You are playing with fire when you keep believing time and chances are by your side, or you think as most people do that trial is limitless. It can be true to an extent especially during situations that are not at stake — situations like when you are experimenting with new ideas or mastering a new skill. But whenever you are face to face with reality you should know you’re away from your library or laboratory.
I used to treasure that faulty thought. I remembered one fateful day. I just performed a drama I have been rehearsing for some time in high School. On getting down from the stage my English teacher informed me about an external competition I was to attend with one other student (my best friend).
It was at the competition ground I discovered what it was all about. The competition was organized by my uncle, a lawmaker in the state house of assembly. I knew most of the officials present. Upon seeing me they were excited and encouraged me. Even my uncle who was surprised I showed up had to call me out from the candidates. They thought it was going to be awesome but I knew it was going to be awful.
It turned out woeful and I will blame myself for that. It was not the first time I attended an impromptu competition for my school. I had ignored the warning sign to be prepared always, not until I screwed up the one chance to justify the high expectation family and friends place on me.
There Is Nothing Worse Than Discovering An Incorrigible Foul
Two siblings dragged an heirloom jug, it slipped and shattered on the floor. They have more to share now, isn’t it?
Or you should have defended an innocent man in a court of law with pieces of evidence but you held back. He was prosecuted and then executed. You later appeared, would that bring him back?
There was a brilliant idea you had that would have saved your company. But for reasons best known to you, you kept quiet only to leave your company in the cold hand of bankruptcy.
Before you box yourself again, you need to find your way out of this maze as soon as possible. A big picture of how serious this is should be impressed in your head and a roadmap to navigate your way should be handy and revisited often.
Insight Or Hindsight — Which Do You Prefer?
“There is nothing new under the sun.” Solomon had said.
If you fail, it is not because you have not come across it before. The truth is most of what failed have chances of success. It is better to have the insight now and not hindsight later.
Know and Knead
For every time we want to go out to interact, trade, talk or investigate we can learn beforehand how to carry ourselves because of the predictability nature of humans and their environments. The learning can be from books or observations. The parts you want to learn can be on social psychology, climate condition and so on.
For instance, if you are going to the market you can rehearse how you will interact in different situations. Like if the sellers are friendly, hostile, exorbitant, you have in your arsenal what to say and do. And it is possible to encounter acquaintances, old friends and others instead of you to be shocked you're at alert to save the scene.
Those are the lowest level of scenarios one could ever think of. You can take it to the next or big level the point is you should always do things with insight and foresight. If you don’t want to screw up a chance that will not come again or an opportunity that will be a steppingstone to a milestone.
Bug Or Butterfly In Your Stomach?
“We all have butterflies in our stomach.”
Since butterflies are harmless we would prefer anything from them. If you have butterflies in your gut they continue to flutter and occasion buzz in your stomach thereby you are tickled, alive and excited. The point is nervousness is thrilling and invigorating. But if bugs are in the stomach they keep on eating deep and deeper. The point is Fear or dread is killing.
If because of fear you stop working, nothing will get done, if because of fear you keep quiet, it will never be said. Let’s assume those around us were fearful. Like fear to talk, that means we won’t learn anything and still remain in the shackle of wherever we find ourselves. Or fear to invent, we would have to continue doing things in a hard and merry-go-round way.
Humour and humility.
Somebody who is humble will acknowledge it is part of our make up to be nervous. A sense of humor cushions the aftermath of failure or embarrassment. Humour will break any traces of rigidity.
Dictionary and People Don’t Have The True Meaning
"Everybody gets so much information all day long that they lose their common sense." Gertrude Stein
From my elementary school days to high school friend kept on accusing me of being proud. They’d pointed to a feature of the bad trait. I devoted a considerable amount of time to solve the issue. I have done what seemed to be a great job, I patted myself well done.
Then came the shock: My brother and I went to a bank. And with how I related with the staff my brother said that my low self-esteem was low. I chuckled at the statement but the point was clear I have succeeded in killing pride.
The other side of the flat pancake.
People and dictionaries defined things only for us to have stereotypes, limits, threats and closed doors. If you want to depend on dictionaries and people you’ll forfeit the driver’s seat. Humans have defined what education means, what happiness means, what success means, what freedom means the list is endless.
For instance, we have come to believe heaps of certificates determine the wealth of knowledge or expertise. It is death of ideas we see and missed chances.
A Leaf For Brands
“You now have to decide what ‘image’ you want for your brand. Image means personality. Products, like people, have personalities and they can make or break them in the market place.” David Ogilvy
The striking words that form the headline of this article have more to do with Brands. Mostly, brands don’t have second chance to prove their worth if they have failed in the first place. There are brands I don’t have now but wish to have because my encounter with them has been great. It will be difficult to forge any relationship with some. Even if they are in the news, advertising new products it’s not resonating well with me because my earlier experience with them was poor.
Branders need to calf positioning statement no brands had taken. It is not only to have a distinctive message there must be a distinctive value.
"Whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well."
The miracle that happens in our modern saturated market and world is having people notice us. Time is not on everybody’s side, whatever is worth doing at all is worth doing well and now. That’s not the first time you’ll be hearing it. You just need to remind yourself constantly.
https://m.me/akeemycb I’ll be glad to hear from you[∆]
If You Have Another Chance To Redo It, Others Don't Have The Second Chance To See It was originally published in The Ascent on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.
