Two freight trains collided one day, and a young man named George was so struck by the tragic loss of property, that he became determined to prevent another such accident. The result was that George invented the air brake.
As he set out to demonstrate the superiority of his air brake over the then-used and dangerous hand brakes, he met with strong resistance. Most railroad executives took the attitude of Commodore Vanderbilt, who said after hearing George’s explanation, “Do you mean to tell me that you expect to stop a train with wind? I have no time to waste on…fools.”
George Westinghouse did not give up, however, even when his invention was rejected as being an “impossible idea.” Instead, he went on to invent a railroad “frog” –an invention that appealed to railroad officials. Over time, his happy customers agreed to give the air brake a try and to have it thoroughly tested in their railway operations. Taken together, Westinghouse’s system of railway signaling and the air brake did more to improve the safety record of trains than virtually any other invention for decades to come.
When I hear the word rejection, something in me reacts automatically. I mean check out this statement again
“Do you mean to tell me that you expect to stop a train with wind? I have no time to waste on…fools.” This statement coming from an expert, an authority or a mentor is enough to kill a dream. But the essence of these series is to let you know that no one is qualified to give a final verdict on your dream. No one.
I have said it here previously and I think it’s worth repeating. If you come up with something new and everyone acknowledges it without any criticism, then it’s a clear indication that you have to go back to drawing board. For how can everyone see the world from the same perspective? It’s not possible.
That you attracted such comments means you are doing something. Yours truly is not preaching the idea of anyone foolishly following an idea that is obviously not going to make any impact to its logical conclusion. Of course you should know when to draw the line. But the truth is that some will not see anything good from others. A reason why the man acclaimed to be the man of the century by
Time magazine Albert Einstein said, “Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds.” Albert Einstein wouldn’t have made that comment without having a taste of it. Remember he was a scientist and so is likely to have had his own share of rejections.
Now dear reader, do you still believe that anything is impossible? Do you believe that you are capable of making a difference in this world? Yes you! If anybody can, it’s you. Just decide to start in your community. A difference made there will gradually spread across the globe. So start immediately without any further procrastination.
To our success!
-Uju Onyechere
A friend gave me a story of a man who proceeded to choose a vacation window and paid for all vacation expenses prior to seeking a leave approval from his boss. Contrary to his expectation, his boss refused to approve a leave for him within the vacation window he had chosen and paid for. The young man called the attention of his boss to the fact that he had already picked his vacation destination and all expenses had been paid. Furthermore, he labeled his boss as being insensitive and foolishly flouted his boss’s decision and proceeded on the vacation. This further infuriated his boss who felt slighted at his subordinate’s presumption and gross disrespect of his person, office and the institution. The young man was consequently fired for being absent without a leave approval.
Ideally, the young man should have sought his boss’s approval before making his vacation plans. This is because, as a professional, you’re primarily answerable to your boss or supervisor. To a very large extent, your level of obedience and loyalty go a very long way in determining how much you rise in the professional cadre.
The scenario described above is quite similar to what we sometimes do as Christians. We make up our minds to accomplish a task and we use all our human discretion to make out all the plans we think are necessary, then we go to God for approval. When he doesn’t give the approval we expect, then we begin to doubt His integrity and faithfulness. For instance a person gets set for a journey without initially consulting God for an approval to proceed, then when he is about to commence the journey, he ask God for a safe trip. If something goes wrong while on the journey, we begin to doubt God’s credibility. Another instance is when a person gets wealthy by cutting corners and feels that using such funds to support church events is tantamount to bribing your way through to God. Or a person who consciously and consistently eat a very bad diet and expects to live in divine health. This will all back fire. “God is not mocked, whatever you sow you will reap (Gal.6:7)”.
Ideally, whatever we do as Christians should always start and end with God. He loves us so much that he wants us to take an approval from him before we make every move of our lives, from the least to the greatest (1Cor.10:31 and Col.3:17). As our maker, Lord and savior his integrity is always at stake so he jealously protects it by nature. In other words, He sees his glory in our lives and he’ll want our every step to transmit this glory in return (1Cor.6:19-20).
To be able to effectively seek and take approvals from him we must know the following:
- Know God for who He is (Heb. 11:6, James 1:17, 1Tim.1:17, 1Tim.6:16).
- Know that God Loves you and has a perfect plan for you (John 3:16, Jer.29:11).
- Know yourself exactly as God knows you (Col.2:10, Eph.2:10)
- Know how to love your neighbor. This results as an automatic consequence of loving God and yourself (Eph. 5:1-2, 2Cor.5:14-15)
- Know that every action you take has a consequence, good or bad (Gal.6:7).
“I am God, your God, who teaches you how to live right and well. I show you what to do, where to go. If you had listened all along to what I told you, your life would have flowed full like a river, blessings rolling in like waves from the sea.” Isaiah 48:17b-18 (The Message).
-Emeka Ofia