We must develop a benchmark for excellence #E8

We must develop our standard. What is your benchmark The opposite of standard is convenience. The only reason that people would not live up to their standard is is because its more convenient to stand. Whenever you're going to keep  your standard  do what is right, it's going to be inconvenient at times. Truth is sometimes an inconvenience because it will get you in trouble but standard is what we must strive to be and keep. An elderly Carpenter wanted to retire from his house-building profession. So he went to his employer, the contractor, and tendered his resignation. The employer looked at him and said, “could you build one last house as a personal favour”. The carpenter didn’t like it. He resulted in using poor quality and used inferior material. In the end, he invited his employer to inspect the project. After reviewing the project, the employer handed him the front door key and said, this is my gift for you for the many years of service you’ve worked so hard for me. The carpenter couldn’t believe it. Had he known that he was building his own house for a moment, he would have given it some artistry, finesse, and added superior materials, but this revealed his standards. This revealed who he was under no supervision. This showed his attitude towards work and his employer. This wants we see every day and happens across the world and our continent. We define our standards from supervision. If supervision were eliminated, our true colours would come out. We resign long before we resign. We get out of that job long before we get out of the door of that organisation. Add we still wonder why we are not growing. You see, men and women list others while they are dispensable; they are not replaceable. Once they leave that organisation, It will be tough for anyone to square feet in their shoes. I asked you tonight. What is your standard? As an employee, what is this standard? As an employer, what is your bar? As a husband, wife, friend, mentor, or business partner to someone? What is your standard to others? What is your standard as a mentor if we give your mentorship certificate? One of the reasons why many people never achieve their goals in life is because there is a mismatch between their goals and their standards. But you’re looking for a job, and there’s a mismatch between the job you are applying for and your personal standard. There’s a mismatch between the salary you’re looking for and your personal standard. There is a mismatch between the girl you want to date. Add your personal standard.

#benchmark #excellence #success #climate #climateaction

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What we need to know is that the opposite of standard is convenience. We are people that love convenience. We have people that love to complain because it doesn't need effort to do so. The only reason that people will not live up to their standard is because it's more convenient to do what they want. It's convenient to not speak the truth. Whenever you are going to keep your standard and do what is right, it's going to be inconvenient at the time. The truth is sometimes an inconvenience because it will get you into trouble. But the standard is what we must all strive to be and keep. And this is something of value that we cannot ignore as we build transformational development and climate resilience for communities. Today we are going to be talking about personal standards, how we can develop our personal standards, what benchmark each and every one of us have to live, have to live in such a way that we inspired others to look up to us, to set a standard that society can benefit from, and we can use it to inspire one another to turn a challenge into an opportunity, especially under this climate change dispensation where we are seeing challenges, being complained about, without us setting a standard of how others can also do it the way we can do it. What we need to know is that the opposite of standard is convenience. We are a people that love convenience. We're people that love to complain because it doesn't need effort to do so. The only reason that people will not live up to their standard is because it's more convenient to do what they do. It's convenient to not speak the truth. Whenever you are going to keep your standard and do what is right, it's going to be inconvenient at times. Truth is sometimes an inconvenience because it will get you into trouble. But standard is what we must all strive to be and keep. And this is something of value that we cannot ignore as we build transformational development and climate resilience or communities. When a young person is talking about what needs to be done for them, my question always is: what are you also doing to set an example for others in a community? It's always about others doing what are you doing? And we always talk about what we want to be done by somebody without even looking at what we have, to use what we have to do something that can touch other people's lives. We try to talk about what we don't have instead of talking about what we have. And let me just give you this example. So he went to his employer who he's been working for quite a very long time and tender his resignation. The employer looked at him and said, Could you build one last house as a personal favor? The carpenter didn't like it. He resulted in using poor quality material and using furrow material in building this house. In the end, he invited his employer to come and inspect the project. After the employer came and reviewed the project, the employer handed him the door key and said, This is my gift for you. For the many years of service, you have worked so hard for me. The carpenter couldn't believe it. Had he known that he was building his own house for a moment, he would have given it some artistry, he would have given it some finesse, he would have added some superior material. But this revealed this carpenter's standards. He would have given it his best, but because he had a low standard of always thinking that he does something for someone without giving his best whatever thing he does, this revealed who he was under no supervision. This showed his attitude towards work, and it is what some of us do today. It is what some of us do today, and it's happening every day. We see this every day, it's happening across the entire continent. We define our standards from supervision. If somebody is not looking at us or following up, we will not send reports, we will not even report on what we are doing. If supervision were eliminated, our true colors will come out, our characters will be displayed. And this is really unfortunate. And I'm talking about this because I mentor a lot of young people, and what is missing in them is that fire brown I call passion to do something to solve a problem and make a name, to become that solution provider in the community. And we cannot be able to address climate challenges or environmental challenges or developmental challenges that we face today without nurturing that attitude to develop a standard that people can look up to. And you cannot do that out of convenience because to develop a standard, it's inconvenient because you will do what others will not do, and you will do it because it is the right thing to do, and that's called self-discipline. We resign long before we resign, we do things as if we've been forced to do. We get out of that job long before we get out of the door of the organization. Have you ever wondered why many people don't grow? You see men and women, and the list of other people who are complaining each and every day. But you ask them, if you are given the opportunity, will you do it? It's always about thinking about themselves rather than thinking about what we can do to turn a challenge into an opportunity and benefit a community. We don't think beyond our own families, we think only about what we can do for ourselves and do for our immediate family, forgetting to know that we should do things to turn a challenge to an opportunity to benefit people beyond our immediate circles. Okay, when you become your best and you set a standard, you will become irreplaceable. Yes, you will. You become dispensable, and once we leave a place, it will be tough for anyone to fit into your shoes. The question is simple: what is your standard? Is it about complaining? Is it about whining around things and not even doing anything that can contribute to turning that challenge into an opportunity? It will be tough for anyone to continuously go down this path of complaining and thinking that things will just obliviously change for the better for everyone. It doesn't work that way. If you are a mentor, are you someone that other people can look up to? What is your standard to others? What is your standard as a mentor? What is your standard as a friend? What is your standard as an employee? What is your standard? One of the reasons why many people never achieve their goals in life is because there is a mismatch between their goals and their standards. We want a job, we don't even have the passion to do the job. We start to do the job as if we are doing it for someone else. That's wrong. You are looking for a job, and there is a mismatch between the job you are applying for and your personal standard. There is a mismatch between what you are looking for and what your standard is about, your benchmark is about. So we must be able to build and develop our personal standard, and that personal standard is a reflection of who we are, and that's what you are going to be looked up as. If we don't do this, we will continuously live in this oblivious mentality, and the problems we see will only continue to proliferate. But at the end of the day, if we turn our attitudes from those of complaining and blaming them and always thinking that somebody owes us something, we should then be able to turn a challenge into an opportunity and cultivate a benchmark and standard that can actually be able to make people see us as the solutions providers we should be. I'm speaking about this today because there is some certain obliviousness out there that makes abnormality look normal, that we can complain our way through challenges. No, you cannot complain your way through challenges. That we can sit full of arms and say what we can say and think that government is the solution to everything. Let me tell you one thing: government is not a repository for solutions, it is us the people. Communities, mothers are using what they have to grow their little food and feed their families. They're using their own innovations to apply in their farms so that the crops will not fail. What we must do is to support them using what we can. Learn a skill and get done to that community and devise a solar dryer so that that mother can dry her vegetables. You will be solving a problem, and that mother will be putting food on the table and more money in more pockets. You will put more money in more pockets because out of that skill, people will come to you to get that solution. But we sit full of our arms. We don't set a standard that can then be able to be utilized to advance development. We complain. And remember, anytime you complain and blend with that carrying out an action that can advance development, you are part of the problem. Let's all set a benchmark. And that benchmark should be that to provide solutions, not to complain. That benchmark should be that where we exult passion, not complaining. It should be one where we leverage on our strengths rather than on our weaknesses. Imagine 1.3 billion citizens in a continent. If we were to use what we have and just do what we should do, I can tell you within a year, Africa will transform and be a waste and be and be and be and be a continent where there is no need to complain anymore and where there's no fear or want. Let's do what we should do and move forward with a standard that can be that of solutions. Thank you.