Self-Motivation, Personal Growth and Entrepreneurship Development on DeoluAkinyemi.com

I’m consistently irritated and angered by how many people are so comfortable with the lukewarm position of being spectators. The myriads of purposeless souls who would rather watch and analyze than engage and participate. I’m puzzled at how people can become professors at subjects their only interface with is theoretical. People earn a reputation for being critical of things they are obviously shallow about, the fear of failure robs people of the will to try, the fear of death numbs people and even though they don’t die, neither do they live.

Hear this and let it ring loud in your heart, “when all you do is watch, you are less than those who lost!” Someone once said, it’s better to change, discover that change was wrong and change back, than not to have changed at all. There is always merit in action, if a process doesn’t leave you with wealth, it’s certain to leave you with a wealth of experience. It’s better to fight and lose, than give in from the beginning, it’s better to try and fail, than to analyze fromt he sidelines. Bad players win commentaries, there is no commentary for spectators. My charge to you today is simple, don’t be a mere observer. Don’t venture only into speculation, venture into engaging and participating. Rather than join the crowd of spectators airing their opininon on plenty of reasons why failure is imminent, why not enter into the arena and win or lose and forever seal your reputation as one who is involved! Continue Reading »

Everyday, I get letters from people, recieve calls and generally interact with people accross different class divides and age ranges.  These letters are usually in 2 categories, there are letters that involve a request and letters that are simply saying thank you and showing appreciation. I also get questions, comments, enquiries, e.tc. Yesterday, I got a letter from someone that I have his permission to share and respond for him and all who occupy a similar circumstance to read.

Here is the letter, read carefully and find my response below.

“Chairman,

How you dey? How’s business and family?

Sorry, i’ve been out of touch. Its not just because of time constraints, but as a result of the fact that i didn’t know how to ask the questions i’ve been wanting to ask. Its been an issue of the right questions create the right answers. That kind of thing.

By the way, what we talked about resumed yesterday, thanks for your suggestion. I used what you recommended and it worked. God bless you so much for ur wealth of knowledge and depth of experience. God bless.

In this mail, i’ll be asking the right questions. Kindly take time to answer me- don’t rush. Thanks.

I’m in a fix- financially. Continue Reading »

“After a keen competition between Omozele and Ikotun Adebisi, I’m glad to announce that the winner is…. to be announced on the next post, and the gift too”

In the last 4 days, I have learnt a lot of things, seen a lot of things and heard tons, but interestingly it’s amazing me that the things that left an impression on me where not the things that talked to my head, but the things that ministered to my heart. Never in such a concentrated period of time have I seen myself cry and weep in succession. Yesterday was worse, I couldn’t keep the tears back for 30 mins, and my handkerchief had been left behind in the room where I slept. It was so bad, that I couldn’t even respond properly to the lady beside me who was trying to let out her emotions by talking to me. We were perfect strangers, but I was no where around, I was too far away and too long gone to interact in words,  what I heard touched my heart and lit the fires in my soul. Ife, get ready for me on the 13th of June, you’ll be seeing a reloaded version of me!

The words I heard were not the words of gifted orators, there was nothing spectuacular or polished about their phonetics or their use of English. In fact, they couldn’t even speak in English, both of them. They spoke in the languages they could communicate with while someone was kind enough to interprete. They kept me in one cycle of emotion after the other for over 30 straight minutes. I’ll try and share with you the message with hopefully close to the intensity with which it hit me, I hope this makes you search your soul, review your life, and weep deeply as well. I hope it changes you like it has changed me. It was simply unbelievable!! Continue Reading »

The process of living is the process of dying – literally. I usually tell people on their birthday’s that one year more is one year less. As we advance in years our life reserves get reduced and we embark on the process of dying. Just like the pages of a book, as the left piles up, the right dimishes until we hit the back cover and turn the book over. Living is dying.

It is however more interesting that in order then to live life fully, one must embrace the possibility of death. Full life is impeded by the fear of dying. The pages drag slowly, the moments lack zest, when we refuse to plunge or dive because we are afraid! We have only one shot at life, yes, but it’s going to end with death anyway, so why not live it fully with no regrets? Why not enjoy the journey since the destination is sure? Why not live it the way it was designed to be lived – with passion, excitement and fulfillment?

“People living deeply have no fear of death” – Anais Nin

I shudder at the statistics of people who really live deeply? Only a few percentage of people ever live beyond ordinary lives. Many of us unconciously live with the template of Solomon Grundi, our lives follow a predictable sequence. We wake up early every morning and engage in a race to work and back. Our key motivation is not more life, but the fear of not losing the one that we have. We race to work not because of passion, love or excitement, but because to put food on the table we think we must! We hope that maybe one day we will live our dreams, one day we will suddenly have a rush of courage and give up who we are for what we are capable of becoming. One day comes one day late, and then you are late and it’s late. Yank off your life from the slow road guarded by fear, move into the lane where life is rich and adventurous. It’s not a road void of challenges, nay, but it’s exciting and full of stories. It’s also empowering and capable of actually making you a guiding light for thousands or millions of prisoners of fear.

Here are 5 things you can do to live life more fully. Continue Reading »

Now I know why I have not been writing so frequently! There is regularly a clash of thoughts in my mind for having to write about something and speak about something else, and when the writing and the speaking need to happen on the same day, it’s tough. Today for example, I had made up my mind that I will write about “Freedom”, but in a few hours from now as well, I will be with the GTBank training school to talk about “Personal Effectiveness and Life Mastery”, then tomorrow morning I’m sharing a platform with Great Leaders (Rev Sam Adeyemi, Mrs. Ibukun Awosika, Pastor Ben Akabueze and Mazi Sam Ohunabunwa) to talk about “Character in Career and Business” (9th May, 10am – Daystar, 71 Oregun Road, Kudirat Abiola Way). As soon as I’m done from there, I head for another seminar where I speak about Financial Freedom and share a business opportunity (9th May, 2pm&4pm -Generis Solutions, 3rd Floor Oluwatobi House, 71 Allen Avenue, Ikeja), as soon as that is done, I begin to put finishing touches to my presentation for Good Tidings Bible Church, Abuja on Wednesday on “Entrepreneurship” (13th May, 5:30pm - Good Tidings Bible Church International, Kingdom Centre Plot 125 Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala Way, After Julius Berger Headquarters, Utako, Abuja). Then I have a number of other seminars in Abuja, come back to lagos for another one on the weekend and start finalizing my preparations to head for Malaysia.

Thinking about all that needs to go on today, and then tomorrow is sufficient to create a writers block. Mixed with that also is my desire to really make a comment about the Ekiti Re-Run fiasco! If I however write too many thoughts in one post, I can get accused of being desultory. This worries me, but I guess like today’s topic, I simply need to set myself free of the encumberances created by expectations and standards, and speak from my heart, exactly the way the words flow . I’ll try to stick to the topic of freedom, while I use the key things I must express myself on as examples. Let’s together see what is capable of building up. Continue Reading »

When the lazy man yawns the market women hear

The lazy Man likes to prolong action, he wishes that it rains so he can sleep

It’s no use telling a lazy man not to sleep, the day of his shame is nearer than ever.

 

The lazy man hears about a sumptuous meal of pounded yam, and draws a chair

He hears of a journey to the farm and carelessly throws away the cutlass

The lazy man cannot strike the palm tree for wine

Neither can he shoot at the dove for meat.

 

The lazy man gets to the palm tree and opens his mouth

Yes, it must drop for free!

What you have just read about is my conversion to English of a poem I learnt in Yoruba class in Secondary School. Let me give you the raw form so that just in case you understand the language it can make some sense to you. If you don’t understand Yoruba, please feel free to skip this part. Continue Reading »

There is an experiment that I read about that opened my eyes to the truth about Fear. I’ll narrate the story to you and guide you into my understanding of the inner workings of fear and how to break away from limiting mind sets. There is nothing that stops living a full and fulfilling life like fear. Fear shackles, holds back, and paralyzes good initiatives. Many of our best ideas have never seen the light of day because of fear. Many of us are living way less than our possibilities because of fear. Many of us are stuck with Jobs we don’t like, relationships we don’t enjoy, dreams we haven’t birthed, desires we don’t express, all because of fear. The fear of the unknown, the fear of being wrong, the fear of failing, the fear of falling, the fear of poverty, the fear of isolation. Fear! If you can break free from the hold of fear, not only will your words be motivating, your life will be inspiring. When we break lose from our fears, we unconsciously liberate others around us to do the same! 

How fear works is quite interesting, and I think this little experiment clarifies it. Imagine a long flat board, 100 meters long, and 1 meter wide (1 meter is a little more than 3 rulers and for 100 meters, think about the track in secondary school) Imagine it lying on the ground, and you are asked to walk on it without moving off it at any point. If the picture of this is clear in your mind, walking along this board for 100 meters should be a piece of cake. In fact, you should be able to almost close your eyes and run on it. Right? Now imagine that this same flat board, was lifted up to the height of a sky scraper and fixed between two sky scrapers for you to walk on? Imagine, it and ask if you would? The truth is, you will be a lot more reluctant to walk, the board has not changed, it was the same board you would have run on confidently a few mins ago. But all of a sudden now, you are afraid, the fact that it is high up is allowing you to be clouded by the possibilities of what might happen, you are suddenly thinking more about the consequences of falling than the prospects of walking or even running. This is the way fear works, it takes your eyes off possibilities into the real of consequences. You begin to imagine things that may and will never happen, and it stops you dead in your tracks. Fear is the greatest road block to success, and except you learn to live above and in spite of your fears you are doomed! Doomed to mediocrity, doomed to average, doomed to live out a frustrated and unfulfilling existence. If you don’t face your fears, it will back you down into the corners of timidity, batter you into cowardice and leave you an underachiever. We need to understand fear and free ourselves of it’s grip, here is how. Continue Reading »

Dante Gabriel Rossetti a poet and an artist was once approached by an elderly man. The elderly man approached him to show him some of his works of art, for the great artist to make a few comments about their value and viability. The story says, that when Rossetti saw the works of art, he could not conceal his assessment of the fact that they were useless. Being a kind man however, he did not make fun of it, he simply explained to him, that he could not lie to him and felt that the works of art were of little or no value. The elderly man as you would guess, was disappointed, but the didn’t let it shake him too much. Before turning around to leave, he asked the great artist for an opportunity to get his remarks on the works of art of a student of his. The artist obliged him, and the elderly man presented the works to him. The eyes of the artist lit up! 

Dante Rossetti, was impressed with the works of art, and generously poured accolades on it. In fact, he told the elderly man to ensure that he did whatever he could to encourage the student. From what he could see, he really has real talent and something unique. Contrary to Rossetti’s expectations that the old man would feel hurt that his student had potentials to be greater, the old man seemed visibly moved, emotionally so! “Is that your son, the great artist asked?” Seeing that there must be some connection. The elderly man responded, “no, it’s not my son, that was me 40yrs ago, I only wished I had heard what you just told me now then, I would have been encouraged to paint.” Continue Reading »

I’m sure this will create different answers in different minds. Is there a game that can be classified as the greatest? Is it football, hockey, golf, cricket or basket ball? Or is it one of those not too popular games that has been discovered to have the capacity to excite and fascinate us the most? Which is the greatest game on earth, and what are the parameters that make it so? Do we measure by the thrills? The population of the world actively engaged in the game or it’s process? The degree by which our lives are affected by them or do we use statistics from opinion polls?

Whatever it is that we chose to use however, certain facts are undeniable. Football is a game that has the capacity to literally arrest a great percentage of the world in front of their television sets. More people in the world play golf and football more than any game. The thrill and the followership of basketball in America and increasingly globally is on the increase. The fanatic support of teams, of stars and of championships is tending towards idolatory. The games have become a rallying point of our social lives, we spend days watching, spend hours talking, minutes updating the scores and seconds rejoicing. These games are great, but none of them qualifies as the greatest game in the world. Continue Reading »

I was reading a story some days ago that I had read before, but it struck me in a new way! It is a proverb, that when the student is ready, the teacher will appear. I have noticed this a lot in my life. That what I have seen before takes on new meaning because of the experiences that I am having. I know for how long I drove in the car with my dad for example, without paying attention to how the car was driven. It came to a time however, that the student in me was so ready, that everything that was done became a lesson for me. We are at various points in our journey, and the stories told today may not be relevant to you today, but keep them close to your heart, for as soon as the student in you is ready, the teacher will appear!

In this story, a prophet was about to die, this prophet was not a fake prophet, he was a real prophet. He was real in that he had said different things and they had come to pass, he had also done many great works, and miracles and signs. He was a respected and highly revered prophet in the land, and even the king was installed by him. On his death bed, the king came to him, and sought for him to bless him this last time. To appeal to his emotions, the king said the same words that the prophet uttered when his own mentor was departing. The prophet was touched, he decided to bless the king, but not in the conventional way of blessing, he requested that the king perform some acts of symbolism as a channel for his blessings. What you are about to read, is the strategy for ensuring that that which is yours in potential, reaches you in reality. Enjoy Continue Reading »