Taking Charge of Your Life

Take charge of your life… everyone is too busy doing the same for themselves to do it for you.

There is a reason some people rise and keep rising, while others never rise at all; it’s called “Taking Charge” for those who succeed, and “Waiting for Luck” for those who do not.

I believe in destiny, yes I do. But I also believe that we are 90% (or more) in charge of our own destinies. Remember the saying, “Heaven helps those who help themselves”?

I remember back in 2013, when I was contemplating what to do with my scriptwriting talent. I needed to showcase that part of me. I had started writing when I was 13, but my audience was limited to a few family members. I wanted my name to appear on TV screens!

So, I took action. In my diary, I wrote down the steps I needed to take:

1. Brainstorm story ideas

2. Create scripts from them

3. Find movie producers, directors, and investors to pitch the scripts to

I didn’t stop there; I began working towards achieving what I had outlined. It wasn’t easy, but the universe confirmed what was constantly on my mind. Seeing my efforts, God helped to bring out what had already been deposited in me. By the end of 2015, my name was appearing on TV as a scriptwriter!

They say, “We attract what is constantly on our minds,” but it must not remain a thought. You must take steps toward achieving your goals; otherwise, you will attract opportunities and then eventually “repel” them. A dream that is not pursued is a dead dream.

If I had simply written, “I want to be a screenwriter” on every page of my diary without taking any action, it would never have become a reality. It would have remained a dream that was never allowed to see the light and would have died.

God has given each of us what we need, including talent, creativity, and the ability to think and take initiative. However, if we don’t give these gifts life, they will remain dormant. We are responsible for breathing life into our destinies.

I often use myself as an example. If I hadn’t known what I wanted at that time and hadn’t worked towards it, then no opportunity would have come knocking at my door. I truly believe this, and I am very positive it holds validity.

“It is not enough to know what we want; it is vital to go all out to get it.”

Recently, I met a beautiful and promising young lady who knows me as a writer, and our conversation centered mainly on that. During our discussion, she mentioned that she desired to be famous one day—she wanted her name to be a household name. I was really excited for her. Below is an excerpt from our conversation:

“Why not!” I said, filled with excitement. “Everyone can be anything they want to be.” I then asked her how she planned to make that happen.

Her response was, “Well, I don’t know how, but I know it will happen.”

To be honest, I was taken aback at that moment. She started off as a very intelligent person, and now this? I paused for a moment to observe her and then asked, “Do you know what your talents are?”

“Do I have one?” she asked. What? I rolled my eyes and replied, “Please do not mock your Maker!”

“How?” she questioned.

“How can you think you are an empty barrel? How can you believe that nothing has been deposited in you?” She looked confused.

“That’s exactly what you implied when you asked if you have a talent,” I explained.

“Oh!” she laughed. “But that’s true. I don’t have any talent.”

“Unless you are not human, every person has at least one talent. Just because you haven’t discovered yours doesn’t mean it’s not there,” I clarified.

To cut a long story short, I eventually convinced her that she does have talent. I even took it upon myself to help her discover what those talents might be.

So, returning to her ambition of being famous: she had no idea how it would happen and didn’t think it was her responsibility to figure it out. She didn’t even know what her talents were. From my experience and that of others, we typically have 99% of our success in life through the use of our talents. And my friend didn’t think she had even one. Imagine that.

Having said that, she might be among the tiny percentage of people whose destinies pursue them, and perhaps she will become famous simply by dreaming of it. Or she might never achieve that and her name may never be a household name, as she dreams.

Do you see my point?

I am still trying to understand what this world is made of and what keeps it going. I may never answer all my questions about that. However, I can confidently answer one question: Are we in charge of how our lives turn out?

The answer is, YES—we are 90% (or more) in charge of our destiny. What do you think?

Let me leave you with this: Successful people take chances and risks to get to where they are. What we become is not just what we desire, but also what we actively work towards.