Toby Amusan became the first Nigerian winner at the World Athletics Championship and she did that in grand style. She broke the previous world record of the 100 meters hurdle and returned a time of 12:12 seconds. Her emergence at the global stage did not occur in a dash like the race she had won. It was long in coming with disappointments along the way. After her victory, a tweet she made in 2016 went viral. At that time she had said of herself, “Unknown now, but soon I will be UNFORGETTABLE … I will persist until I SUCCEED…” By winning at Oregon, she had become a true prophet of her own destiny. However, as said earlier, the win was not an overnight one. She came fourth both in Rio De Jenario and Doha in 2016 and 2021 respectively. On both occasions, she missed the podium. Her persistence paid off in a big way.
“Those who want to succeed overnight will soon find out that they have compromised standards and have become injurious to their course and the lives of others.”
Embedded in our text is a timeless secret of lasting success. The Promised Land given to the children of Israel was previously inhabited by seven nations. God assured them of giving the land to them, but it would not be at one fell swoop. It was going to be little by little. There is what we can call the principle of “little by little”. It is the way to a lasting and sustainable success. Those who want to succeed overnight will soon find out that they have compromised standards and have become injurious to their course and the lives of others. What you have or where you are today may not make the headlines, but if you do not mind to keep appropriating things a little at a time, you will soon amount to much.