Where Are You Going?

/ Adewumi Oni / Leave a comment

As you step out for work or business today, it is important that you start ruminating on the question ‘Where Are You Going?’This is not about your office or business location. It is not about your destination today. This is about your life or business purpose. This is about the core of your existence, the reason why you are here and the value you are to add to life either as an individual or a business. Do you know why you are here?

Sadly, millions of people all over the world are living in ignorance of where they are going. Problems are products of people’s ignorance of their purposes. Society and systems failures are fallouts of the absence of Purpose driven individuals in places of Purpose. “The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for.” – Fyodor Dostoyevsky. If you don’t know where you are going you are not living, even though you are alive. You are not to accept job or business offers mainly because of the pay or profit. Your purpose determines your choice of jobs, businesses and even associations. The challenge today is that we allow our jobs, businesses and associations to determine our purposes. It is a great anomaly!

Life means Living In Full Existence. You can only live in full existence if you know where you are going and you are working towards it. “The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson. You cannot live until you start living. You start living when you are in pursuit of your purpose.

In Chemistry, ‘matter’ is defined as ‘anything that has weight and occupy space.’ You can only matter in life if your life carries weight. Weight is a function of value added and you can only add true value when you are on the right destination. Do you matter in life? Does your life carry weight? It is not in how wealthy you are, it is about how worthy you are. If life is all about wealth, we have enough wealth in the world to have a perfect world. Life is about finding and fulfilling purpose. The more people we have fulfilling purpose, the better the world will be.

If you don’t know the purpose of a thing, you will likely abuse it. Many of us are victims of self abuse because we don’t know our purposes. Self abuse is the foundation for every kind of abuse. The moment you find your True Self, no one can keep you down again. There is an indescribable burst of positive energy and joy that comes with knowing where you are going. This is why people of Purpose are naturally influential and impactful. They carry so much energy such that anyone or anything in their path will naturally be touched by that energy. Don’t live an empty life.

So, this weekend is a good opportunity to think deeply on where you are going. Don’t just be busy, be purpose driven! If you already know where you are going, then I will say congratulations to you. But you can help others to find their destinations too. That way, our world will be richer, safer, better and simpler!

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

Build Your Support System

/ Adewumi Oni / Leave a comment

It is not good for man to be alone. Gen. 2:18. Woe betides that person who has no helper when he is down. Ecc. 4:10. Loneliness is dangerous. In those days, when hunters want to kill a lion, what they used to do is to isolate one from the pack, because they know it is suicidal to face a pride of lions. Same with human beings, enemies can penetrate easily when you are alone. Life’s challenges become easier to deal with when you have helpers around you. Your helpers form your support system.

You must consciously build and nurture your support system. If you don’t have a support system, you are as good as food for the lion. Your support system can be made up of friends, relatives, colleagues, bosses and religious leaders. You cannot build a support system if you don’t have good relationship management skill or good interpersonal skills. It starts with being helpful to others. Assisting people when they need help. Being good on your job helps to win the hearts of your colleagues and supervisors, and takes your relationship with them beyond official. Nurture your relationship with your spouse. Don’t have an enemy within, you are a dead duck if you do.

Life operates on the principle of sowing and reaping. If you sow help, you will reap help. If you sow kindness, you will reap kindness. If you sow cruelty that is what you will reap. So, you need to start reviewing what you are sowing. Don’t be a loner. Reach out to people. No matter how rich or strong you are, you will need help at some point. Don’t let pride blind you from building your support system. What you may need may not be money, it may be something ordinary which you don’t have. So don’t disdain people in building your support system. In times of trouble, what will determine whether people will respond to your distress call is how you relate with them in normal time.

It is true that God is the True Helper and the only reliable one, but He will still use people to help you.  So acknowledge God in all your ways and love your neighbors as yourself. Ask yourself these questions ‘do I have a support system?’ and ‘how strong is my support system?’ Answer those questions objectively and take necessary actions as relevant. May you not be stranded in life. Be conscious of your support system and take time to continually nurture it.

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

Separate Your Seed from Your Bread

/ Adewumi Oni / Leave a comment

Life is in seasons. In the natural, we have two main seasons, the raining season and the dry season. Usually farmers plant their seeds at the beginning of the raining season so that the rains can water it and make it bud. Harvest is done towards the end of the raining season and into the beginning of the dry season. So what is harvested during the dry season becomes both the food for the dry and raining season, as well as seed to sow at the start of the next raining season.

This cycle is most instructive for us in our individual lives, businesses or national live.  Our harvest represents our incomes, profits and economic booms. Not all of these are to be spent on consumption (eaten as bread), God places the seed portion in every harvest we make. It is that seed portion that guarantees continuity of harvest. If you eat your seed with your bread, you will experience famine in the next season. Please note this, your seed should be your first priority from every harvest. Set it aside before you consume the rest. It is important that we understand this principle in order to avoid unnecessary hardship in life. Seed time and harvest will never end as long as the earth remains. So woe unto that man who has no seed during planting time.

Life obeys spiritual principles whether you like it or not, or whether you believe it or not. What you give to life will come back to you in multiple fold. Plant a grain of wheat and you will harvest sheaves of wheat. Plant a grain of corn, and you will harvest cobs of corn. It is a universal law and endures all times and ages. So the earlier you adhere to this principle the better.

Your seed is the source of your tithe, offering to God and to the less privileged, your savings or investment and your business capital. These are the various uses to which you can put your seed. If you constantly practice the art of seeding, you are guaranteed a lifetime of harvest. The size of your harvest is determined by the size of your seed. If you want a bigger harvest, sow a bigger seed. If you plant on a plot of land, you cannot expect the same harvest with someone who planted on an acre of land, all other things being equal. So seed and harvest are directly proportional.

It is equally important that you tend your garden after sowing your seed lest weeds overtake the garden. Pay attention to your business. Pay attention to your career. Pay attention to your source of income. Don’t be careless with your seed.

Be seed conscious if you want to be harvestful. Stop eating all your income no matter how big or small it is. There is a seed in every income. One of our problems as a nation today is that we already consumed the seed that would have yielded the harvest we need today. May God give us leaders who understand the principle of seeding and who are seed conscious. Amen.

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

When Nothing Seems to be Happening

/ Adewumi Oni / Leave a comment

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!

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You Cannot Afford to Quit

/ Adewumi Oni / Leave a comment

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!

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Bite that Bullet

/ Adewumi Oni / Leave a comment

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!

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No Excuse For Not Living

/ Adewumi Oni / 1 Comment

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!

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God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

Gauge Your Tyres Correctly

/ Adewumi Oni / Leave a comment

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!

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adewumioni.com

Enjoy the Moment

/ Adewumi Oni / Leave a comment

One of the tragedies of life is to lay down on one’s deathbed and discover that one has not enjoyed life. It could be a very painful and regretful moment. Life means ‘Live in full existence’. Fully exist! Life is designed to be enjoyed. The little moments in life are meant to be savored and enjoyed. John Scalzi said ‘ Do what you need to do and enjoy life as it happens.’ There is no better moment to enjoy life than now. The major reason why we end up missing the fun in life is because we are always worried about the past, present and future. So we end up not living in any moment at all!

God never designed life to be full of stress and worry. He designed life to be fully enjoyed. In the story of creation, we learnt that God paused at the end of each day’s work to appreciate what had been accomplished. It was a daily practice with God! So why make yours monthly or yearly!

There are many dimensions to enjoying our moments. First, we are often too busy pursuing our lofty goals, to observe the little moments of successes and achievements in between. We must set little milestones to enjoy what has been achieved. Don’t be carried away with the goal, appreciate the small moments in between. Enjoying life makes you feel better, happier and ultimately healthier. The healthier you are, the longer you will live and the greater your accomplishments.

Two, we always allow our challenges to becloud and blind us from appreciating the beauty in each moment. If you walk into a garden after a major victory or success, you will appreciate the flowers more, you will enjoy the fragrance they exude more. The chirping of the birds will be like a sweet music to your ears. However, if you walk into the same garden after a defeat or setback, you are more than likely to see the chirping birds as nuisance, the flowers won’t be as colorful to you. It is still the same garden! The only difference is in living in the moment. Life is also a garden, if you allow your challenges to becloud your reasoning, you will miss out on so much fun.

Three, when we are facing a health challenge, we close the door on the beauty of the moment. We concentrate all our thoughts on the ailments, fueling our fears and further worsening the situation. Hear what Nelson Mandela said, “Even if you have a terminal disease, you don’t have to sit down and mope. Enjoy life and challenge the illness that you have.” Seize every moment to enjoy life.

Four, we all suffer from the ‘I will wait till it gets better’ Syndrome. We want to have more money, be better positioned, be stronger, have more influence before we enjoy life. The danger in that is that you will start living pretty late, when your life is almost over. Enjoy your moments now. Don’t wait till it gets better. Celebrate now. Nature actually has a way of responding to positive or negative stimuli. If you celebrate now, nature will create another moment of celebration. So choose which stimulus to send to nature.

Five, many of us are working for a living, which in itself is an antithesis to enjoying the moments. You are designed to enjoy your work and live for your work. We are not designed to work for a living. We are designed to live for our work. One way to guarantee enjoying your moments is to create work out of what you enjoy doing most. Truly, that is when you really start living.

They say life begins at forty, I think not. I think life begins when you begin to enjoy your moments. Stay healthy by enjoying your moments.

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

Copyright
adewumioni.com

Thoughts on Marriage

/ Adewumi Oni / Leave a comment

This is my opinion on marriage, “Marriage is like a shoe. When you wear oversize be ready to drag it along through out life, and
when you marry under-size be ready to feel the pains through out life.” One thing about marriage is that you don’t drop
your shoe or remove it at any point no matter how painful or how stressful it is –
That is why I thought it necessary to write you this letter.

Dear Singles,

When you are ready to buy your own shoe please take note of these three things:

1. Physical appearance: Do not look for the beautiful once, the nice once or the cheap once. Look for the one that is your size. Not every handsome, wealthy or intelligent guy is for you, not every beautiful woman is for you. Look for the one that is meant for you, the one
that aligns with your values and belief, the one who you meet at your life’s journey.
***
It is important to know where you’re going in life before you think of getting a wife.
***

2. Position: All sizes of shoes are not placed in the same place. There is a place for court shoes, laced up shoes, sport footwear, snickers etc. We have Children sizes, young people’s sizes and the
adult sizes. Know where to get your own shoe. Your size cannot be everywhere my brother, your type cannot be everywhere my sister. You cannot be a Christian, and be looking for a wife material at a club. Your wife or husband can’t just be everywhere.

***
Stick to your values and therein you shall find someone like you, but when your values are not defined anyone can just match you.
***
Discover yourself and define your values

3. Perception: In this kind of shoe purchasing enterprise, you are not permitted to try the shoe
before you buy. This is why it is important to seek guidance and counseling, from people who have bought shoes
before or are into the business of directing
people to the right shoes (Pastors and
Relationship coaches).

***
And most importantly to avoid much time
wasting time, simply consult the shoe
manufacturer to tell you your size (God
Almighty).
***

“You do not prepare for wedding, you prepare for marriage.”
Ladies these days get so motivated when they attend wedding and they will quickly want to say yes to that guy.
Wait!!! It is not just the wedding Ooh, wedding is just one day. After the wedding. WHAT NEXT?

Finally, it is not something you rush to the
market and just pick a shoes because you like or can purchase it.

Ask questions
-Where is this shoe made from? (Background)
-What’s the size (Values)
-How much (His/Her interest)
-How long will it last (His/Her Character)
-Who made it? (Is she/He of the same faith This is compatibility)
-Will it match me? (This is whether he/she love you and will accept you the way you are)

***
Dear one. Remember, many are dragging their foot and they would hardly reach their destinies, many are feeling endless pains and wish they could pull off the shoes but no way!!!

I have seen people with beautiful shoes and when they show you their foot, you will see scars.

Beloved, it is not about the physical, it is the size, you can’t know the size from afar so come close, build a relationship first but remember ‘you are not permitted to try it before you buy it’.

And for those who have purchased the wrong shoes, you can still make it your size again if you’d consult the manufacturer and let Him have
His way in your marriage.

God bless us all.

Good morning Africa!

Good morning Nigeria!

(This was copied and adapted)