Food for Living: Results Make the Difference

By Henry Ukazu

Greeting friends,

It is not whether you get knocked down, it’s whether you get up.” – Vince Lombardi.

Nothing makes a difference in any organization or somebody’s life than success. With no iota of doubt, success makes a huge difference in the life of any individual or society. When you are successful, you will definitely attract a huge number of followers. No wonder most people say that failure is an orphan, and success has many fathers.

The interesting thing about success is that it makes a whole lot of difference in the life of any progressive being, company, association, political party, entrepreneur or career choice.

However, before an individual can become successful to the level other people will admire, such a person must have proven his outstanding nature by leading his life for worthy causes. Its when people see this quality in someone, they would be inspired to entrust that person with their affairs, because people would be concerned with results. That’s why former American President, John Quincy Adams says, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more and become more, you are a leader.”

Leaders can never be excluded in any result-oriented endeavor. This is because a leader is not necessarily someone who dishes out command or authority as the case may be. A true and genuine leader is one who inspires and produces more leaders and what makes a leader unique is what he or she brings to the table – results. More importantly, the trait of the leader, his or her propensity to produce results at the end of the day is the hallmark of his or her leadership trajectory.

To produce the results that make a difference in the world, you must be prepared for the task. According to Miguel Saavedra, “To be prepared is half the victory.” Determination and preparation are the first steps to achieving success. Most people are fond of saying, I will, I want to, I have a dream, passion, vision, etc. They fail to realize that opportunity only comes to prepared minds. But very few minds are able to hit the ground moving.

Becoming a result-oriented person starts by always visualizing the outcomes of any task you are undertaking because whatever we do in life, the end result is always important. Life is not really how far, but how well. It is the end that truly justifies the means. So as a matter of advice, always have the end in mind by asking yourself, what do I intend or hope to achieve with this project? What do I have to gain by joining this organization or association? What do I have to gain by attending this event, class or training? These are questions only you can answer because at the end, your success or failure is practically your cup of tea.

Having realized that every rational and informed leader will like to leave a legacy to be remembered when he or she leaves office, I was inspired to write this article when I saw great tweets on the social media about the transformational works the President of Rwanda, H.E Paul Kagame, is doing for his country and countrymen. Of particular importance is the development and change he has brought to Rwanda which has taken the country to an enviable height. It is worthy to note that prior to the emergence of Paul Kagame, Rwanda was seen as one of the poorest countries in the world. Since he assumed office on 22nd April, 2000, he has transformed Rwanda with great infrastructural and technological development and the results have been admired by the global world.

Let me now ask you this question today: What are you doing to make a difference? In order to make a difference, you must have courage to take risks. You don’t have to be concerned about where you are coming from or what you have been through, your major concern should be where you are going to and the positive influence your aspirations will have on other people. Brian Tracy brilliantly captured this point when he said, “It doesn’t matter where you are coming from, all that matters is where you are going.”

Making a difference is not easy, sometimes you have to create the opportunity yourself if you truly believe in yourself and the area you intend to make impact. Nobody will believe in you or what you have to offer if you don’t believe in yourself and create a terrain that worth charting. Your chances of success are determined by your self-belief. When you put yourself out there, people will see your work, they will also see how passionate and credible you are.

It is an undisputable fact that nothing good comes easy. Success takes a lot of hard and smart work namely: sacrifice, research, training, failure, sleepless nights, networking amongst others. What most people see in real life as success is an accumulation of different factors to achieve a goal. In the spirit of determinism, there’s no smoke without fire. For every cause, there must be a corresponding action. When you have an idea to create a business or invent a product, never allow it to perish like a mere thought or imagination, try to put it down and create a realistic plan to bring it into existence. No matter how big or small the idea is, don’t underrate it because most big things start small.

You may get distractions and nay-sayers saying it’s not doable, but always know that impossibility only exist in the minds of fools. By the time your idea sees the light of the day, your nay-sayers will be the first to check out your work.

In the journey of life, most people are not concerned about the process, their major concern is the outcome or results. Aristotle said, “We are what we repeatedly do, excellence is not an act, it’s a habit.” Believe in your dreams because they do come true. The moral of this point is that, your thoughts are seeds of greatness that can make a difference in your life if properly harnessed.

In conclusion, to make a difference. you must make an impact. What are you doing to make a difference in your life, academic, work, community etc?

Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He’s the author of the acclaimed book Design Your Destiny- Actualizing Your Birthright to Success. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He can be reached via henrous@gmail.com