People wear masks for different reasons, and that, intentionally. A mask serves to cover all or part of someone’s face. A person wearing a mask has concealed their true face, thereby projecting a face that is not theirs. Whatever they wear is what others see. Moreover, an individual can put on different masks under different circumstances. They may wear a funny face today but look like a scary monster tomorrow. Those who hide behind a mask have the flexibility to change who people see from time to time. In fact, they may wear a face when you see them and then wear another one when I see them. You may know them as Jonny while I know them as Rosie. Those who wear masks conceal their identity so they can hide or, in fact, fool others.

Are you wearing a mask? Anyone who projects an identity that does not truly represent them is hiding behind a mask. One of the major requirements of a successful business relationship is trust or reliability. But if you are wearing a mask, how can we trust you? A person of integrity maintains principles that do not change easily. When they say “yes”, we know they mean “yes”, and their “no” is “no”. Those who wear their real face maintain the same character everywhere they go. They are the same at home, at work and in the community. They are predictable and dependable. Are you? If you are a manager at work, do those who work with you trust you? Can they take your word for it? If you are working in a team, can your colleagues trust you?
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This is a call to integrity – integrity in both words and deeds. In my journey through life, I have met people of integrity, people who show their real face and maintain consistency in their positive character and disposition. I have also met people who lack moral character to lead or influence people for a lasting change, who wear masks to look good to some and then look otherwise to others. We all choose where we belong. Whatever is your choice, know that real people don’t wear masks. We know who they are.

Weighing scales exist for the singular reason of telling us how much of a thing is in there. Depending on the value, the weight of a substance helps us to understand how much it is worth. Gold may be measured in grams, meat measured in kilograms and gravel measured in tons. Whatever is the scale or unit of measurement, a higher weight signifies more worth and more value. Meanwhile, weight is not only attributable to physical items. Intangible things can also be measured by weight. For example, how much does your idea weigh? You can weigh your options. You can be dealing with a weighty issue.

There is one more non-physical item that I would like you to consider. How about weighing your thoughts? We all wish for a significant outcome from our endeavours. We want our effort to translate to gains, results that we can relate with and rewards for our satisfaction. However, the value of our thoughts and the outcomes of our lives are directly related. People do not generally rise above the value or worth of their thoughts. In most cases, the outcomes of our lives are not superior to the way we think. That is why everyone must weigh their thoughts and ensure that they measure up. What is the worth of your thought? If we were to measure what you think, would we place a lot of value on it?
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This is how it works. The mind is a powerful engine. It is the command center of everything we do. What we think and how we think determine what we do. If I think I can climb the mountain, then my mind will start giving me suggestions of ways I can reach the summit of the mountain. And that will become the foundation of my actions toward climbing the mountain. In fact, most of the things we do are automatically suggested to us by the subconscious part of our minds based on how we usually think. That means we cannot afford to have small minds. We must always check to see that our thoughts produce so much value. Check your own mind; evaluate your thought? How much did it weigh?

Most of the time in my life, I pursued what I wanted. I would determine where I wanted to go and head for the direction. I would put all my effort into achieving whatever I wanted. Part of my experience was that I didn’t always have what I wanted. There were lots of hits and misses. Each time I missed the mark, I would get disappointed but also gather strength to try again. In fact, I have had many failures and have faced brick walls on many occasions. Through my journey, I learnt that life’s success is like a fabric woven with a series of losses and wins. Sometimes we win and other times we lose. The road to success is not an expressway.

One thing that keeps me going is my understanding that nothing I missed achieving is worth my worry. If I set out to achieve something and I missed it, of what use would be my agitation and sleeplessness about it? The way I think is that I didn’t have it before I set out to achieve it and neither did I have it after. For example, if you were looking for a job and you applied for a job because you saw an advert in the newspaper, but was not hired after the interviews, you would have lost nothing. You did not have the job before you applied, and you didn’t have it after. If there were to be any change about you, it would be the fact that you learnt something during the process.
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Before you get too disappointed about what you didn’t achieve or what you missed, consider that your attempt was a good thing. Instead of worrying about what you didn’t get, you can spend the energy to reposition yourself for a better try next time. Each time we fail or miss the mark, we learn the lesson and keep moving forward. Whatsoever is your pursuit, one of the ways to handle disappointments on your way to success when you don’t get what you want is to remember that you had it neither before nor after. Maintaining a positive attitude will help you gather the strength to move forward.

One of my goals is to live on, forever. What do you think? Well, you and I know that it is naturally improbable to never die. Yet, I have seen many people who lived several centuries ago but are still living on. The memories we have of them keep them alive. They are dead but alive. They are gone but are always here. You know some of them – people like Nelson Mandela, Abraham Lincoln, Albert Einstein, Michael Jackson, Mahatma Gandhi, etc. History remembers them for one of two things or both: who they were and/or what they did.

If you and I will not be forgotten, we need to do work that will not be forgotten. One thing I have observed is that a person’s name is generally inseparable from their work. Your work will give power to your name. You don’t need to be a royal prince, a governor, the pope or even Cinderella. More importantly, you do not need to come from a popular family, have a noble antecedent or be born in America. It doesn’t matter what your background is, your work will give power to your name. If you do work that cannot be forgotten, your name will be remembered forever. Some people think they can make their name live on through their physical offsprings. While that may be true for a few generations, what really counts in the impact that anyone makes while they are here.
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One may say, but it is not possible for all of us to make names like those mentioned above. Yes, you are right. However, each person’s work is unique to them. Everyone makes an impact based on their own ability. What is important is that we do work that is worth remembering, work that makes memories of good things in the hearts of others. Every simple act matters. Every contribution matters. Everything we say matters. Our work matters. The way to never die is to do that for which others will keep remembering us even when we have departed from this material world.

Have you ever worked with perfectionists, people who will not accept anything less than their standard? It is a good thing when we do things according to standards. We need to add thoughtfulness, care, and class to whatever we do. But we must use our energy the right way. When I was in high school, I had colleagues who would write neatly and exceptionally more legibly than I would ever do. Their notebooks looked so clean, with letters arranged perfectly and straight. Those colleagues would take extra care in creating notebooks that looked like art masterpieces. Unfortunately, the marks that we all scored in our physics and math had no respect for the beautiful handwriting. You could design your math results with whatever kind of craft you like without it meaning anything to the math principle. I preferred to focus on understanding the principle rather than trying to become an artist in physics class.

Think about it. Is it possible to get serious with matters that add no value to our endeavour? We sometimes get busy with things that do not necessarily help to accomplish what we planned or targeted. In many instances we hold onto little things that detract from the main issues at hand, majoring in the minor and vice versa. The problem with getting busy with minor matters is that of wasted time. We do not need to discuss matters in circles without making any decisions. We do not need to spend all the time insisting on our own points of view alone when there are many other views on the table. We cannot afford to dwell on past matters that prevent us from moving forward and onward. It is too expensive to spend time thinking about the wrong others did to us rather than facing the future.
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Here is where I am going with this message. There are major things and there are minor things. In all our doings, we need to separate what is major from what is minor. We need to identify what is important to accomplishing what we set out to do and separate it from what is not essential. We need to learn to let go of petty, minor, non-value-adding issues and focus on the major, essential, and much-needed activities.