It’s so interesting how little things have the capacity to distinguish a company. I have been around a bit, in and out of Nigeria, and I think I have sufficient experience to say that customer service is an improvement area world over, but particularly for us in this country.

In many companies, we merely pay lip service to the mantra “Customer is Boss”, if indeed the customer was boss, some of us would have been fired way back! Our customers do not have options, we are big, we are it, alternatives are the same, and day in day out, we rub this realities in their faces.

Long haul buses, fast food restaurants, mega banks, airlines, hospitality, e.t.c, we have the industries where this skill is a necessary asset, so what do we lack? Most of these companies lack standards – and before you wonder what that means, let me quickly explain it. Standards are a set of ideals you have chosen as a company to be measured by. You have communicated them in your corporate induction, communicated it in a special customer service training to all your customer facing employees, it’s clearly engraved in the hearts and minds of all your staff. What isn’t measured isn’t done!

I know I’m certainly not alone in recounting experiences with different establishments where I have been treated as if I was being done a favour, despite that I had paid in full for the service. These Long haul buses are typical examples of the worst in customer service, I was once told by a friend that you are not even treated with the courtesy a bag of rice demands, you are treated like a log of wood- Pick, stack and drop! How appalling!

We certainly can all identify with these anomalies, but before you start pointing fingers, take a close look at what they other fingers are doing…they are pointing at you, asking you if you, or your company has measurable customer service standards. Don’t answer, ponder.

Is change possible? Is it possible to drive it for your organization and beyond? My answer is YES, and I’m willing to support that crusade! A dear friend just put this up, and is soliciting for comments, please visit this site and lets start a campaign that will start measuring and rewarding customer service events in some of our big companies. WHAT PEOPLE ARE SAYING ABOUT UBA Feel absolutely free to suggest others as well, and don’t forget to spread the word. Together we can change things!!!

In order to make an appointment to the celebration of a thanksgiving service of a seventy seven year old man, I left my house a few minutes to the time I was supposed to arrive at the party. I left the house in a serious hurry, and in what seemed a unanimous vote, I was asked to drive. We were five in number, my wife, my younger brother and two childhood friends. I started the car and backed it out from the compound in what seemed a seamless slide, I announced to the crew onboard “fasten your seat belts”, we were going to do everything except fly. Accelerate, trafficate, overtake, that was the sequence of thought on my mind. My mind could scarcely process any other information. All of a sudden, I had to grind the brakes to a halt as I saw a queue of cars on the expressway, obviously dodging something. There he was in the middle of the highway, his blood painted the breath of the road. He was clouded in white apparel, most likely his Sunday’s best. He lied there across the street, lifeless. A shadow of his former self.  One look at the environment around him, and the story was clear. A car on the wrong side of the road hit him. In that split second, a man once bubbling with strength, life and vitality, lies lifeless in his own blood at the center of the road. Just a while ago, he was careful where he sat, taking effort to ensure he stayed clean. Now he lied in the middle of the road, with no cares in the world, dead and dirty. In the center of this little transition is the fine thread that holds the strips of life together. Purpose!

Purpose is defined as the intention, aim or function of something, the thing that it is supposed to achieve.

The man that laid lifeless on the street was there only because order was broken- a car decided to follow the opposite of the direction it was meant to. It moved contrary to where it was designed to move. The manual of the operation of the road was violated. Something was taken out of its defined intention and aim! It is because order exists that disorder can be identified, as darkness is revealed only by light. In the same vein, except we assume a God, the question of life’s purpose is meaningless. It will be chaotic and illogical for man to exist in a world where he makes nothing without a purpose to assume that the entirety of creation was created without much thought. A man once painstakingly constructed a small model of the planetary orbits. With the right arrangement of magnets and some carefully hidden strings he came close to a good representation of the solar system. This design was really a beauty to behold. Along came an atheist who looked at the piece for a long time and really liking the looks and the effort it must have taken, asks the maker, “How did you make this?” To which the maker responded, “I didn’t make it, I just heard a big bang, and saw it right beside me.” Strange isn’t it? That is how strange it is to assume that this neatly arranged entity called the milky way, came into existence by anything short of organized thought. The first reality in the power of purpose is the existence of God.

The second reality about purpose, is the fact that the entirety of creation was well thought out, that every member of it was created for a purpose- a defined aim, intention or function. Purpose is not designed, it is discovered. The world did not bang into existence, if there was any bang, then it was hammered into existence. Only in the line of purpose is the full use of any item, only in the line of purpose is the risk of risk minimized. When life is lived in the center of purpose, peace reigns, when purpose is ignored, life is a chaotic rumble of one accident after another.

He was dead, and his dreams with him! Dead to the teeth, lost and gone, hope and promise. Potential remains forever potential. As I gazed at the lifeless body of the twenty plus youth on the street, my speed reduced and I could not help my mind from thinking about him. Who was he? From the look of his clothes, he must have been in church this morning. How he must have danced? He must have danced like someone unaware that it was his last dance. Suppose he knew that today was his last? Would he have lived his last 24 hours differently? Would his smile have been broader? Would he have stayed at home with his family? Would he have told someone how much he meant to him? How much he appreciated her? Would he have dedicated more time to any particular activity? What would his answers be? I’m sure he would have done some things differently, had he been slightly aware, Unfortunately, death does not specify his day of visit, nor sickness his month of arrival. Death happens to us all. Lying there with this young lad, is every talent he never used, every smile he never smiled and every skill he never developed. Embedded in the purpose of a life are its potentials. Having a purpose instills the will to develop one’s potentials, for the moment a man dies, so does his purpose. A tea bag is not different form a tissue paper with grains of sand until its used for its purpose. Its potentials are invisible until it enters its world –hot water. Abilities need responsibilities to show their capabilities. Purpose is the fertile ground that breeds the development of potentials.

On what page exactly, was he on his book of life? It’s so frightening how death puts things in perspective. In some few hours, people that know him will see him. Then comments will begin to fly. “ He almost completed his university education”, “His wife only just got pregnant and is expectant”, “ He was going to buy a plot of land” and so on. Just as you cannot measure with a ruler without calibration, it is impossible to access or measure progress without purpose. Every now and then, a ship captain uses his compass to access his direction from base and his alignment to his destination. The compass with which a man tracks his location on the sea of life is purpose. When death punctuates life’s journey, the only measurement that exists for all eternity is where on the conquest of purpose did it all end. Life is not a function of duration; it’s a function of donation. It is not how far, it is how well. Ironic isn’t it? Here was I, rushing to the celebration of life of a 77 year old man, and here in the middle of the road is the end of that of a 20+ year old. I listened with awe as the 77year old man narrated his story. He had missed death by the hair of his head. He spoke of death like an appointment only the old were entitled to. He had traveled overseas for an operation with little chances of success and had made it back alive, and with his memory intact. I listened to him with uttermost respect, and knew that right there and then, he had entered another face of life. The demands of purpose an octave higher. He recounted the years past, his dreams, aspirations and achievements. His progress was clear and measurable, his life purpose was very clear. Purpose helps to evaluate progress.

Somewhere in my mind, I was wondering where exactly the driver of the car that hit the young man is. Knowing the response of people in this environment, he would probably have been lynched. What on earth was he looking for on that side of the road? While I will not want to make a quick case for insanity for this anonymous driver, it beats my imagination why someone will attempt such a feat. Doesn’t it then beat your imagination when you see a full fledge man, completely ignorant of what his life’s purpose is? “A life without purpose, is like a ship without rudder, a waif, a nothing, a no man” -Thomas Carlyle. No purpose directly infers, no direction. An adage says that the fool is a man who doubles his speed even when he knows that he has missed the direction. No matter how fast you run in the wrong direction, it can only take you further away from your destination. Purpose gives direction to life. Life is too short to play jack-of-all-trades, we must be master of one. Once the ultimate is defined, the immediate runs like its preprogrammed.

Was it all a coincidence that the events of the day unraveled like this? Did it just happen that a car hit the young lad? One young boy was asked to give an example of a coincidence, he said “my father and my mother got married on the same day, same month and in the same year”. Coincidences do exist, no doubt. When a life is dead set on purpose however, the coincidences assist the forward resolve. No wind blows in the favour of a ship without rudder. Coincidences are only helpful when a direction has been set. To an individual whose eyes are set on purpose, nothing just happens. Every adversity, every failure, every pain and every ache all move a soul whose purpose is clearly defined towards its goal. Someone once said “the harder I work, the luckier I become”, I fully agree. Purpose has power to make lucky. Unfortunately, many live lives devoid of purpose, without standards to say this is what they stood for, or this is how far they went. For a man to live without purpose is not good.

As I ponder on the events of the day past, I think back and reexamine my own belief system. I can recall how for days on end, I denied myself of food, and spent hours in meditation. Only one question was on my mind, “why am I here?” I believe, that every human born, is a response of divinity to humanities need, that nothing threads the surface of this earth without a clearly spelt mission. I believe that one of life’s major discoveries are not gravity, space or anything esoteric, I believe that life’s greatest discovery is purpose and its power. I recount how life seemed meaningless without a particular direction; I remember how progress had no evaluation when there was no standard. Why should I run fast in a hazy maze? Every life was made with a purpose in mind, and in the midst of that purpose does the soul of man have strength. Imagine I used an electric bulb for the game of soccer; it certainly would not last very long. The design and the concentration of strength bear the signature of purpose. I remember how for days, I had questionnaires in hand for my friends, asking them for feedback on what they believed were my strengths. I recollect how after weeks, I could put my finger on it. I had come to realize, that life’s purpose couldn’t be separated from humans. One does not have to think long to discover, that life cannot be lived for self. Its either you are spending hours working for somebody or working to feed somebody. Life’s purpose is hinged on a contribution to humanity. The reason why I exist has to be linked to someone else’s needs. This personal search was really helpful, as it did not leave me without answers. It’s an exercise that I recommend, a must for anyone who wants to live a meaningful life. In my own search, I discovered that I’m here for one course- people development! As small as that sounds it’s a phrase that can only be measured in eternity, for that is the true measure of life’s purpose. As long as I am in the center of this purpose, my happiness is guaranteed, as long as this purpose remains my priority, even death can be defied, for death has no business with one whose plan for tomorrow is of value that exceeds his duration on earth. Purpose has tremendous power; its power exceeds death’s, gives hope beyond the present, brings potential to life, secures direction and makes progress measurable. To leave the power of purpose untapped is to live in perpetual risk of an aimless life. Life is short, and without purpose, inexistent.

The problems

1. The average graduate leaves school and aspires to get a job. The job he eventually gets, whether it pays him or not gets him ensnared in a series of routines. Routines in which he can see no relevance of his input to the welfare of humanity. All his previous clamour and ultimate desire to touch lives become confined into an activity that has salary as the only measurable output. The only thing that contributes to the purpose of God on earth, he has been able to assure himself in his tithe and offering. When he changes jobs, the criteria are very clear, the major differences in both companies are remuneration. For many, there is no point of contact between career and purpose. The choicest years of his life are in high demand by those who will design purpose for it. Over the years, his poise weakens, his zeal fails, he looks at things for which at a particular time he would willingly have died, and says to himself I have done all that before

2. The average African society and the world at large are littered with young ones who lack self-discovery let alone self-development. We are surrounded by gross moral decadence and decades of polluted value systems. The priorities of our societies coupled with their definitions of success are clear emblems of our need to help. The average aspiring youth does not find around him balanced role models, the unaspiring is not even enlightened enough to know what to aspire. We are surrounded with youths for whom we cannot fathom a future let alone bright. Those who have quit and stopped because they were assessed based on a trial to develop what was not discovered also surround us.

3. Despite all our proclamations about the multiple power of two, despite our clamour for synergy and that together each achieves more – team. All such attempts at it, end within the four wall of university. Over and over again we’ve been told, that our best years for friendship are in school and not latter. Surely there is power in synergism of efforts, and much of that power lies in waste because it is untapped. If we agree that a unit of influence is lost in an undiscovered person, then 10 units are lost in an ununited two. The energy waste around us is simply unfathomable.

THE SOLUTION

These problems, I have started my day with a consciousness of them in mind for days. So much has my heart pondered on these that I’m beginning to feel uncomfortable with the idea of taking up a good paying job that does not afford me the opportunity of helping to be a solution to these problems. I have prayed, thought and panned and finally I have a solution. A solution that is worth using ones entire life to pursue. A peep reveals, that a solution to these problems lies in training, synergism of efforts, entrepreneurship, solid biblical concepts, resourcing and all too much for any existing society to produce. Welcome with me however to module that answers it all, welcome ARMs – African Role Models.

ARMs The Goals * Training/Empowerment Recruit youngsters to solve the problems of society, to be responsible skilled and effective. From crafts to certs. Hence recreate the next generation of Africans. [Talent hunt, discovery and development. * Encourage Entrepreneurship, Show pattern and give support to young trusted people with good ideas * Kingdom Establishment, Exchange societal and individual values for God’s values. Live by example, giving a good reason to live better. * Drive its members from peak to peak via challenges, sharing experiences, synergysing, training

Outlet, Mediums, Channels * Publication and Manuals * Training * Seminars and Outreaches to schools * Dining and Resourcing

Coverage * Nigeria * Africa * Blacks * The World

The Structure

While considering the structure, attempt was made to make the structure as flexible as possible. It was priority also that God’s standard be the guiding principles of the system. The only reliable constitution is the Bible. All members are Christians. The only rule is the golden rule – treat others, as you would want to be treated. The concept is business, the approach business but the desired result ministry. Levels Of Membership Administrators These are directly involved with the central core of the oranisation. These are responsible for collation of info, publications and manuals, training, organization, management e.t.c. They are the ones that work with and for ARMs. Their work is to the core organization. Partners These are either entrepreneurs in their own capacities or people whose gifting do not go directly in line with the core purpose of the organization. They are very effective financial partners and they participate in seminars, outreaches, features in publications e.t.c. They are members also driven by a strong and different focus. The system encourages administrators to eventually become partners. As the structure grows partners are meant to develop from administrators Pillars These are the fathers. Those that believe in us. They consist of MDs of great companies and overseers of churches and big organizations. They supply the organization with funds annually, and are people one can run to from time to time. These constitute the board of trustees and are entitled to progress reports quarterly.

* The approach From any perspective, they are two major ways of embarking on an enormous project. One is to attack the work immediately and the other is attacking and equipping the work force that will embark on the project. The latter is very much like the Jesus’ approach, and the former the present day evangelism approach. The ARMs approach is like the latter approach. Though the plan and output are extremely enormous, enough time and resources will go into the phase of equipping, envisioning and motivating the work force. The desired output of excellence places a demand on the work force. Based on the proposed approach, 4 stages are also proposed to be operational in the process of development of ARMs. Their proposed duration are meant to be flexible to serve more like ultimatums for the desired results. The cost implication, staff, strength and probable remuneration are also placed in parallel to give an idea to the extent and scope of each stage. * Brief Phase I – Underground personal research Phase II – Network building and structuring, envisioning, motivating e.t.c. of primary work force, building of foundational structures. Phase III – low level outreach amidst other things (Nigeria as field), strengthening the Network, Communication, Resourcing. Phase IV – Africa, Black, World, Pronounced Outreach.

1999…Obafemi Awolowo University.

It is very interesting, that 7yrs ago, these things were on my heart. I also recently stumbled on the summary of a meeting we had 2yrs after this, still in line with the same vision. Today, ARMs exists in 9 tertiary institutions, with people eager to move things forward. A skeletal site exists at www.arms-ng.org . This is how visions are birthed, sometimes they are set for a particular time. But do yourself the honour of writing it down, for when it is supposed to happen there will not be the time to linger. Hold on to your dreams, it might not happen tomorrow, but don’t give up. Hold on tight, time may tick, but keep mission unchanged!!!
Minutes of ARMs Meeting 2001

Before you read on, be aware, that your name is on this list because we believe that tomorrow, you will be a person that the world, beginning from Africa, can look up to as a role model. If you agree with the vision, stay hooked. All was written painstakingly, please read as such.

Hi All,

How are you all doing? Merry Xmas in advance, we should see before the New Year, so I’ll say that when we see.

I will want to give us all a brief overview of the last meeting we had. Tope Oke of SITA will send in a more comprehensive minute very soon. I would also want to give detailed perspectives and expectations for the next meeting.

The Previous Meeting

There were 11 People in Attendance.

The meeting lasted from 3pm – 6pm, we couldn’t start by 2, Quorum was not formed.

The agenda was adhered to, 80%

We were able to discuss and successfully realign ourselves to the overall Objectives

: -To redefine societal values, create and showcase ideal role models for the youth (11-21)

We were able to initiate a process for fine-tuning our mission statement. Adeolu Ashaye of VIP consulting is presently collating inputs from different members; a deadline of 21^st December 2001 was also given to submit our Profiles to deoluashaye@yahoo.com (All that were absent should please comply)

Deji Okanlawon (A seasoned BT systems engineer, with CCNP in view) was again saddled with the responsibilities of designing a Website for the Organization. He was also give a shared responsibility of getting us Access to some Lagos Schools. This responsibility was shared with Feyipitan Kolade, and ingenious hat designer/maker and Dinner/Party Manageress. Feyi assumed the responsibility of getting us access to 5 Baptist Missionary schools.

Funmi Sosanya of Consular Travels and Blessing Olubunmi (production manager) of a construction company were saddled with the responsibilities of designing the questionnaires to be used for feedback at the target schools.

Ogemdi Ike of Andersen was asked to merge with Laanu Ogungbesan (Million cadre Businessman) who was unavoidably absent, in the responsibility of logistics of registration of an NGO.

Issues of our 1-year goals were deliberated inconclusively, but a rough target of 16 schools by the end of Dec 2002 seemed feasible.

Gbenga Sesan of JAN (ITU fellow, Certified HTML expert) volunteered to help with avenues within JAN to achieve our objectives. He also volunteered to assist with the Questionnaires.

Adeolu Ashaye braced up to compile the Mission Statement and together with Adeolu Akinyemi of P&G (Recruiting and Training Manager), design the proposal and work on the materials for the bulletin.

We also fixed an event for Mid February in one of the secondary schools; we then went on to discuss how much it would cost us to have a moderate event. We highlighted the need for handbills, and some basic materials, we came down to an estimate of 25,000 for the event cost implications of our next meeting. Contributions were made, with an average contribution of about 3,000 from each person. Contributions are still welcome, as subsequent events might not require much preplanning. We also agreed on a date and probable venue for the next meeting. We agreed for Dec 30 1pm, Gbagada Phase 2 ICSL,

Wolex Polytechnic Building, just before Mobil Petrol Station (Mobil B/S) opp General oil. And of course we Ate.

The following were in Attendance for the meeting

1. Kunle Ogunbayo
2. Akin-Tepede Dipo
3. Temitope Ogunsusi
4. Feyipitan Kolade
5. Gbenga Sesan
6. Okanlawon Ayodeji
7. Ogemdi Ike
8. Adeolu Ashaye
9. Tope Oke
10. Adeolu Akinyemi
11. Funmi Sosanya

The NEXT Meeting

Purpose: To create a sense of urgency and to collect and collate final inputs for the Bulletin and Proposal for our first Identified Project.

Objectives:

1. Reappraise our levels of commitment and further define the goals.
2. Share Resources and tangible stuff for Bulletin
3. Agree on content of Bulletin and empower someone to be owner.
4. Re-energize the entire team to reactivate individual visions.
5. Collate feedback from Assignments Given.

Order of Meeting

Meeting will start by 2:00pm prompt, those of us who have one-hour biases should think of this as 1:00pm. Every excuse for lateness is just another excuse

Opening Prayer

Introduction + Profile+ Intentions

Session I

Objectives 1&2

Break- Light refreshment

Session II

Objectives 3&5

Break- Item 7

Session III

Objective 4

AOB

Closing Prayer

Prework for meeting.

Any un-notified failure to come for this meeting will be regarded as inconsistency and subtle withdrawal of interest. If you must be unavoidably absent please notify , by replying all. Also ensure that your excuse is not just another excuse.

In coming for this meeting, lets come with the following.

A printed copy of the initial ARMS document

A copy of personal Life Mission statement, stating who you want to be and what you want to do. Also outlining your various roles, husband, son, friend, engineer, and e.t.c.

Photocopies of materials you deem fit to be on our bulletin should also be brought, everyone should ensure he/she comes with something we can work on, and thorough

Perspectives. Everybody intending to come or not to come should notify me by mail. Item 7 will prepared targeting the number of such notifications.

To define values, we must first have values, to give examples, examples we must be.

You are blessed (Empowered to succeed)

Regards,

Adeolu Akinyemi

The power and significance of choices.

The day on which one starts out is not the time to start one’s preparations. Igbo proverb

Dr. Viktor Frankl was one of the Jewish prisoners during the holocaust. He was imprisoned, starved, mutilated and exposed to most hardships repugnant to humanity’s sense of decency. His wife, parents and brother either died in these Nazi camps or were sent to the gas ovens. For him life also was an uncertainty, for one moment or another he could as well have found himself in the gas ovens.

He was one of the few survivors of those hardships, beyond being a survivor; he resumed to normal life of lecturing soon after the entire grueling episode. How did he manage? One day, naked and alone in his room he discovered one significant truth. This truth he later called “the last of the human freedoms”. He discovered a freedom that his captors could not take, they could control his entire environment, but he discovered that they could not control his responses to their stimulus. He discovered that they had more liberty, more options to choose from; but he had more freedom, more internal power to exercise his options. He became self-aware of his existence beyond the frame of his body; he realized that even he could watch his present circumstances as an observer. He could decide within himself how all these were going to affect him. He could still choose!

The choice is yours

One goat cannot carry another goats tail –Nigerian Proverb

The first thing you need to understand is that you are a product of your choices. No matter how young you are today, you are going to have to live tomorrow with the consequences of any choices you make today, no matter who makes the choices for you. It is the choices you make about sleeping in the day or staying awake and going to school today, that will determine if you’ll stay awake all night as a night guard tomorrow. It is futile to squander today and hope for a generous tomorrow. Life is all about choices! Indecision is itself a decision. Your decision not to decide is a decision to leave your fate to the winds without a sail. No wind blows in the favour of a ship without direction. It is a pot of water that is already half full that the world would like to help in filling to the brim. You need to understand that choices are powerful. The Yoruba word for choose (yan) is the word from which the word for human beings was derived (eniyan). Choice is the only thing that distinguishes us from animals. You have a choice.

“I know of no more encouraging fact than the unquestionable ability of a man to elevate his life by conscious endeavor”— Henry David Thoreau

You can change your life, but it’s going to be by conscious choices.

One other thing I have often heard about decisions is that an average person makes 350 of them daily. Wow! 350? Sure, lets see, “Should I wake up?”, “should I not?”, “what should I wear, should I take my bath with cold water, or not?” The list goes on. However, in prison, inmates are restricted to only 8 decisions. The rest? It’s made for them. What to eat, what to wear, when to wake, where to sleep? They are restricted to an average of 8 scanty decisions. Why? That’s nature’s way of punishing them for the wrong decisions and choices that brought them there. Prison is the home of poor decision makers. Choices are very powerful, a lot of work should go into making them.

If you have ever watched a football final that ended in penalty kicks, then you are not a stranger to this scene. It’s the final penalty kick in the game, and unfortunately it’s a deciding kick. On this one shot lies the hope of all the players and the fans. All the over 2hrs already spent for the match and the extra-time, all the other penalties, all the intrigues, chatters, claps and laughter of this game have all built momentum until this defining moment. Success or failure is just a kick away. Gold or silver, this shot would certainly seal the hope of one. The field is filled with various noises, tension mounts in the air, the long hours of watching is almost over.

The ball is placed in position as the anxious and nervous team member recedes. Today he’ll either be a hero or a clown. He takes a position, takes the last distant look at the ball and heads towards it. In that defining moment, the over 10,000 eyes are fixed on one spot on the field. All eyes agree in destination except his. All eyes look with longing into the goal post ahead. Some with the hope of it sliding beyond the goalkeepers reach and some visualizing it right in the keepers arms, but not him. His eyes are not so far away. His eyes are slightly closer, transfixed on the ball, he cannot afford to hit the wrong spot. All they hope for is the end, but what it becomes, is largely what he makes of it. With the picture of the beautiful future in all their minds, he alone is custodian to the today that makes up that tomorrow. All his practices, preparations and rehearsals have been until this very moment. If he had cheated on his routines, been lazy in his attention to detail, today it will show. Whatever he had done in the closet, now awaits an open display on the mountaintop. That’s the way it is with choices. The audience and cheerleaders expect and demand success, but your decision determines that. Right there and then is not the time to listen to their plans or ask for their experience. There is the time to make use of all you have learnt, to execute with excellence.

Kum! The leg hits the ball. The die is cast, the decision made. From then on your ability to control the output ends. The world around has no other choice but to wait and watch, some with optimism and some with sarcastic pessimism, but happy or sad, neither do they have an ability to alter the course. Your act of choice handles the ball over to the winds of time, the laws of nature and the sovereign forces in the universe. Unlike the ball on the football pitch, this shot takes years to reach its goal. Different grades of noises punctuate the atmosphere from the time the ball is hit, till the end. If we could just slow time down a bit, we might actually see some interesting dynamics. The ball takes off; keen to follow the direction the foot had set.

Let’s imagine for a second that the leg hit the ball 1 degree off target. That one degree would cascade into 30 degrees by the time it reaches the post. The influence that today has over tomorrow is enormous. Your choices, no matter how small today, have grave consequences.

Where we are

The fate of the young ones in Nigeria is really unnerving. It is no longer an uncommon sight in our tertiary institutions to see medical students withdrawn from school; engineers repeat courses, lawyers, accountants and all, struggle through the higher institutions of learning. It is no longer an unfamiliar sight to see otherwise talented students who are obviously intelligent, slave it away at what is clearly not their God given vocations. We are all witnesses to how much of art potentials die in our science classes. We have all seen students pursue certain degrees with obvious stress, while some other ones excel with not half as much effort. Students trying hard, and being rated failures by courses of their choosing. It is true that the journey uphill the mountain of success would not be as easy as the downward glide, but then, are all mountains ours to climb?

Life outside of these institutions has not followed a less tortuous trend. Many graduates leave the closed walls of tertiary institutions to face the rude shock of unemployment and underemployment. Employers are bemused at the quality of graduates leaving higher institutions. Employers and Society have blamed it all on the educational institutions. We have also looked for parts of the blames to give the government. Sure the government has become the destination of bastard blames. While elements of truth might be in our allocation of blames, we have overlooked the root causes. No matter how sane the educational institution, no matter how responsible the government, garbage in will always be garbage out. The quality of the input affects the quality of the output. That’s true everyday, and twice on Sundays. No educational system will convert a wall gecko into a crocodile, and not even the best of governments. One of the critical facts is that many of our youths are entering the higher institutions for courses different from their natural inclinations, at variance with their passions and anachronistic with their dreams.

Humble enough to accept that though he studied Engineering or metaphysics, he might never make it in that field, our fresh graduates move like mid day prostitutes from one prospective employer to the next. Every job opportunity is as good as the next -banking, engineering, consulting, or sales. As long as the next offers better than the first. Our average graduates will do anything, and that goes as far as you can think. It’s maddening, but what can we do? It has never been easy to cure a tree by attacking its leaves. The root question, is why?

Why?

Peer pressure!

Yeah, that’s right. There are lots of quotable quotes in this regard. Try some of this for size. “My very best friend wants to study accounting”. “Doctors don’t have to look for Jobs”. “Accountants are the first to be employed and the last to be fired.” “Mama said Engineers are successful people”. “Sciences are for good students, arts for poor students”.” My father wanted 4 children, a doctor, an engineer, an accountant and a lawyer, I am the accountant”. These ageless “wisdom” has over the years distilled into prodding for peer pressure. The tag of success hangs down the collars of a few courses. Those are the cool courses, those are the ones everybody steps over themselves to do. Unfortunately, when supply is more than demand, JAMB and PCE (pass mark for enrollment under the university exam bodies) requirements rise. Wannabe Medical Doctors settle for Botany, Wannabe Lawyers for English and the list continues. The higher institutions are littered with these wannabe’s, for some of them, life could not have dealt them a more fortunate blow, and for some every year lived in school is the dream of a switch. Sadly not to what it should be, but to what it would have been. I shoulda woulda coulda.

Parental Guidance

When the elderly ones in a house travel, the younger ones quickly grow in experience. –Nigerian Proverb

Our young people are guided into wrong vocations and directions out of selfishness and the aggrandizements that are peculiar to some vocations. It’s a thing of pride to announce in public gatherings, “My son is a doctor, lawyer or engineer.” Rather than guiding our youths aright in the direction of their natural abilities, we have submitted them to the second rated life of pursuing our unfulfilled dreams. We have sacrificed the dreams of their future for our own present selfish desires. The guidance and consistent nudging of parents in career directions have a lot to do with it. Lives have been made and marred by how this awesome privilege has been handled.

Culture and Societal Values

It takes a village to raise a child-Nigerian proverb

Our culture and values are also not to be exonerated from these atrocities. Our extended family setups give us loads of advantages in networking, collaborating and human relations, but deprive us of some vital elements of individuality. Human growth necessitates that a child moves from dependence to independence to interdependence. Interdependence being at the peak of maturity. Our culture and values however have so much stilled the growth of many, such that rarely is the African youth expected to journey beyond dependence. Our culture being so rich in community skills deprive us of individuality. Hardly do people make decisions without consulting the entire village clan. Our youth’s dreams and aspirations are formed by vocations defined as successful by family and ‘successful’ uncles. Another very unhealthy influence linked to this same culture is the concept of money. With so much poverty in around, families are led into believing that the only legacy worth leaving the next generation is a good education in a high paying field. Unlike the western world where the young ones are encouraged in the line of what appeals to them as individuals, financial rewards and prospects secondary, our own youths have one key motivation- escape from poverty.

Where we should be

No sane person sharpens his machete to cut a banana tree-Yoruba proverb

Desperate situations call for desperate measures, simple situations, simple measures.

This is an intro…to be continued. Let me know if you want to read more…Thanks for your time.

Luck they say is the meeting point of preparations and opportunity. Many people miss their great opportunities in life, because it’s disguised in other forms. We all have opportunities, not more than the other, but each man or woman, is what he/she makes use of his/her opportunities to be. Some are looking for jobs, please click on this link.

Whatever opportunity you are looking for, prepare yourself for it! There is nothing more gratifying than being ready when the opportunity comes.

Are you ready to take your bosses seat? Are you ready for that next level you desire? Are you ready for tomorrow? Whatever you desire is achievable, your dream is proof the reality exists.

While you patiently wait for your opportunity, make yourself useful to someone else. What you make happen for others, will happen for you. The hands that lifts others up doesn’t get cast down, he that waters shall himself be watered. Look for opportunities for your friends. Look for it passionately and be certain that yours is on the way.

Have the attitude of sharing opportunities, and don’t pass this one by. Click

Today (after midnight) is one of those days when I have a little time before I sleep to actually think (almost worry) about where the ship of my life is being steered. Don’t be fooled, i’m also human. I get to wonder at times if the future will be as good as I desire it to be, but the difference with me, is that I catch myself quickly and conciously decide to think of the things that I know I should rather be thinking of. The things that are true, lovely, pure, just, praise worthy e.t.c.

I remembered a story in the Bible this morning. Jesus needed to spend some time alone, and asked his disciples to go ahead in the ship. He stayed behind to pray, and when he was through decided to go join the disciples. Seeing they had gone far into the sea, he decides to take a stroll on the sea waves (wow…I wish I could do that). The disciples were having a really rough time, and to compound things, they saw a ghost bouncing on the waves of the sea. They were terrified! Jesus decided to calm their nerves, he announced to them, “Take courage,It is I, don’t be afraid”. Wow, they saw the master himself, riding on the waves of the sea. I’m certain it’s a site worth going back to the past to see, but that’s not quite the cornerpiece of our analogy tonight. Peter did something really strange in this story, he beckons on Jesus to give him permission to come over to meet him. Continue Reading »

You may want to check www.deoluakinyemi.com/categoryjob-blog for latest vacancies, you migh also want to visit www.deoluakinyemi.com for a shot of motivation.

Just yesterday night, I arrived home well after nine. I had a visitor who had come to see me, to discuss with me, and to get counsel. I was really tired, but I value people too much to make that a reason, so I waited to talk. It was about crossing from Medicine to HR. He had spent 6-7years studying Medicine, only to discover that his interests were somewhere in HR. He wanted to understand the full spectrum of what was available and what HR involves, so that he could know exactly in which area he could channel his strengths.

There was one question I asked him, and what I say to one, I say to all. What is your life purpose? What is your mission? Why are you here? These questions may look banal to you, but until you settle down to answer them, life lacks real meaning. Purpose is the inner compass that guides our daily decision on where to move. It’s the inner core that assists us to make critical direction related decisions. It’s also a very theoretical concept and one might tend to talk about it, rather than sit down and come to terms with it. Every human being is unique, has specific combination of skills and of course genes that make them useful for different things. Everybody has a unique purpose, and it’s not yours to invent, it’s yours to discover.

Why do I need to answer this quesion?

1. The winds blow in favour of the most able Navigators. No wind blows in the favour of a ship without direction. The wind blows as it likes, what the Captain of the ship does, is to use the sails to block the unfavourable winds such that the winds will aid movement in a particular direction. You setting your sail is what makes the winds blow in your favour. The same is true for life. Many people claim not to be lucky, favoured or opportuned. Tell me will the wind blow in your favour if you don’t know the end you want to pursue? Will any friend bring to your notice what he/she is unaware you are looking for? I believe the answer is no!

2. Someone said that when purpose is not known, abuse is inevitable. What we make of life without a clear direction is a mess! We’ll dable into many and any things just for lack of a precise purpose. It leads to a waste of time, a waste of efforts. Experience they say is a costly teacher, but a fool will learn by no other! For a life to be without purpose is not good. ‘A useless life is an early death’ -Goethe

3. It improves the quality of life. It adds years to your life and life to your years. ‘ Strong lives are motivated by dynamic purposes; lesser ones exist on wishes and inclinations.’ -Keneth Hidebrand. Imagine a life spent doing what comes naturally to you, imagine a life spent doing what you consider truely enjoyable. Imagine a life spent on a course greater than the one spending it. All these are characteristics of a life with purpose. It’s convinient to live life one day at a time without alignment to an overall purpose, but it’s very much like running a race without any intention of finishing it. Who would you rather watch, a young fellow straying around the feild or another fellow poised to touch the finish line? That’s what purpose does to you, it adds vitality and quality to your expressions. There is a place called there, wether others see it or not. James Turber said-’All men should strive to learn before they die, what they are running from, and to, and why.’

4. ‘It is not “history” which uses men as a means of achieving — as if it were an individual person — its own ends. History is nothing but the activity of men in pursuit of their ends.’ -Karl Marx. Having a purpose to life makes you feel and be more in charge of your life. It makes you know that you have a part to play in the drama of your life. History no longer occupies the drivers seat of your craft, you do!

Ok, good stuff, how do I get to know my purpose?

There are many approaches that have been recommended over time, I’ll share mine with you and that of a friend. Mine first:).

1. When was the last time you watched a movie that moved you to tears? Can you try to remember? The interesting thing is that we all have different things that move us to tears. You’ll be surprised if you find out what moves some people to tears. Well, I’m something of an emotional macho so tears ain’t exactly my thing. Yeah! That was why it has shocked me to my marrow the two times it had happened to me. I was actually not only shedding tears, I was visibly shaking! Once I was alone the other time, I was with other people so I tried so hard to conceal it, but I knew, I must have been wailing. On both occassions, I took time to critically analyse what made me moved to crying (been dodging that word). Believe me, the two occassions were two entirely different films, but the concept was similar. The message was the same! It confirmed it to me what my purpose was. You’ll be surprised, it’s helped me to make some decisions quickly. To believe that we exist first on earth is an error, that we were not made is a falacy. We each have within us the coding that will reveal our purpose. You only need to look back and think. Whatever has the capacity to make you cry, has in it the DNA that will reveal your purpose, pay attention to it.

2. The other approach, I read from a person I call my mentor online…(a friend sent his link my way). His name is Steve .He holds the the veiw (and I agree as well) that you can discover your purpose in 20 minutes. That all that you need to do is get an exercise book and a pen, and write down your present idea of what your mission statement is. Then as you reflect on it, continue to refine and write it down. Line after line, keep writing. You’ll get to times when you feel like stopping, some things will almost distract you, don’t stop. You’ll feel like giving up every now and then, but take courage, some people didn’t stop until well after 100. Sometime early of if you really don’t believe in purpose, a little over 100, you’ll get to a line which you’ll write and burst into tears. For some people it actually shakes them badly. That line, Steve says is your mission statement. It’s worked for him and many others as well. It can work for you. Not if you read it…if you do it! You can also balance it with mine, you should get similar results.

I wish you well on your journey to purpose…Don’t stop! Luck is the portion of those whose purpose is so clear, their enemy can give them referrals. Make it plain, write it down, then get ready to run.

If this really helped you…tell a friend.

Have you ever wondered or asked what you needed to do to give your career a boost? Do you sometimes feel at a dead end, and confused about why you are doing what you are doing? Are you happy about your present job? Have you been passed up for promotion? Or are you doing extremely well in a field you’ll rather change?

These are some of the questions I get asked often, and I believe I can make use of this medium to render some help to some bothered people.

Someone called me on phone lately, he told me he recieved my number from someone, and really needed counsel. His case was more of the, “i’m being promoted in what I’m doing, but I really love something else, and have just gotten the opportunity to do masters in it.” He had spent 3yrs in what he is doing currently and would like to share his burden with me.

I can imagine that many people are in these shoes. With the present situation of things, most people settle for what is available. Like it is said, when the desired becomes unavailable, the the available becomes the desired. This seems a very good quick fix, and one that people will understand anyway.

Let me however make a bold statement and say : Doing what you have to do, so you can make a lot of money to do what you like is not equal to happiness. However, doing what you enjoy with passion, will bring money and happiness. There is no renown person I know who is engaging in something else so he can make money to be relevant somewhere else. Your work and your passion needs to tie. Here are some surebanker career boosters, a more detailed version will be published based on the value this adds.

1. What will you be willing to do for free?

One question that settles most questions on “I have quite a number of options that i can do” is this one. Which one of those options will you gladly do for free, if your needs were taken care of. What do you enjoy doing? Some once said, that when you find your work, you’ll not need to work again forever – because you’ll enjoy it, and it will be a pleasure being paid.

2. See your present work as part of your curriculum

Many people discover that they are in the wrong careers and put themselves under unnecessary pressures to change. Don’t rush into anything you don’t want to rush out of. Sit down and draw up a plan. Will you need any of the skills you are learning here in what you want to do? What key skills do you need to learn that will better qualify you for what you want to do? I studied Engineering for 5yrs, only to discover in my final year, that what would give me pleasure was HR (people development). I had to see Engineering as giving me analytical skills, problem solving skills and systemic thinking skills that are assets for my roles in HR. If your present job gives you an opportunity to pick up relevant skills, then exhaust that opportunity, else plan your exit. Moving faster in the wrong direction will only get you further away from your destination. If you discover you are on the wrong track, STOP!

3. But there is a great future in the present role..?

Don’t consider the lucrativeness and prospects of the present role, if it is not the right role. Prospect is not in a job, it’s in a person. You are the one who has a great future, not Engineering, Law, or Medicine. There are millionaire shoemakers as well as poor shoemakers, the difference is not in the shoe, it’s in the makers. If you find your passion, underneath it is gold. Mine it!

4. What have I done?

Never be caught without a response to what do you do? Keep a diary, a record book, or a regularly updated CV. You need to keep tab of your achievements. You need to be able to in one minute, get someone who cares to listen excited about you and your skills. Don’t put on the show only for your boss, display genuine interest in your work for all that care to watch. The person who will recommend you for the next role, in your company or the next, might not be who you expect. Have a workplan, keep a daily todo list, update your progress. Pilots have logbooks that date back to 20yrs ago, they record the numbers of hours they’ve ever flown. You can can log your achievements.

5. Be Bold be big
Your life will shrink to the size of your fear, or rise to the height of your courage. “Don’t be humble, you are not that great” – Golda Meir. It’s key to be visible! For some of us, who prefer to let our works speak for themselves, to stay in obscurity until we are called forth and praised, great! But you must learn to balance this with being visible. See, the only response required from light for darkness to prevail is no response. You need to voice your opinions, even if they will not be heard, you need to be visible. Participate in the office beyond the scope of work, volunteer to lead, to particpate, to coordinate. Perception is key. How will your superiors and colleagues describe you?

6. Go the extra mile

Chin and Chan joined a company on the same day. After 1yr, Chin was promoted and Chan was not. Chan felt bad and after 3 months went to the boss and submitted his letter of resignation. The boss was shocked and asked Chan, “why are you resigning?” Chan responded that he thought it was obvious, he had been passed up on promotion while Chin had been promoted. He waited 3 months extra yet no promotion, he felt he deserved an explanation. The boss apologized but volunteered to help him with an analogy. He asked him (chan) to quickly help him go out to find the price of a bag of tomatoes. After 5 mins Chan came back and reported that he had seen a bag of tomatoes for $80. The boss then asked him to go and find out further down if any other person sold tomatoes and at what price. He returned again after about 8 mins and reported that another man actually sold a bag of tomatoes for $60 in the nearby town. After this round the boss asked Chan to sit while he calls Chin. He gives Chin the same information as Chan, while Chan watched. Chin came back 7 mins later with this report. “I went down the road and saw a man that sells tomatoes for $80 per bag, i negotiated with him and agreed for $60 a bag. I moved over to the next village and discovered that the tomatoes here were a bit cheaper for $55 and that I could pick up the tomatoes on credit and pay later. After Chin spoke, Chan kept silent, and quietly asked for his letter of resignation. He had gotten the message. Career move is for those who can think ahead about what their managers want and deliver it, it’s for those who deliberately exceed expectations. So next time someone asks you to type a letter ( as small as that is?) deliver it with excellence, exceed the limits. Get your superiors addicted to depending on you -do more than you are paid for and you’ll definitely earn more later than you are paid for.

Wow..it’s past 2am…if you really like this, let me know…to be continued