Monthly Archives: May 2006

Adeolu Akinyemi
May 11, 2006

Purpose


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.

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Adeolu Akinyemi
May 9, 2006

Career Boost


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

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Adeolu Akinyemi
May 9, 2006

Roots


It’s often said, that the river that forgets its source will soon run dry. Every tree has its root, every river has a source. It is a bastard that uses his left hand to indicate the direction to his fathers house. These sayings are some of the proverbs that reveal the culture of a people, their values, belief systems, and essentially their way of life. Where are you from?

It’s so interesting to observe, that many African’s, and indeed Nigerians, either at home or abroad, have lost the sense of connection with their origins. Many years ago, many were carted away to occupy the vacancies for cheap labour that existed in the then developing world, they joined in adding their labour to the making of a developed society. For many of them it was painful, they resisted, they had little or no choice, like the spoils of war, like sheep led to the slaughter, they followed, enduring their cross with patience…and before you think too far, this is not about racism – there is nothing that has been done to the black man, that he did not do more to his kindred. It’s many years since then, and many African’s actually buy their own tickets and submit themselves once again, though in a more dignified way, to the development of other nations. Is it true that the prosperity of a river is sure for as long as it is conversant with it’s source? Are you in touch with your roots? Continue reading →

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Adeolu Akinyemi
May 6, 2006

Security


Yes, I was writing something yesterday before my battery went flat and work had to start. Let’s talk briefly about the Maslow’s hierachy of needs. What we are talking about is still security, but i’ll talk about it in line with relevance to the need for security..

1. Biological and Physiological needs – air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex, sleep, etc.

2. Safety needs – protection from elements, security, order, law, limits, stability, etc.

3. Belongingness and Love needs - work group, family, affection, relationships, etc.

4. Esteem needs – self-esteem, achievement, mastery, independence, status, dominance, prestige, managerial responsibility, etc.

5. Cognitive needs – knowledge, meaning, etc.

6. Aesthetic needs - appreciation and search for beauty, balance, form, etc.

7. Self-Actualization needs – realising personal potential, self-fulfillment, seeking personal growth and peak experiences.

Basically man is born with biological and physiological needs, these basic needs are essential for survival – Air, food, water, e.t.c. These are man’s most basic needs, and the more a person grows the higher on the hierachy he/she is. If you look at this as a pyramid, biological needs will be at the base while self actualization needs will be at the zenith.

Employee motivation is based on the premise that you must first understand where someone is. When you already are confident about the need of a particular wrung of the ladder, motivation for you is getting the next one. By illustration, this means that the kind of employee you can motivate with food, is one who is struggling to have a complete meal. This is humanity at it’s basest form, in some parts of these country, these are beggers, bricklayers and casual manual labour. He will not be motivated by Cognitive needs of knowledge or finding meaning, this will not even be in his radder. The first port of call is get me to my next wrung of the ladder.

The way this works is like this. A man/woman first wants to meet is basic needs, as soon as he can get food on a regular basis, and feel warm, he begins to wonder if he is safe. He want’s to make sure that there is a protection around his area. He wants accomodation in Lagos or someone to even stay with. As soon as this need is met, he begins to have a desire to belong – to a workgroup, a family, a relationship e.t.c. He is motivated to work with people who share his ideals more than anything else, at this point his safety is assumed. When he finally belongs, has a job, e.t.c. he begins to crave for esteem and prestige. He wants to be called a manager! He wants career growth, he wants to be a master at what he does and be recognized or valued for the same. Then he begins to ask himself, “why am I here?” The craving for knowledge and meaning starts, with these done he begins to fantasize about living in a house that faces the beach, being aesthetically correct ;-) . Then the desire to leave a legacy, to give something back for society, at this point he begins to realize the true worth of himself, his potentials and the spectrum of what is available. Pause there for a moment, the expression of each of these stages means different things to different people. The analysis however defines the average positions of human beings, their needs and their motvations.

Now back to security. You’ll agree with me that it’s so low in the ladder. And the more that defines your state of life, the more it stiffles the other things that ought to motivate you. The reality however is that most of us have security, we however do not have it in ourselves. We have it in others. It’s good to have security in others, to trust and believe, but you should also have a sense of security in yourself. With security firmly put in a system, anybody can grow to level 4. When you however begin to ask yourself the questions of purpose, of meaning, the why questions, you’ll begin to discover that there is a road you must walk, that requires confidence in yourself. You will never unveil your true potentials for as long as fear binds you. Fear of failure, fear of the next meal, fear of security, fear of being ostrachized, fear of demotion/status. That which we fear the most is the ladder below us. Back in the 1950′s there were 5 levels, 5,6 & 7 were overlaps, I think they still are.

Make security your goal, and believe me, it will not be a function of how much you have in your bank account. It will be a function of coming to a reality. That naked and alone in the middle of nowhere, you have what it takes to make it to the top. That your skills and talents can feed you.

I have heard of many people who will ask to resign and the employers will ask to double their salaries. That is security. I have friends who resigned their appointments without another job, and were confident that things will pull through and it did, always did. I have a mentor, who resigned having 10Naira, and his first contract job, which was to consult 2 days a week, made him earn more than 2ce the salary of the highest paid full time employee in the same company. Enjoy the companies training but train yourself. Enjoy the present security but develop the same in yourself.

I hope this helps somebody!

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Adeolu Akinyemi
May 5, 2006

Are you Secure?


As the days go by, I am coming to discover more and more, that many Nigerians don’t feel secure in themselves. The way our system runs has so conditioned people’s minds that rather than have security in something within themselves, we have security in our employers. Most of the time it’s about what THEY have for US, when THEY train US, what THEY are willing to PAY us. All this might not sound bad to you until you take a closer look and see the realities of their implications.

First of all for example, the average Nigerian wants a job where he can guarantee his continued employment beyond a couple of years. You will not be comfortable for example working with a compnay if you were told that you have a 6 months contract. Most people will rather go for jobs where they are placed less and it’s permanent than more and it’s temporary. The poor fellow just doesn’t want to take chances, what if he finishes that one and gets nothing else. He’s not willing to take a bet on his talent, no way, can we blame him?

What is wrong with that? Yeah, it’s not apparent that there is something wrong with that. Even I that I’m writing it, am almost beginning to wonder if that’s not perfect, but I know it’s not. The growth of a human being has 3 stages. He/she is born dependent, grows to crave independence and with maturity he learns to be interdependent. Where we ought to be is not in a state where we are dependent on anything (employers, friends, communities, e.t.c). You should be able to build your talent to a point where you can bet on it. Like my people will say, if you are confident in your charms, you can boast about it. I used to marvel at how the western world was so comfortable with short term contracts, consultancy e.t.c. It’s interesting, but it’s driven by an outlook which is, if I see I need time to put things together in my life, I can leave this, do that and come back again later. Wow…what luxury, what power, what choice. You should build your life to interdependence, where you have by choice decided to be accountable to systems that themselves depend on you.

You might think that things are different in Nigeria, true! However the principles that govern the earth are not partial. Like Einstein said, “God does not throw dice”, gravity in the US is not more than that in Africa. The principles are true everywhere, that if you conciously grow your talent, your value appreciates and you gradually trade dependence for independence enroute interdependence.

How will you know when it’s time? You’ll know! You’ll doubt it, but you’ll feel the nudge. Like an eagle maturing enought to fly. When the winds blow, it feels it’s wings experiencing the uptrust.
…My battery low light just came on..I’ll need to complete this later…I have some personal examples….Adeolu Akinyemi

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Adeolu Akinyemi
May 3, 2006

Take Charge -@180degrees


Title : Take Charge, by Adeolu Akinyemi. ED Generis Solutions Hello all, please can I get your permission to address you like I’m speaking to you one on one? I really want to help and add value, and feel strongly that if I’m free and I express myself I’ll be able to achieve my objective faster. Thank you! First of all, let me say that we had an objective in putting this programme together, that objective was to add value to lives. To educate people and turn things around for people generally. The whole concept was to create a new experience and fire people up to change their lots and consequently the lot of our Nation Nigeria. As you can see, we have decided to give full value, despite the fact that it was free. Our objective was and still is to add quantifiable value, to turn people around and set them up for their dreams. Talking about this noble objective, there was a story I once read, that makes me always want to clarify ahead of the objective, lest it’s misconstrued. There was once an old woman who had three grown up sons. All of these sons had great jobs, did good businesses and were what you would call successful. The old woman -their mother, was doing her 70th birthday and they each decided to honor the mum with a gift. After sending their gifts the met together to discuss the gifts they had each bought for their mum. The first son had the bought the mum a mansion. It was a 10 bedroom state of the art, beach side magnificent domicile. It was simply exquisite, it cost him $50,000. The second son bought the mum a first in class, new in the market, latest version of the Mercedes Benz. He bought this car and got one of the best drivers in the market to go with it, he felt pretty confident that the mum would enjoy the gift; it had cost him $75,000. At last the third son spoke, with a lot of glee and excitement in his voice…surely he had been able to outdo both of his brothers. He had bought the mum a parrot! Parrot? You might wonder, but not any parrot. He said, “We all know how much our mum loves to read the bible but for her ailing eyesight, well I knew that mum really wanted this, so what i did was get mum a parrot that had been in the seminary for the past 7yrs, and had been thoroughly coached on how to recite the entire bible. Mum only had to quote the book and verse, and the parrot will bring it on! This seemed pretty exciting and the brothers agreed, the bird had cost him $50,000 down payment and $100,000 per year for the next 5yrs. 2 weeks later they each received a note from the mum. The letter acknowledged their gifts. To the first son, the mum said, “My son, the gift you bought for me is impractical, I live in only one of the rooms but I have to clean them all! It’s simply too tasking and might kill me before my time. To the second son, “In as much as I think the car is a good one, I haven’t used it, and doubt seriously that I would, where am I going? I have no desires to leave my room; the car is not so helpful. To the thirds on, the mum wrote, “Ha, you are the only one who knows what your mum wants, you are a true son. Thanks very much for the chicken, it tasted so nice!!! Hello all, we have gone through a lot to bring you this sophisticated parrot. Please let it serve its purpose, don’t cook it! Let’s stretch to achieve the objectives. I want to start by asking you a question. Where will you be 5yrs from now? Have you answered that question? You need to. The world is changing rapidly, what was real some years ago is absurd today. We need to be able to answer the question of our position in the future, lest we be irrelevant in it. Let’s take a walk back it time. In just 1900, a little over a hundred years ago, there was no electricity on earth, no cars on the streets, technology was history. In the same breath, the inhabitants of the earth were less than 1 billion. Fast forward that to 1950′s, the population of the world had doubled! With a computer, much less powerful than the least desired one today, NASA had launched a man to the moon. In another 10 years, the world will be about 9 billion. Technology would have taken bigger leaps, the economy that has improved more in 25yrs than 500yrs behind would still have moved again. In that world…5yrs from now, where would you be? The future belongs to those, who believe in the beauty of their dreams. The future is what we make of it! No wind blows in favor of a ship without direction, the wind favors the ablest navigators. You need to set your sail, know your mark and gun for it! I loosely remember a story of a house that was burning in Lagos. Like we used to say then, a magnanimous conflagration was consuming a magnificent domicile, multitudes aggregated with velocity to extinguish it amidst hullabaloo ;-) . Well, to cut a long story short, everybody around town gathered in front of this house. Some where weeping, some crying, others shouting, and many others sharing the pains of those whose properties had been trapped in the 10 story edifice. The most pathetic case was a woman who was literally beside herself weeping and lamenting. All the other victims had to get easy on their complaints as this woman lamented that her baby was in the room on the 10th floor. The fire service men had gathered, but without water. Everybody sorrowed for this woman, but the building burnt and all watched. The 10th floor was on fire, a man had to be insane or madly in love to venture into that building, but while they were all discussing and obviously cowing away from doing any such thing, a fire service man decided to brave the odds and make it straight for the building. He ascended the stairs as quickly as he could in the full view of all, while they all had their hearts in their tongue, all hopeful that it would not be two lives lost. The practically counted the floors for him as he mounted them one after the other, running frantically as he was out of time. By the time he dashed into the room of the 10th floor, all hoped for him. After like 30 seconds of dodging fire crusts, he came out to the stair case. Floor by floor collapsed after him as he held on to the baby all covered with cloth. He ran for dear life, fell, got wounded, but stood up again. As if an a movie with a good ending, he bursts out of the house and was welcomed by the victorious shout of the crowd. They simply went ballistic. He dragged himself to the mother and handed over the baby. The mother was joyous, glad almost anxious. She collected the baby, opened the shawl and cried out bitterly…”its my babies doll you took, not my baby!!! The fireman was daring, courageous bold, intelligent, risk taking, nothing he needed to do that he didn’t do. He had the activity done to get the baby, but he failed in results. Why? Because he didn’t carefully define his target before he moved. Many like this, spend 20yrs climbing the ladder of success only to discover that the ladder is leaning against the wrong wall. What is the future you desire? Write it down! And yes, I’m sure someone will say, but this is Nigeria! This things work in the west, not here. In Nigeria, there are many issues, government is inefficient, no infrastructure, there is complete system failure e.t.c. The government has become the blaming point of bastard excuses. I hear even the ministers and Baba complain about the government, who then is the government! Once upon a time there was a king who put an obstacle on the road as a test. He wanted to see what the villagers would do. Some passed by and complained bitterly about the government, some erected a signpost saying the road belonged to the federal government, some passed without a word, and only one man ventured to remove the stone. When he did, he found a bag of gold underneath, inside which was the message, this belongs to whoever chooses to remove obstacles because underneath them are always opportunities. Everyday different colors of men come to this nation. Have you asked what they might be looking for? Opportunities abound in this country, they are the same problems many complain about, and gold is under every one of them. For example, I’m solving a problem, I’m making jobs available online for people to see www.deoluakinyemi.com/categoryjob-blog , people check the information for free, it solves their problem, but I am getting to earn some dollars by the sides because I make the information available and people go to the site. There are as many opportunities as obstacles around you…Look! You might be looking for easy opportunities, don’t kid yourself. Easy come is still easy go! Nothing that does not take sweat from you is yours! You need to learn that every good thing takes work. Alternative to hard work is hard life. Everybody will work, some will choose their labor, and others will have it bestowed on them. Where do you want to fall? Thomas Edison forced us to have light bulbs. He didn’t give up. When he died, America shut out its light for one minute, in honour of the man who gave it light! What you struggle to achieve is what you’ll be remembered for. The butterfly needs to struggle to break its own cocoon. If you help it, it will not fly. For the strength to fly is derived from the struggle to break out. Don’t look for help from work or gainful struggle. Endure! There is a velocity beyond which all earth bound pulls refuse to hold. That velocity is escape velocity. In everything you do in life, things will attempt to pull you back, keep building your momentum; someday you will escape…soon! Having understood these fundamentals, we also need to ask ourselves, where do people get bypassed by opportunities, and are they redeemable??…here are some reasons. People are not aware of opportunities, people are not qualified, people are qualified but don’t look the part, people are too busy, people are not prepared for the opportunity when it comes, people are not connected……these are excerpts from the speech of Adeolu Akinyemi on 180 degrees, if you are interested in getting to know further…send a comment to book ahead for the CD.

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Adeolu Akinyemi
May 3, 2006

After 180 degrees


It’s after 1am already. I can feel my temperature rising. I have hardly slept properly since after the event. I got home, dozzed for a few hours and woken up to finish preparing for a presentation around past 2 am in the morning. I only just got back again to night to look at the comments people left behind.

I could almost feel tears trickling down my eyes. People were so so grateful. These encouragements are strong, the make you feel happy about the value you are adding and poises you to go on and on. I told myself, if people are really this happy and excited about what these have done to their lives, then it’s worth giving away all the money in the world to make it happen again again and again. And it will happen again.

Many people were so excited they promised to share the news, to spread the word. It’s so good when you act consistent with your values, when you decide to be a gift, no matter the cost. The returns might not be immediate but the rewards will surely come. I’m happy, I feel in touch with my purpose. I am living my dreams!

It takes a lot of courage to leave security for anything else, even your passion. But pay that price today, if you do, you’ll be grateful later in life that you did. Those your dreams have life in them, water them. The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams. The future is what we make of it.

In a few more minuites i’ll need to wake up again. Rest is indeed sweet after labour. Together we can change the landscape of this country for good. WE can do it! We will do it! and one day we will say, we have done it!

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