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

It was 1 am in the morning and the TV in my room was on, I had seen the advert for the movie and had been a little curious. I had a flight for 9am the next morning, and staying awake to watch the film meant that I might not sleep until 3am, would wake up by 5-6am and pack my bags to get to the airport for 8am so I can catch the flight to Warri. It’s going to be working a tight rope, but I gave in to the temptation to watch, and guess what, it was worth it.

The key story in the movie was of a guy – a player, who did not believe in love or the institution of marriage, and had become a serial boyfriend… getting into relationships strictly for the short term value. He always ensured he didn’t get his heart or feelings involved, he had learnt from his uncle the master player, to be exceptional in the art of seduction. He had become lethal, he was great in his game, and he didn’t care much for settling down. His life seemed to go well, until one critical night. That night he was in town to attend the wedding ceremony of his only brother, there were lots of bride maids to kill time with, the wedding planner was an ex-almost-girl friend. The stage was set for one of his normal nights, but not this night. He goes into the gent, and there meets a ghost, the ghost of his player uncle, who came to show him, that this type of life he’s living does not have a good end. Continue Reading »

I’ve been a bit out of circulation for the past 4 days. It’s been a hectic one for me, I’ve been co-facilitating and co-learning a great deal at the Holidays and Cash Leadership Academy 100 level. It’s a really mixed class with an age range of 24-60yrs of age. We are all from different walks of life with different experiences and backgrounds. The class content, energy and opportunities to learn are rich. It’s been a great 4 days and we have 6 more intensive days to go. The training has forced me to go beyond knowing to doing, to utilize what I had kept as knowledge, and in so doing I’m becoming better. It’s funny, but I don’t think I have put myself under the kind of pressure I’m putting myself through now, in a while, it’s so demanding yet so refreshing.

My mind casts back to those days gone, years past when I was under constant pressure. Pressure to teach another the content of a course, pressure to stand in front of a fellowship and share the Word. The pressure of accountability to live right because many other lives depended on yours. The pressure of praying from 12 midnight till 3am regularly without fail, the pressure of studying the scriptures and not just reading it. The pressure of always having a fresh word. I once in a while get asked, how do you stay so sharp and current, how do you stay so knowledgeable? The answer, is quite simple. Continue Reading »

Who is your somebody, and who’s somebody are you? Who is thinking about you as they read through the poem below and in which area are you that somebody? Let me see if I can get my somebody’s. If you are reading this I might just be your somebody… are you mine? While reading below, substitute my name for Somebody and my answers are in the next brackets. Now do it again and leave it as somebody and I hope I make your list in one

The thought of our mortality is one of our greatest reservoirs of wisdom. When we ponder on the transient nature of life, we ask ourselves deep questions and our philosophies are formed. When the question of death is asked, our highest priorities surface. I like the thoughts of Stephen R. Covey, when he says begin with the end in mind. One can hardly understand his or her life’s priorities without extending the equation of life over the point where life ends. Those who regularly connect with their mortality live the most meaningful lives, while in contrast, those who think they would leave forever make a mess of life.

Who will cry when you die? Ask yourself this question and it might reveal to you the quality of life you are currently living. Ask why will they cry, and you’ll see the things you are living for. The days are inching close to when it would be 1yr that heaven gained my mother, the days seem fast to the observers, but the value of that time, and the many times her value was missed is priceless. My eyes have not offered it’s tears for public display, but my heart has bled over and over with tears of blood, thank God for his comfort. When life has meaning, it always leaves a clear vacuum in the lives of other people. This vacuum makes people cry, makes people hurt and makes many wish it was possible to reverse death. When you die, who will cry and why? Continue Reading »

Many times you will hear people say that their big breaks happened when they responded to an inner voice. They felt the urge to do something that was not natural or had no empirical data to back. They moved, and somehow their move in retrospect seemed perfect. Take it or leave it, God does speak to man, most times he may not be in the fire or in the wind, he may be in a still small voice. A voice so still, if you are not watchful you may not catch it, a voice so small, it’s easy to hear and ignore. God does speak, and let me tell you very firmly – your success and prosperity is connected to the instruction that he gives. His instructions are the inspirations behind innovations, his revelations are worth searching for and finding out. All that his seen will pass away, but that which takes root from his instruction and word will last them all!

What about people who don’t know God, who don’t like God or claim no allegiance to God, do they still need to hear His instruction to succeed? Does God speak to them? God speaks to all men, even in his creations his words are loud and clear, the basic reality of God is made manifest in a long and thoughtful look at creation. Sometimes when those He calls his own miss the signals long enough, any mere man – popularly referred to as stones will rise to the occasion. God does speak, but most times man cannot hear him. Not because he cannot hear him actually, but because he cannot understand his words. I’m going to show you one way, just one way today on how you can get yourself into God’s channel! Continue Reading »

What you are about to read is a piece from a new friend and sister of mine. She has been reading from this site for a while, and one day gathered herself and contacted me. Like many of you, she felt that what I was writing was for her, and that rather than let her life pass one second at a time, she needed to get herself involved in the things she truly enjoys.  She lives over 10hours away from where I live, so meeting was difficult, but somehow we met – thanks to Holidays and Cash.

After our brief meeting that had so many other people around, we communicated again on phone once and talked about what she was doing and what she would really love to do.  I encouraged her to start her blog, and to give herself an opportunity to do what she really wants to do. I counselled her to document her progress, take pictures and really take in the feeling evoked from following her passion and heart. She decided to spend her time at an orphanage, and the piece she wrote when she came back blew my mind. Amazing things can happen when people grow in their soil. Have an exciting read. Continue Reading »

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 »

“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 »

Hate him, like him, adore him or rubbish him, we all grew up to know, like and celebrate Michael Jackson. Every school had someone who could mimic him the most, almost all of us tried. In some countries where they couldn’t speak English, they claimed they knew two words of English – Michael Jackson! Michael Jackson was a phenomenum, a rare example of a mortal who hugged limelight for 45 almost uninterrupted years. Rarely do stars shine for as long as 15yrs, he trippled the rare, he was sui generis – in a class of his own. In kiddies parties in the backside of many of the countries of the world,till tomorrow, Michael Jackson uniforms are still regular features.

I couldn’t follow the CNN regular updates on his death, I was in the hospital waiting on my mum, when it happened, thankfully she is making it! It’s been difficult for me to really get my thoughts together on all the topics that are burning so hot on my mind, but for your sake I have decided to still write. I’m currently in the sun, on a bench outside the intensive care unit  of the University of Ilorin teaching hospital. Being in a hospital is an experience that balances you, close proximity with the after life brings clarity. Today, I’ll like to share a few lessons I believe we can all glean from the life of a once living legend – MJ! Continue Reading »

I and a team of my friends and colleagues rushed down from Lagos to Ilorin yesterday night. We got to Ilorin around 7.30pm haven kept about 500 students waiting for over 2hrs. Manchester United was battling it out with Arsenal within a few minutes from our getting there, but the students waited for us to come, and waited again for 3 more hours while I shared some thoughts and strategies with them on how to position themselves in the next few months.

Being in Ilorin and speaking to these crowd of eager youths was fulfilling and exciting for me. By the time we finished, it was 11pm, and we didn’t have so much time to answer questions. I am dedicating this post to them, to fill in their comments, and ask their questions. 

A few thoughts have run in my head since last night, I’ve been doing some thinking about what I said and what even I have learnt. I don’t know who is out there that needs to be blessed by these words, I can assure you however that if you practice what you are about to read, you will make history! These are not the things I spoke about, if you want that, buy the tapes , let the student body make some money Continue Reading »