I was in a presentation yesterday in the City of Port Harcourt. It’s one of my favorite cities in Nigeria, I have so many lovely people there. If God asked for my opinion about where I would start Pastoring first, I would be tempted to say Port Harcourt, I love the people that much. In this presentation, I looked around and saw a few people wiping off tears off their eyes, their eyes reddened, their emotions overflowing. They did not seem strange to me, as I had experienced what they were experiencing.
What was responsible for moving them to tears? I can only tell by comparing it with my similar experience. Here is a narrative of what happened.
I was presenting in Port Harcourt about a beautiful opportunity and platform called A2W. It is an opportunity with significant prospects, but not for the lily livered. As I was presenting, I was told that a group of people wanted to present me with a gift, that I should please give them the opportunity to present it to me. I had noticed them the previous day, and my heart went out to them. They all sat together in one place, and were coordinated by a middle aged lady. They were the most quiet people in the meeting, not uttering as much as a word, but their eyes were glued to another direction separate from me the speaker. If you haven’t guessed by now, they were what people erroneously call “deaf and dumb”. I think they are deaf, but far from dumb!
I obliged them by recognizing them by sharing the story of why I decided to take Network Marketing and A2W as a consequence seriously. It happened for me in Malaysia in a Network Marketing Company’s 6,000 participants conference. Three testimonies back to back, knocked me out and turned me into jelly. First it was a lady who had built her business for 6 years, become a leader and her greatest handicap was that she was shy. In 6yrs she was standing in front of 6,000 people boldly sharing her story, the business had cured her of shyness. Then a man came to speak, one of the highest earners from Sudan, and his greatest handicap he had overcome was that, he couldn’t speak English back then, but right now he has become fluent. I listened to these guys, and said to myself, “I don’t have any of these challenges”. Then the third guy came, and he was the one that got me crying, sorry, I meant weeping. I could not control myself. This guy was deaf, he was broke when he started, took a loan from his wife to start, and without being able to speak, he had built a successful team of team members, and had flown from India to Malaysia, paid for the conference, but unlike me, he flew down with 20 of his team members to the conference, he pointed at them – they were also “deaf and dumb”! That day I cried because I realized that I had no excuse in life, yet I was not making the most of my life. I cried because I wondered what my options would be if I could not speak! I cried because I was touched by courage and moved by people rising beyond their limitations. I cried because that was my spot, moving against all odds, and inspiring others to do the same.
As the leader of this group – A deaf guy, came up to present their gift, he came with an interpreter, and we engaged in a little discussion. Apparently, their interpreter had informed them of my little history with sign language, and my desire to know more. So they got me a book, that will make signing easier for me. That way, I’ll be able to communicate better with them. Their story was also shared by their upline, how their leader was not marketed into A2W. He saw a flier, which he insisted he wanted to see, but the upline hid from him, and refused to show him, saying it’s not something it can do. He got access to the website written on the flier, went to a cybercafé to find out what it was about, and got back to the upline that she was a wicked person, for trying to hide an opportunity from him. To cut a long story short, he insisted that he had seen what it was all about, the services, the products for distribution and so much more, but that what he wants to do is the network marketing part of getting others signed up and involved. In a few weeks, he has become a bronze distributor and is well on his way to becoming Silver.
I saw the teary eyes, and I understood with them. Those who rise above their limitations challenge the world around them to rise up above theirs. What’s your excuse for not making progress? What’s your excuse for not being involved in Network Marketing? Your previous experience? Your inability to speak? Your poor self esteem? Or is it your “I am better than this”, over inflated self esteem? Rise above it, we all have limitations we rose above, some in our flesh, others in our beliefs.
Who have you helped to succeed? Can you point at 4 people whose lives are radically different and eternally transformed because of you? Even if not for yourself, do it for others. Giving people stipends won’t help them, it will only make them dependent on you. Get blessed and be a blessing to others.
Don’t let the write up move you to tears, let it move you to action.
Thanks for reading. I hope you’ll be nice enough to drop a comment. Bayelsa, here I come!
God Bless You All.
