To Move Forward, You Have to Move Backwards

A lot of things in motion started from going backwards. Think of a person shooting arrows from a bow, they first have to pull it backwards. Think of a person firing a gun to a target, the gun moves backward. How about a soccer player going to take a penalty shot? They first have to move backward to gain the momentum to hit the ball. A lot of things in this world involve going backward before you move to success.

Nobody puts a ladder parallel against the wall to climb to the top. They have to move the ladder backwards so that they can be stable and reduce the workload of climbing. To get lead, you first have to be lead, learn, make mistakes and then merge victorious, however most of us always want to take the shortcut to the top. We fail to recognize the importance of moving backwards.

To gain dividends and or build a profit margin, first you have to depart with money. Money does not come unless you invest which means moving backwards. Successful and happy investors understand this principle while most people always ignore it. Literally, it makes sense to move from zero to something however that is not the reality. Good things just never come.

A bigger percentage of people in developed nations believe that they will win lottery at some point in their life time. Now to win a lottery, you have to purchase the raffle tickets. This in return reduces your assets because they are expenditures. The possibilities of winning now become probable but you stand the higher chances of winning by purchasing a lot of lottery tickets.

Leadership of any sort have a lot of backward motion. Most leaders understand that the end is good and it is not good yet then it is yet to come. They therefore:

Never Lose Hope

Hope is the belief that everything is possible before you achieve or attain them. Hope can take you where no car, airplane, train, or anybody can take you. Hope can keep you a live with a great promise that the pain and backward motion you are taking or going through will end and that you are going to get a projectile shoot towards greatness. Most successful and great leaders bare the pains and losses of backward motion with a clear understanding that that is where it all starts. It is hope that keeps them alive.

Never Stop Believing

To believe is to strongly have faith is something? The last thing I expect from anybody I coach is to not believe in themselves. I believe that if you have your mindset to do greater things and you have faith in your potentials then nothing or nobody can stand on your way. You can never lose what you don’t have therefore try and set your mind that you can achieve it. Everything is possible and for some of us who are believers already know that with God everything is possible. You can achieve everything through Christ who strengthens you.

Never Lose Vision

Vision is the big picture, the end product seen from a distance. The product is always very vivid in mind before it is attained and it is that mirage that we see and have hope in that drives us towards changing them into reality. Our ideas are the most useless things we own if we do not turn them into action. The only way to make a dream come true is to wake up. Dreamers are slumbers and nobody acts when a sleep. Vision is like building a sand castle by the beach. A strong wind or a tidal wave can easily sweep it away. If you want a castle then build the real one. Do not run to the beach and make one on sandy beach and start shouting and dancing of how magnificent your work is. That is a useless vision.

Never Take Short Route

Short cut routes yields no long term success. It is a rout taken by the lazy, those who are quick to discourage and slow to act. They never say anything important but useless talks that kill vision. Sadly you might be one of them but it is never too late to change. Change now! If you are not under this category, then you are a leader, a pioneer of success. You understand hard work and I bet your top five friends are hard workers too.  Short cuts will cut you short, therefore short change them before they short change you.

© Joshua Okello 2014.

Joshua Okello is a B.A graduate in Business Administration, International Development and Philosophy. He is also the author of the book Strategies of Entrepreneurial Leadership He has exceptional skills in organizing, coordinating projects and capacity building initiatives with key emphasis on livelihood programs; microfinance through savings and credit led models; business development services and entrepreneurial leadership. He is also the founder and Executive Director of Succeed Africa Relief Organization, a Canadian Christian Organization geared towards giving hope and transformation in lives of the chronically poor in Africa.