Palo Sebo of Success

I am the greatest.” When Muhammad Ali was in his prime, he thought that he was the greatest. Until old age made him kissed the canvass.

Many people associate greatness with success. The more successful the person seems to be, the greater he becomes. The world view a person to be great when he is able to acquire something which most people are just dreaming about. Thus, we declare somebody to be the greatest athlete of all time, the greatest opera singer, the greatest action star, the greatest writer, the greatest leader, etc. But time passes, and after a century, records will be broken, great names will be forgotten.

Success is temporary. It can be here for a moment, but only for a moment.

Success, oftentimes, is a game of Palo Sebo. Some have to struggle throughout their lives. They embrace the greased bamboo pole to can move up. Sometimes, it means kicking the faces of those who are following them, to move an inch higher. But when the prize is almost within their reach, they slide down. Energies wasted, they cannot go back again even if they want to. There will only be one great person, one winner in the Palo Sebo of success. Others will remain losers.

People play Palo Sebo at work. They play Palo Sebo in churches. They play Palo Sebo in schools, in government, in the smallest organizations. They play Palo Sebo everywhere. When I looked into the content of the seminars and workshops I have attended in the past, they all seemed to say the same things; set your goals,aim big, you can if you think you can, you can be the best, you can change the world. The unwritten, unsaid curriculum is that in the play of Palo Sebo, eveyone, but one, is bound to fail.

I don’t deny the fact that you can be successful. In fact, all of us can be more than successful. We can do that when we stop playing the Palo Sebo of Life.

It has been said many times before, and you will hear this again: whoever who wants to be great must be a servant.

Are we ready to become servants?