I AM BACK!

Hey!

It's been a while since i last made a post, guess its about 2years now! My blog has suffered o! What have i been doing with my life? How on earth did i leave my blog unattended to for this long? What (or maybe who) has diverted (perhaps stolen) my attention this much and this long? Whew! Plenty questions, many thoughts! All these I will be sharing lights on in the days to come. It's a long story!

However, life has been fun. I have been busy with lots and lots of things. But that still ain't enough reason to have left my blog unattended to all this long. Right? Anyways, this is the part where i get to apologize to my friends who seem disappointed in me right now. I am really sorry! But trust me, I will make it up to you guys. Before you start pitying for me, it's only my blog that has suffered this lack of attention o! Every other part of my life has enjoyed consistent oiling, and I will soon start talking about this. Trust me, when I mean soon, I mean!!!

So guys, gotta go now. It's 1:13am, and its Friday! Lots of things to sort out before the day gets bright and duty comes calling.

Do you have a very fruitful day.

Grace and speed!

BUILD YOUR PEOPLE TO BUILD THE ORGANIZATION!

In recent times I have seen myself talking so much about leadership. Obviously, the lack of it is what has kept our nation at the level it currently is.

However, true to every act of learning, only those with capacity for change can learn. I want to take you through a simple class on leadership that can change your perception of leadership, particularly for leaders of organizations and business people.

Every individual, every group, every business cries for good leadership. Everyone either feels the effect of poor leadership or enjoys the result of good leadership.

As a leader, you hold a delicate key to the hearts of their lives, because every process a man goes through is a build-up to the dream height and the time you are with them is a PROCESS – if badly utilized will either make your followers good leaders or make them bad leaders.

When leaders are good communicators, encouragers and motivators, their members will not only enjoy the work and produce more, they will be loyal to the leadership.

Good leadership is not just important, it is indispensable. The better the leaders, the better the group.

If as a leader, all you think is how to get the ORGANIZATION better, without getting the PEOPLE better, the people you are looking away from will soon destroy the organization you are trying to build.

Your people must be your priority – your greatest legacy is the people. Beautify a life and the life will beautify the organization..... the greatest investment of life is the investment in lives.

You cannot be neutral: you either building the people or depleting them. Treat people well, that you lead them does not mean you created them. They still have choices, learn to respect their choices but give them direction so they can make informed decisions.

Your leadership ability is a compass to the growth of your staff/team members. They have dreams and aspirations buried on the inside of them. Every team member seems to has a secret cry: “how well you lead me is what determines how well I will function in that area….”

As a leader, you are either killing their dreams or building their hopes.

To be an exemplary leader, you need these 3 qualities:
1. A good heart
2. A good mouth
3. A good eye.

A good heart: You must love your members. Joseph was the only son that Jacob loved so dearly, and scripture records that he was also the only one able to dream. Think about this! It isn't a coincidence! Love release dreams and hopes. Show me you love me and I will put in my best into life and your work. Love awakens the confidence to believe in yourself. If you can make your people believe in themselves, they will produce terrific results. 1st John 4:18: “perfect love cast out fear…” Love your people. Don’t let them see or think of you and hate being a leaders.

Be interested in their development. Hear the cry of all your team members: If you can make me feel good, I will make you proud! Proverbs 27:23: “know the state of your flocks and put your heart into caring for them…” Swallow your pride - but for them, you won’t be a leader! The mental and emotional state of the people you lead is what gives colour to your leadershipstatus. It is better to be a leader of warriors than a leader of slaves. The difference is in how you've trained them.

A good Mouth: Your words matter. Words are powerful. Proverbs 18:21: “death and life are in the power of the tongue….”
Never ever curse or abuse your people out of anger. Don’t be tempted to do it and believe an apology may be all that will make your people pacified. As the saying goes, prevention is better and cheaper than cure. Else, your team members who always misbehave and decide to apologize later. This won't be healthy for your organization.

There is a force in our words that can transform or deform a life. The world is looking for leaders who know how to talk, leaders who understand the power and magic of words. People should hear you talk and pray for your kind of spirit and ability.

When they do well, appreciate them. Do not be known as one who rebukes people only, but never appreciates. People are desperate for love. They are desperate to feel valued. They long to be appreciated. Nobody is your dustbin, mind what you say.

When you conceal your love, you starve them of what they need most. Just imagine that everybody in your organization has a slate on his neck that reads: “PLEASE, HELP ME FEEL IMPORTANT TODAY…”
They come from different places, they have faced rejection, they feel pains, they have talked down on – they should find comfort in your organization.

A good Eye: people change. That they can’t currently talk sophisticatedly or convincingly to clients, dress stylishly or they sound uncultured doesn’t mean they will be like that forever. Every man has a great future, God never created a useless being. See your people like the stars their created them to be. Work to polish them, be part of their success story. Respect them. Do everything to see them succeed, be a part of their testimonies, not regrets.

There is a hidden paradise in everybody. The potentials in them can only be seen by uncommon eyes.
They have been around many people who never saw it - look deep! Be prepared to do all you can to prepare them for their future. Ask them questions to know what they intend to be and do. You must be interested in them!

You must happen!

ARE YOU RE-BRANDED?

I don’t think anyone who has stayed in Nigeria or with Nigerians will disagree with this opinion: Nigerians are the easiest people to govern, any where in the world! They respond to leadership, they move in whatever direction their leaders bid. In clear and simple words: they take after whatever they see their leaders do, im most cases, they amplify it! While I am a Nigerian, I deliberately used the term ‘they’ instead of ‘we’. Why, you may ask? This is because I have time after time studied this country, the trend of things, the Nigerian people and how they all inter-relate. In all these, I deliberately looked away from my feelings and hid my personal frustrations. My conclusion? Our people are very easy to govern. I have been to a few countries outside Nigeria and have interacted with other nationals – Nigerians are outstanding!

We adapt to any condition. I mean any condition. We always find our way around the harshest of conditions. I have not heard of the effects of the current global recession in Nigeria like I have in other parts of the world I have been to. Just right now, the fuel condition is biting real hard. Whereas before now a litre of fuel sold for N65 per litre, right now it goes for as high as N250 per litre! Our people are still kicking strong; there’s been no riot, protest or anything unruly. When situation like this come up what do we do? We complain to those who are in position to do something, and when they don’t? We do nothing but stay alive! No doubt, we are configured to adapt!

While I believe the responsibility for the development of any nation must be a shared responsibility of the government and the citizenry, I also know that direction ideally comes from the top, and not the other way round. People only create directions for themselves when there is none provided by leadership or when the one provided by the ‘top’ is not ‘bottom-oriented’. The later is the situation our people are faced with.

That our people 'fear' leadership isn't something that should be celebrated or even exploited. Fact is, this so-called 'fear' for leadership has grown to become 'hatred'. I can’t but ask my brothers in leadership, why have alienated ourselves from the ideals of sincerity in leadership? Why do we distance ourselves from policies that we know will positively affect the average man on the street? Why do we exploit the vulnerabilities of people and yet seek to be seen as some national ‘heroes’? These questions I pose to our brothers and sisters who find themselves in various leadership positions. Irrespective of whether you are in the public or private sector, let's ponder on these!

By the way, the current buzz now is the ‘Project Rebrand Nigeria! I really don’t understand how on earth our leadership expects to successfully instill the concept of 'Rebranding' in the people it leads or how they expect to rebrand the image of this country with their current insensate approach to recent happenings in our nation.

It is no news that gas stations now witnesses the presence of long queues of cars daily, with helpless motorists fighting their way to get any quantity they can just to keep their cars moving; innocent citizens are being killed in Delta State (and the government is constantly in our face screaming: 'REBRAND, REBRAND, REBRAND….' without necessarily bothering how the current trend of things frustrates the idea of ‘rebranding’); our children have been sent home because secondary school teachers have gone on strike as a result of failure for government to heed to their plea for an upward review of their salaries; our university students have been sent home because the academic staff union of universities have gone home………. Our leadership seem to have so much on its hand at the moment like the killing of 'militants' in the oil rich Delta state. I don't think resorting to killing our brothers and sisters is the last option. It is not every youth in the Niger Delta that is a militant. They mustn’t all be treated as such. Government never seems to be as serious as it is when tackling issues concerning the development of the youths like it is when it comes to 'wiping' them out! Our military personals are supposed to be skilled in the art of fishing out criminals, but the current spate of killings in Warri leaves so much to worry about. The people are forced to see the present happenings in their area as a show of hatred for the entire people of the region! Meanwhile, this a community that has been badly raped, exploited and deprived.

Anyway, the easiest way the Nigerian people can buy into the 'Re-branding' project for the greater good of our nation is if and only if they see a re-branded leadership. We must stop deceiving ourselves. The people have noticed the double-facedness of their government, they know that trust seem not be a commodity their leadership cares about. For a most pleasant future for this country, it is important that we stop all the empty sloganeering and white-washing we have reduced the 'Rebranding Nigeria' campaign to! Our government must act RESPONSIBLE! No government exists for itself; it is always for the people!

More than ever, there’s a yearning for a government with feelings; a government with a human face. Our people want to see a government that values human lives, not a government that turns his face away whenever a Nigerian is killed in any part of the world.

If you must know, any act of hostility from leadership always snowballs. The irresponsibility we see today from the larger populace is a product of government’s various degree of insensitivity to their plights.

I believe if we really desire a better nation, we must stand face to face with the pressing need for an internally rebranded leadership. Let’s not just throw the whole 're-branding' concept in the face of the citizens, alone.

The whole world knows we are a great, a good nation…………but we’ve got irresponsible leadership! It is time we let our leaders know that they still have in them the capacity for positive change, they must pay heed to the all-important need to embrace this path of change for the greater good of the Nigerian nation!

EXPECT WHAT YOU PROJECT!

A great man once said we don't see the world as it is but we see the world as we are. Have you noticed that no matter how poor a village is, there is always at least one very rich person! Guess you may see in the city of the blind........ The point here is this, while every city boasts of some rich and comfortable individuals, there are also folks who live in abject poverty and squalor! Fact is, success has never been about a place, it is about the individual. My pastor would always say: "Any place can produce for a man..."

One important ingredient that success requires is a positive outlook to life. The holy book says a cheerful countenance works magic like medicine.

I tell you a simple story that sheds more lght on this.........

Long ago in a small, far away village, there was place known as the House of 1000 Mirrors. A small, happy little dog learned of this place and decided to visit. When he arrived, he bounced happily up the stairs to the doorway of the house. He looked through the doorway with his ears lifted high and his tail wagging as fast as it could. To his great surprise, he found himself staring at 1000 other happy little dogs with their tails wagging just as fast as his. He smiled a great smile, and was answered with 1000 great smiles just as warm and friendly. As he left the House, he thought to himself, "This is a wonderful place. I will come back and visit it often."

In this same village, another little dog, who was not quite as happy as the first one, decided to visit the house. He slowly climbed the stairs and hung his head low as he looked into the door. When he saw the 1000 unfriendly looking dogs staring back at him, he growled at them and was horrified to see 1000 little dogs growling back at him. As he left, he thought to himself, "That is a horrible place, and I will never go back there again."

Dear friend, all the faces in the world are mirrors. We would always attract the personalities we project. Be positive about life and you will attract positive people. If only you will change the way you look at things, the things you look at will change.

Keep happening!

THE BIGGER THE DREAM (PHASE 2)

Sometime around last week, we started talking about BIG DREAMS; the how's and the why's.
Today, we will continue in that light, but we will take it a step further and a little deeper.

For you to be successful in life, you must first think success! You must see SUCCESS in your life as POSSIBLE. God told Abraham in Genesis 13:14 "As far as your eyes can see, I will give it to you..." It was now Abraham's responsibility to 'see' and imagine great things; away from the lack in his family, away from limitations in his life, away from the evil people were whispering around him about him, away from the shame in his life....! In other words, God was asking Abraham: "How much can you handle?" Whatever he finalized, God gave him. This same God doesn't show partiality, what He did to Abraham is what He wants to do to all His creation'

Dear friend, you will never get more than you can see. The size of your diving package is provoked by the size of your seeing. How much you see is what determines how much you will seize.

Dreams are developed by imaginations. By the way, your imagination is elastic. How far you can stretch is what determines how much you will get from life (Genesis 11:6). Imagination is the tool for dream formation. Your imagination is what prepares your destination. Every man who is a success or failure is actually a product of his imagination.

To be a success in life, it is not just enough to be a 'hard worker', you must also be a 'success thinker'. The bible says it clear: "By strength shall no man prevail..." but "Be get your transformation by renewing [and making use] of your mind..." Success is always inside-out and not outside-in. We have so many hard-workers who have nothing to show for it. It takes wisdom to triumph in this world of ours. It takes a 'good head'. You must use your head, you must let your mind work!

God will only reward you in proportion to what you can handle. The bible says about Him: "He will never put more on you than you can bear..." This works both for good and evil! So, you must stretch your imagination so can get as much as you should from Him. God cannot be limited by the weight of your desires. So, why pity for Him? Think the impossible, think the unusual. Set yourself up for it. That you could think it actually means it is possible.

We will talk about the next phase in my next post.

Have a super-productive day!

"Sir, what is the dominant challenge facing the average Nigerian youth?"

Its been a very busy month. Speaking engagements, consulting sessions and lots of faith-based and social activities worthy of my time investment.

Last weekend, I was in Lagos, Nigeria for the DREAM BIG Conference 2009, organized by the 3M International, a vivacious and purpose-driven organization headed by Mr. Kenny olagbenjo. I spoke alongside Pastor Kingsley Okonkwo, Pastor of David Christian Center, situated in Lagos State, Nigeria. Never met the guy until that day, I must confess, the guy's got a head! He's both smart and intelligent. I was informed his church is a fast growing one, not so surprised though.

I had a great time with the folks there, predominantly youths. I spoke on the topic: THE DREAM, THE DREAMR and HIS GOD. It was a big wow!

At the end of the conference, I was approached by some press guys who asked me some salient questions bothering on the fate of the Nigerian youth. Chief amongst them was: "What do you think is the dorminant challenge faced by the average Nigerian youth?"
I didn't need to think much before answering this question. I have always said that the core issue the average Nigerian youth is faced with is LACK OF DIRECTION, KNOWLEDGE OF THE WRONG INFORMATION AND MENTORSHIP BY THE WRONG PERSONS.
This is the foundation of all the problems. What we lack is not just physical infracstructure, but mental infracstructure. We are a generation that is value-deficient. In a normal sane and progressive society, every youth ought to have a belief system he/she can live and equally die for, not just existing to accumulate age. Her youths must do more than mere existing... Her youths value education more than entertainment...

I think there is a very easy way out! I believe every youth in Nigeria connects to some religious belief system of some sort. So, if like we all know, the political class have failed this generation, shouldn't this be the right time for our religious leaders to provide the much needed direction and a selfless shoulder to lean on? Different from what should be, a huge bunch of our religious leaders seem to be socially irresponsible, so much so that they have several warped theologies to back up this unjingoistic attitude. To these ones, they are not socially obligated to society... Their obligation is to their 'God'! Sometimes I wonder, if this would have been the reactions of Jesus Christ [or Mohammed] to the gross mediocrity and moral bankruptcy that strangulates the dreams and hopes of the average Nigerian youth, if they were to live in our contemporary days?

The gross ineptitude and unpathrotic attitude of our religious leaders ought to change! They must do more than just sermonize... With the current shape of things in this country, the average Nigerian youth seems to have no where and no one to run to for help, guidance and assistance. He is left to FACE THE FIGHT, which in most cases, he unavoidablywalks into.

Fact is, at the end of the day, the responsibility for change all comes back to the individual youth. We must decide to be like the crop inside the soil; the crop always fights its way out. No matter the hardness of the soil, every determined crop somehow finds expression. Folks, no determined dreamer ever dies without expression. Determination is the key to expression and fulfilment, especially when you find yourself in a society like ours!

Every Nigerian youth must develop a dream for himself; a dream for his future. In the face of the seemingly ever-increasing challenges, we must choose to see with our minds, not our eyes. We must make a conscious choice to be 'eyely blinded' but 'mindly sighted'. We must make and take responsibility for our lives and choose to be the real pilot of our destinies, trusting God to lead the way, choosing to stand for what is right and shouting down all forms of mediocrity and warped perspectives that seeks to undermine our future and the worth of our present.

There is hope for this country. More than ever, I know there is hope from my generation. Weekly, I move around this country and I meet with outstanding youths, the exceptionally intelligent and purpose-driven ones. Most of them have taken it upon themselves the sole responsiblity of building this country from where they are, the very best way they can... Who dares say there is no hope? There is!This is the best generation ever!

I dare say, certain elements in the failed generation should be wary of the kind of values they try to hand down to us, because henceforth, we are going to test and x-ray them, before accepting any. That is, if at all we will.

We now know we are indeed the pilots of our destinies!

HOW TO ATTRACT THE BEST OF 2009!

I have always held as true the belief that life is spiritual. Expectedly, a few persons with superficial view to life would play down this obvious reality. This, I believe, is one of the core reasons many amongst us end up as playthings in destiny – the wrong approach and outlook to life!

Of a truth, 2008 was a great year. Frankly too, it has entered into the dustbin of history. But for the grace of the God Almighty, many of us could have ended up in the history books of 2008. That you are reading this piece is a solid proof that you ‘came, saw and conquered...’ At least, I know I don’t yet write for ‘spirits’...lol

2009 is here! Perhaps, some folks lived in 2008 like it was never going to end, while some others prayed and hoped it ended quicker than normal. For the former, instead of being joyous 2008 was coming to an end, they could greet the end of the year with mixed feelings, with fears and doubts of what the future holds. Too bad there is nothing anybody can do about it! 2009 is here to stay.

So, how do you start off, manage and make the best of the New Year?

Every wise man appreciates the concept of strategy. He knows it is the surest way to conclude a thing even before starting it.
God Almighty is our Master Strategist. The Bible says about Him: “He plans the end from the beginning...” We need to live our lives like this.
Everyone who operates life with the strategy-mentality will always end up a voice and a force to reckon with in destiny. However, success in life demands a little more than regular strategy; you must have a God-strategy! The Holy book clearly reveals the import of this when it says: “For with God (and His strategy), nothing shall be impossible...”

So, how do we go about developing a God-strategy for 2009? Let me tell you what I did and how!
Personally, I took the last 4days off to a private location; away from family, friends and admirers. My phones were switched off for the entire 4days I was there. I took a few inspirational literatures along, a notepad and of course, my manual - The Holy Bible.

The entire 4days was one of deep soul searching; x-raying where I believe I succeeded, failed and performed below average in the year 2008. I took out quality time to thank God for all the victories of 2008; for the gift of life and the privilege of knowing and having Him as my Pilot in destiny. Thereafter, I declared all that I wanted to see in 2009; telling God I desire to see only the things that align with His will for my life; I don't want any record of 2008 to repeat itself in 2009. I also spent some time addressing other personal issues before Him.

After the prayer sessions, I took out time to plan some major parts of my 2009, wrote down a few thoughts for some of my scheduled speaking engagements in 2009. Also, studied portions of the Holy Bible and the literatures I took along.

Indeed, it was a period of deep spiritual strategizing for me and a generous opportunity to ‘FIX’ my 2009. No doubt, I am not going to be shocked at the amazing things I will experience in 2009; I already settled that out with God, and I made sure I didn’t leave His Presence until He gave me guarantees. Indeed, 2009 is going to be year of RAPID SUCCESS!. Like He has declared: “It’s a year of MANIFESTATION AND DOUBLE RESTORATION”.

In my customary manner, I told most of my protégés to do same. That is, taking out quality time towards the end part of the 2008 to ‘FIX’ the New Year - 2009. I can still remember one of them asking me: “Sir, are you saying I should spend 4days praying... what will I be saying the entire days?” I had to explain my strategy to him; you are to PRAY and THINK!
No doubt, these ones are going to soar above their peers in 2009. This is an unbreakable law of success: When you do [correctly] what others don’t do, you will get what they don’t get.

I have seen many folks step into their future and are surprised to see it empty! Why the shock? You cannot make withdrawals from an account you never made deposits... When others were praying, they were playing. When others were planning, they were sound asleep. When others were groaning, they were grooving. You can’t plant corn and reap pineapple! It is your ‘investing’ that sets the pace for your ‘harvesting’.

For those who couldn’t take out time towards the end part of 2008, you can do so now as 2009 has just begun! You could take 2, 3, 4 or more days off, depending on how much you can sacrifice at the moment. I bet you, it will pay off!

Don’t forget: LIFE IS SPIRITUAL, don't leave it to chance. Only those with this understanding will make major headlines in 2009! For God said, “In 2009, if you don’t hear me, men will not hear you”. The easiest way to become a FOCUS in your world is to make God your FOCUS - when you see God, men will see you. Logic and human reasoning cannot take you all-the-way! If you maintain a sound relationship with the Creator of the universe in 2009, it will be totally impossible for you to lack anything in the universe.

You deserve the best, go for it!