“It takes only one sperm cell to fertilize a woman’s egg – but there’s stiff competition for that honor. In fact, the average ejaculate contains 200 million sperm.” – CBSNews.com

As I write this blog, I am inspired to challenge you the reader no matter your current state in life, not to settle for less. There is nothing you are going through at the moment that is greater than what you have already been through. Yes, that is true. You competed with over 200 million sperm cells and came out tops. That’s the reason you are here today reading this blog. It has been rightly said that it is better to aim for the stars and miss, than to aim for a pile of dung and hit it.

Don’t let anyone limit you by telling you that in order to avoid disappointments, it is better not to expect much. Such advice might seem practical and realistic, but in reality, it only breeds mediocrity. It stops you from being the person you were created to be. What goals, dreams and ambitions do you have? Have you let them die because of the circumstances you’ve faced in life? Perhaps, you have buried those dreams and have now settled for less. This is time to wake up that dream again.

At some point in my life, I was a victim of mediocrity until I learnt the truth. I started out as a teenager wanting to change the world, impact lives positively and become one of the best medical doctors the world would ever see. I had grown up under extreme poverty and hardship, but I was determined to get out of it, and inspire others to greatness. Due to my family’s financial situation, I could not pursue my medical career ambition. I had to take a detour, the route changed, but my vision remained the same – to impact lives positively. Today, I still feel I haven’t reached the heights I have set for myself, but I sure have made good progress. From my experience, I can tell you that there is nothing you set your mind to achieve that you cannot achieve. It only requires time, focus and persistence.

A lot of people live through life with what I call a “grasshopper” mentality. You have been created in God’s image and likeness. You’ve been given gifts and talents that no one else but you alone possess, yet you look down on yourself. There is a song only you have been created to sing, a book only you can write, an invention only you were made to bring forth. Quit looking down on yourself and start taking the steps to achieve the greatness that is already in you.

Stop looking for your future out there. Everything you need is within you. Your future is in you. Think about this for a moment: the future of a tree is in the seed it carries. In every chicken, there is a egg and in every egg a chicken. It only takes time and the right conditions (what I call nurturing) to bring it forth. The right conditions could be adequate sunlight, rain, food, diet, training, personal development mentoring, studying and so forth to create that future.

What can do to immediately begin to alter this mindset?

1. Discover who you are. For me, the Bible helped me a lot on this journey of self discovery. For you to make progress, you need to realize that who you are at the moment, is not the best you can be. There is a better you that the world is waiting to see.
2. Decide to become better: You must make the decision to become the ideal you.This will not happen overnight, but it starts with a decision.
3. Find out what you need to do. What habits, disciplines, skills and knowledge do you need to become the best you were meant to be? Find out. Don’t let it be said that you didn’t know. All you need to rise above your current state is available to you – ask, you will receive; seek, you will find it and knock, the door will open for you.
4. Renew your mind: This perhaps is one of the most important things you can do to avoid settling for less. From today, start to think differently about yourself and what you are capable of becoming.
5. Start taking action daily: No matter how little or insignificant, take determined and intentional steps everyday towards the becoming you were meant to be. Let no day pass without doing something about being that ideal person you are capable of being. Since I learnt this secret over 12 years ago, I have never let ant day pass without learning something new everyday!

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