I just turned 54 years “young”, recently, as many of you know. 29 years of those 54 years have been spent setting up, and running businesses. I have seen people succeed, and I have seen people fail. I have seen men and women ascend to extraordinary heights:
Some stayed there, others failed. I have seen men and women of great wealth and fame, and yet some were despised, to their death.
I have also lived in tumultuous times, and seen many extraordinary things.
In a recent “Afterthought”, to one of my postings; I shared with you, something Pastor AR Bernard, said about gifts, talents and abilities:
“Your gifts, talents, and abilities can take you to great heights, but only character can sustain you there.”
Many of you out there are extraordinarily talented and gifted, and you have amazing abilities and skills. There is no doubt, that you are destined to succeed. You are going to scale heights, that your fathers and mothers before you could not even imagine or dream…. And it is happening already!
Some of you, will build extraordinary careers as professionals and executive leaders; yet others will build businesses, and become billionaires. And again others will become great spiritual leaders. Others will become great political leaders and reformers.
This must happen…. It will happen!
You will ascend to the very top!
But when you get to the top, it is “character”, that will keep you there:
Whenever I post something related to the development of your gifts, talents, and abilities, to make you a better entrepreneur; the next post, I write something that is related with the development of “character”.
The foundation of character is your “value system”. This is why I write about why we need to give of our time, and our money. This is why I write about why we need to be tolerant towards other people’s views; why we must take time out to fight social ills, like Ebola. Why we must fight corruption, why we must uphold the rule of law, in everything we do; why we must be fair towards others; why we must help the weak, and be social entrepreneurs……
The more you do those things, which are not just about making money, or building a great career; the more you are building character; the more you build character, the more you build the capacity to stay at the top, WHEN you get there….
The Lord Jesus, put it this way:
“What doth it profit a man, to gain the whole world, but to lose his soul?”
The seat of one’s character is their soul.
The End.
Strive Masiyiwa
