Optimism is the faith that leads to achievement. Nothing can be done without hope and confidence. – Hellen Keller
My father once told me a folktale about a man who was banished to the evil forest because he had a protruded stomach. In their land, having a protruded stomach was a taboo. So, his people left him in the evil forest, to die. Consequently, the man sat on the ground in the forest; waiting on hope. He was in that mood when a poor man, who felt his world was coming to an end because of his financial condition, walked in. The man was finding it difficult to meet up with paying his bills, so he decided to end his life by hanging, and the best place to do that was the evil forest.
Unknown to the angry poor fellow, the man who had a protruded stomach was sitting beneath the tree he wanted to hang himself on. So, when he went up to commit suicide as planned, he heard a voice saying, ‘’Please mind my stomach, I don’t want to get hurt!’’
On hearing the voice, the poor man changed his mind and decided to go home. He concluded that if the man his community had abandoned in the evil forest to die could still be hopeful, there was no need for him to commit suicide. The best thing was to go home and continue to do his best and hope that, someday, everything would be alright.
In all, be hopeful
The business outlook is tough. Inflation rate in January 2024 was 29.9 per cent. At the time of this writing, 1 USD exchanges for N1700. This is a record low performance of the naira. The purchasing power of Nigerians is growing weaker and businesses are struggling to survive. Where do we go from here? Who will bell the cat? My simple answer is: in all, be hopeful.
Hope brings sunshine. Hope keeps you moving. Hope is a motivator. Of course, I agree with James Cameron who said, “Hope is not a strategy. Luck is not a factor. Fear is not an option.” Yes, this thought is true but I also believe that hope is the way to go because it is a great motivation for the entrepreneur, the sales professional and, indeed, for everyone. Hope is needed in the journey of life. Without hope, we lose hope! Where there is no hope, there is no tomorrow; there is no future.
When the going gets tough, the tough get going
You must keep hoping and keep doing your best. There’s a slang in Nigeria that keeps folks going and that slang is, “e go better”; that is, “it will get better.” E go better keeps life going. It helps the individual to continue to push forward.
The mindset of e go better kills fear and energises the individual to keep fighting his battles. No matter the economic outlook, be happy and hopeful. My Igbo people say “oga adi mma” – it shall be well.
Life is a gift. Life is paramount. Once you have life in you, you are a success. Be hopeful. I know it’s tough out there. I know it’s not rosy. A lot is happening at the same time! Insecurity is unfortunately becoming the new normal. Vices of all sorts are on the increase. I think the devil himself will be shocked at the level of wanton killing in the land. The devil won’t be needing a ‘‘personal assistant’’ in Nigeria because some demented folks are doing his job perfectly!
When you hear all this bad news, what do you do? This question may seem easy but a lot of people may find it difficult to answer. Like I said, be happy and hopeful. It is in a great storm that you realise a good captain.
I have come to the conclusion that giving up to life challenges isn’t an option. When folks give up, they give in.
Keep keeping on
It is no longer news that adversity will come. This is why we are humans. The main topic of discussion is how you handled the adversity. Did you surrender to your challenges, or did you feed the hopeful you from within – to continue to move towards the brighter side?
Keep hope alive. As a sales professional, believe you can meet and exceed your target. Go to the field with the right mindset and keep doing your best. As a businessperson or professional, you may not get results the way you planned sometimes. Outcome of things may decide to be in the opposite side, but that’s still not the end of the world. I have seen difficult situations turn around for good because the person involved didn’t lose hope.
Hope is an amplifier. It makes the big picture even bigger! Vision, mission, goals, objectives and strategy may not work on their own if there’s no element of hope and action. You need to “invest hope” in the things you want to see. You need to take the right actions to achieve your goals. Hope is a necessity on the ladder of success.
Keep hope alive always!
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