“Lazy people want much but get little, but those who work hard will prosper.“ Proverbs 13:4

Jonathan Mensah, a professional Ghanaian football star, was the guest for the last part of the three parts series on Talent (Discovery, Development and Deployment). His main purpose was to share insights on his success in football as a career and its rippling effects on other careers to help the attendees of the Springboard Alumni Hangout on Zoom Webinar hosted by Rev. Albert Ocran.

In his concluding remarks about three secrets to his success, Jonathan mentioned God, Passion and Hard work. Let's look at these three areas.

#1. GOD

Throughout the session, Jonathan never failed to mention God as the foundation for all that he is currently. He said God is the source of His strength and owes His life to Him. Growing up, he didn't understand the concepts of salvation and serving God but now He can boldly declare His faith in God.

This must be so for all of us as well. God must be the centre of our lives if we really want to live meaningful lives. In their book 10 Commandments of Success, Rev. Albert & Comfort Ocran pointed out that "True success comes from God, and in order to achieve it, we must know to walk with Him."

#2. PASSION

Nothing worthwhile can ever be achieved without loving what you do and doing what you love. Jonathan's second secret was passion. According to Wikipedia, passion means to suffer. This implies that we must be ready to pour passion into our talent(s) or career. We must be passionate about what we do.

During the interaction, one could tell Jonathan is passionate about his football career. He could remember games, years and people he has engaged with, over the years; and helped him build his craft. In his book, Talent Is Never Enough, American leadership expert John C. Maxwell said passion energizes your talent. He went on to say that, "Passion is more important than a plan. Passion creates fire. It provides fuel. I have yet to meet a passionate person who lacked energy."

#3. HARD WORK

Good old hard work was the third secret to success according to Jonathan Mensah. In the field of football, hard work means sweat. "You are your own agent," Jonathan said he was told by one coach. This meant that you must work hard on yourself to have optimum value in the marketplace. The old adage "hard work doesn't break bones" has stood the test of time! If we want to see our talent or career come to the fore, we must work hard at it. In his sterling presentation on Living An Exceptional Life, the late American business philosopher, Jim Rohn said that, "Learn to work harder on yourself than you do on your job. If you work hard on your job you can make a living, but if you work hard on yourself you'll make a fortune."

So there you go, three top secrets of success we can learn from Jonathan Mensah. For each one of us, these three ingredients of success must be present to see our lives turn out the way we want it to be.

Can you relate with these three secrets of success? Share your thoughts in the comment box below.

The writer is passionate about sharing content that can help individuals to make the right choices in life. He writes a daily blog at erickotchere.blogspot.com. He can be reached via mail at otchereeric@gmail.com.