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The Unexpected Coffee Break

I had a conversation with a friend who has just been fired from his work. He told me that when his manager invited him to get a cup of coffee, he considered it a chance to have discussion around promotion, pay raise or a new assignment. He was performing well at work and getting positive feedback from colleagues and supervisors. But a few minutes into the coffee session, his manager broke the news. “You’re fired”, may be in a more diplomatic way but whatever form it took, it translates to one thing, he was fired.

We’re told that if we to do the right thing at the right time and get ourselves at the right place at the right time, we can ensure job security, promotion, and stability and happiness. In truth, even after we’ve done everything right, even after you’ve done what your manager expected you to do, and have been voted the employee of the month, change suddenly pops up.  And sometimes change can be big and unpleasant. Continue reading “The Unexpected Coffee Break”

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Giving Back Is Noble, But Is it Motivated by Pity or Empathy?

empathyGiving back to the community is a noble thing. Our religious and political leaders encourage it. Many do this by volunteering their time to serve in underserved communities at home or abroad.

 

In some cases, the desire to do community service, foreign charity travel or volunteer to serve in a rural area may be motivated by a feeling of pity for those in need. My observation is that a feeling of pity for the needy creates the status of a boss, a provider or a superior for the giver. A service that is inspired by a feeling of pity accomplishes little. Sometimes, it does more harm than good.

 

To make real impact on people and communities, a service should be inspired by empathy. This is where you go to the communities with the desire to learn and understand them. You put yourself in their shoes; you enter their head and feel their feelings. It is by doing so that you in partnership with the communities can address the problems they have. Continue reading “Giving Back Is Noble, But Is it Motivated by Pity or Empathy?”

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How Old Is Your Knowledge?

A couple of weeks ago I was with my mentor in his office. I went to him not to be lectured, but for a different purpose. As I was about to tell him my mission, a woman came in. This woman, apart from being a veterinary doctor, also holds a Ph.D. in Innovation and Technology Management. She wanted my mentor to drill her for the interview she was to have the next day. Without blinking an eye, my mentor, in his characteristic manner, immediately began to ask some questions on current affairs. At a point I was wondering why my mentor would be asking a Ph.D. holder such ridiculous questions. To my dismay, she could only answer 1 or 2 out of almost 15 questions she was asked. Continue reading “How Old Is Your Knowledge?”

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How to be Lucky in Life

I fell in love with this anonymous quote that says “you are not a write-off yet until opportunities cease to exist” the very day I stumbled on it. Ever since, I have made it my guiding philosophy in life. Opportunities beckon daily, but whether we are able to recognise them or not is a different ball game altogether. Opportunities are dressed in different robes and they come in different sizes and shapes. The question then is: How prepared are we when they appear?

I have heard many people say that some people are lucky in life. What is luck? Luck simply means opportunities that meet with adequate preparation. Many wander through life without preparing adequately for their opportunities when they come. Nothing happens by accident. Every occurrence in life has its significance. It leaves us with one lesson or the other. Perhaps this why John Maxwell said in his book Failing Forward that there are no mistakes made, only lessons learnt. Do you learn from your daily occurrences? Or do you just see them as just happenstances? Whatever happens to man (positively or negatively) has one lesson or the other for the future. Continue reading “How to be Lucky in Life”

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Creating Your Future Roadmap Today

Today is the tomorrow spoken about yesterday. So, each time we put off what we are supposed to do today till tomorrow we are only saying we are not ready to be in control of our lives. To be in charge of one’s life one must be willing to live each day on purpose. In fact, a man who is leading a purpose-driven life does not procrastinate. He/she is driven by the purpose he/she has discovered. Show me a man who is living a purpose-driven life and I will tell you he is a man who is creating his future today.

The future is not a long time away. The future we talk passionately about is now. It is not tomorrow. It is not the day after the next. Neither is it years to come. Every second we breathe in and out we have a chance to create our future. As long as we still have life in us the opportunity to create the future we desire presents itself to us. Life is a journey. I am yet to see a man who will want to go on a journey from one point to the other without a map. It is the map that will help him/her to navigate through. The same thing is applicable to the way we live our lives. Continue reading “Creating Your Future Roadmap Today”

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Start with the End in Mind

Isaac Oluyi

The journey of a thousand miles begins with a step. Some will say with a step in the right direction. As for me, all I know is that it starts with a step. You cannot complete what you have not started; neither can you have any experience on that you had wished for. If wishes were horses beggars would ride. Those ideas you endlessly talk about are mere wishes. And they may remain so if you don’t act on them. To bring to fruition those beautiful ideas of yours, you need to step out and expedite action on them.

It has always been my dream and it is still my dream to have a-200 acre farm where nations will be fed and several unemployed people are given sustainable means of livelihood. Yes, I dream of a farm where technology and nature will meet without causing any harm to the environment. It is a farm where nature will inspire ideas that will uplift humanity and lead to sustainable development. What a commendable and lofty dream, you may say! Lofty, yes! But it is achievable. I believe it is accomplishable and I am also aware that things don’t just happen. They are made manifest by those who believe and follow their beliefs with actions. We need to inject life into our dreams for them to become realities. For this reason, I started out my farm with 35 birds in January 2011 in a single room. One and a half years after, the birds have grown to about 500 and we also have some rabbits on a-2 plot of land. This is a step in the direction of having a-200 acre farm. We had taken the first most important step with the end in mind. And we believe in not too distant a future we will get there. Continue reading “Start with the End in Mind”

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You Can Only Be Young Once

Isaac Oluyi, Author and public speaker

No one will live forever. We are all here for a short while. It is actually not how long we live that matters but how well we live. To live well and live a life of meaningful impact we need to discover purpose on time. Nobody will be celebrated for what he/she would have done, only for what he/she did. There is no better time to start living one’s dreams than yesterday. After all, you can only be young once.

Methuselah lived for 969 years on the surface of the earth! That was the only record we read of him in the Bible. No record of what he did nor what he would have done. Each time I read this portion of the Bible, the question is: What did this man do with his youthful years? As I write I am still at sea over living for such a long period of time without any record of meaningful impact. Jesus Christ, on the other hand, lived for 33 eventful years of impact. At 12 He knew His purpose and wrought his first miracle at 30 – he turned water to wine. He actually fulfilled His mission on earth within 3 years! He set forth at dawn knowing full well that he could only be young once. His impact still reverberates throughout the world more than 2000 years after His death. Methuselah lived for 969 years of no impact and Christ lived for 33 years of indelible impacts. What a contrast! What are you still waiting for? Remember, you can only be young once. Continue reading “You Can Only Be Young Once”

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Thank God It’s Monday

Many people are fond of saying “Thank God It’s Friday”. Why is this so? It is so because Friday comes as a big relief to such people. They look forward to Friday right from the beginning of every working week. Some cannot wait for Friday to come before they go into wild jubilation. Friday becomes a day of escape from the drudgery they call “work”. They are ecstatic about Friday simply because they are not enjoying what they do. When you enjoy what you do you will look forward to the beginning of every working week rather than the end of it. In fact, everyday is your Friday. Your slogan will then change to “Thank God It’s Monday”.

In the course of my interaction with people at various fora I have come to realise that if you are not passionate about what you do you cannot make any meaningful impact in life. People that eagerly look to the arrival of Friday are only working to survive.  They are not doing it because they crave for fulfilment. So, they will only be happy on Friday when they can escape from the torture they call work or job. Continue reading “Thank God It’s Monday”

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