Dr Gustav Gous Are you up for a 40 Day Challenge?.........
How many people do you know who you regard as winners in the ‘Game of Life’?
I’m not just talking about the games of finance or sport or politics or social standing, because all of these are only
aspects of a bigger game called ‘Life’.
There are many people who don’t have a life while they are making a living. Their lives are all work and no play or all
play and no work - they don’t have the satisfaction of making a meaningful contribution. Some get it right in the fame
game or the money game yet lose their families or they win the trophies or medals but lose their souls.
Answering the question: “What surprises you most about humanity?” the Dalai Lama answered: "Man. Because he
sacrifices his health in order to make money. Then he sacrifices money to recuperate his health. And then he is so
anxious about the future, he does not enjoy the present; the result being that he does not live in the present or the
future; he lives as though he is never going to die, and then dies having never really lived." Everybody must therefore
wake up to the challenge to really live 100% - to get a life while you are still alive.
Informal research on “Get a Life” workshops on different continents revealed that the average answer to the stated
question - ‘How many people do you know that you regard as winners in the Game of Life?’, is as low as only two or
perhaps three people from every given list of Facebook ‘friends’.
It underlines what existentialist philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre said: “Everything has been figured out except how to
live”.
The more important question is not “How many people do you know ...”, but “Are you one of the people on the list?” If
I ask all your close friends or social media friends, would they nominate your name as one of the people who can be
regarded as a winner in the game of life?
Will people hire you not only for your professional skill, but also as a life example? My call to action is: Make sure that
you are one of those rare people who really have a life. Obviously it takes focussed effort - it doesn’t come by itself. A
healthy, structured “Get-a-life in 40 day challenge is a great wake up ... Why “Get-a-life?”... because so few people
have one.
Why 40 days? It takes time to plan and effort to design a good life. Day 41 is actually the most important as it
symbolizes the rest of your life and an implementation of the plan which is not the only thing to do, yet it is a great
place to start!
We ask seven important questions in this process ... why? Because Socrates, the wisest of all philosophers taught us
that we can lead people to wisdom through strategically placed questions.
I personally live by the following dictum from The Message: “Don’t compare you with others. Each of you must take
responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.” Letter to the Galatians 6:3-4 (MSG).
Whatever you do in 2014 ... just make sure that you get a life first!
Dr Gustav Gous CSP, PhD is a founding member of the Professional Speakers
Association of South Africa and National President 2009 to 2010. Based in Pretoria,
Dr Gous heads up Short Walk Seminars Pty Ltd staging ‘Short Walk to Freedom’
Leadership Programs on Robben Island (Cape Town) where Nelson Mandela was
incarcerated for 18 of his 27 years. Contact details: [email protected] or
phone +278 2565 7451 or visit http://www.gustavgous.co.za