Hello friends,
hope you are well.
How’s Tuesday so far or whichever day it is for you right now?
Lately, I’ve been seeing many entrepreneurs and their messages out there. The economy and the uncertainty have shaken practically everyone in some way whether it’s by getting COVID, by earning money, sustaining your and your family’s fate. The truth is no one knows where to run, there is no safety, nowhere, you just have to follow your own compass, yes, many people are afraid, you and me. If there’s any comfort when it comes to fear, it’s that not all fears even come true in the end. That is one thing I know for certain about fear.
Let’s think of a time when we were really starting out in your life. Remember those days in school, the day you will eventually have your own income instead of relying on your parents? Remember the day when we said we are done will this degree, masters, school and learning? If only we knew that learning is a lifelong process, no one really tells us that. Apart from the days that we really had to do the work, the work to get the degree, masters, diploma, going every single day to school, most days or even to college or university, knowing that we won’t have all the answers figured out, and we won’t even know where we’d be working, all we knew was, we had/have dreams, we want to be somewhere, but we don’t know how. Do you remember the day you got your foot in the door, you tried so hard in so many places and someone opened the door just a little? Do you remember that day, the day where you knew you will be heading to something pretty substantial? How did that feel? Did you say, it’s going to be worth it? It’s going to be worth getting up at 5:30 am, it’s going to be worth it, learning and taking on the challenges?
I can’t speak for you; I can only speak for me. I remember that day clearly, that day the door opened for me to earn a decent salary for the age of 19. My very first full-time job where it initially was difficult enough to figure out, how was I going to make it for the interview and how was I going to make it back from there; dangerous Johannesburg, the year (if I remember right) December 1998. Still being decided on my post, there were several challenges already even though I tried hard concentrating on the questions on the interview there was anxiety around how will I get to work? Where will I be placed? Will I get the job? What happens on weekends and how do I get there on weekends? I don’t have a car! I mean … I just kept pushing all that aside after answering every question trying to be present without knowing how, and would you believe it, without even knowing my salary. I just said yes to it deep down in my heart before they said yes to me. Tired, all I really wanted was a chance. A couple of days after that, the chance became a reality and when they said yes to me, each of those questions was tackled one by one and each one’s answer (to my own questions in the interview) just happened so miraculously, so synchronised. I made a deal with myself before starting the job, the deal was that I was going to remove from my life all that, all that, that never saw me as “worth it”, and I was going to keep all that was really “worth it.”
You know what was funny, I was ready to dedicate my whole life to that one job on many occasions but deep down inside writing and becoming a writer just kept screaming out, including dancing, and I was already doing 2 side hustles with my full-time job. As a really ambitious starter, I wanted to run but the business wasn’t made that way where I could run, hit the ground running at the speed I wanted to, and I was given the journey at the pace the universe thought was right for my destination. It was also the universe that called it off when I was met with a robbery where I was held at gunpoint. Would you believe it, the bigger dream that I had in mind didn’t happen the way I planned it, it happened the way the universe planned it, and guess what? The timing at which everything happened in my life was worth it! And the best part, I was more than ready for it, I just let everything, and everyone else’s fears cloud it.
You know, you will only look after something in your life like yours when you’ve lost it or was so close to having it that it slid from your hands. You know, you will only know its worth when you not only know but feel strongly about how much you’ve really waited for it or the chance. To know that it’s worth it requires synchronicity on all levels to be able to say with full mind, body, spirit and soul that, “I am going for this, ain’t nething that can stop me.” I feel that describes the state of a person; for them to know that something is worth it, worth the pursuit, with the effort and time, worth it all.
Right now, many of us are in this journey where we are about to meet what is really worth it for us, while some of us are at a point where things are falling apart in order to get back together in a way never imagined. What’s important to remember is, consistent action even if it’s small on the hardest of days must happen, otherwise, we will never know how much the winning tastes without the struggle. Without struggle it often is meaningless – T. Dench Patel, 4 May 2021, 17:00
While so many people have fallen off their boats right now, just like the year 2008 it’s important to remind yourself heck ourselves not to push against the waves, just stop resisting this change, find your anchor, find a wooden board, somethings to paddle with (if you find other things to capture water, stay warm, catch fish with, great) get on it, stay dry, choose your wave and go if you have to, but just keep moving, just keep taking action until slowly things fall into place… And with faith… Soon enough someone will find you or you will find it, and that my friends, will just be the beginning… it would all be worth it! T. Dench Patel, 4 May 2021, 16:06
What happens to a stone on a slingshot? It gets pulled so far back that when the forces let it go, it flies… Just never know if the force lost aim, how hard it will hit or hurt, but it does depend on how strong the slingshot is for it to hold the pressure. Lesson, for one to fly high and go fast, one has either been “forcefully” held back in life or has to hold themselves back, build the foundation so that when they’d need to move fast everything is set up, all they have to do is keep their eye on the goal. T. Dench Patel, 4 May 2021, 16:15
Yours sincerely,
T. Dench Patel
Thank you for the comments and support. Thank you for offering to donate if there was a donate button on here. I prefer not to take donations. You can support by purchasing my books (Paperback or Kindle), The South African: True Colours, The South African: Roamer or my children’s book Light. These books can be found on Amazon mainly and other sites in your country.
The audiobook for The South African: True Colours is available on iTunes, Apple and Audible. The South African: Roamer and Light will be released soon.
Note: Do keep referring back to this site as much as possible, as I grow, a more profound perspective may form and so I will always come back to each of these articles to re-evaluate them.
