I love this quote by my good friend Israelmore Ayivor that states that; “You got the eggs in you; the world is fully ready to celebrate the chicks out of your laying labour. Never give up. Go and breed! Go and breed great dreams.”
The journey to breeding great dreams is the beginning of building a dream that will solve the problems of many in life. Many give up on this journey of breeding great dreams. Some start and give up along the way, and a few persist until they succeed. Is your life making difference in the lives of people or you are living a life for yourself and by yourself? What is it about you that cause people to be attracted to you? Do you have enough salt; how salty are you?
Do people feel your presence, are your words making impact in the lives of people? Are you embarking on any initiative that is changing lives for the better?
Will Smith makes a better interpretation by saying, ‘If you’re not making someone else’s life better then you’re wasting your time.” Did you just wince? Yes, your life will become better by making other lives better. Will Smith is reinforcing the fact that, you are the salt of the world.
I believe we underestimate the Biblical verse that states ‘‘you are the salt of the earth; but if the
salt loses its flavor, how shall it be seasoned? It is then good for nothing but to be thrown out
and trampled underfoot by men’’ (Mathew 5:13). Salt is felt anywhere it finds itself. It has a strong taste that is significant, authentic and very prominent. The qualities of salt are incomparable and its effects are obvious. The question now is not, what becomes the use of salt if it loses its flavor? The question is how can you become the salt of the world? In other words, how can you influence the world positively with the value and qualities that you have? There is something in you that make you stand out from the crowd. Why blend in, when you can stand out.
The sad thing is that, many of us have not found that flavor in the form of a supernatural energy that resides in us that has the capacity to make us the salt of the world. One of the things that amaze me about the salt is how it finds a way to be strongly prominent in the sea. Haven’t you wondered why the sea is salty all the time? You haven’t; now think about it. You know what? No matter how long it rains, the presence of the salt is never lost; this shows the strength and value of the salt.
Everyone uses salt; oh yes we all do. The reason? Salt is such a household name, and we can’t do without it. That is how indispensable something of great value does to us? What is your value dear? Are you strong like the salt; if all life troubles rain hard on you, would you still be standing strong? Your saltiness is determined by the level of difference you make in the lives of others. You are the salt solution. You may ask: ”what is salt solution?” In simple terms, it is a solution of sterile water and salt. The impact of salt in any volume of water will be determined by the amount of water in relation to the quantity of salt. Rashika Jain defines you in relation to the quality of salt by saying that, ”have a unique character like a salt; its presence is not felt but it’s absence make’s things tasteless.” Are you the salt of the world? Do you add taste, or you are just plain tasteless? Are you making a difference in people’s life or you are a normal ‘’average Joe’’?
Now, let me introduce you to the four types of ‘’salt solutions’’ to your life.
Each category defines a level of impact you make in the lives of others. It defines your level of influence in life. These include;
• A Life without a Difference.
• An Average Life.
• A Life of a Difference.
• A Crystallize life
• A Life without a Difference.
A life without a Difference is what I call a tasteless life. It is a life where the presence of salt is far too less or totally absent. That means the presence of water overshadows that of the salt. This to me defines a life without purpose, no vision, no dreams and no aspirations. The bitter truth is that, no one feels your presence and your life has no impact on others. Wealth, they say is created by the number of people you help. The problems you solve impact the lives of people. Therefore the more solutions you provide to people, the more you create wealth. This then signifies the fact that living a life without difference makes you live under the shadow of insignificance.
Jarod Kintz quotes, ”whether you live to be 50 or 100 makes no difference, if you made no difference in the world.” This defines how unsalty your life can be i.e. a life that does not empower others positively. It is actually a hopeless life if you don’t take a step to make it a meaningful one. It describes a life of silence as you have nothing to offer or anything that will cause people to get attracted to you. Therefore you need to start to identify your purpose in life and start to live a life of significance that can impact your life and others.
Hence there are two ways to identify your purpose in life;
First is to identify who created you. Everything on this earth has purpose. Tell me one thing that does not have purpose? For example everything you are wearing has purpose right? The question is who created those things? If you want to know their purpose, then the best person to ask is the person that created them. Who created you? The one who created you is the best person to tell you your purpose in life. As a Christian, the best person to tell you your purpose in life is God; he created you.
Secondly there is something that you are good at. What is it that, you don’t struggle to do? What do you enjoy doing even if you are not paid doing it; people tell you, you are a pro at it. You may be good at handling children, baking, and cooking food. Maybe you have great footballing skills, or you an excellent athlete; this might be your purpose in life. You need to start giving it the needed attention and begin the nurturing process.
This journey will take you gradually to a life where you will make a transition to your
purposeful zone in life.
• An Average Life
This type of ”salt solution” is defined as an average life because it has the perfect measure of salt in relation to the amount of water for it to taste good. The salt level is in moderation and just enough to be tasteful. A typical example is soup; salt in a bowl of soup has a level of taste that makes it taste just good enough for consumption. It has also been found out that, adding salt allows the aroma and taste of the other ingredients in your dish to shine through. This defines the fact that, the salt does not live by itself but it causes the other ingredients to shine. Do we live our life for others to shine or we live a life of jealousy or lies to destroy the dreams of others. Do you have the spirit of the ”pull him down syndrome’’ (PHD) where you always have a motive of causing someone to fail in pursuit of their dreams.
For many of us, our lives are at an average low, or our achievements are in moderation and not exceptional. This shows that you are doing something with your life but it’s not enough to take you where you belong. You are probably not going the extra mile, to make you standout and be counted as unique. The salt in moderation in the soup means, many people are doing what you are doing and you don’t have any unique selling point that creates a competitive advantage for you in the market place. This means, there are no, or less returns on your investment in such a market where too many people are doing the same thing with no innovative ideas to bring a difference to the market.
Therefore to live a life that will take you outside your comfort zone, you need to take a step towards your purposeful zone in life. The fact is you are probably not moving beyond a certain level of your life just because you haven’t identified what you can do to the best of your ability. You pursue one thing today, and then you leave to pursue another thing tomorrow.
In order to settle in life and pursue what you love best, you need to go through some soul searching about yourself, who you are and why you were created? Answers to these
questions will help you to identify your purpose in life. Don’t settle where you are in life. Remember any level of your life can become your comfort zone. Strive to always take the next step no matter the problems encountered. This is the only way to get out from the average market that is choked with the same level of thinking and ideas and get to the level where your uniqueness will take you on a journey to increase your market share.
• A Life of a Difference.
This is a salty life which exemplifies a purposeful life. A life of difference denotes a person who is on the road to success or has achieved a lot in his field of expertise. They are achieving their goals and impacting lives. Their empire is growing and it will continue to grow as the person continues to make a difference in the lives of people.
Orrin Woodward says “You can’t make a difference until you dare to be different.” This is what those who live a life of a difference do; they don’t follow the masses but they create something different that is compelling and unique to attract a segment of the market that makes them competitive which gives them the competitive urge. Dare to be different in life like the salt, don’t follow the crowd but be the one thing the eye sees
in any crowded space. Why blend in, when you can stand out? This is how you easily become identifiable and a sign post for the world to read.
• A Crystallize Salt
This is the highest degree of the value of a salt. A crystallize salt means all the water that
dilutes the salt and reduces its impact is evaporated. Hence the full blown effect and qualities of the salt is exhibited. This then defines the highest peak in pursuit of your purpose. Your competitors have no option than to fall in love with your skills and abilities, and salute your authority. At this stage in the life of a man, he transcends from a purposeful life to a life of significance. A significant life is an extraordinary life created out of an ordinary consistent life. My mentor Ibrahim Asante defines a significant life better by saying; ‘’If we ‘ACT like expected’, we will SURVIVE; If we ‘ACT within the box’, we will be STABLE; If we ‘ACT outside the box’, we will be SUCCESSFUL; If we dare to ‘ACT like there is no box’ then, we will become SIGNIFICANT’’.
Hence many of us are surviving, stable or successful but to achieve a Significant status is a no go area for many. However all of us are born to be significant but very few achieve such a status. This level of life is where you become influential not only in your community but globally. Your decisions affect the world positively or negatively depending on who is interpreting it.
Usain Bolt is a typical example of a crystallize life. Winning three gold medals consistently in three Olympic Games is a feat that I can say is undiluted but an outstanding one. Michael Phelps is also a typical example after winning a total of 28 Olympic medals with 23 of them gold spanning in four Olympic games.
The question then is how can you get to the crystallised state? To get to the crystallize state of your life is better explained by Zig Ziglar, one of the best motivational teachers that lived. He said, ‘‘you were born to win, but to be a winner, you must plan to win, prepare to win, and expect to win.” This is what you need to do if you want to get to that stage where you control your market and become a dominant factor that overshadows your competitors and create a capacity for an increased market share on a consistent basis.
In conclusion, Vera Nazarian stipulates the fact that; “Neither sugar nor salt tastes particularly good by itself. Each is at its best when used to season other things.” She continues to say, ‘‘Love is the same way, so use it to season people.” This means, to make a difference in people’s life; you don’t live for yourself but for others. The more you help others to succeed and provide a system for their lives to be better off, then you are on the road to living a life of Purpose and success will be the by-product of your hard work.
Peter Tatchel also had this to say: ”Don’t accept the world as it is; dream of what the world could be, and then help make it happen.”
Dare to dream, act on your dreams and eventually you will influence people along the way. The more you continue to influence others positively the greater your empire of success.
Always remember it’s possible if only you believe.
Credentials:
Oscar Bimpong
CEO of Train2inspire Consultancy
info@oscarbimpong.com
