Episode 4 – Reduce External Volume.

Jambo good people. Thank you to those who have reached out with insights gained from this series so far. When you learn something and keep it to yourself you deny others your wisdom and the world is slightly poorer. But when you share your thoughts you also open yourself up to learning from others. The world gets richer and so do you. We go further when we go with others.

So, who should I go with? who are my others? how do I identify them? I call such people destiny helpers. Those select few with privileged meddling rights over your life. I recall way back in 2000 when I was returning to Kenya. One of the reasons that made that decision so difficult to make was the voice of my family and all who mattered to me at that point. Everyone advised (more like begged) me to stay in the US and build my life from there.

Problem was that on the outside it made sense to do so because I had a five-year visa, a fresh MBA from a US-based university, and a resident brother who was settling in well. He had even offered to help me get a good job. Not just flipping burgers at Mc Donalds. But on the inside, none of that was attractive to me. My desire to return home drowned the attraction of remaining abroad.

If I was to have a version of Alex Chamwada’s show – Daring abroad on NTV, I would call it, Daring at home. Because that’s what I was doing. Coming back to a country that was going through an economic depression at the time. I can understand why my family thought I was making the blunder of my life. My quest to return home made no sense to anyone apart from myself.

I recall making a silent pact with God the night before my flight out of America. I had pushed my flight forward twice before waiting to see the revelation everyone else had but to no avail.  I told sir God that when my departure day arrives I will wake up and head to the airport for my flight and He still has a chance to stop me. Well, that didn’t happen so I returned home. That was our pact. I’m forever grateful that I returned home. My life is meant to unfold in this country and continent. I’m sure of that

Reducing that external volume was one of the most difficult things I’ve had to do. And it seems that way every time I need to make a major decision. I wish the route to our unique assignment was as loud and visible as a billboard with instructions on the highway. There comes a time in life when we have to be silent to hear the still small voice within. We will have to reduce the external volume of what people are telling us because most do not see what you see. There will be times when we will have to love them and leave them and that may include close family sometimes.

I have often wondered why the right voice is a small one but the distractions are so loud. I believe that being still to hear is part of the preparation for a future of impact. It’s very difficult to shut off the noise in this crazy world. If it was so easy for us to know where our lives will end up then we will handle our destiny casually. Beverly Gills says, “there are no shortcuts to any place worth going”. It’s part of the preparation.

I also think the reason for the aloneness on our journey towards our true north is because we each have to find our calling in this life. you’ve got to leave the crowd and the noise, pursue your calling then come back to activate it with the help of destiny helpers. We hear others better (they make more sense) once we have heard ourselves.

I learned earlier in the week that a high internal volume can also be an obstacle to reaching our goal. The voices in our heads sometimes work against us. They highlight our limiting beliefs and negative self-talk which leads many folks into settling for a life far less than what they are capable of. So just like the external volume, we need to minimize the internal volume as well. Or manage it at least so that we hear the positive stuff more.

There are times when we need to mute to hear. We can hear a lot in silence.  What’s your loudest distraction? how can you reduce the external volume (and the internal volume too)? it’s a work in progress folks. I’m continuously striving to maintain shallap in my mind so that I can get clear and get going. It’s worth the effort for sure despite the anxiety of the times we live in.

If you’d like to explore further how we can turn down the volume, inbox me and we can have a chat.