eBusiness Weekly
Arthur Marara
A story is told about a young Thomas Edison who came home one day with a paper for his mother.
He told her, “My teacher told me to give this paper only to my mother.”
Thomas’ mother read the note and her eyes filled with tears. Thomas asked his mother what the note said, and she read aloud, “Your son is a genius. This school is too small for him and doesn’t have enough good teachers for training him. Please teach him yourself.”
And that’s exactly what Thomas’ mother did; she home-schooled her child with devotion and dedication.
As the story goes, many years later after Thomas Edison’s mother passed on, and he was now one of the world’s greatest inventors, he found a folded paper among other family items. He opened the very same paper that had been handed to him to give to his mother and read the following message: “Your son is mentally ill. We won’t let him come to school anymore.”
At that moment, Edison realized what his mother had done for him so many years ago. He wrote in his diary: “Thomas Alva Edison was an addled child that, by a hero mother, became the genius of the century.”
#1. Words have power
Imagine for a moment what might have happened to Thomas Edison if his mother had read to him the reckless and hurtful words written by his teacher? The truth is that he might never have invented the light bulb or made his many other contributions to society. Words have power to build or break. You build your confidence through the power of words. In the book of Proverbs Solomon advises that: “The words of the reckless pierce like swords, but the tongue of the wise brings healing.” Thank God for the wise words of his mother! She created the context in which her son could grow to his full potential.
Let’s take this message to heart and resolve to use our words for healing today. Just as hurtful words can cause uncontainable damage for life, so can wise words positively affect a person for life. May the words we use today change a life for the better. The words that you speak and tell yourself daily can help you build your self-confidence. Affirm yourself daily. Remind yourself of who you are in word, and support it in deed.
#2. Think Positively
This is perhaps one of the most difficult things especially if you are in very difficult environment. Think positively means that no matter what happens in your life, you can look at it as an experience for you to learn from and use to make your life even better. I have learnt and mastered this principle of positive thinking.
Many people are often shocked when they ask me, “how is life, how is business etc.? My response is, “it’s phenomenal”. Is it always phenomenal on the ground, the answer to that is no, it is not always phenomenal but I refuse to endorse what I am seeing on the ground so I rather speak to what I want to see rather than what I am seeing. Do things has allowed to gather confidence to confront whatever that I am facing. Solomon advises that, “as he thinks in his heart so is he.” You become what you constantly think about.
Surround yourself with positivity
Have you ever heard about the story of George Dantzig? You may not know of this gentleman, but I will unpack his story for you. George had a well-documented record of late coming for class every day during his college days. Consistent with his behaviour he walked into class and saw some two mathematical problems which were written on the chalkboard. Without talking to anybody, he simply copied the problems and went back to his room where he started working on them. He finished the first mathematical problem, and moved on to the next one.
He discovered that the second problem was not his usual mathematical problem and realised that he just need a bit more time to work on it. Within three days, he managed to finish the second problem, and he submitted his assignment. To compound the matters, he was also late with his assignment. After submitting his assignment, he got a call from his Professor who seemed a bit shaken. George was apprehensive, as he thought he may have performed dismally in the assignments and the Professor was calling to caution him.
The Professor told George, “Do you know what you just did? The second question that you answered was not an assignment. This is an equation which has vexed mathematicians ever since the time of Albert Einstein.” History was made, a problem which had been in existence for years, was solved in three days. Interesting!
What was the secret behind George Dantzig’s success?
Ignorance of the history of the problem was his secret. Everyone who was in class when the Professor was delivering the lecture about the famous mathematical problem never attempted to write it.
In fact, those who wrote it down simply did so because they wanted to share the story, and not find a solution.
George who was not in class was not conditioned on the difficulties of the problem. He was never told about the history of the problem, and when he attempted the problem, he treated it as a normal homework problem and with that mindset, he made history. You too can do so, choose to ignore the stories that are often told about the challenges that face the economy, and choose to focus on solutions.
Start with the right mental attitude
It has often been said that your attitude determines your altitude. What is affecting many of us and working against our success is our attitude. Many people have registered failure in their system, and everything that they apply their mind to is bound to fail. Everything that they do has to conform to this standard. We can never grow beyond our level of faith.
Those who internalised the theories of the Professor in George Dantzig’s case may even have compared themselves to Albert Einstein and his achievements, and looked at themselves and they felt hopeless. One gentleman, who did not read about Einstein and other mathematician’s troubles, approached an age-old problem as a normal problem. He had the right attitude which was devoid of inherited fears.
Why don’t you give yourself a chance? Forget the failures of the past, and choose to create breakthroughs of the future. Choose to make the future generation believe in possibility rather than in limitations. You can build yourself confidence one building block at a time.
Arthur Marara is a corporate law attorney, keynote speaker, corporate and personal branding speaker commanding the stage with his delightful humour, raw energy, and wealth of life experiences. He is a financial wellness expert and is passionate about addressing the issues of wellness, strategy and personal and professional development. Arthur is the author of “Toys for Adults” a thought provoking book on entrepreneurship, and “No one is Coming” a book that seeks to equip leaders to take charge. Send your feedback to [email protected] or Visit his website www.arthurmarara.com or contact him on WhatsApp: +263780055152.
