Taking a Detour

TAKING A DETOUR

Stop earning a living and start creating a life.

TAKING A DETOUR

Stop earning a living and start creating a life.

Frank Nyimbili

Copyright © 2017 Frank Nyimbili

Published by Frank NyimbiliPublishing at Smashwords

First edition 2017

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or any information storage or retrieval system without permission from the copyright holder.

The Author has made every effort to trace and acknowledge sources/resources/individuals. In the event that any images/information have been incorrectly attributed or credited, the Author will be pleased to rectify these omissions at the earliest opportunity.

Published by Frank Nyimbili using Reach Publishers’ services,

P.O. Box 85, Nata, Botswana.

+26773629955

franknyimbili80@gmail.com.

Edited by Vanessa Finaughty for Reach Publishers

Cover designed by Reach Publishers

P O Box 1384, Wandsbeck, South Africa, 3631

Website: www.reachpublishers.co.za

E-mail: reach@webstorm.co.za

Contents

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter One Discover Your Life’s Mission

Chapter Two Procrastination

Chapter Three Beauty for Ashes

Chapter Four Going Through Changes

Chapter Five Going Beyond Your Curve in Life

Chapter Six The Principles of Flight

Chapter Seven Just Enough is Not Good Enough

Chapter Eight Use Your God-Given Talents

Chapter Nine Increasing Your Job Market Value

Chapter Ten The Ten Career-Killing Habits

Chapter Eleven How to Prioritise and Manage Time at Your Workstation

Chapter Twelve Abandon the Slave Mentality; Flee the Debt Trap

Chapter Thirteen Stop Earning a Living and Start Creating a Life

Chapter Fourteen Embrace a Corporate Dream

Chapter Fifteen Celebrating Your Life

Chapter Sixteen Packaging Your Life for Success

Acknowledgements

The author and the publisher wish to thank Dr. Annette Colby for the permission to reproduce copyrighted material: ‘What is your excuse? Where are you going and how are you holding yourself back?’ Copyright 1997–2012 Annette Colby, PhD.

Every effort has been made to trace rights holders, but, if any have been inadvertently overlooked, the author would be pleased to make the necessary arrangements at the first opportunity.

I further wish to express my gratitude to all those who gave so generously of their time and support as I was preparing various manuscripts for this book, notably, my wife, Grace N. Nyimbili, and my brother, Pastor Smart Musongole, Elder Emmanuel Mwangomile, Ms Finika Jacqueline Kandjii, and all family members and friends who have supported me through and through.

Last but not least, I wish to thank Pastor Kate C. Banda, ‘Pastor Esther’ of Restoration Healing Word Ministry, Gweta Worship Centre, Botswana for entrusting me with the Youth Ministry.

Introduction

As you take a detour, you need to understand that it is a new road that is not permanent, but, rather, is a provisional one. There are no markings on the road and most of the road signs are temporary. There are loose stones in certain areas and, as such, one needs to be cautious to navigate properly. It is like a story yet to be told, and, indeed, a life yet to be lived. Talking about a story, there are two sides to every story, as usual, and your side has not been told yet. It is up to you to decide how your story will begin and end and then live to tell it in your own words.

Here is another chance for you, through the pages of this book, to resonate with your dream life and become exactly what you want to be. This book will provoke and motivate you to do more with your life so that you can become more in life. The theme of the book is centred upon individual improvement and involvement in shaping one’s destiny. The book will remind you that constantly improving every area of your life is the most important component toward success. It will teach you how you can have the ‘edge’ in everything you do, staying one step ahead of the competition. It further makes you a creative genius, doing what you love and for you. The questions you have to ask yourself are: why do I have to take a detour and why is it necessary for me to reinvent myself? In answering these questions, bear in mind that change, at times, is inevitable, though difficult to adjust to. You are the major player here and you have to be ready for any challenges you are likely to face. Take responsibility and account for the change you want to see in your life. Look at your past; how does your past affect your life and what impact does it have on your future if change is not effected? Get involved in shaping your life, because you are the only one with such a responsibility. When you have tried everything and nothing seems to make any sense, you need to be concerned and adjust your lifestyle. As you take that new path to your destiny, begin to visualise how you want your life to be. This is your breaking point and the moment you have been waiting for. Get down to business and start moving towards your destiny. This is about change in your life and, when you welcome change, you have to devise ways of adapting to it and sustaining it.

This book is a response to new challenges in your life. Other than that, it will sharpen your consciousness of your personal responsibility over your life. It will talk straight to you and provoke you to do something about your life. You have a responsibility to create a life that you shall always celebrate rather than enduring a life that you do not want. You have stayed for far too long in the crowd and it is time to come out and be reborn and begin to create your own destiny. The crowd is always the best place for fun, but, when it comes to success, you have to be separated. You are not here on Earth to fulfil the basic principle of matter (occupy space). There are so many living and non-living things that need space, so get up and start doing something about your life. It is never too late to take action and do something that will change your life forever.

Personally, I think we are on the cusp of social revolution reality; the discovery of the need for personal growth with asset acquisition becoming central to the cause has become more pronounced than ever before. In my yet to be published book, A Woman’s Blueprint for Financial Independence, I have emphasised the importance of permitting yourself to earn more money in life. I have mentioned that your life will only improve the moment you realise that life is not something to be endured, but something you have to create yourself and enjoy. It is an experience of your own creation; in this life, you are the creator, the architect, the engineer, and the artist of your own destiny. In short, you have the power to chisel yourself a masterpiece that you can enjoy. In the same vein, if you are to attain financial independence, you have to be the architect of what you want to become. Your ideas, thoughts and actions are the primary forces that determine your daily experience. Whatever you do in life begins with the decision you make.

Why is this so? I have realised that man, for the most part, has adopted the position of waiting for change to take place instead of effecting that change. Man has taken the role of the spectator instead of being involved in shaping his destiny. It is for this reason that this book was written to provoke you and make you create a shift in the way you handle issues in your life. I am an optimistic person and always look at life from that perspective. The truth is that permitting oneself to take full responsibility for one’s life is the first step towards attaining a life that I can simply call an ‘everyday celebration’. Everything that one wishes to achieve in life begins with self; self-conviction that they could dream and live their dreams. You cannot push yourself into a successful and stress-free life by sheer wishful thinking, but you have to think yourself into that kind of life through action. More importantly, you have to give yourself the freedom and permission to do what you can for yourself. Many times, we have blamed others for our low lives without realising that we are responsible for our status quo. We have been there; we have looked down on ourselves and, as far as we are concerned, we cannot go far beyond what we have achieved. In short, we have reached a dead end in life; we cannot see beyond that curve. However, instead of making a start, we step over; we refuse to start from where we are. We have become complacent and comfortable. But, for any change to be effected, it should begin from a mind that has experienced discomfort. If you are not happy with the kind of life you are living right now, you qualify to be the candidate of change.

Sometimes discomfort, I have come to learn, is an avenue or opportunity for change. When you are comfortable in your life, you will not change or grow. If you are comfortable right now, you should know that you are at risk. One day when I asked myself what would become of me if I lost my job, it made me squirm with fear. I thought of my family and all the people who depended on me. That was my turning point in life; a point of action for change. I had to toast that change, take a detour as it were and prepare for the worst possible scenario. When things became difficult and I couldn’t account for every moment of my everyday life, I decided to press a pause button. I had a very deep-seated feeling that it was time to reinvent myself, change my approach towards life and have the right perspective. I had a feeling that the walls were slowly moving in on me. I had to do something to change the course of my life. I had to get hold of the truth behind happiness and real success. I further realised that, if I had to make any progress, I had to be the main player in the game in order to be on top of things; I reinvented myself. Like an eagle that had lost its ability to catch its prey, I had to take time off and go into solitary confinement, as it were; I went into a personal retreat. I had to reflect on my life and how I had conducted it. I had to seek answers as I went into solitary. I was with myself and had a conversation with myself; I had what I call ‘me time’. I decided to make changes to my lifestyle, major changes that should bring progress in my life.

In effecting this change, you must begin first by understanding who you are and what you want in life. Every journey to success begins with appreciating one’s self-worth – your ability to appreciate, accept and value yourself independent of success, failure or the opinions of others. It simply means that you need to have an overall favourable opinion of yourself, believing in your right to feel good, and, therefore, choosing your thoughts, actions and expressions based on the belief that matters to you. Yes, it is all about you; you need to appreciate yourself before you can appreciate life. You may not be the sharpest tool in the tool shed right now, but you have the responsibility over your life to sharpen it and make it a celebration.

Begin with changing your mind. If you can change your mind, you can change your world. Stop dwelling on your past failures and, instead, focus on what you want to achieve for your life. Though there may be challenges, you should perceive this change as an opportunity to evolve your life. We are living in a very competitive world and the only way one can remain competitive is through self-reinvention. Most people get stuck or imprisoned by their current circumstances. Your current circumstances are your reality and will only begin to change when you assume the position of a leader in your life. You can change your world by changing the way you think and react to situations. To put it simply, your current state of affairs is not who you are, but who you were yesterday. If you are broke right now, it is not who you are, but the residual outcome of your past thoughts and actions. What you did with your life yesterday, for instance, is responsible for your current state of being. You should do something to turn your life around by making the right decisions to shape your destiny. Shift your energy and your thinking, then you will shift your destiny.

You are the reason for the change you want to see in your life. If you leave the fight in the hands of other people, you will continue to live in defeat. Be strategic; create small, concrete, achievable goals and work towards accomplishing them. I do not expect you to reap into success just like that, though. There will be setbacks and resistance, resistance from outside forces and inner resistance from yourself. It is not going to be easy, but you will have to adapt in order to succeed. Look around you; there are many forces emanating from everywhere that are impacting negatively on your life, yet you have not taken a bold step to change your situation. If you are waiting for a miracle to happen, you are in for a long wait. Constant success requires a personal commitment and change of conduct with the times.

It is a fact that sustainable success will largely depend on your ability to adapt to the change that you will create. You are the architect of your own destiny and there is no one suited for the job other than you. God placed you on Earth with assignments in His mind, the assignments that will enable you to live life to the full, but it is all up to you to discover that. On taking this detour, you should consider the fact that no man is responsible for your happiness except you. So take charge and run with the ball. You are running the show right now and you should begin to add value to your life; be forward-looking. Set goals that will be forward-looking at least three to five years into the future. For instance, ask yourself: Do I think progressively toward my work? And do I appraise my work with the ‘how can we do it better’ attitude? How about your family?

You are responsible for what people are going to write about you and your family long after you are gone. History begins now and, therefore, whatever choices you have to make today is what will make your history tomorrow. You have a chance today that you are alive and, therefore, you can change the course of your life and rewrite your history. There should be a newfound motivation to do more in your life in order for you to become more in life. I believe this is a wake up call everyone urgently needs. I further believe that the personal success stories you have heard of people who have read other copies of my books will inspire you to be the best that you can be. You can change the course of your life by being true to yourself. Have you realised that you have worked for everyone else in the past and now it is time to work for you? Evaluate