‘Tale Means Business:To Succeed You Need To Be Full of C.R.A.P!

Acronyms have always been my favorite thing! My love for acronyms started out of necessity thanks to our ‘amazing’ educational system where you are expected to cram formulas or steps and download it verbatim in an exam hall. I was unfortunately not good at cramming, and I faced the threat of failing exams that needed cramming until I discovered acronyms.

I was introduced to a world of using familiar words to remember steps to solve a problem. All of a sudden, my accounting classes became more fun. R.O.I was no longer just the name of a guy I fancied, it actually meant ‘Return on Investment’. Neither was P.A.T a popular girl’s name, it was ‘Profit After Tax’

One of the more meaningful acronyms that have impacted me in recent years especially in navigating through my dreams and goals is F.E.A.R which is an acronym for ‘false evidence appearing real’. This is something I remind myself from time to time when I am afraid of taking a step or going out of my comfort zone. I not only ‘do it afraid’, but I am also learning to confront the fear and when you do, you would find out the fear was not real.

Just when I thought I had found my ‘ultimate’ acronym, then I came upon C.R.A.P. It is quite interesting to me because when you say someone is full of crap, you are alluding to the fact that they are filled with rubbish or don’t quite have anything meaningful to say. It could also be used to describe someone who is a smooth talker and can deceive people with their charm without making any real meaning.

Rachel Luna redefined the meaning of C.R.A.P and I want to share reasons why you have to be full of it to succeed!

What is C.R.A.P?

Courage
Courage is the ability to move ahead despite uncertainty. Like Rachel says, it is seeing your fears for what they really are and moving forward in spite of them.  Courage is one of the most important characteristics we need to have if we want to create a remarkable life and make a difference in this world. This means a disposition to do what it takes –  even if you are afraid you might fail, People might criticize you  or things might not go as planned. It is the willingness to make your desired outcome more important than your inner turmoil. It is the type of virtue displayed by Martin Luther King when he fought for equality; or by Nelson Mandela when he stood up to the White South African’s and spent 27 years in prison. It is also displayed by every entrepreneur who dares to start a business in this country despite the obvious challenges and obstacles that we face.

Resilience
I think of resilience any time I see a very strong rubber band. You can pull it or stretch it to a certain distance and it bounces back to you. Rachel describes resilience as strengthening your spirit and teaching yourself how to bounce back quickly. I have seen a number of people who had the courage to start, but did not have the resilience to stick to it. We love the stories of overnight success. #Olajumoke has become a prayer point for people who desire their own sudden breakthroughs and victories. However the most honorable part of the story is not the breakthrough, but the willingness of a person to get up every day to hawk her wares to feed her family. That is resilience. Anyone who wants to succeed in life should be willing to be resilient to keep bouncing back and to keep believing even in the midst of obstacles and challenges.

Authenticity
Authenticity is my favorite, because what it means to me is: giving your self-permission to ‘be you’ and ‘do you’ without fear of what people would think or say. True authenticity always comes from a place of love and when you are truly authentic, your message, platform or business would be truly impactful. Rachel says authenticity is living the dream you have always wanted, not someone else’s. I have written in the past about finding your own unique strategy and not being caught up with ‘me too’ strategy. If you do something the way someone else does it, the best you can be is second best! To succeed and stand out, you need to aim at sharing you own authentic flavor.

Perseverance
Perseverance is the ability to walk through feelings of resistance. In my last video, I talked about why you need to persevere in achieving your dreams. Most of the time, we give up too easily and if we are religious, we are quick to say ‘maybe it is not God’s will’. However, the truth is you might be facing resistance because it is actually God’s will! Any dream worth its salt would face resistance and obstacles. There is no one who has achieved anything significant in life that has not faced resistance. Your ability to work through resistance and deal with rejection is what would lead you to succeed.

So what if you have failed before and don’t have any energy left to be full of C.R.AP? Watch this Video and find out what to do with your failures.