The dream is free, the hustle is sold separately

Discovering your gift and purpose of existence should be everyone's prime goal. It is this gift that will pave the way for your success and become your source of livelihood. Safe to say, all that you need to survive on this planet is locked up deep inside you and it is your duty to find and express it in order for you to be successful. Look at the most successful and richest people in the world, they are all following their dreams and it has brought them incredible amounts of wealth. Hollywood however has made these people seem as if they are some kind of overnight success forgetting the long hard process that led to that success. Kevin Hart has been one of the biggest stand up comedians and movie stars of the last 5 years, when he broke onto the scene he quickly adopted the overnight sensation title but no one remembers the 10 plus years he spent working and being rejected to get were he is now. I recently read about the growth cycle of a bamboo tree, it takes approximately 5 years to grow to its full size. The most interesting thing about this is that the tree grows its roots for 4 and a half years and 4-6 weeks to grow the actual tree. I related this how people often overlook the struggling period and don't realize that this is actually the time that they are growing their foundation. Remember these notes to self and enjoy the process.

• Discover yourself
  The good thing about humans is that we are all unique in our own ways and differ in areas of expertise. The one sure fact that is common is that every single person has a piece of treasure hidden deep within them. This treasure is in the form of a gift to which belongs to their respective generation. It is not by chance that you survived out of 450 million possible destinies. To enjoy life fully you need to discover yourself, discover your gift to this generation and discover your purpose on this planet
• Live within your purpose
  I believe that happiness stems from doing what you love all or most of the time. All musicians find joy in music more than anything else in the world, the same applies for footballers, poets, athletes, lawyers etc. This joy only comes when you are truly where you should be and doing that which you were made to do. Imagine someone who was born to be a footballer and possesses all the qualities of a footballer in an accounting firm punching in numbers or better still imagine if Lionel Messi or Cristiano Ronaldo had chosen a different path. Dedicate at least 2-3 hours of your day to doing that which you love the most in order to keep in touch with your purpose and develop the gift enough in order to fully live within the purpose.
• Develop the gift
  Talent though it is a naturally existing phenomena, is just a raw material and like most raw materials it has the ability to become more valuable than it already is. I read about a theory that is used in the sporting area about the 10000 hour rule. The theory basically states that all great athletes who go on to become the greatest of their era have done their 10000 hours in training which got them to where they are. I believe the same applies for all other areas where practice, practice, practice and more practice will make you better. Bruce Lee once said "I fear not the man who has practiced 10000 kicks once, but i fear the man who has practiced one kick 10000 times". So work on fully developing your gift every single day in order to add value to yourself.
• People buy value
  I am not a fashion person but i assume that when people go shoe shopping they are attracted by the value that the clothing brings. This is why we see people willing to part with large amounts of money to get the latest shoes or accessories simply because they feel as if that product will add some form of value in their lives. The same applies for human beings in the sense that indirectly we are all products that offer certain services to the world and like all markets, the product which gives adds the highest level of value is the most expensive. Continue to always be a person of value in your respective field and people will always part with their money for the value that you bring.
• Trust the process
  For someone who isn't familiar with the bamboo tree growth cycle, giving up within the first few months of little to no growth would have been a no-brainer. I understand that at times it feels as if all the hard work you are putting in is not bringing any fruits but i just want you to remember that all large trees were once in the ground and withstood a lot of pressure and required a lot of watering in order to become the fruit bearing trees that they are. Rome was not built in a day and you should not expect your vision to be achieved in a day either, count the small victories and remember you are who you are today because of all the small little things that have happened in your life. Trust the process and you will reap the benefits.

I hope this week brings you much joy and productivity as you strive to find your purpose and actively work on improving your gift. All diamonds need the pressure to become the finished product so enjoy the process and don't forget to Thank God its Monday