Arise from Grass to Greatness: The Seed of Greatness Is In You. Cultivate It To Fruition: Part One

By Excel Osamwenyobo

A detailed self-improvement book presented in four parts with the third and fourth awaiting publication that takes a reader step-by-step how to achieve great success, written by a celebrated authority on personal development.
While there are many self-help books that promise the world, there are very few that answer the age-long question of how to achieve great success. Arise from Grass to Greatness: Parts One and Two fill the gap by showcasing the step-by-step principles of how to move from poverty to prosperity in an organized whole. Written by one of the world’s top authorities on personal development, these parts are unique because the greatness blueprint they unveil is applicable to individuals, organizations and nations. The success formula answers all questions and it can be applied to every aspect of life encompassing career, education, family, marriage, business, finances, health, religion and relationship.

In fourteen chronological steps, the first five covered by Parts One and Two, the four parts take the reader through practical universal principles that people can use to discover their selves, make the most of their innate endowments, and achieve the greatest possible. Think of Bill Gates and the personal computer (PC); Thomas Edison and incandescent light bulb; the Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, and the airplane. Remember the G8 nations and the Fortune Global 500 companies amongst others. The majority of people are unsuccessful today, not because they are unlucky, but because they never discovered this principle – or if they did, they used it rather haphazardly or in bits and pieces. Learn how to harness your success and achieve the unachievable today. The following two parts will be published soon.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Troubador Publishing Ltd
• Release date: Nov 28, 2021
• ISBN: 9781800467903

Excel Osamwenyobo

Excel Osamwenyobo is a researcher, economist, statistician, entrepreneur, writer, consultant and motivator. He is one of the world’s top authorities on personal development and enterprise growing, and President of IDEAS. He is also the Chairman and CEO of Creativity Excite Worldwide, a firm that specializes in the training and development of individuals and organizations.

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Praise for Arise from Grass to Greatness

This book is a recipe for success. A must-read. The author painstakingly places, in the palm of your hand, the ability to plan your life to achieve a prodigious vision.

Adetayo Olorunlana (PhD)

This book is a must-read. It is a dependable source of motivation and inspiration for all. Studying it will certainly give you a great idea of how to turn your situation around and use your potentials to become a billionaire and great achiever.

Frank Aghwaritefe, MBA Graduate, Anglia Ruskin University, Chelmsford

This book is a greatness recipe for all and sundry.

It reveals what achievers have done differently and what people need to do to achieve great success.

Individuals need it in their effort to succeed in life. Organisations can’t do without it in their venture to grow and become successful in business. For both poor and prosperous nations, it is a blueprint for continuous improvement and accomplishment of sustainable development.

Professor Julius Afolabi Falola

Copyright © 2021 Excel Osamwenyobo

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.

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ISBN 9781800467903

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This book is dedicated to all individuals, organisations, and nations steadfast in ousting poverty, entrenching world peace, and making the earth a better place.

Acknowledgements

My heartfelt thanks go to all who contributed to the success of this book. I am particularly grateful to Prof. Afolabi J. Falola in addition to Chris Holifield and some members of staff at WritersServices.com for their scholarly contributions to making this book a dependable companion and an intercontinental champion. Equally, I very much appreciate the effort of my immediate younger brother, Felix Osagie Evbenaye, for working tirelessly to improve the design of the initial book cover and making it more attractive. His graphic contribution has definitely taken the book on a quantum leap and made it more beautiful and marketable.

I am exceedingly grateful to my mum for her continuous care, motherly support, and advice. Mummy, you remain a source of inspiration and encouragement to me, and words cannot express the extent of my appreciation for all you have done for me all my life. Mum, I love you so much and am really indebted to you. To my wife, Pauline Osamwenyobo, I say thank you, darling, for supporting me and showing the needed understanding and sacrifice all through the time I was engaged in doing research and writing this book. I am also thankful to my kids, namely Efe, Excel, and Osasere, for their wonderful support and understanding during the making of this book.

My wholehearted gratitude goes to Mr. Frank Aghwaritefe, my childhood friend, and secondary school classmate. Without him, efforts to get this book finally polished and printed in Britain and circulated through world publishers like Amazon may have ended in failure. Thank you, friend, for sacrificing time, talent, and trust in a bid to make this manuscript a great success.

I appreciate Google for always being ready in serving as the search engine through which billions of materials can be reached on the internet. I also thank Wikipedia, the free encyclopaedia, and other sites on the World Wide Web for providing quick access to materials and ready-made information on concepts, and in relation to the biographies of the 500 personalities studied in this book.

Of course, I must never forget to thank celebrated authors such as Brian Tracy, Anthony Robbins, Robert Kiyosaki, John C. Maxwell, and Jim Collins, amongst others. Their books have been a source of motivation for me. I read their books and was significantly influenced in a wonderful way. I also acknowledge all whose names have not been mentioned but in one way or another contributed to making this book a success. I say thank you very much and God bless you.

My acknowledgement will not be complete without mentioning the contributions of my graphic designers and typesetters. I must say thank you to Mr. Francis Edosa Osaikhuwu, Emmanuel E. Esene, and Miss Loveth NanaHauwa Zubair for their immense effort in executing the initial typesetting, graphic design and proofreading of the book before the final polishing work was done in the United Kingdom.

Above all, I give God all the glory and adoration for giving me inspiration, wisdom, and strength to write this book. May His name alone be praised and exalted forever.

Contents

Preface

Introduction:

1.Achieve Great Success

2.Follow the Footsteps of Successful People

3.Dream Big Dreams

4.How I Harnessed the Success Formula to Change My Life

5.Your Brain is Your Venture Capital – Use It

6.With Big Dreams, Set SMART Goals

7.Harness Your Willpower

8.Pay the Price of Great Success

9.Decide and Then Take Action

10.Is Intelligence Superior to the Will?

11.Age Is Not a Limit

12.Think of Hardship as a Challenge Rather than a Problem

13.Is Life A Bed of Roses?

Bibliography

Appendix

List of Successful People Studied

About the Author

Preface

There is nothing that gives me more satisfaction and happiness than engaging in critical thinking and putting pen to paper to motivate people, solve human problems, adding value to the personality of some, and impacting the lives of others. As I sat down one day to think, I saw the need to write this book to help people achieve personal transformation and achieve accomplishments corresponding to the invaluable capabilities embedded within them.

It makes me unsettled to see an alarming proportion of people in the world today being weighed down by limitations which nobody forced on them, but which they imposed on themselves, by their own hand. It is worrisome that a large number of individuals do not know that they sabotage their chances to become a great personality by their own attitude and way of thinking. The whole magnitude of limitations that hinders people includes self-induced barriers resulting from lack of vision, indecision, inaction, cluelessness, parochial thinking, ignorance, doubt, lack of self-confidence, and frail desires.

As a result of these barriers, a lot of people end up underachieving in life despite the massive potential embedded within them. They pass on without becoming the best in anything in spite of the extraordinary abilities which they possess. If at all, they achieve far less than what they are capable of and waste an entire lifetime without making use of their talent. As these self-imposed drawbacks take their toll on the population, poverty sets in, causing a sizeable number of folks who ought to be great personalities to die in penury, dissatisfied and wretched.

This book offers a lifelong solution. I wrote this book to enable the reader to overcome these barriers and be the great personality he or she is capable of being and accomplish the extraordinary things he or she is gifted to achieve. In this book readers will learn the how, the where, the when, the why, the who, and the what, in every aspect of life, and the stepwise principles required to succeed and be great.

Studying this book, you will learn to start the journey to greatness by having a vision of who to become and what to achieve. After that, you will be motivated to decide and take action so as to bring about the realisation of what you visualised. Knowing that hardship is inevitable, this book reveals how to turn obstacles from being stumbling blocks to stepping stones. By harnessing these lessons, you will be propelled to make the best out of any adverse situation. That is to say, you will ultimately emerge victorious in any disappointing situation because you will no longer think of a setback as a problem but rather as a challenge.

The value of reading this book is worth its weight in gold as it makes readers see the need and begin to take responsibility for their lives. I have discovered that people without a sense of responsibility are in most cases lackadaisical, negligent, lazy, unambitious, complacent, and lethargic. For how long will you continue to exonerate yourself from blame? How long will you continue to make excuses? How long will you continue to justify your incompetence, unpreparedness, and irresponsibility? For how long…?

This book, therefore, is a clarion call to each and every one of you to rise to the challenge and start making things happen, instead of waiting for others to make things happen. I challenge you to wake up from slumber and arise from grass to greatness.

Excel Osamwenyobo Evbenaye

Introduction:

The Greatness Question and My Motivations

This book was written based on the findings of the research I conducted on how successful personalities achieved greatness in life. The study was centred on the life history of 500 celebrated people from different parts of the world, starting from Great Britain to France, Germany to the United States of America, Russia to China, India to Brazil, Nigeria to South Africa, and Ghana to Egypt. In essence, this book is the outcome of the research together with my life experiences, and its content is borne out of the lessons learned and discoveries made. However, the book is not about a particular celebrity, or about me, or about any of the great achievers studied. It is about answers to the question – How to achieve great success or how to arise from grass to greatness in life.

During the course of the research, I read a lot of personal development books, analysed a large number of materials comprising academic and non-academic writings, studied biographies, and in some cases autobiographies of selected great achievers and juxtaposed what they did with what they didn’t do. I also read about a number of villains and examined what they failed to do in the context of what honourable personalities did. Further, I dissected news items and articles, perused information from the internet, and carried out a thorough examination of other relevant literatures. In addition, I conducted experiments in some instances to discover facts, test my assumptions, confirm my conclusions, and validate my deductions. In some cases, I reached out and interviewed some of the distinguished personalities, particularly those that were within my reach. And where face-to-face contact was not possible I reached some of them through correspondence.

The main objective of the study was to ascertain how the selected people achieved greatness in life, with a view to creating a blueprint which is called the ‘success formula’ in this book. My purpose in writing this manuscript, therefore, is to teach readers what I have learned from study and life in general. In other words, this book is penned to motivate you and reveal the most inspiring ideas of how to achieve great success. This book is thus committed to changing your orientation, beliefs, thinking, attitude, values, character, and life for the better.

As a matter of fact, the mission of this book is to positively impact lives and leave a lifetime imprint of ‘I WILL’ and ‘I CAN’ in the mind of each and every reader. It is meant to propagate morals and entrench the virtues of hard work, dignity of labour, integrity and honesty, respect, humility, and self-esteem, geared towards making the world a better place to live in. Essentially, it is set to build your character and polish your personality; breed successful business managers, and raise iconic entrepreneurs. Reading this book will inspire you, enliven you, reposition you to arise from slumber, and achieve whatever you want to do.

This manuscript will spark your brain into innovating, creating new concepts, making unique discoveries, and inventing something original. It will help you to discover your talent and make full use of your innate endowments. Imbibing the teachings of this book will ignite your intelligence and stimulate your ability to do extraordinary things. It will bring out the champion in you and propel you to rise and soar like an eagle.

This book was written with the reader in mind. Hence, the greatness principles it teaches cut across all individuals, organisations, countries, cultures, religions, and disciplines. The principles are universal; accordingly, it will yield the same extraordinary results irrespective of the geographical location where it is being applied and who is applying it. This volume is a great success magnet for individuals and organisations. It is a recipe for the underdeveloped and less powerful countries to exploit so as to catch up or even surpass the advanced nations, while for the industrialised nations it is a timeless blueprint to harness, consolidate and sustain their leading positions.

This book aims to show the universal formula employed by heroes and celebrities to achieve greatness. Some people have acquired millions of dollars yet they don’t have happiness and peace of mind, and nobody is celebrating them, whereas others with not so much money have joy and peace of mind and they are celebrated in many parts of the world. How the latter people did it is one of the questions that this book is poised to reveal. This book will show you why some people are prosperous and others miserable. It will reveal to you the formula behind great achievements and the reason why some people fail despite enormous effort.

More so, it answers questions on why some people are dissatisfied and unhappy even when their contemporaries are basking in the euphoria of a joyful experience and fulfilled life. In a nutshell, it provides answers to the fundamental life’s questions of where to go and where not to go; what to do and what not to do to get to where one is going; when to do what needs to be done to get there; why it is necessary to do what needs to be done; how to get to where one is going; and who is responsible in doing what needs to be done.

Who are the 500 great achievers selected for study in this book? The population is made up of renowned people from different walks of life, including inventors, entrepreneurs, statesmen, business moguls, academicians, physicians, artists, sportspersons, and entertainers. How were the legends selected for inclusion in the study? They were selected based on the deductions made from relevant sources including their biographies, autobiographies, and what people said or wrote about them. The personalities included have either been described as great and heroic or pronounced as successful.

Many of them are legends and have contributed immensely to the advancement of humanity and the development of the world. They are selfless people who made personal sacrifices for the good of all. They are celebrities widely known for their display of talent, capability, courage, determination, self-confidence, and responsibility. They possess outstanding qualities and have recorded outstanding performances in their occupation. They have been described as people of ideas and pragmatically the best in anything they are engaged in. They are indeed exemplary personalities worthy of emulation throughout the world.

The names of all these great people cannot be mentioned here. However, looking at a few names and some of their legacies will enable one to have a better understanding of the viewpoint. Nelson Mandela, as an epitome of peace, justice, modesty, and morals, made the world a better place. Jerry Rawlings, widely cited as one of Ghana’s best presidents, is renowned as a global champion of people’s freedom even though his legacy is complicated by his association with political violence. Queen Elizabeth II is an icon of peace and she laid a solid foundation for the actualisation of gender equality for all through the institution of the Succession to the Crown Act 2013. Kwame Nkrumah stood against tribalism and played a key role in entrenching world peace.

Kofi Annan, as a relationship builder and fence mender, contributed immensely to promoting human rights, concord, and good governance. Benson Idahosa entrenched a legacy of dressing well, kindness, empathy, and helping the poor. Pope John Paul II, as a reconciliation juggernaut and icon of peace and justice, ingrained honesty, sanctity, morals, and generous giving. Nnamdi Azikiwe advocated the principle of self-sufficiency just as his life exemplifies respect for other people and their right to have an opinion. Theresa May ascended to the position of Britain’s prime minister and she is reputed as a natural feminist and a leader that leads by example.

Vladimir Putin, a symbol depictable of justice and peace, is one of the highly influential and most powerful people in the world. Philanthropist Carlos Slim Helu stands out as a billionaire and renowned employer of labour. Bill Gates, a renowned computer programmer, and entrepreneur of personal computers is one of the world’s greatest generous donors. Barack Obama, an icon of democratic values and transparency, became the first non-white president of the United States of America. Angela Merkel, once described by Forbes as the world’s most powerful woman, symbolises freedom, respect for the law, democracy, and dignity of all human beings. Donald Trump rose through the ranks to become the 45th president of the United States from a humble beginning as a businessman and television personality. And Soichiro Honda, though from a humble background as his father was a blacksmith, built one of the world’s greatest automobile brands, Honda, through trial and error, war, and natural disaster. See the appendix for a complete list of the great personalities studied in this book.

There are a number of astonishing facts about the aforementioned celebrities, and others not mentioned here. Some of them are school dropouts. Many of them, while in school, were not rated by their teachers as intelligent. In fact, a lot of them didn’t make the list of the most brilliant students while in school. A number of them were born into poor families and some had physical, health, and other challenges. These people were not born with silver spoons in their mouths. And if they encountered good luck, it was largely because they prepared for it. They suffered constraints, impediments, limitations, and difficulties yet they were able to make it against all odds to become heroes and celebrated personalities. How were they able to achieve great feats despite all the constraints and predicaments? This is the critical question that this book is poised to unravel. After reading the entire volume you will find the answer.

Meanwhile, it is important to note that this book is written in four parts (Parts One, Two, Three, and Four). Therefore, as you complete your study of Part One, endeavour to get the other parts (and any other volumes in the series) and study them one after the other so as to enjoy the full benefits which the complete series provides to readers in terms of going against all odds to be who you want to become, where you want to be and achieve whatever you want to achieve in life.

The only true limitations on your abilities are your doubts and misplaced desires. Your reoccurring doubts and dearth of passion are what limit you all the time, nothing else. If you intensify your desires enough and remove the roadblock of doubt, you will be able to become what you want to and achieve whatever you want to.

ONE

Achieve Great Success

Great feats are achieved by setting goals above means and looking beyond limitations.

Each and every one of us can achieve great success if