Against all Odds:
A life story that inspires.
Author: Calvin Dorman
I hold the belief that one should always try to extend one’s boundaries. To strive to be the best you can possibly be. To be in a continual learning process so that you keep on improving your skills and knowledge in any area of your life where your passion lies.
Complacency is not for me, however, let me make two things clear before I continue:
PERFECTION
1) I strive for perfection, but I am not a perfectionist. Perfectionist people can be difficult to get along with because they often put unrealistic demands on everything and everybody around them. They seem to judge others and like to control.
THE GAME
2) As I set higher goals, I remind myself that whatever I am passionate about - and in my case it is business skills - it will always remain just a game. I am not obsessed with winning or losing as I realize both aspects are part of the game.
So in my journey to be the best I can possibly be in terms of my skill level in order that I am able to contribute more to my family, community and fellow man, I am always in search of new inspiration - the motivation I need to act when at times all I want to do is lie down.
What inspires me is the stories of peoples’ lives: those who have set goals according to their beliefs and have persisted against all odds. When they can’t go around a brick wall (problem) then they go through it.
Here is a story of one such person whose story has inspired me.
His name is William Shabani. Briefly, he is a Congolese who fled civil war and made a struggling journey to reach South Africa.
Arriving penniless in SA in 2002, at the age of 30 and unable to speak much English, he worked as a Car Guard to support his wife and two children.
Now, 8 years later, William Shabani is set to graduate as a doctor in April next year.
Is this possible? Yes, he has achieved his dream and he has set himself another worthy goal: to one day go back to the Congo and make an impact in his community.
I read his story in The Sunday Times of 27 December 2009.
I have scanned the article and saved it in PDF format so that you can download it from my web site:
Download the PDF article > CLICK HERE
I hope you will join me today as we make a conscious decision not to allow ourselves to get complacent and stay “parked” in our comfort zones.
Like William Shabani, you too can continue to extend your boundaries and be the best you can be.
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