JOHN GATHIGE MAINA
S
UCCESS
Fundamentals of
Fundamentals of Success
Published by Queenex Publishers Limited
P. O. Box 56049-00200
Nairobi, Kenya
Telephone:0715 808 200, 0727 794 498
Email: info@queenexpublishers.co.ke
All rights of this book are reserved.
Do not reproduce, store in a retrieval system, transmit in any form or
by any means, graphic, electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording
or otherwise any part and or this enre book without the prior wrien
permission of the publishers.
ISBN: 978-9966-140-09-8
Fundamentals of Success
Contents
Dedicaon ............................................................................................ ii
Acknowledgements .............................................................................. iv
Endorsements ...................................................................................... vii
Foreword .............................................................................................. xiii
Introducon: Fundamentals of success ............................................... xvi
CHAPTER 1: God, the Source and Sustainer of Success........................ 1
CHAPTER 2: Taking Responsiblity over our Situaons .......................... 9
CHAPTER 3: Planning ............................................................................ 16
CHAPTER 4 : Assessing the capability of the team ............................... 25
CHAPTER 5: Inducon and Capacity Building ....................................... 27
CHAPTER 6: The Team Spirit ................................................................ 30
CHAPTER 7 : The Power of Focus .......................................................... 32
CHAPTER 8 : Outrunning our Competors ........................................... 35
CHAPTER 9: Resilience .......................................................................... 38
CHAPTER 10: Surrounding Oneself with the Right People ................... 44
CHAPTER 11: Movaon ...................................................................... 47
CHAPTER 12: Innovaveness ................................................................ 50
CHAPTER 13: A Posive Atude .......................................................... 53
CHAPTER 14: A Philosophy of Excellence ............................................. 62
CHAPTER 15: Evaluaon ....................................................................... 66
CHAPTER 16: Self-Esteem ..................................................................... 70
CHAPTER 17: Visionary and Pragmac Leadership ............................... 75
CHAPTER 18: Honesty and Integrity ..................................................... 79
CHAPTER 19: Discipline ........................................................................ 83
CHAPTER 20: Excellent Communicaon ............................................... 86
CHAPTER 21: Mentorship and Training ................................................ 90
CHAPTER 22: Conquering Adversity ..................................................... 95
CHAPTER 23: Faith ................................................................................ 102
About the Author ................................................................................. 106
ii
Fundamentals of Success
Dedicaon
To my lovely wife
Thanks to my loving wife, Becky Maina, for endless and
invaluable support and encouragement during the wring
of this book. Your love and understanding gave me the will to
connue even when my body was red and exhausted. Certainly,
this accomplishment would not have been possible without your
input. I recall the many nights that you sat next to me as I pieced
up my thoughts and ideas to come up with this masterpiece.
Thank you for helping me to clarify my thoughts as I compiled
this manuscript.
To my son
Special thanks Steve Israel Maina for being one of the
greatest movaons in my life. Your presence in my life reminds
me that I must succeed amid all challenges and storms. I promise
to become the greatest inspiraon that you can draw from.
To my parents
Thank you for being the best parents one can ever have. To
you mum, you have been my greatest source of inspiraon. I
learnt to stand strong against adversies from you. Even when
things were very hard, your faith overcame all the challenges.
Special thanks to you mother for paying the price for me to be
what I am today. Thank you dad, you taught me the value of
discipline and hard work, integrity and honesty. I will forever
be thankful for the great sacrices you made for me to grow to
what I am. I thank God for the wonderful people you are.
iii
Fundamentals of Success
To my two great friends, Samuel and Paul:
You have been my greatest pillars of support ever since I
met you. Your insights and wisdom in handling complex issues
has taught me a lot. Thank you for your valuable advice and
contribuons towards making this book a reality.
I also dedicate this book to all the members of sta, students,
parents of Lakewood School, Nairobi, my fellow teachers with
whom I have worked with over the years and all those who cherish
hard work and excellence. By interacng with all these people, I
have been greatly enriched socially, intellectually and spiritually
To all the readers
As you hold this book in your hand and turn over the pages,
know that this is my dedicaon to you. Read it and learn the
lessons that God wants you to learn. You are the person I had in
mind when I embarked on wring this book
iv
Fundamentals of Success
Acknowledgements
This book is a convergence of great insights from many sources.
It would not have been without the contribuon of many other
great minds.
I rst thank the Almighty God for giving me the chance, the
ideas, the will power and intellectual capacity to write this book.
Without the divine counsel and insight of our Heavenly Father,
this work would not have been possible. I pray this book will help
you realise that there can never be any success in life without
God. He is the source of wisdom and excellence. It is through
God’s guidance that I actualised the dream of pung down my
reecons about success into a book.
I thank my peers and senior colleagues in the corporate
world, from whom I have learned valuable lessons. The higher
ideals they pracce have greatly contributed in pushing me to
into actualizing this book. It has enabled me to have a clearer
understanding of the concept of the success-driven life. You have
been my greatest mentors for all these years. Most of what I
have detailed in this book is based on real life experiences that
I have encountered in pursuit of my dreams. The re, the zeal
and the passion to complete it was made even stronger by the
achievement of those around me. Thank you and may God richly
bless you.
One person deserves a special menon in this part of the
book. Bonnie Kim, the only stranger in my life who treated me as
a brother during our maiden meeng. He took his valuable me
to guide me in developing and organising the contents of this
v
Fundamentals of Success
book. I will forever be indebted to you. Your paence, brilliance
and enthusiasm to bring the best out of those God brings into
your life makes you the most special friend, mentor and brother.
Thank you for teaching me that we are in this life to help others
to be the best that they can be. You never knew me before you
gave me the valuable advice towards making this project a
success but you put aside your work to help me rene this book.
I am greatly indebted to you: your rare traits have taught me a
lot. Thank you for your selessness.
I am also tremendously grateful to Mr. Samuel. W. Kimamo,
his wife and their two sons Chris and Rayan. You have made a
great dierence in my life. I am thankful for your endless support
and prayers at the me I was developing the manuscript. I salute
you for your insighul conversaons from which I drew some of
the lifeme lessons shared in this book.
I am also thankful to Mr. Paul Mutua and his family for
their prayers. Your approach in guiding and direcng people
has taught me that we need to say things exactly as they are,
although it might not make us very popular. This way, we make
them beer by helping to correct their grey areas.
Special thanks to all my students over the years. Through your
hard work and achievements, I have come to realise that hard
work pays and that nothing of real value can ever be achieved
without real sacrice. You may be young, but you have greatly
inspired me.
My gratude also goes to Truphena Njiru for sparing her
valuable me to edit this manuscript, and to Mr. Ngacha of
Makini Schools for seng aside part of his me to supplement
the eding eorts.
vi
Fundamentals of Success
I am immensely indebted to Mr. Githaiga for his assistance in
handling the Biblical references. I also have very kind words for
my lovely wife Becky; the best wife that God ever brought into
my life. She took me to help in reading through the work.
Finally, I thank everybody who in one way or another has
contributed to making this project a success. Since it is not
possible to thank each one of you in person, kindly accept my
appreciaon and gratude for your prayers and encouragement.
vii
Fundamentals of Success
Endorsements
A determined mind is the heartbeat of any form of success.
Take away determinaon from any mind, and all roads will lead
to failure.
This basic yet intriguing concept was made abundantly clear
to me by one Maina Gathige. Under his wings, I have thrived and
blossomed and I can say that I am proud of what I have become
today. His outlook of life has given me the guidance required
to help me focus all my energy, resources and me towards
achieving greatness.
An encounter with Mwalimu, as we all know him, will bring out
the nature of his character; relaxed, analycal, mild-mannered
and deeply thoughul. Basically, a bureaucrat. But don’t be
fooled by his calm nature; he is viscerally and intellectually
averse to individuals with quesonable character and integrity,
especially those who give room to mediocrity. I have no quibble
with his seasonal harshness since it shone a light at the end of
the tunnel for many minds that would have gone astray.
It cannot go unnoced that Mwalimu’s success and
achievement spring from his acceptance of the fact that
knowledge is not congenital. It involves hard work and
determinaon and that is the signal Mr. Maina is sending to
every reader of this book.
Marvin Musyimi Ngao
School of Medicine,
University of Nairobi.
viii
Fundamentals of Success
Seldom have I seen a book that depicts the life of a person whose
success journey serves as a powerful tool of inspiraon the way
Fundamentals of Success has done. The author’s passion to excel
in life has enabled him to go through insurmountable challenges
and overcome them. Ulmately, he has emerged as an icon in
the eld of educaon.
Inially, I thought that this was just another book on success.
However, aer carefully going through it, I discovered that it
is a treasure that carries great nuggets of empowerment for
any person seeking to excel in his or her vocaon. I took note
of Mr. Maina’s self-esteem, zeal and resourcefulness some years
back when I sought his experse and assistance in facilitang
a capacity-building session for my teachers. The passion and
insight he exuded le our sta greatly inspired and asking for
more.
I strongly recommend this book to every person who desires
to shun mediocrity and embrace success.
Pastor David .M. Ndegwa
Presiding Pastor, Chrisan Mission Fellowship
The author of “New Lease of Life.
ix
Fundamentals of Success
Why I Wrote this Book
In the year 1998, I was not sure whether I would ever
make it in life. I felt hopeless, like a man who was in a deep pit
with no one to salvage him. I never ancipated success. Day
aer a day, I waited for a change that never came.
While growing up, I encountered every nature of
predicament that you would imagine. My parents had a very
turbulent marriage, disagreeing virtually on everything. As long
as I can remember, nothing seemed to be working between
them. Though very young, I had an agile mind and I recorded
the turmoil and arguments they kept on having. In most cases,
I would pretend that I was asleep, but remain awake under the
cover of my blankets to feed my ears with whatever transpired.
Soon, I realized that things had changed drascally. An
atmosphere of hopelessness and desolaon engulfed our home.
At mes we would get home to nd my mother seated beside
the re, with nothing she could prepare for supper. This never
dampened my spirit because I was convinced that every cloud
had a silver lining, and that God had a great plan for us.
I knew that it was only a maer of me and things would
go back to the former state, but that was just an illusion. My
mother did all manner of manual jobs to feed us and keep us
in school. She paid the highest price for our lifeme dreams to
come true, but the de against her eorts was too much and
nothing seemed to change.
My primary school years at Ol-joro-orok Primary School will
x
Fundamentals of Success
forever be etched in my mind. I remember that it was known to
all the teachers that we were from a very poor background. As
other pupils ran home for lunch, I would go to the eld and kill
me running aer the polythene ball. Those were my happiest
moments, for they made the hunger pangs go away, albeit for
some me.
In class, no one could match me. I would answer any queson
from the teachers. Every me I remembered the status of aairs
in our family, my zeal and determinaon to conquer and excel
rose afresh in me.
Aer my Saturday classes, I would travel several kilometres
to assist my mother to complete the manual work she had been
assigned to enable us have something to eat. Nothing made me
happier than this. I had made a personal commitment to do all I
could to succeed, though greatly disadvantaged
In many instances during my school years, I did not have any
other pair of clothes a part from my uniform. This was indeed
my ‘Sunday best.’ You may be familiar with this term, which
connotes those special clothes one kept for wearing to church
on Sundays or on special occassions. Aer church, I would walk
straight home, take them o and remain within the compound.
My self-esteem was down to zero. The desperate situaon in my
life seemed too much to bear for my young but brilliant mind.
All this me, an inner voice kept reminding me that nothing was
permanent and that I would overcome each of these problems.
The desire to succeed steadily rose within me. I acvely
parcipated in the local church acvies as a youth leader and a
volunteer teacher in neighbouring schools.
Later, life became unbearable aer my mother le for my
xi
Fundamentals of Success
grandmother’s home. I could not connue working without pay
since my siblings were looking up to me for their daily provisions.
This took me to the lowest and darkest moments of my life. I was
almost giving up but I knew I was the only one who could declare
myself a winner or a loser. I had to ask myself hard quesons and
answer them at the same me. It was not me to agonize but
to summon and organise myself to usher in a new dawn in my
life. I did all kinds of jobs, ranging from milking and weeding in
people’s farms to digging pit latrines. I did this work with a lot of
pride and soon anyone who had some work wanted me to do it.
It is important to note that most of us throw in the towel in
the bales of life at this stage. Majority lose focus on what they
can be and concentrate on what they are. Your ghng spirit is
crical at the point where victory appears to be eluding you.
Aer years of hard work, I can see the fruits being formed.
For me, the sky is the beginning and not the limit. I will never
sele for average regarding the things I have set my eyes on. You
can also make it. We are all desned for greatness but we must
make a choice to be all that we are meant to be.
I have come this far not because I am any dierent from
you, but because I decided to do things dierently. I apped
my wings and went aer my dreams for I had great convicon
that in me lies a rich but dormant gold mine. It was me to
y and the ight could not be postponed; it was long overdue
and personal renaissance was inevitable. I have been the best
teacher in Social Studies and English naonally for many years.
I am currently the Director of Studies of Lakewood Schools with
about 3,000 students which I started aer resigning from my job
as a teacher in 2010.
xii
Fundamentals of Success
This is one of the most highly sought aer learning instuons
in Nairobi County today. I dreamt and dared to do what appeared
impossible within the realms of the ordinary, and that became
the most epic and excing part of my personal journey.
Procrasnaon is the thief of me and opportunies. If there
is something you intend to do, do it now not tomorrow, for you
cannot be certain about tomorrow. You can only be certain and
sure of today.
The transformave and life-changing principles I will be
sharing in this book have enormously contributed to the greatest
achievements in my life. Everyone can achieve anything they
want in life, and even more. It is your me to ap your wings
and y against the wind of adversity.
“Always know that your own resoluon to succeed is more
important than any other”. Abraham Lincoln
The fundamental ingredient of success is from within and
not from without. No drive or zeal to succeed can be drowned
when you are being propelled from within. I know many may say
that I have achieved much, but I feel that I have not even started
dreaming, for I know that my achievements will be as great as
my thoughts. I have shared my thoughts with you because I want
you to excel and become all you were meant to be in life.
John G. Maina
xiii
Fundamentals of Success
Foreword
All of us, old or young, rich or poor, spiritual or secular, yearn
and thirst limitlessly for success. Nobody would wish to enter
the books of history as a failure. Success is something that is
deeply sought aer in the human adventure. Everybody wants
to succeed.
One of the greatest challenges in our society today is the
quest for instant success. We love it when we can have instant
coee and instant food but seldom will you nd instant success.
Any such shortcut is likely to lead to short lived results that may
not be sustainable in the long run. Fundamentals of Success
is not just any other success or movaonal manual, but an
exceponal book which is a must read for everyone who desires
to succeed and retain the success for generaons. This book
will serve as a praccal guide for anyone desiring to walk the
path of success. By living out and remaining faithful to these
fundamentals, we will journey to the cradle of excellence and
become all that God wants us to become.
I challenged John G. Maina to write when he shared his
story with me. He heard me on TV and Radio and was inspired.
I also got inspired when I heard his story as outlined in this
book, and I know it will transform you. It is an exceponal thing
when a young man is born in poverty and passes through every
imaginable challenge, but in that moment he makes up his mind
that he was meant for greatness. From that moment, he refuses
to be refused, denies to be denied and vows to never ever sele
xiv
Fundamentals of Success
for less than what he was meant for. Today, John Gathige is a
success, not because he was born in riches but because he made
up his mind in mes of poverty to be successful. You become
what you see yourself becoming, and this is one of the greatest
lessons Maina shares from experience in this book. What you are
going through is not as important as what you want to become.
John Gathige Maina may pass as any average person, but
this demeanour belies a person of great courage, zeal and an
indomitable ghng spirit. He has navigated the stormy seas of
life without losing sight of his targets, and risen from grass to
grace.
His journey has not been without disappointment, yet he
has stood tall in all circumstances of his sojourn. He created a
beer and stronger self image that has withstood all the storms
and challenges he encountered.
He became a successful brand in his mind even when there
was no single sign of success in his life. And that is what he has
become today, having worked towards it and made up his mind
to become just that.
When many hear his story, they say it is a sad story but he has
a dierent view. He views his journey as a sail of self-discovery,
victory over adversity, faith beyond impossible situaons and
limitless faith in God. His decision to take lessons out of every
experience, however bad it was, has been a major reason for his
success.
The reecons contained in this book are life changing in
every way. They are pillars without which no one can achieve
success. Success is within reach for all of us but we must walk
along the path of greatness. This book shall forever change the
perspecve of your life. I always say that who you are is not as
important as to who you want to become.
Over the years, Mr. Maina has set the bar high for those
xv
Fundamentals of Success
coming aer him in the theatre of knowledge disseminaon.
He has been the best teacher in Social Studies for candidates
taking the Kenya Cercate of Primary Educaon examinaon
naonally for a record thirteen years in a row. As a teacher
and educaonist, he has bench marked his performance at an
exceponal high. He has taught and mentored some of the nest
in this country. Some of his former students are doctors, lawyers,
engineers and even pilots. There are many others studying in
presgious learning instuons like Harvard and Columbia State
University. He is currently the Founder and Director of Lakewood
Schools, Nairobi.
He has conducted high impact training workshops for
students, teachers and youth with great success. He has been
a great inspiraon to many. With a remarkably simplied, yet
capvang language, he takes you through the principles that
have been his guiding stars in his life.
I highly recommend this book to everyone who can get his
or her hands on it. It will unlock the hidden potenal in you and
transform you to be the giant you are desned to be.
It is a must read for all and I dedicate it personally to everyone
who wants to make a dierence in their lives.
Bonnie Kim
Internaonal movaonal speaker, leading corporate
trainer and best selling author. Bachelor’s and Masters
degree in Chrisan Counselling, PHD student at Landmark
Bapst Theological Seminary Fortworth, Texas USA. ABE -
UK in Business Management Level 4,5 & 6.
bonniekiminspires@gmail.com, 0720631212
xvi
Fundamentals of Success
Introducon
Fundamentals of Success
“Success is not nal, failure is not fatal:
It is the courage to move on that maers.”
Winston Churchill
I
t does not maer how many mes you have failed in the
past. The courage to stand, dust yourself and take o again
is paramount. In order to succeed, our passion for excellence and
victory should supersede our thoughts and fear of not making it.
Michael Jordan, one of the most celebrated American
basketballers, once said: “I have failed over and over again in my
life and that is why I succeed.” His enthusiasm to conquer could
not be quenched or thwarted by the setbacks in life. Finally,
Jordan was on top of the world and every upcoming basketballer
envied and admired him. He however had his share of failures,
yet he never focused on them. Rather, he focused on the lessons
that he could learn and make himself beer.
Out of every failure that we experience in life, there is always
xvii
Fundamentals of Success
a valuable lesson to be learnt.
To many, success has become a gment of their imaginaon.
People only wish that they were successful, but somehow
they never seem to achieve it. Whereas many believe that it is
dicult to succeed, I hold a dierent opinion. Success is a choice.
It is not a preserve of a few, for we are all made for greatness
notwithstanding the diversity of skills and abilies each one of
us possesses.
Anybody can succeed and anyone can fail. To be great, we
must choose the path of greatness. Interesngly, majority of us
choose the path that leads to destrucon and sll expect life in
abundance. We must involve ourselves in construcve acvies
if we want to succeed. In a nutshell, we must invest in order for
us to get returns.
This book is wrien with the intenon of provoking you to
arise from the deep slumber you may be in and awaken the
great potenal within you. You probably have already resigned
to what life has oered you and have failed to realise that in you
lies a gold mine that is largely unexplored. I dare you to awaken
the giant within you.
Rise to the challenge and watch how endless opportunies
will ow into your life.
God did not create you to be average. He created you an
excellent achiever in everything that you seek to do.
By the me you get to the last word in this book, I am
convinced beyond doubt that you will have seen that you are the
success you have been looking for. By embracing the principles
outlined in this book, you will be saying yes to lasng success
in your life and bye to failure and mediocrity, which most of us
xviii
Fundamentals of Success
detest but live in, whether knowingly or unknowingly.
I believe it is me to remove the veil that has hidden your
limitless potenal for so long. Success is the real essence of life.
Failure is not a part of God’s plan for man. Each chapter in this
book is like a sign indicang the pathway to success. This is the
ulmate moment of your life to unleash your full potenal, to
enjoy and experience lasng success.
The book details in simple, yet deeply elaborate language,
some of the essenals of success. They will apply virtually
in any eld of life ranging from educaon, management and
administraon, development and even in church ministry. This
book is life-changing in all aspects and is a must read for all who
desire to succeed and reach the highest limits of whom they
were born to be.
1
Fundamentals of Success
Chapter 1
God, the Source and Sustainer of
Success
“Commit your works unto the Lord and thy
works shall be established.”
Proverbs 16:3.
N
o single person has ever succeeded without God. The
most outstanding achievements in human history are
principally guided by divine insights. The Bible says that unless
the Lord builds the house, then the builders labour in vain; and
unless the Lord guards the city, the sentries stand guard in vain.
Seeking divine insight into any human adventure is what
guarantees anyone success. We can never truly make it in life
if we do not give God the rst chance in whatever we set out
to do. We must make sure that we are rmly grounded on God.
Many may doubt this, but the presence of God makes the whole
dierence in our lives. Beyond our human wisdom, charisma
and intellect is the immeasurable might and ability that God
2
Fundamentals of Success
possesses. No door opened by God can be shut by human beings,
and no door that He has closed can be opened by anyone. One of
the greatest human rights luminaries who ever lived, Dr. Marn
Luther King, based most of his moving and excing speeches on
God’s intenons for humanity. He rmly believed that all that
is fored by God succeeds and lasts many years. He once said:
“I have held many things in my hands and I have lost all: but
whatever I have placed in God’s hands I sll possess.
The Lord promises victory to all who commit their plans
to Him. The Lord is a strong tower and those founded on Him
can never be shaken. With God, we can overcome all the
impossibilies in life.
All plans that are founded on God shall certainly nally come
to pass, because God shall take responsibility and ensure that
they do. Nothing can shake or uproot what is founded on the
Almighty.
He is the Immovable Mover. He moves things but He cannot
be moved.
Christ is the greatest fortress in the stormy waters of life, and
even when we can hardly see what lies before us, He takes it
upon Himself to take us to higher levels of achievement against
all odds.
My journey with God has been an evenul one. The towering
challenges that stood between me and my most treasured
dreams have enabled me to learn many lessons that prepared
me for the events that lay before me. In the most dicult and
impossible situaons of my life, God kept me going. My life is a
living tesmony that God is capable of turning our very desperate
situaons into moments of hope and a beer life.
3
Fundamentals of Success
Though not born with a silver spoon in my mouth, I refused
completely to resign to fate. I decided that God would be my
greatest source of inspiraon for every step I took. I derive my
energy and enthusiasm to confront life’s challenges from my
strong faith in God. I have a convicon beyond any doubt that
God makes everything possible when we remain in His plans.
I have veried that indeed the Lord is a strong tower that
fores us during tough mes. I am grateful for the far that
God has brought me. And this much I can aest: that for us to
succeed in anything God must be at the centre of it all and the
foundaon for anything we hope to accomplish. This is my own
tesmony of the journey I have walked with God. At one point,
I thought I would never be what I am today. Now, I look back at
how far God has brought me and I am amazed. When we are
founded on God, nothing can shake us; we shall be like Mount
Zion that can never be shaken. Those who have completely
trusted in God can confess that they have made progress in life
and experienced success in amazing proporons. Indeed, in God
success will exceed even our own expectaons, and will usually
be profound.
“The centrality of God in the philosophy of success cannot
be challenged by any authority.” Anonymous
Great scholars, rulers, doctors, businessmen and even
polical leaders have aributed their success to God.
The naonal slogan of the most powerful state in the world is
‘In God We Trust’. The Kenya Naonal Anthem is indeed a prayer
to God. One of the most celebrated American neurosurgeon,
4
Fundamentals of Success
Ben Carson, aributes his amazing success in the medical world
to his unfailing faith in God. While he contends with the fact
that good knowledge is important in handling medical cases,
he asserts that human insight has limits but God’s ability is not
limited.
Abraham Lincoln said, “My concern is not whether God is on
our side: my greatest concern is to be on God’s side for God is
always right.”
We fail many mes mainly because we have made wrong
choices and have not included God in our plans. It will be tragic
for us not to be on God’s side at every moment in life. It is beyond
my deepest convicon that with God, everything is possible.
In many instances of my life God has been my greatest
inspiraon. In my nal year in college, I realized that I could not
raise the requisite examinaon fee. It was one of the darkest
hours of my life. I had spent three years working so hard, but all
my eorts were about to go up in smoke. The winds of despair
and hopelessness hovered all over my life. I felt like leng it
go but something was telling me there was some hope. A few
days to the registraon deadline, I travelled to Kinangop to see
whether my father could do something about it.
On arrival, I sensed that there would be nothing forthcoming
because aer my long narraon, he had nothing to say. I then
proceeded to bed but to say the least, I did not sleep at all. I spent
the whole night praying for a miracle to salvage my academic
voyage. I knew God would intervene. I had come so near, yet
my target seemed so far. I woke up very early the following day
5
Fundamentals of Success
and headed for a place called Engineer, a distance of about
seven kilometers from my home. My mission was to talk to the
chairman of the Aberdare Farmers Bank. I had been aached
there during my industrial aachment and had established a
very good rapport with him and other members of sta.
I sought audience with him and laid bare my case. I told him
that I needed a loan which I would clear upon compleng my
studies. He looked at me in disbelief but I did not care about his
glare. He then instructed me to open an account and then go
back to college and wait for his word. I knew that my request
would be granted. Later that day, I travelled back to college,
courtesy of my cousin whom we share a name who gave me the
bus fare.
Aer several days, the college bursar received a call from the
bank that I was needed there. Without delay, I travelled back to
Kinangop. On arrival, I was given a cheque worth ten thousand
shillings (Ksh 10,000). This was enough to cover the examinaon
expenses and ooad some of my bloated fee balance. This, to
this day remains one of the greatest miracles ever in my life.
Truly God does not disappoint and even if He delays, He sll
shows up. Though my path has been very rough, my heart sll
delights in all the moments of my life. It is proof enough that the
Lord God has great plans for each one of us.
In the book of Psalms 37:23-24, the psalmist says, ‘If the
Lord delights in a man’s ways, he makes his steps rm, though
he may stumble, he will not fall for the Lord upholds his hands.’
This emphacally amplies the essence of God in dealing with
the challenges we face in the quest for excellence. When faced
with great adversity in our sojourn of life, the Lord will forfy us.
6
Fundamentals of Success
Psalms 46 also addresses this subject with great clarity. Verse
one says ‘The Lord is our refuge and strength, an ever-present
help in me of trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the
earth gives way into the heart of the sea.’ In spite of all those
predicaments slamming against God’s people, the psalmist in
verse 10 says, ’Be sll and know that I am God; I will be exalted
among the naons, I will be exalted in the earth. The Lord
Almighty is with us: the God of Jacob is our fortress.’
The essence of laying our foundaon in God comes out very
clearly. The word expressly outlines and catalogues what faces us
every day but concludes by saying that we should not be moved,
for God will forfy us in spite of the turbulent situaons we face.
This chapter would not be complete without relang the
events in the book of Kings Chapter 17. David, arguably one
of the most famous kings of Israel, trusted in God when faced
with great tasks. When he encountered Goliath, he invoked the
name of the most High God. He said that he would overcome his
adversary in the name of the Most High God.
Trusng God in any undertaking is not an opon.
David believed that though Goliath was a giant and was
experienced in war, he could sll be vanquished as he put his
trust in God. Many people perceived Goliath as being too big
to defeated; David however had a dierent view. Goliath was
too big a target to be missed. He was not inmidated by the
size, rather he saw the opportunity in the size. I call this the
DAVIDIC ATTITUDE, that is, the atude of seeing opportunies
in the challenges ahead of us. Our atude towards challenges
determines the altude we will get to in terms of achievement. I
7
Fundamentals of Success
do not know what is standing on your way to greatness. I want to
assure you however that you will make it with God and a Davidic
atude.
I have seen many people who trusted God in very dicult
mes and He created a way for them. When faced with great
tragedy, always remain sll and watch God work out the issue.
During the sojourn of the children of Israel from Egypt, God
parted the Red Sea for them to escape.
Egypans were certain that they would catch up with the
children of Israel but God appeared when least expected. God
watches over our every moment of agony, but He comes at His
appointed season. Friends, let us lay the foundaon of our set
goals on God. Let us not build our house on sinking sand. Before
we plan anything, let us involve God for greater insight and
understanding. Our prayers to God are never in vain for the Lord
is just and faithful in all His doings.
God is the foundaon and the centre of any known lasng
success. Lasng success glories God and brings happiness to
humanity. I want to remind you that if you miss this ingredient
in your quest for excellence, you have lost it all, however much
you may achieve. Solomon, the wisest man to have ever lived,
declared aer all he had achieved, ‘Vanity of vanies, says the
preacher, vanity of vanies; all is vanity.’
The presence of God in our achievements brings great
sasfacon. If we achieve all we can in life and ensure that
we honour God in every aspect of it, we shall be the happiest
people ever. I am convinced that in God lies lasng success. The
scienc and technological innovaons that we see today would
not have been there without human existence, whose fountain
8
Fundamentals of Success
of all global advancement and creavity in the world is God
Himself. The Bible says ‘Commit thy works and unto the Lord,
and thy thoughts shall be established.’
Trusng God completely is saying yes to lasng success. This
is evidenced by the many highly successful individuals, learning
instuons and organisatons that have placed God at the centre
of their daily operaons, and are keen to commit every task
they undertake to God. The impact upon the society in all that is
done leaves an indelible mark and in the process, God is gloried
wherever these people are found.
We are all marked by God for greatness but we must
keep walking along the path of greatness. This is the greatest
guarantee we have for success.
9
Fundamentals of Success
Chapter 2
Taking Responsibility of your
Situaons
“What we call our desny is truly our character and that
character can be altered. The knowledge that we are
responsible for our acons and atudes does not need
to be discouraging, because it also means that we are
free to change this desny.”
Anaïs Nin, The Diary Of Anaïs Nin, Vol. 1: 1931-1934
F
or many of us, success has been elusive for a long me
and we have failed to accept the responsibility for our
circumstances. We apporon blame to those surrounding us. It
is our convicon that their acons have made us what we are.
We have catalogues of endless reasons why we are where we
are today or why we are who we are. This juscaon syndrome
demonstrated by most of us has caused us to remain in the
quagmire of failure and hopelessness.
10
Fundamentals of Success
For success to be our poron, we must stop jusfying why
we have failed. Rather, we must nd reasons why we should
succeed. Our inability to change and respond to the dynamics of
life is what stops most of us from becoming successful.
“In twenty years from now, you will be disappointed by the
things that you did not do than by the ones you did. So throw
o the bowline. Catch the trade winds in your sail. Explore!
Dream!
Discover.” - Mark Twain
Do not just sit there languishing and crying about your
current circumstances. Do something to change the course of
history in your life. There is beauty in the horizon. Even when
you cannot see the stars in a cloudy night, know that they are
sll there: the stars are shining brighter than ever. You are sll a
star in spite of what you are feeling now.
Tomorrow, the clouds hovering over your life will fade and
you will shine again, but keep dreaming at all mes.
I have heard many people giving all manner of excuses why
they never made it in life. Some will say they lost their parents
while they were very young but I beg to disagree with them. The
late Nelson Mandela, the legendary icon of freedom struggle in
South Africa lost both parents at a very tender age but rose to
become who he was in the world. His iconic inuence transcends
connental boundaries. He weathered the winds of adversity
and became a legend. He had a good reason not to succeed but
he turned his grim situaon into a movaon.
A similar fate also befell Mzee Jomo Kenyaa, the rst
11
Fundamentals of Success
president of Kenya. His parents passed on even before he reached
school-going age. He never looked back but took the challenges
before him head on. The two leaders were incarcerated by the
colonial rulers for their relentless passion to free their people
from the yoke and shackles of colonialism. Their humbling
experiences in the early years of their lives never dampened
their ghng spirit.
When we don’t give ourselves reasons to fail then we choose
success. Stop whining from your current predicament. Swing into
acon and you will see the dierence. Do not seek sympathy
from people because of what you are going through; rather look
for a way of geng yourself out of it. Lasng success mainly
stems out of our acon. If you lose your job today, do not blame
anybody. Look for possible re exits. There could be something
beer that you could do which would be more rewarding than
your former engagement.
If no soluon is forthcoming, then look back; you may realise
that you did not probably plan for such an eventuality. You
lacked the insight into the future. What about the network of
friends which you had built for years? Could it be of any help?
At that stage you might realise that you shoulder the greatest
responsibility for the current state of aairs in your life. Instead of
spending all your me worrying about the missed opportunies,
look for many others that are staring at you waing for your
acon.
Grab them instantly and give yourself a chance to succeed.
Wishing and desiring to succeed is one thing but it must be
accompanied by decisive acons. Success is a combinaon of
Acon-packed thoughts.
12
Fundamentals of Success
Aer my high school educaon, I realised that I had been
locked out of the group that was to join the university. It really hit
me hard, especially when I realised that all my high school friends
had made it to the University. I agonised over the situaon for
some me. I really wanted to further my educaon and change
the de of events in my life. I was living with my mother who was
jobless. I was her last hope if things were to change in her life.
Aer a long struggle within myself, I decided to take charge and
the responsibility over my situaon. I could not shi the blame
to my parents, who for one reason or another had failed to keep
me in school for lack of school fees.
I resolved to do something drascally. I took it upon myself
to revive my dream. The situaon was worse than desperate
since no one could nance my schooling. I was trapped between
a rock and a hard place but I was not about to give up. I was
well aware that I was sll the A-student I was originally. I was
completely convinced and condent that I would salvage my
dreams. My star had to shine again no maer what. I was ready
to pay the price to see my dream come true. I secured myself
a job as a casual worker at a local catholic mission where I did
manual jobs, especially masonry.
This way, I was able to supplement the lile I got from
my father to pursue a course in Co-operave Banking and
Management. My college days were even worse than those in
high school, but I managed to squeeze through. Every challenge
that came my way red my will power to a higher level. I viewed
them as step in a staircase to the land of super achievers.
Aer college, I was oered a job at local rural bank on
temporary basis but I soon le in a hu. I felt greatly shortchanged
13
Fundamentals of Success
since I was one of the most qualied and producve workers,
but the least paid.
Aer this, I travelled to my rural home in Ol-joro-orok. On
arrival, I found the place desolate and deserted. My parents
had separated and my mum had le home. I was determined
to bring the place back to life. I wanted to rehabilitate the place
and then bring my mother back home. I tried some farming with
very lile success. I then sought for a job at Kasuku Academy
several mes without success. Finally, through the eort of one
Kiboi Wachang’a, I got one. This is where my illustrious career
began. Under the tutelage of Mr. Mbogo, I grew from strength
to strength, becoming the best in the whole school in all the
subjects I was teaching. Nobody could match my pace and depth
of knowledge. I baed many with my mastery and rare burning
desire to succeed.
In all the interviews I did, I was always the best, though each
me I was le out of prospecve posions. Yet, I did not give up.
I knew that given a chance, I would become the best teacher.
Since then, I took charge of every event in my life. I knew that
if things were to change in my life for the beer, it was my
responsibility.
Since then, I have been declared the best teacher in Kenya
for social studies for thirteen years unl I le my former
employer to start my own school, Lakewood. I am also an
accomplished author with Moran East Africa. I have wrien a
Social Studies book for Class 4 which has been approved by the
Ministry of Educaon through the Kenya Instute of Curriculum
Development. I have also authored Social Studies books with
Mentor Publishing Company.
14
Fundamentals of Success
Spring the in the desert - Lakewood School
Lakewood School opened its doors on 4
th
January 2010 with
a populaon of thirty pupils; some of the classes had just one
pupil. This did not dampen the spirit of my team. We had a
strong resolve of realising our mission; to be the global leader in
the provision of quality, aordable and holisc educaon. With
this, we soldiered on.
Soon, our school became very popular in our neighborhood,
with a majority of the parents in the surrounding making it their
school of choice. The growth was astronomical; we currently
have about 3,000 students, and sll growing. The Lord has been
so gracious to me and I feel that I have just started my journey
to stardom. I know that no man is rich enough to buy his past,
but we are all wealthy enough to redeem our past through our
present. However, we must start by accepng responsibility;
then our journey of success will begin. The moment you stop
complaining and start taking responsibility in your life, great
doors will start opening for you. Take responsibility and you will
see the dierence.
“Nothing is predesned. The obstacles of our past become
gateways that lead us to new seasons in life.” Ralph Blum
I saw every barrier as a stepping stone, I never skipped any
of them; instead I stepped on them hard and sprang up to the
next unl I found myself on the ulmate point. I broke every
hurdle lying on my path with successful blows of hope and life
changing iniaves that helped me to overcome.
You have to be strong to pull through every season of life.
The dry spell does not last, the rains will sll come with its ne
dings. Without seasons, life would lose meaning. Do not be
15
Fundamentals of Success
pre-occupied with the dark night, for it is always followed by a
bright daylight.
That revelaon should be our never-failing propeller to our
highly placed desny of history makers. It is your me to y to
the citadel and fountain of endless success.
We must never let opportunies slip through our ngers;
this might be our only me that we shall ever have to reign over
failure and disbelief.
“What we call our desny is truly our character and that
character can be altered. The knowledge that we are responsible
for our acons and atudes does not need to be discouraging,
because it also means that we are free to change this desny.
One is not in bondage to the past, which has shaped our
feelings, or to race, inheritance or back ground. All this can be
altered if we have the courage to examine how it formed us.
We can alter the chemistry, provided we have the courage to
dissect the elements.” Anaïs Nin, The Diary Of Anaïs Nin, Vol. 1:
1931-1934
16
Fundamentals of Success
Chapter 3
Planning
“When you establish a desnaon by dening what
you want, then take physical acon by making
choices that move you towards that desnaon, the
possibility for success is limitless and arrival at the
desnaon is inevitable.”
Steve Maraboli
I
n many instances, most of us have lost lifeme opportunies
due to our refusal to plan. One indicator of our desire to
succeed is planning for what we are doing. Planning is embracing
success from the onset of any task.
It is in order for any country, organisaon or person to plan
strategically for the intended achievements. Failure to plan is
planning to fail. Proper planning is of paramount importance in
the achievement of success. Successful naons of the world are
known to have craed the best and most realisc development
blue prints.
17
Fundamentals of Success
For companies and educaonal instuons, drawing up
service charters will be of great use. It is important to have a
very clear vision of where one wants to be. Good organisaonal
development plans are roadmaps to excellence. Crical tasks in
life demand for crical planning. The vision should be clear and
understandable by all the team members. Adequate me should
be spent in ensuring that everyone in the team knows what the
organisaon intends to achieve.
The execuon plan should be clear, with a reasonable
me frame, to avoid ad hoc execuon. Team members should
understand the rules of the game and each should understand
what is expected of him or her. This will help to boost the
condence among the team members. It also provides them
with ample me to reinforce the task execuon capacity in
readiness for takeo. Guess work in plan execuon is a potenal
cause of failure.
It will be a tragedy for anybody to think that he can succeed
without planning. Planning provides a team with foresight in
driving the vision of an organizaon. It assists in the idencaon
of the important tasks, the skills and the experse required.
Put these down in wring. Match each of them with your
personnel. Assign the respecve tasks to the best suited member
in the workforce. Do this early enough and inform them in
advance. Are they psychologically ready for the challenge? Do
they have reservaons? Assess all these aspects so you can
guarantee success in the execuon of the task.
Remember, the state of mind of those involved is an important
pillar for success. Napoleon Bonaparte used to tell his soldiers
that they must win the bale in the mind before going to the
18
Fundamentals of Success
bale eld. This underscores the signicance of the percepon
we have towards the tasks that are ahead of us. Our level of
condence at the work place determines our performance. If
we think we can we win, and if we think we can’t we lose. Both
percepons are right and can come to pass for the individual.
Whatever you plan, have a fall back plan
Another important area that requires a lot of aenon is
planning for conngencies. These are unplanned challenges that
might appear along the way. There should always be a fall back
plan for you in case you encounter trouble.
It is common to encounter dicules in many organisaons,
countries or even social groups. In For instance. You may have a
lead engineer for a major construcon project. But it is prudent
to have an assistant Engineer in case anything happens and the
lead Engineer is unable to nish the project.
If you are seng up an industry, you could have several
suppliers of the raw materials. This will guarantee you of
connued operaons if the rst supplier fails to meet his
obligaon. The world might not give you a chance to succeed but
you must give yourself that chance. Beware that in any human
endeavour, there are always the unexpected challenges. These
are likely to cause us not achieve our set goals. We must not shy
away from changing our game plan if it is going to ensure that
we succeed.
The best achievers in life have invested many hours,
painstakingly planning for their mission. Great teachers and
trainers plan meculously for their lessons. This enables them to
get the best results. As an entrepreneur, it has taken me a great
19
Fundamentals of Success
deal of planning to be where I am today. I am an end product
of a shrewd planning process. Do not be in hurry to start your
journey to success, ensure that you have what it takes.
Do not start a war when you already know from the onset
you will lose.
Aer becoming the Chancellor of Germany in 1933, Adolf
Hitler planned to make Germany the greatest war machine of
its me and control Europe. He embarked on an ambious re-
armament programme where massive invenons were made. He
craed some of the most deadly water vessels like submarines
to guarantee the Germans victory in the war. Heavy ground
military equipment was also made. This he made long before
triggering the Second World War. For the Germans, it had to be a
win-win situaon. They did not have an opon of defeat in their
preparaon. It took the combined eort of a dozen Allied Forces
to crush the dream.
Proper planning boosts the condence of the team.
For victory to come our way, we must go out and plan. Our
vision should be clear and our desnaon even clearer. No one
can get lost if he does not know where he is going. Our vision will
mark the farthest we can go.
Finally, planning is Biblical. In the book of Genesis, God had a
plan for creaon. He had a day set aside for each parcular task.
To save mankind, He had a plan. Christ was to be born, raised
and nally die for our sins. For salvaon to be complete, Christ
had to rise from death. At every stage we see events unfold,
guaranteeing man eternal life.
It is part of the divine order that we plan for everything we
20
Fundamentals of Success
wish to undertake.
God’s plan to take the children of Israel from Egypt was
another masterpiece in its own class. The plan starts taking shape
with the birth of Moses and consequently, he is discovered at
the banks of the river by the princess. At mes, dangerous and
frightening things happen in the course of execung a plan. This
does not mean that we are on the wrong track. It means we
are humans. It is also meant to grow our faith. It means that
no maer how bad things become, there is hope for a beer
tomorrow.
Moses grew up at Pharaoh’s residence. Pharaoh was one of
the greatest enemies of the Jewish naon. As an organisaon,
do not worry about your competors. You will succeed amid
great challenges if you keep going and refuse to give up. The
nine plagues brought moments of great anxiety for Moses and
the children of Israel, but they were a part of the design of
God. Through them, the supernatural manifestaon of God was
witnessed by all. At the Red Sea, God had a plan for the looming
crisis. There is no event in this story which was an accident. Let
us therefore not trivialise planning for God Himself made plans
before execung them.
Assembling teams
Henry Ford, the founder of the legendary American
automobile, was a great believer in teamwork. He believed
that the nest human accomplishment would not be possible
without a blending of dierent talents and gis.
Ford believed that coming together is the beginning, keeping
together the progress, and working together the success.
21
Fundamentals of Success
Teamwork is what enables teams to run through one season
to another, winning trophies. In an organisaon, everybody is
important but not as important as the whole team.
No general can ever embark on a war path before assembling
an army. One can never be a general without soldiers. The
most remarkable business set up is as a result of the massive
investments in the quality of teams that are charged with
delivering the company’s goals and aspiraons. My many years
of administrave work in schools have taught me that no maer
how good I am, I cannot make it without capable teachers. I
have worked with some of the best teachers in this country. We
have sat and shared ideas in the same sta room. I have learnt
over the years the importance of building strong groups with a
water-ght teamwork.
In my current staon of work where I am the Director of
Studies and Curriculum Implementaon, I have decided to
travel along the same path. As a core ingredient of success and
excellence, I have deliberately sought the services of the best
teachers in this country. Mr. Maloba who has been the best in
Kiswahili in K.C.P.E for many years is a member of our sta. That
team is headed by Mr. Nyaga, an 16 Fundamentals of Success
able, gied and talented teacher in that area. We have also
brought on board able and talented Mathemacs, Science, Social
Studies and English teachers. The pracce of having the best in
the team is rmly imprinted in my heart. I strongly believe that
eecng it assures me success in all I do. This way I am able to
ght o failure. With such a gied team, we shall be able to set
the benchmark for others.
Having idened the tasks to be carried out, it is imperave
22
Fundamentals of Success
to carefully select a team to make your dream a reality. If this is
not done, the task execuon may fail. The goals and aspiraons
of a rm are accomplished by the sta. We can draw a great
lesson from our Lord Jesus Christ. What did he do before he
started his ministry? He started by recruing a team for the
great mission. He called them the twelve disciples. Though
He was God, Jesus appreciated that His mission could not be
accomplished without involving a team. Even before He could
start anything, he ensured that he had the right team in place.
All organisaons purposing to succeed must emulate Christ.
Individuals must also embrace planning for them to be successful.
Many dreams have failed to see the light of the day because this
aspect was overlooked. It does not maer how good the plan is.
It must be made a reality by the right people. There is no
need of invesng billions of shillings and then entrusng the
plans in the hands of the wrong people. One would rather delay
the launch of a major project rather than do it to fail.
When picking the team, highlight the tasks ahead. Match
them against the skill needed. It would be necessary to put this
down in wring. In other words ensure you know what you will
be looking for during the interview. Aer this has been done,
gather a highly competent team to interview the selecon of the
team members. At this stage, involving professional bodies that
specialize in this will increase the chances of success. Though
the recruitment rm has to conduct the exercise independently,
take me to let them know your expectaons. Let them clearly
understand the business which your team will be undertaking.
The rm carrying out this exercise must do the selecon purely
on merit. This is one of the cardinal principles in building the
23
Fundamentals of Success
team.
This is how companies are able to acquire excellent teams.
When the team is in place, a leader or the leaders must be selected
and dues assigned to each of them. Only those outstanding in
skill and experience should be given such responsibilies. It is
hard for an organisaon to do well if it does not have clearly
dened leadership.
In today’s ever-compeve global arena, only the nest
brains should be tasked with driving the aims and aspiraons of
the organisaon. The secret behind the amazing success of blue-
chip companies lies in the sharp minds at their highest echelons.
These people have unrivalled foresight to steer the company
to the right direcon. They know when to make a move and
when to remain sll. They are hawk-eyed; they see opportunies
where nobody sees them. Such people are rare in a team; they
are a gem and an invaluable asset to the rm. In schools, the
level of competence of the sta makes a big dierence. The best
learning instuons worldwide are known to have aracted the
creme de la creme of the academic world. Harvard, Cambridge,
Stanford, Yale and Oxford among others have the world’s best
in their facules. Anyone who is average cannot t in these
instuons. They have aained their place and disncons as a
result of having the best teams.
Nearer home, the best performing schools are run and
managed by very shrewd and no nonsense educaonists who
have no room for second posion. These people are vastly gied
and talented in understanding academic dynamics.
The team in these schools will only be contented with the
top spot.
24
Fundamentals of Success
It is important to note that nobody can make history by
walking along the charted courses. We must venture into the
virgin froners in the realm of human adventure. We must dare
to dream the undreamt for us to make history. We must go for
number one and not number two. Aer a compeon, no one
remembers number two. It is quite evident that the tenacity and
the capacity of the team plays a crical role in the successful
execuon of a task. Do not gamble with your life, educaon,
country or investment. Take me to set up a team that will grow
your seed of achievement into reality.
25
Fundamentals of Success
Chapter 4
Assessing the Capability of the
Team
“Teamwork is the fuel that allows common people
to aain uncommon results.”
Andrew Carnegie
M
any may think that having the team in place is all that
one needs to be successful, but this is not the case. It is
advisable that each member of the team goes through another
stage of scruny. This may bring out some grey areas that were
not detected in the inial recruitment process.
Capacity building for team members can be conducted to
make them beer prepared for the maiden project take o.
This is a common pracce in life. Aeroplanes usually go through
roune checks before takeo. This does not mean that they are
defecve. The roune checks are for the purposes of ascertaining
that the aircra is in the best state. Ignoring such simple but very
vital procedures can be disastrous. I must say that this should be
done within the organisaon. By doing this, the management
is able to know the strengths and the weaknesses of the team.
26
Fundamentals of Success
Note that this is not another recruitment exercise; it is mainly
meant to strengthen the team.
It is sad to note that a lot of mes, we discover the deciency
of skills among our sta aer they have made serious blunders
at the place of work. We make our organisaons training schools
for incompetent sta. Individuals should take me to establish
whether they have what it takes to carry out the assignments
ahead of them. This will save a great deal of me and resources.
It is also not advisable to venture into businesses which we are
not conversant with. We may end up losing a fortune in the
course of doing this.
When we are aware of our weak areas, we are able to take
the right measures to correct ourselves. Tough decisions have to
be made at this stage. Massive resources might be required to
improve our shortcomings.
This will help us to avoid failure and arrive at the cradle of
success. It is important that we assure ourselves of success by
ascertaining that the team we have assembled will transform
our agenda as individuals, companies or naons to the best
success stories ever.
Knowing how strong or weak a team is is a major leap towards
our desired desny. In fact, this forms the basis of success for any
individual or organisaon. People who are not aware of their
strong and weak points more oen than not do not succeed. A
student preparing for an important examinaon must idenfy
the areas that require special aenon. He must then work on
them around the clock to reinforce his capacity in knowledge
and skill to face the examinaon. One sure way of succeeding is
having the zeal and the capacity to execute a task. Starng on a
journey for which you have not prepared is like saying a big yes
to failure. Do not be in a hurry. Ensure that you have the capacity
to win before beginning the journey.
27
Fundamentals of Success
Chapter 5
Inducon and Capacity Building
“No one can succeed on his own, even the most gied
and talented people. The world’s best footballer cannot
win a game on his own. He needs to be fed with the ball
by others. Our strength increases when we have people
supporng us.”
Anonymous
I
t will be good to only start your journey when you are sure
that every member of the team is in touch with each other
and company aspiraons. Discomfort in any of the members
may fail you.
Team members should be helped to understand the way the
systems operate. This underscores why orientaon is important.
It enables incoming sta to jell well with the exisng, incorporang
them suciently to improve the chances of success.
When this has been done as required, then success becomes
28
Fundamentals of Success
inevitable. Only people with the necessary skills will help the
company to succeed. Hence, deliberate eort must be made to
equip the team members with knowledge to make them assets
and not liabilies. Individuals should also arm themselves with
the skills and informaon to enable them succeed. Inducon is
necessary because it helps those involved to master the ropes. It
insulates the goals and aspiraons set against potenal pialls.
Capacity building is one of the most eecve ways of
empowering sta. For any rm or naon, the capacity to succeed
is strengthened by having a robust and greatly-gied team. The
possibility of success can be punctured when an incompetent
team is running the show.
As a student, insucient and poor preparaon is a recipe
for academic failure. Students must fully build their capacity to
face examinaons with reasonable ease. They must si through
books and previous exam papers to expose themselves to the
style and trend in which quesons are set.
The content and the areas to be covered will be dependent
on the results of the assessment exercise. During inducon,
the members of the team should be given me to interact with
experts in their respecve areas of specialisaon. They are also
able to understand the philosophy of the organisaon and its
expectaons.
This exercise is also a team-building iniave. Some of the
new people in your organisaon may be meeng for the rst
me. They thus need to understand one another at a personal
level in order for water-ght teamwork to become a reality. New
members of the team can then be orientated on the operaons
of the rm.
29
Fundamentals of Success
In any organisaon, nobody should see themselves as more
important than others. Blending diverse skills in an organisaon
produces excellent results. Making new sta feel wanted and
valued unlocks their potenal. It eliminates fear of working in a
new environment. It peels the veil of a stranger from the face of
new personnel. It enables them to jell well with the older sta.
When in a new environment, one would need a friend to hold
his hand and help him understand the surrounding and how the
systems work. Such people assist us to avoid trouble spots that
may pose as potenal dangers to our progress.
With the required skills and knowledge in life, success is
actualized but without them it becomes an illusion and a mirage.
30
Fundamentals of Success
Chapter 6
The Team Spirit
“Coming together is a beginning. Keeping
together is progress. Working together is success.”
Henry Ford
T
his is the desire and the zeal for workers in a rm to work
together. The members look at achievement or failure
collecvely. They push the company’s or country’s goals as a
team. They view one another as pillars of support. ‘United we
stand and divided we fall’ is their rm convicon. Those who
undermine this spirit are in most cases removed from the team,
for harmony is of great essence if the desired results are to be
realised.
The unity of purpose among sta should be jealously guarded
by those in charge. Individuals should look out for people who
will assist them unleash the untapped potenal in them. In
instuons of learning, students should be trained on teamwork.
No one should be allowed to wreck a team from within. We
31
Fundamentals of Success
should be weary of the Trojan horse; the enemy within. Lasng
success is only possible where everyone sees their strength in
their diversity instead of looking at it as a reason to fail.
Melng point of success
Team work is the melng point of success in the business
world. The big team should be broken into smaller teams. Each
of them should have events revolving around their leader. The
mother team remains the nucleus of the company’s acvies.
We should know that the success of a team is dependent on the
success of the individual team members. If the members fail to
hit their targets in their teams, then the overall organisaonal
goal will fail.
Each sta member should make it a priority to put their best
foot forward in their tasks. Naonals of any country must also
work towards realising the set development milestones of their
country.
The teams are the epicenter of the success of our countries
and organisaons. Therefore, we must mobilise and harness the
crical experse needed to midwife our set goals successfully.
There must be integrated eort to maintain the momentum.
For crical milestones in the country’s journey of development
to be achieved, the experse of the cizens is of paramount
importance. Cizens must work together for their country.
Success and failure in a team is the responsibility of all members,
therefore everyone must promote the team spirit if they want to
succeed.
32
Fundamentals of Success
Chapter 7
The Power of Focus
“No one can succeed without focus no maer how
talented and gied he is. Lack of focus can be fatal to
our lives and our dreams. Our eyes and minds must
remain trained on our coveted prize: what we desire to
be and to achieve.”
Anonymous
F
ocus generally entails the ability to constantly concentrate
and x aenon on the ulmate task. It is important for
any team to remain faithful to its original calling. Entrepreneurs
should not involve themselves in what would classify them as
gamblers. If any investment decision is to be made outside the
core business, then one should be sure that he is going to succeed.
In the long run, this success should assist the entrepreneur in
realising the primary goals.
As a student, one’s mind and synergies should be channeled
towards studies. Distracted aenon gives poor academic results.
33
Fundamentals of Success
Great concentraon is also required in most sports. Missing the
focus for even a hundredth of a second in an Olympic race might
be very costly, even to the fastest runner. If we value excellence,
we shall get it. We shall be bold and courageous enough to pay
its price. Winners train their eyes on the tape ahead and not
the jeers. Many of us miss our moments in life because we lose
focus. The power of focus is further fored by the consistency
of thought towards the task. For successful accomplishment of
dues assigned, a hundred percent concentraon is demanded
and required.
In many organisaons, people fail to focus on the unifying
aspects; rather, they focus on those that divide them. Focus
should be on what builds and not on what destroys. Top
management should not relent in holding meengs to remind
the team members of their desnaon. Repeon is the mother
of learning. Thus, we must remind ourselves on a daily basis of
our primary duty - to give the best shot in whatever we do. It
is also advisable to complete the assigned tasks one at a me.
One could be the best cook, but if she tries to do several other
things as she cooks, she may not end up with the best food.
Her experse will be of no use. Focus here becomes a primary
ingredient.
The best surgeon temporarily gets cut o from the world in
the operang theatre. This is done to safeguard focus. Even if
the worst tragedy happens to those very dear to him, he cannot
be told at the me he is carrying out an important surgery.
As a teacher over many years, I have seen very bright students
failing because of lack of focus. These students hardly sele in
class or listen to their teachers and this causes them to miss
34
Fundamentals of Success
very important concepts in what is being taught. Others, due
to lack of focus miss obvious quesons in examinaons. They
do not pay aenon to the instrucons given by the examiners.
Average students who have great focus have the ability to
produce excellent results.
Lack of focus can even cost us our lives. Take the case of an
experienced driver on a highway. To remain on his lane, he must
not aend to anything else and must remain focused. Aending
to several other things as he drives can cause death. Thus, focus
is central in the pursuit of success.
If you ask me how I have managed to be the best teacher
naonally in my subjects for many years, I will admit that my
focus towards what is expected of me has been tremendous and
unwavering. I even dedicated my weekends to my students. I
focused on bringing the best out of them. For over een years
now, I have had my eyes trained on excellence in educaon. This
way, I have managed to maintain very high standards of teaching.
My achievements this far are proof of the power of focus.
It does not maer how brilliant you are. If you defy this
rule, I assure you that you will not achieve much. It is painful to
miss on your targets in life, not because you are incapable, but
because you lack the sense of direcon and focus. Our brilliance,
physical strength, experience and great skill will only give the
desired results if directed at a single task at a me.
35
Fundamentals of Success
Chapter 8
Outrunning our Competors
"Compeon is not only the basis of protecon
to the consumer, but is the incenve to progress."
Herbert Hoover
I
t will be ignorant of us not to appreciate that we are living
in a very compeve global arena. Persons, naons and
corporate bodies are in a constant race trying to outwit one
another to be the global leaders in various spheres of life.
Nobody is exempted from compeon, whether weak or strong,
rich or poor, not even animals. We are all compeng for survival.
We need to appreciate that we are living in a very compeve
world in every aspect. At the dawn of every day, the predators
of the beauful African landscape are usually greeted with two
opons, to choose survival or exncon. They have to choose
to sprint to life or lie down in death. They must beat their prey
in speed and precision or contend with death. On the other
hand the zebras, gazelles and the wildebeest must outsprint the
36
Fundamentals of Success
hunters to have a chance to live another day.
In equal measure, man has at every stage of life competed
for survival. It is imperave for all those who desire to excel to
know that we must be beer planners and executors. We must
be way much beer than our competors at every level.
In this era of globalisaon, we need to realise that our way
of doing things should be top notch. We must y higher than
our perceived and real competors. In the race for excellence,
only those who do it the best succeed; survival is only for the
est. The world remains a theatre of cut-throat compeon.
A manufacturer, for instance, should produce what sases the
consumer best for his business to remain aoat. His sta should
be dynamic and innovave to be able to weather the turbulent
economic environment. Consumers will only be content with
what best meets their expectaons.
As soon as they feel their expectaons are not being met,
they start looking for the other opons.
Our daily challenges present another force of compeon.
They usually give our primary competors an edge over us and
reduce our chances of success. Many tasks fail because this
hidden piall is not dealt with. A lot of aenon is given to what
we perceive as obvious challenges. Managers, individuals and
even naons should know that this is a potenal threat to the
goals of an organisaon. It is good to address what the other
people and other organisaons are doing, but also concentrate
on dealing with the unique challenges that face us.
This will give you a vantage point over others. It will enable
you to run faster towards the realisaon of your set goals.
Internal wrangles in an organisaon, disregarding the welfare of
37
Fundamentals of Success
sta and lack of movaon also greatly wrecks the chances of
success in a rm. There may be many other pialls based on the
environment you are operang in.
Our goal every day should be to outwit our competors in
every way. We must lead as the others follow. Purpose to pioneer
in your eld by seng new standards of operaon, markeng
and producon. Do not sele for average, always dream big.
Relevance and victory are hard won aributes.
It is absurd to imagine that we can be number two and make
history, thus we must purpose to be the best in all we do. If we
remain forever conscious that we are in a race where we hold
the power of choice in our hands to either be the rst or the last,
then failing will be the last event in our lives.
38
Fundamentals of Success
Chapter 9
Resilience
“The hard knocks we receive in life are not
meant to destroy us but to rene us into what we
are desned to be. They are a part of the design
of God to unmask the greatness that is in us. Thus,
do not fear them, bear them with courage and
great hope for the future.”
Anonymous
L
ife is like a book with many chapters: some detail tragedies
and failures while others document episodes of triumph
and resounding victories. Others are dull and talk of the ordinary
events yet others are intensely fascinang and thrilling. Our lives
will always be punctuated and nkered with all these but we
should never succumb to the negave events. The secret lies in
never giving up in spite of the roughness of the path along which
we are travelling. We should develop shock absorbers to stand
the strain during the bumpy rides in life.
39
Fundamentals of Success
“Times of great calamity and confusion have been
producve for the greatest minds. The purest ore is produced
from the hoest furnace, and the brightest thunderbolt is
elicited by the darkest storms.” Charles Caleb Colton
By remaining resilient and strong throughout the trying
moments, we emerge more rened to face tomorrow’s dues.
Our epic journey to success will at mes be punctuated by
interludes of despair and stressing moments. That is when we
experience the greatest growth. The beauty of any land lies in
the mountains and scaered hills across the plains and valleys.
Climbing these hills exes our muscles, which makes them
stronger, while the at areas give the muscles me to relax.
We should not get stuck on the dull page or quit on the rough
chapters. Winners are men and women of immense faith.
They will keep ipping the pages fully convinced that the most
excing chapters lie ahead of them. Their eyes are always xed
on the goals and are not easily distracted. They are propelled by
the desire for the best in all circumstances. They will always keep
ghng. They will always say to themselves “With God all things
are possible.”
Make a deliberate eort to break from the past. Sr the giant
in you into acon towards the realisaon of your divine desny.
The fact that nothing seems to work today does not mean that
tomorrow it will not work. Hang in there a lile bit longer because
God has greater things in store for you. Do not be inmidated
by the size and magnitude of the challenges staring at you. Use
them as opportunies to improve your problem-solving skills.
A few years ago at the foothills of the Aberdares lived a young
40
Fundamentals of Success
man. He was faced with great dicules. His mother could
hardly place a meal for the family on the table. They were living
from hand to mouth. Clothing was a problem. The only decent
clothing available to him was the school uniform, which was
also the only clothing suitable to go to church with. To imagine
a beer life for the family was an illusion; too big a dream to
conceive. They lived each day at a me hoping that one day, God
would intervene and change this for the beer.
On a normal day, the young man would rise early and look
for manual jobs to supplement his mother’s eorts. This young
man, however, had a deep burning desire for a beer life for
himself and his brothers, sister and mother. This young man
was a ghter, and in spite of the great hurdles, he soldiered on
knowing that he would go ahead to win inspite of all he was up
against. He never blamed anybody for his circumstances. He did
not look for somebody to blame but he looked for a way out
of that abyss of failure and desperaon. Aer some me, the
young man was spoed and recruited by one of the local schools
as a teacher. The rst assignment was to teach Kiswahili, and on
the second day, he was moved to class eight to teach Business
Studies, GHC and English. Aer some me, he had established
himself as one of the leading teachers in the respecve subjects.
For many years, his class was the best countrywide in the naonal
examinaons. He had the tenacity of a bull dog in pursuing his
dreams. Things were tough but he was tougher.
Even when no one believed in him, he believed in himself.
When his age mates were giving up, he fought on. He had a
never-give-up mentality.
Today, the young man in our story is one of the most promising
41
Fundamentals of Success
entrepreneurs in the country. He runs one of the fastest growing
schools in the country together with his long me friends. He
is a leading educaon consultant in Nairobi and a great author.
He has taught some of the best brains in this country with some
of them studying in some of the best universies globally like
Harvard and Columbia State University in the United State of
America. Others are doctors, engineers, pilots and lawyers. This
story outlines the life of the author of this book. It is a real story.
I refused to have failure describe me. I chose victory rather than
loss. I paid the high price for my coveted dream of being all I can
be. I am not yet done; I am raring to go.
Most of us resign to fate. We lose the condence and hope
of a beer tomorrow. Our eyes are ever on the closed doors, and
this keeps us from seeing the many opened doors around us.
It does not maer how hard the knocks you have received
are, give yourself a chance to succeed.
The darkest hour is the nearest hour to dawn and the crying
may endure for the night but joy will come in the morning. The
fact that you have not arrived today does not mean you will
never arrive. It means that God has a more aracve desnaon
for you.
The ghng spirit in us majorly contributes to our success.
What do you do with the many discouragements that come
your way in your life? Do you allow them to put out the re and
bravado of opmism in you or do they spur you to acon? Do
not pay aenon to everything that people say.
Once there was a race where only frogs were allowed to
parcipate. Frogs from all walks of life registered for the race. They
were to run up a stair case to the tower of a tall building. When
42
Fundamentals of Success
all was set, the race started. The competors kept on recounng
to each other how red they were. As they shared, they agreed
to drop o as the tower was too high to be conquered. Others
gave up due to the jeers and laughter from the spectators.
One frog however, the weakest of them all kept moving up
towards the tower. At long last, he was declared victorious out
of the many that had entered the compeon.
Many wondered how the frail creature did the unimaginable.
Later on, it was discovered that the frog was deaf. This meant
that nobody could have distracted him from his dream by talking
to him.
Somemes you need to keep moving inspite of what people
say. Just walk towards the desny that God has appointed for
you, for the Lord God has the last word. Keep walking and trusng
God at every stage. You can also change the status quo in your
life by training yourself to hang on no maer what, knowing that
every problem has a soluon.
If you give up, you lose the war completely but if you ght
on, you are on the road to celebrity status since you give yourself
a chance to win. Never give up! Never give up! You were born
to win.
Embrace the winning atude since nothing can break it. The
dierence between successful people and the unsuccessful is not
lack of strength or lack of knowledge, but lack of the will. Lasng
success is passion-driven. Successful people see possibility
and not impossibility in every situaon. Their will to conquer
is usually prolic and unbeatable. Nothing should quench our
thirst for excellence. It is me we started believing in ourselves.
We must bolster our faith in our abilies, that with them we can
43
Fundamentals of Success
sll conquer the world. Our greatest asset is not the best that
we do not have but the good that we have. Our greatest mistake
would be quing in the wake of great challenges.
“A gem cannot be polished without fricon, nor man be
perfected without trials.” A Danish proverb
The nest in us is normally unveiled during the me of great
distress. Confucius, the reknown Chinese philosopher, reiterates
this with a quote; “A gentleman can withstand hardships; it is
only a small man who, when subjected to them, is swept o his
feet.” For guaranteed success we must keep going on and on.
God has greater and excellent things in store for you. Let not
your current situaons in life hold you hostage. There is nothing
that is permanent. Just surge and soldier on with renewed hope
and condence and you will see the amazing results.
44
Fundamentals of Success
Chapter 10
Surrounding Oneself with the
Right People
“Blessed is the man who does not walk in counsel
of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in
the seat of mockers.”
Psalms 1:1
W
hether we accept it or not, those we interact with
every day determine our character. They either add
value to our lives or subtract the value from us. The sum total of
who we are has a percentage of those we have lived with, learnt
with or worked with.
The type of people around us greatly determines our
level of performance in any endeavour. Our friends will either
slow or accelerate our speed towards the aainment of our
set goals. Friends are valuable pillars of support in our lives. I
know of people whose lifeme dreams were shaered due to
the friends they had. George is an example. He was one of the
brilliant students in his class. He hailed from a very well-founded
45
Fundamentals of Success
Chrisan background. George was an A student with a great
future. He secured a place in one of the best secondary schools
in the country. He had emerged top of his class that year. Many
pupils in junior classes envied his sterling performance.
When he joined his new school, he found himself in
unfamiliar grounds. The constant direcon and instrucons that
he used to receive from his parents was no longer there. His new
friends were not the best that he could rely on to make posive
progress in his studies. They spent most of their me involving
themselves in the wrong things in school. They were the best
noise makers and on several occasions, he was caught aer
having sneaked out of school. He became a perpetual assignment
defaulter. George evolved into somebody else simply because of
the company he was in. Aer a while, he was expelled from the
school together with his friends.
His level of discipline had reached worrying levels. As the
saying goes, bad company ruins good morals.
His parents made many aempts to help him reform, but
he was not willing to change. They were also unable to separate
him from the bad company he kept. George was immensely
talented and gied; however, he lost most his valuable me and
opportunies. We tend to copy what our friends do most mes.
This is because we want to t in the group by conforming to
what they are doing.
This does not happen only to the young, it also aects the
grown ups. Therefore, this principle applies to all. Top managers
should choose their condants very wisely. Relang with
performing managers will certainly improve their prowess in
decision making. As they share experiences, it makes them more
46
Fundamentals of Success
knowledgeable as professionals. The good results achieved by
others movates them to strive to work harder and smarter.
Clever people learn from their own mistakes but wise people
learn from other people’s mistakes.
Do not wait unl you have made mistakes so that you can
learn. Failing is very painful, just as success is very sweet. When
you have the right people in life, you will not fall into avoidable
problems because they will warn you. The people with foresight
in your life enable you to see far. If you train with eagles you
will y like them, but if you walk with chicken you will crawl like
them.
A chicken has wings but never uses them to y. Your full
potenal will only be realised if somebody triggers you into
acon. They may point at your grey areas without necessarily
hurng your ego in order to help you to grow. A good friend will
always encourage you to y higher. The people who surround
you will light a candle for you in a dark night. The right people
around you are essenal pillars for success.
Give yourself a chance for success by picking only the best:
those who add value to your life. According to John C. Maxwell
‘encouragement is the oxygen of the soul.’ This means that we
can achieve much more with encouragement from our friends.
Good friends will ensure that they help you realise your highest
dreams.
47
Fundamentals of Success
Chapter 11
Movaon
“The will to win, the desire to succeed, the urge to
reach your full potenal; These are the keys to
personal excellence.”
Confucius
M
ovaon is the inner drive that pushes us to pull
through in spite of our challenges. The desire to be
the best in everything we set out to do should be our greatest
asset in search of our highest goals. No single man in history has
ever succeeded without movaon. To reach new horizons in
our journey of life, we must remain vibrant and excited about
our expectaons. Lack of expectaon kills our desire.
Movaon is the reason why we do what we do every day.
This is the driving force behind our every act. The vigour and
dynamism in us is a product of movaon. Nothing much can
be achieved without it. If you are to sacrice your me to do
something, there must be a reason for that. When the movaon
48
Fundamentals of Success
in us dies, then the re of dreaming in us is put out. The courage
to pay the price for our dreams disappears.
One of the greatest movaons in our lives should be the
challenges we face. Sadly, for most of us, this exnguishes our
desire for success. Majority of us have resigned to the status quo
in our lives. We nd no reason to connue ghng. We have a
tendency of raising the white ag even before the actual duel
has started. We choose loss even when we have an opon for
victory. During major championship nals, the trophy is usually
put at a vantage point for all the teams to see. When you are
compeng for a known prize, the movaon is even greater.
What you ancipate to gain shall propel you forward. The goals
you have set for yourself as an individual or an organisaon will
determine how hard you work.
Corporate bodies should ensure that the members of sta
are sasfactorily movated. Many people think that a beer
salary package is the only type of movaon. Contrary to this,
I know of many people with a very good pay package but are
not movated at all. Whereas the salary movates the worker,
it should be supplemented with other forms of movaon. If
a company has a sta medical scheme among other benets,
it will raise the sta level of commitment to the goals of the
organisaon. Another form of movaon is rewarding hard
work among the sta. Promoon and salary increment should be
purely on merit. This enables an organisaon to build a culture
of diligence among its personnel.
In this case, the mere knowledge of the fact that anyone who
performs well will be appreciated creates a sense of compeon
in pursuit of the reward. On the ip side, if non-performers are
49
Fundamentals of Success
rewarded, then it kills the spirit of hard work. It discourages
those who work hard. The employees of the best performing
organisaons are highly movated. The working environment is
very friendly and fores the eort from the sta.
The relaonship between the management and the junior
sta should also be cordial. This makes task execuon very
easy and smooth. In rms where the sta are harassed and
inmidated to do their work, the level of movaon is very low.
The sta are never seled and they are always looking for work
in other organisaons. Such sta cannot iniate any serious
long-term projects to facilitate realisaon of the organisaon’s
goal. When the members of a team are movated, they own the
company’s goals and they steer them to the best of their ability.
“Leaders should inuence others in such a way that it builds
them up, encourages and edies them so they can duplicate this
to others.” Bob Goshen
Movaon is passion in acon, without it nothing much can
be achieved. We must keep ourselves movated in order for us
to achieve our life me goals. When we lose movaon, we lose
the reason to work. We usually stop dreaming and resign to any
results, thus unknowingly walking away from being winners and
becoming losers.
Movaon is what res us to y aer our dreams. It is the
motor that powers our systems to ght and die for what we truly
believe in.
50
Fundamentals of Success
Chapter 12
Innovaveness
The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but
imaginaon.
Albert Einstein
A
ccording to the late Steve Jobs, innovaon disnguishes
a leader from a follower. An innovave person always
see what other don’t. They venture into unfamiliar froners but
in style. An innovator can also venture into familiar froners
but change the way things are done. These people are game
changers in the world they live in. They are dynamic and adapve
to situaons. When everybody says something cannot work,
they say it can but follow a dierent path. They are extremely
versale and swerve in their thoughts and ideas.
Innovators are crical thinkers and rare in an organisaon.
They are creave and enterprising. They always have surprises
for their bosses. Their role in the global trend of events cannot
be wished away. To be precise, the technological boom we
are witnessing in the world today is because of these people,
51
Fundamentals of Success
although many mes it goes unnoced. They spend many hours
working on their new projects. In order for them to come up with
any new product, they take valuable me to study the exisng
technologies. They then look for ways of improving on them.
Innovators respond to the technological needs of the world.
In management circles, they do not believe in doing things
the tradional way. They are dynamic in thought and exible in
ideas. As managers and leaders, they give their sta room to
think and do things as they feel best.
Innovaon therefore is a crical element of success. It
enables an individual, organisaon or a country to stay ahead
of the competors. Do not be a copy cat in this compeve
world. Give your clients a reason to sck with you as long as
you are in business. Oer a dierent product and in a dierent
way. There could be a company with equally good or even beer
products than yourself: you must think harder to beat them.
You can, for example, decide to deliver the products at your
client’s door step. You can also delay the introducon of your
product to the market to give your technical team me to make
it more aracve by including some cung edge technology in
its specicaons. If you do this, you will be able to spread your
inuence farther in the market.
The most developed countries in the world today boast of
hosng the most innovave minds. Planners must embrace
creavity in the manner in which naonal development projects
are implemented. Naons should adopt the use of appropriate
technologies that can be used even in the most remote parts of
their countries. In such areas, for example, the use of solar and
wind power to supply energy should be seriously considered.
If this is not possible, they can pursue the opon of biogas.
52
Fundamentals of Success
This will promote the use of modern technology in even in the
remotest areas.
Superior markeng techniques may also be a deciding factor.
Do not ignore aggressive markeng since it might resurrect your
dwindling fortunes or sustain the momentum of growth of the
rm. Markeng should be emphasised, parcularly for new
arrivals in the market. The marketers should do it with great
enthusiasm for them to penetrate the market. Road shows and
house to house strategies can be used for a start. Use of print and
electronic media is another very rewarding means. The manner
and style should be well thought out to outdo the competors.
It is all about dynamism of thoughts and ideas. A rm should
desire not just to beat the compeon but also to beat all its
targets.
At a personal level, lack of innovaon will cause you to stagnate
in growth careerwise. Innovave employees are valuable assets
in rms. Serious investors will retain such members of their sta
at any cost. The level of creavity of an employee raises their
prole in the company. When given tasks, they do not just carry
them out but they do a meculous job. Remember, it is hard for
the organisaon you work for to succeed without you beneng.
Innovaon is not an opon for those who desire to be
pioneers. To be a trail blazer, you should do things dierently
and in a beer way.
Innovaon puts us in a new level; it sets us apart from the
rest. It brightens prospects for us in this compeve global
environment. It gives us a hundred per cent possibility of success,
and in essence keeps us at the top in our respecve circles.
53
Fundamentals of Success
Chapter 13
A Posive Atude
“All misfortune is but a stepping stone to fortune.”
Henry Thoreau
I
nteresngly, the many bad things that we spend so much
me worrying about never come to pass in our life me.
Benjamin Franklin once said, “Do not ancipate trouble, or
worry about what may never come. Keep in the sunlight.” It does
not maer how turbulent the situaon in your life is, you must
remain aoat and your resolve to conquer should never subside.
Our hopes and expectaons for a brighter day tomorrow should
never be dwarfed by the few current unpleasant incidences in
our journey of life. The circumstances of our lives must never
dictate our mental picture, we must look into the future with
a winning atude. One with a posive atude constantly
has posive thoughts that good things will happen. A posive
atude is the ability to believe that even if things are bad today,
they will eventually be good. If you have a posive mindset, you
54
Fundamentals of Success
think well of the people you meet and are able to treat them
well. This state of aairs in your life must be sustained. It should
be a part of your daily life. If you want to check the state of
your atude, you may ask yourself some simple quesons. For
example, when you think about your past, what do you mainly
recall? The bad things that happened or the good ones?
Helen Keller once said, “Opmism is the faith that leads
to achievement and nothing can be achieved without hope or
condence.”
Any me we replace our negave thoughts with posive
ones, we start realising dierent results. There is nothing that
can overcome a posive-minded person. With the right atude,
there is no bale that you cannot win.
“No maer what you are going through, there is a light at
the end of the tunnel and it may seem hard to get to it, but you
can do it. Just keep moving towards that light and you will nd
the posive side of things.” Demi Lovato.
Life gives us many opons but we can refuse failure and
constantly choose to win. Our rst and last opon should be
victory.
W. Clement Stone likens failure to success and says: “Like
success, failure is many things to people. With a posive mental
atude, failure is a learning experience, a rung on the ladder,
a plateau at which you get through in order and prepare to try
again.”
The atude that you have about life makes the whole
dierence. The impression we have about ourselves greatly
inuences the impression others have about us. In addion,
developing a good atude towards oneself and others is crical
for success. It is important that one appreciates the way he or she
55
Fundamentals of Success
is. Stop wishing that you were somebody else because that will
never be. Accept that you are God’s unique masterpiece which
is comparable to none. You are not a mistake or an accident.
Acknowledge that you have your strengths and weaknesses
and appreciate yourself, for no one will treat you beer than
you treat yourself. People will always treat us the way we treat
ourselves.
Maximise on your strengths while working towards
improving on your weaknesses. Extend this to those around you.
Commend them where you need to do so and help them to make
beer their weak areas. Remember, as you help others to grow,
you also grow in the process. In my many years of teaching, I
have learnt a lot from my trainees. My depth of knowledge and
experience is as a result of this. Every me I assisted somebody
out of a dicult situaon, I emerged more enriched in my
problem-solving skills.
It is also very important to appreciate your past. I know
it is hard to have a clean past. We all have areas of our past
that we would want to erase. We must try to break from any
negavity in our past. The beauty about success is that even
the failure we experience today does not stop us from excelling
tomorrow. It accords us an opportunity of learning. With this
kind of approach, we become re-energised to soldier on, but
with contrary thoughts, we become demoralised and succumb
to negavity.
One of the principal pillars of success is the hope for a beer
tomorrow. When you visualise victory and good dings, you raise
your chances of winning. Condion your mind to expect success
in your daily undertakings. Many of us fail because we lack this
56
Fundamentals of Success
posive atude. We see failure instead of success, sickness
instead of sound health and obstacles instead of opportunies.
Our mental state ulmately determines how successful we
become. Many people, unfortunately, doubt even the obvious.
It is important to believe that we can. In us lies great potenal.
God in His own wisdom has put massive ability in each of us.
Since God is with us, be certain that we can undertake any task
with amazing success. Unwavering posivity is too powerful for
any problem to withstand. If you possess it, I can assure you
beyond doubt that you are guaranteed of success.
I know of many businessmen in my locality who have been
operang for years with very lile success, if any. When you
talk to them, they always give a reason for the state of aairs
in their lives. They suer from what I call “chronic juscaon
syndrome”. They would rather jusfy failure rather than seek to
know why they failed and correct it. They do not realise that
their passive approach to the issues they face could have caused
their lack of success. They have the losing atude.
In the same locality, there is a group of business people
that is doing very well. This group is full of enthusiasm and
hope. They are all excited about overcoming challenges. They
have clear and bigger pictures about their ventures. They will
enumerate their elaborate plans to grow their venture to blue
chip companies. They usually dare what has not been dared and
dream the undreamt. They think big, and they think of victory
in all circumstances. They have no room for not making it. They
know how to navigate through tough mes.
I know of three such entrepreneurs who came together to
start a business. From their meagre salaries, they managed to
57
Fundamentals of Success
save enough to start o. They seled for a business dealing in
buying and selling clothes, but it failed. They did not have the
network to enable them run an export business. They lost a lot
of money. It was a major setback for the budding investors, but
they never gave up.
They never stopped dreaming. They started saving all over
again.
Aer three years, they surprised many with another
ambious investment project. This me, they seled for a
school as their rst opon, second and the last. They were full
of opmism that they would succeed this me around. They did
not allow their previous failure to kill their vision. They believed
that they could sll resurrect their dream. I was a part of this
vastly talented team.
We conquered, not because we are any dierent from you,
but because we remained hopeful that the best days in our lives
were yet to come.
Most people when faced with great disasters or serious
setbacks spend a lot of me wishing things were dierent
instead of thinking of how they can revive their diminishing
fortunes. Through great and complex challenges, we learn great
and valuable lessons in life. Even the nest gold must be taken
through the hoest furnace. Diamonds are made through years
of intense pressure and rened through very high temperatures.
Our atude in life will determine the quality of our performance.
Being technically gied and talented is not enough. When
pursuing success, having the right mental atude is pivotal.
Our mental synergies are primary while our physical
synergies come in as secondary when handling anything in life.
58
Fundamentals of Success
The strength of our performance lies not just in the physical
level but also in the mind. I know of many people with physical
challenges who have achieved what even the most brilliant,
able-bodied people have not. They are armed with the winning
mentality. Nothing can exnguish their quest for success. The
mind conceives and plans what is to be done. It gives birth to
the dream, then the physical energy executes it. Without the
planning of the mind, the physical has nothing to execute. Today,
the three entrepreneurs are running one of the best and the
fastest growing schools in our locality. Within a short period of
me, they have turned their school into a citadel of excellence
against all odds. Aer falling, they had the courage to rise, dust
themselves and move on.
Our atude also hinges heavily on our faith. Our faith in
God shapes our atude. We behave and react the way we do
because we know that God is always for us
Without faith, we can never invest. If we believe that God
will help us to overcome, we shall indeed overcome. God shall
give us the zeal, skill and the wisdom to conquer even the most
challenging situaons. We should therefore forfy our atude
with faith in God. This will have a profound eect on us. It shall
transform us into winners and conquerors. We shall never be
overcome by situaons but we shall overcome them. For us to
excel, we must connually and unringly inculcate a winning
atude in ourselves. It shall eradicate doubts and unbelief in us.
We emerge with great victories and tesmonies in life’s bales
if we choose to always think posively rather than negavely.
Armed with a posive atude, opmism and an unbreakable
zeal for success, you become the success story everybody would
59
Fundamentals of Success
like to read again and again. Never let negave thoughts blind
you and steal your hope, for hope is the last thing that we should
lose.
A story is told of a master who encountered an unfortunate
incident during a hunng expedion. On the fateful day, the
master set out accompanied by his faithful and opmisc
servant. Aer painstakingly combing the forests for wild game, he
was struck by a venomous serpent on his le hand. The servant
said to his ailing master, “Master, I have an inner convicon that
whatever has happened is for your own good.” When the master
heard this, he was infuriated and shouted at him. “You are not
worthy of being a servant to a leader of my stature. You do not
seem to care whatever happens to me. You prophesy doom
instead of hope and you celebrate tragedy upon your master.”
When they went back to the palace, he called in the guards and
ordered them to put the servant in prison. Part of the master’s
le hand had to be cut o to keep the poison from spreading to
the rest of his body.
Aer many days, the master set out again for another hunng
expedion. This me, he went out alone. He looked for wild game
for many hours but with no success. He became exhausted and
decided to sit under a tree and rest. Then suddenly, and without
warning, two huge ogres emerged from a thicket nearby. They
captured him and kept him in a dark cave before presenng him
to their leader.
“Sir, we have nally managed to bring the sacrice which
we have sought for so long.” they said. The leader looked at the
man presented before him. Instead of his face beaming with joy,
he shook his head and said, “Our god cannot accept him as a
60
Fundamentals of Success
sacrice since he is not whole. Part of his hand is missing. Let
him lose and let him go back to his people.”
On arrival at his palace, the king ordered that his servant
be brought before him. The servant stood before his master. He
bowed and implored his master, “May it be well with you your
Highness.”
“I am sorry that I put you in jail when you told me that my
aack by that serpent was for my good. Today, I was captured
by the ogres of the land yonder. They were hunng for a human
sacrice, but when they presented me to their leader, he rejected
me. He said that their god would not accept me because I was
not whole since part of my hand was missing. Truly you were
right. I would have been killed today but the tragedy of being
bien by the snake saved me. Forgive me for this.”
The servant felt sorry for his master. “Sir, you do not have
to be sorry. My being in prison was for my own good too. If I
had accompanied you in the hunng expedion today, I would
have been the sacrice since I am whole. My being in prison
saved me from the cruel hand of death. I would have been the
perfect sacrice for the ogres today if I was in your company in
the hunng eld.”
Friends, remember to always stay posive through
everything that happens in your life. The ways of God are not
the ways of man. The best seasons for your blessings are those
appointed by God. The best paths for us in this life might not
be the smoothest. No one has ever reached the pinnacle of a
high mountain without twitching and stretching his muscles.
Today’s setbacks are tomorrow’s comebacks and today’s delayed
gracaon will earn you medals and beer things tomorrow.
61
Fundamentals of Success
“All successful men and women are big dreamers. They
imagine what their future could be, and all the ideals in every
aspect. Then they work hard every day towards their vision,
goal or purpose.” Brian Tracy
Nothing should distract our match towards our perceived
desnaons. This is the ulmate and the ideal way to the top: as
we fully believe that all will be well with our plans.
62
Fundamentals of Success
Chapter 14
A Philosophy of Excellence
“Thirst and hunger for excellence are the greatest
of all movaons for success. Only success can stop
the pangs of this hunger and thirst.”
Anonymous
T
he greatest hindrance to excellence is contentment with
what we have already achieved. Complacency in a team
denies them the status of excellence. At take o, when pursuing
our life’s dreams, most of us work very hard. Aer some me
however, we reach the comfort zones. A millionaire must keep
dreaming to join the billionaire club. Excellence is a product of a
painstaking and persistent walk towards the right direcon.
The will to win, the desire to succeed, and the urge to
reach your full potenal will unlock the door to personal
excellence. We must ght for and even be ready to sacrice
greatly for excellence. Excellence entails going far beyond the
set benchmarks. Excellence is not aained by mere talk but by
63
Fundamentals of Success
living the ideals.
The word excellence is used to describe what is extremely
good. It is the quality of being exceponally good where the
term goodness is not disputable. Thus, excellence is going far
beyond the best. In order for an achievement to be described
as such, it must encompass high-level performance that is hard
to beat or match. It must surpass the ordinary. It must be in
sync with meritocracy and have the ambience of commendable
performance. When something or an acon is in the rank of
the ordinary, it fails the test of excellence. Successful people,
organisaons and naons are synonymous with excellence. They
only sele for the best. Their acons epitomise excellence in
planning and design. They take valuable me planning because
ulmately, their expectaons are very high.
This philosophy is founded on the strong belief of the
necessity of pursuing the best results at all mes. For us to
succeed, we must learn not to sele for average but for the best.
The Principal dispenser of excellence is God. As a creator,
He did an excellent work. Aer He was done with creaon, He
looked at what He had created and saw that it was good. We
all agree that God is excellent in every aspect and therefore
whatever pleases God is excellent. Our dreams every day in
life should propel us towards the top. We should emulate our
creator in the way we do things. In other words, we should
pursue excellence to honour God. The most successful naons of
the world are known to set very high standards in the execuon
of their goals and visions. Manufacturers in those countries
are expected to roll out the best cars, electronics, aeroplanes,
medical equipment and even services. There is no room for
64
Fundamentals of Success
mediocrity. The threshold of performance is usually very high.
Why do you think establishing of Bureaus of Standards is a
common pracce globally? It is informed by the need to uphold
and promote excellence in the producon of goods and services.
It ensures that the best pracces are adhered to in all sectors of
the economy. It also safeguards the interests of the consumers.
Thus, tools and control systems must be devised in order to push
everybody towards excellence.
The path of excellence is at mes bumpy and rough. The ride
to the cradle of success may not be smooth, but we must be
determined to get there. We need to have shock absorbers to
withstand the rough terrain in our journey to excellence.
Excellence is costly and demanding. It has to be aggressively
pursued without blinking no maer what. For us to arrive at the
desired desnaon, we must be careful not to board the wrong
vehicle. Organisaons must formulate slogans or moos that
propel them forward. This will be a clarion call and a guiding star
for the sta. These slogans are a constant reminder to the team
members that they must always go for the best. To individuals,
they are guiding principles towards achieving excellence.
Entrepreneurs and Chief Execuve Ocers should strive to
create a conducive environment where they are able to aain
excellence.
They should be treated with respect and dignity to raise
their level of performance. Human resource in any organisaon
should be managed pragmacally.
For us to remain ahead of others, we must put our best foot
forward in whatever we do. To nurture and spur excellence, we
must reward those who exhibit it. We should have very high
65
Fundamentals of Success
standards and benchmarks for our individual lives as well as
our rms. The most successful people always go for the best in
everything. They plan and execute meculously; paying aenon
to every detail that may jeopardise their success.
They always purpose to shine brighter than everyone else
in all their tasks. They are well aware that for them to make
history, they must be ahead of the crowd. Each day, they seek
to beer their skills, think harder and dream bigger. If we hope
to excel, we must emulate the nest and outdo them; thus we
must outshine the best. We cannot engage excellence and not
succeed. Success and excellence are intertwined. We should
purpose to succeed excellently in order for us to make a mark
in the world.
66
Fundamentals of Success
Chapter 15
Evaluaon
“Don’t tell people how to do things, tell them
what to do and let them surprise you with their results.”
George S. Paon Jr.
E
valuaon is the means by which we are able to see
through ourselves and pick out the unseen grey areas and
rene them. Without it, our weaknesses become permanent and
we stop growing. No one can succeed without making beer his
weak areas.
Evaluaon is a crical management pracce at a personal and
organisaonal level. Self-appraisal is necessary for the journey to
success. Through this exercise, we are able to audit our systems
of operaons, our skills and the level of our performance. There
are those of us who think that evaluaon is a one day exercise.
On the contrary, it is a constant and connuous never-ending
process. When we work and improve on our weak areas, we
become more ecient and producve in our tasks. Thus, we
67
Fundamentals of Success
move towards excellence.
Firms that desire to do well must incorporate sta evaluaon
as a vital management tool. By idenfying the grey areas among
the sta, the management is able to design appropriate training
packages for them. The strength of a chain lies in its weakest
point. To make the chain stronger we need to strengthen this
weak part. It then follows that companies and countries should
dedicate more eort in perfecng the faulty secons in their
systems.
Every sector should work towards the realisaon of the overall
goal of the rm. Weakness in one secon can be a black spot in
the journey to success. It will be good if all secons are given
a certain target to hit. These targets will later act as evaluaon
tools. During the appraisal, the quesons will entail whether the
targets were met or not. For the exercise to be meaningful in an
organisaon, those conducng it should be conversant with the
dues and what is expected of those being appraised.
Individuals should also set targets for themselves. Aer
certain reasonable periods of me, self- appraisal should be
done.
Take me to crically look at your performance and rate it
against your set targets.
Evaluaon should be an honest and thought-provoking
exercise. One should ask himself hard quesons in case the
targets have not been met.
I encourage professionals not to shy away from being
evaluated or evaluang themselves. We can never improve
without going through this. I am fully convinced that we can
hardly make any progress without it. Evaluaon is like a mirror
68
Fundamentals of Success
that we use aer dressing up to see what the end results of our
eorts look like. It raises the producvity level in us. Appraisal
reports from dierent sources will be helpful because they are
rich in variety and will provide us with a number of areas to
improve.
There is also need to analyse the contents of these reports.
It is hard to use raw data to draw sound and logical conclusions.
This therefore creates the need to analyse the informaon we
receive from the evaluaon. Data analysis provides us with
informaon that is clear, understandable and useful.
Finally, for evaluaon to serve its full purpose, it would be
good to idenfy or single out areas that need aenon. These
should be listed down on the basis of urgency. Firm and decisive
acon should then be taken to avoid failure or poor performance
in the future. This will leave us more knowledgeable and beer
prepared to take the journey of success. There are those of us
who do not accommodate correcon, even when we are in the
wrong. This will always work against us because we will never
learn from our mistakes and will always be repeang them. Thus,
we should take the evaluaon exercise with a lot of seriousness.
Evaluaon enables us to avoid making serious errors in life.
The mere knowledge that we shall be evaluated movates us
to work very hard. We should embrace the pracce and should
not feel as if we are being torn into shreds or being humiliated.
Rather, we should realise that there is somebody who is kind
enough to tell us what we should do in order for us to be the
best in what we are doing.
Evaluaon should be perceived as the forerunner of success.
It helps us to revive and sustain the pursuit of our dreams to the
conclusive end. Not so long ago, I read a very moving story on
69
Fundamentals of Success
this topic. A lile lad went to a public telephone booth near a
store, not far from where the writer of the story was. This is how
the conversaon between the boy and the person on the other
end went.
Boy: “Lady, can you please employ me to cut the grass on your
lawn?”
Lady: “I already have someone to cut the lawn for me.”
Boy: “I will cut your lawn at half price of the current one.”
Lady: “I am very sased with the person who is presently
cung the lawn.”
Boy: (with more perseverance) “Lady, I will even sweep the oor
and the stairs of your house for free.”
Lady: “No, thank you.”
With a smile on his face, the boy replaced the receiver. The store
owner who was listening to all this walked over to the boy.
Store owner: “Son, I like your atude; I like your posive spirit
and would like to oer you a job.”
Boy: “No thanks.”
Store owner: “But I just heard you really pleading for one.”
Boy: “No Sir, I was just checking my performance at the job I
already have. I am the one who is working for that lady I
was talking to!”
This young man got the most credible appraisal report. I
am sure he was happy with what he heard. The credibility of
one’s work is indeed very important. We must select the most
reliable appraisal method to ensure we get the best results from
everyone being evaluated.
70
Fundamentals of Success
Chapter 16
Self-Esteem
“Your me is limited, so do not waste your
me living somebody else’s life. Do not be trapped
by dogma, which is living with other people’s
thinking. Do not let the noise of others drown your
own inner voice. And most importantly, have
the courage to follow your heart and intuion.”
Steve Jobs
L
ack of self-esteem is what makes most of us copycats. By
not appreciang the potenal of what God has put in us,
we end up in a wild goose chase, and embark on a journey that
was never ours in the rst place. We unknowingly subscribe to
the club of the average dreamers and achievers.
Esteem refers to the feeling of admiraon and respect for
somebody. It refers to how one is regarded. Therefore self-
esteem refers to the way a person regards himself or herself
71
Fundamentals of Success
or the self-respect and admiraon one has for self. This picture
held about the esteem of oneself greatly inuences how dues
and responsibilies are carried out.
In a learning set up, learners with a high esteem are known
to perform excellently. On the contrary, those with low self-
esteem usually perform poorly. If one has an imaginaon of
being successful, ecient and being a winner, then his chances
of succeeding are very high. Low self-esteem can damage the
performance of a team. The overall esteem of a team rises or falls,
and is dependent on the esteem of individual team members.
People with low esteem are not movated because they have a
self-defeast atude. Our level of condence is dependent on
the level of our self-esteem. If one has a mental picture of being
smaller than the task assigned, then the possibility of failure is
very high.
High self-esteem has a great inuence on someone’s well-
being physically and even psychologically. Those with high
esteem register very good achievement in what they set out to
do. They relate well with those around them and are charismac.
This is because they regard others highly and appreciate their
achievements. Those with low esteem feel inadequate and view
the achievement of others as a threat. As leaders, they do not
celebrate the achievers. Instead, they target them for transfers,
demoons and somemes dismissal.
It is necessary to change the picture we have about ourselves
if we are going to join the group of winners. In the military circles,
warring sides use propaganda to demean each other. They may
start by parading their most advanced weaponry. They may also
talk of how well-equipped and brave their soldiers are. This is
72
Fundamentals of Success
all meant to inmidate the enemy by showing them that even
before they go to the bale eld, they have no chance of winning.
This wears down the esteem of the enemy. Why do you think a
lot of jeering and cheering goes on in a football match? When
a team is jeered, it feels demoralised and may nally lose no
maer how good it is if they keep listening. On the other hand,
cheering a team makes the players see themselves winners and
this movates them.
In the Ancient Roman Empire, when a child was born, the
following words were spoken to them, “You are great and you are
born to do great things.” These words were connuously spoken
to the Roman children at every stage of their development. This
enabled them to have that image in their mind that they were
the best and they were born to be so.
It cannot be overemphasized that the impact of our self-
esteem in task execuon is profoundly enormous. Many
employers look for this rare but very essenal quality during sta
recruitment. They believe that sta with high self-esteem will
raise the prole of the company since nothing inmidates them
and they are go-geers. They have a deep convicon that they
are the best. Low self-esteem can be caused by lack of exposure
and requisite skill for the task ahead. We should always know
that even if we do not hit our targets today, we can try again and
make it tomorrow. The management in organisaons should
learn to approve their sta as oen as they perform according to
the standards that have been set. This will movate them to aim
higher and exceed expectaons for the good of the company.
God created you in His own image as a unique person. The
scripture tells us that we are fearfully and wonderfully made.
73
Fundamentals of Success
This means that we do not compete with anybody. We are in a
class of our own. We should not be inmidated by the skills and
qualies possessed by others because this will lower our self-
esteem. Let us not spend me struggling to be like other people.
To safeguard our self-esteem, we should always know that we
are our own competors.
To inculcate and build a healthy sense of self-esteem, it is
important that we focus on the superior qualies in us. Note
that we are able see a candle because it produces light and not
because there is light. The sun is seen from a distance because it
radiates light. It is highly likely that people will treat us the way
we treat ourselves. We must appreciate ourselves and others in
order for others to reciprocate.
We should not make fun of other people’s failures. It has
become a common culture today to sgmase people and use
their mistakes and errors as headlines. We need to avoid this on
our path to success and realise that in building the self-esteem
of others, we also build ours.
It is also important to seek love and acceptance in the
family as this greatly increases one’s self-esteem. Support from
the family plays a major role in developing this value of self-
respect and self-esteem. Rejecon at the family level can be
catastrophic. For instance, a lady who has been married for many
years without bearing children may be rejected and casgated
by her in-laws. This may cause her deep emoonal wounds. On
the contrary, love and acceptance from her family members will
restore her feeling of self-worth. It would be prudent for such a
lady not to look down on herself but keep believing God who is
able to fulll the desires of her heart.
74
Fundamentals of Success
Let nobody torment you by creang a sense of inadequacy
in you. You are God’s masterpiece and nobody can change this.
Your desny is in God’s hands. There is only one you in this life.
Do not wish that you were somebody else because God
has a reason why he created you as you are. Other pillars that
can strengthen and improve your self-esteem include ensuring
that you maintain a healthy body and mind. Keep at bay any
negave thoughts that lead you to think you cannot make it;
avoid dwelling too much on your past failures and learn to focus
on your high standing achievements.
The most successful people that I know possess a very
high self-esteem. We cannot be achievers if our esteem is low.
Remember that it is okay to seek the help of an expert to help us
get back our self-esteem where necessary.
75
Fundamentals of Success
Chapter 17
Visionary and Pragmac
Leadership
“Good leaders have vision and inspire others
to help them turn vision into reality. Great leaders
have vision, share vision, and inspire
others to create their own.”
Roy Benne
L
eaders are luminaries who light up paths for others. They
tag others to new and more promising froners of life.
Good leaders need to be people who have the audacity
to stand alone, the courage to make tough decisions and the
compassion to listen to other people’s needs. Leaders do not
necessarily possess these qualies from the onset; rather, they
develop and acquire them in their journey of leadership by virtue
of their acons and the integrity of their intenons. True leaders
believe in service not authority. They are seless and amazingly
76
Fundamentals of Success
dedicated to advancing the course of humanity.
To lead means to walk in front of others. A leader can also be
described as a torch bearer. Leaders go ahead of those they lead.
They pioneer in their areas of specialisaon. They are known
to set very high standards for their followers. Good leaders will
have an excellent vision of where they want their organisaons
to go. They have a great imaginaon and are very creave in the
way they do things.
For success to be aained, visionary and pragmac leadership
is required. Good leaders have the ability to inspire and they
are full of insight, therefore they assist those they lead to make
history. They walk along the uncharted courses because they
understand that nobody can make history by doing the ordinary.
When confronted by an opportunity to choose tasks, they opt
for the more challenging ones. Outstanding leaders look to the
future with great clarity of thought. They see opportunies
where nobody sees them. They are opmists. Such leaders are
astute; they are quick to make sound judgement when required
to. They are forthright in thought and foresight.
Good leaders also inuence people’s acons; they do not
dictate and they are able to sell and share their dreams to the
organisaons or countries they lead. Outstanding leadership is
not only about shaping the events of today; it entails a passionate
desire to shape the desny of those being led by inuencing
the future events for the benet of everyone. Such leaders are
seless and exhibit sheer dedicaon in whatever they do. They
are always passionate about changing the fortunes of their
subjects. They believe in servant leadership instead of master
leadership.
For an organisaon to make headway in its quest for
77
Fundamentals of Success
excellence, the leaders must clearly know where they want to
take their people by being able to see far. They must be master
planners and meculous executors. They must be able to come
up with carefully thought out ideas, and through great experse
and focused determinaon, make them a reality. These leaders
see possibilies when everybody else sees impossibilies. They
choose the path of prosperity no maer how bumpy and rough.
In them lies the tenacity of a bull dog.
Another hallmark of outstanding leadership is selessness.
Their focus is not themselves but those they serve. Quality
leadership encompasses great love for those being led. Leaders
give up many pleasures and luxuries for the welfare of their
people. They spend a great deal of me painstakingly thinking
and planning how to solve the problems facing their people.
Great leaders think about their subject’s needs rst then their
own.
Another valuable quality of visionary leadership is leading
by example. Leaders who lead by example are the best teachers,
engineers, businessmen, mothers, fathers and trainers. They
lead through acon. They encourage punctuality by being the
rst at the work staon. They boldly confront the challenges
facing their rms or countries and rally their people behind their
trail. They are trail blazers. If they talk to people about integrity
and honesty, then they maintain very high standards in these
values. They do not say “you” they say “we”. They make success
the responsibility of everybody in the team.
Mentoring others is another very important priority of
good leaders. They strive to empower and develop others
professionally.
They know too well that their success is determined by the
78
Fundamentals of Success
skills of those they are leading. No maer how good they are,
these leaders acknowledge that they will fail if their juniors’
technical experse stagnates.
Good leaders spend valuable me and resources conducng
capacity-building workshops for their sta. They also do a lot of
research and are careful to do an in-depth study on their areas
of specialisaon.
They strive to constantly improve themselves. They do all
these in order to place their organisaon at a strategic posion
to handle the compeon in the industry. They are not rigid but
are dynamic and adapve to change. If they discover that the
systems or pracces they are deploying are not working, they
are exible and quickly seek for alternaves.
Good leaders are quick to act and are not indecisive. In case
something goes wrong in the rm, they take responsibility. This
enables them to always be prepared for change and improvement.
This ability to change gives them a greater chance to full their
vision for their people. These leaders do not wait for the ship to
sink; they evacuate the occupants early. In most organisaons,
the top leadership acts as the epicentre of success, and their
iniaves are mainly team-driven.
Determinaon and condence are the pillars of their
everyday work. They believe that all things they desire can be
achieved. Nothing is unachievable to them. Good leaders have
been known to build business empires from nothing, and these
rms have remained aoat as long as they have been at the
helm. Successful leaders draw their energy, wisdom, intellect
and will to move on mainly from God. They do not live in fear
of failure because they have unshakable faith in God. Whatever
they do excels and they lead a triumphant team to higher levels
of success.
79
Fundamentals of Success
Chapter 18
Honesty and Integrity
"Honesty and integrity Moral authority comes from
following universal and meless principles like
honesty, integrity, treang people with respect."
Stephen Covey
H
onesty and integrity are two important high ideals in any
society, organisaon or naon. Honesty is the quality of
being able to speak the truth.
Honest people say things exactly as they are. They are also
perceived as having high moral standards and thus command
a lot of respect and authority in society. Integrity on the other
hand is the quality where a person behaves according to the
set moral principles in which they rmly believe. It also entails
the concept of consistency in acons, values, expectaons and
principles.
People with these values usually lead a life that is above
reproach. Naons and organisaons where these qualies are
greatly valued have made remarkable progress in all sectors
80
Fundamentals of Success
of their economies. To anybody pursuing success, the two
are invaluable gems without which success will be an illusion.
Honesty and integrity are highways to success.
For success to be realised, we need to take our stand at a
very high moral ground. We need to embrace uprightness at
whichever cost, which will in turn propel us to excellent posions
of achievement in the society. Companies look for these qualies
when they are recruing their sta. No employer would want
to employ dishonest employees because in the long run, they
will put these rms into disrepute. They will compromise the
image of the rm before their clients and can even bring down
the whole rm. A company would rather have employees who
are wanng in skill and experse instead of dishonest ones. I
have witnessed very gied and talented people being le out
during interviews in favour of those with inferior credenals.
Most employers avoid incorporang such individuals into their
teams because they may cause the company to lose business
and lower its prole in the market.
When picking sta for promoon, honesty and integrity,
and not necessarily qualicaons, greatly inuence who is to be
selected. The following story explains it beer.
A Chief Execuve Ocer in one of the blue chip companies
in a certain town was about to rere. He was required by his
employer to look for a suitable successor. He knew too well
that most of his sta was highly qualied with many years of
experience. He called all the senior managers under him to his
oce and gave each of them a seed. They were to go and plant,
and nurture the seeds to maturity.
Aer some months, one of the managers realised that her
81
Fundamentals of Success
seed had failed to germinate. When she told her husband about
it, he told her to look for another seed and plant it, but she
refused. She told her husband that that was being dishonest and
she would be cheang. Back in the oce, her fellow managers
talked of how healthy their plants had become. For several
months, she agonised over her failure to nurture her seed as
required. She hated herself, but one thing she was not ready to
do was to compromise on her integrity.
One evening, the Chief Execuve Ocer told the senior
managers to bring their plants grown from the seed he had
given them. The lady could not sleep that night. She feared that
she would be seen by everybody else as a failure. Worse sll,
she dreaded forfeing her chance at the lucrave job as a senior
manager, but she resolved not to give up her integrity.
The following day, everybody waited expectantly and with
growing ancipaon for the unveiling of the new Chief Execuve
of the company. The company’s auditorium was full to capacity.
It was an important day for it was expected to mark a new
beginning in the company’s history. Aer all were seled, the
senior manager walked into the auditorium anked by the board
of directors.
Aer they had prayed and he had made a few remarks, he
requested all the senior managers to come to the front with
their plants. One lady in the group remained glued on her seat.
She had nothing to present.
Her seed had failed to germinate and instead had
decomposed. She then summoned her courage and walked to
the front and stood next to the rest. The C.E.O rose to speak and
he had this to say. “Disnguished guests ladies and gentlemen,
82
Fundamentals of Success
it gives me great pleasure to be the person to introduce to you
our new C.E.O. As I exit the stage, I am convinced beyond any
reasonable shadow of doubts that I am handing over not only
to the most qualied, but also the most honest person. Her
honesty is unmatched and there is a concrete proof for this.
She has exhibited very high moral standards, she opted to travel
along the least chosen path, the path of honesty and integrity.
I started the process of selecng my successor a year ago.
I gave the opportunity to all our senior managers to do the
interview. I gave them an assignment. I gave each of them a
seed. They were to go and plant it and nurture it to maturity.”
The audience wondered why such a simple task was used to
select a person for such a senior post.
“My choice of the C.E.O for our company is based on their
level of integrity. All the interviewees apart from one have
brought us plants. I really cannot understand where they got
their plants from, since the seeds I gave them were all boiled,
meaning they could not germinate. Those carrying plants today
went ahead and replaced the seeds I gave them. Thus, our new
C.E.O is the lady without the plant. She was honest enough to go
through the whole process without compromising her integrity.”
This is not just a story. It is what happens in very many
boardrooms because everybody wants to work with people of
unquesonable integrity. You may be lacking in many other areas
and sll squeeze through and get enviable posions, but nobody
will overlook the lack of honesty. It is an important staircase to
success.
83
Fundamentals of Success
Chapter 19
Discipline
“Discipline is the bridge between goals and
accomplishment.”
Jim Rohn
D
iscipline is one of the major cornerstones of success. It
will be dicult for an indisciplined person to aain
success, mainly because self-discipline is a central pillar to
success. Great achievements in life are a result of discipline-
driven work. It is the means by which set goals are aained.
Success can only be forthcoming when there is a consistency
of character and a certain way of doing things. Discipline is
the quality of being able to sck to the rules no maer what.
Disciplined people follow the rules at any cost. They sck to
the set standards all the me. Discipline is either imposed or
ows naturally from within. Imposed discipline is mainly for
those who lack the self-will to remain faithful to the high calling
of set goals and principles. People operang under this kind of
84
Fundamentals of Success
discipline break all the rules in the absence of supervision. Such
people achieve very lile in their tasks. On the other hand, self-
disciplined sta, leaders or students are their own supervisors.
They do not require an external force to remain faithful to
the rules of the game. People who possess it are the greatest
achievers. They drive the organisaons they work for very far.
They are valuable assets to these rms.
Discipline is an important ingredient of success and thus
those who desire to excel in accomplishing set goals need to
possess it. If someone is disciplined, he will keep me and also
manage it very well. Disciplined people act when required to do
so and remain faithful in all circumstances. They are known to
beat the deadlines as required by their employers. These people
avoid procrasnaon at all cost; they challenge and spur others
who do not sck to rules to do the right thing.
Eecve leaders are strict disciplinarians. They maintain
high standards of discipline in the instuons they lead. In
learning instuons, indisciplined students usually have a very
hard me; they may be punished, suspended or expelled. They
also do not perform well in their studies. Being able to put long
hours of study while preparing for examinaons calls for high
levels of discipline.
Employees who do well at their places of work are known
to have self-drive in pursuit of the organisaon’s goals. Lack
of self-regulaon in following rules can be very costly at the
individual and corporate level. Many promising careers have
been cut short when highly trained personnel become vicms
of indiscipline. Serious employers peg their recruitment and
promoon of their sta on their level of discipline. Top managers
85
Fundamentals of Success
and chief execuve ocers are scklers for rules. They uphold
them even when they are a source of much discomfort to the
employees. Those that strictly maintain and uphold discipline
make enormous contribuons to companies and naons at
large.
In order to build inial investment capital for starng
a business, a great deal of sacrice is required and dicult
decisions have to be made. One has to decide on how much
they want to save. Once the plans for saving have been made, it
is important to sck to them because they will bear fruit in the
long run. Cost cung and prudent nancial management will
undoubtedly need to be applied for the overall success of the
project.
The surest path to prosperity is usually tarmacked and
reinforced with many ingredients, and discipline is one of the
most important. It is the key that opens the gates to froners
of excellence. Anyone desiring success must apply honesty,
obedience and must be ready to play by the rules of the game.
These are the hallmarks of discipline, and as a major pillar, it binds
and supplements the other ingredients of success. Expansive
business empires are established and built over a long period of
me through delayed gracaon. The entrepreneur needs to
be very paent over me so that he can reap bounfully.
Prots that are registered should be ploughed back in order
to give the business sucient me to ourish. This calls for the
value of self-control, and the entrepreneur should guard against
premature spending to give the enterprise me to grow.
Our ability to observe the set standards and rules in
whatever we do is a must if we want to succeed. If we are to
86
Fundamentals of Success
move up the ranks at our places of work, excel in our studies,
ourish in our businesses and experience greater success in life,
we must choose the path of discipline. We must choose order
instead of disorder and sobriety instead of chaos. The many
successful people that we know have rules or laws governing
their respecve industries and rms, and that is how they
have become outstanding scholars, manufacturers, designers,
engineers, pilots, parents and arsts.
87
Fundamentals of Success
Chapter 20
Excellent Communicaon
"Communicaon - the human connecon -
is the key to personal and career success."
Paul J. Meyer
C
ommunicaon involves the exchange of ideas, facts and
informaon. It involves making one’s feelings known to
others. Through communicaon, we make people aware of what
we stand for and who we are. It enables us to dene ourselves
and help people to understand us. Communicaon as a discipline
in the world of academia is the study of the art of informaon
transmission, whether oral, wrien or visual.
Communicaon is crical in our everyday life; it is a vital part
of life. It is the principal tool of social, economic, polical and
business linkage. The existence of a relaonship among various
people, naons and companies, and the convergence of interests
and synergies for the good of global cizens, can only thrive in
88
Fundamentals of Success
the presence of good communicaon systems.
Unity of purpose in organisaons, schools, naons and social
units is an end product of shared informaon, which in itself is
a product of communicaon. Through communicaon, we are
able to discover things that bind us together. Common grounds
and approaches in confronng challenges are rmly established.
The importance of communicaon in pursuit of success cannot
be overemphasised.
In our journey of success, we shall be required to keep in
touch with other team members. We shall also have to pass
informaon to our juniors and take instrucons from our bosses.
How best we do this will determine how successful we shall be,
both at personal and organisaonal levels.
Communicaon is one of the most powerful tools driving the
development of naons. Our ability to communicate eecvely
gives us an upper hand over our competors.
Leaders who possess outstanding communicaon skills will
always be ahead of the others. Decisions made and company
policies will have to be passed to the team in me and in the most
understandable language. Misrepresentaon of informaon
can at mes have very devastang eects on a rm’s goals and
aspiraons.
The most successful people in any eld are powerful
communicators. When addressing their audience, the condence
they exude and the eloquence in their speech enables them to
persuade the crowds and win over their belief and trust. Good
communicators take me to understand their audience. They are
able to arculate the ideologies and thoughts for their countries,
companies and learning instuons in the best way possible.
89
Fundamentals of Success
In the nest democracies of the world, open and transparent
transmission of informaon is paramount. Successful naons
possess very ecient informaon delivery systems. Naonal
development plans are made known to those implemenng
them with utmost clarity. The manner in which it is to be done
is well-documented to guarantee excellent results. In the
evangelical world, the leading Bible teachers globally are gied
and talented in maers of speech. They exude tremendous
opulence in the art of public speaking. They are able to read the
mood of the congregants and deliver the appropriate message
that is relevant and helpful to the listeners at the proper me.
Leading internaonal television evangelists do not just talk.
They communicate with clarity, blending intellect and simplicity
to capture the audience. They may be gentle yet they possess a
great ability to convince the crowd regarding their message. They
have mastered the art of speech in a unique way which greatly
contributes to their success in reaching out to many people.
As a young boy in school, I enjoyed lessons that were
taught by very uent and eloquent teachers. It will be dicult
for teachers who struggle to communicate to be eecve in
their mission as teachers. Further, it causes the learners to lose
interest in learning. The success of any teacher has its foundaon
on how good a communicator he or she is. A teacher can possess
all the knowledge in a topic but lack the skill to disseminate
the contents to the pupils. For one to be successful, he must
sharpen his or her communicaon skills. Failure to do this is like
guaranteeing oneself failure. The knowledge that we have must
be passed on to others using the best methods.
We might never have realised how important communicaon
90
Fundamentals of Success
is in our lives but the truth is that, it is like the grease with
which the society oils it’s moving parts with. Harmony and unity
of objecves in the society and organisaon is made possible
through communicaon. Our personal missions in life are made
a reality through communicaon.
The knowledge we have accumulated over the years is only
manifested through the feedback we give to examiners in the
exams we take. Our level of understanding and ability to expound
on our points determines our level of success.
To a large extent, our level of performance, that is, our success
or failure is dependent on communicaon. Poor communicaon
may make us lose business, potenal clients and even friends. It
can also be a great cause of disappointments and even conicts.
For success to come our way, we must skillfully communicate
our thoughts, ideas and plans. As leaders, we must take me
to explain our missions and organisaonal goals to our team
members. Those of us in markeng must relay informaon to
our exisng and potenal customers in the best way possible.
We must study our audience, their mood and chose the most
appropriate way of reaching them. Success will only elude us
when we fail to say things the way we are supposed to say them.
91
Fundamentals of Success
Chapter 21
Mentorship and Training
“When a young person, even the gied one grows up
without proximate living examples of what he/she
aspires to be in any realm of life, the intended state of
being remains abstract.”
Sonia Sotomayor
A
chievements of those who have preceded us in life have
tremendous eect on our percepon of life. The
fact that they have overcome towering set backs gives us an
impression that we can also make it. They train and urge us on
amid great obstacles. It is very hard for the potenal or the giant
in us to be unveiled without some external contribuon. The
contribuon of others in bringing the best out of us cannot be
overemphasised. We might not discover the massive potenal
in us without others. God, however, brings someone into our
lives to nurture our growth to the nest levels of who we are
desned to be.
92
Fundamentals of Success
Mentorship involves taking somebody through the journey of
self-discovery by telling them that they can. It involves changing
the way they think.
For many years, I have realised that mentorship among
students goes a long way in helping them aain excellence
in their studies. It transforms average achievers into success
stories in their areas of speciality. I have witnessed students who
did not have that rare passion and drive to push their academic
dreams slowly evolve into super achievers. I took my me to talk
the dwarsm of thoughts out of their minds. It was hard to make
them believe that they could while for so long, nobody had ever
told them that.
A person with no imaginaon of victory is like a ightless
bird trying to y. Teachers in parcular are major frontliners in
mentorship. Through their work, students will either reach the
highest levels of potenal or fail to take o.
Albert Einstein once said, “It is the supreme art of a teacher
to awaken joy in creave expression and knowledge.”
The greatest teacher is the one who inspires learners and
ignites their inner thoughts to pursue excellence at all costs. As
a teacher, I have achieved more through inspiring my students
than just teaching them. Students do not recall teachers because
they only taught them, but largely because they gave them a
reason to sail on, no maer how stormy the seas were. The
dreams begin with a teacher who believes in you, tags in you,
and leads you to the next plateau, somemes poking you with a
sharp sck called ‘truth.’ A good teacher can inspire hope, ignite
imaginaon and impart love for learning. Love for learning is a
catalyst of knowledge acquision and assimilaon.
93
Fundamentals of Success
A mediocre teacher tells learners, a good teacher explains
to learners, a superior teacher demonstrates. Benson Ng’ang’a
Ndung’u, an accomplished IT expert in Thika Town had the
following to say about the sessions we had in class: “The greatest
teacher is the one who indeed does not bid you to enter the
house of wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold, and that
is exactly what you did. The knowledge you imparted has taken
us to great horizons where we begin to perceive the sky as a
starng point and not the limit. In my perspecve then, I hated
every minute of learning; but I say I suered then and now am
living the rest of my life as a champion, just because you got
involved. Hats o, Mr.Maina.”
Amos Nyaga, an ocer with the Kenya Defence Forces said:
“You were the best teacher ever, and that is why we will always
remember you, Sir. We achieved so much from your wise words
and guidance. We do not just remember you because you taught
us, because every other teacher also taught. You did not just
teach, but you inspired and triggered the re and the bravado in
us to be all what we can be. Personally, I remember the echoes
of your robust voice urging us never to burry our dreams no
maer what. That is why we are proud of you.”
Steve Nigel, a former medical student at Nairobi University
wrote, “Maina Gathige, our greatness and the levels we have
reached were triggered by your contribuon. What you did in
our lives is great and cannot be rewarded in words; only God can
truly reward you. We count ourselves blessed to have had the
chance to have our future shaped by you.”
Ivy Nyaiyeka, another former student said: “Thank you
Mr. Maina for imparng knowledge and discipline, but more
94
Fundamentals of Success
importantly, for the words of wisdom you constantly spoke
that greatly inspired us. I am rejuvenated to keep dreaming the
impossible.”
Zig Ziglar said, “You can have everything you want in life, if
you will help other people get what they want.” It is hard to help
someone without inspiring them. The greatest threat to personal
progress for most of us is fear, which steals our condence. Fear
kills the eagle atude in us and we become culpable to loss and
desperaon.
One of the greatest things we can do to our friends is helping
to bring out the best in them and inspiring them to the highest
level of achievement in life. It is a memorable thing that they will
always cherish. If you are a teacher, you need to teach and give
it your best at all mes, in the same way you would want it done
for you.
From my experience, mentorship and training are very crical
to success. I have seen a great dierence between people who
are inspired and those who are not. Most of my former students
and juniors in the profession who have excelled in their various
areas all have one thing in common. They had the privilege of
being guided in life through mentorship. I personally took all the
me in the world to talk to my students into their stardom. I
was certain that knowledge was not all that they needed for life.
We need external fanning in order for our re of excellence to
connue glowing.
We should help fellow men realise that their breakthrough
and sasfacon is built on their ability to remain sombre and
adequately capvated about the goals and aspiraons which
they hold close to their hearts.
95
Fundamentals of Success
No one can walk without being taught how to, none can read
or write without being taught, none has ever become without
being made. We are all products of training and mentorship. If
you purpose to succeed, then train hard and accept direcon
from those that God has brought in your life. Mentorship and
training are the cornerstones of enviable success.
“When a young person, even the gied one grows up without
proximate living examples of what he/she aspires to be in any
realm of life, the intended state of being remains abstract.
Such models appear in books or in the news. However, no
maer how inspiring and revered these examples are, they are
ulmately too remote to be real, let alone being inuenal.
But a role model in esh provides more than inspiraon; his
or her existence is a conrmaon of possibility. One may have
every reason not to doubt saying-yes, I can do it if somebody
like me has done it.” Sonia Sotomayor
96
Fundamentals of Success
Chapter 22
Conquering Adversity
"I can’t change the direcon of the wind, but I
can adjust my sails to always reach my desnaon.
Jimmy Dean
Below is a moving tesmony of Charles Kimani Kihu who
overcame kidney failure and today lives a normal life in
Nairobi.
“
Before the year 2005, I was in robust health and doing
very well in life. However, I fell sick in that year and I
sought medical aenon. I never thought that there was much
to worry about. The problem persisted and I sought specialised
treatment at Kenyaa Naonal Hospital. As I went through
the roune medical procedures, many thoughts raced through
my mind. I was both fearful and anxious. My worst fears were
conrmed when the doctor broke the sad news to me, that I was
97
Fundamentals of Success
suering from a life threatening medical condion. My kidneys
were failing!!! In June, I was put on dialysis sessions twice
a week at a cost of Ksh. 9,000. I was therefore spending over
Ksh.60,000 per month. This drained all my savings. At the same
me, I stopped working due to my failing health.
Without income to fund my medical costs, I resolved to
do whatever I could to save my life. I sold almost everything I
owned including movable properes and even the plot of land
I had and was le with nothing. I was determined to survive to
provide for my children. During this me, my friends deserted
me. I tried to organise a fundraising to enable me travel to India
for a transplant, but I could not raise even half of the money.
Most of my friends were not ready to contribute because they
were not sure I would survive, but I knew God would intervene
for me.
My parents never gave up on me. They stood by me to their
last cent. They sold all that they had to put me back on my feet.
With me, I was able to start a small business which sustains
my family. My wife has been my greatest source of support.
The sickness brought me to the lowest point of my life, but
I kept my faith that I would overcome one day. I was opmisc
that one day things would change for the beer.
In the year 2010, there was an oer for subsidised transplants
organised by a group of doctors from Spain and The Swiss drug
manufacturing company, Norvas. I was a beneciary of this
benevolent act. My maternal cousins could not let this chance
pass, and they managed to raise Ksh. 520,000. We sll had a
decit of Ksh. 230,000. Some good friends from Karen, Mr. and
Mrs. Wahome organised for a race with a group christened
98
Fundamentals of Success
‘Swara’ which raised Ksh.250,000. This way, I was able to undergo
the transplant which was very successful.
Today I am well and I have seen my children go through
school. I sll have to live on immune suppressant drugs to enable
the organ to work. I spend Ksh.45,000 monthly on drugs but this
has not dampened my spirit. I live a normal life today. I assure
you that you can sll conquer no maer how high the mountain
you are climbing is. It has been tough and very depressing
for me at mes, but I have kept myself aoat in these stormy
waters through faith and prayers. That is how I have been able
to overcome and pull through the darkest moments of my life
when no one believed I would survive this far.”
Adversies in the journey of life are the things that stand
between us and the success we are pursuing. It is what we have
to conquer in order for us to emerge victorious. Our physical
condions and the very nature of the social strata in which we are
may be our greatest hinderances. It is unfortunate that most of
us subject ourselves to failure by succumbing to the adversies.
In the year 2012, just before the Kenya Cercate of Primary
Educaon examinaon was done, one of my sta requested me
to go and see one of his nephews who was sing for the same
examinaon. Without giving much thought, I readily accepted.
On that same day, we were to travel to Thika to visit a sick friend
in hospital.
At around 11.00 am, we set o on our mission of seeing that
boy and wishing him well in that very important examinaon.
On arrival, something struck me very hard. The boy had no
hands and one of his legs was completely deformed. It could
not aid him in walking. But interesngly, that leg was his most
99
Fundamentals of Success
important asset in school; it was his ‘hand’. He used it to take
notes and to do any other thing that is designed for hands. He
was an excellent swimmer and a footballer in school. The boy
was also a talented dancer and singer. He exuded a commanding
condence during our conversaon in spite of his physical
challenge. As we chaed, I picked out heaps of textbooks in
his study area. His mother told us that the boy was a ghter
who does not take defeat lying down. He is known to burn the
midnight oil reading long aer his mother had slept. This is a
boy who epitomises a rare kind of courage in the wake of great
setbacks.
His name is Brian Ndung’u. Brian was born in 1999 to Mumbi
as a physically challenged child. He walks on one of his legs since
the other one is not strong enough to support him. He aended
school like any other normal child. In spite of his condion, Brian
excelled in class and was many mes declared the student with
the best handwring in the whole school. His mother is a symbol
of unshakable strength and enviable faith. Many of us would not
have been bold enough to bring such a child to public limelight.
Instead, we would have hidden them in our homes. We fear
public backlash and ridicule. For us to be all that we are meant
to be, we must conquer the negavity in us. We must know that
no maer what our challenges are, we can overcome them all
and be all that God intended for us to be. I was personally deeply
inspired by Brian. He did not see anything as a challenge. Rather,
he took every challenge as an opportunity to build himself.
One can rise from the lowest pit to the zenith of life. The
following is also a true story in regard to conquering adversity.
Ambrose Maina’s story is thriller of a kind. He was born to
100
Fundamentals of Success
two peasant farmers in the sprawling grasslands of Nyandarua
County. In the inial years, his life was no doubt very miserable.
However, he kept his hope alive, living each day at a me, hoping
that the dawn of prosperity and endless joy would one day come.
He put his best foot forward in his studies. Aer his primary
school, he was admied to the then presgious Nyahururu High
School, but was forced to drop out before the four years were
over due to nancial problems. It was heart-breaking for him
because he had been so determined to scale the unconquered
heights of educaon.
His never-say-die atude enabled him to sail through the
unexpected stormy occurrence in his life. His humility, hard work
and commitment to excel endeared him to many. He went ahead
and enrolled in a neighbouring secondary school. At the end of
the four years, he surprised everyone. In spite of all the odds
and tribulaons, he had secured himself a place at the Kenyaa
University, the leading university in teacher training.
He trained as a Chemistry teacher. Nothing gave him greater
impetus than pulling through the sea of obstacles to get to his
dreams. Conquering adversity to him was not an opon but a
must.
Today, he is the number one Chemistry teacher in the
country. His class scored a mean score of above ten in the
Kenya Cercate of Secondary Educaon in the year 2012. He
is also a naonal examiner, a mentor and an inspiraon to many
students. His dull and unpromising past did not suocate his most
cherished dreams. His iconic ight from obscurity to stardom is
proof of what determinaon can do in the face of challenges. In
the presence of a determined and strong will, challenges melt
101
Fundamentals of Success
away and a highway is created for us to succeed.
Somemes, what people perceive as our weaknesses can
become our greatest enemy; these perceived weaknesses can
inmidate us and induce fear in us. Naturally, human nature
seeks sympathy when facing disadvantages. But we should not
accept to yield to our current state of aairs; we should choose
the path of victory and triumph over every adversity.
Brian, whom we read about earlier, is an imposing gure
even to grownups. I was deeply inspired by his courage and
determinaon to move on and achieve even what able-bodied
people have failed to achieve. I am fully convinced that we can
all rise and y past our obstacles and become all that we are
capable of being. Overcoming rejecon, abuse and neglect is the
rst step towards victory over our troubling situaons.
Your tesmony will either be as big or as small as your
challenge. Nothing spurs and srs me into acon like the desire
to emancipate myself from the shackles of despair. I cannot
stand hopelessness and failure in my life. It does not maer how
bad the situaons is. The storms in life are temporary and the
fact that the sea is stormy does not mean that Christ is not with
us. Instead, He is growing our faith beyond these situaons.
Christ is the master over the storms of life, as narrated in
one of the passages in the Bible. One day, Jesus was travelling in
a boat with his disciples. He then fell asleep. The seas became
violent and the vessel was tossed from one side to the other. The
disciples were scared and they thought they would die if nothing
was done. They called on Jesus and he called the seas to order.
No storm, no maer how violent it is, can defy his orders. He
helps us to overcome all if we believe in Him. It does not really
102
Fundamentals of Success
maer what is happening in your life, just know that bales in
life are to be fought and won by us. The weeping may endure for
the night, but the joy comes in the morning.
Our zeal to ght on should be anchored on the promises
that God has made to his people. The greatest wins in life are
recorded in the most dicult circumstances. Ordinary wins
do not excite anybody; extra-ordinary victories are not only
capvang but very upliing.
They depict us as winners rather than losers. They convince
us not to accept our situaons as they are. Thus, whatever we
face in life, we can choose beforehand to never give up and in
the process, we will acquire the atude of always being able to
conquer adversity.
103
Fundamentals of Success
Chapter 23
Faith
"Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the
convicon of things not seen."
Hebrews 11:1
L
ast, but denitely not the least, faith in God, faith in
oneself and faith in others is cardinal in the pursuit of
success. We are only able to achieve much when we choose to be
hopeful that whatever we are venturing into is going to succeed.
In absence of faith, we will never dare to do anything. We remain
average for ever. Majority of some of the most successful people
in all spheres of life have great faith in the skills of the people
they work with. They also have a limitless convicon that things
will work out well. Thus, an integral and fundamental element of
success is faith. It is a major foundaon for all the others.
God will only work in your life if you learn to trust upon Him
completely, even in the most challenging situaons. Faith in God
104
Fundamentals of Success
is the foundaon of excellence and victory in all bales of life.
Indeed, without faith, we cannot please God. In the book of
Psalms 37:23, the Bible says that when a man’s ways please
God, He blesses that man. This underscores the centrality of
God’s guidance and favour in search of success.
No man can achieve anything without God. God will give us
the power of focus and the resilience to pull through dicult
mes. In each one of us lies hidden, latent powers. When
triggered into acon, the results are amazing. Faith without
acon is dead. This means that faith will only be important if
it is exploited. The mere fact that we have faith in God is not
enough; we must swing into acon to actualise our belief. The
story of David in the Bible epitomises the highest form of faith.
He was perfectly sure that Goliath could be subdued. Even
though his enemy was heavily built and much bigger than him,
David fored his physical ability with unshakable faith in the
most High God.
Recently, I watched on television one very successful and
highly respected chief execuve ocer declare that all the
milestones his company had made over the years were purely as
a result of the favour and grace of God.
He further said that he aributes their success to the insight
that God had given him and his sta.
He had this to say, “We have made great strides in the
pursuit of the course for which we were established. None of us,
however gied he is, can claim the credit for it is all the doing of
the Lord.”
I work in a company where faith has been the driving force
for all the decisions that are made. The board rst meets and
105
Fundamentals of Success
deliberates on what they have in mind. They then take me to
pray over it. I have seen this working. The rm is merely three
years old, but it is already doing very well. Everybody around
our locality has been wondering whether it is possible to make
such great leaps in growth in such a short me, but with God,
everything is possible.
Christ taught us this when He told us that if we had faith,
we would command a mountain to move into the sea and it
would move. Nothing can overcome a man who has a strong will
built on faith. It does not maer what task lies ahead of him, he
will always soar higher than the challenges. Faith creates inner
movaon to win.
Our faith in God causes a resurgence of our morale aer an
epoch of great crisis. Personal condence can only be possessed
by the men and women of faith. Faith in oneself enables us to
inuence others. We cannot inspire others when we are not
inspired. It is said that one cannot give what he does not have.
In the world of business, faith drives people to invest, to trade
with one another, to delegate, to build teams and even to make
new friends. There can never be any meaningful engagement
among business people without trust that the contract terms
will be honoured. Lack of faith in oneself is one of the greatest
causes of failure. Many people miss valuable opportunies since
they lack faith. They delay in taking up assignments because
they doubt that they are up to the tasks. If we believe we can
win and excel in whatever we do, then we are denitely headed
for success.
It is me for us to get moving to the places of unlimited
success. By embracing the victor mentality instead of vicm
106
Fundamentals of Success
mentality, I am convinced that we shall realise the dreams we
always desire in life. We shall have unleashed the latent energy
reserves in us to enable us live a more meaningful life. Time is
ripe for us to focus on success for that is what we have been cut
out for. There must be a paradigm shi in the way we look at
ourselves. Our inner synergies to move on must overcome the
negave voices pung us down. We must look at ourselves as
winners and not losers.
In each person lies enormous potenal. There is a rich gold
mine in us that is undiscovered. Most of us are giants that will
never be if we get sased with the status quo. It is high me we
unearth the jewels in us. Nobody is going to become an achiever
on our behalf. No one is beer placed to dream for our future
other than us. God has placed limitless potenal in us that cannot
be exhausted. We are specially designed for specic missions in
life; and are equipped to excel in fullling these missions.
For how long are you going to connue lingering and in the
abyss of desperaon? God wants to bless you and show you
marvellous things that you know nothing about. He wants to use
you to manifest His amazing greatness. Behold, He is about to
do a new thing in your life. He is going to make a highway where
there is none and cause rivers to ow in parched land. Success is
not a preserve of a few special people; it is for all of us. We must
dare to dream and succeed because we were not born to fail but
to succeed and excel in this life.
107
Fundamentals of Success
About the Author
John Gathige Maina is one of the Founders and Directors
of Lakewood Schools in Nairobi, Kenya. He is a seasoned
educaonist with vast experience spanning over een years.
He is exceponally gied in school management and teaching.
He has been preparing students for naonal examinaons with
enviable success: topping in the country for thirteen years in
a row in Social Studies. He is extra-ordinarily arculate in the
ideals he stands for.
Mr. Maina believes in helping others to be all they can be. He
is a great mentor and has had a powerful impact on his students
and employees. His love and desire to movate and trigger
people to get moving to their appointed desny has led him to
write this book.
He is an examiner with a deep wealth of experience in exam
preparaon and mentoring students. He is a polished life skills
trainer in youth empowerment and entrepreneurship, and is
also greatly gied in oratory skills.
School diary reecons
“Maina Gathige enabled me to realise what really counts
since out of his knowledge, encouragement and educaonal
guidance, I took an acon which laid the foundaon for my
success today. He is a wise teacher who does not bid you to enter
the house of his wisdom but rather leads you to the threshold
of your mind.”
108
Fundamentals of Success
“Benson Ng’ang’a Ndung’u
Bsc. Informaon Technology, Makerere University”
He was average, neither very tall, nor short and appeared
to be in his thires. Curly beards staggered over his cheeks and
chin. A few grains of grey hair scaered sparsely over his thick
hair.
Unl recently, I knew him by one name Mr. Maina. Mr. Maina
was a teacher at Kasuku P.C.E.A Academy, my former school.
He taught me from Class Six unl I sat for my nal naonal
examinaon in Class Eight in the year 2000.
Following the Kenya Cercate of Primary Educaon
(K.C.P.E) naonal examinaon in the year 1999, our school had
emerged victorious ranking number three in Nyandarua District
and among the best schools in the enre republic of Kenya. This
was no mean achievement. It was a good reason to celebrate.
Mr. Maina however, had a beer reason to celebrate. He had
topped the district by achieving the highest mean grade in GHCRE
(Geography, History Civics and Chrisan Religion Educaon),
Home Science and Business.
The school had aained the highest mean grade in this
parcular examinaon in the enre district. The class was placed
among the top ve in Social Studies naonally and the rst in
Home Science and Business in the enre naon. In all this, he
maintained a very humble and admirable mien that endeared
him to many from the parents, students and colleagues. These
were the two subjects that he taught with unimaginable prowess.
It was on a Wednesday in April, the year 2000. The District’s
Educaon prize day event was held. The venue was Ol-Kalou.
109
Fundamentals of Success
There were a few seats at the podium, reserved for senior
government ocials, district educaon ocers and a few very
important invited guests. The rest of us were to either sit on the
grass or stand.
We had two reasons to be present at this occasion. First to
receive the award of the third best primary school in the district
and secondly, to witness Mr. Maina receive the award for topping
in G.H.C.R.E in the enre district.
The event began fairly early, with presentaons from various
schools, including ours. This was followed by presentaons of
the awards to the top performing students and teachers in
various subjects. The climax of the occasion was a speech from
the District Commissioner. By the me he was giving his speech,
it was already midday. The sun was scorching and the air was
lled with dust blown up by students and pupils who had danced
energecally to entertain the guests. I was extremely thirsty and
hungry.
Mr. Maina had already received his trophy. I believe that it
must have been accompanied with a few hundreds of shillings. I
stood by him and I noced that he was holding the trophy ghtly
under this right arm. It was indeed a great achievement.
As a teacher, he had diligently exhibited rare energy, beyond
the ordinary. We envied him but also acknowledged that he
deserved it. He was my best teacher ever because he played a
crical role in shaping my academic desny. He was a father-
gure to many. Nobody could resist his towering, but gentle and
convincing inuence.
White dust had seled on his hair. It had also seled on his
pair of shoes that had denitely seen beer days. I was gazing at
110
Fundamentals of Success
him hoping that he could give a signal so that we would leave the
occasion. He noced that I was staring at him and he intoned,
“This man is exuding words of wisdom. I cannot stop listening to
him”. This disappointed me enormously. The dreadful thirst and
bing hunger was taking a heavy toll on my paence. However
there is nothing I could do to change my situaon. When
the occasion came to an end, half a loaf of bread and a coke
quenched and seled my thirst and hunger. I was excited.
Soon thereaer, in November 2000, I sat for my naonal
examinaons. Time had come for us to part ways. This saw
me join St. Mary’s Secondary School in Nyeri for my secondary
school educaon. The environment changed completely. One
of the major changes was that I could no longer converse in
my vernacular at school. I was lucky to have gone through Mr.
Maina’s hands. The ideals he imparted on me stuck with me like
a ck on its host in the African savannah. I was nally able to
get an A in English. I was the rst to get the grade in the history
of the school; my tributes of course go partly to the skills and
lessons Mr. Maina imparted on me.
I later joined Moi University where I graduated with an LLB
(Bachelors Degree in Law). His memories however remained
vividly imprinted in my mind. They were indelible.
I am now an advocate of the High Court of Kenya. I met Mr.
Maina someme in March 2013 in Nakuru town where I now
pracce law. He looks younger than his age, and is now the
director of Lakewood Schools in Nairobi. His wisdom and sharp
sense of insight into the future seem greater than ever.
Mr. Maina is an incarnaon of success and his life is a proper
epitome of the journey to success from a humble beginning. It
111
Fundamentals of Success
is a journey whose path is clearly marked with great principles
that lead to success. These principles include the realisaon that
everyone has a potenal to succeed, acvang that potenal,
being passionate in pursuit of success, and most importantly,
involving God in these pursuits.
My interacons with him and my reecon of his life have
imparted this noble lessons in my life. I remain very indebted to
him as I also journey through the road to success.
Wairimu Muriithi
LLB Moi University,
Advocate of High Court, Nakuru.
For Bookings
J.G. Maina welcomes your candid feedback on the impact
that this book has in your life. I bless the Lord that you took me
to read this book. Be happy because this is the best decision
you have ever made. I am convinced that you have been greatly
inspired and enriched.
If you would like Maina to come and speak to you and set
you o to stardom, you can reach him through the following
address:
Phone: +254725963046 /+254789880800/0723778307
Email: gathigemainajohn@gmail.com /mainahg2000@yahoo.
com
Facebook: Maina Gathige
