Mastering discipline

I went to the Entrepreneur School of Thought Book Club Monday and it was the perfect pick-me-up.

The discussion was on “Mastering Discipline” a book by Dr. Clement Kwakye.

Kwakye is a Ghana native for whom life has not been easy but definitely rewarding. When his parents emigrated, he was miscast in public education and shortly thereafter, not only failed 5th grade but was sent back to 4th.

The humiliation left a scar, Kwakye said, “I would never fail again.”

He started grinding and has never stopped, in part grounded by spending 17 years as an undocumented immigrant fighting against not only the challenges and fears of normal failure but the necessity of staying under the radar. When your teenage friends are headed to Clifton Hill you have to explain why you can’t join them. You also get sideways glances when puberty hits you two grades earlier than your classmates.

Then his dad had to leave and, while other people said he should too, his mother said no. She worked and pushed and kept him going forward, sometimes multiple jobs. She would not fail him. This story is not about the book – I have not read it yet, but about the message of positivity Kwakye shared. It is never about where you are but where you are going. Purpose. Intention.

As Kwakye explained “the little boy who could not read, could not write and promised to never fail went straight through and got his PhD.”

That PhD became a bit of an unexpected weight because it created a salary expectation. Why hire someone with a doctorate when you can pay less to a candidate with a masters degree?

Kwakye's response was self-reliance. He started a recycling business and began counseling entrepreneurs. He has now published 5 books with a 6th on the way.

Much of what he spoke on Monday was about lessons learned the hard way. Failure is only inevitable if you don’t get back up.

Some of the aphorisms shared by Kwakye were trite but true. For example, goals should be specific, measurable, attainable, relevant and timed (SMART). Work intensively and intentionally but take small breaks. If there are things on your to-do list you can get done in 2 minutes, do them now.

Always know: 20% of your effort produces 80% of your results so identify it but don’t shirk the rest because your judgment is not perfect.

“It is all about mindset,” Kwakye said. “Success is not a destination. It is a journey. If you are not learning you are not growing. You are stuck or going backward. We all have our own gifts. We all have our own talents. We were put here for a reason.”

As important as it is to write goals down on paper and work toward them, it is equally vital to learn that it is OK to say no. You can’t do everything if it clouds your focus or distracts from your goals.

“Let them hate when they hate. Let them hate harder,” Kwakye said, “so that you can keep doing what you are doing.

“On everything you say you want to do, follow through. You just got to set your mind to it and do it. If 5 frogs are sitting on a log and 3 decide to jump, 5 frogs are still sitting on a log. 

“What is going to happen is going to happen. It is how we respond that matters.”

Book club will return at 4:30 p.m. next Wednesday. All are welcome. For more information, contact Trent Hamilton via Facebook.