Be Ambitious But Not Desperate : Ocholi Okutepa 

Finding the balance in a world that has lost its conscience in the pursuit of “success”

If you want to maintain your drive and sustain your momentum, have a goal, a dream and be ambitious about getting to specific targets.

Apart from narrowing your pursuit, setting your goals, dreams and targets will enable you identify what is a distraction and what you should consider core responses to life’s challenges.

You see, being ambitious is not ungodly as many suppose. God allows us to dream and will grant ‘the desires of our hearts’ if those desires do not offend His will or run counter to His purposes.

Now, if the same God promises us ‘good success’ and that we are ‘above and not beneath’ and for all intents and purposes meant for the top as people who will not only ‘stand before kings’ but who will call forth nations and will be honoured by nations that hirtherto did not know us, why should we not dream?

You see, the point of separating ambition from desperation is the point that you realise that while you want it, you won’t go outside God’s will to get it. We have a spiritual recognition that our satisfaction cannot come from what we achieve or do not acheive but from remaining firmly rooted in God’s will per time and ensuring that in the pursuit of life’s goals we do not betray our conscience, convictions and the profession of our faith.

Not being desperate also brings peace through the journey and process. We learn to lean on God for each step and trust Him for the ultimate fulfilment of our dreams through His grace enabling our diligent work.

Above all, our ambitions become drowned in His higher purposes for us so that we are not in pursuit of ‘success’ merely for getting to it or for the pride and arrogance of our competitive souls to boast and compare ourselves with others but fulfil our calling as the blessed and to maximize the influence we gain by it for the purposes of God.

This is why we rise up this morning and every other day and diligently work, spend time thinking and trying to create.

This is why we take time to pray for good success and lean on heaven to breath on our labour and make it productive, fruitful and rewarding.

This is why we continue through thick and thin and continue to work like all seasons are bright even when we run across dark tunnels and deal with harsh weather conditions.

This is why you will rise today and go again. Remain ambitious and in faith. We are not desperate but we are highly motivated.

-Ocholi Okutepa Esq