The mystery of hope
"Hope is the feeling you have, that the feeling you have, is temporal".
There is no hopeless situation. We only have hopeless men and women. This species of people tend to believe so much in the potency of challenging situations and deem it their fate, concluding that it can never change. By this act, they unconsciously marginalize their joy, peace, achievement and ultimately their lives.
John H. Johnson profoundly asserted that, "Men and women are not marginalized by their place of birth, the colour of their skin or errors but by the size of their hopes". This proved true of his life as he had interacted with a so-called "hopeless situation" and overcome it.
His story: John was born in 1918 (the year the first world War ended) he was raised in a period Dr. Emmanuel Etuk christened "The Dark Days Of American Apartheid" in his book Recipe For Success.
This period was when racial discrimination was at its prime in America and the African Americans citizens where the worst hit. 1926, John lost his father, at the tender age of eight and the following year the lost their house to flood. Together with his mum and siblings, he moved over to Mississippi and squatted with a family.
Due to gross discomfort, he proceeded to Chicago where the family got a two-bedroom apartment which they couldn't even afford the rent. As a result, they had to go on welfare payrolls. John's mother, encouraged by the son believed the future will be better and worked her eyes on out to ensure John made it through school.
Like a fairly tell story, her effort and hope paid off. John on graduation from school borrowed $500 dollars and turned it into a $261 billion dollar empire THE JOHNSON PUBLISHING COMPANY, publishers, THE EBONY MAGAZINE. This magazine can boast of a world wide readership of over 11 million and is still counting.
The year 2011 marked the 72nd anniversary of this internationally recognized African American owned magazine. From a so-called "hopeless situation" John has become a huge success.
Who told you, you cannot have a better future because of the seamingly hopeless situation around you? Believe me; nothing can be as false as that.