WHO ARE YOU? Follow your dreams and keep them alive.

Here are some trivial questions for you:

Who are you and how pregnant are you with your imaginations? Need a hint? No, it's not your credentials. I'm sure by now you are tempted to tell me what you do for a living. But, your calling (vocation) or purpose in life makes you who you are . When you know your calling you do it with passion and makes everyday an adventure.

Those who find their calling engage in jobs that they love and they never see their jobs as work. But, people who choose careers, instead of their calling wake up regretting that they have to go to work; they hate facing another day. Are you pursuing your dreams in life, or do you just want a career?

I have a dream or an idea. And, I'm sure you do too—everyone does. I'm talking about a dream that when pursued vigorously , it can bring you the life fulfillment beyond your scope .I'm sure the world is waiting for you to write the book you have been postponing . Yes, the world's waiting for you to start the business you've been thinking about since you came here, and the services you want to provide to make life better. Your village or town is waiting for you to use your inputs, so as to make your people live up to their potential. Your country is waiting for you to do the things that could help to find its bearings on the world's scene. So you should get pregnant with your ideas and dreams so that you can fulfill your calling. Since you're on this planet for a purpose you can only see your role when you're engaged and pregnant with your dreams.

This brings us to the pregnancy part of my question. I have said, for you to see your calling; you need to be fully pregnant with your dreams and ideas—figuratively.

There's a part of your brain where images are stored—which is called 'Imagination'. You can't see it with your eyes and you can't touch it, but you know it's there. Consider Gravity. We can not see it, but it's a force all around us that keeps us from floating off into the space. That's exactly how pregnant women feel. Most women can detect from the first month they miss their menstruation that they're pregnant. They cannot see what is in there, neither can they touch it, but they surely know from day one that there's a baby in there. And, nothing, absolutely nothing is going to change their minds about it. As a matter of fact, sometimes, they start to prepare for the arrival of that baby—way ahead of time. Amazing, huh? Then how does one get pregnant with ideas and dreams?

When one gets 'pregnant' with his or her dreams and ideas— the book she wants to write, the songs he wants to compose ,the business he wants to start ,the life fulfillment goals he wants to accomplish, the Foundation she wants to set up—whether they're good or bad,(just like a pregnant woman) nothing, absolutely nothing can stop him/her from 'expecting' them. The mind is a powerful tool, which can give your dreams or ideas the tangible wings to fly. On that basis, anything that you can conceive in your mind; good heath, good marriage or mediocre life will come to fruition. It might not come as fast as you or people expected, but I can bet with my last Christmas' check that it will come when you're least expected. Having said that, I must warn you: You cannot expect or accomplish anything important in life if you don't pregnant with the idea first. In other words, you have to sleep with the idea, feel it and touch it in your imagination. You should also believe in your ideas and dreams. Nope, it doesn't matter what or how people think of them or of you.

To succeed in your ideas you have to have a different attitude and think differently than most people around you. Remember that you become a product of the ideas you associate with the most. Oh, sure, you can succeed if others do not believe in you. That is the good part. But, you can't succeed if you don't believe in yourself or your dreams. And, since no one can out-perform his or her own self-esteem (self-image), you have to be pregnant with your idea or dream, before you can recognize, accept and fulfill your call to greatness.

There's nothing impossible. And even sometimes, what seems impossible is often inevitable .When you recognize that, it can help you to shape the realm of possibilities and give meaning to your ideas and imaginations. The 'Imagination- pregnancy 'thought is not patented by individuals— companies, countries and big corporations can also get pregnant with ideas and dreams.

Case in point, take the Toyota company .It took the idea or imagination from Total Quality Management –a set of principles, philosophies and business process which enable the leanest manufacturing to take place— and got pregnant with it. It refined and defined this 'imagination' so well that Toyota is poised to over-take General Motors, as the world's leading automaker, next year. And, it's also laughing all the way to the bank. Where is GM? Well, the last time I checked it wasn't doing great at all. It was on a life support system. Maybe, it refused to get pregnant or failed to believe in its own imaginations. This Principle works everywhere, go against it and you're doomed forever.

Speaking of the pregnancy of ideas and dreams, there's a legendary book by Napoleon Hill (I hope you will read it—oh, heck, you should read it), titled “Think and Grow Rich”. In that book, he enumerates several success principles adhered to in common by hundreds of history's greatest entrepreneurial achievers of whom he studied and interviewed—such as, Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, Thomas Edison, and Paul Getty. What he found in each one of them is their willingness to go against the norm. In other words, they went against what everybody else was doing and got pregnant with their dreams. As a result, they were put on top of whatever endeavor in which they were engaged. Oh, needless to say they all became very, very rich because they found their calling and worked on it. How sweet!

Your desire to find your calling shouldn't be left to hope nor wish. But, it should be a definite goal with a burning obsession, of which all your energy, power and effort are placed. The sum or substance of this thought is this: A power of desire backed by faith can make you get Pregnant with your ideas and dreams. And once that is done you'll ultimately find your calling. That's the essence of knowing who you are . So the next time someone asks you “who are you?” you should know that it has nothing to do with your attributes or the qualities you possess. It's just another way of asking,' why are you on this troubled planet?'. Ghana can also take a page from this— I wonder if she's living up to her potential.

* Kwaku Adu-Gyamfi is a social commentator, a founder of The Youth Empowerment foundation, Educational and Apprenticeship Programs for the Youth of Asuom.