The formula for fulfilling your dreams

                   












Boris Johnson


By Bayo Ogunmupe

    Jiro Ono, a chef in Tokyo, Japan, is regarded as the greatest craftsman of his trade. He has never worked on any other  job in his life. And he has been doing this job longer than anyone else alive. People know him all over the world. No less than the former U.S. President Barack Obama who once flew down to his restaurant to have a taste of his meals. To get a reservation at his hotel, you need to book three months in advance; and he charges N100,000 per plate. I learned all of this from a documentary on Youtube. Ono's great dedication impressed me.

    Here is a man who totally immersed himself in his work. He never whined about making mistakes; he lives for perfecting his craft. And the result speaks for itself. Shows, you don't get to the top of your profession messing around. He showcases how the Japanese are obsessed with perfection. It got me thinking about the other traits that makes people successful. Certainly, dedication is one thing, but what are the other pieces to the success formula? As a teacher, the offspring of two herbalist families, I just must find the other pieces to the success puzzle.

    After some soul searching and serious research, along with hard earned lessons, I came to live by the following set of principles that are getting me through the life of my dreams. The formula for fulfilling your dreams starts with serving others. When you are pursuing your dream of becoming a number one in your community, there is something powerful and enticing about helping others along your journey. In my life I have found helping others as an approach to success incredibly empowering and highly rewarding. Sharing your good fortune with others breeds more of the same. It creates ripples in your world.

    The goodwill you create eventually finds its way back to you. Serving others entails adding value to the world. If you offered something valuable to the world, that improves people's lives, it is inevitable that the people will assist you in fulfilling your dreams. When you add value, people will beat a path to your door offering you whatever you need: money, fame or power. When life gets tough, keep at your ambition and keep learning. If you are processing your setbacks the same way, then you aren't failing in anything. Before you make a perfect omelette, you will have to break a hundred eggs first.

    Two, focus is everything. Success has to do with focusing yourself on one thing at a time. Sadly, most people only pay attention to the glamorous part of success; they are oblivious of the boring and soul crushing side. In any given field of work, you get paid handsomely for doing something very well. And that means a lot of repetition. No matter what the skill is about, painstaking repetition has always been the way humans have learned to get good results. Surely, learning each skill set has evolved into a science. It is essentially the same process of drilling it into your brain until it sticks and you become very skilful at it.

    If you have got your sights set on succeeding at something, you will have to put your nose down in it until it becomes second nature to you. There is no other way. A great footballer once said: "I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who had practiced one kick 10,000 times." Three, talent isn't everything, in fact talent is overrated. Being naturally gifted at something is a nice advantage, but would not get you much far. In some cases, talent can act like a crutch. bolstering your skills. But regardless of a person's standing in life, persistence is omnipotent.

    Through persistence, that talent you didn't have at the beginning will catch up with you. You then grow and evolve literally becoming smarter over time. Whenever you knock down a challenge, you learn from the experience. If anything, effort is a great equalizer in life. Which is why you should never accept excuses for failing from anyone. Successful people have always stood on the shoulders of giants. Because success does not exist in a vacuum. The path of greatness is never walked alone.

    Most people follow their heroes as pattern for emulation. Others have life coaches: living legends they consult on their professional path as physicians, academics and writers. You have to train and learn from the masters before you can unlock that power within you. That is why every hero's journey has a mentor figure whether an Otto von Bismarck or a Napoleon Bonaparte. And in your story, you will also find many wise men out there who know what is what. They can show you the ropes, tell you how they screwed up and teach you how to be better than them. But they won't help you unless you ask.

    Whatever you are trying to do now, someone else has done it before. So you need to seek out these people, find out their story and learn from it. It could be someone you know personally, a famous figure from history or an expert on the subject matter. Go out and find these people starting today. Let their knowledge empower you and their success inspire you. But beware of negative people. Cut out those toxic people who hate the thought of anyone getting ahead of them, they will try to make you feel bad for trying. If they are not supporting your dreams and pushing you to be your best, then stop hanging out with them.

    Finally, feed your subconscious with your ambition. Belief is both a powerful and a terrifying force in your life. If your subconscious subscribes to your belief, it is going to do everything possible to make it happen in the real world. If you are bugged down by negative thinking or self talk, learn to meditate. Meditation will help you unlearn your negativity, thereby reprogramming your mind for success. Meditation is the act of sitting still and focusing on nothing but your breathing. The habit will help you concentrate on the present and push out all your negative thoughts.