By Alusine Fullah
“Like the eagle, we can learn to spread our wings and embrace the challenges of life with courage, grace, and perseverance. The eagle is a symbol of strength, courage, and vision; embrace these attributes to soar higher, farther, and faster toward your goals, “Thunuka Maker.
Every season/ year takes a measure of courage. In every season, we face new fears and concerns. Without courage, we would be tempted to retreat to the safety net of the known and give up altogether on this daunting and often misunderstood task. Each step takes courage, as we move forward to the exciting, impressive result we are hoping for. Sierra Leoneans, I definitely know that we have faced HUGE challenges. Many of us have lost our loved ones. Many of us have lost valuable properties. I have sensed and felt that since the inception of the past decades. For instance, we have survived from the civil war, we have survived from the mudslide, and we have survived from Ebola and that of COVID 19. Yes, apart from that we have also survived from other shocks. Yet, we still stood firm, fearless and faced them. That has definitely made us to be resilient.
Sierra Leoneans, as we approach 2024, I encourage you to fan the flame inside of you. Fan it until it burns brightly. Never give up on the greatness for which you were created. As we approach 2024, never try to hide your uniqueness, and never feel you cannot do what you believe you were made to do. I want you to realize your hunger for adventure is God-given to try something new is a wonderful desire. Be an eagle in the things you do. If you do that definitely the sky is your limit.
You need a positive mind set, one that will position you for successful achievement. Consider what Orison Sweet Mardon, an accomplished writer wrote: “Men who have blazed new paths for civilization have always been precedent-breakers. It is ever the man who believes in his own ideas, who can think and act without a crowd to back him, who is not afraid to stand alone, who is bold, original resourceful, who has the courage to go where others have never been…”
As I write, I know many of you have been disappointed by your friends/ loved ones. This has actually made you to feel like giving up. You feel like we are not important among the crowd. You feel like you are not up to the task. As a graduate, all the application letters you have written from January to December have not been considered. In fact, they have been thrown to the dustbin. A lot of family and financial pressures are raining every day to you. No money on the table. All efforts seem fruitless. As a result, you feel like committing suicide. No!! You don’t deserve to die because of your challenges. Continue to call the people that you think that they can help. Continue to write and send your applications.
If you ever happen to see an eagle sitting high above the tree or cliff of a stiff mountain, watch closely and see how attentive the bird is. The body sits still and the head will be tilted side to side to observed what is happening below, around and above it. Even if it’s flying close by, you can observe how keen its eyes are looking for its prey. Eagles have a keen vision. Their eyes are specially designed for long distance focus and clarity. They can spot another eagle soaring from 50 miles away. So nexus to the foregoing, I will conclude that eagles are visionary.
Does this characteristic ring a bell in your mind? I am sure it does. Look at great leaders of this world who have come and gone. There are many great men that came and went but one characteristic that is common in all is “Vision”. Vision is a successful leadership characteristic. The vision must be big and focused. A big, focused vision will produce big results.
No matter what the size of that person or what weapon they may be holding, you would attack them without thought or regard for yourself. It wouldn’t even dawn on you to be afraid because your instinct is to protect that which you love and cherish. Successful leaders/ people are fearless. They face problems head on. This tells us that you should be Fearless.
Watch an eagle when a storm comes. When other birds fly away from the storm with fear, an eagle spreads its mighty wings and uses the current to soar to greater heights. The eagle takes advantage of the very storm that lesser birds fear and head for cover. Challenges in the life of a leader are many. These are the storm we must face as leaders to raise to greater heights. Like an eagle, a leader can only rise to greater heights if he takes up the challenges head on without running away from it. This is yet another leadership characteristic. You should be tenacious. Eagles are Tenacious.
Great men spend time with people who are vibrant and liberal in thinking. You have to be with people who can think, make informed decisions and take actions. These are the people who bring changes to the society. They are lively and active people. Get up! They are there. Go out and look for them.
Sierra Leoneans, stop waiting for extraordinary opportunities! Seize common ones and make them great. You need this kind of orientation and attitude to move out of your confort zone, rise above your problems and achieve the life you desire and deserve.
Your perspective in life will determine whether you live a victorious life like the eagle or scratch out a living like the chicken. What you think about yourself will influence the decisions you make. Bible warns us about our thoughts. In Proverb 23.7 the word of God says: “For as he thinks, so is he.” This means we become what we think.
As we approach 2024, we should prepare to take risks. No matter the challenges, you should not give up on yourself as God has not given on you.
