Turning Nothing into Something

Have you ever read a signboard (usually seen on a corridor or a hallway) that says something like “If you have nothing to do, don’t do it here?” The subtle message here is to avoid loitering.

If you analyze this expression, it does make sense. But if you look at it in a deeper dimension, there is a strong message being delivered here - a message that has relevance to success in life. It is like a wake up call to the reality of life.

Your conscience is the one telling you to stop wasting your time, to do something with your life, and to do your best to achieve a goal. You have to listen to your conscience’s call because if you don’t, it is nobody’s loss but your own.

You must find out if there are any hindrances that are holding you back from moving forward in life. Is it financial condition? Is it social status, age, color, race, religion, educational background, gender, or a handicap? If you look at history, none of those mentioned above were considered hindrances. The explanation is simple. If you think you’re a failure, then you probably are. If you think you’re a success (even if you’re not yet successful), then the universe will work hard towards bringing you to fulfillment.

So the first thing you have to do is to flip the word “failure.” Look at it on the other side, and spell it out as “success.” Letter “f” becomes “s,” letter “a” becomes “u”, and so on.

Next thing on the list, you have to use your navigational instinct. Know what you want, where you’re headed, and how to get there. Find out what you are aiming for. Don’t run around headless.

If you can’t decide on what you want, here are two simple guides. Guide one is to find out what you love or like to do - something you enjoy doing. This is following your heart’s desire. When you love what you do, you’ll stick to it, no matter what. Your level of perseverance is higher and you won’t give up easily. This will keep you going and you won’t stop at anything until you achieve it. This will ensure success.

Guide two is to find a need and fill it. This principle is attributed to a great instrumentalist and has been the guiding principle of many other industrialists ever since. Look around. Be an observant. Check out what kind of product or service your community needs to enhance life improvement and development. It may take some effort and time to find out what it is or what they are, but it will be worth it. Sometimes when you’re looking for something, it is difficult to find it. Other times when you’re not looking but you’re just maintaining an open mind, ideas can come flowing into your mind effortlessly and spontaneously. Call it timing. There is always a right time for everything.

Once you know what you want to do, you will know where you’re heading. Between the “what” and the “where” is the “how” to get there. And this is the most important part of a successful life. It’s action time.

Try dividing a story or movie feature into three parts (what the story is about, how the story goes, and the ending of the story). The lengthiest part is how the story goes. This is where the action is. The outcome of the story is determined by the action that takes place. All three parts of the story are important. However, the middle portion is more significant than the other two.

This is the same with your purpose - to succeed in life. To achieve your goal, the action part takes the most time, effort, and material support to get to where you want to be. It is the part of your life where you are going to experience all the ups and downs, laughter and tears, joys and pains. But it’s all going to be worth it. In the end, as you look at the trail you left behind, you’ll be glad you went through it all.