THE BIGGER PICTURE – small beginnings

When Lionel Messi crossed the Atlantic to try his luck with Barcelona’s ‘under 14s’ in the year 2000; the hierarchy at the Camp Nou had seen a prodigy who would become by far one of the greatest footballers to ever lace his boots. The Barcelona scouts had seen beyond a mere 13year old boy diagnosed with a growth hormone deficiency, whilst growing up and playing soccer in 1995 with hometown Team Newell’s Old Boys in Santa Fe, Argentina. The world of football would definitely have missed such a wonder kid, and Messi may not have realized his full potential if the “Angels” from Spain had overlooked the tinny “little” man in the small Argentine town of Rosario at that opportune time.

There is a starting point to every activity under the sun, and that beginning is always raw and unrefined but those who could see the end result of that activity, would not despise those small beginnings as is clearly stated in the Holy Bible (Zechariah 4:10 emphasis mine) and the Lord rejoices to see the work begin. The Lord Jesus also told His disciples that those who have not seen but yet believe are the blessed ones (John 20:29 emphasis mine). “I built a conglomerate and emerged the richest black man in the world in 2008 but it didn’t happen overnight. It took me 30years to get to where I am today. Youth of today aspire to be like me but they want to achieve it overnight. It’s not going to work. To build a successful business, you must start small and dream big. In the journey of entrepreneurship, tenacity of purpose is supreme.” (Aliko Dangote). A journey of 1000 miles always begins with a step and surely Rome was not built in a day. All great men of our time, including Aliko Dangote are familiar with those old sayings and they know everything great began small.

When mothers deliver new babies, they spend the most quality time caring for them because of fragility amongst others. The babies go through stages of breast feeding, weaning, and solid foods as they mature into toddlers, teenagers, and eventually adulthood. They enroll in school and begin to have great career ambitions into the future and those become realities. In today’s world, there are people whose job function makes them scout for talents in sports, music, & the entertainment industry to groom them for greater works in the future. The scouts are able to see into the future of such unrefined talents and therefore invest heavily in them to ensure they become what they envisage will happen. There is no famous entrepreneur, soccer player, movie star, medical specialist, lawyer, etc who did not begin small. The various stages help to refine and bring out the real talent implanted by God in the individual.

Small beginnings are crucial for future outcomes. Although how one begins may not necessarily define the future of the person, the preparations and activities will count towards that. Small beginnings help to bring out qualities that include patience, ability to develop & blossom, building a solid foundation, and adequate preparations.

Patience

This is the most important ingredient needed to ensure small beginnings are well nurtured and not despised. Patience helps both the raw talent and the scout to wait long enough to bring the person to the level of readiness. When seeds are planted, the process of photosynthesis take place to enable it grow as expected by the sower. Patience allows for time and chance to happen and prevents half-baked talents to be rushed into action. It creates enough room for all those associated with the raw talent to contribute their quota in working out the final and best outcome from the personality in focus. Patience is indeed the best student.

Ability to Develop & Blossom

Working with little recognition affords one the opportunity of perfecting his gifts in obscurity in order to develop enough absorbers to overcome any form of shocks. The biblical David was never held in high esteem by his family as a shepherd boy in the bush, but when the Prophet Samuel scouted and anointed him, all eyes saw the great king in the making. As the old saying has it: “what is done in the dark will come to light.” What are you doing now in the shadows that are serving as rehearsal to equip you for the show on stage? When nobody is watching what can make you worthwhile when it matters most?

Building a Solid Foundation

Most times it is said that, desperation is a byproduct of innovation. Small beginning and limited resource force a man to maximize his potential. There are reserves in the wells of a man’s ability that would go untapped, had their use not been needed for one’s survival. The foundation of a building is the most important at any point in time. This houses the superstructure and therefore need to be very solid to do so and overcome any form of “aftershocks” or cracks that may be encountered. The greatest works of art were created when the artists’ backs were firmly against a wall. Having nowhere to retreat, the artists’ look inward and find a masterpiece which is crafted to become a refined end product.

Adequate Preparations

Things will not always remain the same because there will be growth, development, and one will get to the destination. Do not curtail or abort your vision because pregnant women do not show any signs externally of the development inside them in the early stages of their pregnancy. It remains obscured until the appropriate stage of development. With time, the traits of growth will show and eventually it cannot be denied nor kept from external influence. Your small beginnings will blossom into a big blessing, because where you are now is not the end.

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