THE THIN LINE

The line between success and failure is thin. It's amazing how one fleeting mistake could drag a man into the clutches of failure, pain and poverty and also one wise, sometimes risky step could lift a man into total fulfillment. It's like your feet are always before the line. You know; just at the tip of your toes, all your toil, turmoil, struggle and attempts are only the external expressions of a very delicate position, where you have to keep the tip of your toes just inside the red line to avoid failure, because one false step and you drift out beyond the red line.

The most ironical part is that; falling into the failure side is so easy and it takes very little effort. Just sit and wait for the world to bring bread to you, or make a silly decision. Another thing is when you drift to the failure side; you drift too far too easily. This time the tips of your toes are not on the line, you skid like you're on oil: far away and fast.

Making decisions is tough. There's the fear part, where we never want to fail or fall, uncertainty. Your decisions will definitely affect somebody. You or someone else. Sometimes this is what limits our decisions. But the truth is you either brave up or burn out; period!

Some of us do not simply know how to identify an opportunity or how to flee a black hole, you know, a killer situation. Circumstances have so stuffed some folks in and destroyed their inner drive. They have succumbed to the pressure of failure, so much that they fear to step across the thin line and take that risk; so the opportunity passes.

Once I made a decision, maybe it was filled with my own desires of self-fulfillment, it's another area we make mistakes: when we take extreme thoughtless steps that land us in the murk. I made a move to the village as a young man, after bagging an enviable foreign degree. Some may say it was a journey of discovery. Maybe, but it lasted seven years. I was wallowing in the pain of seeing others emerge with great jobs after their return from school abroad. I was scratching the surface, dealing with the realities of choosing a life that was below what some might call my ideal, given that my family had a remarkable background. Imagine the contrast! Now I'm not saying those who grew up in the village are any less, but imagine you just haven't been there before.

I started putting some musical dream together, a studio, making songs, etc, but for goodness' sake that one na yawa; in a village back then? That's suicide! It was a good decision, but the timing and environment were wrong.

So, it meant I would step across the line into failure if I do not rise above myself and make better feasible decisions. Somewhere along the line, I met Tina, God bless her heart. She opened me up to reality and directed me to an environment that would be warm and fertile enough for my endeavours to thrive: Lagos. At that time, she rented a house for me and had my rents paid for two years. From then on I was opened up to the possibilities and deciding for the right environment was the most vital simple step. I got the burning desire to make Charly Boy a reality. I am grateful for that. Now if you're getting the point you would understand that if I had stuck with my ways and stayed back in the village; it would have been a disaster. I would have slipped and slid deeper down the oily road of failure. But that simple step of making that move changed everything.

A relation of mine came to the village, like I did and he has been there, nothing worthwhile has been achieved in his life. It all starts with a decision. If you allow it burn long inside of you then you get the energy you need to brave up and seize a good opportunity. Sometimes it's something as simple as making one journey, meeting one person, saying one well-placed hello, hi or good morning, just putting yourself down a little, even when you feel you're so gem-like. Listen: someone else has the ticket that could take you over to the other side of the line. Spite that person and you will pay with some wasted years, honour him and it could mean the whole difference.

Your cold, laid back, wait-for-something-to-happen attitude is snuffing you out! Someone has made you a promise and you've been waiting on it for five years! Do you know what is really happening? You're not even standing still; you're slipping on oil while the world is coasting along. You are going too far away from the line, too far to ever succeed. People always promise: 1. They want to appear God-like, 2. They want to look good before you, 3. They love the satisfaction of feigned transferred hope. Now dump all that, truth is, the man is probably not thinking of you except when he sees you buzz his phone, he may probably cut you off and if he has the courtesy, he may text back: 'I am in a meeting, call me back.' Meanwhile, right in front of you, there's an opportunity waiting for you to take, but you are high-eyed, too high-eyed to be useful to yourself.

For those who have been so battered by strings of painful situations, a word, victory and defeat start in the mind. The fieriest battlefield is right inside your head, in your mind, that's where fear fights hope, when fear begins to win in your heart, then you lose steam, you lose the will to fight. But if hope remains strong then you fear begins to hide its ugly face. People can only point you in some direction; they will talk, advice; but the only person to take the step is you. No wonder some people are failures, even after they have walked with successful people. They are either dumb or scared of doing new things. Their scare has dried out hope; and believe it or not, hope is the fuel for your future, lose it and lose everything!

So, what will you do to stay inside the line of success? What will you do to get across the line of a failing life and into success? It's your decision. Yes, I know decisions are sometimes hard, but well, you must make them! Look at the possibility of a sad and unfulfilled life; maybe that should spur you up. Or look at the many people who have succeeded. Don't just start wanting what they have, that's the easiest road to frustration. Find out what they did, how tough it was, how bleak it looked sometimes, what mountains they climbed, what minefield battles they fought and maybe you'll understand that life doesn't throw any potato chips from the clouds! It's not going to rain on you!

You will make it rain! Have you heard of the water cycle? Sure, the way the earth evaporates water to the clouds and the clouds rain back on the earth? It's a simple rule, you have to give some steam, don't be afraid of the sun-scorch; that's how you give out water; that's how you sent vapour to the clouds and then when it's full, it will rain on you.

So, I ask again, what are you going to do?