Stand Up!! Be Counted.

by Philip Bwalya
(Ndola, Zambia)

STAND UP!! BE COUNTED.

Stand up and be counted. Why should you forever be living on wishes and regrets? Admiring those in the lime light, cursing the day you were born and your family. Wishing you had another pair for your parents.

This life has a lot to offer to everyone – if only you are willing and obedient to your inner voice.

To some this voice is a still small voice that it has taken them this long to come to a realisation; while others it’s loud enough to be ignored. Yet most people still ignore it.

START OFF

Those people you admire are ordinary people like you and me. They are Zambians just like you and me. Meaning we are all subjected to similar laws and forces of nature.

The only difference is that they decided to stand up and be counted by starting off to pursue their inner convictions with a mixture of fear of failure and courage to face their tomorrow no matter the outcome.

But at least they started off. They took calculated risks. It just didn’t happen. There is something about starting off. It tells you that you should have started off earlier, because as you gain momentum and increase your mileage, you want to keep moving just like a baby who is learning to walk.

So they decided on what they wanted to do. Thank God their decision paid off as fear was brushed aside along the way thus courage and a burning desire to finish well and win became their breath of life. Come on put on your shoes and go for a walk.

DECIDE TO PLAY

We are all products of a decision made in one way or the other. A decision made either by us or other people on our behalf; for example your existence can be traced back to your parents’ decision to marry and eventually deciding to have a baby – You.

Now that you are born the onus is on you to make your own decisions. Like in the game of soccer, the player on the touch line has a greater potential to change the complexion of his team’s performance than the players on the pitch.

When you are cleared to enter, it’s up to you to decide to enter the field of play or remain on the touch line. Why hold on to that potential that when utilized well will not only impress your funs but one that will change the way you have always thought about yourself and the way other people think about you? Why wait?

Decide to play now.

The so called well to do in our society were at the touch line at one time or the other in their lives not until they decided to get onto the field of play did they know what they were made of.

Every player is different and unique but they have one mission in the game – to score and win. You know yourself well enough to make a decision without asking for a second or third opinion. You know your convictions. Many times we want to ask for advice even when we know what is expected of us. This is because we can’t trust our judgment or because we fear the unknown. Dare to fail.

CONCLUSION

Come on stand up and be counted. Get onto the field of play. This field of play is so vast that it waits for you to enlist yourself for the game: be it a Singer, Soccer star, Accountant, Designer, Florist, Tailor, Sales man, name them. No talent, Career or Gift is inferior.

Find your footing and be in control of the ball which is in your possession. The difference between the person you are today and the person you dream of becoming tomorrow lies in the decision you make today. The decision to get started on your dream. Come on - Live your dream.