No Excuse For Not Living

If you are a square peg, find a square hole and if you are a round peg, fix yourself in a round hole. The problem with our world today is that we have too many square pegs in round holes and too many round pegs in square holes. Find your True Essence and start living. No Excuse!

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God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

Gauge Your Tyres Correctly

If you are a vehicle owner and you are a sensitive driver, you will notice a wobbling movement in your vehicle anytime any of your tyres is not properly gauged. As a matter of fact, each vehicle type comes with gauge specifications, usually written by the driver’s door or on the seat belt. Check yours to be sure you have the right gauge on your tyres. More often than not, we just assume 40psi is the right gauge for all vehicles. This is incorrect, some are much lower than that. Just check yours and use the right gauge.

So, what is it about gauging tyre correctly today? It concerns you even if you don’t have a vehicle, at least you always board one. More importantly, we all have a particular ‘vehicle’ we drive individually. This vehicle is called ‘Vehicle of Destiny’. It is the most important vehicle in life. Just like a physical vehicle, it has its own tyres and its own gauge too. Your journey towards success can only be completed in time when your vehicle of destiny is in top shape. The healthier your vehicle of destiny, the easier your journey to the top.

What are the tyres of your vehicle of destiny?

One, your health. Don’t play with your health. No matter how endowed you are, a sick body will drag you back in life. Pay attention to your health. Eat well and eat right. Exercise your body. Avoid dangerous lifestyles like smoking and alcoholic consumption. Pray if you can, but watch your vital signs too. There is a place of prayer and there is a place of doctors. Don’t mix up their roles.

Two, your relationships. No man is self made. A made-man is a product of the direct and indirect efforts of some other people. So don’t mess with your relationships. Build and maintain bridges, don’t burn them. The relationship you build in your workplace, place of worship, social circles and so on will help or affect your vehicle of destiny. Strive to maintain healthy relationships. You need to get closer to some people while you need to cut off ties from some. Not everybody in your life is good for your vehicle of destiny. On another day,  we will address the type of people in your life.

Three, your gifts and talents. There is no enabler as powerful or as potent as one’s gift or talent. It opens doors. ‘A man’s gift maketh room for him, and bringeth him before great men.’ Proverbs 18:16. You must give attention to your gift(s). Hone your gift and deploy it correctly. Note however, that gifts open doors, but attitude, integrity and other things will keep that door opened. There is a difference between an open door and opened door. It takes more than gifts for a door to remain opened. That extra that is required is part of the engine of the vehicle of your destiny. That is a topic for another day.

Fourth tyre is your knowledge. What you know is what determines who you know and who knows you. The more valuable your knowledge is, the more people of value you will attract into your life. Knowledge is key. Knowledge is power. Knowledge is dynamic and requires constant updates. Don’t rely on yesterday’s knowledge to solve today’s challenges, it may be outdated.

Proper gauging of these four tyres of the vehicle of your destiny is extremely important. Just as you place your life at risk when your vehicle tyres are not properly gauged, so you place your destiny at risk when you don’t give proper attention to these components. Gauge your tyres correctly!

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

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adewumioni.com

Enjoy the Moment

One of the tragedies of life is to lay down on one’s deathbed and discover that one has not enjoyed life. It could be a very painful and regretful moment. Life means ‘Live in full existence’. Fully exist! Life is designed to be enjoyed. The little moments in life are meant to be savored and enjoyed. John Scalzi said ‘ Do what you need to do and enjoy life as it happens.’ There is no better moment to enjoy life than now. The major reason why we end up missing the fun in life is because we are always worried about the past, present and future. So we end up not living in any moment at all!

God never designed life to be full of stress and worry. He designed life to be fully enjoyed. In the story of creation, we learnt that God paused at the end of each day’s work to appreciate what had been accomplished. It was a daily practice with God! So why make yours monthly or yearly!

There are many dimensions to enjoying our moments. First, we are often too busy pursuing our lofty goals, to observe the little moments of successes and achievements in between. We must set little milestones to enjoy what has been achieved. Don’t be carried away with the goal, appreciate the small moments in between. Enjoying life makes you feel better, happier and ultimately healthier. The healthier you are, the longer you will live and the greater your accomplishments.

Two, we always allow our challenges to becloud and blind us from appreciating the beauty in each moment. If you walk into a garden after a major victory or success, you will appreciate the flowers more, you will enjoy the fragrance they exude more. The chirping of the birds will be like a sweet music to your ears. However, if you walk into the same garden after a defeat or setback, you are more than likely to see the chirping birds as nuisance, the flowers won’t be as colorful to you. It is still the same garden! The only difference is in living in the moment. Life is also a garden, if you allow your challenges to becloud your reasoning, you will miss out on so much fun.

Three, when we are facing a health challenge, we close the door on the beauty of the moment. We concentrate all our thoughts on the ailments, fueling our fears and further worsening the situation. Hear what Nelson Mandela said, “Even if you have a terminal disease, you don’t have to sit down and mope. Enjoy life and challenge the illness that you have.” Seize every moment to enjoy life.

Four, we all suffer from the ‘I will wait till it gets better’ Syndrome. We want to have more money, be better positioned, be stronger, have more influence before we enjoy life. The danger in that is that you will start living pretty late, when your life is almost over. Enjoy your moments now. Don’t wait till it gets better. Celebrate now. Nature actually has a way of responding to positive or negative stimuli. If you celebrate now, nature will create another moment of celebration. So choose which stimulus to send to nature.

Five, many of us are working for a living, which in itself is an antithesis to enjoying the moments. You are designed to enjoy your work and live for your work. We are not designed to work for a living. We are designed to live for our work. One way to guarantee enjoying your moments is to create work out of what you enjoy doing most. Truly, that is when you really start living.

They say life begins at forty, I think not. I think life begins when you begin to enjoy your moments. Stay healthy by enjoying your moments.

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

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adewumioni.com

Thoughts on Marriage

This is my opinion on marriage, “Marriage is like a shoe. When you wear oversize be ready to drag it along through out life, and
when you marry under-size be ready to feel the pains through out life.” One thing about marriage is that you don’t drop
your shoe or remove it at any point no matter how painful or how stressful it is –
That is why I thought it necessary to write you this letter.

Dear Singles,

When you are ready to buy your own shoe please take note of these three things:

1. Physical appearance: Do not look for the beautiful once, the nice once or the cheap once. Look for the one that is your size. Not every handsome, wealthy or intelligent guy is for you, not every beautiful woman is for you. Look for the one that is meant for you, the one
that aligns with your values and belief, the one who you meet at your life’s journey.
***
It is important to know where you’re going in life before you think of getting a wife.
***

2. Position: All sizes of shoes are not placed in the same place. There is a place for court shoes, laced up shoes, sport footwear, snickers etc. We have Children sizes, young people’s sizes and the
adult sizes. Know where to get your own shoe. Your size cannot be everywhere my brother, your type cannot be everywhere my sister. You cannot be a Christian, and be looking for a wife material at a club. Your wife or husband can’t just be everywhere.

***
Stick to your values and therein you shall find someone like you, but when your values are not defined anyone can just match you.
***
Discover yourself and define your values

3. Perception: In this kind of shoe purchasing enterprise, you are not permitted to try the shoe
before you buy. This is why it is important to seek guidance and counseling, from people who have bought shoes
before or are into the business of directing
people to the right shoes (Pastors and
Relationship coaches).

***
And most importantly to avoid much time
wasting time, simply consult the shoe
manufacturer to tell you your size (God
Almighty).
***

“You do not prepare for wedding, you prepare for marriage.”
Ladies these days get so motivated when they attend wedding and they will quickly want to say yes to that guy.
Wait!!! It is not just the wedding Ooh, wedding is just one day. After the wedding. WHAT NEXT?

Finally, it is not something you rush to the
market and just pick a shoes because you like or can purchase it.

Ask questions
-Where is this shoe made from? (Background)
-What’s the size (Values)
-How much (His/Her interest)
-How long will it last (His/Her Character)
-Who made it? (Is she/He of the same faith This is compatibility)
-Will it match me? (This is whether he/she love you and will accept you the way you are)

***
Dear one. Remember, many are dragging their foot and they would hardly reach their destinies, many are feeling endless pains and wish they could pull off the shoes but no way!!!

I have seen people with beautiful shoes and when they show you their foot, you will see scars.

Beloved, it is not about the physical, it is the size, you can’t know the size from afar so come close, build a relationship first but remember ‘you are not permitted to try it before you buy it’.

And for those who have purchased the wrong shoes, you can still make it your size again if you’d consult the manufacturer and let Him have
His way in your marriage.

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

(This was copied and adapted)

Focus vs Multi Tasking

Today’s world is increasingly dynamic and with growing complexities. What used to be a solution yesterday no longer suffices for the same problem today, because the problem has grown more complex. In years past, we were contented with a 40gb hard drive computer, today, our computers come with dual hard drives and with space as much as 200gb. It is indeed a weird world out there today.

This increased complexity has lured us into trying to cope with all the challenges at the same time. We want to do several things at the same time because we want to step up our game. We call it multi tasking. We are on the phone, while typing a memo, and trying to take our coffee at the same time! Interviewers even ask you how well you do at multi-tasking and you are quick to answer ‘very well.’ Even as multi tasking seems to be having a upper hand, it is coming at a huge cost! Productivity is dipping and error rate is on the rise!

Steven Guise says, “A recent French study found that when humans were given two tasks simultaneously, one task was handled by the right frontal lobe and the other by the left!  Amazing, right?  But once that number was increased to three tasks, one of the initial tasks “disappeared from the brain.”  Even worse, with three tasks, the participants slowed down and made many more mistakes.  Tackling three tasks at once is like running Windows Vista with 256 MB of RAM, except that we can’t add more frontal lobes.” So, the cost of multitasking is drop in productivity.

The very reason why we are multitasking is to increase productivity and stay up with increased pace of activity, but in the process, we actually lose focus and can’t keep track of the multifarious activities we take on at the same time. If you are to multitask at all, keep it at maximum of two tasks. Your right frontal lobe will handle one and the left frontal lobe will handle the other. Anything more than two tasks at a time is disaster!

If you ask me, focus is still the best. You achieve a lot more and in less time with focus (or single tasking). Your efficiency is higher with focus than with multitasking. Error rate is lower with focus. Quality is better with focus. So, if you must choose between focus and multitasking, go for focus. For some interviewers, the moment you tell them you can multi-task, you have lost the job. Companies with passion for high precision and high quality products or services want more of focused staff rather than ‘multi-taskers’. You can time yourself trying to do two or three things at the same time, and check the time against when you do the tasks individually. The difference both in time and quality is always clear.

So, it is time to get back to focus and adopt multitasking only when the tasks are not more than two. Even when you must adopt multitasking, the similarity or relatedness of the tasks matter. The closely related they are the better, which again buttresses the fact that focus is simple and better!

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

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adewumioni.com

Do Not Despair

Life is in seasons. Your season will come. There is daytime and nighttime in every life. Your day is breaking now. Weeping may endure for a night but joy cometh in the morning. Psalm 30:5. Your joy cometh and it is nigh. No condition is permanent. Don’t give up on yourself. Even when men says it is over, it is just the beginning for God. No man has the final say on your life, only God’s word is the finality on that matter. You will not be put to shame. You will not die in that condition. His everlasting arms are under and over your life, so you cannot fall. Deuteronomy 33:27. He can’t fail you because His promises are Yea and AMEN. 2 Cor. 1:18

Regardless of the state of the economy, God’s economy does not witness austerity. As a child of God, our economy is tied to heaven’s economy. No matter the price of fuel or tomatoes, you will not suffer in Jesus name. Even when there is turbulence and shake up in your place of work, it will turn out for your good. When men are cast down, you will testify that there is lifting up. Job 22:29. Stay on God and you will not be put to shame. Psalm 34:5.

As our nation goes through its seed season (we must understand the season, we are in), it is important that you also sow your own seed. More than ever before, this is the time to build. This is the time to start that business. This is the time to start that program. Adversity brings opportunities. This is the time to sit down and identify the opportunities in the ‘economic downturn’. Don’t wait till things get better. Go for it now. Don’t be part of the complainants, be part of the solution providers. If you faint in the days of adversity, your strength is little. Proverbs 24:10. Generals are made from battles not during peacetime.

This is your season! This is your divine moment! Seize it!

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

Copyright

adewumioni.com

Marks of a True Leader

There is no gainsaying that one of the challenges of our time is the dearth of true leaders. Our youths are going astray in the absence of true role models. Our national economy has been pillaged and plundered to the extent that, we have become a laughing stock to the international community. We are now labeled a ‘fantastically corrupt’ country, and rightly so.

We are where we are today because we have failed as a nation to produce true leaders. We have entrusted our nation into the hands of ‘dealers’ in the guise of ‘leaders’. It is therefore obvious that what our nation needs more than ever now, are true leaders at the different levels of government, who will lead us out of this Egypt. Until our society becomes a fertile ground for breeding true leaders, we will continue to produce dealers.

Who is a true leader?
“The purpose and intent [of a true leader] shall be to elevate mankind’s faith, and to fill the world with justice” — Maimonides, Laws of Kings, 4:10.

A true leader is someone who provides guidance and direction to the people, through efficient and unbiased allocation of the resources of the people, and in a way and manner that conforms with the norms and values of such people, to the extent that he succeeds in raising other leaders from among the people. True leadership is in raising true leaders!

What are the marks of a true leader?
1. True leaders see: The most important mark of true leadership is ability to see far ahead into the future. That is why they are called visionaries. Most of our leaders can’t see beyond their noses. A leader sees into the future and knows where current steps will lead them. He is able to draw up a picture of the desired future based on what he has seen.

2.True leaders lead: Leaders take the lead, while others follow. They provide direction and communicate that direction clearly. Based on the vision they have, they lead the followers towards the vision. The word ‘lead’ suggests that there must be followers. True leaders are able to convince their followers such that the followers are comfortable to follow them. Many of our leaders today have no followers, either because they have not communicated the direction clearly or because they lack the moral authority to lead.

3. True leaders have integrity: True leaders keep to their words and promises. They don’t promise what they can’t do. President Barack Obama is being touted to be the best President the United States has ever had because he has kept to virtually all his electoral promises. Our leaders in Africa are full of promises and bereft of performance. Integrity breeds trust and trust commands followership. If you don’t have integrity as a leader, you can’t earn the trust of your followers, and without their trust, you are as good as a one man squad!

4. True leaders build others: You can only succeed to the extent that your followers are able to carry out your instructions. Their ability to perform their duties is a function of their capacity. As a leader, you must invest in building the capacity of your followers. Provide mentorship. Coach them. Train them. Sponsor them for training. Equip them to perform.

5. True leaders delegate: You can’t do it all. Build your team and then delegate appropriately. This gives your followers opportunity to learn and grow. As they succeed in their assignments, they become more confident and better at what they do. “A true leader wants nothing more than to make people stand on their own, as leaders in their own right. Instead of trying to blind us with his or her brilliance, a true leader reflects our own light back to us, so that we may see ourselves anew.” – Rabbi Simon Jacobson, Towards a Meaningful Life.

6. True leaders are accountable : True leaders have high sense of accountability. They are responsible in time management, resources management, and in their personal lives. Being accountable means ability to provide explanation on how resources have been utilized. Leaders don’t hide information from the followers. They act with utmost respect for the confidence reposed on them.

7. True leaders are selfless: They act in the best interest of the people rather than protecting their personal interest. In policy making and implementation, true leaders place the people’s interest above his interest. They are altruistic, patriotic and completely selfless. They sacrifice their personal comfort for national comfort.

8. True leaders are life learners: Leaders never stop learning. They are life readers. They don’t know it all too, but have the wisdom to learn from those who know it. They surround themselves with people who are informed. The moment you stop learning, you start dying.

9. True leaders exercise authority: True leaders are not afraid to exercise their vested power and authority when necessary. When there is a need to punish, they do so with sense of responsibility. When there is a need to take hard decisions, they don’t vacillate and push the responsibility.

10.  True leaders are God fearing: If you have no regard for God, you cannot be a true leader. Your understanding of the fact that you are positioned by God for such a time and for such people, will help you to exercise your leadership with fairness and justice.

In conclusion, our world is groaning for true leaders to emerge, and you can be one. Leaders are not born, they are made. You can be a true leader, if you are willing to pay the price. Even if you have been leading wrongly, you can still change. Note that, no matter the level at which you lead, this applies to you.

Will you be a true leader?

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

What Perfume Are You Wearing?

The other day, I walked into a store and saw some colognes as expensive as 40k and I was like, what? I later learnt that some are as expensive as $1000 per ounce! Wow! In my country’s currency, that is over 300k! It may be too expensive for you and it might not be, it depends on the value you place on wearing nice fragrance. Whichever, almost everyone wants to wear perfume, some even use combination of perfumes, all because we want to smell nice and be noticed.

But I tell you that there is a more effective way to smell nice and be noticed. Just as some people walk past you and they leave a whiff of their perfume behind, some people are highly distinguishable, either positively or negatively. How do they do it? It is all in their presence. Your presence can command, demand or repel attention. More important than wearing perfume, you must work on your presence. I am not talking about unnecessary showiness or flamboyance, I am talking about having a commanding Presence. In ordinary life, business, politics and spiritual matters, you need a commanding Presence.

How do you acquire a commanding Presence? You need to first understand the components of Presence. If you are able to master these components, you will necessarily carry a commanding Presence. These are:
Attitude
Apparel
Carriage
Vocal Power

Attitude: this is about your feeling, disposition, manner, outlook, view point on something. It refers to the way you handle matters or react to issues. You must always have the right attitude or positive attitude. Usually, your attitude will reflect in your countenance or demeanor. Some people always wear a frowning face. That is a strong repellant. Try smile. Nothing warms the heart like a smile. Always wear a cheerful disposition, even if the world is crashing on you, don’t carry it on your face. There is always a positive side to every negative situation, concentrate more on that positive aspect. Maintaining a positive attitude boosts health and helps to think better. You can boost your attitude through meditation on the Word of God, reading motivational materials and reading biographies and autobiographies of great people. A positive attitude commands respect.

Apparel: this is your physical outlook, your choice of dress and accessories. If you dress like a junkie you will be treated like a junkie. If you dress like a King, you will be accorded the respect due to Kings. It is not about wearing expensive, it is about right combination of nice and neat dresses. Avoid stains on your dress. Avoid heavy jewelry or makeup that makes you look like a masquerade! Elegance is simplicity. Go for simplicity! Check fashion sites for right color combinations. Don’t carry the rainbow with you, unless of course, you are a comedian. By all means, avoid imitation. Rather wear generic dress.

Carriage: This is about how you carry your head and body. It is about how you walk. It is about graceful step. This is extremely important. Walk smart. Maintain a straight posture. Walk with a straight gait. For ladies, move with grace and ease. If you are heavily bedecked, this will be difficult. Carry yourself with grace. Don’t badge into people when walking. Don’t make noise with your feet when walking. Avoid gum chewing in the public. It is very irritating. Avoid footwears that announce your presence, such footwears immediately reduces value perception about you.

Vocal Power: this is about your pitch of voice, accent and command of language. Find the right pitch for the environment. Don’t speak with a high pitch when a lecture is going on, except you are the speaker or you are asking a question. Low pitch in a dinner party will only make your partner(s) get bored. There is always a right pitch per occasion. When addressing people, you must raise your pitch. If you are strongly accented, you may want to deal with that. Avoid using heavy accents. Have a good command of English. It is the universal language. Read quotes, adages, proverbs, fictions and myths. They all help to improve your vocabularies and communication. Avoid too much gesticulation while talking, and by every means, avoid touching people while talking.

If you are able to master these components, you won’t find it difficult commanding attention in any occasion. You also may not need that heavy investment in perfumes any longer (smiles). Your best perfume is a positive attitude, start wearing it from today.

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

The Power of Focus

Have you tried placing a piece of paper under a lens in the sun. As you focus the lens on a spot on the paper, after a few seconds the paper will be scorched and start burning. This is called the Power of Focus. When you focus all your energy and resources on your goal or plan, even seemingly and ostensibly insurmountable obstacles in your path will give way. Ifeanyi Enoch Onuoha said “Focus = Follow On Course Until Successful.” Simply put Focus means sticking to your plan regardless of the challenges or criticisms you face.

Nobody will believe your dream, goal or plan more than you do. The responsibility of making your dream become a reality is solely yours. Yes, you will need some supports along the way, but the primary duty of seeing that plan through is yours alone. So stick to your plan. Stop jumping from plan to plan. It makes a mess of people’s lives. Follow through on your plan. Be a finisher. Discipline yourself to always finish your task or plan. Block out every distraction and commit yourself to seeing your plans through. This is one of the greatest weapons of successful people, ability to discern distractions from the real objectives. “When you connect to the silence within you, that is when you can make sense of the disturbance going on around you.” – Stephen Richards.

Don’t set out to achieve too many things at the same time. Nothing breaks focus than too many goals. You will be fast spent and dissipated in no time. Jobs insisted that Apple focus on just two or three priorities at a time. “There is no one better at turning off the noise that is going on around him,” Cook said. “That allows him to focus on a few things and say no to many things. Few people are really good at that.” – Walter Isaacson. Hear what Steve Jobs said,  “Focusing is simply saying No.” Simplify your life and have one or two things you are focusing on per time. Just like a piece of paper will start burning under the intense heat of a focused lens, so will you find achieving your goals easy, when you apply the power of Focus.

So draw up a few goals per time, stick to the plans and apply the power of Focus. You will surely get there.

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

Copyright

adewumioni.com

Honor in Failing

If you have not failed in life, either of two things is responsible. One, you have not tried to achieve anything great, or two, you are dead! Failure walks along with success. It is the flip side of success we must experience before we can taste success. You need the taste of failure to enjoy and appreciate the thrill of success. Every success story is a product of many failures. Beware of a success story without experience of failure, it is likely to be fraud or magic. “When we give ourselves permission to fail, we, at the same time, give ourselves permission to excel.” – Eloise Ristad.

If you really want to amount to anything in life, you must bury your fear. One of the reasons people remain irrelevant is the fear of failure. Once you accept failure as part of the process of creating ‘success’, it becomes easier to deal with your fear. It is natural to be afraid, but you must move forward in spite of your fears. “Face your fears and you will be able to conquer them.” –  Bohdi Sanders. When the children of Israel were faced with the Red Sea, God didn’t ask them to stay or find another way round. He asked them to face their fear and move forward. They moved and walked through the Red Sea after Moses stretched his rod. Stretch your rod of faith and your fear will give way.

It is extremely dangerous to stay safe! It is the easiest path to ignominy. Don’t stay or play safe! Take that risk. There is honour in failure. When you failed in an event, it doesn’t make you a failure as a person. You have only learnt of a way not to do it. “I have not failed. I’ve just found 10,000 ways that won’t work.”  – Thomas A. Edison. Have you reached that point where you are prepared to fail, even if failure happens? If you have, you have truly conquered your fears. If you have not, then you are still a slave to your fears. Fear has torment. The only way out of its torment is to face it. Failure can’t kill you, it will only make you a better person. Your greatest illusion is your fear. Most of the things we fear never happen, even if they do, you will only become a wiser person.

Conquer your fear today. Take that step. Write that book. Sing that song. Write that script. Start that business. Don’t worry about failure, there is honor in failing.

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

Copyright

adewumioni.com