I’m consistently irritated and angered by how many people are so comfortable with the lukewarm position of being spectators. The myriads of purposeless souls who would rather watch and analyze than engage and participate. I’m puzzled at how people can become professors at subjects their only interface with is theoretical. People earn a reputation for being critical of things they are obviously shallow about, the fear of failure robs people of the will to try, the fear of death numbs people and even though they don’t die, neither do they live.
Hear this and let it ring loud in your heart, “when all you do is watch, you are less than those who lost!” Someone once said, it’s better to change, discover that change was wrong and change back, than not to have changed at all. There is always merit in action, if a process doesn’t leave you with wealth, it’s certain to leave you with a wealth of experience. It’s better to fight and lose, than give in from the beginning, it’s better to try and fail, than to analyze fromt he sidelines. Bad players win commentaries, there is no commentary for spectators. My charge to you today is simple, don’t be a mere observer. Don’t venture only into speculation, venture into engaging and participating. Rather than join the crowd of spectators airing their opininon on plenty of reasons why failure is imminent, why not enter into the arena and win or lose and forever seal your reputation as one who is involved!
If your life was put together into a movie, would you be playing a lead role or are you one of those people that just walk along in the movie – “wakapass”. Â Are you engaged in anything close to your dream, are you doing anything that requires faith? Are you taking risks or are you stranded by cautious living? Don’t let the hours of your life roll away from you, take charge of your time and put it to good use. Stop being a commentator, be a performer! Stop watching, start playing.
Don’t overate failure, failure is a necessary junction on the road to success. If you haven’t tried and failed before you haven’t even quite started. Success is the end result of persistent errors and failures.  I’ll rather try and fail than not at all. So over to you, what thing, bigger than you, are you currently engaging? Are you a mere spectator or are you trying to run things? Lights are never meant to be lit and hidden, your functionality is in action, not observation.
These days my heart wells over with joy when I think about some things that happened to me and showed me that really, we must not be spectators.
1. I have been a spectator in the political process since I was 18. Most times I simply watched on TV, and a few times I actually went out to exercise my civic duties and vote. Interestingly however I have come to discover from getting a bit more involved this year, that I was actually outstandingly ignorant of the political process in Nigeria. By becoming more than a spectator, my mind has openned up in new ways, to new realities. I have been able to migrate from unconscious ignorance to at least concious ignorance and awareness.
Participating has shown me, that those who stand by the sidelines or stay far away in the podium are empty! So empty yet so full in their eyes, Â it’s even difficult to enlighten them. They say, he that pulls a cat by the tail, learns a lesson he can learn no other way. I say, how true!
2. I was told about an opportunity with Holidays and Cash, a 21st century balanced approach to the concept of network marketing, a completely different enterprise from what I had experience with, a real and sustainable model, I despised it. My cup was full, I thought I knew all there was to know, and I wasn’t happy with the industry and what seemed to be it’s aftertaste. Â I succumbed to pressure only to buy the product – Privelege Pack, thinking that losing $250 was no biggie. For 6 months later, I did nothing, and simply watched from a distance. One day however it struck me!
Without my involvement, the company had crossed 1,000 and 2,000 mark. I discovered the model was different and decided to give it a go. Looking back to the award night that had many people screaming at the mention of my name, it dawned on me afresh. Your relevance is in being involved, not in observing! The number of thank you’s, number of God bless you, I love you and you are my mentor that I have heard in the last 7 months make my previous years shrink in comparism. What was the difference, I left the spectator seat! People are not celebrated for their analysis, or rated for their abilities to criticize. There are no trophies for spectators, they are too small to even lose!
3. When I left paid employment over 3 years ago, it was in response to a leading on my inside to go to a land that I will be shown. Prior to that time, I was a student of wisdom. I read books, lots of them, listened to audios and watched inspirational programs on TV. I can remember as far back as 15yrs ago, have specific jotters to document what I was learning. I believed strongly then, that if you wanted to go into the waters of wisdom, going with a ship made a difference from swimming. When you go with a ship, you can store what you catch. I have been a student and still am, but hear this. Once I took the decision to act my own movie and step out of being a mere spectator of the journeys’ of others, I have learnt more, seen more, experienced more and become more than I ever was!
Becoming an actor, sure has it’s challenges, but trust me, it’s so much more fun, so much more learning, so much more experience, so much much more than anything anybody can ever gain from a strictly theoretical standpoint. I’m in the game now, and everyday is exciting, and all the issues real. The actor doesn’t die, but the wakapass can.
Stop living as a spectator, engage in your passion, find something to do. Quit standing in the middle of the road, you may get run over. Take a side, and chose to be active!
