At the time I was 17, I was so sure what I wanted to do with my life. I knew how I wanted my life to turn out, I already saw the big picture.

Sadly, my parents were seeing another picture, my father and I had issues because I refused to go for nursing, it was what he wanted anyway.

It was so bad!

I wanted to obey them, at least just to follow what religion taught us, It was hard.

I never wanted to live someone elses life. I never wanted to do things I don’t like and don’t get fulfilment from just because someone wants that for me.

It was heartbreaking, it wasn’t easy but I stood neck up and owned my dream.

I later had to leave with an uncle, and later, another uncle. And same issue came up.

My dream isn’t a conventional one, it’s not something the society actually sees as success and so everyone thought I was nuts.

At the time I did a school tour, going to high schools to give inspirational talks, I was with my first uncle and honestly, it wasn’t easy, talk about persecution!

At my other uncle’s, attending seminars and program was almost impossible, even reading books came with It’s dose of persecution.

You know what you go through when you’re doing something different from everyone, you’re always seen as the person who’s wrong.

It was difficult holding on to my dreams. It was hard.

Those were one of my darkest days, I’d often cry out all the tears in my eyes, many times I just wanted to give up but I couldn’t.

I took charge of my life, I claimed ownership of my dreams and I stood up for what I knew was what I wanted, and what God wanted too.

Today, I’m an author, everything I went through in those trying times I documented in a book and everyone couldn’t help it but get proud of me.

Nobody ever tries to talk me out of this path, they’re comfortable with it now….. And that was because, I didn’t give up on my dreams.

I honestly don’t know exactly what you’re experiencing. Truth is, once you make the decision to chase your dreams, almost everyone will turn against you.

Either your family or your friends or your neighbours, some people will just see you as crazy.

But, that’s totally fine.

It’s your dream, not theirs, so own it.

You can’t afford to drop your dream because of what people say, you can’t afford to live without true happiness and fulfilment.

You can’t afford to be mediocre and then start regretting later that you didn’t run with your dreams just because you wanted to please people.

Next time the pains come and you want to quit, remind yourself that you’re here for a purpose. You’re not here to please anyone.

The only person you have to please is the man who created you, you have to carry out your mission on this earth.

Stay strong, never give in.

Very soon, it will pay off and the very people who asked you to quit, will celebrate you more.

Have you experienced this kind of persecution? How did you overcome?. Are you experiencing it now? Please share and we’ll be of help.

At the time when I first published my book, I was constantly afraid, always afraid. So many fears kept cropping up.

“The book isn’t up to a hundred pages, why would anyone want to buy such?”

“Does that book even deliver value enough to be sold?”

“What if my audience buys it and sees nothing new in it?”

“Isn’t it better I give it out for free?”

There were so many fears, very many, but then, the stronger part of me held me up, all through those moments.

Fear is a killer, it doesn’t just kills humans.

It may not necessarily shed blood, but then, it kills something mightier than human.

Fear kills dreams.

Fear kills passion.

Fear stops life changing movements.

Fear!!!

You know you want to do some charity works in your community, but that’s when fear comes in and gives you silly reasons why you shouldn’t do it.

It starts with It’s popular saying, “you’re too young for this, no body will listen to you”.

Then it goes on, “how do you want to do this, you definitely have to clue how these things are run”.

It continues, giving you so many reasons you shouldn’t do it.

But, always remember, fear only becomes intense when you’re trying to do something worthwhile.

And that means, you have to learn to use your fears as a tool for launching your dreams.

Your fear doesn’t necessarily have to pull you down or stop you. Your fears should also be a part of your driving force. It should motivate you to keep going, to do that things you dream of, because fear is only real when you hearken to it’s words.

If you ignore it, you’ll find out within a short space that fear isn’t real. It’ll shrink because It’s only power is the one you give to it.

So, what’s the one simple step to making this fear afraid?

Did I say the step is simple?

It certainly not as simple as it sounds, but then, it isn’t difficult, so it’s something anyone can do.

Now, look at yourself, take a sit, and hold your chest.

Now leave your chest and envision your mind, try to catch a view of your mind What’s in it?

How strong are you?

It all starts from the mind, you are what you think you are.

The first place we lose battles is in our mind, if we train our minds to think victory and to see victory, we’ll always emerge as victors.

Take charge of your mind and understand that fear is not real. It has no power. It is only as powerful as the attention you give it.

If you understand this, you’ll be able to do great things, to launch your dreams fearlessly because every time fear tries to hold you, you’ll capture it and make the best of it.

Have you ever done something despite your fears and succeed at it? Please share.

Thanks for joining me!

Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter. — Izaak Walton