Becoming Version You 2.0
Part 6: The Finale #theroad2thecrown
I’ve been working on this article for the past 7 months, I am an inspiration writer which means I write on when inspired. Today is one of those moments that I am stirred up to write, and I landed on this draft that was never completed — time now is 00:45 am :).
This work below has become very personal; I am undergoing the process of becoming. These lessons and insights are very simple, practical yet so powerful.
The road to the crown has proven to be a true adventure. David had multiple chances to overthrow King Saul and take what is rightfully his.
- He could have been the youngest king ever to rule over the 12 tribes of God’s chosen nation.
- He could have featured on the Forbes top 20 most influential men, be on the cover of Destiny men — have 4 million followers on Instagram.
- He could have built a reputation of being a man who took what was rightfully his — that's a nice way of saying he kill his successor to take the throne.
Instead, he chose delayed gratification in the place of instant gratification — at the very end it was King Saul who sang his praises:
You are a man of integrity, a man of great reputation.
David at his old age shares this gem with his son Solomon saying:
"reputation is greater that great wealth".
At age 30, David was anointed as king of Judah — what we would call inauguration as king. He became king of all Israel when he was 37 years.
His journey to the crown was at least a 22-year process, hence we still speak of King David even today. I believe it is for this reason that King David stands up above all kings. Without these 22 years of experience, he would have been just another king.
His story starts when he is about 15years old, then he goes through seasons of progressive promotions. Each promotion bringing a set of new challenges and opportunities. Here are the major promotions he had to go through, some can organically and some he initiated:
- Shepherd boy: humility, selflessness, servanthood, sacrifice, and patience are some of the character traits that get developed in the process. These are very critical, crucial soft skills every leader should have to build winning teams.
- A skilled Musician: Every musical that has achieved great success speaks about passion, perseverance, grit, obsessiveness, extreme focus to the cruft.
- Soldier: Loyalty, Obedience, diligence, reliability, discipline, temperate, and courage are some of the skills David picked up here.
- Commanding Officer: Communication, Influence, self-awareness, Integrity, decisiveness, vision, and Strategy.
- Crowned King of Judah: Delayed gratification, patience, and clarity of purpose.
- Crowned King of Israel: Dream realized, consistency, and staying on top.
It is clear that in order for David to become King David — he had to go through a process of transformation inside and out. Just imagine if he went from being a shepherd boy straight to the throne seat without points 2,3,4 & 5 — that's a disaster.
Most people have an idea, a dream, a vision of their successful self — the challenge is they want to be this successful self as in yesterday, without the process. That's the tenderpreneur mindset.
Simple yet powerful exercise to try, he honest with yourself as you write down your answers.
- Check your current state.
- Envision your desire state.
- Assess and analyze the gap between. What are those skills, traits, resources that are separating your current state from your desire state?
- Put a becoming plan (an action plan) to bridge that gap.
“Write my answer on a billboard, large and clear, so that anyone can read it at a glance and rush to tell the others. But these things I plan won’t happen right away. Slowly, steadily, surely, the time approaches when the vision will be fulfilled. If it seems slow, do not despair, for these things will surely come to pass. Just be patient! They will not be overdue a single day!” Habakkuk 2
It’s a slow process, but quitting won’t speed it up.
You can’t build a reputation on what you’re going to do. Henry Ford
