An open mind is a theatre of opportunities. A man with an open mind listens with rapt attention, observes with an eagle eye and asks the right questions at the right time. He is not afraid of change. Rather, he responds to change and exploits it to his advantage. A man with a closed mind, on the other hand, tends to see difficulties, not opportunities. He becomes transmogrified to a “Pharisee” or a “Sadducee”, who only becomes enamoured by what is beyond his reach or only sees sad situations around him.
In 2005, shortly after the birth of my second child, we had some financial challenges as a family. We were living in Lagos, the commercial nerve centre of Nigeria. The situation was so challenging that we had to move out of a three bedroom flat to a room and a parlour. It was as if the end had come as everything we touched was not working out. At this point we sought the face of God through prayer. We had a strong conviction after the prayer to relocate outside Lagos. To where? We were not sure. To prove to us that God is not a man that would lie, an offer came my way from a far, but a remote town called Ede in Osun State, Nigeria. When I told my siblings and in-laws about it, they were like “never!” How could you leave Lagos for Ede? Impossible! They tried to talk my wife and I out of our relocation plans. But when we stood our ground that location is not limitation, they concluded that we were embarking on a journey to nowhere. They saw us as crazy people! Although the pressure from friends, kith and kin almost got to us at a point, we ended up leaving Lagos for Ede with a mattress, few clothes and some kitchen utensils. Most importantly, we left Lagos with hope of a better tomorrow.
We were in Ede as secondary school teachers only for seven months. But with an open mind we were able to learn some tips about farming from our neighbour. Above all, with a salary of less than $100 a month we were able to procure a plot of land before we left the town. From Ede we moved to Ile-Ife also as teachers. After a while in Ile-Ife, I joined a Federal Government establishment. At the moment we are on a mission of turning a jungle into a beehive of business activities. We believe strongly in God that this environment deserted as a result of internecine war shall be turned to a paradise sooner than expected. We have consistently maintained an open mind to everything since we left Lagos. No doubt, the result has been phenomenally rewarding.
The remarkable thing about our relocation from Lagos to Osun State, an agrarian region in Nigeria is that we are no longer strugglers, but achievers. We left Lagos with just a single mattress, but today we live in our own house and also an employer of labour. Those who thought we were mad then now see sanity in our activities. Trials, challenges and difficulties are part and parcel of life. It is thus not how many times we fall that matters but how many times we are able to rise above challenges. To turn challenges to chances one needs to be open-minded. To see opportunities in difficulties, one needs an open mind that is not afraid of taking calculated risks.
