Preparation Meets Opportunity.........ON DESTINY

NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE!......In fact this is simply because there is really nothing new under the sun. There is nothing that you want to do that has not been done before; maybe not the same way or during the same time but the circumstances of your 'unique' situation have been faced by someone else before you. History repeats itself because we either fail to learn from the past or we learn too well. The only difference is the time, the scale and perhaps the people in that situation; but whatever it is someone has been there before, and believe you me they probably had it worse but they made it through just the same so why not you? How much control do we have, are we in charge of our own destiny, are our utmost dreams, fantasies and goals necessary or should we allow common sense and society to dictate to us what is and is not possible to achieve? I know not much but I can boldly venture and say this, 'In the no-nonsense world of legitimate business, the most important asset is to be honest to yourself, know yourself and your capabilities and align your goals and objectives to them - learn from the past, study and prepare yourself for the future - see obstacles as opportunities and seize these opportunities when they come and success will surely follow if your mind is disciplined, your steps are determined, you are self-motivated and doggedly persistent.'

Your level of happiness, achievement; your beliefs, actions and ultimately your Destiny are all tools that are right in your power to determine, control and direct......Only if you decide to have faith in your ability to do these things. I've not experience much, but from the little I've seen and heard it appears to me that we have far more power and control than we think we do as human beings; maybe not as much as we would want but just as much as we NEED to be able to fulfill our true destinies here on this Planet. Ultimately though, most of us compromise and let our power whither away; consequentially we are not as happy, acclaimed, content and fulfilled as we would like to be. But a life full of compromise is also a life full of regret; why compromise on your goals, your beliefs and your dreams and rather acquiesce to popular mentality......that is the road to mediocrity for in order for somebody to stand out, they must first make a conscious decision to do things different from what everybody else is doing.

So the first step is to know your destiny. I was chatting with a business partner of mine, the Same Oil Tycoon in the article "On Money......Fiduciary Quota", on Tuesday, 07/09 and he gave me several priceless tips on the whole concept of Destiny and success. He first asked me, "Ampofo, how do you know you are on the path to fulfill your destiny?" I'm usually a silver-tongued person who can and likes to rattle on in situations like this. My friends know not to launch me - spark the motor - with questions like this sometimes because I will talk and talk and talk mostly because I am quite well read and probably know something about the issue at hand and therefore have some opinions, answers or thoughts. But for once I was stumped, I mean what was I supposed to say. In fact Mr. Tycoon let the silence hang on for a bit and then asked me the question again. I looked away from his face and reluctantly sputtered, "Honestly, I don't know sir, why don't you tell me". At this he smiled and I knew he was going to let go the magic beads of wisdom he has garnered over so many years of doing business and succeeding in it.

Mr. Tycoon said exactly this, "When your Preparation meets Opportunity, then you are on the path to fulfilling your Destiny". He even went for the theatrical and repeated it again with great somberness. I know my mentor has little tolerance for the comical but in this case he was soon amused by my immediate shock as the truth of the statement dawned on me. It felt like a sledge hammer whacking my brain: Preparation meets Opportunity, of course. He went on further to elaborate, "Your destiny is what you are prepared to sacrifice and work towards; if you are not prepared even when the opportunity comes knocking you will not see it, but if you are prepared you will see it and know that all your work has paid off and you are fulfilling your destiny". So simple yet so true. He said many other things but these two statements just etched themselves into my brain and I have meditated on them much and come to conclude that they are facts of life in general and business in particular.

Our generation is so stressed out chasing great destinies; everybody would like to own a 'Ferrari' or even a humble 'Jaguar' or 'Mercedes', everybody wants to make millions, everybody wants the latest this or that, our dreams are being shaped by our idols; the Music stars, Movie stars, the Millionaires, the Billionaires, and generally people who enjoy the so-called "Good Life". But are we preparing ourselves to grab the opportunity when it comes so that in due time we shall fulfill our destinies? Are we making the necessary sacrifices, putting in the necessary work, educating ourselves and racking up the required experience points? Is that what you are doing or are you just sleeping and chilling, boozing or speeding, enjoying and enjoying rather than sacrificing and focusing, being disciplined and determined, motivating ourselves and others; are you looking for people to help you on your long and arduous journey to these 'millions' or are we just praying that the breakthrough will just fall on our laps somehow?

An Officer of BMIC (Gilbert Lartey) posted this, "Satisfaction does not come with achievement, but with effort. Full effort is full victory" a quote by Gandhi. How can you achieve something, anything, without putting in the required work? In essence satisfaction can only be gained from the full effort that is required to achieve the goal intended. You cannot run 99 meters of a 100 meter race faster than everybody and then become injured fall and hope to win the race; that last meter costs the victory because it is not the FULL EFFORT. Mathematically Satisfaction=Full Effort=Achievement. You will only succeed if you ensure that you have done all you can do, and then more, and more and more until you cross the finish line. Self-made business tycoons have one thing in common, they have struggled against ridiculous odds and impossible obstacles and their story reads like a fairy tale without the magic; its all because they had faith in themselves, and belief in their abilities and as such Prepared their minds, bodies and souls to the point that when the right opportunity came, they saw it and utilized it as a natural progression on their Path to Success, Achievement (Wealth, if you may ) DESTINY!

Nothing is impossible, but are you prepared to make the seemingly impossible possible, are you really ready to make the necessary sacrifices that you know are necessary; can you handle the disappointments, the never-ending stress, the uncertainty, the lack of support or belief, are you preparing yourself, are you really? I certainly hope you are, because Money doesn't make money......No.......Ideas backed by the necessary due diligence Make Money in this world.....Disabuse yourself of the notion that it is your destiny to become rich no matter what because you are talented in this or that, or you can rely on your your family or well placed links; they are not guarantees. Do not also think that you cannot consequently become Wealthy and Happy without doing things illegally by cheating because or some supposed disadvantage or perceived advantage - disabilities exist only in the mind and shortcuts have bumps too. You will only achieve your true destiny if you are prepared when opportunity comes flying by, because it won't slow down just because its for you, so you better get in shape to be in the race. Remember this....the wealthiest man in the world is not some cocaine dealer hiding his money and afraid to die any moment, it is not some African Dictator hiding his money gotten from oppressing his people, it is not even some monarch who was born into incredible wealth. Its a nerdy man in glasses who talks with a whine and is always working, even going as far as to read whiles driving; so one-track minded that he doesn't care what he's wearing or eating, only how to solve this problem or that problem. And he made his first company at age 19, it was called Microsoft, and his name is Bill, and he's a billionaire. His dad said he couldn't do it, but now he's his number one fan, his wife simply believed in him and now she doesn't have to lift her hand, and regardless of what we all think of him, he doesn't care because he was prepared when the opportunity came, and now he's living out his destiny - he doesn't hide his money, he gives it away!

Cheers and May God richly bless you.