COUNTDOWN
If you aren’t going to communicate clearly, your silence is even better. Simple as it sounds, ambiguous communication can ruin your relationship.
If you aren’t going to communicate clearly, your silence is even better. Simple as it sounds, ambiguous communication can ruin your relationship.
It is usually a soothing relief when you accomplish a task, even in spite of the odds. That, exactly, is my mood as I announce the launch of my new book, Feathers of Hope.
Different people have different ways of measuring their progress but if you are one who sets goals, you will find it easier to measure your progress and possibly retrace your steps when the journey begins to traverse desired destination with no commensurate results.
Riches and wealth are sometimes used interchangeably but the two don’t have an exact meaning. To be rich means to have a lot of possessions and material wealth but to be wealthy speaks to having sustainable and lasting wealth. In other words, to have possessions that can reproduce itself.
Nothing good comes easy. Of all the rules of life, love stands tall. Even the book of life, The Bible, commanded that you should love your neighbour as yourself. It sounds easy but it is not as easy as it sounds to love. Nobody said it’s going to be easy but love is a beautiful thing. Difficult as it is to love your neighbour, it is more difficult for you to measure your love for yourself because no one is complaining of lack of love. Before you can love your neighbour, the first rule you must obey is to love yourself. If you are not the vigilant type, you may get carried away trying to show love to others without observing the first rule. It has repercussions.
Welcome to 2024. You might have achieved all your goals and more for 2023. Maybe you met it half way. It could also be that the hope for the realisation of your goals for 2023 was deferred. Own the moment, every season is for a reason. There are several reasons your goals might not have been achieved or delayed. Maybe you had some disappointments. Or perhaps you experienced scarcity of resources, but what if I tell you that abundance does not equate the fulfillment of purpose? If you have ever experienced scarcity, you would readily wish it away. I also would but there are more lessons to learn in scarcity than when there is more than enough of anything. Optimise your moment of lack so you don’t miss it when there is abundance. Every season in your life has its reason. Don’t despise the season you don’t wish for. Rather, pay attention to the lessons, many of which may be hidden in lack or disappointments. Whatever you lack presents you an opportunity to explore.
The sun rises and sets just like every other day but the feeling is different. The moon glows to herald the twilight as typical of the day but the atmosphere is different. The stars glitter to attract the beauty of the skies but the excitement is different. It’s a season of love, a season of giving, a season of sharing. It is more than religion, it transcends faith. The season is not conscious of race, it is not colour sensitive, neither does it respect geographical boundaries. What then makes this season different from others? Because it’s Christmas.
Every man likes affirmation. No man enjoys criticism but again, any man whose views go unchallenged all the time should watch his back. It is not an evidence of bravery, neither does it pass for unmatched wisdom for you to have opinion that is always right. If you get keep getting a yes to all you say, chances are that you have been isolated to your delusion that you know it all. A fool is better than a wise man who takes pride in being right all the time. A critic is not supposed to be an enemy, depending on his motive for criticising. It is not enough to have the right motive, your motive for criticising must be clearly stated. A critic becomes an enemy if his motive deducts value rather than add value to the subject. If I mean well for you, it is unlikely I get you to see reason with me if I have to debase your dignity to pass my message.
Those who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones that actually do”. This is an excerpt from Steve Jobs’ epoch making speech to the staff of Apple some years back during the “Think different” campaign. Unarguably, Apple products have changed the world. Many times we think about the future as if it is far away but more often, the future comes knocking on our door before we know it. You can actually bring the future closer by the action you take today, particularly if you still have all the time to make a choice and chart a course for yourself. I remember in my secondary school days when everyone wanted to be a medical doctor, a lawyer, an accountant or an engineer. The popular mantra then was professional course and you were made to prepare for this challenge by the choice of subjects you offered.
This is the third time I am asking this question but the more I ask, the more innocent lives are lost to avoidable deaths. We talk about death casually but I cannot but keep asking - what is the worth of an average Nigerian? Another nine (9) lives were lost in cold blood at Ojuelegba, Lagos penultimate Sunday. Yes, nine innocent lives were terminated by a fallen container in a system that keeps talking about the problem but does so little to solve the problem. Even to non-Nigerians, Ojuelegba is a renown centre, not only in Lagos but in Nigeria. Thanks to the late king of Afro Beats, the Abami Eda himself, Fela Anikulapo Kuti, when he sang 🎼for Ojuelegba 2x, moto dey come from east, moto dey come from west, moto dey come from north, moto dey come from south🎼