Are You Growing Old or Growing Up?

Last week, I facilitated an online conference with a focus on strategic personal development for global relevance as we plan and prepare for the year 2020. I shared with the audience on the topic “BECOMING A BETTER YOU.” As always, it was a phenomenal experience and the feedback so far has been nothing short of awesome. I want to share a thought from that discussion with you.

Growth is the foundation of all forms of prosperity. Success is not to be pursued but attracted. In the real equation of success, who you become determines what you have, not vice-versa. Whatever you want, grow capacity for it because growth attracts all forms of wealth.

It is popularly known that what makes you relevant to society is the problem that you solve. At your present level, you can only solve some problems. A better you will solve bigger problems. And when you solve bigger problems, you will be invited to bigger platforms. That is why wise king Solomon remarked, “A man's gift makes room for him, and brings him before great men.”

When religious folks read about the rise of Joseph, they apparently see and rejoice in the ‘testimony of his deliverance’ but only a few think deeply to observe the trajectory of his growth. At his father’s house, Joseph began to dream and interpret his own dreams while cultivating sound character with an emphasis on radical integrity. He also formed a strong sense of identity as he was able to believe in his dreams when no one else did. This sense of identity helped him to escape the seductive-but-destructive claws of Mrs. Potiphar.

In Potiphar’s house, he learnt to manage both people and resources well. It was a first-hand experience that earned him a Master’s degree in Human Resources and an MBA. In the prison where he was in charge of hard-hearted inmates, he deepened his skill in emotional intelligence and conflict resolution. And it was through empathy that he reached out to the President’s Special Assistants to help them interpret their metaphysical data.

Joseph would then be remembered by one of the special assistants whom he helped in prison years later when all the President’s ministers, advisers and assistants proved incapable of interpreting the metaphysical data that had been delivered to him. Joseph was immediately recalled from prison, given a makeover and introduced to the king as a veteran Data Scientist. He proved his worth when he analysed and interpreted the entire data, predicting the imminent economic boom and doom.

He also advised the President and his cabinet to source for and appoint an economic expert who would manage the surplus resources in the forthcoming economic boom in order to cater to the subsequent recession. Leveraging his experience in Investment and Risk Management and Actuarial science - both gained while managing Mr. Potiphar’s conglomerate - he outlined a strategy for managing the nation’s resources during both defining periods and presented it to the President in record time.

Amazed at his Strategic Economic Management expertise, the President immediately appointed his as the Prime Minister and Coordinating Minister for the Economy. The rest, as is usually said, is history. The nation of Egypt prospered at that time because one man intentionally invested in his personal growth.

From Joseph’s story, it is easy to see that the belief that God will promote someone automatically without passing him through a significant process of growth is a mere religious fallacy. And while many lazy-minded people are quick to believe such falsehood, they are just living with false hopes and growing old instead of growing up.

Joseph’s rise to relevance teaches us that you grow through hunger. From the telling of his dream in his father’s house to his plea to the President’s Assistant to remember him at the chambers of power, you could tell that Joseph always believed that there was more to his life than he had experienced.

Joseph’s story also teaches that you grow through experience in solving problems not avoiding them. Talk about problems? He had a lot of them – many came without any fault of his – but he avoided none. He did not excuse himself from problems caused by other people. But many people today are still being crippled by excuses, hence, their stunted growth and stagnancy.

Whenever you attribute your problem to a person or thing, you excuse yourself from responsibility and get bitter. And bitterness eats up your willingness to take responsibility and upturn your dilemma. Every experience, good or bad, is a blessing. But you must be willing to take responsibility and go through them magnanimously. Also, you must carefully evaluate your experiences to learn the right lessons from them.

Finally, you grow through people. Everybody you meet represents a door of opportunity – so treat them well. Joseph knew well enough to subject himself to the authority of Potiphar as well as the Prison Manager. On both occasions, he could have rebelled as he was illegitimately placed under their lordship. But he knew what many educated-but-unenlightened people don’t know today: it takes submission rather than argument to influence authority in interpersonal settings.

Respect and love are the debt we owe everyone that God brings around us, regardless of how they treat us. In fact, the way they treat us is the real test of how well we have learned this lesson.

The President’s assistant on wine affairs was a subordinate to Joseph in prison and he received nothing but love from Joseph. Many years later Maya Angelou would learn that “people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.” Is that not why Joseph was remembered at that all-important Federal Executive Council meeting? No matter the circumstance, let respect and love be the signature you leave on people.

What other lesson did you learn? Please share with me.

To your greatness,

Bright UK

The Chief Scribe