Your Toolbox, Your ONE

Dear lovely people,
 

Success in whatever you do will not just happen! You have to make it happen. Some years back, I worked in one of Africa’s biggest projects – the Chad-Cameroon Pipeline Project that was designed to exploit crude oil from fields in southern Chad and to pipe it down to the coast of Cameroon. The multinational company I worked for had a best practice called Toolbox meetings. Toolbox meetings held in groups every morning before workers set out to the fields. A typical toolbox meeting was designed to discuss issues of the past day, look briefly at the tasks ahead as well as the skillsets needed as well as issues of security and safety at work. So people left the meetings with refreshed minds what to expect and to put-in during the day.

Because you have to make success happen, you need the right set of tools. A good mechanic is he who has a toolbox with the right set of tools inside that makes his work easier. As you thread the turbulent roads that lead to ultimate success, you come across different useful articles, books, journals, videos, keynotes etc. that motivate you and build your interest in what you to. You learn skills that equally enable you become proficient in what you do.

These are the tools that you need to compile into your toolbox. Make it physical, don’t have a mental toolbox otherwise you soon forget some of the tools. Tools get obsolete and so you have to update your toolbox with latest versions. For example even though Management by Objective is no longer fashionable practice for seasoned Project managers, I keep it however in my toolbox because I still like and use bits and pieces of it. It all depends on your needs. The objective should be to have the necessary tools that can positively affect your performance and assist you in achieving success.

At the same time, A. Maslow strongly warns that "if the only tool you have is a hammer, you'll see every problem as a nail." A breadth of useful tools will be helpful to make you a multi-approach kind of person. Trust me, your toolbox could just be your one and only chance. I am one of those who strongly believe that it only takes one. Think about this deeply and meditated on it, you might come to realize just like me that every event in your life might just have been because of one thing.

At any point in my life I can remember one time and place that was almost like the ignition in a chain reaction; like a match lighting a firework. The one moment can be linked to everything afterwards of significance. Think back to a life-changing experience and then try and think back to the exact moment that led to that change. I know this might sound senseless but sometimes it's good to think about it because it does and is happening regardless of if you pay attention or not trust me.

Maybe think about one particular reason you did something, or liked someone, or chose something, or anything else that comes to mind. There was almost this click that happened in your mind that said "there is a reason why I want this so now I'm going to give it my all." It reminds me of a confession. The confesser is hesitant, then he makes that decision to confess, then he gives it his all until the very end. That is something I strive for daily and I challenge you to do the same.

Work on putting your toolbox together if you have not yet done so. Use the tools and you might hit your one. I hope this got you thinking. Maybe this can be the one something for you. Abraham Maslow continues to say that “If you plan on being anything less than you are capable of being, you will probably be unhappy all the days of your life.”