What drives you? 

We all have motivating factor(s) driving us and making us to leave the comfort of our beds every new morning. For some it is money, for some it is power, fame for some people, success for some and passion for some. 
What drives a man will determine how far he will go. For instance, all things being equal, a vehicle with a full tank of fuel will travel farther than a motorcycle with a full tank of fuel. They can both convey from one place to the other, but with different capacity. One can go further than the other. 
The same principle applies to our lives. The factor driving you will determine how far you will go in life. If it is money, you will likely get tired when the money is no longer flowing. If it is fame, when your fame goes down, you will likely give up. If it is power, when power changes hand you will go into hiding. If it is a  relationship with someone, what happens if you lose the person? 
The only driver that is guaranteed of driving one till death is Purpose. If you are being driven by purpose, your ‘well of passion’ will be continually full. Whether strong or weak, rich or poor, you will always want to pursue your purpose. This is why living ‘by and for’ purpose is extremely important. 
Don’t live an ordinary life, pursuing money, wealth, fame and material things. Live a purposeful life and all these other things will be added unto you. 
God bless us all. 
Good morning! 

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Missing in Action? 

Are you feeling like you have been kept in the cooler? Feeling like you are missing in action? Every good football player always wants to be fielded in every match, barring injury or booking suspension. 

There are times the coach will keep a fit player on the bench. Coaches do this for so many reasons. Sometimes they could be keeping the player for a particular match or towards the end of the game in a match, especially when such players are game changers. Other times, it could be punishment for a misbehaviour, or to avoid exposing the player to injuries while playing. 

Likewise, life sometimes keeps us on the bench and we become angry and frustrated. For similar reasons, you may be kept on the bench of life for a particular purpose and season. Do not despair. You may have sustained some serious injuries too,  unknowing to you and if you continue, you will just crash. Sometimes it is as a result of our mistakes. 
Whichever one is the situation, the bench is not a permanent position, you will soon resume back to actions. While you are on the bench, keep learning, keep equipping yourself and stay prepared. You may be called to action anytime. Don’t fret, it is just a phase. 

God bless us all. 

Good morning! 

Dangers of Unforgiveness 

Our world today is filled with vengeful, hurting and hate-filled people. This is manifesting in different forms among which are divorces, acid baths, genital mutilations, suicides and murders, etc and behind most of these is unforgiveness. 
Both young and old are becoming victims of unforgiveness, either not forgiving others or themselves. What the unforgiving people do not know is that they are the real victims and not those they are having issues with. 
Unforgiveness is unhealthy both medically and spiritually. 
Unforgiveness is classified in medical books as a disease. According to Dr. Steven Standiford, chief of surgery at the Cancer Treatment Centers of America, refusing to forgive makes people sick and keeps them that way.


With that in mind, forgiveness therapy is now being used to help treat diseases, such as cancer.”(CBN News). 

Of all cancer patients, 61 percent have forgiveness issues, and of those, more than half are severe, according to research by Dr. Michael Barry, a pastor and the author of the book, The Forgiveness Project.

“Harboring these negative emotions, this anger and hatred, creates a state of chronic anxiety,” he said.

“Chronic anxiety very predictably produces excess adrenaline and cortisol, which deplete the production of natural killer cells, which is your body’s foot soldier in the fight against cancer,” he explained.

Spiritually, you can invite evil thoughts into your life through unforgiveness. For as long as you also harbour unforgiveness in your heart, you are cut off from the throne of Grace and Mercy. Your prayers can’t be answered. Mark 11:25-26.

Don’t cheat yourself through unforgiveness. You are the real victim of unforgiveness. 

God bless us all. 

Good morning! 

The Man Died

Permit me to borrow the title of the prison notes of Professor Wole Soyinka published in 1971. He expressed his fears during his twenty two months incarceration for supporting the Ibo. He concluded that man doesn’t have to accept failure as his lot, but can rise above failure with the help of others. 
Borrowing from Prof. Wole Soyinka, the man in you dies when you keep quiet in the face of injustice. 
The man in you dies when you pretend like it doesn’t concern you when the man in uniform is unjustly harassing the man in mufti on the road. 
The man in you dies when you refuse to speak against wrong policies of the government that have direct negative  impact on you and your children, both living and yet unborn. 
The man in you dies when you support tyrannical leaders because of the loots you share with them. 
The man in you dies when you misplaced justice as a judge or magistrate because you have been settled. 
The man in you dies when all you do is pray for your leaders but refuse to speak when they are going wrong. 
The man in you dies when you cede your mind and reasoning to your spiritual leaders and fail to weigh their counsel upon the scale of truth and free conscience. 
The man in you dies when you allow the pursuit of survival to drown out the voice of purpose crying for fulfilment in you.  
How many times has the man in you died? Is there still a man in you? 
God bless us all. 
Good morning! 
Notice

If you want to bring the man in you back to life, let us meet on 22nd October at the ‘Step Out of the Confines of Comfort’ seminar. 

For further details, click on https://adewumioni.wordpress.com/2016/09/24/step-out-of-the-confines-of-comfort/?preview=true

Mentalities that Destroy (6)

As we wrap up this series today, we will be closing with the Poverty Mentality. This is the mentality that has crippled the African race and kept us behind all other races. It is the mentality ruling most of our leaders. It is the mentality that has ravaged our land and is still enslaving our children in droves just like a vortex sucks in water. It is arguably the worst of all, in terms of its capacity to destroy both present and future potentials.  
What is poverty mentality? It is a mental block that makes someone sees himself as been poor and pushes one to steal, loot, usurp, waste and kill, with a view to amass enough wealth to guarantee that one would never be poor again. It is the mentality that makes people believe that every opportunity to hold a position,  either in private or public offices, is an opportunity to enrich themselves rather than serving the good of all. It is also the reason why we sell our goods and services at abnormal margins because we think we may never sell again. Smart people leverage on turnover, poor people leverage on margins. It only takes time before the foolishness of abnormal margins is revealed. 

Poverty mentality is the black race worst nightmare! This was why some of our forefathers colluded with the white man to sell fellow blacks into slavery. Oh, how better we would be, if we deal a death blow to Poverty Mentality. 
It is borne out of insecurity and apprehension of the future. We don’t trust ourselves or our leaders to do the right things to ensure a good future, so we help ourselves by defrauding, embezzling, looting, stealing and killing. All ritualists, kidnappers, looters of treasuries, armed robbers, prostitutes and practitioners of other money-induced vices are victims of Poverty Mentality. 
In that you have written yourself off from making it, and have settled for taking what belongs to others, you are poor even though you have the best mansions or possessions. If you follow the principles of success, you will make it, no matter how long it takes. Stop allowing Poverty Mentality to rule you, it not only destroys you, it destroys others as well. 
God bless us all. 
Good morning! 

Step Out Of The Confines Of Comfort 

Are you afraid of making that next career move? 
Are you wondering if what you have achieved is the best you can achieve? 
Or you have become so used to your current job or vocation and it no longer excites you? 
Or you just desire a CHANGE? 
If you answered YES to any of these questions, this seminar is for you.
Hurry now to book a seat. 
It is guaranteed to rock your world! 
See details below. 

Mentalities that Destroy (5)

I trust that we have been learning  from this series. Some of us may have been operating with these mentalities ignorantly, and it may be the reason we haven’t experienced the success we desire.  As we begin to apply these lessons, I am sure that positive results will start coming. 
We are not done with this series yet, there is another mentality called the Complex Mentality. It works in two variants, Inferiority Complex and Superiority Complex. Both variants are toxic and affect people negatively. 
Inferiority Complex is a belief that one is less worthy than others. It makes the person to either be extremely timid (lacking in self confidence) or overly aggressive (as a cover up for their sense of low worthiness). Such people are usually  very quiet in a meeting or group, not because they are humble but because they feel their contribution may not make sense to others. Or they may challenge every other suggestion because they feel unnecessarily intimidated by the presence of the other contributors. They could be a real pain in the neck. 
Superiority Complex is the other extreme, having a sense of more importance than others and looking down on others. It leads to pride, pomposity and inflated ego. It is as bad as inferiority complex, if not worse, because such people are usually unreachable. 
Whichever one is the case, the way out is a moderate sense of self importance and appreciation of the value of every other person, regardless of their class, status, religion or creed. Everyone has a value, even the mad man on the street has some values. We must be humble enough to see the value in everyone. 
Don’t think too highly of yourself and don’t think too lowly of yourself. You are uniquely created, so is every other person. When we bring our different uniqueness together, we become a formidable force. Get rid of that complex today. 
God bless us all. 
Good morning! 

It Is Not Yet Uhuru

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POSTED: SEP 23, 2016 AT 9:58 AM   /     /   COMMENTS (0)

 

By Adewumi Oni

The Nigerian Paralympics contingent returned back triumphantly earlier this week with a total haul of twelve medals, eight gold, two silver and two bronze medals. This performance not only surpassed their best ever outing at Sydney 2000, where we won seven gold, two silver and one bronze medals, it also saw Nigeria ranking the best in Africa and 17th on the overall medal table as against 22nd at Sydney 2000. The Games saw power-lifter Josephine Orji shattering the world record of the women’s 86kg event with a lift of 154kg to win the gold medal. It was indeed a moment of pride for Nigerians and a consolation for the poor outing at the Rio Olympics held in July.

It is pertinent to recount the ordeal this contingent went through before leaving for the Games in Rio. They left in low spirits on the background of poor preparation, which has come to characterize our sports sector. There were even fears that the athletes may not perform as much as the last events. They however pleasantly surprised Nigerians when the medals started rolling in, with the team eventually hauling twelve medals.

Having put up the best performance ever at the Paralympics, we should not to be carried away by the euphoria of this performance. It is important to analyze all the events in which we participated and review our performances, with a view to improving in future events. It is necessary to also point out that this performance is attributable to the positive spirit of the athletes and has nothing to do with the support provided by the Ministry of Sport or the Planning Committee. This again is a proof of the resilient spirit of the typical Nigerian. The moment we begin to match our resilience with good preparation on all fronts, we will begin to get great results.

The Minister for Sports and Youth Development, unabashedly had reportedly implied in an interview that one doesn’t need years of preparation to win medals at the Olympics. He said “From what they (Paralympians) have done, it’s now not about the issue of preparation, the Paralympic athletes prepared the same way as the Olympics athletes did. And if they have been able to excel, then the Olympics athletes have to reexamine their roles and participation at the Olympics and try to do better.” One wonders if this is a way of justifying poor preparations. Would we have recorded better performance if the Paralympic athletes have been properly prepared? Why did they perform better than the able-bodied athletes at the Rio Olympics? These are some of the questions one would expect the Minister to find answers for, rather than making such remarks.

The State of Emergency declared in the sports sector should remain in place until a proper roadmap is put in place and necessary supporting infrastructures provided for the next Olympic/Paralympic. It is time to set lofty targets for our athletes. If we start with aiming to among the first twenty in both the Olympic and Paralympic games, it is not too bad. Each of the field and track event should have a target for the 2020 Games, and these targets should be combined to form a blueprint for the next games.

The minister should come down from his high horse of belittling the importance of preparation. he should engage both the private sector and federal government on the need to invest heavily in the sector with a bid to have world class training facility that will enhance the performance of our athletes. To record any success at such private sector parleys, he must be seen to be providing the right kind of leadership for the Ministry.

 

It would be a big shame if we fail to surpass this feat in 2020 games. It will be a bigger shame if the able-bodied athletes fail to redeem our image by surpassing our Atlanta ‘96 performance. These are not ‘missions impossible’ but will only be realized if we don’t leave them as mere wishful thoughts.

We have the talents to achieve this, we only need to put the necessary infrastructure, supporting systems and incentives in place. Sports could be a viable tool for reducing unemployment, if we do the right things and at the right time. Before we lose all our talents to both neighboring and distant countries, let us do something about our Sports sector.

It is therefore not yet ‘Uhuru’ for the Sports Minister. He should see the Sports sector as an avenue of restoring Nigeria’s lost glory and work assiduously to achieve this aim. Until the Green-White-Green flag becomes the most hoisted flags at any Olympic game, the task of lifting us out of this dark hole is not over.

 

 Oni writes from Mowe, Ogun State

Mentalities that Destroy (4)

We have looked at three mentalities thus far namely :

The Average Mentality 

The Defeatist Mentality 

The Vendetta Mentality 
Today, we will be discussing the Victim Mentality. This is a mental block that makes one sees himself as a victim of life, circumstances, other people’s actions, and which consequently make the person give up control over his or her live. It is a mentality that assumes a situation of having no control over one’s life, thereby assuming there is no need to put up a fight. It usually makes the victim to throw pity party. Such people are fond of saying, ‘if only I was born by so and so’, or ‘if only my father didn’t die’, and so many ‘ifs’.
When someone is operating under this mentality, he avoids blame and doesn’t take responsibility for his situation. As a matter of fact, everybody else is responsible for his situation, except himself. And because he doesn’t take responsibility, he can’t make any meaningful progress in life. People generally avoid such people and they bypass them,  even when opportunities that could benefit them arise. 
To change this mentality, you must first know that you are the primary driver of your life. Two, people, situations and circumstances can only shape your life to the extent to which you permit. Three, you have to take responsibility for all that happens in and to you. The moment you start taking responsibility for your life, you have taken charge of the vehicle of your life. As long as you keep refusing to be responsible for your life, anyone and anything can drive you anywhere. 
The choice is really yours. You can choose to take charge and tame life, or continue to mope in self pity and remain a victim. 
God bless us all. 
Good morning! 

Mentalities that Destroy (3)

Another dangerous and life wrecking mentality is the vendetta mentality. It is a mental block borne out of deep seated, anger, resentment and urge to revenge. It blinds the mind and eyes of its victims from doing the right things. It is sometimes fuelled by the injustice in the world system. 
When you are operating with the vendetta mentality, you will make serial errors and ignore the path of sensible reasoning. Your focus will be shifted from goals that will benefit the greater people to fulfilling your vengeance mission. You will mismanage your resources and public resources. 
One of the reasons why most of our leaders in political positions don’t succeed is because they have a Vendetta Mentality. They are after their political enemies and opponents. They will deny the constituencies of their opponents of infrastructural amenities because of their quest to hit out on their opponents. The cycle is repeated when the opposition gains power and the public suffers for the Vendetta Cycle. 
When you set out on a vendetta mission, whether in your personal life, business or politics, you will not only fail but also affect other lives negatively. This mentality will warp your sense of reasoning and make you do things that you would not have done naturally. 
If you have been operating with this mentality, it is time to let go. Vengeance belongs to God, the true and righteous Judge. 
God bless us all. 
Good morning!