I grew up on UCC campus, and I remember this guy in my area who re-wrote the A-level exam four times and failed each time. He decided to try for the last time with our year group – the final batch of the old system.

We both attended the same Economics tutorials, and when the tutor asked him how come he had failed so many times. His answer was, “I don’t even know. I always do my best”.

The tutor, in a bid to motivate the guy, asked him to promise he would do more than he had ever done to pass in this last attempt. His response, “I’ll do what I can”

He failed again.

So why am I telling you this? Well, we all have goals and ambitions. We all want something for ourselves that we don’t yet have. And even though you haven’t achieved your goal yet, I’m sure you believe you’re doing all you can – you’re doing your best. No doubt, you’re also certain that if you keep doing what you can, you’ll eventually achieve that goal. Right? 

Wrong.

You see, the laws of physics are at work all around us. Wherever you are in life, you have come this far by doing what you can. And as long as you keep doing what you can this is as far as you will come. But to reach extraordinary heights, you must do extraordinary things. If you want more than what you have, you must do more than what you can. You must take your very best and add a little more to it. 

You must reset the ceiling of your abilities, better yet, remove the ceiling. 

The good news is that it is always possible to do more than your best. It is always possible to squeeze out a little more. 

Marathon runners talk of a point, usually, three-quarters of the way into the race, when runners suddenly become overwhelmed with such an unshakeable feeling of marrow-deep fatigue, that they can hardly put one foot in front of the other.

Their arms and legs feel as heavy as concrete, and the thought of all the remaining kilometres they still have to run fills their mind with sheer horror. At that point, every synapse in their brain tells them to stop running. 

They have done all they can and have reached the limit of their body’s ability. Their lungs can no longer pump enough oxygen to keep their bodies in motion. They have no more left in them. They call this phenomenon “hitting the wall”. 

Not every runner is able to overcome the wall, but how do the successful ones do it? Well, it’s simple: they just keep running a little longer. When their brain is screaming at them to stop, they just dig deep into their core, find that little extra that champions always seem able to find even when they’ve done their best, and they just keep moving a little longer. 

Soon, their minds start believing that they may not have hit their limit after all. Their lungs, their heart, their arms, their legs, their entire body gets the message that there’s more to do and get back in the race.

Now, with every new step, the runner gains more and more confidence that they will cross the finish line. They WILL make it. No matter how much they have done, they can always do more. And so can you.

If your best is 20 push-ups every morning and you’re still not losing weight, try 25. If the earliest you can get to work is 8:30, and you’re still not getting your work done, try 8:15. If the most you can save every month is GHC500, and you’re nowhere near that dream car, try GHC650. Do your best plus a little bit more.

That little extra input of time, effort and resources is what separates successful people from ordinary people. We’re all doing our best, so to be the best you’ve got to best your best.

My dear friend, my rather simple message to you this Wednesday Morning is this: If you only do what you can, you’ll never be more than you are. So to BE more, you must DO more.

My name is Kojo Yankson, and they say the sky is the limit. But I say, why must the limit be the sky?

GOOD MORNING, GHANAFO!