Every life producing force must go through the painful period of gestation before finally birthing a new life. Whether it be animal or man, the process remains the same. Gestation periods vary from specie to specie of animals. The gestation period of an elephant, for instance is between two and three years, while that of a dog is about two months.

Gestation periods are periods of great discomfort for the pregnant mothers, whether of man or animal. They experience so many changes in their body structure and emotion. They suffer mood swings. Their partners often share in the discomforts of the period. They eagerly count days and weeks waiting for the day of delivery.

Our periods of wilderness, sowing, planting, building a new business or house, building a new relationship or starting a new life, can all be likened to the gestation period. During such periods, we work hard, labour, sweat and invest our time and resources to achieve certain results. We deny ourselves so many luxuries and cut down some of our personal excesses. It is usually a trying period. We get so many turn downs on our proposals and many unfulfilled promises. This is the pain we must bear in order to enjoy the gain later.

Just as every gestation period has an end, every period of planting must also end with harvest. Suddenly, results start trickling in and where we have been turned back before, we start getting calls from them. Results start to outweigh efforts. This is the period of gain. Pain necessarily must precede gain. No Pain No Gain. Whatever you dream to achieve, you must be prepared to pay the price. No Price No Prize.

You cannot experience the Joy of motherhood without the pain of pregnancy. You cannot enjoy harvest without the labour of planting. You cannot experience success in business without the stress of daily planning, selling and marketing. Until you plant, don’t expect any harvest. Unless you are ready for the pain, you shouldn’t expect any gain. You have no business envying a successful man when you are not ready to pay the price he paid. Get in the ruts and go to work. Stay on it, your gain is coming.

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

If there is any surest way to fail in life, it is in following the dictates of everyone except yourself. Trying to do what everybody wants you to do is a guaranteed recipe for failure. If you want to be outstanding in life you must learn to passionately follow your heart and pursue your own dream. No one else can dream for you. Your heart will always guide you to your dream and it is rarely wrong. ‘Let yourself be silently drawn by the strange pull of what you really love. It will not lead you astray.’ –  Rumi.

Many voices will attempt to crowd out your heart’s quiet voice. There will be the voice of fear, the voice of reason, the voice of pain, the voice of discouragement, the voice of disdain, and a host of voices. It is your responsibility to silence all the other voices so that the silent voice of your heart will become audible enough for you to act on. Within you is the seed of greatness, only your heart knows this, because it is the only thing present with you when you were being formed.

Seeking advice is good. Seeking counsel is right. However, when it comes to the matter of what to do with your life, your final and ultimate authority is your heart not somebody else’s brain. ‘Neither shall they say, Lo here! or, lo there! for, behold, the kingdom of God is within you.’ – Luke 17:21 KJV. Your life is within you. Your Destiny is within you.

‘We spend our lives asking the question, ‘What do people want me to do? Who do they want me to be?’ But this is a betrayal of our inner truth. We should be investing our lives in the pursuit of discovering who we are and what we were created to do.’ – Elizabeth Grace Saunders.

Follow your heart and you will find your life.

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

You can be a lot better than you are now if you give it more effort. You can achieve that dream if you keep pushing at it. You can be the best if you match determination with dedication and diligence. If opportunities don’t come, create them. Try again. Push again. Demand again. Ask again. Do it all over again.

Don’t settle for less. Don’t accept defeat. Don’t take it as your lot. Your lot is not predetermined. You can determine your lot. God’s plan for you is beautiful, you only have to press into the plan. Have a diehard mentality. Have the kind of mentality that ignores obstacles or used them as stepping stones. If Thomas Edison had settled for less, he may have accepted the lie that it is not possible to make light bulb. If the Wright Brothers had settled for less, traveling by air today may have been impossible.

Behind every invention, there are many failures, disappointments and obstacles, but the inventors persisted until they achieved the desired goal. Don’t accept mediocrity as your best. It can be better.
Let me end with these two great quotes. “It’s not that I’m so smart, it’s just that I stay with problems longer. ” – Albert Einstein. “Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful men with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan Press On! has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race.” – Calvin Coolidge

Don’t settle for less!

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

There is no one who attained self subsistence without support of others. No one attained greatness without the help of others. We all need help from time to time and our ability to find such help makes our journey in life easier. If you don’t have burden bearers around you, life can be unnecessarily difficult. Woe unto him that is alone when he falls. Ecclesiastes 4:10. It is dangerous to be without helpers.

Likewise it is wicked when you refuse to help others when you are in a position to do so. Our joy and peace is maximized when we live our lives helping others to bear their burdens. When you help others at their hour of needs, help will not be denied to you when you need help too. Be a burden bearer. Burdens can be material, financial, emotional, health, academic, or even spiritual. Don’t deny people of help when it is in your power to help.

No matter how low your status may be in life, there is still something that can be of help to others. So being a burden bearer is not a function of your economic or social status. At every level in your life, you can be a burden bearer. Don’t just be a burden bearer, be a good burden bearer. Don’t help others with expectation of them repaying you. God is your rewarder. Don’t help others and broadcast what you have done to others. Keep the secrets shared with you with you. Don’t be a tale bearer, be a burden bearer.

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

Our mind is a battlefield. Several battles take place in our minds every minute, hour and day. Your mind is the place of victory or defeat over many life issues. What you have defeated in your mind cannot defeat you in reality. What you have given up on in your mind is most likely to be lost in reality. The mind is like the photo lens that capture the image that is printed in a photograph. Whatever it receives it captures and reproduces. This is why there is a lot of contention for our minds.

Due to the importance of the mind, you must ensure you take charge of your mind and what it receives. Whatever you wish to accomplish as a goal or life objective, first settle it in your mind that you will see it to the end. Settle it in your mind that there will be challenges and oppositions, but that in spite of all these, you will achieve your goals. Settle it in your mind that regardless of your circumstances or situation, you will succeed in life.

Don’t give in to negative thoughts. Don’t accept defeat in your mind. Believe in yourself and what God has deposited in you. You can do it. You can make it. Settle it in your mind that you are a success. Visualize the end product, what you will become and begin to take steps towards that vision. The steps may be small, they may be baby steps, they may be shaky steps, but it will eventually become firm, steady and sure. Babies start with wobbling and shaky steps, often falling but always rising. After a little while their steps become firmer, stronger and surer. So, don’t worry about mistakes, they are part of the success story. Just ensure you are taking steps towards your vision.

Create your own memoir, if you can, because the world will read your great story someday. I want you to settle it in your mind that you cannot fail, even if that has been your family history. You cannot die from the same illness that has plagued your lineage. You are different and exempted from all that. Settle that in your mind. As a man thinks, so he is. Proverbs 23:7a. What you accept in your mind becomes your reality. So choose what to accept. Choose what you allow into your mind. “I will not let anyone walk through my mind with their dirty feet.” said Mahatma Gandhi. Will you?

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

As we grow in life, we come across different people, situations, work environments, associations and culture, which I will term ‘influencers’. And because there is no vacuum in nature, these influencers in some cases rub off their values on us and in other cases, they try to impose their values on us. They affect us either positively or negatively. We are rarely unaffected by them. Ultimately, the target is our destiny.

It is important to determine in advance how we will manage these influencers, otherwise when they come we won’t know and we may have dropped down our guards. Even as parents/guardians, we need to constantly teach and prepare our kids/wards to be prepared for life influencers and how to manage them. We should never drop any positive value for negative ones.

Usually, negative values come in attractive shapes and forms. Instant gratification, a little indulgence in alcohol and hard drugs, a little rough play with chicks, some wild parties, gambling, small fun of raiding stores, having fun with firearms, joining secret clubs, etc. They are usually described as fun, especially for the youths. Adults are not exempted, both male and female. Just a fling, have a side chick, one night stand, strike a deal, give your boss some attention, and so on. Before you know it, you are in deep and it becomes difficult to extricate yourself.

It is better not to start at all. If you are in already, find your way out today. Ask for help if necessary. Negative influencers do nothing but destroy destinies. Delilah influenced Samson and he died untimely. The Sodomites influenced Lot’s family and he lost all. Guide your good values jealously and avoid negative influencers. Don’t let them compromise you. You have a great destiny. Be a positive influencers too.

Let these words be your guide, ‘Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.’ –  Philippians 4:8 KJV. Stay in charge.

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!