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Isaac Oluyi, change agent, entrepreneur, entrepreneurship educator and motivational speaker, is the Chief Executive Officer of Sourcerite Farms, an integrated farm that is environment-friendly. He is an advocate of entrepreneurial leadership, a leadership that proffers solutions to societal problems without waiting for government. He can be reached on 08060702979 or via isaacoluyi@gmail.com
The man who doubts himself is twice defeated in the race of life, as he has placed a barrier on the height he can attain in life. Doubt is the opposite of faith. It kills initiatives and prevents one from living out one’s dream. Self-defeat is indeed a sure path to a life of mediocrity.
Many a man has lost out in the race of life all because of doubt. They defeat themselves ever before they embark on a worthwhile endeavour. I have always believed that God created us for a just cause. There is a purpose for our existence on this planet. Besides, I also know that just as no man is superior to the other, no one is equally inferior to the other. In fact, all animals are equal. Forget George Orwell’s view in Animal Farm that “all animals are equal but some are more equal than the others”. I see that as a mere creation of man to give room for superiority of one person to the other. The truth of the matter is that no one is superior to the other!
But as much as I believe that we are all created equal – black or white, male or female, able or disable – many of us still face life with a self-defeatist approach. We give up easily on issues that could have turned our lives round. We allow doubt to tether us down to mediocrity level. Where we are supposed to soar like the eagle, we behave like chickens. Perhaps this story will make you understand what I am saying better.
I ran into a friend last week at the Department of English, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, who was recently recruited as an assistant lecturer. He took me through what happened at their interview. But what struck me most in his account was how another friend of ours who came for the same interview screamed when he sighted him. According to my lecturer friend, he gave up before the result came out. It was not a surprise when he rounded off his story that the guy was not given the appointment. The reason for his failure? Self-defeat!
This friend is not alone in this game of self-defeat. So many people have actually been victims of this. One thing I know is that life is a game. And like any other game, you win some and lose some. Even when you lose there are still lessons to learn. Why then do you have to defeat yourself before you begin at all? The more you defeat yourself before you begin, the more you will keep on living a mediocre life. So, to shore up your confidence, you must believe in yourself. There is no other person like you. There is actually something in you that the whole world is awaiting. Start that project today, tomorrow may be too late. Remember, when you defeat yourself before you start at all you may end up a mediocrity in life.
In the world of business, it is only a fool that would work himself to death for someone else. It is true that one should strive to justify what one earns, particularly if one is an employee, but it would be suicidal for employee not to have a plan to be on his own at a point in life. This is because experience has shown that you cannot be richer than your employer, except if you are not 100% dedicated to your work or if you are cutting corners.
Some people work for security, while others work for freedom. This piece is not intended for those who work for security; it is targeted at those who are willing to take calculated risks in arriving at their desired destinations in life. Such people, I presume, know who they are and must be working consciously towards making it count in life. How can they make it count? This they can do by ensuring that what they know rubs off positively on others. That is why I say that it is not what you know that matters, but what you do with what you know.
Given that you know who you are, the challenge before you is to know what to do with it. It is not sufficient to know who you are, you must know how to maximize your God-given gift. What I have discovered is that if you do not want to lead, you are bound to be led. Put differently, if you do not want to be your own boss you will surely be bossed around by someone else. There is something in you that the whole world is waiting for. You only need to act on it as nothing moves until it is moved.
The greatest inhibition to taking one’s rightful place in life is fear. Fear has always been the bane of many a man that would have been great in life. Many, who would have become celebrities but are perceived as nonentities, have been victims of FALSE EVIDENCE APPEARING REAL (FEAR). Man is always afraid of what will happen next. He is often more concerned about tomorrow. He feels insecure and worried. This fear of the unknown has always prevented many a man from taking the bull by the horn. It makes many of us to leave our destinies in the hands of others to control.
You need to appreciate that there is nothing to fear about tomorrow. God has not given us the spirit of fear. The expression ”fear not” appears 365 times in the Bible, which invariably means there is a dose of fear not per day! We must always remember that today is the tomorrow spoken about yesterday. If your employer had not overcome the fear of insecurity or what most of us tag ”fear of the unknown”, you would not be in that your office working. It takes courage and absolute faith in God to live the kind of life you are destined to live. Today, I run a demonstration farm in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria, where I rear rabbits, chickens, snails, among others and still train people on the need to be self-reliant. This is possible because I confronted my fear. I could have raised several excuses why the farm should not start. Setting up the farm has come with its challenges, but the will to win has been my sustaining power.
What you must always know is that there is no gain without pain. You don’t have to fear failure. There are no secrets to success. Don’t waste your time looking for them. We pay a heavy price for our fear of failure. It is a powerful obstacle to growth. There is no learning without some difficulty and fumbling. If you want to keep on learning, you must keep on risking failure – ALL YOUR LIFE. Take that bold step now, fear not. Remember, what Orison Swett Marden said: ”many a man has finally succeeded only because he has failed after repeated efforts. If he had never met defeat he would never have known great victory
Nigeria, touted as the world’s most populous black nation, for a long time, has been at the precipice of collapse economically and politically because of bad leadership. Right from the locust years of the military, the country had been plunged into the abyss of retrogression. This continued even with the advent of democracy in the country in 1999. The elections of 1999 were marred with malpractices and all sorts of untoward practices. As it was in 1999, so it was in 2003. As if the nation is doomed never to learn from its past mistakes, the 2007 election that brought in the late President Musa Yar’adua was arguably the worst election ever conducted in Nigeria! To further add insult to the injury, the electoral umpire, Professor Maurice Iwu was unapologetic for the enormous shame he brought upon the country with his ineptitude and insincerity. The scenario thus gave birth to hopelessness, helplessness and haplessness in the land. Virtually everyone became disinterested in the polity.
So when Professor Jega was announced as the new Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) chairman, the situation was largely the same. Despite his antecedents as an honest and trustworthy person, Nigerians were still not convinced that the much-awaited time of change was here. Many were actually quick to condemn the man when on Saturday, the 2nd April, 2011 the National Assembly election slated for the day became botched and was consequently postponed. One thing that none of Jega’s critics and cynics could take away from him was his integrity. This much they all acknowledged.
It was therefore not astonishing to see the way the elections went across the length and breadth of Nigeria on Saturday, the 9th April, 2011. The election, despite some pockets of hitches and violence in some parts of the country, was relatively free and fair. What further made the election remarkable was its outcome, which so far, has shown some major upsets. For instance, the Chairman Senate Committee on Appropriation, Senator Iyiola Omisore, the enfant terrible of Osun State politics, a state in the South-West of Nigeria, was roundly defeated by Omoworare, a less popular candidate, but with more credibility. Like in Osun State, the daughter of the former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Iyabo Obasanjo-Bello and the Speaker of the Federal House of Representatives, Dimeji Bankole were also defeated in Ogun State. The implication of all of these is that Nigeria may be moving closer to getting it right this time. Show me a credible leader and you would have found a man who will rewrite the story of shame of the continent. Like I have always said that Africa is blessed, not cursed. Despite the crises in Ivory Coast, Libya and others, with the success of the National Assembly election in Nigeria on Saturday, the 9th April, 2011, it seems there is a glimpse of hope after all in Africa. Professor Jega is treading triumphantly even where angels are afraid to tread. Is it time for us to be jubilant? Are we edging closer to our promise land? Is Nigeria getting it right at last? Only time will tell!
How to Avoid Life-threatening Mistakes by Learning from the Stories of Others
In Africa, stories are used to teach morals, to entertain, and to uphold core values as a people. At this phase of our development when we are faced with a lot of challenging situations, what we need are stories of hope, not stories of turmoil, crisis and despondency. For this reason, I shall be running stories that are capable of turning your lives around in this series. The title of today’s story is:“An Interesting Funeral”
One day all the employees of a very unusual company reached their office and all saw a big sign on the main door which said:
‘Yesterday, the person who was hindering your growth in this company passed away. We invite you to join the funeral in the room that has been prepared in the gym.’
In the beginning, they all got sad for the death of one of their colleagues, but after a while they started getting curious to know who was that person who hindered the growth of their colleagues and the company itself?
The excitement in the gym was such that security agents were ordered to control the crowd within the room. The more people reached the coffin, the more the excitement heated up.
Everyone thought – ‘Who is this person who was hindering my progress?’
One by one the intrigued employees got closer to the coffin, and when they looked inside it, they suddenly became speechless.
They stood near the coffin in shock and in silence. There was a mirror inside the coffin: everyone who looked inside it could see themselves! There was also a sign next to the mirror that said. . .
‘There is only one person who is capable of setting limits to your growth and IT IS YOU!’
Moral Lesson
Your life does not change when your boss changes, when your friends change, when your parents change, when your husband or wife changes, when your company changes, when your church changes, when your location changes, when your money changes, when your status changes . . .
No, your life changes when YOU change, when you go beyond your limiting beliefs.
Examine yourself, watch yourself. Don’t be afraid of difficulties, impossibilities and losses. Be a winner; build yourself and your reality. It’s the way you face life that makes the difference.
“The hardest thing to see is what is in front of your eyes”
-Goethe
Scarcity amidst abundance
In the last three weeks I have been trying to organise seminars on “Moringa Oleifera”, popularly known as wonder plant, for secondary school teachers in Osun state, Nigeria. “What is Moringa?” And why secondary school teachers?
Moringa, I discovered recently, contains 7 times the vitamin C of oranges, 4 times the vitamin A of carrots, 4 times the calcium of milk, 3 times the potassium of banana and 2 times the protein of yoghurt. Besides its nutritional value, it can save millions of lives and it could be used to generate bio-gas, among others. As a result of its enormous benefits to mankind, I decided to share what I know with others so that our society can be a better place to live in. So I made up my mind to first take this money-spinning idea to my former constituency – to teachers. I taught for six years before I moved on to other things in life. I was however shocked to find out that the way it was when I was still teaching, is still the way it is now. Despite the immense opportunities in Moringa that my people in “chalk and talk” business could tap into, they bombarded me with litany of complaints such as ‘we don’t have money’, ‘the money you are charging for the seminar is too much’ and so on. You may want to ask how much is the money? Just $6 to turn their lives round! My heart bled because those who are supposed to know are actually ignorant of what could fetch them additional income. Those we expect so much from cannot see what is right in front of them!
There is no doubt that we are blessed in Africa. But we seem blind to a lot of opportunities around us simply because of our scarcity mentality. We think of what we do not have rather than taking advantage of what we have. We complain we do not have money, thinking that it is only money we need to make money. We have forgotten that we cannot rise above the level of our thinking. If we think we do not have then definitely we may not have. Besides Moringa, there are other opportunities for us that we can take advantage of in Africa, but we still complain we do not have when we live amidst abundance. How then do we overcome this scarcity mentality that has tethered us down for a long time?
The first step to take is to renew our thoughts daily. What we think about, we become. Who we are outside is a reflection of who we are inside. If you see yourself as poor person inside there is no way you can be rich outside. Most civil servants in African societies more often than not see themselves as poor, and their appearances reflect their state of mind from time to time. So, to overcome scarcity mentality, you must consciously renew your thoughts. Rid your yourself of negative thought and thoughts of scarcity. Think abundance. After all, out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks.
Desires and confessions are intertwined; they are inseparable. While many have done their desires a lot of good through the words of their mouths, others have short-changed themselves with their confessions. You cannot be a poor person within and be rich without. You cannot be a gloomy person within and be cheerful without. What a man will be on the outside, he must first be in the inside. You must speak power to your desires which first exist as thoughts in your mind.
But beyond the renewal of your thoughts and your confessions, you must also put life to your words through action. Nothing moves unless we move. We may continue to complain we do not have if we do not activate what we have in our minds. This brings to mind the story of a man who lives in my new neighbourhood. I met this man sometime in 2008. He had a life-threatening experience during the Modakeke-Ife internecine war in 2000. He lost everything he had laboured for in the war – cars, houses, businesses! The only thing he had left was his life. This man, because of his pastoral calling, was fond of confessing positive things without taking any concrete actions. The result? He kept on complaining of lack! About a month ago, this man approached me for counsel. I had to be down-to-earth with him. I told him that what he needed was to take a concrete step. I advised him to sell one of his burnt houses to start a business. He did what I advised him to do and today he is a poultry farmer. He does not complain about not having what to eat again. He is gradually recovering what he lost during the war. It is not sufficient to confess positive thoughts alone; we need to back them up with action.
You may be thinking that taking action is not easy. I know. But it is possible to start with what you have from where you are. It is just a matter of starting small. It is little drops of water that make a mighty ocean. We may remain at the level of scarcity if we do not want to begin small. It may interest you to note that I started rabbit rearing with just 2 rabbits – 1 male and 1 female, but today I have a big rabbit farm. We do not just sell live rabbits, but also sell processed rabbits! What you do not start, cannot grow.
To overcome scarcity mentality therefore, we must consciously practise the following tips:
Renew your thoughts daily; avoid negative thoughts as much as possible and think possibilities.
Take a step beyond positive thinking; take action; and
If you think taking action is not that easy, start what you have thought about in a small way from where you are.
With the steps above, you will begin to sing a new song. No more scarcity mentality; you will begin to see the immense opportunities in Africa. You are not created to lack; you are created to have everything in abundance.
The greatest tragedy of life is for people to live and die and never come out of themselves, to never realise the possibilities hidden within them. Each time I come across people with huge potentials and who seem to be clueless about what to do with their innate abilities, my heart bleeds. To give meaning to your life you must live it on purpose. There is nothing as dangerous as living a life that has no bearing. Such a life will definitely be very boring!
How can you then give meaning to a clueless life?
The way out is to discover who you are. When you know who you are it becomes easy to live a purpose-driven life. You would have discovered the purpose for which you are in this world.
So I want you to take time to ruminate over the following and answer them as truthfully as possible:
Do I love where I am today?
Would I like to continue to do the kind of job or the kind of activity that I do today when I come of age?
Am I using my natural talent to do what I do today?
Will I like to be the best of what I am doing today?
What one thing do I need to do to make the greatest possible change in my life?
Who is doing something closest to my dream?
What area will I like to make a positive impact?
What will I like to be remembered for?
What mind-blowing accomplishment will I want my name to be associated with?
What field will I like my name to define?
What do I do best with the least effort?
What kind of help do people frequently ask from me?
What is that area people show me the greatest respect?
What can I do for fun and still earn money?
What irritates me the most when it is poorly done?
I usually lose track of time when ……………………
Which of all the human needs touches my heart most?
I am the solution, what is the problem?
Who has this problem?
Which books, magazines or discussions interest me the most?
I am convinced that if you can consciously and truthfully answer the questions above, you will discover your potentials and know exactly who you are. With this, you will have succeeded in giving meaning to your life, even if you had no clue before.
There is no limitation to what you can achieve in life. The only limitation to achieving great feats in life is the one set by you. Therefore, no matter what you are going through; no matter where you are at the moment, be admonished that it is not yet over. There is always a chance to start over. If you have failed on any project, there is good news for you: the word “fail” simply means ‘First Attempt in Learning”. You can start all over again. The fact that you are alive is an indication that you still have a second chance. Hear Helen Keller “when one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed-door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us”
What this implies is that you do not need to continuously brood over what has happened as you have no power over it. You must be aware that what has been done cannot be undone. You can begin again when you see any setback in life as a learning process and press on with a positive attitude. There is nothing that happens to man in life that God does not know about. This thus suggests that whatever happens to us has a purpose and nothing happens by accident.
If you allow this to sink into your system, you will begin to see that the story of a man does not always unfold like a mathematical calculation on the principle that two and two make four; sometimes in life they make five or even minus three, and sometimes the black-board topples down in the middle of the sum, leaving the teacher with the black eye! We must therefore not lose sight of the fact that obstacles are there to toughen and prepare us for the challenges ahead.
This realization is possible depending on how you view any predicament you find yourselves in. Do you see the half-filled cup of water as “half-empty” or “half-full”? The way you describe such a cup of water will go a long way to depict your outlook on life. Imbibe a positive attitude to life and you will reach higher altitude and change your life for ever.
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In a world characterized by upheavals, crisis, disappointments, depression and dejection, there is a need for every individual that wants to live, have fun and ultimately take the rightful place in destiny to be self-motivated and self-encouraged. This is because I have come to realize that to cross over from “mourning” to “morning”, it takes “U”, letter that distinguishes the two homophonic words in the English language. Whenever you are faced with any challenges in life, buck ultimately stops with you. The decision you take at any time determines where you will be the next moment and what happens to you subsequently. It is therefore important to make informed decisions in life. In all these, a positive attitude in life is vital for higher altitude.
In order for you to make decisions in life, you may need to learn either from the mistakes of others or their stories. It is usually very costly to learn from one’s own mistakes. The mistakes or the stories of others help tremendously in determining the attitudes you will put forth when confronted with similar challenges. Attitude, yes attitude!
When exposed to situations others are confronting, in most cases, our first reaction is “If I were the person, I would have responded this way or that way? More often than not we tend to blame such people, especially if what befalls them is a misfortune. We blame those in power for not performing; we criticize those performing for not doing enough and, disturbingly, we attribute the causes of our misfortunes in life to what others did or did not do. This is the tragedy of the today’s world.
I have, however, discovered that we are where we are not only because of bad leadership, poverty, lack of education, lack of parents, lack of love from others, among other reasons we may want to adduce, but because of what we do when we are faced with challenges in life. Do we react to situations or respond to them? If you have been reactive, then there is the need for a change. It is vital that you be responsive to situations; you be positive-minded and see the inherent best even in the worst of situations. This is because even thorns have roses. Where others see difficulties, you must begin to see opportunities. All you need to do is to look within and think beyond. Remember, the future you cannot picture, you cannot capture. And to capture your desired future you must be conscious of the fact that attitude is not just everything, but the ONLY thing. It is your attitude that determines your altitude in life. A positive attitude equals higher altitude.
