Never give up

Dr.Kwame Nkrumah was arrested twice, 12th March, 1948 and 9th January, 1950 before he could lead the country to independence. His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwah failed two terms before he could become the president of Ghana. Thomas Edison failed 1,000 time before he could invent bulb. Sir Winston Churchill performed abysmally in class but ended up as a historian, writer and a prime minister of Britain.

Kafui Dey failed several times before he could finally complete Ghana Institute of Journalism with a degree. Jack Ma was rejected by Harvard University but Harvard University now wants him to lecture their students. Charlie Chaplin was initially rejected by Hollywood studio chiefs yet he made it. Albert Einstein was expelled from school and was refused admittance at the Zurich Polytechnic school.

Abraham Lincoln went to war as a captain and returned as a private, also failed as a businessman. Socrates was called an immoral corrupter of the youth yet he made it. Sigmund Freud was booed from the podium when he first presented his ideas to the scientific community of Europe but he kept on writing and finally succeeded.

Are people calling you a lazy person because you are not working? It is not your fault. Never give up and do not throw stones at all dogs that bark because you will end up missing your target.

Do you feel like committing suicide because of your current situation? Never give up. There is light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes we cry, sometimes we laugh. This justifies the common saying that there is time for everything.

You have no friends because you are not yet successful? Never give up. People will look for you at the right time. It is always better to be alone if you want to move faster.

Have you tried several times but all to no avail? Never give up. Not all the shots from the foot of a soccer striker scores.

The works are many but you will only be told that you don't qualify. Never give up. Keep pressing on.

Are people calling you a villager and for that matter belittle you because of where you come from? Never give up. You will one day wear a coat or a white top.

Are you still re-writing failed papers to better them? Never give up. Try and fail is better than giving up.

'Our greatest glory is not in never falling but in rising every time we fall' - Confucius. My brothers and sisters, sometimes life becomes too difficult that the only solution that comes in mind is to commit suicide or give up.

This piece is therefore intended to tell you that nothing good can be achieved on a silver platter. I don't think there is anyone who has succeeded without any difficulties. Let us keep pressing on despite the challenges and the humiliation. Our failures will one day turn into testimonies.

Be persistent and I promise you that you will live to one day say that 'if I have seen farther than my colleagues, then it is because I sat on the shoulders of giants'.