RICHARD SIEH

WHO IS YOUR HERO?
My previous presentation was about ‘The Hero In You.’ The current discussion emanates from the previous one. Having awakened my audience on how to animate the hero in them, I quickly thought not to delay in challenging them to identify their heroes.
Several well-known names may surface in your minds, including but not limited to: Barak Obama, Kofi Anan, Nelson Mandela, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Martin Luther King Jr., Mao Zedong, William Shakespeare, Kwame Nkruma, Léopold Senghor…
Well, it is unlikely that I’ll be surprised at the mention of any of these names. Everyone knows! These are names that have shaped world history. Yet, personally reflecting on one’s situation and realizing how divinely someone might have intervened to save us from a particular quandary, our heroes may never form part of any of the names mentioned above. Contextualizing your own situation, I ask again. Rethink. Who then is your hero?
Is he that poor fisherman who used his dilapidated canoe or boat to rescue you and your family when the raging flood nearly ended your genealogy? Or is he/she the poor merchant who consistently keeps his prices low at peasant-rate when others ambitiously keep their prices sky-rocketing? Is she that old woman who went to the extreme to provide for you from her little backyard garden when you were a student – stranded amidst harsh economic realities? Or the teacher who refused to exploit you when others made gain and social bluff of your academic inadequacy? Rather, he/she guided and counseled you to build your self-esteem and self-confidence. Is it the Pastor or Imam who refused to compromise his/her virtues, but rather, promoted spiritual sanity, religious alertness and family values to make you what you are today? Or that peasant woman who sheltered you when you were hunted by rebels and/or political opponents? Is it the family that denied itself of food and comfort to accommodate you when you were almost giving up? Or someone who took care of your family in your absence?
My hero is someone you may never think of as a hero. He is a man – a retired policeman (some have asserted). My community had been plagued with armed robbery. This guy, whom I have never met, took upon himself to tour our community with a whistle and an old pan. He persistently blew the whistle and tapped vehemently at the pan to alert residents not to be fast asleep. I do not know how he succeeded in doing this without attack from the armed robbers. But as he executed his plan, everybody became alert, awaiting the armed robbers. His actions produced a chain of reverberation across several adjacent communities, which galvanized people into readiness. Armed robbery has been minimized in our community and I’m not sure whether or not it is attributed to his intervention. One thing I know is that my hero chose to make the difference. And that what it takes – making the difference.
I tell you my own story and experience about armed robbery. The action of my hero came after my family and I had been attacked and scarred (emotionally and physically) by armed robbery. We were put at gun point and robbed of essential sums and materials. Rape was attempted but did not materialize due to divine intervention. Life was not lost (Just imagine the opposite!).
During the coming weeks, I shall be soliciting your comments regarding who your hero is. I highly appreciate your comments in at most two paragraphs indicating your hero and why you have chosen that person as your hero. I look forward to your comments.
Thank you again for your time.
Richard Sieh
Author, The Broken Spear

The Hero in You
Greatness is nothing but making the difference – the extra sense one employs that others fail to see. We often seek the extra-ordinary, the ultra-sophisticated, metaphysics, mysticism and all of the wonders, unknown to the existence of ordinary mankind, to demonstrate our greatness and heroism. Sophistication upon sophistication – all breeds confusion and disintegration.
One does not have to evoke immense strength to display the hero in him/her. You do not need the strength of Biblical Sampson or Goliath. All it takes is a little energy to beat the monster. The hero in you may require just simplicity, humility, and the ordinary – making a simple difference.
There is a hero in you when others value wealth over life while you are the opposite; when others indulge in trickery and treachery while you demonstrate fairness and honesty; when you possess your own judgment and second thought – employing care to avoid threading the path of vain celebrity.
To remove a mountain, begin removing the pebbles, stones, shrubs and the little things; and the rocks, trees, heaps – the great things will follow. Thus true heroism doesn’t always require great might and bravery. It requires ordinary simplicity.
Consider your occupation or profession. Are you a teacher? Then the heroism in you is your refusal to demand sex or money for grades. If you are a nurse, the kind word you give a patient in agony demonstrates the hero in you. As a businessman, defeating the urge to make abnormal profits brings out the hero in you. As a community member the little initiatives that help save lives show the hidden hero in you. Are you a Pastor, Preacher man or Imam? The hero in you is your detest to use the Holy Book to manipulate your congregation or believers. Extend a hand, put on a little smile and seek the genuine. Look out for an area of intervention and help somebody breathe an air of sanity.
In demonstrating service to others, we display greatness; in displaying greatness, we empower ourselves.
– Richard Sieh, Author of The Broken Spear

- In Relation to Competence vs. Credentials
She stood out distinct from the rest of the graduates. “Ms. Bla Bla, Bla, BA Accounting, summa cum laude.” The pronouncement moved the audience and guests into standing ovation. During the presentation of awards, she was awarded a gold crest and immediately assigned the post of Junior Accountant with the UN Mission in Liberia.
The following two weeks at her workplace proved to be a disaster. She could not distinguish Income Statement from Cash Flow and from Balance Sheet. To make matters worse, she was not teachable. Eyebrows were raised. How did she achieve the summa cum laude that had earned her such position?
The above illustration brings us to the essence of today’s topic: competence vs. credentials. When given the option which would you emphasize?
In today’s world we place much emphasis on credentials – rich C.Vs, high grade point averages, number of trainings attended, certificates attained, relevant contacts etc. Employers want to be impressed with these variables without reference to competence. But the two are different.
Credential, in my view, is proof of one’s competence or qualification, which is just one side of the story of one’s ability and capacity. The other side has to do with competence – talents, character, personality, experience and leadership ability, which most people do not see. For instance, employers often come up with short lists of applicants for jobs before interviewing them. This is often decided from their credentials. I’m not usually alarmed by the frustration of employers as a result of low productivity of employees. All along, employers look for impressions and so they get impressions – trading off with competence.
In particular, our society today faces decline in the educational system because of widespread cheating at examinations, public tests, etc. in favor of high grades, academic distinctions, thus compromising with competence. What is even worse is that in an educational system that lacks transparency and accountability, a continuous decline is imminent: teachers will continue to sell grades for money and sex and students will be prepared to buy; administrators, employers, managers will offer jobs for money and sex, candidates will accept their offer and pay.
To get self empowered, I am of the conviction that one should seek a balance of the two, avoiding too much emphasis on any one. Emphasis on one may likely diminish the significance of the other. In this case what do you suppose will be the degree of damage? You may never tell. So just open yourself to the new.
I conclude this presentation with a quotation from Alvin Toffler. He says: “The illiterate of the 21st century will not be those who cannot read and write, but those who cannot learn, unlearn, and relearn.”

Thank you again for your time. More in my next discussion.
Richard Sieh, Author of The Broken Spear.

Welcome to the last of our four components of Self Empowerment – After The Race.
After the race: 1. What happened? The race has several surprises. The first surprise is about you. What did you do? Did you win or lose. If you won, you hail yourself. Otherwise, you may think you are the worst. What have you accomplished at your effort to empower yourself? The second surprise is that of other forces. What forces interplay to make you win or lose? What is your position on the effects of these forces? In self empowerment, we need to evaluate our steps. Evaluation is an important component of every endeavor we undertake. It gives us time to reflect and make corrections if possible.
2. The champion athlete does not blame himself when defeated. The race is finished. He gathers courage and begins to strategize for the next competition. In self empowerment, avoid blaming yourself for what you did not succeed doing. Learn the lesson of the tree. When its root comes in contact with an obstacle, say a solid object, does the root insist on penetrating the obstacle? No! The root finds its way around the obstacle. This analogy teaches us about applying life skills – problem solving, critical thinking, analysis, interpersonal relationships etc. to face the vicissitudes of life.
3. The champion athlete does not blame others or external forces for his failure. He accepts the challenges. Why did he compete the way that led to his failure, anyway? He has his own reasons. So he finds options for the next race. He trains harder. He reflects on his rival’s style. He avoids self pity and musters self courage.
In self empowerment, try to investigate why people succeed and use the result to reflect on your own situation. Then customize the result to your own needs. But do not try to be like them. Be yourself. You should only use people’s experience to improve your own situation.
4. The athlete imagines the best happening. What do you achieve from negative thoughts? Negative actions. And from negative actions? Negative reactions. And from negative reactions? Negative thoughts again – a vicious cycle! After the race, no matter his failure, the champion athlete imagines himself winning the next time. The winning attitude constantly regenerates.
In self empowerment, what drives us is the thought that we will succeed despite our failures. If we fail today, we should remember that success is the sum total of our failures once we do not lose enthusiasm.

We have concluded the fourth and final component of our self empowerment lessons. For the coming weeks, we shall explore other elements of self empowerment.
Thank you once again.
Richard Sieh, Author of The Broken Spear

In discussing self empowerment from the perspective of a champion athlete (the case of an 800 meter athlete), I mentioned four components:
1. Preparing for the Competition
2. Before the Race (on the day of the race)
3. During the Race
4. After the Race
I discussed the first two components two weeks ago. This week, I am presenting the third component:

During the Race
“Anticipate the gun.” The athlete does not wait for the “gun”. He/she “anticipates” it. This means he is already prepared to get going to meet the gun at the point of departure. An individual’s attitude towards self empowerment should be one that foresees opportunities – constantly in readiness to progress.

Utilize opportunities. Once available, the athlete takes advantage of the opportunity during the race. He thrives on the errors of other competitors to get ahead and win. To be self-empowered, always look out for opportunities, and when they come, capture them. When they do not, create them.

Endurance. Oh, an athlete never gives up. He/she continues to the finish line. Self empowerment requires your all – personality, will power, commitment (to events, dates, others and self). Believe in yourself. And if you are tempted to quit, do not give in.

Positive attitude. The athlete envisions himself already winning. Self empowerment requires positive mindset. Lift your head up, avoid tension, smile, relax and ignore the negatives. Avoid emphasis on what others have achieved that you have not. Too much concentration on activities of others may result in reproducing their flaws, which could take you off balance. Be yourself and focus on the goals you have set.

Avoid short-cuts. An athlete does not need research to realize that short cuts often lead to defeat and disgrace. In all of your endeavors, steer clear of short cuts, dishonesty, cheating, and manipulating others for selfish gains.

Thank you for your time. We shall meet next week with the final component: After the race.
Richard Sieh, Author of “The Broken Spear”

Last week, I started discussing Self-empowerment from the scenario of the champion athlete, using my experience as a former 800 meter athlete. I discussed 4 components that should be considered in self-empowerment, the first being, ‘Before The Competition.’ My presentation this week leads to the second component:
Before the race – the day of the competition.
1. Proper mindset. The champion athlete develops the proper mindset before the race begins. On the day of the competition, he/she goes with a winning attitude, discouraging negative self-talks and nurturing continuous positive thoughts. He sees himself already winning. Furthermore, he galvanizes himself into action through the proper calisthenics as warm up activities. This propels him into conceiving and designing strategies that will lead to victory.
In the same way, self-empowerment requires proper mindset to help you overcome what you perceive as obstacles. Where is that mountain that you cannot climb? Others have climbed it before and you can do the same once you have the fortitude and positive frame of mind.
When I was planning to write my book, others doubted because of my discipline – a mathematician. A friend remarked that he saw no link between mathematics and literary work. When the book was finally published, he visited me one day and told me that he had now seen the link and this link had to do with ones determination and mindset.

2. Build confidence and conquer defeatism. With proper mindset comes confidence building and defeat of fear. Fear is a form of self-abuse and disempowerment. If you are afraid, you will avoid risks and challenges. Have you ever been told that accepting challenges and taking risks are conduits to new opportunities? Oh, no one told you. But this is the case. Hence, you need to build confidence in confronting these elements to growth (that is risk and challenge), no matter how they appear. Proceed to that person you brand ‘impossible’ and make that longstanding request that should pave your route to success.

3. Communication: The athlete is mindful of the way he/she communicates or interacts with fellow athletes and competitors before the race. He/she does not waste valuable energy on unproductive talks. His focus directs his communication. Before most of my races, I was always quiet and listening to myself saying, ‘Don’t worry. It will be fine’. Interestingly, my silence was intimidating to my rivals as they could never tell what I was thinking and planning. In this case, I took them off-balance and captured some of their strategies.
My message here is that, inner communication pays off – listening to that inner still voice that tells you to be what you are. Be the greatest listener that you can be, first to yourself and then to others. If you have to talk, then talk constructively. A person who is on his/her journey to self-empowerment does not waste precious time on conversations that are landing on wasted ground.

Thank you for the session and please come again next week as I shall be discussing the next component: During the race.

Richard sieh
Author of The Broken Spear

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