In this post, I discuss \u2013 with reference to accomplishments of historic personalities \u2013 the importance of encouraging your child to think and dream big, about what s\/he wants to achieve in life. <\/p>\n
Dreaming big is about living with purpose. It\u2019s important to discover one\u2019s purpose in life as early as possible. By purpose, I mean the ultimate, overriding objective that you aim to achieve over your entire lifetime.<\/strong> <\/p>\n It has been said that a well-defined purpose is actually one that will keep a person busy trying to achieve it till he\/she dies. However, that person would derive the greatest satisfaction and fulfillment not just from actualizing that objective, BUT also in the process of working towards that achievement<\/em>. <\/p>\n In my Self-Development Bible\u2122 print manual titled \u201cTen Ways You Can Use Self-Development to Create the Future You Want<\/em><\/strong>\u201d, I explained that this kind of \u201cpurpose\u201d has been described by some as a \u201cMagnificent Obsession\u201d. <\/p>\n As the examples provided below demonstrate, the benefits to be had are not just for you and your child. The larger society stands to benefit as well. And if your child starts working on her BIG dreams early, her chances of success will increase.<\/p>\n If we think of some people who have influenced our societies through their efforts, we can actually deduce what purpose they had. <\/p>\n Consider the following:<\/p>\n 1. The late fiery activist Nigerian lawyer - Gani Fawehinmi<\/em><\/strong> - was obsessed with fighting for the emancipation of the rights of the common people \u2013 the masses, the downtrodden, the poverty stricken and the disadvantaged. <\/p>\n The fact that his purpose was his \u201cobsession\u201d was always obvious to all who saw the passion with which he spoke about it, every single time he has the opportunity. That was why he carried on his crusade successfully for so many decades! And that\u2019s also why he enjoyed such a huge following.<\/p>\n 2. Same applies to Fela Anikulapo Kuti<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 who is now celebrated worldwide for his music and human rights activism via Broadway dramatizations of his life story etc. <\/p>\n Fela chose to educate us through his songs about the folly of our ways and those of our governments\/leaders, as well as the need for black people to avoid feeling inferior because of the colour of their skins. <\/p>\n He died living the values he so fervently advocated. Again, that was why he was so phenomenally successful - and acknowledged worldwide \u2013 in death \u2013 even by those he \u201cpreached\u201d against!!<\/p>\n 3. And of course there\u2019s South Africa\u2019s Nelson Mandela,<\/strong> who has really given meaning to the idea of living with purpose. Mandela famously gave up 27 long years of his life (in prison) to secure liberation from racial discrimination for people of South Africa. <\/p>\n Anyone who has tried staying in restricted conditions for one hour will know that it is NOT easy to give up your freedom \u2013 for half of your useful years on earth \u2013 to a cause that many must have told him was doomed to failure. <\/p>\n Yet, Mandela was convinced \u2013 and obsessed \u2013 enough to persist in pursuing that seemingly impossible dream. <\/em><\/p>\n Today, he is a living legend celebrated as an icon all over the world for his efforts and sacrifice.<\/p>\n These people mentioned above are just a few examples. Desmond Tutu, Martin Luther King Jnr., and so many others are other well known role models. <\/p>\n By \u201cpurpose\u201d I refer to the special talent, skill, insight or ingenuity that your<\/em><\/strong> child might have to offer this world. <\/p>\n It is the exclusive niche she might end up \u2013 with proper guidance \u2013 carving for herself in her nation, on the continent \u2013 even across the globe. <\/p>\n That rare, unique quality which would make her name ring a familiar bell in the ears of people in her society or even all over the world\u2026The way Mohammed Ali\u2019s name today still rings very loud, familiar and pleasant bells in all our ears.<\/em> <\/p>\n That is one man who - despite physical limitations now imposed on him by a nervous disorder - still continues to demonstrate the extraordinary courage and tenacity that has made him the greatest Boxing Heavyweight Champion who ever lived. <\/p>\nGreat People Who Dreamt Big \u2013 And Won!<\/strong><\/h3>\n
What \u201cPurpose\u201d Should Mean To Your Child<\/strong><\/h3>\n