It's FINAL

Don’t ever allow your belly control your brain. In risk appreciation, it’s easily discernible that focus on value without mining and unearthing hidden hazards leads to unmitigated entrapment. Can you think of the rat chasing after the juicy bait that has been nicely set on the trap by “the special being” with reckless abandon? The next thing you see is “Bang” and it’s FINAL!

The 1996 summer Olympics game between Brazil and Nigeria was memorable in all ramifications. It was the final before the final – a semi-final encounter. Both teams had emerged from the same group with same points and similar statistics except “goals for and against”. In the semi-final encounter, Brazil scored first within 1 minute and Nigeria equalized around 20 minutes into the game. Brazil then added 2 goals in 10 minutes between 28 and 38 minutes. At 3-1, the game was over? Not so! After a dramatic turnaround in the second half, Nigeria won the game 4-3 via “the sudden death rule”.

Incipient failure doesn’t define you neither does it define life’s end game. There’s no failure until you fail to believe. It’s not over until you quit! Giving up is the laziest and the craziest approach to handling failure. The other approach is failure to learn. If you fail to learn, recurrence is imminent. As you may have heard, repeating same things and expecting a different result is tantamount to insanity says Albert Einstein. The third and the most rewarding approach is learning the right lessons and applying the right principles to avoid recurrence. This is the attribute that distinguish successful individuals, corporate organizations and progressive societies from those that are condemned to failure.

Most atrocities in life are borne out of lust – either of the flesh or of eyes. A people consumed by “belly-cravings” will sell their birthright. They will be consigned within the rubbles of irreparable failure. If anything, a “self-aware people” can turn the tide just like the Nigerian team referenced above by consciously engineering their ways out of unfavorable confines. At individual level, it doesn’t matter what manner of failure you have suffered. You can evaluate where you are, marshal out a plan, make a decisive “u-turn” and then tow a path of success. You can say to yourself that “Failure Is Not Allowed Lai-Lai”. It’s FINAL indeed!!

Mentoring Through Crisis

The first person I came across as a reputable leadership expert is J.C Maxwell. Following him, I have never been in doubt of the immeasurable grace on his life and ministry as rare gift for our generation. I connected with him in time of need and have been blessed reading his books. Beyond him, I have gleaned from a lot more leadership trainers at home and abroad and there's no stopping. With Maxwell you have the understanding early that you can never learn enough. Teachable spirit and continuous learning are the hallmarks of great leaders.

If you're a rookie and wants to learn the basic principles of leadership, how to grow in leaps and bounds and becoming a man or woman of influence, grab a copy of his book "Developing the Leader Within You". The world has moved on from the era of leadership being considered a talent or an inborn attribute to a skill that can be learnt, developed and nurtured. It's so easy nowadays to isolate bosses or rulers from genuine leaders thanks to great teachers and mentors on leadership. So, you can imagine how elated I was to be invited by a senior friend, Mr 'Leke Emoruwa (an accomplished telecoms guru and MD/CEO at EMOCOM Technologies and Consulting Ltd) to join J.C Maxwell's leadership session on Monday 20th April 2020 via a Facebook link. Here are my 'take-aways' from the session on "Leadership When It Matters Most - Life and Leadership Values for Today with John C. Maxwell".

1.       Effective Leaders give the right perspective in the time of crisis

2.       Never equate struggling with failure: Crisis, challenges or obstacles are opportunities

3.       Crisis helps us to be creative, gives hope to people and helps us see the bigger picture

4.       'Dis-functional' leaders lead according to their needs and not according to right perspectives

5.       On mentoring through crisis, timing is very important and key questions to ask are –

·   Who mentors me?

o   Are they successful?

o   Have they been tested and have they passed the crisis test?

o   Are they continually growing?

o   Are they emotionally grounded?

o   Are they my sponsor (or committed...)?

o   Do they have greatness that's bigger than their work(s)?

·   When do they mentor me?

o   If the timing is right, the impact is great.

o   Most of the things we want but don't have are just outside our comfort zone

o   When the student is ready, the teacher will appear

·   How do they mentor me?

o   The mentor will help you see the complete picture in times of crisis

o   Ask yourself: When the crisis is over, do I get better or bitter?

o   Mentors not only give right perspectives but share out of their personal lifes

o   What's your source? Where do you go to draw strength? Your faith?

o   A crisis will prioritise what we will never ordinarily prioritise ourselves

o   If you look enough you'll find the answers

o   People don't want a perfect leader they want an authentic leader

·   How do I maximize the mentoring?

o   Three words to maximize your mentoring?

§  Preparation

§  Reflection

§  Action

o   I add the bonus and it's that following P.R.A leads to Yield (i.e. higher level of productivity and fruitfulness).

o   So, in summary, maximizing your mentoring is about P.R.A.Y! Quite profound/instructive!!

"The proof of the pudding is in the eating". If you are curious to learn more about this, let me direct you to the source and hopefully you will find it worth the time invested. Here is the link to the video - https://www.facebook.com/JohnCMaxwell/videos/691923061573055/. What can you do differently with afore-mentioned questions as a mentor or mentee? Go ahead and maximize your influence. All the best!

Adversity Doesn't Discriminate (Part II)

In part one, I have made the case for the fact that “Adversity does not discriminate”(http://a-ologunleko.blogspot.com/2020/03/adversity-doesnt-discriminate-part-i.html). I went further to shed light briefly into the life of one of the incredible minds that shaped the 20^th century scientific exploits despite life’s challenges. Rather than being consumed by adverse conditions, we can choose to open our eyes with focus to nurture the accompanying opportunities there-in to fruition. In the words of Roy T. Bennett, “when things do not go your way, remember that every challenge – every adversity – contains within it the seeds of opportunity and growth”. Truly, adversity can be self-inflicted, but in some instances the causative factors are extraneous in origin.

In this instance, my case study is named Nicholas or Nick as he’s fondly called. He is married with four (4) children, an ‘award winning’ author, an accomplished public speaker, an actor, a University graduate at age 21 and a source of inspiration to many all over the world. Nick Vujicic came into my consciousness in year 2005 through his video recording. The ‘sound-track’ was of an emotional Hymn I truly love – “In Christ Alone”. I had bought the DVD with the aim of motivating some teenagers in my care as a Youth Pastor while in a country far away from my base. The message is simple: “If Nick can be this successful, you have no excuse for failure”. His case made an indelible imprint on my mind and I have followed his progress up to this moment. May he continue to be a shining light worthy of emulation.

Born with unique medical condition, Nick is truly an amazing guy seeing how he turned his disadvantageous frame to a great advantage for exploits on the global scene. “No arms, no legs, no worries” series has inspired so many souls. According to Nick, “Often people ask how I manage to be happy despite having no arms and no legs. The quick answer is that I have a choice. I can be angry about not having limbs, or I can be thankful that I have a purpose. I choose gratitude.” In other words, our choice(s) in the face of adversity will determine whether we will win pleasantly or lose catastrophically.

The attitude of “Why me?” in the face of adversity is the wrong one. There can be no testimony without the test. It’s perhaps the motivation behind Lance W. Essihos’ “University of Adversity” podcasts. No matter what you’re going through, don’t murmur, don’t complain, don’t share blame. Brace up to dare the odds. If Nick can make it, you too can. In conclusion, I leave you with this quote from Nick – “Often time we feel like either we can’t make a world of difference, or we feel that it’s not going to change anything any way. The truth is you can change someone’s day, you can change someone’s life, but you have to show up and do what you got to do to actually see any fruit coming from it.”

Adversity Doesn’t Discriminate (Part I)

Like smoke in the air, so will COVID-19 and its adverse effects fade away. How soon we shall recover from the “W.H.O declared pandemic” is at best debatable but it’s certain this phase will also pass away. As I reflect on how even the advanced nations and socialites/elites have been humbled by the noisome pestilence, it occurred to me that “Adversity doesn’t discriminate”. This quote is credited to Dr. Lucy Hone a “Resilience expert” who took on the uncommon role of supporting victims of Christchurch earthquake through their ordeals. In like manner, we currently have overwhelmed but resilient medical crews attending to cases in different parts of the world. It is truly a challenging moment in the annals for the world. 

Of a truth everyone face adversities at varying degrees and dimensions. No one is immune from adversities whether at individual, corporate or national level. It’s a fact of life that “the rich also cry”. Why is it that what break some do make others? This is the trillion dollar question. The answer could be as diverse as there are individuals on planet earth. However, we can agree on the fact that it takes self-will, courage and resilience to overcome adversity. History is replete with many who buckle in the face of adversity and a handful who turned out as source of inspiration even several years after death. 

Studying physics in the high-school, Albert Einstein was my inspiration. What’s the reason behind my high regard for Sir Albert?  He was such a brilliant mind who also dared the odds of life to succeed. History had it that he suffered speech impairment from tender age and was also replete with memory loss. We learnt that he was actually not taken serious by his professors and peers at Swiss Polytechnic Institute where he graduated at age 21. Albert was jobless after graduation and started work as a “patent Clerk” about 2 years after. He picked himself up from this humble beginning and the rest is history. Not much credit (if any) was accorded him in history at family level. He went through divorce, had extra-marital affair and his father died believing that he was a monumental failure. 

Albert lived through life a lonely path charting a new course in scientific discoveries. He practically transformed the way physicists of all ages handle space, time, energy and matter (STEM) with support of others. His thoughts were “unbelievable” in his hey days until he proved his peers wrong through perseverance and irresistible facts. Today, several years after his death, he is synonymous with “genius”. He remained one of the most iconic change agent of our world. He’s noted for his influence in philosophy of science, theory of relativity, law of photoelectric effect for which he received Nobel price in 1921 and his famous energy-mass equivalence which according to Wikipedia is “noted as the world’s most famous equation”.

Are you faced with any adversity? Is it sickness, barrenness, unemployment, miscarriage, divorce, academic failure, imprisonment, resignation or termination of employment? Have you lost your loved ones or valuable property? Are you suffering unjustly or going through calamity of any sort that you have no control over? What painful experience are you going through at this moment in time? Are you scared stiff about COVID-19, it’s local implications and global dimension? All hope is not lost! You see, none of these should hinder your uplifting/advancement in life. With focus, passion and resilience success is around the corner. You can put the pieces together and come-off this terrible looking situation shinning as gold. 

Starting All-over Again

Change is good but it can be daunting given the requirements for discipline, perseverance and consistency. “The journey of a thousand miles begin with the first step”. This is a popular saying attributed to Lao Tsu or simply put, a popular Chinese proverb. After many years of contemplation, I joined two friends to Tee-off at the golf course. It was such a nice feeling. More of an ecstatic experience in a dream land. Why did it take so long? I wish I had a ready answer. One thing I do know now is that my excuse about being busy does not hold water. 

It’s not for lack of trying. The “will” was there but the body failed to cooperate. I bought my first complete set of golf clubs around 2005 but did not set my feet on the driving range until around 2011. Even at that, my foray lasted less than 3 weeks. That was how my first attempt ended abruptly. If anything, I submit that the presence of a coach this time around and myriads of encouragements from many quarters sustained my interest. Notwithstanding, I made up my mind never to fail on this last attempt at making the budding dream a reality. 

Coincidentally, this was not the only venture that I had failed to nail at first attempt. Around my birthday in October 2011, I started my blog - “The Winning Concept”. The first article posted was “The power in power-point” but few days later, it was shut down for reason I may never know. I had opened another blog with the same title shortly after that incident but I never operated it until I stumble on it in the first week of December 2019. For just no reason, I had typed my name - hoping to see whether google recognized my being, I guessed - and bang, Winning Concept popped up among other details. The spirit of a writer was re-awakened and here I am churning out my thoughts twice every month. 

Am I writing for its sake? No! I have a mission. One that is beyond me. If there is only one individual without hope out there who come across my musings, let it be that such will never remain the same until he/she attains set heights in life. My goal is to be an inspiration to just one man or woman out there and in the process I may just impact many more. Oh how I wished there was not a moment “my pen dried out”. A moment of grave silence and unheard inner yearnings. One in which the flow of thoughts that welled up inside of me refused to be unleashed. It felt like I had wasted time that may never be recovered again. Is it all gloom? Not quite. I am glad that I listened to my inner voice. The one that nudged me on to start all over again. The sense there is that if I do, I stand a chance to continue on a successful path. One whose trajectory defines a legacy of subtle but indelible impact.

This write-up is not about me but I am using my experience as a learning aid. It’s about encouraging someone in need of change. One who has either given up or about to do so in any aspect of life’s endeavours. It’s about someone who wanted to start a venture but easily gave up. The truth is that you will always find one thousand and one excuses why you are too busy to create time for it or why it will not work. It doesn’t matter how many times you have failed at that good venture, you can encourage yourself and pick it up again where you had stopped. Yes, pick it up again no matter how long it may be. It is never too late to begin all over again. In the words of Luminita D. Saviuc, “It’s never too late to start all over and rebuild your life from scratch; never too late to become the person you were destined to become. If you are still here, still living and breathing, then you have all it takes to move in the direction of your dreams....Don’t give up!”

Do or Die?

How nervy can one be when someone raises a controversial subject that we would rather avoid than confront head-on? Contrarily, I was so fortunate and blessed to participate actively in Chapter 12 of Fred Kofman’s book review. In this chapter of “The power of Transcendent Leadership”, Kofman posited that you must “Die before you die” in other to “find your true nature” and live a meaningful/impactful life. When you “feel a calling at work”, you become highly “motivated to leave behind a meaningful contribution”. The same holds true in every facet of life or human endeavours.

Steve Jobs is no longer here but he left us an enduring legacy. There was a graceful Nigerian, a courageous and unique professional who transformed an agency of Government with world-wide acclaim. Madam Dora Akunyili has no rival even after death. Echoing Honor Africans, David Ayodeji Co-founfer and CEO at Woka Nigeria noted that, “Dora Akunyili received 820 awards during her lifetime. In 2016, two years after her death, her husband discovered 110 more awards packed safely in her boxes, bringing the total to 930. No Nigerian has won more.” What an amazing soul? She fought hard that others may live during her days at NAFDAC.

If you know that you have just 3 minutes left to live, what will you do? Similar question was posed to participants by our facilitator ahead of the review session. Participants who posted their responses on Menti.com had the topmost word as “Pray” and the next as “Forgive”. This is profound! It suggests that when the push comes to shove and we are down to the last moment, our utmost desire is to be at peace with our maker and people around us. Over the years, as I reflect deeply on the philosophy around death, my conclusion remains that death is “Dated End Activating Transition to Heaven (or Hell)”. For those who may be “offended” by the notion of Heaven or Hell, I will be content to replace it with Here-After for neutrality sake. Death is not the end of life. Some left this world but their legacy lives on. Irrespective and ultimately, there’s life after death.

Our world is in crisis! Corona Virus (also referred to as COVID-19) that started in Wuhan, China is spreading globally at an alarming rate. No one knows what the outlook will be in the next 2 to 3 weeks and beyond. We can only be hopeful that the measures being put in place by respective health organisations, governments and concerned citizens of the world would yield the desired end-result soonest. May our collective efforts nip the unwanted plague in the bud as swiftly as possible. As our facilitator reflected, “You die simply because you were born”. When mindfulness of death comes into your decision-making process and the choices you make, you become a better person and consequently a humane leader. It's do or die. Die before you die.

Release for Relief

Today, I am writing about an issue that I am very passionate about using a friend and colleague as a point of reference. Weyinmi Metseagharun (alias Wey) released today’s edition of his weekly musings on his Facebook wall this morning. He began releasing the Sunday morning tonic on 18th January 2015 precisely and he has never looked back since then. He begins his message with “I was thinking this morning.....” and ends with “.....Just the thoughts of certain Wey Mey”. He has done this consistently now for 5 years and we are still counting. How time flies.....Whao! Wey’s unique style of writing, intended audience and reference to the “greatest book of all generations” at the footnote makes him a well branded writer.  

In his words, “I continued my musing every Sunday morning with more of my Facebook friends liking and commenting on my posts. Then the Nostradamus' amongst them woke up. One of them commented, 'You should consider writing a book (with a possibility of series) from your weekly thoughts.'.....I started with one article, continued thinking and writing every Sunday and have not missed a Sunday in the last 5 years. Wow! Next Saturday 8th February 2020, BTGOG, I will be unveiling the first in the 'Thoughts of a Certain Wey Mey' book series. This volume being a compilation of a selection of 75 articles written between 2016 and 2018”. 

Who is this “Nostradamus’ amongst them”?. Between us, we know him. He is the typology of someone who freely sends words of encouragement to others. It’s symbolic of that fellow who readily gives others a pat on the back for a job well done. Who are you influencing positively? Are you a source of motivation to others? Can someone truly say of a truth that you have a positive impact on their life? In all spheres of your life and to the boundaries of your circles of influence, be truly committed to lifting others up to greatest heights. It’s far fulfilling to motivate than demotivate. Unto you I say, “Release to Relief”.

In 2019, one of Wey’s articles went viral - “Life is a Class of One”. Unfortunately, he was not given the credit as it was “stolen” by others who lack the moral fortitude of simply acknowledging original authors as they click share buttons on social media. Wey was undeterred by this incident. Rather, he forged ahead on principle. Ironically, that “golden article” did not make it in the “golden book”. It’s quite delightful to know that it will be published in the 2nd volume to be released at a later date. No qualms. The books will be released in series as divinely purposed to his relief and that of beneficiary of his “golden pen”.

As I wish Wey happy 50th birthday celebration, I also want to encourage someone out there. Do you have an idea or thoughts welled up within you? Don't bottle it up. Unleash it! Release it so you can be relieved. Be more concerned about not dying with your dreams being buried in the grave unfulfilled. The world is waiting for your manifestation. Rise up and shine! Your well of wisdom and blessings shall not run dry. Have a pleasant day!