ABOUT YOU.

Some years ago, one (1) lucky sperm cell from your biological father fertilized the ovum from your biological mother and then a zygote was formed. Your sex was determined at fertilization by the chromosome from your biological father’s sperm. At 21 days after conception, your heart began to beat. At 25 days, your body started developing – your head and trunk appeared and tiny arm buds began to form, followed by leg buds. At 30 days, your brain, eyes, ears, mouth, kidneys, liver, and umbilical cord were all in place. Then, the you as a zygote later developed into a foetus after eight (8) weeks. Several other astonishing growth and development took place and then all your glands and organs were formed one after the other and then eventually you were made whole. When the womb could no longer contain you, you were delivered.

Your making was a success. At birth, you came out a masterpiece - as an amazing being containing several organs with fantastic works and capabilities. You were implanted with talents. You are whole and complete. You are an epitome of life. You were built to last. By reason of your birth as a Homo sapiens, you are an heir to the Universe. You were made to subdue the earth, so you don’t have limitations except the ones you place on yourself. You are a survivor - even when you had not come into consciousness, you still survived in the womb, and so now that you are conscious, you can survive in any situation. You can turn around any situation you find yourself. You can achieve whatever you set your mind to do.

You are not a coincidence, there’s a reason for your existence. That you’re still breathing is an indication that you are yet to fulfill your mission, else you would have been dead as a dodo. You were commissioned for exploits. For your sake, several sperm cells perished just to allow the sperm that fertilized that single ovum to form you. You were not aborted during the pregnancy stage neither were you consumed by all the diseases that plagued children. Season after season, you have been spared from all manner of accidents that had claimed the life of many. You have been groomed to glow.

Your sojourn on this earth is but for a short time. Someday, the breath of life will depart from you but before it does, you should make good use of the endowments entrusted in you. The Universe is waiting for the manifestation of the glory within you, so, find your purpose and fulfill your mission because it is in so doing that you can attain greatness. Consciously take your fate out of the hands of chance by building the future of your dreams. Make your life count!

WISDOM WILL DEFEAT STRENGTH ANYTIME.

Here’s the story of a man who tried to get his goat into his compound by force. He chased the goat back and forth but the goat won’t just enter the compound. When his daughter saw how the dad was sweating it out just to get the goat into the compound, she decided to intervene. And so she took some maize from the house, gave some to the goat and continued to feed the goat till she entered the compound. As soon as the goat entered the compound with her, she closed the gate and that settled it – she was able to lure the goat into the compound without sweating. The goat had maize to eat and she also got the goat inside the compound - what a win-win situation! Verily I say unto thee, wisdom can suffice where strength cannot help. Call it another bogus statement, but see what I mean…

Wisdom is more potent than strength. Off course strength has its place, but the application of strength without wisdom leads nowhere. If you’re conversant with troubleshooting devices, you will know what I mean (if you’ve never been stuck, you probably won’t understand though). To proffer the best solution to any issue, you must first thoroughly understand the issue. Else, your effort(s) might be in vain. For instance, you don’t need to fight with darkness to chase it away; all you have to do is to turn on the light because darkness cannot handle light – that simple. If you’re to achieve an excellent result, you have to do it the best way it ought to be done; the smart way.

The disparity between wisdom and strength is very wide. According to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, wisdom is the ability to make sensible decisions and give good advice because of the experience and knowledge that you have while strength is the quality of being physically strong. Even from the two definitions alone, you can easily deduce that the former is based on reason while the latter on might. Strength might not help you untie a secure knot, but wisdom can. The effectiveness of a team is not dependent on the numbers that makes up the team but the process in place. More often than naught, winners in wrestling matches are not usually the strongest, but those with skills. You can use your strength to pursue a cause without success while wisdom can get you results without you having to expend any energy. A sensible suggestion can bring about a radical change that hours of toiling cannot. Strength can get you results, but wisdom can get you better results faster. You can get yourself out of trouble by applying wisdom. You can even prevent a major catastrophe by applying wisdom. You can attract the desired by applying wisdom. The list is endless.

We’re living in a complex world full of questions and only those that can answer life’s questions will obtain life’s treasures. Successful living is an art and only the wise will excel. In this world full of tasks, challenges, endless options, traps, evils, to name a few, wisdom is all you need to sail through, not strength; you cannot possibly excel distinctly in life without applying wisdom in all areas of your life. So, I charge you to wise up: apply wisdom in all your undertakings (at home, at work, in your relationships, etc.) so that you can achieve good results.

Don’t sweat it, go the wisdom way - the easy way. Seek knowledge. Seek counsel. Think. Plan right. Act right. Triumph!

BE EFFICIENT.

I once visited a government ministry to get some papers and I met the officers breaking melon and chit-chatting. When I finally met the officer that was supposed to handle my request, she told me to wait for her; and sit I did for two (2) good hours. While treating my request, she was busy chit-chatting till the officer that was supposed to finally sign my documents closed for the day and so I had no choice than to go back the next day to collect my documents when she could have attended to me promptly. Although I was affected by her inefficiency that particular day, but I can conclude from her lackadaisical approach to life that the reason she is still on the level of a ‘messenger’ is because she is not efficient even in her personal life. And so it is for many today. Since the result we get is a function of our input, majority fail in their endeavors because they are not efficient. I might not have been to other parts of the world, but I sure can talk authoritatively about my motherland and I bet it’s the same everywhere; I stand to be corrected.

Many people are busy doing nothing. It’s not how busy you are that counts, but what you are busy doing. Thus, the need for you to be efficient in all your undertakings cannot be overemphasized if you are to live a meaningful life. What is efficiency? How can you be efficient? What do you stand to gain by being efficient?

Efficiency, according to Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary is, “the quality of doing something well with no waste of time or money OR the relationship between the amount of energy that goes into a machine or an engine, and the amount that it produces.” In my own words, as it relates to human beings, efficiency is the ability to maximize resources (time, skills, equipment, human resources etc.) to achieve set task(s) at the appropriate time. A way of ensuring that you get all tasks completed is by listing all set tasks (it could be on a sheet of paper, your phone, computer, or anywhere that’ll keep you abreast of what needs to be done within a specified timeframe) in the order of priority. That way, you won’t even have the time to engage in some unproductive pursuits because the time available will not even be enough for you to complete your set tasks. That way, you can work with precision while measuring your progress. That way, you can achieve what you want to achieve.

How much time do you use in chatting with friends and colleagues on non-related work issues during working hours when you could use the time productively? How often do you digress from doing the most important things by doing the unimportant things? If you want to achieve much in life, then you had better start mapping out goals, effectively plan your time, and then maximize your resources. Else, life might just hand you whatever it pleases.

Prayer has its place, but I tell you that hard work and efficiency also has theirs. Your desires are not far-fetched, but you will have to earn them; there’s no such thing as having something for nothing. Whether you waste away your time on some unworthy pursuits or you use it productively, time will still tick; time and tide, they say, waits for no man. So, it behooves you to use your resources judiciously so that you can achieve your goals in life.

Do more than exist, thrive!

LEARN TO SAY “NO”.

I recall with nostalgia how I failed a particular course in my university days. It happened that a friend invited me to trip to a neighboring institution with him and I obliged even though I had an examination the next day in a course I was not grounded in. Even though I had a feeling that I should revise a particular topic, I didn’t because I couldn’t resist the trip. Unfortunately for me, that particular topic I failed to revise dominated the examination questions and so I got the straight “E” grade that I deserved in the examination. This experience and many others too private to mention that I’ve had, coupled with some other people’s nasty experiences that I’ve heard of, have proved to me beyond reasonable doubt that those that cannot say “NO” when they ought to might have a difficult time succeeding in this world of ours.

We are all susceptible to making wrong decisions. Even great men and religious leaders say “YES” at times when they ought to say “NO”. Personally, I’m still grappling with my choices in so much that I doubt if I have the locus standi to write on this subject. But still, the truth must be propagated so that the wise can be guided.

That majority cannot say “NO” when they ought to is one of the maladies of our world today: Many marriages have been broken because either one or both of the partners didn’t say “NO” to infidelity. Many restless youths have met their untimely deaths while some have been jailed because they couldn’t say “NO” to crime. Lots of business men and women have been duped because they could not resist some business opportunities. Many have been sacked from their jobs because they could not say “NO” when they ought to. A lot of teenage girls have been impregnated because they could not say “NO” to premarital sex. Many people are living with HIV/AIDS today because they couldn’t say “NO” to sex. Everywhere is full of “had I known” stories. But it doesn’t have to be so! Your weak flesh shouldn’t toss you wherever it wills. You don’t have to be your own enemy. You don’t have to watch helplessly while your decisions and actions ruin you. You have a say!

The ability to say “NO” in this world full of temptations is a virtue. Before embarking on any plan of action, always lay out your options and their consequences in relation to your goal(s). If your decision(s) or action(s) will adversely affect you, there is no point embarking on the suicidal mission(s). If you’ve embarked on some suicidal mission(s) already, it’s time to abort. Redefine your goals and vehemently resist the temptation(s) of taking the wrong step(s) that will take you off target.

The laws that govern our universe will not change because of you. That your decisions will affect your actions and your actions the outcome is absolute and eternal, so make a conscious effort to always make good decisions so that you can always create the desired outcome. To save yourself from regrets and to be successful, you’ve got to learn to say “NO” when you ought to. Always calculate, with precision, the end from the beginning before taking action so that you can fulfill your purpose in the land of the living. He that hath an ear, let him hear.