THIS VICE CALLED: SELF BELIEF.

It’s good to be back on this blog. I have been otherwise occupied with other things including the excess writing work that always seem to sneak up on me, sometimes uninvited.

Several months ago, I met someone new, the man I should blame for this particular entry and who is the source of my inspiration right now. If this is the first time you are reading one of my entries then you may be unaware of my passion for personal development and training; something i have been fervently doing for the last two years. And it has been great road down the learning lane. Nowhere have I had the opportunity to learn so much in just two years about becoming a better person than from what i do. So its no surprise that I was slightly peeved at this young gentleman who in a 10 minute sitting, tore into what I believe in and what I have been sharing with others every chance I get inside and outside of my work. By the time the young Rwandan chap walked away from the table that my friends and I were sharing over a coffee date, I was slightly stunned and felt somewhat misrepresented; not because I had not gone out of my way to explain and defend the intricacies and objectives of my work, but because I had even bothered to do so.

For starters I believe in what I do and not because its partly how i make my living but because today I am a better person because of what I do. I teach people to work on themselves, believe in their abilities to do great and mighty things and to in turn be in a position to help others. In a nutshell I teach self belief and how this self belief can help one achieve their wildest dreams be it monetary or otherwise. And what’s more i have seen people who have gone through our trainings grow phenomenally, realizing their potential and in turn become better people than when they first arrived at our doorstep. There's a saying that if you help well enough others get what they want, you in turn will get what you want.

So yes, despite not revealing my reservations to my friends, that afternoon I left the coffee house quite rattled by the young man’s criticisms.

However, today I awoke feeling bright and enlightened. As does happen every morning, a sort of peace and sobriety had set in and I thought back to the previous day’s events. Perhaps I had judged my young friend too soon. I do not agree with what he said; not at all for he like many others before him, do not understand the nature of what people like myself do and why we do it and my point is not to make them understand. Nevertheless I can now see where he was coming from. 
Having survived a genocide acknowledged by international bodies and nations across the globe as the worst atrocity ever encountered upon humankind: man shooting man, neighbor maiming neighbor, child slashing mother; all in a horrific and senseless bid to wipe out one tribal nation, undeniably, i could see how this guy could not begin to relate to people like myself who propagate self belief. It is self belief that almost wiped out an entire homeland, it is self belief of ruthless mortals masked in self righteousness and deceit that felt it was doing its counterparts a favor by ridding themselves of lesser beings. I appreciate that it is self belief that propagates corruption, dictatorship, and all other viles in society that we can think about.

Nonetheless, it is also self belief that enables nations plundered by war to rise up and be one again, it is self belief that gives hope to victims such as the "genocide-ees" to believe again in humankind and forgive their neighbors who swore only blood and vengeance, it is self belief that gives hope to our disillusioned youth that one day they too can join the political elite and instead of speaking greed and selfishness, articulate ethnic and social cohesiveness, proliferate morals and values,construct schools, hospitals and put up basic infrastructure. it is self belief that allows a “nobody” have the courage confront his worst fears and discover their purpose for living; mind you it is this fear that prohibits many of us from dreaming and see through our visions to the end. It is self belief that can bring real positive change to the ones who most need it.

So I do understand the young man’s sentiments. He deplores self aggrandizement and the overemphasis of self belief outside of the acknowledgment of a higher power or being. It is true, you cannot do anything alone or devoid of the consult or aid of another; I acknowledge that, but I also refuse to see the glass as half full.