participation of
people.Wise people realize that people are one of their greatest assets as
they engage in the pursuit of purpose. To succeed with people, you must
begin by understanding that every person you meet is valuable and as
such, you must treat them with a sense of honor, integrity and dignity.
Wise people realize that people are some of their greatest assets as they engage
in the pursuit of purpose.
Whenever I talk to people about greatness, I tell them that there are
basically three categories of people you will need to connect with to
ascend to the apex of destiny. First, you will need mentors who can
coach and challenge you to become all that you can be.These are people
who are not impressed with your present excellence because they are
here to push you to your future potential. Without such people in our
lives, we settle in our comfort zone and allow our yesterday’s excellence
to become today’s mediocrity.
There is another category of people that we need; these are challengers.
They encourage and walk beside us to inspire momentum in us. They
serve to hold us accountable as we press towards greatness. They are
usually on the same level we are and as we engage and compare notes
with them, they sharpen us as we sharpen them.
The last category of people that we need are individuals who are beneath
us and can benefit from our wisdom and experience. These are people
that we can mentor and add value to because they need us to ascend
to the next level. As you engage with these three categories of people,
you are able to refine your maturity in relationships and become a more
whole and positively contributing human being.
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GROWTH PITFALLS
As you attempt to grow and become all that you can be, there are certain
roadblocks you will find on your growth track. We will explore them
here briefly so that as we pursue greatness, we can be conscious of them
and stop them before they stop us.They are:
1. THE COMFORT ZONE PITFALL
Renowned author and international speaker Dr Brian Tracy says, “All
greatness lies beyond your comfort zone”. That statement in a sense
sums up why many people do not reach out for greatness.They look for
it in their comfort zone.When I was serving as a youth pastor, I decided
that I needed to grow.This meant that I needed to step out of my own
comfort zone and step into new places where my wisdom was going
to expand.This was instigated by the fact that leading young people in
itself is not an easy task. Combined with the fact that I was passionate
about making an impact, I needed to step out of my comfort zone so that
I could step up into my greatness.
Leadership expert Dr John Maxwell says,“You may teach what you know
but you only reproduce who you are”. I decided to expose myself to other
youth pastors outside my circle so that I could learn from them. I joined
a pastor’s fraternity in the northern affluent suburbs.This opened me up
to new information,ideas and wisdom that became a great leverage in
helping me to navigate to higher levels of youth leadership. It enlarged
my perspective and helped me to see new possibilities that I had never
seen while in my comfort zone. This experience made me realize that
there was a bigger world than my current environment. Exposure brings
growth and growth brings excellence.
Exposure brings growth, growth produces excellence. Excellence brings you to
the shores of greatness...
2.THE PRIDE PITFALL
Wisdom begins with admission of ignorance. The reason why many
people continue to wallow in ignorance is because they do not have the
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humility to admit that they do not know. The proud man would rather
defiantly hold on to his ignorance than open himself up to learn. In my
journey as a leader, I have met so many people who are proud and do
not even realize that they are proud.They assume that since they come
from a better neighborhood, a better school and an affluent home, they
have it all. A proud person is like a blindfolded man trying to walk on a
steep hill. He is bound to fall. Nothing positions a man or a woman for
growth faster than a spirit of humility. As you engage in life, know that
humility will cause you to reap in the fields of wisdom what the proud
man can never reap.
3.THE PASSIVITY PITFALL
Passivity is being lazy about learning. It’s refusing to take steps towards
wisdom and succumbing to the stench of ignorance.Wisdom and growth
don’t come by accident; they must be pursued with intent. I am yet to
meet a growing person who tolerates passivity.
Growing people are individuals who have outgrown an entitlement
mentality and are out there seeking to learn all they can learn by all
means and at all costs.They do not ask the price of a book because they
know that in the final analysis, knowledge is cheaper than ignorance.
Only passive people are seduced to believe that knowledge is expensive.
Passive people love to procrastinate and their favorite word is
“tomorrow”.
Today is the tomorrow that you talked about yesterday. Get up and yank
yourself out of that state of ignorance. Stop giving excuses and alibis;
you can learn what you need to learn in order to grow to any place that
you need to grow into. But it all begins with an attitude of responsibility
and resoluteness. Passivity kills creativity and activity.
THE GLORY OF GROWTH
Not all change brings growth but all growth demands change. When
you decide to grow, there are certain great things that begin to happen
in your life. You begin to accelerate in the direction of your dreams as
you curtail wrong behaviors that are contrary to your greatness. People
around you will find you an easier soul to relate with as they savor
the blessings of your deepening character. Your organization too will
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experience greater contribution from you.The works of your hands will
reflect creativity and innovation. Growth brings sweetness to life while
not growing births bitterness.
You must want to grow, you must desire to grow and you must commit to
growth.The following are some great benefits that you will be poised to
experience when you commit to a lifestyle of growth and development.
BETTER DECISION MAKING.
One of your greatest assets in the journey to greatness is good decision
making.You don’t choose the future, you make your decisions and your
decisions create your future. Life is a series of decisions. As you grow,
you enlarge your capacity to evaluate, interrogate and act on the right
information to make strategic decisions. You end up making progress
swiftly because you make choices based on facts that are well thought
through.The more you grow, the more you will be able to master your
emotions and make decisions that are rational.
BETTER LEADERSHIP
How do you know a great leader?They are always stretching and
growing. Many times I bump into people who want to be respected
because of their titles and positions. Sometimes, I just wish that I could
tell them that in life you don’t negotiate for honor with the card of titles,
you become entitled for honor when you display maturity. If you are
going to be a real leader, you must pursue growth and you must have a
plan for growth.
Nothing is dignified about walking through life with a non-growing
mind. The reason why most leaders eventually lose the respect of their
followers is because they reach a place where they feel like they have
arrived and they stop growing.They forget that stopping to grow is
equal to stopping to lead.
I want to encourage you to engage in serious private growing if you
want to ensure a life of great public leadership. How you live in the
private will eventually affect how your life and leadership appears in
the public.
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BETTER ATTITUDE
When someone grows, it also reflects in their attitude, expectations, and
general mindset in life. Knowledge purges our thinking and removes
the rickets of mediocrity from our lives. It empowers us to be firm with
the thoughts that we allow to enter our minds. One of the tragedies that
befalls people when they stop growing is that they start sulking and
having mentalities that are anti-vision.
Growth breeds a sense of self appreciation and an attitude that causes
one to celebrate themselves. Mind-set is key to how we think about
ourselves. The more committed you are to growing, the better the
attitude you will display; the better the attitude you display, the more
you will want to grow. And the more you grow, the greater a human
being you will become.
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POWER REFLECTIONS
1. What areas have you identified t hat y ou n eed t o increase your
exposure and growth in?
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2. What environments’ and people do you need to access so that
you can draw wisdom and knowledge from them to leverage your
growth in those areas?
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3. Which books are you going to invest in that can facilitate your
growth and development towards your dream and destiny?
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Self
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Chapter 6
SELF SACRIFICE...
PAYING THE PRICE FOR GREATNESS
THE INCUBATOR OF GREATNESS
Every dream grows to the extent that we create a favorable environment
for it. Greatness is like a baby, if you don’t incubate it through discipline
it will definitely be aborted by the adversities of life.You need to
understand that just like a baby, when a dream is conceived in your
heart, it usually goes through a lot of challenges before it’s born. My
wife Cynthia and I have been blessed with three beautiful children,
Kyla Katina, Tamika Tadisa and Munatsi-Joseph.
I have been privileged to witness each one of them being born and I can
tell you for sure that it is an amazing experience. I can remember it like
yesterday when my wife started experiencing the labor pains of our first
born. She felt so much pain and said “I can’t take this pain anymore and
I will never conceive again”.The little I could do at that point was only to
create an encouraging environment to help her endure the pain.
Every dream grows to the extent that we create a favourable
environment for it
The dream seed in you will demand that you strive to remove the dream
chocker’s around you. Dream chocker’s are those things and people
who do not fuel the development of the greatness in you.
They discourage you with poisonous pessimism, they belittle you with
negative talk, and they assault you with demeaning statements.They are
always trying to show you how far you are from your possibilities.
Sometimes, you have to be willing to cut off wrong people for the right
dream to grow in you. You cannot afford the luxury of having negative
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people around you once you decide to enter the labor room of your
greatness.Your greatness needs a specific environment to grow.
GREATNESS HAS A PRICE
To paraphrase the words of the legendary Charles Blair “The greatness
of a man is determined by the cause for which he lives and the price he
is willing to pay to see it come to pass.” The reason why many people
envision greatness but never achieve it is because it comes with a
price. You can’t sit back on the chair of passivity and expect to achieve
greatness. Like they say in economic circles, cheap things are expensive.
You have to be willing to go the extra mile to have extraordinary results.
The interesting thing that I have also observed is the fact that you can’t
bargain the price of greatness.You must pay for it in full and in advance
like Brian Tracy says.When a woman is pregnant, she has to pay the full
price of carrying that baby; which includes eating good food, visiting
the doctor every so often, etc. Let us briefly look at some of the things
that greatness will cost you.
TIME – THE TEST OF PATIENCE
We are living in a microwave generation where people are used to quick
things. This microwave mentality does not work where greatness is
concerned because for greatness to be birthed, you must endure the test
of patience. Just like a mother cannot rush a pregnancy, you cannot rush
the process of greatness.
Greatness does not come in an instant; it comes after a process of patience.
Randy Morrison once said “whatever you need in life, you must be
willing to exchange time for it”. Time is given to us all to become great,
the question that begs is “Are you maximizing the moments that God
has given you?
How much time do you invest on a daily basis to nurture that dream
that is in your heart? Your results will always be commensurate to the
investment of time you put towards your projects. Africa is famous for
half-done projects.This is because the people carrying out these projects
were not willing to execute the full time needed for the completion of the
project. Just like an expectant woman goes through several trimesters
that all have unique challenges, you will go through different seasons as
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you nurture the greatness within. You will have to be willing to go full
term of you are to deliver something great for the long term. Patience
will be required.
There is something about waiting and patiently enduring the processes
of greatness that makes you not only a great soul but also makes you
an inspiration to the people around you. This is why the title “Mother”
is precious.You have to go through a painful and patience demanding
process to earn it. The same applies in the journey of greatness. The
greatest thing you will achieve is not results but character development.
Give your greatness your best. Half-baked attention won’t cut it, only
full concentration will deliver lasting elevation.
WORK – THE TEST OF SWEAT
Greatness is a labour intensive journey.You cannot be lazy and expect to
achieve greatness. Many people view work as a necessary evil. I want to
challenge you to begin seeing work as a necessary blessing that turns on
the turbines of greatness and brings you to a place of fulfillment.
Work is great if you are great in your work. It has been said that
millionaires maintain a work schedule of at least 16 hours every day.
This is not to say that a millionaire status is the standard of greatness.
It is to affirm the fact that if you want to achieve something worthwhile
with your life, you will have to be willing to develop the work ethic
for it. Every great endeavor demands work.The only thing that a lazy
person succeeds in is wishing. He becomes a failure in everything else.
I challenge you to work hard and work smart at the same time. I have
watched most people do more of what’s not working for the sake of
activity, instead of intelligently evaluating what works, and giving it
all they got. In working, one has to decide to be self-motivated. God
worked for six days and rested on the seventh day unlike most of us
who want to rest more days than we work.
I visited Mumbai India, some years back and what I saw impacted me
in a positive way. I landed at the Mumbai airport at around 1 am and
found thousands of people there working. The shops were open and the
streets were a beehive of activity. In this particular place, they have a
working culture of twenty four hours where they work in shifts.This got
me thinking about some places where people have a twenty four hour
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drinking culture instead of having twenty four hour working culture. As
you might be aware, if you live to be sixty years and you sleep for eight
hours daily, you will have slept for about twenty years of your life.
That is too much sleep. Wake up and work. If you don’t work, things
won’t work!
NETWORKING - THE TEST OF SOCIAL SKILL
Greatness doesn’t come to lone rangers. You must network. It is said
that your network will determine your net worth. A man is not as rich
as the resources he has, he is as wealthy as the strategic networks that
he has developed along the way. Everything you need in life is with
somebody you need to connect with. Sometimes the person who will
connect you to your destiny is not the one you expect. The ability to
partner is the wisdom for life. If your dream doesn’t need a network for
it to be fulfilled, then it is too small.
A man is not as rich as the resources he has,
he is as rich as the networks he has built along the way.
To be good in networking, you need to be respectful, proactive,
resourceful, trustworthy and a value adder. Great networkers do not
relate with others with a mind-set of getting, they relate with a mind-set
of giving If you are always looking to add value to people you will keep
building networks that will become bridges to the blessing of greatness.
Grow your network to grow your greatness. The human body best
describes the power of networks. There is a rhythm and networking in
your body that facilitates a systematic flow as each part of your body
does its part. I encourage you to step out and network with the people
you need to network with to grow your greatness.
RISK - THE TEST OF COURAGE
Courage is the engine of greatness. If you are not willing to take risks,
then you are never going to attain greatness. I know that risking is not
easy and that is precisely why greatness is not easy either. If you are
going to maximize the gifts in you to achieve something great in this
world, you are going to take some risks which also means that you are
going to have to step out of your comfort zone.
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Nothing hinders people from greatness like tolerated fear. Conquering
fear accelerates your journey to greatness. To make a step towards
greatness in life, you must be willing to be bold.You must take risks and
take chances in places where there are no obvious guarantees of success.
If you wait for perfect conditions you will never get anything done. The
time is ripe for you to take that step you have been afraid of taking.
By fearing to make mistakes, many have made the mistake of not taking
action. When we don’t step out in boldness, we remain hemmed in by
the chains of mediocrity and underachievement. Be bold and dare to do
something you have never done. Let me share with you some wisdom
keys for bold delivery of greatness that I learned from my wife’s
pregnancy journey.
THREE WISDOMS FROM PREGNANCY
- You Must Change Your Diet
When my wife conceived our first born, I couldn’t believe it when I
heard her say, “No” to her favorite foods. She began to make demands
for foodstuffs she never liked before. I found myself having to eat food
cooked without onions because she couldn’t stand the smell of onions.
I had to stop using some of my favorite colognes because she couldn’t
stand their scent.Things had to change because she was carrying
something great on the inside that demanded that she make certain
changes on the outside.
Just like a pregnancy sometimes leads to a complete lifestyle change,
when you are carrying the seed of greatness, there are many things that
need to change.You must change your information sources and ensure
that the information you are exposing yourself to feeds your dream.
The friends around you are either feeding a strength in you or feeding a
weakness in you. - Dr Mike Murdock
If you are to birth the greatness in you, you cannot afford the luxury of
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contaminating your passion. You must watch what you expose yourself
to and more importantly who you expose yourself to. Dr Mike Murdock
wisely stated “the friends that you keep around you are either feeding a
strength in you or strengthening a weakness in you.”
You have to be careful because you will need every strength you can
mastertoensurethatthegreatnessinyoudoesnotabort.Yourassociations
determine your destination and your assimilations determine your
attitude.You have to ensure that there is a correction between what you
allow to influence you [your diet] and the greatness you carry on the
inside of you [your dream].
- You Must Get A Mentor For Your Dream.
I remember like it was yesterday when we would go to doctors during
my wife’s pregnancies. Our gynecologist was a male. I was not bothered
by the fact that another man was handling my wife. All I needed to
be guaranteed was the safety and safe delivery of our babies. That’s
what mentors do. They help you nurture, care for, and safely deliver
the greatness that is within you. Mentors do not come into our lives
to make us comfortable. They come to make us uncomfortable with
mediocrity and apathy.They are skilled in helping dream carriers to
carry those dreams to full term so that they can deliver them in the right
time without unnecessary hurts. The journey to greatness is one that
is full of unexpected meanders, sharp bends of discouragements, and
tough potholes of adversity.
The purpose of a mentor is to help you travel faster and with lesser mistakes
towards the land of your dreams.
The purpose of a mentor is to help you glean wisdom to navigate to
your dreams faster with lesser mistakes. Wisdom says that life is too
short for you to learn everything through your own experiences. You
must locate another individual who can pour wisdom into your heart
and mind so that your decision making is refined.You either learn from
your experience or learn through someone else’s experience.
Friend, if you want to be great, you must be willing to invest and
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sacrifice your time and money to be in the presence of people who can
help you become better. Be humble and willing to learn, that is the secret
to acceleration towards the land of achievement.
- You Must Pay The Price Of Sacrifice For The Prize Of greatness.
The last observation that I made about pregnancy especially a normal
delivery is that you must be willing to push for the greatness in you to
come out. Every precious thing comes into your hands after you subject
yourself to the pressure of pushing for it. If you were to meet a pregnant
woman in a delivery room, you would actually realize that for them,
the reward of the baby they want to deliver is a greater motivator than
the pain they would have to go through to deliver. How hard are you
willing to push for your dream? Are you willing to sacrifice sleep and
comfort to push for that dream? Are you ready to embrace pain for it? If
you are not ready to endure the toughness of sacrifice, you will never be
ready to enjoy the sweetness of greatness.
You have to train your mind to be tough and to be iron like so that you
don’t quit when the going gets tough.Wisdom says that when the going
gets tough, then the tough get going. John Maxwell says,“If you don’t
spend time preparing, you had better be sure that you create time
tomorrow for repairing”. Greatness awaits; prepare for it spiritually,
emotionally, financially, mentally and physically.There must be delayed
gratification for the dream inside you!
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Greatness awaits

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