He woke up on the 1st of January with great expectations. The cross over service was awesome and there were great prophecies that proved that it is indeed going to be a year of great accomplishments. As a matter of fact, the Pastor tagged the year as ‘Year of Uncommon Breakthroughs’. “Surely this is my year”, he assured himself. Six months later, he was asking himself what went wrong. ‘Where are all those prophecies?’, he wondered. Nothing has changed from what it was last year, rather it seems he is worse off.

This story is that of You and I. We all have high expectations at the beginning of every year and we usually write down our New Year Resolutions. Year in year out we watch as the days grow into months and the months into years and those dreams remain mere illusions. We sometimes wonder if the prophecies were false (some could be). We even change our sanctuary sometimes, when doubts hit our mind about the authenticity of the ‘Prophet’. We look for the solutions from everywhere except the right place.

The solution is not in the prophecy, neither is it with the Prophets, nor the church or mosque. The solution is in you. The solution is in filling the ‘Knowing-Doing Gap’. Filling the gap requires work, it requires rolling up your sleeves, it requires a lot of night meditation and strategic thinking. It requires a lot of determination, self discipline, commitment and sacrifice. This is the path we all often miss. It is the path we often avoid. It is a lonely path, but exciting and full of learning experience. Little wonder, why the road to heaven is also described as narrow. It is the path that separates the dreamers to the doers. But we usually prefer the path of least resistance.

You have got to realize that nobody will actualize your dream for you. It is your sole responsibility. The prophets can only but prophesy. You have got to work it out. Faith without work is dead. The hardest part is that you don’t have eternity to fulfil your dreams. You have a limited time and it is fast running out. Your age is the number of years you have delayed the actualization of your dreams. You are never too young or too old to pursue your dreams.

So when you mark another birthday, your first question is ‘how far have I gone in the fulfillment of my dreams?’. You are really running out of time. It is time to stop procrastinating and waiting for instant miracle. Go for your dream today, it is all there waiting for you to embrace it!

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

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!

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!

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.