UNLEASHED

Lekan could not help but worry as he drove home from work. He had given 15 years of his active career to TAGS INC and he could never have imagined that  a day as this would come. All these years he has worked in anticipation of securing the position of Vice President and he’s dream was begining to cone through until Demola was brought in. What hurt Lekan the most was that Demola had only commited 8 years to the company and he was already being considered for the position of Vice President. Larry the CEO had explained that although Demola was new, he stood a better chance proffessionally and intellectually and Lekan’s years of experience stood no chance.

There are people like Lekan in our everyday environment who remain on the same spot even when the while the world moves. Abraham lincoln once said, “i think nothing of a man who is not any better than he was yesterday”. that brings up the question what are you doing to add value to yourself? A lot of us love to celebrate our past glory without realizing that, we are becoming less relevant each day except we make a concious effort to step up our game. Take look at our coporate environment especially the banking sector and you will be amazed at how many people have been working for at least 3 years with only their B.Sc qualifications. It amazes me everytime I hear people complain of not being promoted, or ask why someone younger with regards to age and experience should manage the affairs of the organization. We are in a time and age where what people are after is what you know.

It’s high time we stopped celebrating our past acheivement they are stale.  We need to start looking beyond our noses and find out ways we can become more relevant. You will never be much more if you dont rise up to the challenge of adding value to yourself. Ask yourself from time to time, what is my worth? will people, employers, organization be willing to do anything to have me work with them? If your answer is no, then let this be a wake up call for you. It is never too late to start increasing your capacity. If you have a B.Sc qualification, get a masters degree or get a professional qualification. Boost your Knowlege, Bosst your CV, increase your capacity, invest in resources that will be of value and like Paul Arden said in his book,”IT’S NOT HOW GOD YOU ARE, IT’S HOW GOOD YOU WANT TO BE”

See you at the next level

 

 

When Mahatma Ghandi said “be the change you want see” I understood but never imagine that it would come with its own package. In a country as Nigeria which seems as though it is on the verge of total collapse, considering the recent developments [ASSU strike, mismanagement and misappropriation of public funds by banks executives, PHCN frequent down time, exit of multinational to neighbouring countries,….. the list is endless] which has made our situation seem hopelessly hopeless, I was once again inspired to believe in the change that is to come, the emergence of a new Nigeria.

The evening began like a regular one. I had just boarded the last bus to my house and as I relaxed to enjoy the 25 minutes ride in this “ordinary bus” I had no inclination that I was being driven by and “extra ordinary driver”. For those who are familiar with Iyana-Ipaja and its environs they would understand the challenges with traffic that constantly confronts the area. He [the driver] had two options; he could either make an illegal turn or, face the building traffic at Iyana Ipaja.

The decision to face the traffic instead of taking the short cut though shorter still amuses me till date. It would have been easier to comprehend if the LASTMA [Lagos State Traffic Management Authority] officials were on their customary watch- but they were not. What would make a man face 1 hour traffic to say the least when he could simply avoid it? A danfo driver! In this Lagos! There was nothing simple about his decision. What values were entrenched within him? I continued to ask myself.

Amidst my train of thoughts, I started to hear the passengers hurl stones of criticisms at him. He [the driver] did not flinch. After a while, some decide to down from the bus and it was at this point I thought he would give in. he did not.

As ordinary as this story make seem, I hope you have what it takes to acknowledge a good thing when you see one. Sleeping on my bed later that night, I told my self, THE MUCH AWAITED CHANGE IS HERE! THE REVOLUTION HAS STARTED!

 

 

 

“I would rather sail and hit a rock
than sit and rot in dry dock.”

(Dr. Lester Roloff)

MOVE!

Have you ever been caught in a typical Lagos traffic? Where you have to stay put for about 3-4 hours in one spot without moving an inch. I’m pretty sure that quite a number of us have experienced this frustration at one time or the other and we know exactly how it feels. One of the major reasons why we get upset when stuck in traffic asides the fact that we have had a long day and need to rest; we hate the idea of being stagnant. Of all the things the human beings were designed to be, stagnation is not one of it. You are I are objects of motion. There is need for the human body to constantly be in motion. It does not really matter in what direction we are moving, what counts is that we are in motion.

With reference to the statement above by Dr. Lester Roloff, it is better to fail trying than fail to try. One thing common to man is that we are quick to judge people who have tried and failed, yet we are yet to take our very first step. The fear of the unknown is a major deterrent to launching out. I once heard from a wise man “if you can’t fly, run; if you can’t run, walk; if you can’t walk, crawl; whatever you do keep moving”. I have never seen anything or anyone become any better by remaining in one position. Stagnation allows for the absorbance of toxins without an outlet. This is destruction. There is an adage in my place that says that if a child does not see another mans’ farm, he will assume that he’s fathers farm is the largest. We experience a level of transformation when we leave our comfort zone and sail uncharted waters. Until we go out there, we can never become all we are meant to or all we can be. Life incase we are yet to notice will not drop in our lap that which we desire or deserve you have to go out and get it. I have never seen a great man who attained great heights in his comfort zone. Extra-ordinary men are those who went the extra mile. They did not rest on their oasis, they forged ahead and even when they were unsure about what the future held, they moved; even when success was not visible, they moved; even when they encountered first hand failure, they moved.  Benjamin Franklin the legendary inventor, left his home at the age of 17 virtually penniless, in fact his biography stated that he essentially cut all ties with his family.[such courage!]. Although he had no idea of what the future held, he understood he had to move if he was to get to the next level.

PS: A PROPHET IS NEVER HONOURED IN HIS HOME TOWN

In my short life I have been priviledge to learn some things first hand. I have seen people do un imaginable things for the sake of success but the one thing nobody told them is that there is no shortcut to success. Ourlives are too short to make all the mistakes of a lifetime which is why we have fore runners who have gone ahead of us to pave the way. One of the greatest mis-conception of success is that in order to suceed we must first be popular, or that we need some sort of platform to get noticed before becoming a success. I beg to differ and I plead that you delete this cancerous information from your head before it spreads to every part of your body.

As an addict of people’s stories I have stumbled across some basic and fundemantal laws of life irrespective of your religion, sex, and beliefs. The secrets of men are in their stories it is left for us to seek them out. I will might not be able to tell you what success is but I can tell you what it is not.

• SUCCESS IS NOT A FUNCTION OF A WEALTHY BACKGROUND:

Oprah was born out of wedlock, to poor, black, teenage parents. Her mother was a maid, her father in the military. She was raped by a cousin at nine [9], molested by her uncle & her mother friend,gave birth and delivered a still born baby at fourteen [14]. Roman Abramovich{the billionaire} the owner of the chelsea football club did not start out with a silver spoon in his mouth. His mother died when he was 18 months, father killed by construction accident when he was four [4],raised by many uncles and lived in several orpahnages. Richard Branson the business mogul suffered dyxlesia and was not a good student……………… the list is endless.

Oprah, Abraham, and Richard just to mention a few did not have it all at birth. Opra especiallywas presented with obstacles even before birth and whenever I think of it, I keep telling my self that we all have no reason to fail. Agreed some people might have worse challenges than Oprah did, but frankly speaking, many of us have not seen half of what she [Oprah] has seen or been through. Like I said earlier, it is wrong to write yourself off based on your background. The level of wealth or affluence we are born into is not in any way directly proportional to our success; neither is the level of poverty or lack we are born into determines our success. Odd as this may seem most successful people were of poor backgrounds. They were not born into wealth, neither did they have it all while growing and I believe many of us can relate with the situation.

 All this people did not acheive success over night. They paid their dues. If anything at all, these people had all the reasons to be ordinary yet in the face of adversity refused to make excuses for themselves.They were not discouraged neither did they allow their background impede their success.” It does not matter where you were born,how you were born, or to whom you were born, what counts is what you are made up of.”

 

I KNOW!

I know who I am.

I know where I am from,

I know my roots,

I know they are deep within the grounds,

I know what they are made up of,

I know they are strong,

I know they are wide;

Reaching to the far ends of the earth,

I know they are tough;

 Unbending in the face of diversity

I know they are rich

Accommodating and dispersing to every nook and cranny

I know who I am,

I know where I am from,

I understand my roots,

I appreciate my lineage,

I respect my colour,

Honouring my ancestors, the forerunners,

I acknowledge the price of every drop of sweat in a strange land

The sacrifices, the pain, and the hope of a tomorrow,

I will not take for granted, the dreams of martyrs

Every blood shed,

A seed for tomorrow,

The tears shed,

The songs sang in a strange land,

I know who I am,

I know where I am from,

With depths beyond comprehension,

As vast as the desert plain,

I am Me,

I am proud,

I am coloured

I know who I am,

I AM BLACK,

I AM AFRICAN.

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