The path to ease is unease. And sustaining ease does require that we contend with and win the battle against discomfort and misery consistently because it is more difficult to manage success than to achieve it.
The path to ease is a rough one. A price is required to be paid. Without paying the price, the prize will remain a potential; an ordinary dream that will never be lived. You do understand why a lot of ideas lie buried in the grave. Ideas are as beautiful, yet as empty as they can be, because ideas are nothing without execution. Execution is where the grind is. Pain is an absolute necessity for gain, otherwise, gain will be frittered away.
Without the tortuous experience earned on the way to honour, dishonour shall be the companion of anyone who found their way to the seat of honour. The trials on the way to glory inculcate in the victor the values of integrity, the wisdom of patience, the tolerance for divergent opinions, the respect for life and the sanity of memory to use experience as a measuring tool for sustainability, knowing full well that history does repeat itself.
According to Tom Rath’s “Strengths Finder 2.0”, it is safer to play to one's strength from the outset. True Education [Educe] subscribes to this thinking, too. This position is essential to good success, though it comes with much labour of going through the process of self-discovery, self-awareness, self-development, and service, before proficiency can be earned. Only a few walk this path of purpose.
Walking the path of knowing one's strength, developing and applying same for value, is a better option than not knowing and settling for the place of ignorance for pecuniary benefit of it. The truly educated are those who find their treasure and begin to develop and use it for the benefit of mankind. Outside this, there is really no education because the entire process of self-development is missing from the equation.
Regardless of what option we take, whether through discovery and development of natural gifting or the path of ignorance for gain, ease is a product of much pain in the same way that ease is the greatest enemy of growth and development. When things are easy, we have no reason to seek that which we already have. There is no drive; there is no hunger; there is no pursuit. The, life is totally uneventful and meaningless.
A person who is surrounded by comfort but yet finds a reason or thirst to seek the unseen has a pact with strength, because strength is within; not outside. Strength is abstract. It is a complete show of ignorance to find men seeking strength from the external. A man’s treasure is hidden inside of him because the things that truly matter are the unseen things.
The entire treasures and wealth of the universe are hidden in rocks, in the depth of the waters, in the forests, in the earth, in the snow, in the mind and heart of man. To get at it, it has to be harnessed with equally pricey resources. Someone wrote, “Why do we close our eyes when we pray, when we cry, when we kiss, when we dream; because the most beautiful things in our life are not seen but felt only by the heart.”
Isn’t this the same with the idea of the Maker? Isn’t that the reason men find it hard to find Him because they seek to see and feel the concrete, when it is in everything around and in them? Withal, to see Him is His prerogative through revelation. To unearth the path of ease, one must separate oneself from the throng because there is much distraction to overcome.
Men who are living in the seeming abundance of earning money outside living their purpose live a waste because what they shall be evaluated for is the talent they were given which they most times fail to put to use. Everyone must account for the talent that they have received. You may possibly be living large doing things outside your talent, it only means that you have your talent buried. This is a very hard but plausible fact.
Finding your path is finding yourself. And because this path is abstract and located in the unseen, it is not exactly easy to find. Yet, it's possible. But many abandon this task and rather align themselves with what is readily available. The path of quick-fixes does not endure.
Imagine those prospecting for precious stones and ornaments. What about those who seek the treasure in the forests? And those who seek the bliss hidden in the waters, the air and from everywhere in nature? Though all of these are so close to mankind, humans find it difficult to harness them because it requires commitment to discover, sacrifice to tap into, and it takes a lot of work to extract, process and deliver. There is price to pay.
No good work is easy, let alone great work. It would never be appreciated and would not endure if it's not earned. Earning is the outcome of sowing, nurturing, and harvesting. Even after harvest, the chain is yet incomplete. The harvest has to be processed. There is also the aspect of marketing and distribution. It is the complete value chain and it often spans generations.
A great mind did say that the top is lonely. That is something to think about. It does mean a lot because up there is not a place for the throng. It comes with unease and much challenges. Managing and sustaining success require collaboration with like minds. That is what the mastermind is.
The big fish is not free from the attack of the fisherman. It consistently works against human and otherwise predators. Swimming in the big waters of success does not mean less risk. The stakes are very high because scavenging waters run very steep.
Collaboration is all about the management of high potentials. This requires consistency of planning, strategic thinking and execution. With execution comes productivity and it never stops there. You are always on your toes ensuring that things keep improving, but upward climb means stress management across the board. Such minds are not given to pleasure. Though seen from without as enjoying ease, they actually wade through the tough terrains of unease in order to sustain excellence.
The big head gets stricken by aches and migraine, too. The head that wears the crown bears the most burdens, and unless such a being is constantly reinventing the wheel, especially in these days of disruption and fleeting innovation, such will only stay stuck.
The path to ease is a landmine. It is the reason many more businesses die along the way than live, let alone succeed. The path to ease is turbulence because discipline, a prerequisite for attainment of success, remains a valid currency. It is never a variable.
The path to ease is the road less travelled. It is neither wishful thinking nor undirected desire; but actual work and sacrifice in order to pursue audacious and specific goals that are sculpted from burning and pulsating desires.
Those who truly seek and walk the path of ease discover it through digging and drilling. They are relentless as they send their roots to the abyss of hell in order to gain heaven. The path of ease is the path of enervating but passionate pursuit for the attraction, attainment and retention of same. It is a life completely sold to lifelong sacrifice.
