Today’s topic is on the 7th principle of Kwanzaa which is Imani (ee-MAH-nee). But before we get into it, let’s briefly talk about Kwanzaa.
Kwanzaa
Kwanzaa is a 7 day, non-religious Black American and Pan African holiday celebrated primarily in America.
It was created by Maulana Karenga in 1966. Karenga is a professor and chair of Africana Studies at California State University, Long Beach.
From what I have gathered, Kwanzaa was inspired by African harvest celebrations that promote family, community, and culture.
In my immediate family we did not know a lot about Kwanzaa growing up. But over time I began to get educated on what Kwanzaa was about.
After learning more about Kwanzaa over the last few years, the principles of Kwanzaa line up with the principles that I live my own life by.
The 7 days of Kwanzaa are celebrated from December 26th to January 1st. In this short series, I’m going to go over the Nguzo Saba which is also known as the 7 principles of Kwanzaa.
The seventh principle of Kwanzaa is Imani which means Faith.
Imani (Faith)
The specific meaning of Imani is to believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.
Faith is critically important to any mission. Without having any faith, there is a 100 percent chance you will quit or fail.
What makes it hard for many people to have faith, is that you cannot see into the future. And the unknown remains a fear of many.
When you start off on a mission to build your body, your business, or your relationship, you have to have faith.
At the beginning of a journey to improve your health, you might be starting out in bad shape.
You might be starting out weak and skinny like I was. Or you might be weak and fat like many others are.
You could have the world’s best training program, nutrition plan, recovery protocol, and personal trainer. But if you do not have faith in the program it’s not going to work.
You could have the best business plan and unlimited financial resources. But if you do not have faith in what you are trying to do your business will fold and be going nowhere fast.
When I started my business, I had no idea what to expect along the way. I did not have a close mentor to set me up for the pitfalls I would eventually drop into.
Along the journey I was broke, lost clients, and switched gyms multiple times. You could say I was down on the mat from a clean body shot.
There were times early in my career where some second-rate clients would burn me financially.
There were times when so-called partners backed out at the 11th hour.
And most of the time my money was so funny and my credit wouldn’t get it, that I had to moonlight as a barber (still licensed by the way) just to pay the bills.
But having that Imani is what got me through. I never gave up, and I never gave in.
Conclusion
Let’s strive to believe with all our heart in our people, our parents, our teachers, our leaders, and the righteousness and victory of our struggle.
With that said you have to choose who you follow carefully. Learning from the wrong teacher or following a lousy leader can lead you down a very dark and frustrating road.
I believe in my parents who raised me right and showed me how to work hard, be consistent, and be decent.
I believe in the primary teachers and leaders in my life who taught me the fundamentals of training and business.
And I believe that the best is yet to come for the people. Success requires struggle and every single day we have a chance to gain success even if it is a small win.
Whether you move forward 1 inch or 1 mile you are still moving forward.
I’ll holla at you next time.
The People’s Trainer
Fitman