The Bushy Path

In 2016 Olympic games, Usain Bolt was participating in his third consecutive Olympic games. He had won a gold medal in the 100 meters race in the previous two Olympic games. Will he win for the third time? They got set for the 100 meters final. And the gun sounded. The 8 athletes raced. 1 second, 2 seconds, 3 seconds,... Justin Gatlin has got this. It seemed Usain Bolt was going to lose out on gold this time. Oh wait. Like lightning, Bolt rocketed, caught up and got to the finish line. First. Another gold.

In the summer of 2008, during the Beijing Olympics, Michael Phelps had gone through his usual routine before his swimming event. He had done his 25-meter sprint in the pool to raise his heartbeat. After that, he put on his headset for his songs playlist before a race. He was getting ready for the 200-meter butterfly race. Minutes later, the athletes were beside the pool, ready for the event. Moments later, the gun went off and each swimmer plunged into the swimming pool for the chance at winning the ultimate medal: Olympic gold.

You left for your workplace in the morning like a hero. With the hope of getting a lot of things done. But you came home tired and with the niggling thought that you could have done better than that. You’re not alone. Workplace productivity is one of the most important things in any workplace. Except you don’t love your work, you always want to increase the quality and quantity of work you can do daily. Whether you’re a very effective worker, or a mediocre one, there is always room for improvement. No man is perfect and therefore the need for constant improvement. The extent of what man can achieve is limitless.

Sometimes, you think about your disadvantaged background. It becomes a source of discouragement to you. You believe that this could be a problem to the achievement of your lofty goals. You think people who have more privileged backgrounds would have it easier to fulfill their dreams and become successful.

Every day, we take on risks. Some of these risks are so common that we no more see them as risks. Whenever you drive to your workplace, there is always a risk – no matter how low – of an auto accident. But how many people think of this risk? Very few. There are some other risks we often fear. We think about those risks constantly. In fact, these thoughts lead to full blown worry. Many times, your fear is probably misplaced because some risks are actually exaggerated but affect a very small percentage of people. There are some risks however, that are more dangerous but that we place little attention to.

You have worked for long hours, you have shed blood and tears. And you have made your first big achievement. You are happy. In fact, you want to host a party to celebrate it. It is a good development. It is a development that anybody yearning for their first break wants desperately. But you must be careful about this new achievement. Because even though you are happy you made your first achievement, it is still the beginning of the journey. It is a little milestone compared to your big dreams.

In the beginning, or in the ancient ancient days, there was little education. There were few technologies, there were caves, not mansions, there was no electricity, no solid transportation network, and generally low standard of living. It was the time that people referred to as pre-civilization, or the much more common term, Stone Age.