Discovery, according to the Oxford Advanced Learner’s
dictionary, “is an act or the process of
finding somebody or something or learning about something that was not known about
before.” It is also defined by the same dictionary as, “a thing, fact or person that is found or learned about for the first
time.” If discovery is what we defined above, then it must be known that
discovering something or somebody is never a child’s play.
To “discover” means to make known to the public,
information that was previously unknown to anybody or known only to a few
people or that was meant to be kept a secret. It entails
seeing something for the first time. When one discovers, it means he gets to
know or becomes aware of something or somebody, mostly accidentally. To
discover is to suddenly become aware that a particular place, person or thing
exists.
In a bid to discover oneself, communicate new
ideas to people and locate a fruitful ground for success, there is need to
expand the territory that discovery covers. In the World of English Thesaurus,
to discover is:
Ø to disclose new ideas,
Ø to exhibit special skill that is totally unique
from others, and impart a knowledge that is very rare to come by,
Ø the manifestation of great power of will, showing
the strength you’ve gotten to move from one level to another,
Ø revealing what is sacred, and telling people
around you what they ought to know that they are yet to know,
Ø to be certain about a phenomenon and behold
something from a different perceptive,
Ø to have a discerning spirit that something is not
obvious,
Ø to see something suddenly, grab it and turn it
into a brand,
Ø to detect something that is not easy to see, hear
or feel,
Ø to determine to decide definitely to do something,
Ø to officially decide and arrange something,
Ø to contrive i.e. to manage to do something, in
spite of difficulties,
Ø to succeed in making something happen in spite
of difficulties
Ø to produce or design something that has not
existed before.
Having highlighted what discovery is all about,
let’s proceed to examining what brings about discovery?
Starting rhetorically, why do people discover
things? Why do they feel strongly that their world is not complete without
putting their names in the indelible records of unforgettable achievers? Why do
people believe that it is through them that things can be meaningful? Why would
somebody believe that he/she needed to ceaselessly put his brain to work, so
that his/her neighbours would have abundance of things to use for their
individual or collective betterment?
Another question that shouldn’t be skipped is why
people become very restless just to be agents of change. Historical researches
have shown that inventors of great things like cars, electricity, bulb,
telephone, etc. were people that hardly ever rested. All these mentioned inventions
are what our world cannot do without today. Then, if these things hadn’t been invented,
what probably would have been their substitutes? Perhaps the world would still
be in a primitive state. It is clear then that the global village that our world
has become today must be credited to some aggressively ambitious and selflessly
restless people, whose spirited efforts incredibly turned the once scattered
settlements, peoples, cultures and nations into one huge body of distantly but
closely connected societies.
I have observed that two great emotions – fear and
greed –govern the lives of virtually all human beings. Generally, it is the
fear of the unknown (tomorrow) that makes human beings strive very hard to
achieve all they can possibly or humanly achieve today, while they still have
their youthful strength or while there are opportunities around them. For
instance, many of us wake up very early in the morning, rush down to work, work
very hard and mostly late, basically because of the fear of poverty – poverty
is dreaded by everyone! Besides, the fear of failure may make a lot of people
shy away from bravely attempting things.
Interestingly, once human beings have achieved
some level of success, then the emotion of greed rears its head; urging us to
desire so many things. This urge usually has different tempers in different
people. It is this urge (i.e. greed) that pushes many to bite off more than
they can chew, in terms of accumulating things they need and do not need. So,
it is fear that usually breeds greed.
Yes, we all have to work, and hard too, because
time cometh when no man will be able to work; but we must wisely choose what
work we are genuinely suited for (or that is suitable for us). Many people
believe that they are the owners of their lives, but I would like us to know
that we all are mere caretakers of the lives we ignorantly claim to be exclusive
ours. No matter the amount of wealth or income we make from it, we will surely
give account someday to the supreme master, God.
A school of thought affirmed that the best brain,
the best teachers, the best professionals, the best players, the best preachers,
the best composers, the best artists and the best leaders are in the grave yards.
This emphasizes the fact that someday, all of us, in spite of whatever
endowment we hugely possess today, will report to the supreme master (God) how
we have expended the various gifts he bestowed upon us.
Also, we may consider the abovementioned people
(in the grave yards) as people who aspired or were meant to be the best in
their fields, but never achieved such lofty aspirations before death silenced
them. Pondering over that, do you think these people are better off in the
grave than on earth? If they were permitted to live still, who knows what they
might become: living legends like King Sunny Ade, Ebenezer Obe Fabiyi, Bola
Are, Yinka Ayefele, and Fatai Rolling Dollar; or illustrious football heroes
greater than the great Pele of Brazil, the indefatigable Diego Maradona of
Argentina, the eclectic Austin Jay Jay Okocha of Nigeria, the much celebrated Abedi
Pele of Ghana, The great Kanu Nwanwko of Nigeria, The Phenomenal Christiano
Ronaldo of Portugal, the immensely skilled Ronaldinho of Brazil, and the ‘merciless’
Lionel Messi of Argentina; or moguls far superior to MO Ibrahim, Wale Adenuga
and Aliko Dangote; or ministers of God
more-spiritually filled than Pastors Gabriel Olutola, James Alalade, Timothy
Babafemi Fasan, Gabriel Opeoluwa and Israel Wilberforce Odunaiya.
Do you prefer to be
uncelebrated heroes or heroes whose names will be carved on the wall of history
and whose footprints will be left in the sand of time? If your answer is in
tune with the latter (i.e. to be heroes whose names…), then you need to rise up
immediately! Shake off every negative, inferior thought weighing you down. Get
down to work and set your mind on achieving results. You’ve got what it takes,
and you sure can do it. The bible says, ”I can do all things through Christ
that strengthen me”. If the strength you claimed to have obtained through
Christ is what you need, go for it.
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