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CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION

 “There have been lots of dreamers throughout History, but the only people we remember are dream makers, the people who dream then do what it takes to make their dreams come true” Dr. STEVE PRICE.

 ALL IS CHOICE, NOT CHANCE.

 This is not just a book; this is a set of carefully selected keys to open the future you have always dreamt of. It is one thing to have the keys and another thing to use them. The good news is that you have the keys in you already, but whether to use them or not is when choice comes in. And that choice is yours. Success, the best career, a great marriage, a better financial situation, a great vacation, becoming rich, having great health, peace of mind, wealth, happiness and even making your wildest dream come true is a matter of choice and not chance. Conventional thought has induced people to the belief that unless you were born to a particular class of people or a particular race, a particular part of the world, a particular social and ethnic group or even a particular colour, you cannot always have what you desire in life.

In this book you shall see through the golden keys step by step how it is possible to be who you want to be, and where you want to be at any time. It all depends on you and your choice, irrespective of your background, race, colour or even educational credentials. It all depends on your determination to make a choice and maintain the course of your choice. Then you shall have what you want in life.  People don’t get what they want from life by chance or luck, people don’t get to the top by chance, and people don’t become president by chance, people don’t enjoy a good marriage by chance and people don’t become the manager of a five-star hotel by chance. People don’t become parents with enthusiastic growing-up kids by chance. Think of any successful person, ask him or her how he or she became successful; the response, I am sure, will not be chance: they all chose it. The reverse is also true.    Many people find themselves in the gutter of life, some live to their graves without an atom of happiness, some live a hand-to-mouth life; yet all of these and many others are not through chance or ill luck, but choice. It all depends on whether you are ready for the choice and if you are ready to commit to the course of your life. When you do that, it is quite obvious that the price you pay to get to the top is far less than the price you pay by taking the easy route and remaining on the mediocrity level. In a nutshell, your destiny is a matter of choice, not chance.

The question in your mind now is: ‘Can this work for an ordinary man like me? Can it work for a broken-hearted person like me? Can it work for a depressed person like me? Can it work for a “nobody” like me?’ The answer is YES. If you believe it can work for you, then it can work. Just like a wise man once said: “if can can can, then can can can.” Here is the story of some people whose choice transformed them from ordinary to extra-ordinary people.

THE STORY OF PEOPLE WHOSE CHOICE TRANSFOMED THEIR LIVES FROM ORDINARY TO EXTRA-ODINARY.

In June 1947, a boy was born to an English family of Arthur Blunkett and Doris Matilda. The boy grew up with determination and a great career.

In September 1973, he was a junior lecturer in Bamsley College of Technology.

In May 1976, he became chairman of the Sheffield City Council’s family and community service committee.

In 1978 he lost the election by a single vote for the Penistone constituency.

In May 1980 he was elected Sheffield City Council Leader.

In 1983, he was elected to the National Executive Committee of the British Labour Party.

In June 1987, he was elected into the British Parliament as a Member of Parliament.

In 2000 he became British education and employment secretary.

In 2003 he was appointed British home secretary and was quite close to the Prime Minister.

In 2005 he was appointed Minister of Work and Pension.

Though he resigned from the last two positions, he will always be remembered as a great figure in British politics.

   This boy was not only born to an average family like most of us; he was also born BLIND! The name of this boy was David Blunkett. I kept wondering how much further he would have gone? How much greater he would have been, if only he had his two eyes like most of us. Then I thought again; I have seen people live with their two eyes wide open and finally go to their grave without achieving even a quarter of what this blind man has so far achieved. Don’t be one of them. He had every reason to stay in the mediocrity level of life and go to his grave unheard. But he chose to be heard, he chose to move on, he chose to do something with his life and, above all, he chose to make an ordinary disability to be extra-ordinary. Wake up! You can do it.

  Towards the end of the First World War, on 18^th July 1918, a man called Rolihlahla was born to the family of Mr Mphakanyaswa and Mrs Nosekeni Fanny in a traditional village in Transkei. Though they could not read and write, the parents ensured a cordial family atmosphere. At the age of nine, Rolihlahla lost his biological father who was the only source of his earthly nutrient. As a student he was introverted and not quite brilliant. At Fort University College he studied English, Anthropology, Politics, Native Administration and Roman Dutch Law. He started with the aspiration of being a clerk or an interpreter in the native affairs department. In his studies Mr Rolihlahla observed that many young men had great natural abilities but did not have the self-discipline and patience to build on their endowment.

 He later on joined the opposition party of his country.  In 1952 Rolihlahla, together with one of his friends, established the first law firm of his ethnic or colour group. At the age of 35 he was banned from any involvement with his own political party. 

 He was arrested in 1958 with others and charged with trying to overthrow the government. That was treason trial.  In 1960 his marriage collapsed and that same year he survived in the killing of 70 other demonstrators in the township south of the country’s capital city.  Even though a death sentence was expected, because of lack of evidence, he was charged with sabotage and conspiracy along with many others. 

By this time of his life, Rohlihlala had already figured out what he could die for (his dream).  That dream was the liberation of his people from bondage and to set an example to the world on leadership and influence. Indeed, he had a dream.

It will be interesting to say he spent the next 18 years of his life in the notorious Robben Island prison, with the first decade involving hard manual labour, terrible food and a climate of fear and abuse. However, instead of regretting his position and feeling sorry for himself, he used this time in prison to concentrate on his dream and every possibilities of making it a reality. While in prison, he passed through many difficulties and temptations.  He lost his mother; he lost his 25-year-old son due to a car accident and many other frustrating experiences. Though he passed through these traumatic and horrible events, he did not allow any of these events to pass through him.

 Finally, in 1990, he was released after spending more than 27 years in prison. Four years later, in 1994, Rolihlahla became the first democratically elected president of a country that had suffered so long from apartheid and bloodshed. He did not only achieve his dream but he became the household talk and is admired till today by all who know what it is to see roses in every bush of thorns. By now you should have known that this man is none other than Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela and the country is South Africa.

 I also know of a man who lost his only job in 1832;

In 1836, he lost his best companion, his wife;

In 1838, he failed as speaker of the state legislator;

In 1843, he tried the nomination to the congress and was defeated;

In 1849, he was rejected for the post of land officer;

In 1854, he tried becoming a Senator but did not succeed;

In 1856, he tried to be the vice-president, but that too, was abortive;

In 1858, he tried to be a Senator again, still to no avail;

Finally, in 1860, he was elected the President of the United States of America.

 His name is Abraham Lincoln. And what a president was this man? One of the greatest men the world has ever seen. I pick these stories because they inspired me and I believe could do it for you; it is never too late, wake up and achieve your dream. The stories are told in this detail because they exemplify to an extent the principles of the ten keys.

 PUTTING THE KEYS TO PRACTICE

  KEY: David Blunkett found out who he was, what he could do, and how it could be better done. He knew his worth, he found out any rough edges of his life, polished them and then he created himself. There is a lot of potential that lie within us; as Ralph Waldo Emerson puts it: “What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared with what lies within us”; anyone including you can recreate. You can recreate yourself for the purpose of your dream.

KEY: Mandela figured out what he could die for, he worked out his life’s mission statement, he discovered his purpose in life, he found what would guide and drive his life. There is nothing as sweet as knowing why you are alive. It is from your purpose in life that your mission statement emerges and your dream is as a by-product or subset of your mission statement or purpose in life.

 KEY: Mandela had a dream of liberating his people; he had a dream of stopping apartheid. Everything we see today is a by-product of someone’s dream.

 The freedom that South Africans enjoy today is as a result of Mandela’s dream. Every living thing, in order to still be alive, must be able to have a dream; if not, then you are just existing and not living. Without a dream there is no reality.

KEY: Nelson Mandela did not allow his past to shape his future. Coming from a poor background and from unpopular parents did not give him any inferiority complex.

 He realised that his future did not depend on his parents, nor did it depend on where he was born.

 Many of his age mates who were born at the same time in a larger city like Johannesburg, flowing with opportunities or who were even born at that time in America or Europe, might not have been heard of today. If you are honest, you will agree with me that when you began reading about this man, you did not recognise the village or town Transkei, nor did the name of the father, Mr. Gadla Henry Mphakanyiswa ever ring a bell in your ears. But if he was born in a city like Johannesburg, you will know without doubt where this city is found or if he was born to a family of Mr. & Mrs. George Bush you will know whom these people are. This goes to prove that there are people up there whose origin just doesn’t matter. You don’t need to be born by the chief executive or in the city centre to go to the top. There are many people up there as well, whose town or village of origin cannot easily be located except on a large-scale map. It all depends on you and the choice you make. Your past cannot be changed but you and only you can change your future. Looking at Abraham Lincoln’s past, everyone would say, impossible to proceed, but he did!

 KEY: Mandela spent time alone, he did not confuse the difference between activities and accomplishment. He took the time in prison for meditation, for personal stocktaking, for self-rearrangement. It works for every situation. To build a magnificent home, to manage any great business, to run a company, to rule a country, to maintain a life-long career, you must take time off your busy schedule and meditate daily, to connect with the infinite power, to connect with God. This does not only increase the chances of your dream being made real but it also brightens your ideas and sharpens the image of your dream.

 KEY: Nelson Mandela exercised the power of belief. He believed in himself, he believed in his course and his dream, he believed in everything that could lead to his dream and, above all, he believed in God. A detailed biography of Nelson Mandela shows that he taught at one time as a Sunday school teacher, teaching Bible lessons, and his acquaintance with the man of God, Archbishop Desmond Tutu, actually allows us to perceive that he believed in God. David Blunkett believed so much in himself, that is why he said: Believe in yourself, believe in your dream and believe in your creator.

 KEY: Attitude, they say, is everything. Every other effort is useless without a positive attitude. Nelson Mandela saw the end from the beginning. It would have been a sign of madness to others, to think at that time that Apartheid would ever stop. It would have been unbelievable decades ago to think that a white and black would ever enter the same restaurant for a meal in South Africa, but Nelson Mandela saw it happening. He thought that it was possible, he saw the possibilities, and he refused to see impossibilities, hence maintaining a positive attitude. The way you see your life, the way you see your health, and the way you see your dream shall come out to be exactly that; no more, no less. Positive thought, worked on with a positive attitude, could change the rest of your life and destiny. All the three people mentioned above refused to see the obstacles, but they kept seeing themselves in the position they wanted to be, until they got they.     

KEY: Many people miss the bottom line of achievement, which is goal setting. People don’t set goals, people don’t plan their life, and also people have dreams and finally lose sights of them and people have brilliant ideas and let the dream die down because it was never written down. Even if it was written down, they never went back to check it again. Goal setting helps you to keep track of your dream and make you know whether or not you are advancing.

 KEY: Everyone who wants to go to the top and stay for long must secure a solid foundation. A solid foundation happens to have been one of the reasons for Mandela’s success. He built his foundation on integrity, i.e. not compromising with the authority; love, i.e. the love for his people was the base of his foundation; honesty, i.e. his purpose was not self-centred, but he was honest throughout. How high will you go? How long will you resist the wind and waves of the world’s temptations and trials and problems; and finally how long will you last in a top position? It depends on your foundation.

 KEY: To every mountain search the stairs. The difference between dreamers and achievers is the way they handle setbacks in life. Dreamers find a reason to quit, but achievers find a reason to move ahead. There are a thousand and one reasons why all of the above-mentioned people could stop half-way and everybody would see with them. For Abraham Lincoln, the consistent failure was a good reason. For David Blunkett, his disability was enough. And as for Mandela, the constant arrests, the death of his mother, the collapse of his marriage, the death of his 25-year-old son, and the long-term imprisonment. He could justify himself with these situations, but as he passed through these situations he never allowed the situations to pass through him. To every cloud he saw a silver lining, to every dark tunnel he saw a green light at the end, to every blurred picture he saw a bright spot, to every difficulty and to every problem he saw an opportunity. In short, to every mountain he saw some staircases.

The difference between ordinary and extra-ordinary people is that little word “extra”. This book is not about David Blunkett, it is not about Abraham Lincoln, neither is it about Nelson Mandela, but it is about you. You could manufacture that word “extra” and make yourself an extra-ordinary person, just by using the right key at the right door to turn your dreams and desires into a reality. Yes, you can change your life, you can change your future, and you can change your destiny by using the right key at the right door. Anyway, “Keys don’t just open doors on their own. Keys are used. It is one thing to have the keys and another thing to use the right key on the right lock, and if you do, there is no reason why it shall not be opened” (Columbus A. Fondong).

 For your dream of healthy life, a happy home, a successful career, a top position in society, great financial security, job promotions, sound spiritual mind, a multimillionaire, a man of the year and any other dream you could ever imagine; you now know you have the keys. But as I said at the beginning of this introduction, it’s all your choice to use the keys and open to get what life has for you in full scale or to hold the keys of your life in your own hands and remain outside the door of your dream till you go to your grave. But if I were you, I will open, because I now know I am holding the keys.

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