Equipping young women professionals with young families to find fulfillment, contentment and joy as mothers and home makers without losing sight of who they are as women.

Issue 06, Volume 24: It Takes a Lifetime

Pablo Picasso was walking down the street in Paris one day when a woman recognized and approached him. After introducing herself and praising his work, she asked him if he would consider drawing her portrait and offered to pay him for the piece. Picasso agreed and sat the woman down there and then on the side of the street, brought out a sketchbook and pencil, and began to draw the woman. A small crowd of spectators gathered very quickly, but in only a handful of minutes Picasso had finished the drawing. As he handed it to the woman, he said, “That will be five thousand francs.” Surprised at the price, the woman objected, saying, “But Mr. Picasso, it took you only a few minutes.” Picasso smiled and replied, “No, my dear woman, you are mistaken, it took me a whole lifetime.”

What happens in our lives is almost always a result of the things we habitually think and the things we habitually do. Success doesn't just happen in a moment, it is a result of what we habitually practice.

Life is the fruit of discipline, or lack of it. I cannot separate Rory Mcllroy's phenomenal performance and record-crushing victory at the TOUR Championship and FedExCup at East Lake in Atlanta last Sunday from the twenty years of his life prior to that event. Mcllroy holed two shots on the sixteenth hole, his second victory in 3 weeks that made him the first player to win four FedExCup playoff events. His practice sessions fifteen years earlier at the age of six were as much a part of that double victory as his final approach shot to the eighteenth green.

Some of us enjoyed the Olympic games several weeks ago. I still remember some of the phenomenon athletes by name, and the exloits they did in Rio, Brazil. I was wowed by their breath taking performances. Each athlete showed up for gold. They spent the last four years or more preparing for the championship. We celebrated with those who attained podium finishes, walking away with gold, silver or bronze medals.

Champions are not made in the ring, they are only recognized there. None of the Rio 2016 Olympic champions were overnight champions. They spent their lives preparing for that moment.

When you see people advanced in years energetic and vibrant, it didn’t just happen, they worked for it. When you see a family enjoying a strong bond of friendship and thriving relationships, it didn’t just happen, they invested years of quality time together.

Don't just marvel and do nothing. Make the necessary investments in your life to position yourself for what you want to reap in your life now and in future.

Be not discouraged when you don't see any rewards for your efforts now. Picasso spent all of his life practicing his art to be able to do it meticulously. Nobody was paying him while he practiced. Years later after he polished his art, he started reaping rewards from it. Every disciplined effort has its own multiple reward.

Lillian Chebosi