Soaring to Greater Heights; Seven things that will propel your flight - by Elvy. G Soltau

“The sky is the limit only for those who aren't afraid to fly!”  Bob Bello.  We’re all on a journey to success; in this case we’re not walking we’re flying; because walking is just too main stream. On the idea of flying one must take into consideration one special bird; the eagle. There are several lessons that we could learn from the eagle but today I would like to draw your attention to its behavior during a storm. Eagles love the storm. When clouds gather, the eagles get excited. The eagle uses the storm’s wind to lift it higher. Once it finds the wind of the storm, the eagles uses the raging storm to lift him above the clouds. This gives the eagle an opportunity to glide and rest its wings. In the meantime, all the other birds hide in the leaves and branches of the trees. It is inevitable that we face storms in our lives, especially the moment we enroll in University. Storms of financial difficulties, spiritual setbacks, low self-esteem, lack of resources but we can use the storms of life to rise to greater heights. Achievers relish challenges and use them profitably.  

There are several things that are pre-requites to taking off on the flight to success. These things are of vital importance as they fuel the flight. They are as follows:

1.  Need – You must first identify a need and aim to fill it. Ask yourself some questions like why do I need to succeed? Am I happy with the quality of life I am experiencing now? What positive contributions can I make to society. When you’ve discovered the need you will like to fulfill, hold it close to you and don’t ever forget it. When the times get rough remember why you need to succeed. Like the eagle his need is to escape the storm and reach safety to secure his life; so the need in his case is survival, with that in mind he soars like his life depended on it (literally). You should work like your life, your parent’s life and your siblings lives depended on it.

2.       , Vision: - Bearing the need in mind, create images in your mind of you making it to the grand finale.

3.      Passion: Upon identifying a need, creating a vision then being passionate is the next step. Passion is defined as boundless enthusiasm. Be zealous about achieving.  Develop this strong desire to win because you will need it when faced with failures.

4.     .  Determination: Decide from the beginning that comes what may I will press on. When the problems arise, maintain a positive outlook and seek other alternatives when faced with failure. In most case practice, practice, practice. Taking into consideration Thomas Edison, the man who invented light bulbs. Edison, before he was successful he had some major setbacks. When asked in an interview how does it feel to fail ninety-nine (99) times? His response was simply amazing. He said “I didn’t fail ninety-nine times; I found ninety-nine ways it couldn’t work”. We, like Edison should develop a spirit of resilience and persistence. The ability to bounce back and press on after a downfall.

5.        Attitude: It is not my aptitude, but my attitude which determines my altitude in life. Did you know that airplanes have attitude? Yes, they do! When the plane is flying too low the pilot quickly adjusts the attitude of the airplane thus raising its altitude. Like the airplane we must possess positive work attitudes. It attracts others to us, allowing us to work better with a variety of individuals; thus establishing links.

6.      Honesty: In all our doings we must be honest, it enhances your integrity and it also makes you trust worthy. On the Facebook page, Humans of New York the admin went to India where an old man asked, “If you could give one piece of advice to a large group of people, what would it be? His response was, “If you feed your children with food earned from corruption, they will become corrupt. If you feed your children with food earned from honesty, they will become honesty”. Honesty is still the best policy.

7.      . Faith: I deliberately left this one for last. Faith is defined by the bible in Hebrews 11 vs 1 as the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. It is the belief that all things will fall into place. You should have faith in your abilities. Believe in yourself and power that you have to achieve. Believe in the fact that you’re deserving of success, but most importantly believe in the fact that God wants you to prosper and be in good health.

Like the eagle step out in faith; prepared to fly high above the storm of life.