Shining like a gold nugget

One of my favourite rap artists is Mase. His music before and after he got saved speaks to me profoundly. Apart from his effortless, aesthetic flow, his lyrics are mostly a story of his life that I can relate to.
A story that has universal appeal; that resonates with many people trying to make it in life. The struggles they endure and the temptation to give up. In the hit Gotta Survive, for example, Mase talks about how everyone sees you on television without the thought of the price you paid to get there.

Mase can smile but it wasn't easy in the beginning

"Now it's easy but I started with low budget, I was weary some days I used to sit there my eyes all teary thinking to myself, do anybody hear me..." he sings, "But now I'm now shinning like a gold nugget cos I made the most of it."

By making the most of it, Mase means he didn't let the obstacles to his dream frustrate him to the point of surrender. He hustled more and stayed focused. There were those who had been in the industry longer who kicked and ridiculed him, behaving like a bull that never wants to see another bull in the kraal. But Mase knew he had it in him and worked to prove the naysayers wrong. It was not easy as it never is especially when you have no mentor or father figure to guide you along and boost your esteem. That's why we have many life coaches.

And you can get one; it doesn't matter what age or stage you are at, you can get one to help you discover your capabilities and guide you in applying them. Remember fulfilment in life has little to do with money, but more to do with knowing who are and what you want and going for it. When you understand this, you will become "salty like sodium" [another Mase line] and lead a happy, thriving life even in your easy circumstances.

The spark in you

"I was just a kid when I first got to see Muhammad Ali. I saw the way people looked up to him, I saw their smiling faces. And I said to myself: 'that's what I wanna be. I wanna be the champion of the world." 

Those are the opening words of the movie, Tyson about a man who at the age of 20 entered record books as the youngest heavy weight boxing champion of the world. I love the resolve in those opening words, and the fact that individual success is often sparked by the excellence of another. 

Me hanging out with star comedian Kenneth "Pablo" Kimuli

 It is important to remember that those who set the spark have worked hard and way harder to get to the top. Muhammad Ali hated the rigorous training but vowed to endure it and live like a champion for the rest of his life. That much became true as he is still considered the greatest boxer of all time. 

Just dig within your heart and you could find the spark that somebody more famous lit there. When I was a boy my father always brought home The Daily Monitor. Watching him ensconsed on the sofa reading it sparked my love for reading, and I told myself that one day I'll write for a newspaper. Now I am living the dream. 

But the dream had to be pursued first. One must work relentlessly to be the best they can be. This starts with investment in self; buy a new book every month, join a gym member, learn a new language, take dancing classes, ditch the cheap restaurants for that Sunday brunch at Serena hotel. Whatever works for you; anything that can add value to you, go for it.  

Moreover, when you work on yourself you are not only helping yourself but your neighbour, your colleagues, your family, your world as well. Seeing that change in you; that improvement; that light shining from the inside out could inspire them beyond your wildest imagination.

The longings of the heart

There is something I have been longing for for seven years. Seven long years and still counting. Waiting has been getting tougher with every year. Langston Hughes, once wondered, poetically, whether a dream deferred does stink like rotten meat or sags like a heavy load. It is that and more, but only if you haven't learned to wait patiently.

It's never easy to wait but it's always worth it

When you have learnt the art of waiting, it ceases to be tough to wait. Patience takes the place of impatience, and your character is transformed to such maturity that emotions and longings bow under your authority. You pursue your dreams and ambitions with confidence, knowing that no matter how long the night drags, the morning will come with its gladdening light to dispel the darkness.

Because of how much the world has changed, it is easy to deny somebody an opportunity based on their present circumstances. Jesse Jackson once said, "I was born in the slum but the slum was not born in me." I love the veracity of that statement. Every human being is born with an inner greatness that will shine through if you know the truth and walk in it without giving up even though it might take quite some time before you get there. 

In my boyhood I longed to grow beards like my father. I used to look myself in the mirror, and it was always painful that instead of finding one strand of beard, my chin seemed smoother than the day before. Now I have a beard after many years of waiting (haha!), and it is with this patience and endurance that I can even smile as I wait some more for what I have been longing for for seven years.

I know soon—very soon—my dream will come true and the rewards of my waiting will be tastier than the sweetest grapes and sweeter than crusted sugar or "a syrupy sweet" in Langston Hughe's poem.

Shaken forward, not backward

A young man told me recently that his life has lost meaning. "Everyone at home looks at me as misfit," he said. "I feel like a burden to them. I've even contemplated committing suicide." 

As he poured out his heart, I saw the fear in his eyes and read the hurts and frustrations in his facial expressions like a page in a novel. His problems started with drinking alcohol. He was unable to complete his law degree because of an addiction to the bitter stuff.  

Everyone wants to be the pride of their family

 He was taken to several rehabilitation centres. But as soon as he was out, he would still find his bottle. In all this, the family could not stop telling him what a shame he had become. This was a great mistake. Every individual wants to be the pride of his family and friends. The fact that he came to talk to me says as much. But in hurling his failures at him, the family was pushing him deeper into the bottle.

This young man just needs to be understood and helped with steadfast patience.  His family could look at his strengths and use them to affirm him. For example he's a lover of rap music, and is very eloquent with a strong, clear voice that can get him a job on one of the radio stations. 

As we talked, I could see a bright future for the young man. He should not be judged quickly. Don't forget: failures are not permanent. It takes very little for struggling individuals to pick themselves up and begin to lead valuable lives. 

I encourage you too to prove your critics wrong by turning your tests into testimonies. The trials of life often come to give us a chance to reinvent ourselves. As Bishop Festo Kivengere once said, let the challenges of life be "springboards from which to jump forward, not deterrents to stop us from moving."