BEYOND YOUR EXPECTATION

       We've all heard the phrase Good things happen to people who expect them, or other stuff like that. I get the idea, when you are focused on good things happening to you, they will happen. True. But there is something beyond that expectation . . . . . . It's preparation.


   A couple of days ago, I was home alone and had been working on my laptop for hours without electricity. Eventually the battery ran out of juice and my laptop went off. It was a few minutes to noon and the trend for days before was for NEPA (or PHCN) to restore power supply at 12noon. With that in mind, i decided to quickly get some things done, take a shower etc As i stepped into the bathroom it occured to me that it was noon already, still no power? Then it dawned on me that i hadnt even switched over from the generator source to Nepa. Immediately, i got out of the bathroom and switched over, and alas, Light flooded the house. That got me thinking.


   I had an expectation for electricity but i hadnt taken the necessary steps to ensure that i was ready for it when it came. Suppose i had kept on hoping the light would come but still hadn taken  steps  for when it came, i would have missed the opportuity to charge my laptop and do all other stuff one needs electicity for.


  I realised that there were areas of our lives that we have big expectations, but because we are unprepared, because we haven't quite switched over, and because we have left it at the expectation stage, nothing seems to happen. It's even possible, like in my case, that the good thing had happened but we are caught unprepared

"Failing to prepare is preparing to fail" John Wooden

   A few days after, i was having a chat with an older friend who had high hopes for a huge contract, had submitted the relevant papers, talked to the right people etc. This contract runs in several millions of naira, but guess what, he didnt have a functional bank account. I was shocked, so if the contract came, were the people supposed to pay in cash? Immediately, i dragged him to the bank and made him open an account, not even in his name, but in his company's name.


    Having an expectation without preparation to receive your manifestation is like going fishing without a fishing net, without a fishing line, and lets say you cant afford all those, you didnt go with a sharp stick either! yet you expect to catch a fish, are the fish going to have pity on you and start jumping into the boat? if you think so, then good luck to you. Even if you are expecting a miracle, you still have to "let down your net".


    You are expecting a job offer as soon as possible, you have even taken the necessary steps of submitting your cv at all the right places. But, you dont have a single office shirt to your name, the last time you wore one was at your tenth birthday. What happens when you receive a phone call telling you to resume at Chevron the next day? You really dont need to have the most expensive shirts or shoes in town to get a job, no one expects that of you yet, afterall you dont have a job. But it wont be too much to have one or two that look good when ironed.
  

 Often times, the things we are expecting have already come to pass, but we aren't prepared to receive them. We rely entirely on miracles and forget there is a part we ourselves must play. One of my favourite people in all of history named John is John Preston, who said
"the nicest thing about not planning is that failure comes as a complete surprise and is not preceeded by a period of anxiety" (I absolutely love this, the statement is just dripping with sarcasm).

    You always wanted to meet your dream girl but you never get out of bed or even step out of your house. What are the chances this girl will walk up to your door and ask of you by name? Ok, lets say she does walk up to your door, what do you even say to her?


   You have this awesome idea in your head, about an invention that will change the very way we live, you expect to meet someone who can provide necessary funding but you dont even have a presentation prepared. You havent written it down to the last word, the last graph etc.Supposing this person has the time, you havent prepared a speech. NOTHING. all you have is your fantastic idea in your head. Chances are that's where it will stay!
  
   
  
    You want to become a model, you have sent out pictures to modeling agencies. but you have never catwalked in your life. What happens when you are called in for an audition? Do you stroll in, bounce like a tomboy? Just because you are six foot with a good face doesn't unconditionally make you a model.


   I can't get over how in all those award shows,  those people who win awards come up all shocked like they didnt know they wuld win, yet have the perfect speech prepared! I aint buying it sister! They were prepared, just in case!


  Having an expectation is great, but its only the first step on the way to manifestation. So beyond your expectation, add preparation. Its major ingredient in the recipe of success.