December 19, 2010

So Much to be Grateful For

It’s 12:54am, 20th December, 2010. The year is coming close to an end, and it feels like just a few days ago that we said happy new year! The year has been quite eventful, we’ve made new friends, learnt new things, ventured into new opportunities and journeyed through varied experiences. There have been tough times, challenging seasons and great moments! There have been thoughts that crossed my mind, that I deliberately shut out, and there have been experiences I have savored way beyond the moment. He that thinks, thanks! I don’t know about you, but as I think about the last one week, and I think about the last 11 months, my heart wells up with gratitude, my face is flushed and my eyes teary. I’ve not had it all smooth, but there is so so much to be grateful for!

Can you think back and consciously find reasons to be grateful? Has it been worth it? You have a choice how you see the cup of your life. Half empty or half full is simply a game of perspectives. A failed attempt can be seen as one more way not to do it, or it can be seen as the basis for defining the time as wasted. Thinking back daily, weekly, monthly and yearly, there is so much to be grateful for.

Please count your blessings with me. Permit me to start from the base of Maslow’s hierarchy of needs.

1. Biological and Physiological Needs

For the basic needs of life – air, food, drink, shelter, warmth, sex and sleep, I am truly grateful. Those who have been denied of many of these are not worse in character or less than human. Some are on constant oxygen supply, many find it difficult to feed, many thirst and many do not have places to stay. To refuse to think that we are privileged is to take things for granted. I am grateful. Can you remember anything to grateful for?

2. Safety Needs

For the Safety needs of life -security, protection, order, law, limits, stability, e.t.c. I am truly grateful. My family and loved ones have been kept from harm. Financially, health-wise and physically, we have enjoyed security, we have traveled far and wide and have been kept safe and sound. Some are unsafe and insecure, we are not better than them. For these and other blessings, I am truly grateful. Can you remember safety needs met, to be grateful for?

3. Love and Belonging Needs

For my love needs in life – family, affection, work group and relationships brought into my life, I am grateful! Nothing beats the chorus of “daddy”, “daddy”, “daddy”, when I get home, as my children compete for their hugs. Nothing beats hanging out with my wife for more than 14hrs everyday. Nothing compares with the A2W team, that surround me, and the relationships that this year has brought my way. In the area of love and a sense of belonging, I have a lot to be grateful for. What about you?

4. Esteem Needs

For the sense of worth and achievement bestowed on me in the course of this year, I am grateful. I am grateful for the awards, grateful for the achievements, the responsibility, the reputation and even the status bestowed on me. In the area of esteem needs, there is a lot to be grateful for. I am grateful, how about you? Mind you though, we are each motivated by the level we don’t yet have, so in case you have no esteem needs, be grateful that you have little or nothing to worry about.

5. Cognitive Needs

I am grateful for the hunger for knowledge that has driven me to read, to seek to know and to have a sense of meaning and of purpose. We talk so boldly and take it for granted, we have a sense of purpose, are driven to read and don’t see it as a big deal. There is so much to be grateful for, are you grateful?

6. Aesthetic Needs

For my personal growth and an increased appreciation of beauty, of balance and of form, I am truly grateful. I have been blessed with awesome sights, been thrilled by adrenalin pumping exercises. I have vacationed in different parts of the world, and enjoyed so many views, for these and more I am grateful. Do you now have reasons to be grateful?

7. Self Actualization Needs

For giving me the opportunities and the privileges to push myself towards achieving my God given potentials, I am grateful. I look at myself a year back, and I have learnt so much, and grown so fast it amazes me. “God, I am thankful”

8. Transcendence Needs

Nothing beats the feeling of hearing a “thank you” from someone you have labored to add value to and ensure turns out better than you. There is no greater joy than the joy that comes from pouring out yourself for others. Nothing equates with that feeling of rising to the height of ones personal potential and helping another person take the same journey. For the opportunities you have given me to help others become fulfilled, I am truly grateful. Are you grateful?

Make up your mind to enter into the new year with gratitude. If we think deeply enough, we can always find 5 things everyday to be grateful for. Once you can retain the attitude of gratitude, there is nothing big heading your way that will miss you. You will suddenly discover that you have become like a magnet for the things you desire.

Adeolu Akinyemi

September 14, 2010

It’s not all about you!

We have all somehow averagely gotten ourselves into a saddening grind. We take up jobs because it’s the best choice for us, we negotiate hard because we want to win, we do deals because we need the money, we go to church because we want to be blessed, say long prayers for personal requests. It’s all about us, it’s all about what we want, who we want and when we want it. We want a better Nigeria because of ourselves, because of our children, we want good healthcare because we need it. In this saddening cycle of life, it’s all about us. If you think deeply about it however, you will realize… it’s not all about you!

“A person starts to live when he can live outside himself.” -Albert Einstein

The way life is wired, you cannot have true fulfillment or joy living life simply for yourself. You cannot be wealthy, cannot have a great marriage, you cannot enjoy career convergence living life at the level of “me, me, me”. The best things in life are deliberately reserved by God for those who stretch beyond themselves. Continue reading →

Adeolu Akinyemi

October 14, 2009

Staying Relevant in the 21st Century

)Just less than a century ago, the world ran without light bulbs, without TV and without the computer. Imagine a world without these things, yet men and women faired well. Interestingly however a lot of work had gone on in the close of the 19th century that birthed these things in the wake of 20th century. The tools changed and the old way of doing things became obsolete. In the same way, a lot of new things started to pop up in the close of the 20th century, some of these things are already taking roots in the 21st Century and except you and I are well equipped, we are about to become obsolete.

Different times call for different skills. I won’t mince words with you, if you don’t upgrade, you will gradually degrade. In this new day and age, stagnancy is redundancy, stationary is backward! If you are not moving forward, you are moving backward, the middle ground is losing it’s relevance, you are either action prone or you might not even be worthy of being called a spectator. I hope for your own sake that you do not wait for 10yrs from now to make meaning out of what I’m writing to you. It is crucial that you embrace new skills or you’ll be the gateman or nightwatch man of the next generation. Trust me, it doens’t matter how much money you have in your account today, like Warren Buffet said -”It’s all on paper”.

You want to be relevant and make impact in this generation? The following are assets you must have.

1. Communication Skills

Learn how to talk, how to write and very importantly how to listen! These have always been important skills, but their value in this emerging world economy is going to be unbelievable. It doesn’t matter if it’s to one or to a crowd, your speech must envoke respect, your letters motivate action and your attention captivating! Learn to communicate exceptionally well. Go for courses, study others, read books, develop your ability to say the same thing in the best way, and to hear what others miss. Evaluate yourself as fair, that way you can gun for better and best.

Can you talk to another person? Can you speak to a crowd? Can you sustain your thoughts in front of an audience? Do you fidget or get scattered when talking to others? Do you have a good attention span?

2. A Rich Network

Learn to cultivate and build a network. Today, life is not about what you know, or who you know. It’s about what you know, who you know, who knows you and for what? Who you know is meaningless if you can’t leverage on the relationship. Successful people in this age will be people who have a rich network. Rich is big, rich is great relationships, rich is useful networks. Friends are like clothes, when you are down to nothing they keep you looking great, ane when you are up to something, they give you presence. This is the generation that kills the lone ranger and murders it’s stars. Your relevance is not in how better than everybody else you are, it’s a function of how much you have invested in bringing others up to where you are. It’s easy to break a broom stick but difficult to bend a bunch. Exist in strong clusters, and stay alive and relevant.

Do you belong to any society? Do you have a network of people that are different from you? If you suddenly need a bailout do you have people who can come to your rescue? Do you need loans from friends or strangers?

3. Internet Leverage

The point and click technology was invented in 1993. Prior to this time, only geeks could browse the internet. It was strictly a command prompt concept and you needed to be almost a programmer to access the world wide web. With point and click, the internet was partially democratized. Today, the usage is growing exponentially. If you don’t have a footprint on the internet, you will be irrelevant and forgotten in a few years. I’m not talking about merely having an email address or a facebook account. I’m saying have presence, learn the many tools that afford you the opportunity to leverage on the internet. The age of small kiosk in the middle of nowhere is fast phasing out, get online and get relevant! People that have a few more years to live are leveraging on the internet, I pity young people without a clue.

Do you have a website? How many friends do you have on facebook? When I search your name on google how many results do I get? Is there anything else I can search for to find you? What is your address on earth? What is your address on the internet?

4. Investments in People

When something becomes a mere cliche it robs us of the true value of the meanings. Phrases like “people are our greatest assets” are so often said that people seldom pause to take in the realities, at least for this century. Mark my words, everything people are investing in will crumble and ultimately fall. Real Estate prices will crash, stock prices will further plummet, businesses will run down, and intellectual property will face lawsuits. The only thing that will appreciate is the value of the investments you have made in people! There are strong spiritual undertones running beneath the current of my words, you can go into the scriptures to search them out, but believe it, the only investment that always pays is that made in people. When you give to the poor, you lend to God! When you empower another, your reward is not bound by the earth, it transcends this realm. Are you making investments in people?

Are you anybody’s mentor? Is someone blessing God they met you? Or are you too busy taking care of yourself? Does your plan include anyone else? Is one day in a school in 4 months enough? Are you making anybody? Or are you simply focused on your own career path? Don’t be a rich fool!

5. Influence

I’ve said this before, I’m writing it again, everybody sells something. Either an opinion, themselves, products or services. If you can’t generate leads and convert them, you are going to be at the bottom of the food chain in this century. Develop your ability to sell, to convince or influence another. Influence is a powerful concept, like fire and many powerful things, it can be used morally or ammorally. Influence is a necessary asset for this day and age.

Are you influencial? Does your opinion count to any others? Do you have an opinion? Are you pushing your opinion? Or are you dead silent?

6. Self Development

It has been said that they key to the 21st century would be the ability to learn, unlearn and relearn. You want to succeed in this century, you must develop yourself. The centre for learning and development has moved however, it has moved away from the physical schools as we once knew it. Learning takes place not when the teacher stands, but when the student is ready. The drive of learning in this century is you and I, the students. We must learn by reading, we must learn from wise people, we must learn from the experiences of others, and by all means we must learn by our own experiences. I tell people, when you try, you fail, when you fail, you learn, when you learn, you ultimately succeed! Failure is the grandparent of success, learning it’s mother, and trying the great grand parent. It has been said that readers are leaders, I beg to slightly disagree, readers could be historians, but leaders and definitely readers!

What is your philosophy and what informs it? What is your paradigm on society, or religion, on finance, on politics or have you allowed your schooling to tamper with your education? This is an age where slowness is determined by how long it takes you to understand. Do you analyze and theorize or do you get your hands dirtied and your nose bloodied in the gathering of knowledge and experience. In the partway of knowledge there are no regrets, only lessons, are you learning for real, or are you still holding on to what your teacher told you? When you were 18, you wanted to be a Dr. Now you are are a Doctor and are 30, shoudl you continue to let the 18yr old dictate the life of the 30yr old, or should you look at your life in fresh light?

The last few weeks have been hectic for me. So hectic, I have not been able to do that which I love – write! In these weeks however I have met with hundreds of people, in an audience and in close range, and the more I engage with people, the more I realize that the world has changed. (I promised a young lady that I’ll mention her… her surname is Bello – remind me pls )Just less than a century ago, the world ran without light bulbs, without TV and without the computer. Imagine a world without these things, yet men and women faired well. Interestingly however a lot of work had gone on in the close of the 19th century that birthed these things in the wake of 20th century. The tools changed and the old way of doing things became obsolete. In the same way, a lot of new things started to pop up in the close of the 20th century, some of these things are already taking roots in the 21st Century and except you and I are well equipped, we are about to become obsolete.

Adeolu Akinyemi

July 5, 2009

Life Lessons from My Mummy

“The essence of life is to live it, not watch it” – Adeolu Akinyemi

The inspiration for this quote, is merely watching my mum, and listening out to the people whose lives she had touched. My mum was important to so many people, she was their “somebody” that made their lives better, their crosses easier to bear and rekindled their hope. My mum was a template for the virtous woman described in Prov 31, the more I read it, the more I remember her. I have not ceased to ask myself a fundamental question, “when would have been a good time for her to die?” The more I ask and think, the more I realize, that for us her children, for her brother, friend, business partner and lover – my dad, for her relations near and far and for the many lives she touched, there would never be a good time! There is never a good time to lose a loved one, even at 90, she’ll still have left us puzzled. I can remember my dad shedding tears at the burial of his 78yrs old mother, there is never a good time. One thing is sure though, life should be measured by donation, not duration. What matters is not how long, it’s how well! Thinking like this, I have every course to celebrate my mum’s temporary separation from me. I am confident that we’ll meet again at Jesus’ feet, I am confident that she has voluntarily joined the company that constitute the cloud of witnesses. I am happy that my mum lived a life that if I can set as benchmark for mine, I’ll be driven till I’m done! I know that God is all wise, all his word is perfect and all his ways are just.

My mum had a glorious exit, and there are many things to learn from her life. I’ll attempt a few here, and if I’m so inspired, I’ll do a book in her honour. On the 21st of June, 2009, my mum dressed for her last church service. Very early in the morning of that day, she bade farewell to all of us her children. We had all come home from Lagos, for my younger sister’s wedding introduction the previous day. Even though the meeting was meant to have less than 60 people, my mum had killed one of her cows (yeah.. she has cows she’s rearing) and shared it for all her children and sibblings. We all saw mummy on Sunday, unaware of course that that was the last time we’ll see her alive and well. We hugged, waved and went. In a series of events, that led to her driving to church, and sitting, as ever and always beside her husband she decided to share her testimony. She raised a song as she stood up, and stood at the pulpit (Gbese ope me po, mi o le san tan, sugbon o sibe sibe, hun o se iwon ti mo le se, baba a laanu mi, e ma se o baba – My debt of thanksgiven is more than I can pay, but never the less, I will do the best I can, my father the merciful, thank you). Everyone sang along, and she started to share her testimony. She shared on, until she got to a point and announced to the church, I am feeling dizzy, at which point she slumped in the ready hands of my dad and her pastor. That was when the chariot that took her to heaven came, that was the last time she stood on her feet for the next 11 days that ended with her being taken. The doctors called it a hemorrhagic stroke, and showed that it was really up to God or nature. Between those days, she spoke for some and was unconscious for others. Her life flashed before our eyes and I’m sure hers as well. Her 56yrs have been more life than 200 regular years. Many hope to die in the lord, my mum was a child of God at her death, and even took her departure from his house -the assembly of his people. Continue reading →

Adeolu Akinyemi

June 24, 2009

Before you lose your job

One day you will lose your job! Either by choice or by force! One day you will have to go away from that place you have been going and coming from for however long it has taken you. In life, everything has a start and an end, there is a day to born and a day to die, a day to begin and a day to end. Those who live the highest quality of life are those who live today with an eye on their end. The greatest liberation any human can ever experience is when his/hear fears don’t hold him/her back. The same way that dying makes living exciting, the same way the thought of the day we’ll lose our jobs, should make you spend the time you currently have wisely!

I heard have heard of GMs, SMs, Ds who lived in big houses, drove the flashiest cars end up as highclass beggers and mere social and political commentators. Why? Because while they were on their jobs, they thought erroneously that it would last forever. They did not know that the end was nearer than far. While they carried buckets, they considered the act of stooping to build pipes too low for them. Some of them left their jobs with huge bank balances, but the enterpreneurial way, which as no respect for years of experience dealt them a knock out in the early rounds of their ventures. Some of them were thieves, what they got was stolen and it went the way of stolen funds. The words I write to you today, will stand firm as judgement for your future, if you ever live less than what you were created to do! When your life can be summarized by a routine that does not have a date of escape, you are like the children of Isreal who kept on cycling round a mountain instead of making progress. Stop hiding incompetence or inability to add value behind a company logo. Start exposing yourself and getting yourself set for when you will lose your job. Mark my words, the first showers of the great storms is all that we have seen, many who are comfortable today will beg tomorrow. Many who are not developing skills today will be slaves tomorrow, and many who have ill gotten money today will be needy tomorrow. The storm is coming, let who is wise join the company of Noah in the Ark of deliverance that is being built and let the fools scorn and laugh. He who laughs last, laughs best. Continue reading →

Adeolu Akinyemi

February 23, 2009

On Your Marks…

I typically write the title of my post before I start writing, that way it keeps me focused on what I really want to write about. Today however, I’m doing things slightly differently. I’m going to write the title after I am done. What I have in my heart this morning is a theme, and I’m certain that after I have transferred my thoughts and feelings to words, the title will appear.

The strong theme being expressed on my mind this morning is “Adding Memorable Value”. I have been publishing articles online now for a little over 3 years. My articles have moved from total obscurity to some level of prominence. I have also migrated from no comments to as many 10,000 plus comments. I have articles with single digit views, and articles that have over 100,000 views. I have written articles that can be classified as useless, written those that can be classified as moderately valuable, and I have written articles that have added memorable value. My heart desire from today, is to step up, and provide more content regularly that will enter into the class of adding memorable value! Continue reading →

Adeolu Akinyemi

December 23, 2008

Try a Little Kindness

If you see your brother standing by the road
With a heavy load from the seeds he sowed
If you see your sister falling by the way just stop and say you’re going the wrong way
You’ve got to try a little kindness just show a little kindness
Shine your light for everyone to see
And if you try a little kindness you’ll overlook the blindness
Of the narrow minded people on the narrow minded streets

Don’t walk around the down and out lend a helping hand instead of doubt
And the kindness that you show every day will help someone along their way
You’ve got to try a little kindness…
You’ve got to try a little kindness…

I don’t know if you grew up around the same time I did, if you did, the chances are 8/10 that you will have heard this song by Genesis before. Can you remember? That big round “record” with a tooth brush like reader on the player Those were the days – the disks were disks, nothing compact about them. Right now I can perfectly picture where the records where kept, I remember this season, and I can hear a few other soundtracks – “Baba ore re ma po, baba, melo la o san”, “Odun nlo so pin o, baba rere”, “Won le ma so so ku so, so ko gbo, Let them say ”, “Who the cap fits, let them wear it”, “… e.t.c. All the collections all the sorts. I’m sure some of you can pick yours out from these, but first let’s get down to the business of today. Try a little kindness. Continue reading →

Adeolu Akinyemi

December 17, 2008

The Why of Wealth

There are days (a lot of days these days) when I lie down and ask myself what is really the most important thing in life. What really is worth one’s energies? Is it pleasure? Money? Impact? Wisdom? “ki la n le gan gan?” I have analysed it from a philosophical point of view, I have read the views of Aristotle – who rationalized from the need for pleasure, the desire for glory and the search for knowledge. Aristotle came to a point where according to him, the most important thing in life is the contemplative life. In the Nichomachean Ethics, Aristotle analyzes the quest of all life falls on the planes of a search for pleasurable, political or contemplative. He analyzes that all life is lived for some higher purpose, he analyzes that we all pursue happiness, and the talk goes on asking about what truly brings happiness. I would never do justice to his book in one paragraph, if you are interested, you can get more thoughts on this here, trust me though, it’s not going to be an easy read for the average mind.

I have also studied the bible extensively about the answer to the same question-”What truely is the purpose of life?” What are we here to do, and what will bring the highest fulfillment. I read the thoughts of the experiential and experimental biblical philosopher in Bible – The King in Ecclestiastes. After living a life where he pursues all that man can pursue to gain happiness – women, wisdom, fame, projects, e.t.c. He came to a final conclusion that the whole purpose of man is to fear God and obey his commandments. In my own thoughts, I have come to find out as well, that the highest priority a man can pursue meaningfully on this earth is to serve God’s purpose and desire. This purpose differs from individual to individual, but in the final analysis, life is measured against a standard, and that standard is the original intention in the mind of God for that individual. Continue reading →

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Daily Motivation and Development for People and Organizations – ASE

Category Archives: Giving

So Much to be Grateful For

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