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

About 13yrs ago, a few young guys met together for a 3 days prayer meeting code named Antioch Experience. It was in that meeting that I met Gbenga Sesan, Bayo Olotu and a few other young men. It was 3 days of sharing God’s word, praying and recieving direction from God for our futures on that campus OAU and life in general.  It was an exciting meeting, in that it left us all better men, providing an anchor of some sort for our lives. Our text then was from ACTS 13 – The Antioch Experience! A few days ago, in my daily bible study throught he book of ACTS, I stumbled again on this centrepeice – Antioch! I had for a while been contemplating a prayer meeting with friends, and as soon as I read the chapter again, it became clear what the prayer meeting will be code named.

Date: December 30, 2009

Time: 8am -4pm (Prompt)

Venue: Headstone Christian Center: The Leadership Center 30a coker rd ilupeju

(No gate crashing – Please confirm attendance – Venue can change based on Numbers)

What exactly happened at Antioch, and what can we expect to happen at this prayer meeting. Continue Reading »

Once upon a time a team of young people came together to have a discussion about their future. They were in their early teens, and they seemed in a hurry to know what their future held for them. The imagined and postulated on what was possible and what was not, who will likely become what and all what not. While they rambled and rumbled, an elderly woman passed by and overheard their discussions and arguments about the future.

The old woman slowed down until they noticed her and kept quiet. With a shrill voice slightly more than a wisper, she looked one of them in the eye, and asked them a question that got them all puzzled, “Is your future bright?” Not knowing whether to answer for himself, answer for everybody or not answer at all, the silence gradually grew to wispers and and sign language. Haven gotten them where she wanted them to be, she went ahead to ask them which of them was willing to look into her crystal ball to see his/her future. The reaction that ensued reminds me of about four years ago, when I was presented with a similar opportunity in Poland, questions within a wide range fly around in your head, let’s not go there. After a while, they joked and heckled and they brazed up and decided to take a peek into their futures. 

The Old woman brought out a crystal ball, but first asked them a few questions. “What do you want to become?”, “What is your dream?”, “What have you done about your dream?”, “What do you plan to do?” After they answered the questions, he showed them the crystal ball, and explained to them what she could see. Continue Reading »

Announcement: The winner of highest comments for the month of February though keenly constested is… Tosin Fayokun. Please send me a mail so I can send you the parameters for your personal hosted account. Congratulations!!!

This is a story I shared in a number of seminars during the weekend, and I think it’s only proper that I share it with you as well. I’m not certain exactly who owns the story, but I believe I have read it in one of Robert Kiyosaki’s books before. It’s an interesting story that connects with us in some little ways. It’s the story of our lives, and we can clearly see where we are in our journey.

It so happened that once upon a time, in a village somewhere in Africa. A new king ascended the throne, and felt it was the right thing to get water for his people. He decided to hire the services of two good young men to help deliver the promise of water to his people. He offered to pay them $10 per 25 litre bucket of water, and the two of them were excited about the possibilities. The first day of work they both carried 10 pairs of buckets each. It was tedious and hard labor, but by the time they got their payment, they were excited all over again. They continued like this for one week, until one of the contractors called his colleague and told him that even though they were earning $200 per day, he did not feel that what they were doing was sustainable. He suggested to his colleague that rather than go to the stream to fetch water everyday, why not put forces together and develop a pipe that can run from the stream to the town. The colleague however wanted none of that approach. Why will he leave the bird in hand and be hunting for two in the bush. Why should he reduce the number of buckets he can fetch today, and focus on a pipe that might fail, that might burst, that might even be attacked by militants. Rather than take that risk, the bucket colleague continued to fetch his water. The pipe colleague decided to still carry about 4 buckets in a day to have some small cash, and focused his energies almost totally on constructing the pipes. Continue Reading »

As I sit here, right here and now, I’m watching the inauguration of the president of the United States of America – Barack Obama. As I watch, my ears are getting hot, and my stomach turning. My heart yearns for a fresh breath of political leadership for Nigeria. My soul and my heart prays for Nigeria – “God, please, give us leaders!”. In the breath that I utter the prayer, I recieve a call from another comrade, he called to tell me that right now he is just calling me to tell me that he is praying that God should give us leaders!

Praying this prayer, I also hear God loud and clear – what are you waiting for? God will not come down to give us a leader, God will not cast his votes with paper, God will not write his name in the clouds. God will do it through you and I, through hands and hearts that are willing to engage themselves in the process of change. If we don’t have good leaders, is because you and I don’t think we deserve it enough. If we live in darkness, it’s because you and I didn’t switch on the light. If we live in the past, it’s because we have mortgaged our futures. Continue Reading »

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I hope you are not postponing your life till tomorrow, because if you are, I intend to shake you a bit today! Yesterday is gone, tomorrow does not exist, when we get to tomorrow, if we ever do, we’ll call it today! This truth leaves one with a shocking reality that what you really have power over is today. In fact if we want to make it more extreme, now! Does it then not seem strange, that many are living lives they are unhappy about today, in the hope that it will change tomorrow? Don’t procrastinate your happiness, don’t postpone your joy, don’t leave off to an unknown future the best parts of your life. Haven’t you heard – “Tomorrow, tomorrow… is always a day away!”?

This reminds me of a story I once heard. Of a rich Consultant that traveled to his village to let his air down, have fun and enjoy the peace and tranquility of the country side. While in the village, he decided to go fishing with on of his old time buddies who was a fisherman by profession. He set up an appointment with his friend and they set out to fish together. While they were on the waters, the rich consultant saw possibilities and told his friend. “Do you know that your business can be much bigger than this? You are living way below your potentials”. The fisherman looked at him, puzzled, “really? But why would I want to make my business bigger?” The rich consultant was puzzled at why a human being would not be aspirational and went on to explain further. Continue Reading »