Opinion: …Oh Crumbs! There Goes Another Uncompleted Building!

by Chinonso Ogbogu

Like that rich man in my friend’s village, many people start towards their dreams with great zest and bulldozer-like energy, but then half-way down the line they begin to lose faith or enthusiasm towards continuing with the rest of the journey

Recently, I took a trip to an old friend’s village. That night, I slept very late because my friend and I took a long, exciting ride down memory lane, and laughed over our past experiences and impishness as youngsters. At breakfast the next morning, my friend apprised me that he’d be taking me round the village so that I could, like a tourist, learn more about his place. Well, being an intellectual pry, I couldn’t be more eager to get started. For the next five hours or so, my friend took me round his village and offered me a great learning experience. From the monarch’s palace down to the village’s ancient river, my friend made every stop a relishing, unforgettable, knowledge-filled encounter.

While we were sauntering back to base, I saw an uncompleted building that looked abandoned! Rapt by that site, I inquiringly asked my friend, “Why is this building like this?” And he replied, “Oh, that? It’s an uncompleted building by one rich man… He started it some years back, but stopped! And ever since then, the place has become a prytaneum where tramps, rats, villains, garbage, and weeds engage in territorial warfare.” When my friend finished, I needed no rocket scientist to tell me that I was staring at yet another uncompleted project! That night, in my mind’s eye, I kept seeing the same building staring back at me as if to say I was the cause of its paralysis. Well, when I opened my eyes the next morning, it occurred to me that I did sleep eventually―but, believe me, I didn’t know how. However, as I descended from the bed, the message, “Don’t be an uncompleted dreamer,” hit me like a thunderbolt! For the remaining days of my visit, I mulled over that powerful message and I wondered how many beautiful, life-changing dreams, like that unfinished building, had been left uncompleted by their bearers.

Like that rich man in my friend’s village, many people start towards their dreams with great zest and bulldozer-like energy, but then half-way down the line they begin to lose faith or enthusiasm towards continuing with the rest of the journey. They nippily turn on the ignition of their dreams, travel a certain distance of life, and then begin to sleep on the steering wheel before they even arrive at their final destination. They hit the ground running with great dreams and then when it’s clear that the real game has begun, they plateau, leaving the ship of their dreams abandoned right in the middle of the cold sea! “Great starter, half finisher,” is a succinct, apt adjective that best describes this class of individuals. Well, the sad news is that you and I are susceptible to being christened with this same adjective, except we begin to always push ourselves and our dreams towards completing the race―the race of finishing strong, against all odds.

I love seeing the game of soccer. And one of the things I find quite interesting about the sport is how it explains some success principles of life. One of such principles includes: “The game is not over at half-time!” In other words, a team may start off well and play through the first half with a high score margin at its favour, but it’s the final score at the end of the game that actually tells who eventually wins. Like the game of soccer, achieving success in life has to do with how committed you’re in driving your dreams to their full-time realization. Don’t pursue your dreams and abandon them halfway. Rather, develop the staying power to run the success race till you get to the finish line. Those who get to the finish line receive the trophy and get elevated to run a bigger, more rewarding race. Look, success is hard; but to crack the nut, you need to have a great vision and the commitment to pursue the vision still it’s attained. Pursuing your vision, no doubt, involves overcoming challenges, but come hell or high water, don’t allow those challenges to stop you from pulling through to the end. Even when it appears that Murphy’s Law is working against you, still hold on tight because your finish line may just be within spitting distance. If you must succeed in life, then you must play still the game is over. Go after your dreams and begin to rightly set each block till the success building is completed. Don’t be discouraged by how hard it is to build, because when it’s done, you’ll be proud of yourself. Meanwhile, always remember that the number of uncompleted dreams is costing our generation a king’s ransom!

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Chinonso Ogbogu is a business trainer, success coach, highly sought-after conference speaker, gifted writer, and a radio personality. He is the radio host of the popular SUCCESSMATTERS™ and the conveyor of the monthly GET INSIGHT, GET INSPIRED™ event. He is also the author of the soon-to-be released powerful book known as ‘THE VOICES’.

 

Op-ed pieces and contributions are the opinions of the writers only and do not represent the opinions of Y!/YNaija.

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