BROKEN PIECES

 

EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

A frustrated professional wondering how to pick the broken pieces /Photo Courtesy /Nataliya Vaitkevich

Where is Your Confidence?

And what hurricane passed here? That I only have broken pieces. Everything around me was thriving. I had built myself a successful practice. I loved walking into a blossoming ground. A ground, which had anything around it producing in season. My practice was rising. And it had shown signs of expansion. I knew what I needed to do next. I was excited about my next chapter. I was prepping myself to double or even triple what I had already achieved. Multiplying my decade-long success was not going to be a problem. I had walked this path long enough. And I knew the giants or zebras on the way. I had also learned how to combat them. I was prepared for the next summit. My sorting process had eliminated things and people I did not need. I had built a credible list of the types of clients I wanted to work with in my next journey.

I had also thought about the type of team I needed to work with or build. I had also brainstormed about the outfits for the next phase. I was going to love my executive office. That office had my ideal working conditions. And I knew that in an environment like that, I was going to succeed. I had built my office around productivity, rest, and exercise. I could live in that office. And everything was going to multiply. I saw a table full of everything I ever wanted. Good healthy food.  Wonderful conversations. Good people. And talks that would revitalize my soul. I had already initiated a branding structure. And there were several strategies in place. These strategies were going to ensure every department delivered. I love smooth operations. And smooth operations were going to be one of our key highlights in the future. Growth looked good on my practice.   

I had laid all that foundation because the vision for my practice was clear. The last decade had delivered beyond my imagination. It gave me one of the best lifestyles that I cherished. I was free. Building and succeeding on my own terms. There was no pressure. I just prayed and prayers got answered. I received the things I prayed for. And with those answered prayers. I did a lot of things. At one point, I did what my entire family could not do. Carry an entire family on my shoulders. I paid school fees. Sometimes money for food. And other times gave sobering advice or warning to out-of-context teens. I solved a lot of problems. Problems that ten years later. Have received lasting solutions. I am glad those problems were fixed. Because inside those solutions lie progress. Circumstances have changed for the family I helped.

A devastated man thinking about his broken business /Photo /Nicola Barts

Yet, in the midst of all these good and complex things. A hurricane came. The hurricane did not come to congratulate me for the milestones I had achieved. It came with one mission. To destroy everything, I have ever done. While I was busy masterminding for the future. The storm was forming. And it escalated very quickly to category three. So when it finally pounded. It did so with an illustrious loud rang heard around the world. It was terrible. I woke up to nothing. And I could not believe my eyes. I had worked so hard. Managed my resources very well. I was that good steward. I never lost a sheep. But the storm did not care. It happened anyway. It was determined that I must lose. And I incurred a lot of financial losses in the process. Lost long-term business relationships. And my smooth operations.

This is not what I planned for. I saw a prosperous future. A future where everything I had was going to double. I was going to perform ten times better as a professional. I had had the work ethic. I knew how to get things done. I had the needed urgency. My ideal work style was full of professionalism and excellence. My integrity was good. I had all the active ingredients of a successful practice. I was climbing the corporate ladder just well. I loved that whole experience of building from zero to millions. I had learned a lot of things. Lessons that grounded me and advised me to remain focused. I was done with undisciplined pursuits. My whole attention was on my practice. And I was determined to make it successful. I had written a whole blueprint for the next phase. I was ready. My mood smelt prosperity and freedom.  

These were the things all over my head. If at all I was losing my mind. It was these things that I could lose my mind over. Not fear of the future. There was nothing like a hurricane in my mind. I had interpreted the current data that I had very well. And the data painted a wonderful picture. It showed that I would scale very well. And that news excited me. That is all that I wanted from a darling career. I had built this career with my own two hands. I knew its strength and weakness. And I was ready to face what a SWOT analysis audit showed about my career. The threats did not scare me at all. After all, I had come a long way. And in that long way. If there is anything good a person can learn is leadership. I had learned that too. In fact, I am a very good leader. When it comes to decision-making, problem-solving, critical thinking, and strategies. I am inimitable. I walk the rough path with a lot of calmness.

An excited business executive fixing the broken pieces /Photo Courtesy /Yan Krukau

The calmness. The focus. The leadership. All help me to build a successful enterprise. But what are the plans of a man? You can come up with as many plans as you can. Run very successful businesses and teams. However, you cannot escape the wrath of real-life. When real-life pans. It brings up a lot of things. A lot of unexpected things for that matter. And that is what happened to me. Life happened. And when it did. It brought up one ugly reality I had not anticipated. The hurricane that I encountered was part of my next phase. There was no way I was going to walk into my next breakthrough without storms. Satan was not going to give me that advantage. He had already panicked that a young girl was already winning. So he had to rise a complain. I am not exactly sure what he told God. However, he was granted the permission. To come and rock my boat.

And he really rocked it. And went for the bull’s eye. He did not waste time. Because he thought he knew what steadied me. And he thought that once that is taken away from me. I will renounce everything I knew. But how wrong can Satan be? Very wrong. He pretended to know me. However, after all had been said and done. The devil learned that he got everything wrong. Because after destroying goods things that he does not know how to give or create. I was not broken. In the aftermath,

I only ended up with broken pieces. When I look at those broken pieces in my hands. I only shake my head. I shake my head because I know where my confidence comes from. I am built on the rock. I don’t break easily. One of the things I did in those ten successful years was to establish a strong foundation for myself. Because if my foundation is good. It does not matter what the storm does. I am secure. And I will get back everything I lost. Because I will pick every broken piece and make a simple prayer. “God, look at these broken pieces of my career in my hands. Won’t you fix them for me Lord? I trust your plan. And I will wait on you. Amen!”