INSIDE-OUT

 “There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.”

----Mother Theresa

The above quote by Mother Theresa clearly describes a life without real fulfillment.  Of what use is life if after all your education, awards, money, and relationships yet you have no real fulfillment- no lasting impact. Never make the mistake to attach success to the externals. Success is living INSIDE-OUT; inner working for an outside expression. I want to make my world a better place. I want to touch lives even in the smallest of ways. I want to fulfill God given destiny for my life. I want to walk this earth living footprints where ever the sole of my feet treads upon. I want to make a difference no matter how little. I don’t want to live for myself alone.

 What can be more painful than a wasted life; a life that was always in motion but no work done?  To LIVE is the rarest thing in the world. Most people only EXIST. Yes you were born some 20 something years ago or maybe 30 something years ago; Fine, good age! But what are you LIVING for?  For what reason were you born? What difference are you making? Have you discovered your purpose yet- the reason for which you were created? The real tragedy isn’t death; the real tragedy is what dies inside of you while you live. 

How many people at their death bed regret for not taking the opportunities they had to live, to have adventure and experiences? There’s nothing better than to look back your past and be able to say; “I lived and lived very well. I made mistakes and I learned from them and moved on.” Sadly, people have defined success by the things money can buy. They feel an individual is successful only if he is very wealthy or happens to be very famous. Isn’t that what all them Forbes and Times magazine has made people to believe? You see a list of individuals who are recognized as the richest people in the world. My friend in her blog points out that this list only remind people that you are not a ‘somebody’ until you are on the list. And I totally agree with her.  The true perfection of a man lies not on what man has but on what man is. Of what use is life if your public successes fail to compensate for your private failures?  

I have this sneaky little feeling that maybe, life would be better off once we begin to place more value on what we are rather than on what we have. It is imperative we understand that it is what we are that produces what we have. We live from the INSIDE-OUT. Having said this, I can then say success is what you attract because of who have become and not what you are running after.

I believe that everyone God created has something unique inside of them. God has placed in you a story that needs to be told. Endowed in you are enormous potentials that need to be unleashed. However, it is your responsibility to identify the gifts in you and use them. Don’t live another day of your life without making a difference.  Encourage someone; rather than condemning people, tell them how good they look. Give alms to those in need. Look into your wardrobe and bring out those clothes you no longer use and give them out. There is this very good friend of mine that feeds the hungry every month. She goes to a restaurant and buys like 60 packs of food and distribute to kids along the streets of Yola. I have gone with her twice or so, and I see how these kids smile while they eat. It is so touching. In her own little way, she’s making a difference by feeding the hungry.

I want to encourage you to live a life worth remembering.  In the words of Martin Luther King, “if you’ve not discovered what you can die for then you are not fit live. Live for something bigger than you. Wake up every morning and be excited about the impacts you are going to make for that day. The deepest need of the heart is self transcendence. Don’t walk the planet in vein. Leave an impact as you go through your day. Regardless of whom you are or your background, you have a story to tell. Never allow your background keep your back on the ground. Don’t get to the end of life and realize that you still have untold story inside you. 

Don’t only EXIST. LIVE. Live from the INSIDE-OUT

Gracias