Article by Henry Kachaje
Know thyself
You are the core ingredient to your success. You are the person you will have to work with in order to achieve the success you are seeking. It is therefore imperative that you get to know yourself intimately. Who are you? What skills and abilities do you have? What are your key strengths? What are your weaknesses?
What gets you excited and what makes you sad? What are you good at or what can you become exceptionally good at? These are questions that only you can provide answers to and it is your responsibility to know yourself better in these aspects. One of the tragedies in life is that many people spend their entire time on earth living in the shadows of others. There are so many people who outwardly look successful, but inwardly, they are miserable.
They are busy fulfilling their parents’ dreams. Some are willingly becoming zombies of their spiritual leaders. Let me give you an example: I am sure if I had applied myself in school, I could have done well in Sciences and probably would have made it into College of Medicine. If I had worked extremely hard, I could have become a medical doctor. People would have classified me as “successful”, but deep down in my heart I would have been miserable.
I just have this phobia of blood, deep cuts, broken bones, appearance of disease, you name it. Probably with years of training, I would have gotten used to it and my fears would have diminished. But the fact is, up to now, getting into a hospital, seeing needles just frightens me. I wouldn’t have made a good doctor, for that I am sure. I had to discover who I truly am, and I am so glad I did. Speaking and writing are among some of my natural gifts. I am at home in front of a keyboard or a group of people.
This makes it easy for me to progress because I am doing things that I enjoy 80% of the time. I can write without much hassle. I can speak easily in front of any audience. If you want to succeed young, you must strategize today. Take time to discover who you truly are. You might have studied a degree in Engineering, but your passion might be gardening. You might be pursuing a course your heart is in farming. It doesn’t matter… Know thyself. It is important if you want to succeed young!
To your success!
Henry Kachaje is a Malawian author, speaker and entrepreneur.
