YOU MUST TAKE ACTION

There is a great difference between a man of knowledge and a man of wisdom. Knowledge is defined as the facts, information, understanding and skills that a person has acquired through experience or education. Wisdom on the other hand can be defined as, the ability to make good and serious judgements because of one's experience and knowledge. Put another way, knowledge is that which is known, while wisdom is the ability to make right use of knowledge.

Commenting on the difference between knowledge and wisdom Sandra Carey has this to say, “never mistake knowledge for wisdom. One helps you to make a living; the other helps you make a life”.

We can deduce from the above that knowledge is not an end in itself but a means to an end. The person who has read this book to this extent must have benefited something, but that is not all. The onus rests on you to take the next but bold step; putting what you have learnt or benefited into practice.

You must be inspired. That is a true statement. But those who are leaders, those who are heroes, those who are winners, those who are champions, those who are geniuses, do more then being inspired. They also aspire. This category of people put into practice the knowledge they have acquired and that single attribute makes a great difference. No wonder it is often said that, “genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration. One philosopher said that, “knowledge without application is useless”.

History is awashed with men of aspiration. Thomas Edison, the great inventor, discovered the secret of producing the incandescent lamp and he went ahead to produce same, thereby leaving his footprint on the sand of time. Mahatma Gandhi, as a lawyer came to realize the oppressive nature of British rule in his native country-India. He didn't stop there; he went ahead to mobilize the people and fought the colonial masters to a standstill without arms, but through protest and demonstrations. Ted Turner. Conceived the idea of reporting events to the world 24 hours non-stop. He went ahead to establish Cable News Network (CNN) International. It became the first television station worldwide to report events all day non-stop. The Wright Brothers told their friends that they were about to produce a machine that will fly in the air. They took the bold step, transformed their idea into reality and that gave birth to aeroplane. Leo Stan Ekeh, came to realize that the computers produced by most foreign companies are not taking cognizance of the Nigeria environment. He went ahead and assembled ZINOX computers the first Nigeria computer to be certified internationally.

Do not be deceived; an inspired man must aspire before he can live the life of his dream. The will to do must be present. Theron Q. Dumont said it best in the following words, “the will to do is the greatest power in the world that is concerned with human accomplishment and no one can in advance determine its limit. If you possess all the knowledge in the world without applying it to your daily life, such knowledge is nothing but inert knowledge. The essence of knowing something is to apply it when such a need arises. Those who win not only aim at the object alone they also go as far as hitting it.

Dear reader, you have done noble for coming thus far, however, you must take action. Do not be complacent as complacency breed failure. Achieving results in any endeavour required adequate preparation, careful planning and above all participation. One writer said, “this world is blessed mostly by men who do things, not by those who talks about doing”.

Take the initiative to act on the fountain of life-transforming statements (including the anecdotes) contained in this book. Make corrections in your life little by little where there is need to do so. Do not try to rationalize your irrational and unsound ways of life, if you rationalize it you cannot be inspired rather you will expire. Ralph Waldo Emerson points out that, “a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds”. Robert Kiyosaki asserts thus, “small people remain small because they think small, act alone, or don't act at all”. Williams Hazlitt said that, “great thoughts reduced to practice become great act”.

The famous Greek philosopher Socrates once said that, “an unexamined life is not worth living”. Why not sit at your quiet time to make a personal appraisal and assess what is working and what is not working. Then go further by, stop doing what is not working and look for a new way of doing it. The great author Robert Kiyosaki defined insanity as doing the same thing the same way and expecting a different result.

The Bible admonishes us not to be hearers of the word only but that we should also be doers. The great and famous writer of all-time William Shakespeare paraphrased it this way, “but great in act, as you have been in thought. Suit the action to the word and the word to the action”. On his part, the famous Greek Philosopher, Aristotle puts it this way, “the object of our inquiry, is not to know what goodness is but to become good ourselves”. The bottom line of it all is that, knowledge of what we ought to do is not sufficient without the kind of self-discipline necessary to ensure that we do it.

AFFIRMATIONS

This book would be grossly incomplete if I fail to mention with all sincerity the power of prayer. “Pray incessantly”. The Bible admonishes. Let us take a look around the world and check whether we can find any religious group that forbids (or prohibits its member from) the act of prayer. Well, in my little enclave I have not seen any. Although the religions defer in their doctrines and beliefs but I think they all appreciate the importance of prayer. As such, always pray to God for Him to grant you the ability to apply your knowledge aright.

Psychologists and other renowned writers have repeatedly said that prayers cannot produce their desired aim in a mind full of doubt and fear. Napoleon Hill confirmed this fact in the following words, “the subconscious mind takes any orders given it in a spirit of absolute faith, and acts upon those orders, although the orders often have to be presented over and over again, through repetition, before they are interpreted by the subconscious mind”.

Affirmations are faith-inspiring prayers repeatedly said and sent to our subconscious mind through autosuggestion. As one writer puts it, “by repeatedly sending affirmations to your subconscious mind, you are telling it that you believed in the words contained in the affirmation, as such it (the subconscious mind) should believe and act on them.

Affirmations (positive and constructive ones) can be used to replace negative thought in our minds since it is a psychologically proven fact that the human mind can only hold one thought at a particular time. “Nature”, they say, abhors a vacuum”.

Listen to what one writer has to say on the use of affirmations, he said, “You can literally talk yourself into a new frame of mind! You can affirm confidently the things you want in life. But your affirmations must be positive and constructive”. He went on, “work out your needs, and decide beforehand which of your problems you are going to deal with first. Deal with one specific problem at a time and at each session; frame a suitable positive affirmation to deal with your problem ---. So prepare to give yourself suggestions to radiant health, happiness, calmness, poise, tranquility, friendliness whatever you desire. This will release your fears and worries, replacing them with ideas that will set in motion the immense creative forces within you”. The French Chemist, and psychologist Emile Cove concluded that, “we possess within us a force in in calculable power. When we direct it in a conscious and wise manner, it gives us mastery of ourselves”.

On her part Catherine Ponder declared, “one oral utterance, which boldly states how you want your life to be, is worth more than a dozen books read or lectures attended. Spoken words describing the good you want, help you to claim it and release it into your own life quickly”.

In line with the findings of psychologists we can talk ourselves into better moods. For example, one writer coined an affirmation on fighting fear and worry as follows:

MY UNLIMITED FAITH IN GOD IS MY CONSTANT PROTECTION.

WHEREVER I AM, WHEREVER I GO I SHALL FEAR NO EVIL FOR THOU ART WITH ME. NEITHER SIN, NOR EVIL, NOR FAILURE HAS POWER IN MY LIFE BECAUSE IN TRUTH THERE IS ONLY GOD.

I RISE ABOVE EVERY THOUGHT OF FEAR AND DOUBT BECAUSE I KNOW THAT GOD IS ALWAYS AT MY SIDE.

Just like the lines above, one can coin his own lines to suit the circumstance he wants to fight. For instance, in order to have direction and remain calm in the face of unfavourable conditions, Dr. Reinhold Niebuhr gave the following lines:

“OH GOD GRANT ME THE SERENITY TO ACCEPT THE THINGS I CANNOT CHANGE, THE COURAGE TO CHANGE THE THINGS I CAN AND THE WISDOM TO KNOW THE DIFFERENCE”.

On his part Emile Cove, the French chemist and psychologist gave the following lines to promote happiness and general well being:

EVERYDAY, IN EVERYWAY I AM GETTING BETTER AND BETTER.

Catherine Ponder has this to say on affirmation to promote happiness:

DIVINE LOVE EXPRESSING THROUGH ME NOW DRAWS TO ME ALL THAT IS NEEDED TO MAKE ME HAPPY AND MY LIFE COMPLETE.

As Nigerians would always say, you are on your own (in the use of affirmation) because it is only you that knows the nagging problem of your life. There is a saying that “He that wears the shoe knows where it pinches.”

Adogbeji Jaho is a motivator, writer and a Chartered Accountant