The Power Of Preparation.

The book of Proverbs, chapter twenty four and verse twenty seven says:

"Prepare thy work without, make it fit for thyself in the field; and afterwards build thine house."

This verse clearly points out that if you are to successfully complete building a house,  you must first prepare adequately. This preparation involves buying a land, getting experts to do a site plan and developing a building plan, doing a cost analysis and quantity survey, raising and putting aside enough money, hiring a building engineer and other workers, getting the prescribed building materials in the prescribed quantities, building according to plan, etc. This truth applies to every area of life. 

Preparation is the Master Key to success in all pursuits and endeavours in life, including areas for which we are eminently talented and/or naturally gifted. No matter the depth of talent of an individual athlete or a team, if they are not adequately prepared,  they will be beaten by a less talented individual or team that is more prepared. Talent and natural gifting are not a guarantee for success. Preparation is the only guarantee for success. It unlocks doors that talent and natural ability alone cannot open.

We see this daily all around us; less talented or less gifted individuals doing better than highly talented and gifted individuals, simply because they are more prepared. You see, whatever you do not adequately prepare for,  you will not prosper in. When you are not prepared, you will be taken unawares, and whatever takes you unawares will reduce you. 

Please understand that success and greatness never come to those who merely sit around and wait, banking on their talents or connections alone to carry then through,  but to those who work in anticipation of success and greatness. You are not worth what you do not work for, and if you do not work for success, it won't come to you, no matter who you think you are.

Your future is as bright as you are willing to make sacrifices and prepare for now. You know the saying, "as you make your bed,  so will you lie on it". This is a true saying. So, what kind of bed are you making right now? Are you ploughing the grounds and planting the seeds of success or are you just fooling and playing around? Are you planning and working hard or just wishing and wasting time? 

It is up to you, really. If you fail in life, therefore, blame yourself and not the village witch or your mother (I do not know where they got the idea from that a mother can wish for and actively pursue the failure of her child!). Nobody can stop you from succeeding, even if they have the intention and actually try, except you. Only you can stop you. If you fail to prepare, or you give up the struggle too easily, then you will fail.

Listen to what inventor Alexander Graham Bell says about preparation:

"Before anything else, preparation is key to success."

Trust Mr. Alexander Graham Bell. He knows what he is saying. Apart from inventing the telephone, he held 18 other patents. All his inventions are products of preparation and work. 

Inventor Thomas Alva Edison, who held over 1000 patents, put it this way:

"I never did anything worth doing by accident, nor did any of my inventions come by accident; they came by work."

I conclude with this powerful observation I made in my first published work HANDLING OFFENCES AND DISAPPOINTMENTS:

"He who lays up for the future, will find the future laid up for him" - Agoso Bamaiyi.

What are you laying up for tomorrow? 

It is Agoso Bamaiyi, your friend for a greater Nigeria and the best things of life.