Le Dynamique Professeur

The commonest of quotes I grew up to learn by heart is "winners never quit and quitters never win". It became engraved on the tablets of my heart since I knew the difference between left and right. My Dad's such passionate believer in dreams. He is a person that does not believe in giving up. More than once in my life, I have seen him thrive through various problems and predicaments without giving up. I watched his every step and one thing I believe I have picked up from him is the same tenacity; the same fortitude to never give up until the battle is won. Someone said "winning is not everything but wanting to win is".

Recently, I was glued to the TV at a friend's house watching an episode of 'Contender'. It was the match between a very tall, giant-looking guy versus a short but muscular figure. The short guy was always caught in between the furious hands of the tall giant. Every time he trys to give the tall guy a head-lock (his favourite move that has seen him win many games, some flawless), he gets a bang somewhere in his body. The giant gave him the beating of his life. However, the short guy was not giving up on his favourite hallmark move. Attempts after attempts, trial after trial, he failed but kept on trying. The giant perhaps knew about his twists, turns and tricks and would always get him just before he got trapped. This continued for minutes and the short guy had started bleeding his life out, looking rather frail. Everything seem to point to the fact that he had lost the match. Despite his many failures, he did not quit trying his favourite move. By this time, the giant had gotten a stronghold of him, punching and kicking him like a punching bag. Suddenly, just when you think the short man would give up, with blood all over his body, he got hold of the giant in his favourite headlock move that has been the hallmark of his career. Gbam! the giant was caught in the trap. He could not let go; thus, he begged for his life. The short man won the battle.

Lessons learnt: In the words of Bill Cox "you may have to fight a battle more than once to win it!". In life, most of the battles that we find ourselves in require intestinal fortitude to remain unyielding to defeat; many of them require an unending and undying commitment to seeing change come. Michael Jordan was once quoted thus, "I've missed more than 9000 shots, 26 times I missed the game winning shot. I've failed over and again. That's why I succeed." Verily, verily I say unto you, very few battles in life are won by a single attempt. Malcom Forbes, the late editor-in-chief of Forbes Magazine, failed many times and one of such times was when he failed to make the staff of his university newspaper as an undergraduate but he never gave up. Walt Disney was once fired by a newspaper company editor for lack of ideas but he never gave up. Albert Einstein, was a mathematics failure in his high school life but he never gave up. These people never made one attempts at the battles in their lives. They made lots of attempts until they prevailed.

Dear reader, my words to you today, never give up until you have seen the light; don't relent until you have won the battle because you are a winner if you believe you are one.

In a world where uncertainty is the only certainty and change is irrefutable, what I see is many people walking on that road called ‘comfort zone’. I once fell into a trance and I saw a long and broad road. It was very smooth and almost unending. I see many on that path. They seem to enjoy it. Nothing seem to be disturbing them. While these people never seem to go beyond where they were at every point in time, they kept on walking and it appeared as though they were moving forward. The road was a long and trendy one and everything looked alike. As they walked, it seemed as if they were back to where they were a couple of hours back. None of them seem to notice. And I see many on that road.

Verily, verily I say unto you, many enjoy their comfort zones. They just don’t want to venture out of them. They love job security. The admire their present status. They seem to only care about feeding their families and nothing more. They tend to love the back seat while they watch other drive. Many have been confined to wheel chairs of life where they just sit and watch things happen. Change is good for anyone that wants to make it in life – you’ve got to get out of your comfort zones. Someone said; “The difference between HERE and THERE is ‘T’ and that ‘T’ mean TRANSITION – Motion. You’ve got to do some moving, some shaking, some jumping, some leaping, some falling and rising. Some say, its always tough to get out of your comfort zone. Thus, have tried many times and failed so they have given up. Hey there, if you have not yet given up, I have this for you; what you are going through is because of where you are going to. You cant afford to give up.

Peradventure you have not thought about this before, it might be a shocker - for an electronic appliance to function, you need both the positive and the negative terminals. If you only have the positive without the negative terminal; sorry, you are not going to be able to use the appliance. Such is life. You need those negative terminals coupled with positives to fulfill purpose. Get out of that comfort zone! Bear with the negatives. Its for your light to shine. Change usually creates a fear of loss and the fear of loss causes resistance to success. The few people that have persevered along the road of change outside their comfort zones are the heroes of our present world - I call them world changers. Many of them, even after they have died and gone, are still remembered and celebrated. Dear reader, its high time you left that road. I am leaving now; what about you?

- Le Dynamique Professeur

In my little sujourn on this planet, I have come to discover one of my favourite activity is asking questions. Out of curiosity, the first question I often ask teenagers and people of my age is "what do you want to be in future?" Baffling to me is that most of the people that I have asked often have one common answer. Although I have not conducted a survey on this but my guestimation here would be, almost 80% of them respond with three words "I don't know". I was at a gathering recently and I remember asking a very pretty teenage girl the same question and she replied "I don't know", *shaking her head in response*. More than my face emanated, I was grieved within me. I have come to discover the reason why so many young ones and even adults enter into the rat race (some ending up to be mediocres) is not because they don't have options, it's simply because many of them lack answer to that germane question "what do I want?"

In one of my favorite blogs, "who are you and where are you going?", I mentioned that one of the most important things in life is knowing where you are going. If you have used the Global Positioning Systems (GPS) technology before, all you need is to enter where you are and where you want to go. The navigation system in the technology will then plot a perfect course for you and all you have to do is follow instructions. Such, I reckon is life. Knowing where you are going is very important.

As a PhD student gunning to be a professor, I recently got a glowing opportunity to apply for the post of Knowledge Manager (a full time post way higher than what I currently do) where I currently work. I have a Masters degree in Knowledge Management and would have suit the job. I spoke to the person the successful applicant will be reporting to and he said to me "Samuel, you stand the chance of getting the job more than anyone else in the building if you apply". When I heard that, my heart straightway asked this same question "Samuel, what do you want?"

My note today puts forward this same question to you, "what do you want?" Jack Canfield highlighted 7 important areas in one's life that we need to clarify our vision for: work and career, financies, recreation and free time, health and fitness, relationships, personal goals and contribution to the larger community. What often scares people from articulating what they want is the fear of how they will get there. Just like using the GPS system, first of all, know where you are going. "If you get clear on the what (what you want), the how will be taken care of" - Jack Canfield. In the words of Robert Fritz, "if you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise."

Dear reader, I dare you today to make an 'I want' list. If you don't know where you are going, anywhere is a destination. If you are a christian like myself, ask God to help you with this list. If you are not, look on the inside of you. Where will what you have take you to? Since the age of 14, I have been clamouring in the ears of my parents that I want to be a professor. How I'd get there, I really did not know then. I didn't know I'd have to do a Master's degree or a PhD. I didn't know I would have to be a researcher and start exercising my knack to 'know more'. My parents' financies then didn't seem it a possible dream for me.

Moreover, I have a wonderful mentor, my Dad. He always know what he wants. He may not have the means to get there but he is never in doubt about what he wants. If any of his attempts at getting 'there' fails, he tries again. I am yet to see him fail and not try again. When God helped him to bring the family to Singapore, many said he lacked vision and didn't know what he was doing. To know more about his story, I recommend his book His Helping Hand. I've had stories of people saying, his faith is too radical and he had better be careful. Dear reader, in four years, I completed my BSc and MSc, and one year into a 3-year PhD degree; Dad has completed his MSc and on his way to greater heights despite what people said. We are not there yet, individually and as a family but we are sure on our way.

If you have been patient enough to have read this note thus far, don't leave this page without determining in your heart to know what you want. Let nothing kill your dream. I dare to ask you again "What do you want?"