THE MAGIC WAND OF WHAT TO DO

I remember the first business I venture into, it didn’t go too well as I have earlier thought it would. The country was going through recession and as a result, people have become manager of resources. Since there is little cash in circulation, my business suffers a great deal of losses because my target audience couldn’t afford to patronize me as usual. Even to get job in the country becomes difficult. The situation gets terrible as companies downsize workers due to their inability to pay salary. Desperate time calls for desperate measure, so they say. So I had to re-strategize and map out how to survive and keep the business going. “Man must wack,” as my country man usually put it. I started researching for other options that I can introduce into the trade in order to sustain and grow the business.

I talked to people with like-minded business acumen. I was able to come up with an idea that I have nursed for a very long time. Looking at the situation in the country, I was confident enough that the idea will help revive my dying business. So I registered with savings and thrift society group where each member contributes money every 15 days and give to one of its member. Until every gets paid. A month later, my share of the money was given to me, which I use as startup capital to implement my new business idea. It is said that out of man’s greatest defeat comes his greatest opportunity to stand tall. Your background shouldn’t get your back to the ground. While the world are chanting “casting down” as their slogan, you should raise your shoulder high and say there’s a “lifting up.”

People who know what to do will always be ahead of those who wait for people with the magic wand to do what they cannot do. Mary, the mother of Jesus is one of those people, who know what to do when everything else fails. There was a marriage of a couple in the land of Cana, Galilee and the mother of Jesus happens to be there. Both Jesus and his disciples were invited to the marriage. The jamboree was filled with high profile guest of honour in attendance. There was drinking and merry making all the way. Everybody was in high spirit with the groove. Then the unexpected happened: they ran short of wine. This cannot be happening. What are we going to do? The celebrants become anxious and uneasy with the whole scenario. But the bible says that Mary called the servants, who were probably there to ensure the marriage was a success by giving a helping hand to the celebrant, that whatsoever her son, Jesus told them to do should be done.

Right in the setting where the marriage was taking place is six water pots of stone, after the manner of the purifying of the Jews, containing two or three firkins apiece. Jesus said to the servants, “fill the water pots with water.” And they filled them up to the brim. Then he said to them, “draw out now, and bear unto the governor of the feast,” which they did. When the ruler of the feast had tasted the water that was made wine, he was overwhelmed by its taste that he call for the bridegroom and said unto him, “every man at the beginning of any occasion do set forth good wine, and when men have drank to stupor, then that which is worse is serve. But in your case, you kept the good wine until this moment.”

Mary was not the miracle worker in the above illustration but she knew who can, and how to receive what she wants from him. In the same manner, you may not know what to do in every situation you find yourself in, but if you are willing to bring yourself to the level of a learner, surely you too can learn to do what needed to be done whenever you find yourself in any situation. Nobody is omniscient, capable of knowing everything in the world. But when you bring yourself down to the level of a learner, there’s no limit to what you can accomplish. This could be the reason a writer once said that learning is a lifelong process. The day you stop learning you start dying. So don’t beat yourself down for not knowing everything. You can at least learn to do something about everything.

…TO BE CONTINUED

Congrats to the president elect of the United State of America, Donald Trump. Now the weight and burdens of the entire world rest on your shoulder. I pray you paddle the ship of leadership with all fairness, doggedness and with all sense of balance. The world awaits your “magical wand” as earlier promised during your campaign. Wishing you a safe “trip”.

YOUR LIFE, YOUR CHOICE

The entire universe is governed by some set of laws. To live by those rules or not is a choice. Unlike a robot, human minds are created with a will of their own to think, make choices and to act on those feelings, if they want to. What are those things in your life that you’d wish they are not there but seem to stare wide at you every now and then? Your life is a reflection of the choice you made at one point in time or the other. If you don’t like your life or the happenings around you, then, it’s high time to start making better choices. When the Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, an American brothers, inventors, and aviation pioneers are tired of the traffic jam that usually marred our high ways, they didn’t just wine and groan about the economy. Instead they did something extraordinary about the situation by inventing and building the world first successful aircraft. Who would have ever believed that man will one day fly? The two brothers cleared the air and man’s doubts. You too can!

When darkness constantly disrupt and bring the activities of the day to a halt, Thomas Edison, an American inventor and scientist invented the long lasting practical electric light bulb. He is well known for his pioneering in electricity and magnetism and several other groundbreaking and astounding inventions. He developed many devices that greatly influenced life around the world, including the phonograph and motion picture camera. I bet many surfers of the internet are still ignorant of how the World Wide Web became freely available to all! You just get hold of a computed connected to the internet and there you go. Little did they know that someone out there made it possible? Tim Berners Lee was that man. His discovery and invention of the http:// protocol for the internet made the World Wide Web freely available to every user.

How many of you have air-conditions in your home? This is yet another groundbreaking invention that many are unaware of the inventor, and why is that? Because majority of the human race have so much conditioned and trained their mind to be consumer of these products without striving to leave a landmark for others. It will surprise you to know that the inventor was actually an America engineer by the name, Willis Carrier. Does that name ring a bell? This single invention has solved one of the world most elusive challenges – controlling the indoor environment. When next you put on your air-condition either in your home, offices, place of worship or inside your vehicle, always be grateful for the brain behind it. Funny enough, many people today cannot do without it. Their homes, cars, offices, business rendezvous are all air-conditioned.

Another inventor whose invention we use almost daily is Henry Ford. He made it possible for man to convey his or herself with his belongings from one destination to the other. Henry Ford, an American industrialist and founder of the Ford Motor Company, though did not invent the automobile but developed and manufactured the first automobile that many middle class Americans could afford. In doing so, he converted the automobile from an expensive curiosity into a practical conveyance that would profoundly impact the landscape of the twentieth century. So, if you are not earning fat salary and yet you manage to have a home above your head and a car to carry you to wherever you want to go, then you owe all gratitude to God and to Henry Ford.

How many of you had to write letters to your families and loved ones because of the barrier created by distance? If you are opportune to be a literate, what then is the fate of the illiterates? Perhaps this and many others, may be the reason Alexandra Bell, a Scottish-born scientist, inventor, engineer and innovator, had to put his long time research into inventing the first practical telephone. In case you do not know, Bell’s mother and wife were both deaf. If he were to be fellow compatriot of our time in this 21^st century, he may be discouraged to invent something he will never ever be able to share or use with his loved ones. “His research on hearing and speech further led him to experiment with hearing devices which eventually culminated in Bell being awarded the first U.S. patent for the telephone in 1876,” Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia noted.

Many years ago in a small village in North Central part of Nigeria, where my late dad was posted to as a civil servant. We lived in a small house, where our bathroom and kitchen had to be constructed outside our home by my dad, who at the time is our Jack of all trade but master of one though. My dad can be described as someone with a creative and artistry skills. Whenever he puts his heart and mind into something, he will always find a way to come up with something. I remembered vividly about an incident that occurred while he was away for a course in one of the states in the country. (You may be wondering why I haven’t mentioned a word about my mum. During those times, she had to leave with my sisters for an appointment at my hometown.) So in their absence, we the boys are left to manage the home.

Something unusual happened in their absent. We noticed the presence of rats in the room, most especially at night. Funny enough, we will wake up to discover that our feet have been bitten by rats. How is that even possible? For rats to bite you without you knowing it? We later find out that the rats usually blew air into the feet of its victim when biting them to stop them from feeling the pain, and at the same time waking them up. So what we did was to wear cover shoe to bed every night. We had a choice to either look for their hideouts and block it or look for a way to kill them using chemical or something. But instead, we chose to let them run freely. This routine continues till our dad eventually returned and flushed the rats from their hideout. Perhaps, if my dad should have stay back for a long time, our homes would have turned into rats’ breeding ground.

 

There is a power that lie inside of us-the power of “I can” and if you are able to tap into its horizon, miracle happens. Ever wonder how as little as a grain of seed can be when buried into the ground? There is a magic inside of you, “the power of I can”. If Bill Gates and many other successful men and women can do it, so can you.

ITS US AGAINST THE WORLD

A great leader and a writer, Mahatma Gandhi once said, “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” This statement made me realize that if there is ever something in my life that I do not like or want, that the power to change it rest with me. So if you wish to be successful someday, then now is the time to start planting your seed, which in no time will grow up to be best harvest you could ever imagined. It is never okay to live with something that doesn’t bring you happiness. Every one of us is created with a substance far greater and bigger than what we could ever comprehend. It takes only a discerning person to realize this.

When Thomas Edison became fed up with darkness interfering with his work, he invented the electric light bulb. When the Wright brothers were tired of the traffic jam that usually marred our high ways, they invented the world first aircraft. When distance seems to create a barrier between his loved one and friends, Graham Bell invented the telephone. When man became tired of walking by foot, shoes of different designs were manufactured. The story of the creation is no different from this simple analogy. The Bible says the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. God was not pleased with what he saw. That was the reason the spirit of God had to move upon the face of the waters and commanded, “Let there be light and there was light.”

“Your life does not get better by chance,” Jim Rohn noted, “it gets better by change.” Every beautiful designs we come to admire today was possible because somebody somehow, somewhere became fed up with his or her circumstance, and as a result invented a perfect substitute to replace what seems to be boredom. In the very creation story, the bible says God created man in his own image and likeness, and entrust him with dominion over everything he had created. He blessed them and gave them power to be fruitful, multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue all that is in it. Why on earth should your case be any different from other people, who continued to make and cause things to happen? It’s not as if they have ten heads. They just do something about their situation. You too can do just that. Now is your time of change. Your change is here, now!

Gone are those days when the idea that women education only ends in kitchen. Here is a new era where women are becoming more conscious and taking active part in almost every sector of the economy. In those primitive years, women are relegated to the background…that is, they only get to be considered in anything after their male counterparts’ needs have been taken care of. The idea is that the male folks get to elongate their family tree while the female ones will soon be married off to go cater and groom another man’s home – another man’s property, as they usually tag them.

A study by the University of Ibadan linked the imbalance in boys’ and girls’ participation in schooling to the long-held belief in male superiority and female subordination. This situation was further aggravated by patriarchal practices which gave girls no traditional rights to succession. Therefore, the same patriarchal practices encouraged preference to be given to the education of a boy rather than a girl. The decline in economic activities since the early 1980s has made education a luxury to many Nigerians, especially those in rural areas. Because Nigerian parents are known to invest in children according to sex, birth order or natural endowments, girls and boys are not exact substitutes. Often the family can only afford to send one child to school. Because daughters have assumed responsibilities in the home, she is less likely to be the one to attend school.

However, today tables are gradually beginning to change sides – women are now making much advancement in the society, affecting and impacting lives in a positive way. This we can see in the recent years, where three male dominated professions, the Nigerian Medical Association, the Nigerian Bar Association and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, have been led by female presidents. It doesn’t stops there. Today, we can see women heading high positions like ministry of education, finance, petroleum, aviation and industry, the list goes on and on. Some countries are even headed and governed by women. Today we have movements, social activists and bodies fighting women’s cause, making it possible for the promotion of women’s educational issues and the enhancement of the role of women in national development by way of a statutory body and a Ministry.

Research shows that for every additional year girls go to school, they receive 20 percent higher wages and suffer 10 percent fewer child deaths. Women with some formal education are more likely to seek medical care, ensure their children are immunized, be better informed about their children’s nutritional requirements, and adopt improved sanitation practices. As a result, their infants and children have higher survival rates and tend to be healthier and better nourished. According to The International Center for Research on Women, the education that a girl receives is the strongest predictor of the age she will marry and is a critical factor in reducing the prevalence of child marriage. Also, each additional year of formal education that a mother completes translates to her children staying in school an additional one-third to one-half of a year.

It will be ignorant on our part, if with the level of freedom and advancement in today’s world, we refuse to educate our children, especially the female folks because of one age long myth passed down to us by our fore fathers. Until equal numbers of girls and boys are in school, it will be impossible to build the knowledge necessary to eradicate poverty and hunger, combat disease and ensure environmental sustainability. Millions of children and women will continue to die needlessly, placing the rest of the development agenda at risk. It is extremely important that girls have access to an education. LET’S STOP THE DISCRIMINATION, and let’s build a nation of educated leaders…together. It doesn’t matter the gender of your children…they are all gift from God, let’s groom and nurtured them to fit into God’s plans for their life.

The best of all feelings are feelings that come knowing that you are being loved, secured and provided for. Life outside of this can be pretty ugly and scary. Perhaps, this may be the reason why societies deemed it fit to relinquish its power to an authority, with the hope of enjoying these “rights” and privileges.

In the era of Stone Age, there are no such things as rights as we have them today. What was prevalent then was survival of the fittest, as Charles Darwin propounded. You’ll need to stick out your neck in order to survive. Jack London, in his book “The Call of the Wild” explains how men lived those days before the advent of civilization. In his own words, “He was a killer, a thing that preyed, living on the things that lived, unaided, alone, by virtue of his own strength and prowess, surviving triumphantly in a hostile environment where only the strong survive.”

Today in the 21^st century, humans have advanced astronomically. For peace to reign and development forestall, man entered into a social contract, and formed an institution called “Government” to oversee its affairs on their behalf. Paramount among the roles saddled with the state is security. The government is to ensure that lives and properties are well protected from every form of theft, annihilation and destruction. Looking at the security challenge in the country today, one is forced to ask whether government is actually doing what it was saddled with. With killings and bombs going on and off almost daily in different section of the country, one is again forced to ask: what is the government doing? Where are our warlords saddled with the responsibility of protecting lives and properties of the citizens? Are they still alive to their duties and responsibilities? If yes, then what is actually going on in the North? Why haven’t they put an end to the insurgency?

People at all levels of socio-economic strata are not safe anymore, even place of worship are now targets of bombings and killings. For some years now, the only story that continued to gain media attention are stories of massacre, gory photos of carcass littering the streets, burnt cars and houses and so on. The horror films of cannibalism and wars, we watched in the movies, are now being acted in reality. It is no longer the film tricks as we are used to in cinemas but the “real tricks”.

Some Nigerians are of the view that the security challenge in the country is linked with national and international terrorist group where financial and military supports are given to the insurgents with arsenals of various degrees. Others are of the opinion that the security challenge bedeviling the Nigeria economy has a political connection. Perhaps, politicians are playing politics with human lives. An extract from Daily Times publication of May 23, 2014 reads: “The All Progressives Congress (APC) has asked the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to stop playing politics with the lives of Nigerians, saying it is wrong, irresponsible and uncharitable to seek to make political gains out of the worsening and deadly terror attacks in the country.”

In reply to the above statements, the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) also blamed the security challenge the country is currently facing on the All Progressive Congress (APC), adding that the party’s motives was to frustrates and outwit the tenure of Mr. Goodluck Jonathan from re-contesting in the year 2015. This claim has been on for quite some time now. Nigerians are however saddened and confused on who to believe, since both parties are not telling the truth. The belief is that parties can do anything possible to foils opposition party’s chance of winning elections, and thereby presenting their party as an ideal party that cares for the plights of the masses – the devil himself cloaked in the form of an angel.

It is high time we join the fight in waging war against terrorism and eliminate every unwanted element which seeks to bring this country to her knees. How, you may ask? By providing Intel on the whereabouts of these “animals” to the military officers and ensuring that the perpetrators of this devilish act are brought to justice. Also, government should strive to arm the military and other paramilitary with the necessary gadgets and ammunitions needed in combating and tackling security threat in the country.

The Craze To Belong!

This may sound a little bit ridiculous, but come to think about it; why are women so engulfed with material possessions? Can’t they live without it? Why must they always expect to get a present when celebrating birthday or any other special days? The funny thing is that when you buy them books or flower they don’t usually see anything good about it. In that mind of theirs, they want something different – something flashy, bigger and extravagant. Women have become so obsessed with cosmetics and material things that they are now inseparable – you cannot separate them from it. If you grew up in the midst of ladies then you will know what I am talking about.

Women have found succor on material things than any other things in their lives. This has led me to the inescapable conclusion that women live more by how good they materialize bodily than morally. A woman notwithstanding may decide to buy wears on credit just to look good without minding how to pay back the money borrowed. Many today, as a result of this find themselves swimming in debts from one person to the another and are unable to pay back or clear their names from the hash tag “debtor” that they have tagged themselves.

Funny as it may seem, our youngster today are not only emulating this laid down principle but have make it a necessity. That is, it has become something they cannot do without. Perhaps in their own dictionary, if a woman is lacking all this qualities and material possessions, they are not fit to be in their click. This however, has continue to widen the gap between the socially privilege women in the society and those who are under privilege. This on the other hand has had multiple adverse effects on the general populace as the less privilege in bid to keep up with the joneses find solace in some societal ills, which of course, has led to the rising dearth of morality in the society. Morality is gradually being replaced with obscenity and nudity as the way of life.

My opinions about women may sound a little bit critical but it is just the truth. After all, I equally have earthly mother and sisters who are also women. But not to hide under the disguise of deceit and deception, the truth need to be told in an untainted manner for the public who are so eager to know the changes that have occur in the society and how such changes has been affecting the society without their knowledge. Perhaps, so many things have been going on in your life that even you yourself cannot account for. We have so much preoccupied our mind with other issues that we have not really taking the time to examine our personal life.

The saying, life is too short is a lesson to each one of us that we should live our life as if it is our last. Many of us love to live a life of “cut your coat according to your size” not according to your pocket – living beyond your means or resources. Your biggest desire may be to amass the flashy things the world could provide but you must also know that not all that glitter is gold. Don’t allow your life to be judge by what you wear but by the number of lives you might have affected. Let this speak for you anywhere you go.

YOUR THINKING BECOME YOU

You know, I’ve been thinking lately within myself…Is there any creation in life that doesn’t involves us thinking up ideas before it manifest in reality? After several introspection and examination, I have come to realize that almost, if not everything in life came to be as a result of our thinking. So in a sense, our thinking attracts to us what we continuously premeditate and concentrate on. Our thinking, like a magnet, attracts those things we allowed to preoccupied and dominates our thought. Most people do not realize the harm they are causing themselves with their thinking pattern. They think when they focus all their energy and thought on things they do not want in life, the outcome will be that the things they do want will begins to come to them. If you are in that school of thought, it is high time you start developing a new thought pattern for your life. The writer of Proverbs in the Bible equally understands this principle when he wrote that as a man thinketh in his heart so is he (Proverbs 23:7).

I think we all too should imbibe in that simple but powerful truth. Miracles begin from the mind. The more you begin to think about it – those things you want in your life – and let it dominate your thinking, the more easily and quickly you will begin to see the result realized and accomplished in your life. Just think about it, most of the good, the bad and the ugly things in the society today came to be because someone somehow, somewhere thinks them up. They didn’t just spring up from the thin air. For instance, a person who is addicted to pornographic materials and who sometimes turn to masturbation for sex relief, can do that because he usually think up an image in his imagination. This is to tell you that our imagination is connected to our thinking. What we think up we imagine. It would have been impossible for him or her to use him or herself if his thinking gift were to be taken away from him.

Michael Bernard Beckwith once said, “We live in a universe in which there are laws, just as there is a law of gravity. If you fall off a building it doesn’t matter if you’re a good person or a bad person, you’re going to hit the ground.” So it is with your thought. It doesn’t whether you are a good or bad person. The quality of your thought is an indication of the direction your life will take. Your thought has this magical power of bringing to life those ideas you nurtured and hold dear to your heart. The law of attraction indicates that most of the things happening in an individual’s life are directly proportional to the quality of thought that person often allowed to dominate his or her thinking. The concept examines our individual thought in relation to our personal lives. The belief is that most of the situations we found ourselves in, we attract to ourselves, either knowingly or unknowingly.

“Whether we realize it or not, we are thinking most of the time. If you are speaking or listening to someone, you are thinking. If you are reading the newspaper or watching television, you are thinking. When you recall memories from your past, you are thinking. When you are considering something in your future, you are thinking. When you are driving, you are thinking. When you are getting ready in the morning, you are thinking. For many of us, the only time we are not thinking is when we are asleep; however, the forces of attraction are still operating on our last thoughts as we fall asleep. Make your last thoughts before going to sleep good thoughts,” Ronda Byrne quotes Lisa Nichols in his book, The Secret.

What most of us do not understand or fail to realize is that what we are thinking now is actually creating our future. Life is what you create each time you engage your mind, brain and head in brainstorming. I’m sure many of us haven’t thought of it this way before. And because you are always thinking of newer ways of doing something, you are always creating and bringing to life something remarkable. What you think about the most or focus on the most is what will appear as your life experience.

 

The Humble, Will He Prosper

I’m sure you are all familiar with the popular saying which says proud goes before a fall. The Bible also reiterates and further buttresses this when it says God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble, (James 4:6). This sum up the core of this writes up. What many people fail to understand is that there is a very thin line that separates self worth from arrogance. There may be good chance that you have been operating in the realm of arrogance thinking you are still maintaining your self esteem.

I usually like to refer to the Biblical story of the rich fool, who thinks he has arrived, tearing down smaller barns and building bigger and larger ones without giving credit to the Supreme Being, whom provides the increase. What he did not know is that, that same night he planned on enjoying his life, his life will be required of him. He kept accumulating and piling up treasures, which in the end he couldn’t enjoy. The Bible says, what shall it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses his soul? I think our top utmost priority and responsibility is to ensure a cordial relationship with our maker. That way, we will be able to maintain a right standing with God and our fellow being. As the song writer once sang, draw near to God and he will draw near to you.

It is a good thing to be confident and enthusiastic about the talent and potentials God has hardwired inside of you. But you must be careful not to become too proud and arrogant, underrating others as being inferior to you. Remember that God who has dealt with you bountifully is still alive and able to do exceedingly and abundantly to those you think cannot amount to be somebody in life. You are neither indispensable nor infallible. The Bible says humble yourself in the sight of God and he will lift you up beyond your wildest imagination.

Once we become grounded in some of the Biblical teachings on humility, we become self conscious of our character and relationship with others. An arrogant and pompous person assumes he knows everything and as such, do not need any correction from anyone. A story was told about a young man who said the stage he has attained now is not to be going to church and listening to the Man of God preach to him. But that he need to be doing the preaching while others listen to him speak. What do you call that? This could be the reason why there are so many denominations of church today, each with their different names. Sometimes, you begin to doubt the true intentions of some churches, is like they are only out there to feed on their member’s pocket. If you ask me, I’ll say the church today is now a “business center” where many people run to, to make quick money.

However, not to digress too deep from the subject matter, I’ll like to reiterate here that there is nothing wrong to think highly of oneself in a certain way. What is wrong though, is that the image we sometimes try to project to others has its basis grounded or fashioned in pride. What I have come to realize is that people, who often feel too bigheaded and pompous about themselves most times, lives dual identity. They conceal the identity they do not want the public to see by projecting a caricature of what they want the public to see. I’ve watch a movie many years ago, whose title I cannot recollect now. But the movie fit in the picture I am trying to paint here. There is this lady whom, after countless struggles, hustles and bustles became wealthy and stinking rich. When it comes to writing her biography, she “invented” a story to be her life story.

Look around you today and you will see so many people living what I called “artificial life”. They have invented a lifestyle that they feel fits their person. Jesus in the book of Luke 18:10-14, tells a parable about two men who went to Jerusalem to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood up and said, “God, I thank you that I am not like other men – robbers, evildoers, adulterers – or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week and give a tenth of all I get.” But the tax collector stood up to pray and in humility, he said, “God, have mercy on me, a sinner.” The Bible noted that the tax collector went home more justified before God than the Pharisee. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.”