Adaora Egwuonwu: The Gift of a Man

“No man is born neither rich nor poor, the society makes him what he becomes”. This is a popular saying I’m pretty sure most of us have come across on several occasions. The choice to be rich or poor comes from our mindset and also the type of people we ‘want to’ associate ourselves with on a regular basis. Yes,‘want to’, because we are to choose our friends; our friends should not choose us. The decision is ours to make not theirs. People come into our lives to fill in voids. It’s either they fill in those voids with positivity or negativity.

This is where you and I stand a chance to dictate what goes into our system and what should not. Do you take in what is relevant and sieve out the rest that are irrelevant or do you swallow everything being said to you hook, line and sinker? Being rich or poor is a decision without confusion. You should know which one to pick. It’s either you pick one or pick none. So permit me to rephrase that quote “No man is born neither rich nor poor, he makes himself what he becomes”. The society should not decide for you.

To clear the air, the instant people hear about these two crucial words, the first thing that comes to mind is the financial aspect of it forgetting that it encompasses a whole lot of areas. Wealth or poverty doesn’t just boil down to one’s financial state alone, there is more to it. The creative ability to think, counsel, mentor, lead, persevere, apply proper wisdom, have self-control, finding and sustaining happiness, enjoying good health and total well-being etc. is what I call wealth. The right application of all these attributes creates room for us and makes us wealthy.

We all have been blessed with peculiar gifts. Some have discovered theirs while some are yet to. God has deposited an innate talent and ability in each and every one of us. It’s that gift that makes room for us. This means your gift will pave a broad way for you where there are many opportunities to adventure, to explore and discover the greatness of what God has in store for you. What you were designed to be known for is your gift. It is in exercising that gift that you find fulfillment, contentment and a purpose in life.

Education, they say is the key to success. Is it? The society has somehow reinforced us with this idea but I think we have to change our perspective in order to be successful. Don’t get me wrong, I strongly believe in being educated but however, if education is the key to success, why is it that most people who have attained the highest level of education are still not financially secured, happy and fulfilled in life?

A PhD holder can be given a major project to carry out, but if he doesn’t apply the necessary skills required for that assigned job, he will mess things up. A tycoon who mismanages his resources and cannot make the most of it will definitely go down the drain. Such a person may not even be able to differentiate between a “need” and a “want” because he thinks he has all it takes to acquire it all. That’s foolishness!! All you need is God’s divine wisdom and guidance. He has already instructed us to ask for wisdom. Why then shut your destiny? If we don’t ask, we perish. Wisdom is profitable to direct.

It’s thought-provoking that the Bible didn’t mention that education makes room for you, your gift does. Who recalls the story of Bill Gates who failed in most of his subjects in his exams but his friend passed in all? Now his friend is an Engineer in Microsoft while Bill Gates is the owner of Microsoft. No one remembers those who thought he was crazy. How come the smartest guy isn’t the CEO of Microsoft? Is it that he doesn’t have the brains to own one? If some of us were to be Gates, we would have given up a long time ago. We wont be able to withstand the mockery bestowed upon us from other students. He wasn’t just the owner of Microsoft, he subsequently became one of the richest men in the world and a major philanthropist through the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Similar story goes to Dr. Ben Carson, a neurosurgeon and author of “Gifted Hands” where he tells us his inspiring odyssey from childhood till he became a Director of Pediatric Neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Hospital at age 33. So why loose so much confidence in yourself? Low-self esteem deprives you from seeing the bigger picture ahead of you.

People do mostly go for what others say will give them a lot of money. A lot nevertheless still go ahead without considering if the undertaking will carve out a good reputation for them. Most parents often urge their children to take certain courses in the university in order for them to stand out from the rest. That’s fine. In life, note that people will always bring in their own opinion as to what they think will profit you or what’s trending at the moment. Do what you were born to do because that is where your success lies. I’m not saying it’s wrong to receive advices or helpful tips that can guide you through in life. It’s very paramount but if God hasn’t given you a vision or an idea, human efforts will effortlessly fail. Once he reveals it to you, he will surely see you through it. He cannot abandon his own. Yes, Mr. A is succeeding in a particular area doesn’t necessarily mean that that’s what you are also called to do.

Stop stealing people’s ideas to coat yours. It’s not the icing on top of the cake that matters, it’s the cake itself. For a building to stand strong, it must have a solid foundation. Stop appearing fully baked when you know within yourself you are half-baked. God has your original copy. Stop trying to be a photocopy. Your destiny is never the same with another man. This is the problem most of us face. We limit ourselves. We tell God what we want and how we want it instead of allowing him set the pace. Our antennas are always shut down to hear from him. Yours will be a whole different new chapter that your success will sound like a lie. A chapter yet to be unveiled which no one can but only you. Do you know you can be your own CEO? God has given you a vision and has shown you ways on how to execute that idea but you are still hell-bent on doing as the world dictates. You are still seeing yourself as that toad at the bottom of the well who thinks the sky is only as big as the top of the well. If he surfaced, he would have an entirely different view. Stop weighing the prevailing circumstances around you and start taking a step of faith. It is usually what we fear that defines what we see as impossible while our faith defines for us what is possible and achievable. Wake up!!!

Very importantly, do not take your gift for granted. We appreciate the value of what we have when it’s lost. Whatever God has placed in your hands, he has the capacity to take it away also. Your gift is there for a divine purpose and that purpose is to be a blessing and a shinning light to your world. Do not misuse and abuse your gift. Pride is a number one foe. It comes before a fall. It creeps it gradually when we think we have arrived and by the time we realize ourselves,it might be too late. So stay leveled, stay humble and ask God for wisdom in all thy doings.

May your gift always create room for you and bring you before great men.