You cannot Save a Man for Himself As the remaining days of this year roll by, wouldn't you rather indulge me to bring to the fore this salient issue? I've taken cognizance that a good chunk of people listen to/have listened to umpteen number of motivational talks/speakers but never seem to get something going. In their last resort, calling motivation speakers liars/thieves and all sorts of names you could think of is a face-saving option. Why? The reason you listen to pep talks over and over again without being charged to drive home your wants/desires is that you relinquish your job duty. You're likely to be impeached for the negligence of duty. No amount of motivational talks can motivate/influence you. Never! Influencing others is more difficult than brain surgery. It doesn't matter how powerful/spell-bounding the written/spoken word is, it remains impotent until you act upon it. Motivational talks are actually to help you self motivate. The Motivation Myth...

What is Understanding? Understanding simply means going under to know what makes something to stand. What actually made #AnthonyJoshua stood/won the rematch? It was because he understood something. He understood that success is not final, and failure is not fatal. On his defeat to Ruiz in June, he humbly acknowledged he lost due to shortfalls he himself admitted to and has since then been preparing for a resurgence. His defeat exposed his lacuna, and he consistently practiced to remedy it that he was so sure he would have his revenge. A duel won as promised is not a fluke: it is a product of determination, hard work & expectation. Then why are you contemplating giving up on your first defeat? You need to understand that failure is not a death sentence. Someone said if you're not failing that shows you're not even trying. In life, you will fail at something. And understand that you are not a failure when you fail to meet an expectation, you have only discovered...

I have to tell you about my experience yesterday at an event I was asked to speak at. My topic was on Understanding Your Career Trajectory, Beyond Your Degree My talk was about 30 minutes and I took about 15 minutes of questions. Because I had another appointment, I had to leave quickly.  When I was leaving, a young man followed me. He had a career dilemma he needed me to help him solve. You know I have mentioned how much I love solving problems, so as it were, he immediately had my full attention. By now, he was escorting me out of the building, a few steps later, we were waiting for the elevator. I was eager to start our coaching conversation, so I prompted him to go ahead, I asked, 'so what do you do?' He introduced himself, he said he ran his own business, that he was into technology, software development to be precise. Then he added, 'I am 24 years old.' I immediately wanted to steal his youth. Remembering myself at 24, I was full of admiration. ...

Have you ever sojourned to a wonderland? This thing called "skills" will take you there. It is a bundle of amazement. It is everyone's number one asset. When you are bereft of it, you have no asset. It is the 21st Century most sought-after tangible and intangible assets. Little wonder, firms/organizations/companies jostle for it. Skill is not just knowledge because knowledge is just certification. Skill is a demonstrated mastery. It is the praticalisation of theory. That is what makes your "impossibles" someone's "possibles". It is the distinction between novice and expert. Having it or in the dearth of it dictates successes and failures respectively. It makes a million out of a paltry. It turns the once rejected stone into a cornerstone. Just like a talent, it paves the way for the owner. Skills bring relevance. It is a principal thing, in all thy doings get skilled. What are you sk...

You own a genius. You were born believing you could be anything, do anything, and have anything. In fact, every child is born with a genetically implanted believe they are a genius. However, we doubt our ingenuity because we feel we are not good at everything. A genius should know everything, isn't it? This way of reasoning is nothing short of naivety; same way as Bill Gates, who said "I was so naive about different skill sets. I thought if somebody had a high IQ, they could be good at everything". Intelligence takes many different forms. It is not unidimensional. Your ingenuity has a niche, discover it. Some people are communication guru, some display genius in auto repair, some people ingenuity are in writing, oration, comedy, football, arts & craft, etc. “You are or become those things which you repeatedly do" Einstein. Discover your genius.

Sometimes, life would dribble you anyhow. Make everything elusive, futile your efforts and crush your pursuit. To compound it, your travail moment will coincide with when your friends are making waves, leaving you with thoughts that you're useless. A scenario like when HIV suppresses one's immunity. Your hope will be dashed, it will sometimes go beyond dented. You will have free subscriptions to evil thoughts. And gradually, what you hitherto negate will arouse your appetite. Hoping for a solution, all that will materialize in your mind is to reach out to quick fixes. Quick fixes are answers. Quick fixes are instant solutions. Quick fixes are short term benefits or advantages but whatever resolves your situation but does not give character to your purpose or goal, has no virtue in it. Life is an album, you're only seeing a picture. There is no more to life than your present predicament. It is either you remain patient and allow other pages of the album to flip or wre...

It is not enough that someone is a doctor… We tell them to hustle. So they collaborate with merchants and sell your son’s kidney when he comes for a check-up. It is not enough that someone is a teacher… We shame them for earning a certain amount. So they intentionally deny your children a good education in the classroom, so that YOU can pay for private lessons and they (teachers) can make more money. It is not enough that he is your employee… You indirectly scoff at the idea of working-for-others, so these people steal from you… Because you are an asshole. It is not enough that you are a football coach… The culture of “hustle oo” in third-world countries will get to you and you ignore the ethics of your industry and ask for a bribe. It is not enough that you are a politician… Nigerians will mock you for driving a Peugeot, so you will do as others do: steal a billion naira and buy a yacht. It is not enough to be YOU in third-world societies… ...

"Entrepreneurship is the only way out of poverty" "You can't be rich and comfortable working for someone else" "Entrepreneurs rule the world" It is imperative for you to understand that as a Christian professional, you can't afford to be led by popular slogans, the wisdom or empty philosophies of men! Recently, I was taking a Bible study and a verse in Scripture struck me. "The Lord was with Joseph, and he was a successful man; and he was in the house of his master the Egyptian" Gen.39:2 How do you attach "successful" as a term to someone who is not just in the employ of another man but a slave?! Isn't that divergent to the messages being touted by the 'apostles' of entrepreneurship? It is this entrepreneurship bug that has bitten professionals that would have had great, successful and impactful careers as employees of organizations but have resigned because they want to have founders, ...

Sometimes the people we need to succeed are within our immediate reach, but we can't just find them by an oversight. We often believe if we had known a politician, recruiter or CEO, we could've landed a job by now, but it's that connection to them we lack. The truth is we cannot all get the connection these people. Is like getting the richest 1% of all people connected to the rest 99%. You and I know that is mission impossible. Come to think of it, how about the people you're already connected to, mostly your friends who are already working. I've you ever told them to keep you abreast when there is a job opening where they work or refer you to someone who needs hires?. Oh! You probably didn't know, or it's because you were more brilliant than them in school, thus you think asking for their help is stooping low. That where you're wrong. Research has it that 38% of people get jobs through their friends and relatives, much more than the 26% of thos...

Don’t speak English like an Ibadan man.  Speak with the kind of phonetics that even your mother will wonder where you were born. There are an estimated 190 million Nigerians.  The overwhelming proportion of these will live and die unknown and unsung.  Airports will not be named after them.  Neither will universities be established in their honour.  A hundred years from now, people will not even remember they ever existed, except that they might have some children and grandchildren hanging around. Surely, you don’t want that to happen to you.  You want to be known.  You want to be rich.  You want to be a man or woman of timber and caliber.  There are peculiarly Nigerian ways to achieve this.  The formulas have been firmly established by our good-for-nothing politicians and businessmen.  But don’t worry; they don’t own the copyright to them, so you are free to follow their vainglorious footsteps. If you would like to be a...

"What makes life valuable is that it doesn't last forever; what makes it precious is that it ends, [and if I may add the last, what makes it priceless is that it is mortal]". This statement aptly underscores that you'll appreciate life if you understand it. Life is fashioned within time to journey towards an end, an end with a goal in perspective. Life is time-dependent, and time, as they say, is luck, hence, don't waste it living someone else's life. Life is a roller coaster, it dwells in the belly of time, swaying forth and back, and getting one in close proximity to one's destination. Life is too short, only to those who know the usefulness of time. It is relatively long to those who think they can waste time, not knowing they're the one been wasted away. Time is not enough to profligate; learn to judiciously use it. Manage your time to craft life, don't let life craft you. Despite the vicissitudes, life is worth living, even if it...

I have done a lot of wrongdoings to myself and I have been mad at myself for too long😫. I ridiculed myself by belittling my drive to succeed, I compared my dignity to lust, I looked down at my smartness because the world told me I don't deserve the best😭, I even slammed the door at my will for excellence, I condemned my beauty and neglected my will to standout, I gave up on myself at the slightest challenge I failed to defeat, I shut my heart to love because people neglected my pure feelings of love😩. I made choices that made me dwell in regrets😭. I have been ashamed of who I am and what I have become, I have lost my smile, where do I start from😭? How can I forgive myself🙈? When will I ever forgive myself?😢 The most important phase of self-growth is forgiveness. Forgiveness is the key to recognizing how precious you are. Forgiveness is love. Why are you still dwelling in the shade of past regrets? Why are you still bitter about the wrong choices you made? When ar...

Obstacles are put in our way to see if what we want is worth fighting for. Obstacles are the tests of your goal and focus. The obstacle doesn't build you, it reveals you and your interest. However, many people fail because they focus on their obstacles. We fail not because of loss of purpose but because of the loss value of our goal. We fail when our goal is not the primary focus of our devotion. In the word of Henry Ford, "Obstacles are what you see when you take your eyes off the goal". When our focus is full of obstacles, our mouth is full of excuses. Excuses are disoriented confessions. The confession that doesn't align with the originality of goals. Spending your today complaining about yesterday won't make tomorrow better. Ever wondered why some people can spend 7-9 years pursuing admission after Medicine, it is because they don't see their growing age, classmates, repeating Jamb as an obstacle, what they see, rather, is the end in perspective. T...

There is an Alternative. Cynthia was heartbroken as she had been sure it was God that led Mike to her. He had proposed after she sought the Lord's face in fasting and prayer for a life partner. That was until a few months back when Mike called her and broke off their engagement! Have you ever lost something you were absolutely sure God wanted you to have? A job? A business deal? A ministry opportunity? Elijah was told by God to go and hide by Brook Cherith to escape the famine in the land. (Ref: 1Kg.17). "And it shall be that you shall drink from the brook, and I have commanded the ravens to feed you there"vs4 It was God that led Elijah to the brook to escape the famine. You would have thought the brook would be there for as long as Elijah wanted or needed it. But the brook dried up(vs7)! Can God lead anyone into anything that works for a while and afterward refuses to? Absolutely! Why? He has provided an alternative! God will not have you stuck with 'the goo...

Job seekers do not be troubled. Because you didn't get that offer doesn't make you less. Always remember, not everyone will see your value. Irrespective of this, don't give up. I was once like this in 2016-2017. I was troubled. I wasn't getting any job offer. The ones I got, I didn't make it through. I became scared of the future. What awaits me? vs What becomes of me? Fear of the future ate deep into my heart. What if you take it one step at a time? Perhaps you could live each day as it comes. No one is too wise to be certain of what will happen in the next few minutes. We can only make predictions/assumptions. But one thing is certain, we can live in the moment. That could be all you've got. Instead of beating yourself down by what hasn't happened, Why not defeat the moment? Then go further from there. I have come to a point where I want to live by the moment. Rather than getting soaked in the fear of what may. Because fear is fal...

One cold night, a billionaire met an old poor man outside. He asked him "Don't you feel cold being outside, and not wearing any coat?" The old man replied, "I don't have it but I got used to that." The billionaire replied, "wait for me, I will enter my house now and bring you one." The poor man got so happy and said he will wait for him. The billionaire entered his house and got busy there and forgot the poor man. In the morning he remembered that poor old man and he went out to search for him but he found him dead because of cold with a NOTE: "When I didn't have any warm clothes, I had the power to fight the cold because I was used to that. But when you promised to help me, I got attached to your promise and that took my power of resisting". MORAL: "Don't promise anything if you can't keep your promise. It might not mean anything to you, But it could mean everything to someone else" Anonymous. PS: ...

Just so you know: Nagging your friend "Have you got a job" is kinda awkward; awkward like asking someone "Don't you have kids" "Aren't you married yet". Yes, it can be disheartening & depressing! For them telling you "No" every time you throw up such question at them can predispose them to think they are failures, and unknowingly lead them into despair. You can never wish a difficult moment away with your nagging, it takes proactive sets to draw up a solution. If it's truly your intention to show you care via that, then I say the approach is a misplaced priority you must set right. It is sheer ignorance adding insult to their injury in the name of showing care. I consider it helping your friend with job adverts, career advice, networks, referrals or CV review far more reasonable than your incessant misnomer question. What does doing that mean to them? It tells them as much job position you prescribe to them, the more they beli...

It is true. You should thank those who say 'No' to you, for they only teach you how to do it yourself. Being conditioned to think you always have someone to help you out does more harm than good. It doesn't only weaken your cerebral capacity to think, diminish your creativity but it also ensures the inferiority complex. I reached out a reckoned force on Twitter for an answer to a question that has bothered me. Waited for days but got no reply from him to the reason best known to him. I know the hard feeling and worrying about it won't provide me the needed answers, thus I quickly form a partnership with the search engine. Our partnership was wow. Got more than what I expected/wanted. I was thought struck and said to myself, even if the Twitter guy had answered my question, he could not have given a more detailed answer than what my online pal did. But you will wonder, why I didn't use the search engine in the first place; this leads to another harm of dep...

I knew already he would win the role; I stand no chance against him. He came into the reception looking like Dangote’s firstborn. A shiny suit, well ironed and his tie properly placed. He has a very strong aura and presence with a deep charisma. The aroma from his deodorant would get you sniffing loud. He entered the reception and engaged me in a discussion immediately. From his voice, I could sense he had spent some reasonable years in “The Abroad”. He introduced himself and we started talking, damn! the guy is really good, I said within myself. He was called into the interview room first even though I got there before him (maybe because I wasn’t wearing a shiny suit). It took longer than expected and I thought maybe they were signing his offer letter already. Should I kuku be going to my house jejely? I sat down patiently waiting for his interview to end, believe me it took forever. But at last, he stepped out looking very calm. He asked if it’s okay to wait so we could roll o...

They may have stolen our Common Wealth, they cannot steal our Common Sense. In a sane democratic setting, the government should fear the people (electorates), but the otherwise is obtainable in Nigeria. If you must canvass for people's votes, you must show them why you should earn it. No excuse whatsoever is justifiable by anyone to circumvent being present to sell its manifestoes in a debate. Debate helps to calibrate the amount of information, technical know-how, and solutions a candidate has to the socio-economic hardship that stares people in the face. Evading or missing out in a debate not only shows intellectually and political will dryness of the candidate and by extension his moribund supporters, but it also connotes a deliberate disdainful, despicable, contemptuous, and derogatory attitude to the people you want to govern. If a candidate cannot oblige and honor the call of the populace for a debate, what's the probability that the candidate will listen to the yearn...

10 years Challenge: Core Lessons (1) Your past/struggle/shortcomings/failure becomes inconsequential when you're successful/hit limelight. How easy do you think it was for Einstein to boldly disclose he failed 1000 times before the invention of electricity. It was very easy; his failed attempts even made his success story more intriguing. Ever have I seen people who delight in showing their humble beginnings; how they hawked, worked, hustled, and toiled their way to breakthrough. Those pictures tell it all. People will only remember your home runs when you become a success. You may not be proud or people may disdain you for your hustle now, don't be deterred, a time comes when it all becomes a time of the past that even you will revel sharing them without being asked. (2) We don't inspire anyone by being perfect. We inspire by how we deal with our imperfections. The greatest inspection drawn from this challenge emanates from people with the most humiliating, wretched, a...

PDP and APC are not invincible, but have only succeeded making other parties invisible. I have always been left inundated whenever I hear people resolve PDP and the candidature of Atiku is not the solution, leaving them with no option than to stick with the candidature of APC, Buhari. No option? For crying out loud, there are over 20 young, astute, vibrant, if not intelligent standard bearers of other political parties, needless to say over 30, vying for the coveted presidency seat. It is out of ignorance to think you lose your vote if you don't commit it to one of the two major parties. You have nothing to lose doing the right thing. Do not join multitude to do evil. That everyone is taking about APC or PDP is not a yardstick for you to give them your mandate.  The culmination of bipolitical party is more defections, for the political gladiators know too well that to continually parade themselves on the corridor of power, just a deceptive defection to a promising election-winn...