Power of Noble Intentions
The wake of this week found me reading a new book - The Google Story. It’s a book whose summary I had read before, but just last weekend in Ife, a young man - Sola Adeyinka decided to give me a gift of this book (arguably my best gift of that week). The first night I openned the book to read, I was awake till 3am! It’s a book I recommend for anybody who is contemplating going into business. Don’t practice everything you see there, but it sure lifts the lid off conventional thinking.
The first fact I love about the google story was the fact that their drive was targeted towards creating a solution, and not about the money they could make from it. They were passionate about making information available to research students and people generally who needed information at their finger tips. A drive to do this saw them developing the best search engine in the world, with capability not only to search for the information you need, but in the order of priority.
It looked like a mystery to me, but you won’t believe that 2yrs into the running of that business they still had not been able to connect it with a way to make money. It’s so interesting to note that 80% of the people reading this article cannot still fathom even today, how google makes its money. All google had when the started was a noble intention and the possibility that perhaps they could liscence the product to other companies who would make use of the strength of the search engine for their own businesses.
Like fate always has it, in stories that get written 
The google guys (Brin and Page), 25yr old, PHD drop outs at the start of the company were able to get a way around making money with google. The company moved from its initial IPO in August 19, 2004 of shares at $85 per share to selling at $300 in the same year. Google has grown to become a company worth over $80Billion!
It sounds like a puzzle to me but can you imagine that google got it’s first investment of $100,000 without having registered the company? They got venture capital investment worth $25 million when the seasoned venture capitalists couldn’t fathom how they would make profit? It beats me, but drives home one point. Noble intentions are powerful! The power of noble intentions backed by passionate conviction by the founders of the company has driven a small young company in silicon valley up and up when all else went down. Their corporate mantra “Do no evil” cements their position.
Who sets your limits, who says your ideas cannot fly? Have it in mind to solve a real human problem and you are well on your way to stardom! If you have what the world needs, go and live in the wilderness, the world will build a path to your house! We’ll all be remembered for two things, the problems we created, or the ones we solved.
This post was read by 500 people until now.Know thyself
“To find out what one is fitted to do, and to secure an opportunity to do it, is the key to happiness.”– John Dewey
“The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the world’s deep hunger meet.”– Frederick Buechner
“The fact remains that the overwhelming majority of people who have become wealthy have become so thanks to work they found profoundly absorbing. The long term study of people who eventually became wealthy clearly reveals that their ‘luck’ arose from accidental dedication they had to an arena they enjoyed.”– Srully Blotnick
The Ancient Greek aphorism “Know thyself” (Greek: γνώθι σεαυτόν or gnothi seauton) was inscribed in golden letters at the lintel of the entrance to the Temple of Apollo at Delphi.
In order to understand the above statement well, it will be a good idea for me to shed a little light on some of the terms used in it.
Ancient Greek, this is a time in greek history, 1000 years before christianity. Historians are unaminous that the greek culture was the foundation of the western civilization.
Aphorisms, are concise statements of fact that were made as a result of experience. Axioms are similar statements that come from mere reason and require no proof, while aphorisms are developed based on experience. E.g “A stitch in time, saves nine”
Delphi, was known in ancient mythology to be the centre of the earth.
Temple of Apollo, This is believed to have the makings of an ancient university. Apollo was a god, who had strengths in poetry, medicine, and music. He was the most versatile and most skilled, in greek mythology, of the gods. In entering the Temple of Apollo, you come to interact with knowledge, the reason why you come in, is to know!
Now imagine you are at the entrance into the doors that lead to discovery, to knowledge and perhaps skill. What will you expect to see as a sign on the door? I’ll guess it will be a message telling you about the best attitude to have as a student, or an instruction that will help you make use of all you hear, won’t you? Interestingly, it is the aphorism -”Know thyself”
The first class in the school of knowledge is self awareness! If you don’t know who you are, and what you have, education is useless. The first thing you must know to be teachable is yourself. True education must be targeted first at personal discovery then personal development. “Know thyself!”
If you ever watched the blockburster -”Matrix”. There was a time when Neo had to go visit the oracle, to know if he was the one, to know what the future will be. Can you imagine the sign on the Oracles door? …….Yeah, you guessed right! “Know thyself” -Only it was writen in greek! The future responds only to those who have come to understand themselves. There is a stage for trial and error, typically it’s before you are 21! The Hebrews celebrate the 21st birthday as the age to announce your self discovery! It might be late for you, but it’s never too late until you are the late. “Know thyself”.
Your passions, your talents, your values and the things that give you a sense of destiny! You must know them. Help yourself and find help. There are many gates ahead that will lead into the worlds of your dreams, but the first criteria to enter is simple - “Know thyself”. It is the secret of happiness, it’s the source of true fulfillment. It’s the only way to enjoy your labor.
“Why do you spend … your labor for that which does not satisfy?”– Isaiah 55:1-2
This post was read by 551 people until now.What Counts!!
Today I was at the burial of the mum of a friend. At the young age of 55, she had passed away. It was an event with mixed feelings, she had lived a great life, had children and grand children, but she was still gone too soon.
Yesterday night was the wake keeping, friends and family gather together, sang songs and talked about the life she lived. Amidst all the tears, talks and sober hymns, one question was consistent in my mind -What counts??
I listened to the testimonies of the people who could brave to speak, with watery eyes and shaky voices. One by one they recounted the parts of her life that touched theirs. I listened to hear if I’ll hear people speak about the things we daily chase -How many houses, cars, food, shelter, material possession, shares (all good things don’t get me wrong), but nobody spoke of these things. Everybody that spoke talked about the many ways in which she added value, in which her life touched theirs, in which they are forever better for associating with her. They spoke about how her life touched theirs. That was all that counted.
Hmmm…the people we leave behind in death will remember us, not for what we have, but what we gave. Not for what we owned but for what we shared. I took a quick inventory of my life and asked myself, what am I doing today that counts? I also remembered that even in the place we go after death, we will give account, not of what we were given, but what we used that which we had to do? Who did we touch, what value did we add, what change did we effect.
Ask yourself today and do something about it. Don’t just count your days, make them count. Life is not in duration, it’s in donation. When we close our eyes never to open them into this world, the things that will matter most to all we live behind (and all we go to meet) is the quality of our relationships, the generousity of our giving, the life that we shared, the purpose we pursued, the things we were willing to die for, the sacrifices we made, the value we added, the lives we touched. What will people say about you? Don’t wait till you are 60, start making your life count today!!!
This post was read by 367 people until now.Life is a Dance
I heard a true life story yesterday that inspired me. In fact I think I’ll arrange to meet with the person whose life story it is soon.
A certain young man plunged headlong into doing business rather than getting a paid job. He was skilled at what he did, and in no time made it and comfortably so. He had made it well, when all of a sudden his close allies duped him. He faced significant humilation and lost all that he had worked for.
This man gathered himself back up, placed a statement on his wall-” Aiduro ni jo” This means that the dance is in not stopping, not quitting not giving up! The moment you stop, the dance ceases. He kept himself motivated, looking up at the caption day in day out, and tell his staff, let’s keep dancing, lets continue - “Aiduronijo”
Did he make it? Yes he did! I hear profits are about a few hundred millions today. Are you about to stop what you believed in that isn’t working yet? Are you about to quit something you ventured into with full conviction? Don’t stop…keep dancing. “Aiduro nijo”!!!
This post was read by 350 people until now.World Cup!
The world cup is probably the most attention grabbing event in the world today. It happens once in 4 years but is unrivaled by the olympics, despite the fact that more sporting events are featured in it. To what event can we compare the World Cup? The swearing in of a new pope does not carry so much world interest, neither does the election of any of the worlds presidents, nor can you compare any one countries independence day celebration with the global attention this one sport commands. Football!
Does it amaze you like it does me? That 25 grown up men (including the referees and their assistants-linesmen) spend a good part of 90 minuites running around chasing a leather ball? Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the game, in fact, my first audible word as a growing child was “ball” - Evidenced by my carefully filled out baby book
But can you imagine what on earth would have happened if in the game of football there were no goal posts? Follow me in this mind journey for a moment. 90mins, 25 men, round leather ball, no goal posts. What do you think will happen? Let me help you guess, there will be nobody there to watch, no thrill, no adrenalin, no excitement, no passion. If you take away the goal post from the game, you kill the game. Can you imagine that? If you remove the ball, the players can kick oranges, if you remove a player or two, the game continues, if you remove all the players, i’m sure we can still watch dogs, if you remove the referees, the game still goes on fine with a few exchanges of blows once in a while, but if you remove the goal post, you kill the game!
Football is an interesting game, you see real talented players, displaying skills, manipulating themselves and the round leather ball. It’s addictive, people get fanatical, the crowd of spectators go gaga, they fly flags, bet, its a wonderful game! With all this interesting aspects of football however, no matter how well the player play, no matter how talented the players, at the end, it’s the goals that count! I’ve heard interesting things like “we played the match but they scored the goals” …sorry you lost!
A little away from the round leather game of football. Life at times also seems like a game of some sorts, exciting moments, intrigues, talents, spectators and all! You run around from morning till night, colleagues, competitors, spectators, police…doesn’t that sound like what you’ll see on the field? So tell me, where is your goal post? What is your goal?
If you haven’t taken time to get a goal post, set goals for your life and have it written down. I’m sorry, but it means that your life is meaningless and doesn’t deserve spectators. Play for your goal, and the world will be your audience. Don’t wait till tomorrow, set your goals now! For today, for this month, for the year, for your life…write it down, it’s your property, nobody can judge you based on it. Do it now! Who knows you might actually win a world cup!
Adeolu Akinyemi
Or what do you think?
This post was read by 381 people until now.The Power of Purpose (Written-May 31, 2004)
In order to make an appointment to the celebration of a thanksgiving service of a seventy seven year old man, I left my house a few minutes to the time I was supposed to arrive at the party. I left the house in a serious hurry, and in what seemed a unanimous vote, I was asked to drive. We were five in number, my wife, my younger brother and two childhood friends. I started the car and backed it out from the compound in what seemed a seamless slide, I announced to the crew onboard “fasten your seat belts”, we were going to do everything except fly. Accelerate, trafficate, overtake, that was the sequence of thought on my mind. My mind could scarcely process any other information. All of a sudden, I had to grind the brakes to a halt as I saw a queue of cars on the expressway, obviously dodging something. There he was in the middle of the highway, his blood painted the breath of the road. He was clouded in white apparel, most likely his Sunday’s best. He lied there across the street, lifeless. A shadow of his former self. One look at the environment around him, and the story was clear. A car on the wrong side of the road hit him. In that split second, a man once bubbling with strength, life and vitality, lies lifeless in his own blood at the center of the road. Just a while ago, he was careful where he sat, taking effort to ensure he stayed clean. Now he lied in the middle of the road, with no cares in the world, dead and dirty. In the center of this little transition is the fine thread that holds the strips of life together. Purpose!
Purpose is defined as the intention, aim or function of something, the thing that it is supposed to achieve.
The man that laid lifeless on the street was there only because order was broken- a car decided to follow the opposite of the direction it was meant to. It moved contrary to where it was designed to move. The manual of the operation of the road was violated. Something was taken out of its defined intention and aim! It is because order exists that disorder can be identified, as darkness is revealed only by light. In the same vein, except we assume a God, the question of life’s purpose is meaningless. It will be chaotic and illogical for man to exist in a world where he makes nothing without a purpose to assume that the entirety of creation was created without much thought. A man once painstakingly constructed a small model of the planetary orbits. With the right arrangement of magnets and some carefully hidden strings he came close to a good representation of the solar system. This design was really a beauty to behold. Along came an atheist who looked at the piece for a long time and really liking the looks and the effort it must have taken, asks the maker, “How did you make this?” To which the maker responded, “I didn’t make it, I just heard a big bang, and saw it right beside me.” Strange isn’t it? That is how strange it is to assume that this neatly arranged entity called the milky way, came into existence by anything short of organized thought. The first reality in the power of purpose is the existence of God.
The second reality about purpose, is the fact that the entirety of creation was well thought out, that every member of it was created for a purpose- a defined aim, intention or function. Purpose is not designed, it is discovered. The world did not bang into existence, if there was any bang, then it was hammered into existence. Only in the line of purpose is the full use of any item, only in the line of purpose is the risk of risk minimized. When life is lived in the center of purpose, peace reigns, when purpose is ignored, life is a chaotic rumble of one accident after another.
He was dead, and his dreams with him! Dead to the teeth, lost and gone, hope and promise. Potential remains forever potential. As I gazed at the lifeless body of the twenty plus youth on the street, my speed reduced and I could not help my mind from thinking about him. Who was he? From the look of his clothes, he must have been in church this morning. How he must have danced? He must have danced like someone unaware that it was his last dance. Suppose he knew that today was his last? Would he have lived his last 24 hours differently? Would his smile have been broader? Would he have stayed at home with his family? Would he have told someone how much he meant to him? How much he appreciated her? Would he have dedicated more time to any particular activity? What would his answers be? I’m sure he would have done some things differently, had he been slightly aware, Unfortunately, death does not specify his day of visit, nor sickness his month of arrival. Death happens to us all. Lying there with this young lad, is every talent he never used, every smile he never smiled and every skill he never developed. Embedded in the purpose of a life are its potentials. Having a purpose instills the will to develop one’s potentials, for the moment a man dies, so does his purpose. A tea bag is not different form a tissue paper with grains of sand until its used for its purpose. Its potentials are invisible until it enters its world –hot water. Abilities need responsibilities to show their capabilities. Purpose is the fertile ground that breeds the development of potentials.
On what page exactly, was he on his book of life? It’s so frightening how death puts things in perspective. In some few hours, people that know him will see him. Then comments will begin to fly. “ He almost completed his university education”, “His wife only just got pregnant and is expectant”, “ He was going to buy a plot of land” and so on. Just as you cannot measure with a ruler without calibration, it is impossible to access or measure progress without purpose. Every now and then, a ship captain uses his compass to access his direction from base and his alignment to his destination. The compass with which a man tracks his location on the sea of life is purpose. When death punctuates life’s journey, the only measurement that exists for all eternity is where on the conquest of purpose did it all end. Life is not a function of duration; it’s a function of donation. It is not how far, it is how well. Ironic isn’t it? Here was I, rushing to the celebration of life of a 77 year old man, and here in the middle of the road is the end of that of a 20+ year old. I listened with awe as the 77year old man narrated his story. He had missed death by the hair of his head. He spoke of death like an appointment only the old were entitled to. He had traveled overseas for an operation with little chances of success and had made it back alive, and with his memory intact. I listened to him with uttermost respect, and knew that right there and then, he had entered another face of life. The demands of purpose an octave higher. He recounted the years past, his dreams, aspirations and achievements. His progress was clear and measurable, his life purpose was very clear. Purpose helps to evaluate progress.
Somewhere in my mind, I was wondering where exactly the driver of the car that hit the young man is. Knowing the response of people in this environment, he would probably have been lynched. What on earth was he looking for on that side of the road? While I will not want to make a quick case for insanity for this anonymous driver, it beats my imagination why someone will attempt such a feat. Doesn’t it then beat your imagination when you see a full fledge man, completely ignorant of what his life’s purpose is? “A life without purpose, is like a ship without rudder, a waif, a nothing, a no man” -Thomas Carlyle. No purpose directly infers, no direction. An adage says that the fool is a man who doubles his speed even when he knows that he has missed the direction. No matter how fast you run in the wrong direction, it can only take you further away from your destination. Purpose gives direction to life. Life is too short to play jack-of-all-trades, we must be master of one. Once the ultimate is defined, the immediate runs like its preprogrammed.
Was it all a coincidence that the events of the day unraveled like this? Did it just happen that a car hit the young lad? One young boy was asked to give an example of a coincidence, he said “my father and my mother got married on the same day, same month and in the same year”. Coincidences do exist, no doubt. When a life is dead set on purpose however, the coincidences assist the forward resolve. No wind blows in the favour of a ship without rudder. Coincidences are only helpful when a direction has been set. To an individual whose eyes are set on purpose, nothing just happens. Every adversity, every failure, every pain and every ache all move a soul whose purpose is clearly defined towards its goal. Someone once said “the harder I work, the luckier I become”, I fully agree. Purpose has power to make lucky. Unfortunately, many live lives devoid of purpose, without standards to say this is what they stood for, or this is how far they went. For a man to live without purpose is not good.
As I ponder on the events of the day past, I think back and reexamine my own belief system. I can recall how for days on end, I denied myself of food, and spent hours in meditation. Only one question was on my mind, “why am I here?” I believe, that every human born, is a response of divinity to humanities need, that nothing threads the surface of this earth without a clearly spelt mission. I believe that one of life’s major discoveries are not gravity, space or anything esoteric, I believe that life’s greatest discovery is purpose and its power. I recount how life seemed meaningless without a particular direction; I remember how progress had no evaluation when there was no standard. Why should I run fast in a hazy maze? Every life was made with a purpose in mind, and in the midst of that purpose does the soul of man have strength. Imagine I used an electric bulb for the game of soccer; it certainly would not last very long. The design and the concentration of strength bear the signature of purpose. I remember how for days, I had questionnaires in hand for my friends, asking them for feedback on what they believed were my strengths. I recollect how after weeks, I could put my finger on it. I had come to realize, that life’s purpose couldn’t be separated from humans. One does not have to think long to discover, that life cannot be lived for self. Its either you are spending hours working for somebody or working to feed somebody. Life’s purpose is hinged on a contribution to humanity. The reason why I exist has to be linked to someone else’s needs. This personal search was really helpful, as it did not leave me without answers. It’s an exercise that I recommend, a must for anyone who wants to live a meaningful life. In my own search, I discovered that I’m here for one course- people development! As small as that sounds it’s a phrase that can only be measured in eternity, for that is the true measure of life’s purpose. As long as I am in the center of this purpose, my happiness is guaranteed, as long as this purpose remains my priority, even death can be defied, for death has no business with one whose plan for tomorrow is of value that exceeds his duration on earth. Purpose has tremendous power; its power exceeds death’s, gives hope beyond the present, brings potential to life, secures direction and makes progress measurable. To leave the power of purpose untapped is to live in perpetual risk of an aimless life. Life is short, and without purpose, inexistent.
This post was read by 426 people until now.
