Climbing the Ladder to Stardom!

Success is a function of attitude. The attitude we adopt or apply in our climb to stardom determines the altitude we will reach. And when we adopt the right attitude, there is no limit to our rise to the top.

The success story of Collin Powell, former US Secretary of States, is a vivid illustration that supports the fact that when we bring the right attitude into our job, the sky will be the limit to our achievement. Collin’s first job was mopping floors in a soft drink plant. But he made up his mind to become the best mopper anywhere. He therefore put in the best he could.

Later, he joined the US military. He took the same attitude into the military. At every function, he strove to be the best. His industry and commitment earned him promotion from the low cadre to the top. In 1993, Collin retired from the US army as the “much decorated and highly regarded chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.” He later served as US Secretary of States.

Dear reader, that job you are doing now is not your final port of call. You are not destined to remain stuck in a low-paid job. You are destined for the top. There is enough room for you at the top and all you need do to get there is to apply positive attitude towards your job.

Now, how do you apply positive attitude towards your job? Let us discuss three ways to do this:

1.   Understand that You are a Debtor to Your Job, Occupation, Business or Profession

The first step to take if you must successfully climb the ladder to stardom is to understand the fact that you are a debtor to your job, occupation, business or profession.

It was Lord Francis Bacon that said: “Hold every man a debtor to his profession; from the which as men of course do seek to receive countenance and profit, so ought they of duty to endeavour themselves by way of amends to be a help and ornament thereunto.”

The concept of being a debtor to your profession is to the effect that your work is of paramount importance to you. You earn a living from your work. It is from your work that you take care of yourself, your family and handle all your financial obligations. You owe everything to God and to your work. God first, and then the work He ordained that you must do to earn a living.

You owe everything to your job. It is your responsibility to always be at your place of work. A man who remains in the beer parlour wining and dining when he should be at the place of his work is not likely going climb to stardom. It is your responsibility to do your work wholeheartedly. The Book of Success, the Bible, instructs us to do our job “as unto the Lord.”

A man who does not see himself as a debtor to his profession is not likely going to excel in it. I have heard a Sociology lecturer in a prestigious university in Nigeria say: “This bloody job I am doing…” His statement not only drew sympathy from those students offering his course; it also sought of discouraged those that admired him and wanted to take to the teaching job.

Ah! Dear friend, are you like this lecturer who saw nothing good about his profession? Do you disdain and treat your job with levity? Do you look down on your job? Or do you enjoy your work or treat it as something you are indebted to or bound to do?

The kind of mentality that super successful people have is that they honour their work.

When you have this kind of mentality, you will rise from any level to the top position in your profession. People who are at the top in their job, occupation, business or profession are those who have great regard for their work. They honour their work. They take their work seriously.

But people, who never see anything good about their work, never excel in life. This is because with such negative attitude, they cannot or will not be willing to make significant contribution to their work which will push them to the top echelon in their job.

Dear reader, if you feel your work has become unimportant to you, you better quit or you will never excel in it. To climb the ladder to stardom, you must have a change of orientation. YOUR ATTITUDE TOWARDS YOUR WORK DETERMINES THE LEVEL OF SUCCESS YOU WILL ACHIEVE.  If you have been having negative attitude towards your work, now is the time to change it. Be proud of your work. Honour your work. Do your work as if you are doing it for God.

It is this kind of positive attitude that elevated Collin Powell from the job of a cleaner (floor mopper), through to a successful military career, and finally to become US Secretary of States.

For this African-American, his job as a floor mopper meant everything to him. He did not look down on his job. His work was the most important thing to him and he made up his mind to become the best in his job. He held tight to this positive attitude and this distinguished him in the army and in his office as the US Secretary of States.

Once you value your work and you are committed or bound to it, you are definitely set for your climb to stardom.

2.   Be Committed to Excellence

Collin became super successful because he sought to be the best in everything he chose to do. Every successful man has this same mindset. They strive to be the best in their profession. 

Your level of commitment determines the level of success you will reach in job. Your input determines your output. You can be among the top shots in your profession. You can reach the height yet to be attained. You can break records that are yet to be broken.

What will make you to achieve all these, is your level of commitment to excellence. The Bible says: “Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with thy might.” (Eccl 9:10). This implies that you must face your job with every sense of seriousness. You must do the best job that you can. You must therefore shun mediocrity. Never settle for less.

Mediocre professionals never go far in life. Only persons who are committed to doing excellent job that will climb easily the ladder to stardom. It is only a diligent hand that will rule. It is only a man that is dillligent in his work that will stand before kings.

Make up your mind today that no matter how difficult the situation, you will stay on your job and strive to be the best in your profession. 

3.   Have Patience

Super successful persons have abundance of patience. It takes patience to rise from the humble job of a cleaner to the enviable post of US Secretary of States. It would have been easier for Collin to remain a floor mopper for life, but he chose the path to stardom, which is always filled with thorns and thistles and which requires patience to tread the path.

Many of us are always looking for easy path to stardom, but the fact is, there is no easy path to stardom. Frank A. Clark said: “If you find a path with no obstacles, it probably doesn’t lead anywhere.”

Dear friend, there is nothing like overnight success. Don’t be so greedy as to fall into the hands of fraudsters. Beware of any scheme or program that promises quick success.

The fact is, there are lots of obstacles, difficulties, problems and hindrances on the path to stardom. You are not really going to find it easy walking on this path to stardom. It has never been easy for anyone.

No matter how smart, desperate or intelligent you are, you cannot walk this path to stardom overnight. This is where patience comes in. You need lots of patience to go through those hindrances, obstacles, thorns, thistles and difficulties. You also need lots of patience to fight and overcome destiny stoppers.

As far as your climb to stardom is concerned, you need patience. Everything boils down to patience. No one gets to stardom by being impatient.  Remember this: ONE MOMENT OF IMPATIENCE CAN RUIN AN ENTIRE LIFE; ONE MOMENT OF PATIENCE CAN EARN YOU FAME AND FORTUNE.

And on a final note, please grab this point: your climb to stardom requires a ladder. This ladder, like other ladders, has many rungs. You are required to take your climb step by step. Usually, the number of steps you will take depends on the number rungs in the ladder.

THE RUNGS ON THE LADDER TEACH US THAT SUCCESS TAKES TIME AND AS SUCH, WE NEED PATIENCE TO CLIMB THE RUNGS ON THE LADDER BEFORE REACHING THE TOP.

There is nothing to worry about. You will make it to stardom. The only thing that can stop you is your impatience. No matter how impatient you are, you cannot get there overnight.

So, climb your way to stardom the way super stars are doing it. They climb with patience and perseverance.  The path to stardom is the path of patience and only the patient ones get there.

Now, the blueprint for climbing your way to stardom has been delivered to you. If you have not taken any step yet, now is the time to begin. And as you begin, it is my prayer that you will overcome every obstacle on your way and you will celebrate your breakthrough to stardom victoriously!