There are times in our lives when it seems like our labour is fruitless and our efforts are futile. We study more and more, but the dream job doesn’t come our way. We invest more into our business and the growth expected doesn’t happen. We pray and fast for a breakthrough and the situation remains the same. We work hard and labor day and night but we don’t get expected rewards. Sounds like your experience, isn’t it? The truth is that we all go through this and it is quite frustrating and we sometimes feel like quitting.

However, the fact that nothing SEEMS to be happening doesn’t mean nothing is happening. In fact a lot is happening behind the scene of your life. An alcoholic wine kept in the stellar appears the same year in year out, but the quality of the wine gets better year in year out, even though it is not visible to the eyes. It’s value increases year after year, so does your value increases. Likewise, when you plant the Chinese Bamboo, no matter how well you water it or add fertilizer, there won’t be any growth for four years. No growth! Can you imagine going to check it everyday for four years and there is no visible growth! But in the fifth year, this plant will grow up to 80 feet within six weeks! 80 feet from 0 feet! Can you beat that? During those four years, the Chinese Bamboo invisibly develops a strong root system to support its incredible height.

When nothing seems to be happening in your life and you are making genuine efforts, something is indeed happening. Your character is being formed. You are being prepared to handle the success you are waiting for. Your foundation is being laid. The foundation for a skyscraper can’t be the same with a duplex. Don’t die of envy when others seem to be moving with less effort. You are gathering experience that will save lives and nations. If you drive a vehicle to a filling station and another drives a motorcycle in, the cyclist will likely leave the station earlier than you, but can he travel farther than you?

Never disdain this period in your life. It is the best period of your life. It is sometimes called the wilderness experience. Moses had his. You must have yours. The longer your wilderness experience, the greater the sphere of your influence. So when nothing seems to be happening in your life and you are making genuine efforts, don’t despair, a block buster movie is being made! Ask movie makers, the more time and resources put into a movie, the greater its success! Don’t despair! Don’t rush to be a shooting star that rises fast and falls into oblivion. Your story is going to amaze the world! Stay strong!

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

Are you at the point of giving up? On your marriage? On your business? On your Career? On your Relationship? On your Ministry? On your Country? Don’t throw in the towel yet! Hear this ‘the darkest moment in the night is just a few minutes to dawn.’ Your dawn is almost here. Truly, Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. Psalm 30:5. It is not over yet, don’t count your losses yet. All hope is not lost.

No matter how long the night may be, it must surely give way for the day. Your time of refreshing will surely come. You will not die in that situation. Just hold on and be strong in faith. Continue steadfastly in doing what you know how to do best. Engage your hands and heart. Stay focused on your vision. Every obstacle in your path will eventually give way.

When it is your time, nothing can stop you. When it is your season, both nature and the inanimate will cooperate to help you. No force on earth can stop an idea whose time has come. Your time is your time, it cannot be stolen. Just hold on for your time. It will surely come to pass.

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

One of the major reasons why you wake up one day and ask yourself questions like (what have I done with my life?, how did the time fly so fast?) is because you keep avoiding that bullet. Simply put, you are a procrastinator. Nothing wastes life more than procrastination. I will do it someday soon means, you will do it no day soon. “You may delay, but time will not.” – Benjamin Franklin. While you are delaying, time is moving, life is moving on and you are being left behind!

You must master the use of time by biting the bullet immediately. Don’t wait for the best moment. As a matter of fact, the best time was yesterday so you are already late. Go ahead and take that step today. Procrastination does so many havoc. One, it rubs you of the sense of accomplishment and the confidence that comes with consistent performance. It leaves you with a deep sense of low self esteem and low confidence because you have not achieved anything.

Two, by the time you take the step (if you ever do), it may be late on arrival, dead on arrival, or obsolete on arrival because someone who has mastered time has already done it. It really sucks when you do something and you are told someone did a similar thing two years ago! You don’t want to be caught in such an embarrassing situation, do you?

Three, ideas are not exclusively yours. Nobody has monopoly of ideas. Nothing can stop an idea which time has come. If it comes to your mind and you don’t act on it, it will fly to a more proactive mind. So while you are stuck in paralysis caused by your analysis, someone is out there running with the idea and learning from all the mistakes.

So, you are the real victim of procrastination. Somehow, somewhere the job will be done and the credit will go to someone else. The parable in the Bible that says ‘to him who has much, much will be given and from him who has less, the less will be taken and given to the one who has much’, is talking about procrastinators. You will get less and less ideas as you procrastinate. The guy who is always acting will get more and more ideas.

Where would you like to belong? The one with more or the one with less? It is time to Bite that Bullet!

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

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!

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

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!

Copyright
adewumioni.com

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!

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

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