THE traffic that morning was out of this world, I thought it was a little slow down but after twenty minutes on the same spot, I knew I was wrong. I hadn’t been in this kind of gridlock in a long while. As I sat in my car frowning my face out of boredom and at no one in particular, different street vendors kept passing and trying to sell their wares. I’m almost sure that they have a way of contacting each other by passing traffic information because once the roads get a little jammed, they come out in torrents.
One of the vendors in particular kept lurking by my car window. Eventually, I beckoned on him to come closer to which he gave a smile of victory. I took my window down just a bit, enough for him to hear me and as I asked for Menthos (a type of mint that he had on his mobile wooden cabinet). Interestingly, he moved closer as if asking me what my choice was again and I repeated the same thing-Menthos. The next thing he starts doing is more interesting than I envisaged. He begins to touch all the things he had on display waiting for me to nod when he reached the one I requested. Initially I didn’t understand but as he continued in this stead I figured out what the issue was. Even though he had such array of products lined up on display, he didn’t know all their names (or at least some). I asked him to move closer and pointed directly at what I wanted, he smiled and brought it out from the rubber bands that were holding them firmly from falling off. I gave him his money without leaving him with a friendly smiled and almost immediately, the traffic began to move.
As I drove to work happily taking my Menthos and thinking of the event that just occurred, many thoughts raced through my mind. How it is that people keep demanding from others without even taking stock of what they have. People seem to always notice what they need but are never smart enough to know that there is so much to do with what they already have. The young man had hopes of getting money for all the wares he had on display but didn’t even know the names of all his products. Imagine getting home and saying sales were low today when he didn’t even know how to sell his goods.
ALSO SEE: There goes the greatest
In my line of work, I meet people every day that keep telling me what they need to get them to their desired destination. I meet people who tell me the only thing that can take them to that place is this or that person and their lives will be better. I meet aspiring entrepreneurs that tell me that all they need is capital and start mentioning gigantic figures that I didn’t lay my hands on until my third or fourth year of starting business. I meet people that are just seating on their cozy chairs waiting for that deliverer or saviour to lead them to the Promised Land. Even the prophet Moses on encountering God was asked what he had in his hand and later realised his rod was more than just a rod.
Please know this, everyone alive or dead was born with potential. Everyone was born with a seed of greatness planted in them. Everyone was born with earthshaking ideas that are in them waiting and begging to be cultivated. The only person stopping you from getting there is YOU. The only person hindering your success is YOU. The only depriving the world of your greatness is YOU. You have to look inwards and unleash the inherent potential that you have deposited in you because it is in you.
An idea comes to you as an image of something that is formed in your mind. Sometimes it might be a result of mental activity or might just be a passing thought or even a notion.
Once you get it, no matter how small make sure you nurture it. Make sure every day brings you nearer to where you want to be. If you focus on what you have and use it, you’ll be amazed at how it will bring you nearer to the ones that you don’t. But they won’t come unless you let out something first. Remember, ‘it only takes a spark top get the fire burning’.