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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July 25, 2008

Head or Heart?


Many times, we dilly dally between these two positions. We wonder if it was better to follow our head’s or to follow our hearts. We believe that to follow the head is logical, and to follow the heart emotional. Atimes we simply rationalize, that men follow their heads and ladies follow their hearts.

We all get to take decisions in our lives, researchers say that daily we make as many as 350 decisions. We decided on a variety of things, ranging from when to wake up to what to where, what to eat, how to eat, what to wear, when to wear e.t.c. We all make loads of decision everyday. It has even been said, that not making a decision requires a decision in itself.

Another interesting reality is that decisions are crucial. One little decision can make a huge difference in a persons life. Can you try and imagine for example that you did not go to the university you went to? If you had taken that decision differently, you will not be right where you are now, you will have different friends, might be in a different profession, your life would be different, clearly different. If we make the decision a smaller decision, let’s say on the day that accident happened you had not worn your seat belt, or lets say that you decided to meet with someone 5 mins longer than you planned to, and missed on that appointment that has contributed so much into who you are… reality is little changes in the initial conditions lead to extreme changes in end results, it’s called the butterfly effect.

If decisions happen so often, and the implications of them are so severe, should we not have clear principles on how to make the best decisions? Would it not be good if we master the art of taking decisions? Would it not be a worthwhile investment to get it right at getting it right? Here are a few things you can do to always make the best decisions. I also hope that from looking at these thoughts, you will right some wrong decisions you made already. Continue reading

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June 25, 2007

Recap-Follow Your Passion


“Enthusiasm is one of the most powerful engines of success. When you do a thing, do it with all your might. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Be active, be energetic and faithful, and you will accomplish your object. Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.” — Ralph Waldo Emerson

The past few weeks have been really hectic for me, I have been able to continue writing at a huge price – I have to! It’s also been exciting though, I have been doing the things that I love, and loving the things that I do. I believe if we all dare to pursue our unique purpose, our actions, mere as they might seem, have the capacity to liberate others. In this post, I’ll try and detail the key things that have grabbed my attention and time in the last few weeks.

Team Building – MTN Team.

On the 15th and 16th of June, we (Generis Solutions) had a Team Building session at Lekki Peninsular Resort with one of the most interesting Teams I have had the joy of facilitating Team Effectiveness with. In those two days we all (facilitators and participants) had a fantastic time. Continue reading

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May 2, 2007

He Saved Me!


Yesterday, I decided to go the office in spite of mixed feelings not to. I had told a few people I would be there, and I felt the need to go, just because of them, and because I didn’t have their numbers and could not call them back not to come. On getting to the office, one thing led to the other, until minutes after 8pm, when I finally decided that work never ends, and decided to go home.

I was going home alone, the first time in a really long time. The journey home was not a long one, so I decided to take things a bit easy, and not move so fast. I took a bend at coca cola bus stop into Agidingbi and had a straight road till I get to Big threats, I hadn’t gone far on this road, when I saw my hand moving into action before my brain could comprehend what was about to happen. From retrospect, what had happened was another car had swerved into my lane, and I was set up for a head to head. I turned to the left without thinking about it, heard a big bang, the lights shut out for about 30seconds, I couldn’t hear a thing, felt as if my ears were off. I looked around, looked back for signs of the other car. I touched my face and felt blood flowing freely to my shirt. I was hurt, but alive. Continue reading

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March 10, 2007

Lessons from the Geese


Some years, not too long ago, I was in an HR training in Poland. This training was an eye opener for me in many ways, there were nationals from over 50 countries all over the world, and beyond the training, we had opportunities to network and fraternize. I learnt about other cultures, saw different types of people, learnt about different weather conditions, enjoyed myself and reaffirmed my belief in the fact that east or west, home is the best. I can travel far and wide, but staying away from Nigeria I have discovered will not work for me. Maybe it’s my destiny. I remember coming out of my hotel room 2pm one day to see that the sun had set. Believe me, I didn’t know whether to ask for lunch or for dinner :)

In this training however, I learnt about the geese (Now in case you are wondering that I traveled all the way to Poland to learn about the geese – No!). When I listened back then to the story and the video that had been developed with it, I desired so much to own a copy of it, take it home and watch it again and again. Today, I have decided to let us all benefit from the interesting true life story, of the flying geese. Continue reading

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February 16, 2007

We all have excuses


“For many people, an excuse is better than an achievement because an achievement, no matter how great, leaves you having to prove yourself again in the future; but an excuse can last for life.” – Eric Hoffer

“We are all manufacturers. Making good, making trouble, or making excuses.”- H.V Adolt

Have you every tried to consciously try to make excuses for yourself? Why not try right now. Your top 20 excuses for not being beyond where you are now? Your excuses for not having a good grade, a good job, a good relationship, a good car, great investments. Don’t procrastinate this, go ahead, take a sheet of paper and write down your excuses, good or bad, write them down.

In case you are still reading and not doing anything about it, don’t just read this, try to form excuses for yourself, don’t just think them in your head, write them down. Ok, use a small sheet of paper, grab a post it. Make sure you make the excuses about an area of life that you really desire to succeed in. Don’t think too long about whether the excuses are legit or not, just make them anyway. Make your excuses before you click on the link ahead to read the remaining part of the article. Put them all down now, all the excuses that seem remotely responsible for your current predicament. Continue reading

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January 21, 2007

Team Effectiveness Workshop!


Hello all, sorry if you have noticed I wasn’t posting everyday like I normally would. For the last one week plus, this topic had been the most dominant topic in my mind. We had a training scheduled with one of the most prominent departments in one of Nigeria’s leading telecommunication companies, it had to be right. I have been so busy trying to ensure that our standards were right that I have not had time to update you on goings-on.

The event finally took place, we had the Team Effectiveness Workshop on Thursday and Friday at IITA, Ibadan. All the participants as well as the facilitators were lodged at the hotel, arguably one of the most decent, natural and serene in Nigeria (I haven’t been paid to sing their praises, so let me take it easy). The workshop commenced on Thursday afternoon, we continued till some minutes to ten and started again 8am the next morning till after 4pm. From the comments(both written and verbal) from the participants, we had delivered exceptional value. I personally felt very honoured, when one of the Nigerians I respected and had looked forward to seeing, shook my hands after the training and told me that the whole exercise had been a job well done. Wow! Continue reading

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December 17, 2006

If today was your last!


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

This is scary territory, I commend your courage for reading further, but pause a bit and think deeply about it. You went for a medical check up today, and your doctor decided to confide in you, you have the whole of today and no more, by 12 midnight today, your breath will literally cease! The question for you today is what would you wish you had done?

Many of us spend so much time chasing the wind, we never pause long enough to smell the roses. Many of us have forgotten the priviledge of smell, of touch, of sight, sound, feelings, love, care, hope and life. What would you look back and wish you had spent more time doing? What will you regret you have done? If you have a long list of to do’s, I put it to you, you are not living life deeply. Believe me, you need to! Continue reading

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