I MUST BE RESPONSIBLE FOR MY OWN HEALTH AND WELL-BEING
Responsibility comes from the words Response-ability. Life is precious and my belief system teaches that we only have one life to live. Therefore I have chosen to live it will and take charge of my own health and well-being. Having a healthy life and staying safe in a pandemic is the most wealth and income I can generate for myself. You can’t put a price tag on health. I am no public-health expert but I have a scientist, I follow the science, I follow the data and I listen to the experts who have done this for years. I don’t have to be an expert, I only have to leverage the knowledge and wisdom of those whose sole purpose in life has been dedicated to public health and safety. I choose to become a student of the experts and do my own research. Are the experts sometimes wrong? Aren’t we all? Being wrong is not a crime but refusing to admit or change course when you are confronted with your error is. Public health crises in itself is not a death-sentence, failing to take the necessary precautions and doing the right thing to keep you and others safe is.
Being an entrepreneur is akin to being in a pandemic. There are a lot of unknowns: will I make it? Will the future be bright? Will I prove everyone wrong? Will I prove to my self-doubts that they were wrong? Do I have it in me to survive? Do I have it in me to succeed? Whose voice am I listening to? And the list goes on and on. This journey is so unpredictable and uncertain but the fight is worth the victory. I have to take responsibility for my own failures not just the successes and victories. I have to take responsibility when things are good or when they are bad. I have to take responsibility for creating the results I desire. I have to take responsibility for setting systems in place that will work long-term. However taking responsibility also means listening to the experts, those who have battle scars, and have experienced the journey before. I have to humble myself and ride on their shoulders.
I MUST TAKE MY LIFE INTO MY HANDS
This is my life. It is not a dress rehearsal or a practice drill. It is the real show. Lights, makeup, cameras, action. The show is on, there are no test runs or practice runs, there is no director or manager or producing crew. I take that back. There are if that is what you choose. The movie is written, directed, and produced by one person. And that person is you. The only way the protagonist succeeds, in the end, is if you choose to make it happen. I am the architect of my life. I have the power to create a life that I want. I was innately created to be a creator. The Mandator gave the mandate to, “Prosper! Reproduce! Fill the Earth! Take Charge!” And that is what I have chosen to do.
Nothing happens until I move. Nothing changes until I change! Nothing gives until I give! Nothing becomes until I become! I choose not to be a spectator in my own life. I am the star of the show and shine I will. This is my life! This is my show! And I will win in the end.
POLITICIANS ONLY CARE ABOUT THEIR BOTTOM LINE
I have come to realize that people who surrender their mental freedom and objectivity to politicians sacrifice common sense on the altar of political alliances. Another name for a politician is public-servant. They are supposed to do the people’s bidding and not their own biddings. Their only job is to do what the people want and represent the mandate of the people. When the people no longer want them, then their job is done. We, the people, must take back our power and mandate. If our leaders (public-servants) don’t represent our interests anymore, then it is time for them to go. They are sworn to protect our safety, our livelihoods, and freedoms. Last I checked, hundreds of thousands of lives have been lost, millions of people unemployed, billions of dollars of business revenue lost, and trillions of dollars worth of carnage to the healthcare industry and global markets. It is time for them to go. We have registered more “Ls” than “Ws.” It is time!
Be a servant. Be a servant-leader not a ruler or a totalitarian. People don’t like to be told what to do. But people will model what you do and believe what you believe when you are consistent, genuine, and open. So, be the best version of you out there.
NOTHING CHANGES IF WE DON’T CHANGE
Change is inevitable. Change is constant. However, we have to choose change. Ignorance is a disease. A disease that will kill you regardless of your inexperience. It doesn’t need your permission to kill you. It preys on you and destroys your life. Like the virus, it is insidious. It takes advantage of your arrogance, feasts on your stubbornness, and hijacks your life. You don’t see it coming. It allows you to get comfortable, corky, and believe you are invincible or that it is a hoax. But then it comes, like a thief in the night, and takes you over.
Our biggest challenge in life isn’t the enemy at the gate. It is the enemy within. It is the ignorance within that has the power to destroy everything without. It is our hold on our privileges and failure to realize that that advantage can be taken away or lost in a moment’s notice.
We must fight against decline and choose to improve daily. Read, learn, study, recreate, reinvent yourself. That’s the only way we can fight against self-destruction.
I DON’T NEED A CRYSTAL BALL TO SEE.
It is fairly easy to see which way is up or down because in six months since the emergence of this virus, we don’t appear to have learnt anything. The infection is rising, deaths trending up, hospital capacity maxed out, etc. It is clear that we are trending in the wrong direction, taking first place in all the wrong things. And political leadership has abdicated itself. I don’t need a psychic to tell me that the future doesn’t look bright unless something changes.
In your business, leadership begins from the head-down. Success is not guaranteed without leadership. When I become an entrepreneur, I must take responsibility for what happens or fails to happen in my business. The buck stops with me. I must take my own life and business into my own hands, do the work, and make it happen. I must trust the experts and trust the people who have my best interests, I must be willing to change, and finally, I will be able to see that once the stage is set, the systems put in place, then it will be smooth sailing from here on.
I look forward to hearing from you
Yours truly,
L. Manya
Leah Manya 