A few decades ago, after I finally learnt how to boot a computer—following a botched attempt at self-training that I wrote about recently—I deeply desired to own a laptop. As I mentioned in that article, personal computers were for the privileged few, and I wasn’t among them. I completed my university education without owning a PC. However, I did manage to buy the Motorola L6, one of the early smartphone entries into the Kenyan market.
The Motorola L6 had a resolution of 128 x 160 pixels, downloadable screensavers and wallpapers, and memory so large it could store call records of 10 dialed, 10 received, and 10 missed calls and a whole 10MB of internal memory! Owning a phone that supported alert types such as vibration, downloadable polyphonic tones, and MP3 ringtones was the equivalent of owning the S24 Ultra today. So, owning the Motorola L6, I somehow felt I had made it in life.
About two decades later, I now have far more than I once prayed for. However, I’m still working hard to “get it.” To succeed.
So, I have often wondered what really matters. In the communications space, we plan campaigns and define key success indicators—commonly referred to as KPIs. Once we achieve them, we often begin to wonder: Did we set the bar too low? Or were there external factors that contributed to our success?
Success, it seems, is always shifting. It’s like a mirage—like the glistening of rain on a distant tarmac road on a sunny day. As you approach, it moves, always just ahead, until you reach your destination without ever truly touching it.
I believe there needs to be a fair balance between future aspirations and present life. There must be a kind of contentment that doesn’t hinder aspiration, and aspiration that doesn’t rob us of the joy of our current success.
When I figure out how to calibrate that balance, I’ll come back with “Ten Ways to Achieve a Fair Balance in Life. Number Five Will Surprise You.” But until then, we can attempt to aspire while enjoying the present.