Megamen

I am a megaman because of the MegaOne who gives me ideas (Philippians 4:13 WOV)

"I can also do it", James said. "This man is not better than I am", he continued. "But he has a good background and his parents are rich", John chided. "Try it and see how you will fail", John concluded. With these words, James lost confidence in the fact that he can accomplish the task. This represents the story of most people in the world and that makes it the reason most people are not in the mega club. The translation of Philippians 4:13 above thrilled me when I saw it. It introduces megamen associated with the MegaOne. Megamen as used in our context are men who have done mega things. Megamen are men who acted on their mega ideas. Every business starts from an idea. All great achievers stand tall on the idea ladder. Small ideas do not yield great results. It's been said that no power on earth can withstand an idea whose time has come. Megamen lead the way of achievements.

Whenever we look at great things in the world, we see great men behind them. We remember great inventors like Isaac Newton, Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Edison. Of course in the world of politics, we remember Martin Luther King Jr., who put an end to racial discrimination in America; Abraham Lincoln, the celebrated President and a host of others. Their biographies and autobiographies form an interesting read for us and a couple of times we think, "if only I was born great". Sometimes we are challenged and believe that we also can do mega things but the courage that is needed to nurse that idea is conspicuously missing so that the idea dies almost immediately it is conceived. Tom Edison was once quoted as saying, "Nearly every man who develops an idea works it up to the point where it looks impossible, and then he gets discouraged. That's not the place to become discouraged." Ralph Emerson rightly observed that the search after the great is the dream of youth and the most serious occupation of manhood. While megamen are from various backgrounds and walks of life, they surely have some things in common from which everyone can learn. Megamen are mega because of vision, motivation, determination and strategy.

Hunted by a vision "Where there is no vision, the people perish" - Prov. 23:29. Conception is the father of achievement - every great thing achieved must first be conceived. Greatness is not a function of inheritance or heritage but of vision. What is on your inside is ever greater than what is on your outside. Imagination is the key. It is the womb in which every great achievement is borne. It is a level of dissatisfaction with the status quo that make men come up with brilliant ideas. "Discontent is the first necessity of progress", says Thomas Edison. Listen to Rev. Randall R. McBride, Jr., "Don't dwell on reality; it will only keep you from greatness." Assuming wishes were horses, what will you do? Take some time into dream world. See these possibilities in your mind's eyes. What will you undertake now assuming there were not constraints or limitations? Would you write a book? Would you start a company? Would you go to school? Many times, people say, "He is a natural ..." Believe them for a moment and take a trip to the land of possibilities. Walt Disney said, "if you can DREAM it, you can DO it". Great future belongs to great dreamers and like Eleanor Roosevelt rightly observed, "The future belongs to those who believe in their dreams." It is the future you dream that you realize. This is what stimulates faith. God's question to Jeremiah might be a relevant one here, "What seest thou?" (Jeremiah 1:11). Decide once what kind of life you want to live. Draper L. Kaufman, Jr. has rightly said, "Those who do not create the future they want must endure the future they get." Too many people have not decided what they are going to do with their lives. "People begin to become successful the minute they decide to be", says Harvey Mackay. To have a blank picture is to have a blurred future. There can be no arrival to an undefined destination.

Your vision is that which compels others to listen to you. In his prophetic spree, Habakkuk wrote, "write the vision, ...that he may run that reads it" (Habakkuk 2:2). No matter how small you consider it, that vision is capable of bringing a worldwide transformation. You are at the verge of a change. The moment you have long been expecting is here with you with this magazine right in front of you. "It only takes one person to change your life - you."- Ruth Casey. No dream can be too big because greater dreams have been achieved. Drop the excuses in your hand and pick up your vision. Dust the book that contains your life goals because it contains innovations that will give you a colourful tomorrow and introduce you to the world of the great. "Fear of the unknown is the worst of all the fears; it kills the creative powers that come from Curiosity." - Dr. Nirvikar Dahiya. Megamen are not caged by tradition. They overthrow our inherited ideas with superior arguments and in the face of results, every critic is forced to bow to the new way of doing things that great minds have defined. Albert Einstein was quoted as saying, "The only thing that interferes with my learning is my education." The fact that it has not been done does not mean it will not be done.

We have always done it like this, is the undoing of a myriad of people. Many inventions are improvements to existing ideas. Process improvement creates mega ideas that are the harbinger of a breed of men the world look up to. It's all part of the never-ending process of invention. Bill Gates entered Harvard but dropped out to start Microsoft in 1975. The first product of Microsoft was a version of the BASIC programming language (invented in 1964 by John Kemeny and Thomas Kurtz). Gates magnified the idea of somebody else by building on it. Roger Bannister was told that he would never be able to walk. However he became an athlete of repute. He became the first person in history to run a mile in less than four minutes. Funny enough, about two dozen other people did it that year! Whose report will you believe! I believe the report of God.

As you read this, the doctors might have said your situation is hopelessly incurable. They are talking about fact that they know but the solution lies in faith about Who you know. I also remember the story of a little girl named Wilma Rudolph. She was crippled with polio and was told that she would never walk (Who says and it comes to pass when the Lord has not said it!). Fortunately, she learned to walk, then to play basketball, and later to run. She became an Olympic medallist winning three gold medals in 1962 - she didn't just walk, she ran faster than any woman in history! Winston Churchill once said, "It is better to be making the news than taking it; to be an actor rather than a critic."

Inner Motivation

Motivation that comes from within really makes the difference. Probably nothing more has witnessed the demise of an idea than a lack of a drive from within. When men dwell too much on the negatives of an idea, watch it for they are digging its grave. When an idea is borne, it comes with the excitement of its originality. However when, like the proverbial seed of Jesus, it is choked up, it becomes unfruitful. The drive begins to wane and before long a funeral ceremony is due for it. H. M. Tomlinson has rightly said, "We see things not as they are, but as we are." How true! What drops the excitement is not the thing but the person. It is only a consistently motivated mind that can successfully nurse a vision through to its birth. Make a habit at succeeding. "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." Aristotle. One way to be motivated is to always seek to increase knowledge of subjects that thrill us. Further understanding of a subject moves us to want to learn more of that subject. "Do what you can, with what you have, where you are. " Theodore Roosevelt.

Determined to make it

"You can only live once, but if you live right, once is enough". - Joe E. Lewis It has been said that difficulties give way to determined men. No great thing has ever been achieved nor will ever be achieved without obstacles that give critics enough room to blow the dust of discouragement. Listen to Willard Marriott, "Good timber does not grow with ease. The stronger the wind the stronger the trees." A vision that does not have any challenge to face or oppositions to overcome is not worth it. A real vision elicits negative words from critics and people with lesser visions. At the height of conceiving his ideas, Walt Disney was described by a writer as "a tall, somber man who appeared to be under the lash of some private demon". Every megaman has had to overcome the slashing tongue of critics by determination. Listen to Albert Einstein, "Great spirits have always found violent opposition from mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his intelligence." It is the determination and commitment to the vision that keeps you going when the going gets tough. "It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer". Albert Einstein. Thomas Edison failed many times in his invention tour but his determination saw him through. "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work", he once said. He also said, "I am not discouraged, because every wrong attempt discarded is another step forward. Nobody cares how many times you failed after you have got the result. Sarah Meredith has said, "Believing in yourself, is an endless destination. Believing you have failed, is the end of your journey." Nobody can be concluded as a failure until he concludes so. "Be like a postage stamp. Stick to one thing until you get there", says Josh Billings. "Many of life's failures are people who did not realize how close they were to success when they gave up." Thomas A. Edison. Many people have a thousand and one reasons they cannot make it while all they need is a reason they can make it. Richard Bach said, "Argue for your limitations and sure enough they are yours". Thomas Edison did not learn to talk until he was four years old. That was enough to discourage him but he just left it behind him. At age 14, Tom became totally deaf in his left ear, and approximately 80% deaf in his right ear. Yet, this did not stop him from being internationally revered and christened with the title "The greatest inventor who ever lived". Helen Keller was born blind. Yet, she carved a niche for herself and made a name among the great.

Fear is the undoing of many. The fear of what people will say, the fear of mistake and all others in the family of fear form an effective chain in ensuring that a man is confined to the footnote of history. "A person who never made a mistake never tried anything new." Albert Einstein. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. The fearful are caught as often as the bold. As long as there is life, they say there is hope. "He's no failure. He's not dead yet." affirmed William Lloyd George. Be determined and you will get there.

Successful because of STRATEGY

Many visions die because of the lack of a strategic approach in its implementation.

Gather information on the idea.Look for a mentor.Pray for God's guidance.Plan.ACT. Without enough information, men act irrationally. Information gives direction. Unnecessary mistakes are avoided and the best course is charted. The Internet forms a database of relevant information on most subjects. With the Internet, you can tap into vast resources from great minds on similar subject. It helps you focus and educates your mind on how best to go about the implementation. You will also need to know that people have done things that are similar. If you have problems on any of the elements in the success school, get a mentor. A mentor is a coach who can give you pieces of advice and help you because he has gone that way. A mentor should not be chosen by age but by results. He must have something that you crave and you want to learn from him. Our choices are limited to what we know. What a great privilege to team up with the MegaOne! He knows all things and He is the Giver of ideas and Revealer of secrets. It is only important then that all things be committed to His hands. Many great ideas have been grounded because they lack the support of the Divine One. He is only committed to supporting ideas that He originated. "In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths. Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the LORD, and depart from evil." (Proverbs 3:6-7). You will need to plan for success to be a guarantee. If yours is a business idea, you will need to get a business plan in place. Document your thoughts. Jesus Christ said the building of a tower requires sitting down FIRST (Luke 14:28-32). When men fail at the planning process, the success of their ideas becomes a mirage. "The winners in life have always known how to live full-out in the present, while also planning (and acting) for their future." Philip Humbert The last thing to do is to ACT. No idea is useful until it is acted upon. To act is the thing. The journey of a thousand miles, they say begin with the first step. Many get scared at the enormity of the whole vision. The solution is this: while having the end in mind, focus on the first step. Breaking down vision into chewable chunks will create enough motivation to start. START NOW. Do something about the vision you have been postponing. Start with small steps. They add up to miles. The journey becomes easier when you take a step at a time. Do not attempt to do too many things at the same time. A little at a time. "Genius is one percent inspiration and 99 percent perspiration." Thomas Edison. We only identify geniuses by their results. If you work on that idea, you will soon be classified with the great.

Megamen because of the MegaOne.

Megamen are mega because of the MegaOne. (In case you are wondering what WOV stands for, it is Wale Olasoji's Version!). The MegaOne is the inventor of the universe that scientists have not fully unraveled what divine wisdom packed together in six days. He is the chairman/CEO of the world that has refused to go bankrupt ever since it was created. Jesus Christ helped to solve the problem of narrowness of definition of greatness once and for all; "what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" (Mark 8:36-37). It only takes a monitoring of the life history of men who though considered great, did not know Jesus. Their ends are not what every rational man will like to choose. True greatness is found by defining it in Jesus. Without Christ, the man is not great. "And in the end it's not the years in your life that count. It's the life in your years." Abraham Lincoln. I invite you to Jesus today. Even in the principle of self-interest alone, Christ is the best choice you can make. You are at the most important point in your life. This might be the connection point between where you are now and where you intend to get to. Take the right steps and you are the next person to be celebrated. "Meditate on these things that thy profiting may appear unto all." (1 Tim. 4:15).