The Possibility Of YOU: What Shapes You? (African Insights for Success, Personal Mastery & Fulfilment): The Personal Development Code, #1

By Alex Granger

Are you broke? A little broke? DEAD BROKE?
Have you started living the life of your dreams, or are you feeling very stuck in your pursuits? 
Do you constantly feel like you deserve more than you are getting out of life?
When you think of your FUTURE... do you feel proud and confident, or do you feel that familiar heartbreaking FEAR?

Welcome to the Possibility of YOU!

If you are reading this right now, your first step is to understand that you have not stumbled on this page by accident. You are here because you are READY to experience what it feels like to be really successful - the kind of success that will stick with you for the rest of your life.

The Possibility of YOU is about learning the skills and techniques required for tapping into your future possibilities - skills and techniques that have been tried and tested, improvised over the years by hundreds of success experts, and proved by thousands of ordinary people to have the same efficient, mind-blowing results over and over again. 

In 'The Possibility of YOU', you will learn: 

• How to identify your gifts and talents and how to use them effectively.

• How to embrace change, however challenging.

•  The art of mindfulness and how this can improve your business efficiencies.

• How to overcome the three biggest obstacles to your success - Fear, Anxiety & Frustration. 

• The secret 11 Possibility Factors™ that will guide you towards the realization of your possibilities and help you live a fulfilling, significant, selfless, and highly successful life. 

Alex Granger (Professional Speaker, Author, and Founder of 'The Possibility of YOU') is known as the “exceptional” one, helping businesses and individuals worldwide to develop into future fit people.  

"Alex‘s positivity is infectious. By using the simple techniques in this book, you can develop your own meaning of success and chart your journey to achieve this. If you doubt yourself right now, take a deep breath, turn the page and allow yourself to be inspired." 
– Julie May-Ellingson  TRP  (SA)  
CEO,  Cape  Town International  Convention  Centre 

"My only regret is that I didn't read 'The Possibility of YOU' five years ago. I was captivated from beginning to end." 
–  Helen Nicholson 
Director, The Networking Company, 
"The Networking Queen" & Co-Author of 'The Connected Leader'

• Language: English
• Publisher: The Possibility Of YOU (Pty) Ltd.
• Release date: Oct 8, 2015
• ISBN: 9781519956057

Book preview

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Thank you for purchasing this book, The Possibility of YOU: What Shapes You? This book is dedicated to those who have a burning desire to do more, be more, care more, love more, make more, and give more! If you will empty yourself of your preconceived ideas, thoughts and perceptions, humble yourself and adopt a spirit of learning with a fresh pair of eyes, then this book is for you.

At the end of this book, you will be refreshed, revived, inspired with a refined vision and purpose, clearer goals, and a crystal picture of what your success looks like. But even more importantly, you will have the tools that you can use immediately that will assist you in achieving that success.

To those who have been there for me in my own journey, I must pay tribute upfront.

My lovely wife Susan, and my precious children Nicola and Cedric whom I love so much. My praying mom Yvonne Granger, my siblings Farley, Anita, Shane, Matthew, and Jane.

My late grandmothers who were so inspirational to me. My mentors, Max Moyo and Mongezi Makhalima, for your continued friendship and all the advice.

There have also been people who volunteered their presence into my life and guided me in my journey as a professional speaker and author, such as Helen Nicholson, Rosemary Moss, Aubrey Peacock, Xolani Sithole, Sarah Bauling, Sandra Abrahams, and my best friend Tino Janda.

My sincere thanks also to the people who reviewed my book - Justin Cohen, Andy Preston, Mongezi Makhalima, Julie-May Ellingson, Kate Emmerson, Douglas Kruger, and Kate Moodley.

FOREWORD

From the farmland of Zimbabwe to the international stages of his large corporate clients, Alex Granger has travelled a life-transforming journey.

In this book, he weaves these life lessons with the kind of leadership pearls of wisdom that normally only his top clients get to hear. In the Possibility of You, you now can share in this wisdom.

Alex Granger is the real deal – he walks his talk and my only regret is that I didn’t read The Possibility of YOU five years ago. I was captivated from beginning to end – congratulations, Alex!

– Helen Nicholson, Director, The Networking Company,

The Networking Queen & Co-Author of The Connected Leader

Prelude

What is Success?

The English dictionary has several definitions of this rather ambiguous word. One such definition is, the favourable or prosperous termination of attempts or endeavours; the accomplishment of one’s goals.

This is rather quaint, wouldn’t you say? Prosperous termination! The underlying point here is that we set goals and objectives in our lives or work, and when we accomplish those, we are deemed successful in our own sight.

Another definition is, the attainment of wealth, position, honours, or the like. From accomplishment to attainment? Is there any real difference? Do we believe that in order to be successful, we must get something?

Oh, by the way, while you ponder that question, here is another one for context and perspective. Do we want to achieve success for ourselves, or do we want to achieve and attain success so that we may be seen as successful by our friends, peers, and the like?

Wikipedia shares an interesting description: ...the attainment of higher social status. What have you always defined as success for yourself?

This book is not about what people think of you, but about how defining and creating success is for yourself, the type of success that brings you joy even when nobody is watching. But success is more than simply achieving your goals. It has to do with living a full life of purpose and attaining fulfilment, not only for yourself but for everyone you come into contact with.

In The Beginning

I remember it like it was yesterday. Every trip to her home was a thrilling experience. We would sit around a bonfire in the evenings under a glorious moonlight and listen to tales, myths, stories, and fables from time immemorial.

The story tellers were people I loved and respected immensely. My maternal grandmother stood head and shoulders above them all as she was so knowledgeable and her smile and laughter captured my attention. And then there was my uncle, Patrick Dube, who commanded the English language with such boldness that I feel his career should have been as an historian, or one in teaching or conducting tours on the history of our village.

As children, all we did was listen, laugh, smile, and like a sponge, soak in all the stories we heard. I had no idea that those evenings would teach me lessons that would come into good use in my own life.

Family, in the African context, is not restricted to immediate bloodlines. Communities are truly family, and it puts so much credence to the Zulu expression umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu. The phrase expresses a profound truth embedded deep within the core of African values. It translates into English as, a person is a person because of people.

So these stories shared by my maternal grandmother were just as fascinating as the ones shared by my paternal grandmother. They were never told in vain. I always learned a lesson, and I am sure that the story teller was also deliberate in their sharing so that we would learn about life and develop into young men and women of stature and substance.

As an African, connected to the soil, inspired by nature, taught traditionally, to the boardroom and a lofty office and its daily idiosyncrasies, and everything in between, there are so many lessons that life in Africa has taught me. They have enabled and empowered me to understand and achieve success, peace, happiness, and live an absolutely fulfilling life.

My name is Alex Granger, and today, I inspire, educate, motivate, and challenge individuals and businesses to achieve exceptional growth, and I do this by sharing messages of hope and teaching skills on sales, leadership, and personal development.

In this book, The Possibility of YOU: What Shapes You, I will share the many lessons, skills, and experiences that I gleaned from my rural village, all the way to a fancy office and the boardroom of a listed company, and ultimately to the amazing work I am humbled to do; speaking professionally internationally and impacting businesses and individuals through the power of words.

I have always contended that the human brain is the most fascinating organ in the human body, contrary to popular belief by most men. Now the other organ is important, don’t misunderstand me. My point is that, very often, dysfunctions in any part of the human body are as a result of how we have invested in our minds, good or bad.

What we feed our minds has such a huge impact on how our lives unfold, the opportunities we align with, our values and principles, and the kind of success we are able to achieve.

Today, there are many great thought leaders on success that share jaw-dropping presentations on how one can become a success. I have always had questions about this word SUCCESS. Is it a subjective term? Is it generic? Does one size fit all? What is success, and is success for me the same as success for you?

Most people initially describe success as accumulating wealth, or having enough money to travel the world, or becoming CEO of a listed organisation.

Some say that when they can begin their own business, then they would have arrived!

Then, there are those who say that success is about contentment and peace, or health. I have always felt that this was a safe answer. If I asked such an individual about their success, they would say, Even though I am broke, I still have peace and I’m content.

In fact, others would go so far as to say that even the wealthiest people in the world who own several properties, have fat bank balances, and travel in private jets; even such people are truly not happy. I almost fell for that trap—that being content and having enough to get by was living a successful life.

Well, I hope that at the end of this book you will have a better understanding of success for your life and for those around you, personally or in business.

To begin, we need to have a starting point, and that starting point is how we define success. Over your journey through these pages, the meaning will change, and at the end, you will have arrived at a clearer picture for yourself.

Ultimately, my objective is to take you from where and what you are now to where you would like to be. When you understand how achievable this is, the next step is to move to the level of impact, where you create a lasting legacy, and that consists of living a life of significance for fellow human beings. If you can achieve this, then my goal would have been accomplished.

Chapter 1

IN THE BEGINNING THERE WAS MBONGQANE

It takes a whole village to raise a child. – African proverb

I was born in 1970 and my early childhood was in a part of the world that to this day is still virgin, raw, and rural. The name of the place is Mbongqane, a rural village just over thirty-five kilometres south of the city of kings, Bulawayo, in Zimbabwe.

My fondest memories of that place were the kitchen hut where we made breakfast, the well where we fetched water, the vast and lush bush just beyond our fence where there were so many different types of fruit such as wild plums, and more. In fact, some of the indigenous fruit do not have English names, such as umbunzu, isigangatsha, umviyo, xawu-xawu, umqokolo, amakhemeswane, and mpumpulwane. We were blessed as though we lived in the garden of Eden!

And then not far from our home was the majestic Gwaai River where we went swimming or fishing. At this river was a mini falls called Mtenga-Mtenga where I remember experiencing some of the most memorable times with my late dad.

Anyway, when I was young, I always strived for excellence in everything I did. That has always been my drive. If I did something, I wanted to do it so well that I would be regarded as the best in that discipline. I began singing in church at the age of four and would often sing duets with my brother Farley. We attended a small but fulfilling church which was about 15 minutes from our home. What excited me about church was the many visiting ministers and music artists who came to minister to this rural congregation, most of them from what is now Solusi University.

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My paternal grandparents and I, in Matobo rural village, in 1998.

Granny Jane Granger, my dad’s mom.

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My grandmother was very active in church. I remember how beautiful she was, a pure coloured Zimbabwean woman! After church we would have the best meal of the week – rice, beef, potatoes, and salad followed by a decadent dessert. In the evenings, we would go to my granny’s place which was a mere five minutes walk from our home.

See, our homestead was in a greater farm called Ascot Farm which was owned by my grandmother. It was a huge farm with several farm workers and their families living on the property. We were all like a big happy family and looked out for each other. Looking back now, I understand the African proverb that says, It takes a whole village to raise a child.

You see, to achieve the kind of success that impacts the world, you cannot isolate yourself. You need to understand that you are part of a larger community and that your growth will be made all the more worthwhile if you serve those in