Personal Development

Your Days Are Numbered

/ Adewumi Oni / Leave a comment

In my younger years, I remember always wishing I grow older quickly. Wishing I was 20, then 25 and then 30. I used to think growing older brings certain privileges and respect. Maybe some of us experienced this also. I remember there was a time I wanted to grow mustache and beards even when it was obvious, it is not part of my hereditary make up. I will apply methylated spirit to those areas to make hair grow on them. Now the beards are a burden, you must shave every other day! Funny things teenagers do.

All of a sudden, I realized I am as old as my father used to be some years back, and I am not just as eager to become older again. No more carefree decision making, everything has to be thought through now. Suddenly I came to the knowledge that my days have number and they are not endless. Even though, I don’t know when my time will be over here, but I know I need to attach seriousness to the way I live my life now.

This is not peculiar to me alone. We all have numbered days. Whether you like it or not, whether rich or poor, good or bad, famous or unknown, you have numbered days. So when your number is complete, as it surely must, what will be said of you? What will people write in your condolence register? What will the world remember you for? That wicked despot? That tyrannical leader? That bossy employer who delighted in holding staff salaries? That wicked father? That corrupt president?

Examples abound all around us of so called great and influential people who have passed on and their good or bad deeds are still speaking long after they have moved on. So, having realized that your days are numbered, why don’t you spend it circumspectly? Mr Public Office holder, your days are numbered, live it well. Mr Employer, your days are numbered, use it to better the lot of humanity. Think and change while you can, because a time will come when the son of man will have neither the capacity to think nor change!

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

Produce Your Product

/ Adewumi Oni / 1 Comment

Whenever you want to purchase a spare part for your vehicle or generator set or any other major equipment, there is always a major problem you will encounter, the problem of finding the right quality. Why is this so? Because there are multifarious types of that same spare part and from different sources. There is the China type, there is Belgium type, we have follow come type, we have the one they also call original. When you ask your mechanic to advise on which is the best, you sometimes end up being more confused, as he relates how each can still meet your needs though at different costs.

This problem is not limited to spare parts , even fashion, wigs, jewelries, and the worst of it all, drugs and food items. We have Brazilian wigs, Peruvian wigs, Indian wigs, etc. The question is why not Nigerian wig? Why not Ghanaian wigs? Why not Guinean leather? Why not Nigerian shoe? Why must it be Italian shoe? Why can’t we produce our own products? Or better put, where is your own product? I often tell people, if you check yourself from head to toe , nothing on you is made in Nigeria. Why must it be so? As a nation, as a continent, we have become extremely lazy people who always look for the easy way out. Always importing and buying other people’s products. Damaging our economy, damaging our currency through our affinity for foreign things. To the extent that we have even lost our local identity. Our languages are gone, our values have been replaced with sick and depraved foreign values! Our culture has been lost! Kai!

While I appreciate the fact that the government has a lot to do to create an enabling environment, you also have a role to play. There are things you can produce without too much need from government. Start something! Produce your product! Stop running to China! Think. Act. Be creative. Produce something! Be it a book, a matchstick, toothpick, whatever just produce your product!

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

Your Life, Your Responsibility

/ Adewumi Oni / Leave a comment

The sign, ‘The Buck Stops Here’, which sat on President Harry Truman’s desk was made in 1945, and helped the US President to take final responsibility. The sign still remains in the Presidential Library till date. Faced with the challenge of passing the buck, President Truman had to come up with the sign, first to remind himself that he takes final responsibility and two, to set an example for those were fond of passing the buck.

This sign serves as a reminder to all of us that we are responsible for our lives. Never hold anyone responsible for your life. Your life is your responsibility. You will start making serious progress the moment you start taking responsibility for your life. When you stop blaming others for your current position, then you are ready to leave that position. No witch or wizard or condition or circumstance or boss can keep you down, if you take responsibility for your life. Where you are now is where you have chosen to be, if you want a change, make a move.

Taking responsibility means taking charge of your life. Accepting fault when you make mistakes, learning from your mistakes and moving on. It means evaluating yourself and telling yourself truths about where you are failing. It means looking at yourself in the mirror and say ‘My life is my responsibility.’

So it is time to take charge, the buck of your life stops at your table, not on any other table, so take charge.

God bless us all!

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

The Greatest Battle in Life

/ Adewumi Oni / Leave a comment

Battles are part of our daily lives. We win some and we lose some. Nobody is immuned to the battles of life. You can’t dodge your battles. Delay them you can, but avoid them totally, you can’t. Some battles leave huge scars on our character and destiny. They shape us either for the best or for the worst.

Among all battles of life, the greatest is the battle of Purpose versus Survival. It is a battle every one must fight. It is the battle that separates the men from the boys, the heroes from the villains, and the legends from the rookies. Unfortunately, as important as this battle is, some don’t even know they are fighting this battle. Even those that are aware readily give up before they even fight this battle.

The battle of Purpose vs. Survival pits your very essence (sole reason for existence) against your desire to survive. This is the battle that made Esau sold his birthright to Jacob for a morsel of pottage. It makes men ignore their dreams and passions because they need to make a living. It is the reason many labour everyday, waking up early and returning late, without any sense of fulfillment. It is the battle of fulfilling your destiny against satisfying your immediate needs. It is the battle of ‘You’ against the world. Only few men win this battle and at great cost. Such men live on, long after their death. It is a battle you must win if you are to make a difference in this life.

Nigeria is still struggling largely because many of us are still pursuing survival at the expense of purpose. Our Survival instinct is truly high but our Purpose instinct is dismally low! Any nation that is bent on survival can only at best Survive! Our leaders are victims of survival hence their propensity to loot the treasury. The more people we have winning the battle of Purpose against Survival, the better for all of us.

You are a creature of Purpose, not a subject of Survival! The three temptations threw by the devil at Jesus after fasting were aimed at making Jesus chose Survival against Purpose.

So, are you pursuing Purpose or Survival?

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

# ‘Success Redefined’ Seminar went well. Thanks to all our participants.

Dressed To Cover or Expose?

/ Adewumi Oni / Leave a comment

As primitive as we would consider Adam and Eve, the moment they ate the forbidden fruit, they suddenly realized they were naked. They both felt ashamed of each other, even when they were just two and felt awkward seeing their nakedness. God, also realising their nakedness had to make the first garment to cover them, made from animal skin.

This clearly shows that nakedness is abnormal. Our body is designed to be covered. Recent trends in our world today, however shows that a lot of people are tending toward nakedness. It has become a serious source of concern within both sexes, as it appears that the ladies are striving to outdo the guys in exposing their bodies. Albeit, it is worse among the women folk. It appears the intention now is to dress to expose the body as against the norm of dressing to cover the body.

One of the early signs of knowing when someone is beginning to develop mental disorder is his tendency to go out either half dressed or naked. Immediately, you see such you will know something is wrong. If this is still symptomatic of madness, then many of our ladies have gone mad and many are joining them on daily basis! How do you explain someone wearing a Jean pant that is torn such that the whole laps are exposed and she attends a function or photoshoot dressed as such? Is this true fashion or madness in disguise? Why then do you dress if the intention is to expose your body, especially the parts considered private?

Alarmingly, some ‘mothers’ dress their little girls up in this same manner. Adorning them with skimpy skirts and tattered jeans. God, have mercy on our generation! I will not bother to talk about the many implications of such dresses, as we already know some of them. Maybe, it is time to come up with strong legislations to discourage this worrisome trend.

So I am asking you this morning, are you dressed to cover your body or to expose it? If the intention is to expose, why not come out naked so we can quickly attend to your growing madness.

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

You Only Live Once

/ Adewumi Oni / Leave a comment

The man in you dies the moment you suppress yourself in order to conform to other people’s expectations. The very essence of your manhood loses its potency the day you decide to subjugate your dream in order to please others. You never get another opportunity to live twice, you have only got once! So live!

It is amazing how we allow people’s opinion to shape our lives. We literally live for others. For the fear of what people will say, we conform. God created us with diverse skills and gifts, and this diversity brings authenticity. Be yourself. Be authentic. If what you feel you are made for is to be an artist, then for God sake, be an artist, and be the best Artist!

True success starts from being yourself, finding your place, your essence and living it out. You have only got once, so live it!

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

##Let us meet at the ‘Success Redefined’ seminar this Saturday 9th April by 9am.

You can’t succeed if you don’t know what True Success is. See you there!

Your True Value

/ Adewumi Oni / Leave a comment

Diamond is one of the most precious and expensive mineral resources in the entire universe. It is widely accepted as the most precious stone. Its value is not derived from its beauty but from its applicability, its rarity and its quality! It is used for cutting, grinding, polishing, jewelry, etc. Its usefulness cuts across all fields.

Likewise your true value is derived from how useful you are. Your business value is a function of the ability of your product or service to solve people’s problems or provide solutions. If you want to increase your personal value or product’s value, increase your applicability. Make the quality of your work a rarity. Build your own brand. Be known for quality! Improve your quality.

One of the reasons we have failing homes and businesses in our world today, is the increasing number of people of low value and empty content. Martin Luther King said a man should not be judged by the color of his skin, but by the content of his character. What do you carry? What is your true worth?

There is greater emphasis on physical outlook these days than on intrinsic values. Women like more of Macho men even if they are intellectual dwarfs. We want beautiful women with empty brains. We pursue form at the expense of substance. It is becoming a world full of empty people. We are carried away by the swags forgetting that swags alone don’t solve problems.

It is time to start focusing on building yourself, building people and building societies. It is time for true value appreciation!

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

# Register for ‘Success Redefined’ Seminar today.

Registration closes on Thursday 7th April by 4pm.

Inbox or ping for more details.

Thank you.

Time to Look Inward

/ Adewumi Oni / Leave a comment

We are at a critical moment as a nation. At no time in our nation’s history have things been as tough as now. Many Nigerians are already blaming the 10 months old government of President Buhari. Why? Because he promised ‘Change’, this single word seems to have become his albatross. Nigerians have forgotten that change is a process. We have forgotten that we are virtually rebuilding and there are resistance from those who prefer the old system. Try starting a business from scratch and see the experience.

Anyway, this is not my focus today. My focus is on the way Nigerians look up to government for everything. Jobs, contracts, power, fuel, housing, etc. Yes, government has a constitutional obligation to provide some of these things, but we have a more serious responsibility of looking inward. The days of waiting for budget to be approved are over. Stop waiting on government. The newspaper vendor is waiting for budget. The vulcanizer is waiting for budget. Everybody is waiting for budget!

As an individual, look inward and begin to use your innate gifts and talents. We all saw the work of Oresegun Olumide, the painter. Another guy who was shot by arm robbers and became stuck on wheelchair took to shoemaking.

What gifts do you have that can be applied to make money? Our major problem as a nation is that, for a long time we have always looked outside for everything, this was what turned us to a net-importer, a import dependent country. The moment we start looking inward to find alternatives for those things we import, our lives will become better. Our GDP will rise, our status as a developing nation will change. Stop complaining and look inward. Drop in megawatts is a pointer that we need alternative sources of energy. Government too should look inward!

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

#’Success Redefined’ seminar is 6 days to go. Reserve your seat today. Inbox for more details.

Plan to Succeed

/ Adewumi Oni / Leave a comment

Prompt Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance. He who fails to plan, plans to fail. Benjamin Franklin said ‘By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.’ A goal without a plan is a mere wish. Planning is extremely important to succeed in any aspect of life.

One of the major reasons why businesses fail is lack of planning or poor planning. As a business, you must plan your income and expenditure, this is called Budgeting. Regardless of the size of your business, have a budget. It helps to manage your resources most efficiently. Create time for strategic planning. At least, every business should have a strategy session once a year. And our plans should take all things into consideration, market, product, competition, pricing, government policies, and all. Don’t take anything for granted. J. R. R Tolkien said ‘It does not do to leave a live dragon out of consideration, if you live near one.’

In your personal life, you must plan making use of budgets, personal retreats and self evaluation methods. Don’t run your life by chance and expect a miracle. The greatest undoing of the black man is believing prophecies without commensurate planning and actions. Nothing happens by chance!

As a nation, we will keep struggling as long as we take planning lightly. We spend halfway into the year before we pass our budget and we expect to be a successful nation! How? The Senate just passed the 2016 budget yesterday when a quarter of the year is gone, I just don’t get it! We need to become more serious and discipline as a nation if we are to stand shoulder to shoulder with developed economies.

Take planning serious. Learn project management, Africans are too poor in managing projects. This project called ‘Africa’ must not fail, we have got to plan!

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!