Are You Ready?!

I always had a philosophy which I got from my father. He used to say, ‘Listen. God gave to you the gift to play football. This is your gift from God. If you take care of your health, if you are in good shape all the time, with your gift from God no one will stop you, but you must be prepared.’

Pele

Are you ready to grow learn and achieve more than you ever have in your life?

It’s the start of a new school year here in Jamaica and everyone is busy getting ready for it. Some started earlier than others. Some where preparing from as early as July when the school year ended, while others waited till the very last minute to see what could be done (I too am guilty). But they know without a doubt that something has got to be done!

Sadly, many who start late or do not start when they think they ought to, get to the point where they see it pointless to even try. They were never comfortable with embracing change or a “new start” and so spend their lives complaining, that they never were given a chance to move beyond the line in drawn in the sand. But they do not realize that you will never be fully prepared for anything in life. But you have to do it anyway. You have to do what it takes to get in a state of readiness for your opportunities, when they decide to come.

No matter how much you plan and strategize and “have all your ducks in a row”, nothing will happen exactly as you envisioned; and this goes for every area of your life. Now I know that my vision of what my life would be and the reality reside in two different households; they never met and they are not talking and so will never arrive at a consensus. Bu does that mean I am not ready to take advantage of the things that will make my life what it needs to be in the real world that I life in? Yes and no. We miss out on the opportunities that will enrich our lives when we stubbornly hold on to a dream that is just that a dream. So we can be ready for real opportunities but we need to look beyond where we are now.

Many of us are repeat offenders of waiting till the last minute possible, to get things started -whether based on indecision, fear or stubbornness. However, this is not where we fail. We fail when we do not see things through to the end, when we stop because it’s getting too hard because we were the last one out the gate. When we believe that because we started at the back, that is where we will remain. Now is the time to decide if we will begin or continue our preparations for what’s to come. We need to decide if we are willing to use all the resources available to us, in the best possible way to live a purpose driven life.

So, are you ready to dive off at the deep end, to swim and not sink and reclaim what was always your right to claim for yourself?