Take it back! by Ken Ibe

It's been a while since I read some real hard talk and analysis like this and I urge you to read carefully as I bring you this passion-filled wake-up call by a wonderful writer.

Always @ moi frequency...Enjoy!

The youths of today have no option but to become transformation minded or else we stand on the brink of extinction as a nation. It’s a pity that the older generations have run this nation, ruled it and ruined it yet they’ve refused to hand over the affairs of this nation to the next generation. They sit there like it’s their birth right. They’ve titled the youths, “the leaders of tomorrow” hence keeping us in a state of perpetual waiting for a tomorrow that will never come.

Fifty years ago, youths were called by this title, twenty years ago the same thing, a decade later they were still known by the same title and today the youths are still the leaders of tomorrow. My questions are which tomorrow are they even talking about? When this tomorrow will ever come and if it will ever come will the youths be ready to take over and by that I mean if we will have the capacity to change the state of things.

My fellow youths, my message to you this Lord’s Day is that wherever you find yourself;
Be the change you want to see
Be the transformation you want
Trigger the revolution you want to see
Lead a life that will affect posterity positively.
Be that leader you want to see

Start from where you are and what is under your control. I know the nation is not under your control but your family is under your control, your business is under your control, yourself is under your control, your staff is under your control, your department is under your control, your team is under your control, your class is under your control, your hospital is under your control, your school is under your control and your office is definitely under your control.

Activate that change you want to see in the nation in what you control.

If you are an entrepreneur; be a leading entrepreneur.
If you are a manager; be a leading manager.
If you are an engineer; be a leading engineer.
If you are a secretary; be a leading secretary.
If you are a law enforcement officer; be a leading law enforcement officer.
If you are a preacher; be a leading preacher.
If you are an artist; be a leading artist.
If you are an actor/actress; be a leading actor/actress.
If you are a driver; be a leading driver.
If you are a barber; be leading barber.
If you are a doctor, producer, tailor writer or CEO; be a leading leader in your field.

Do it until people know you and call you by what you do.
You need to preach till folks know you and call you the preacher.
Write until they know you and call you the writer.
Manage until they know you and call you the manager.
Fly until they know you and call you the pilot.

Do you work until you become the best in what you do? Work towards becoming a reference in your field. If all youths or at least most youths become leading youths in their sectors; then there is truly hope for our nation.
Pursue a career and not a job. Don’t just jump from one job to another just because of a better pay check rather also seek an environment where you can progress and grow, climbing the ladder of your field with an intention of getting to the top.
When your field is mentioned anywhere in the world let your name come to mind. Become the most sought after person in your field.
The most sought after networking engineer.
The most sought after pilot.
The most sought after soldier.
The most sought after police man.
The most sought after trader.

If all youths in Nigeria can become the best in their fields of endeavour thereby making themselves indispensable, very relevant and the most sought after in their respective fields; imagine what the future holds for our great nation.

We have to strategically take back our nation because the enemies have tagged us leaders of tomorrow – a false hope of a tomorrow that will never come; indirectly pointing to how irrelevant we are and by implication have relegated us to the background.
If rescuing our nation from this strong hold is paramount then we have only one option; we must build our capacity to a level where we cannot be displaced.

We must work to take back our nation!

I know it’s in ruin; yes, the society is a wreck; the economy is fast deteriorating, the banking sector is a disaster, the roads are in shambles but we have to take back our nation.
The nation might be disjointed, dislocated and discombobulated but we have to take it back!

We cannot afford to be spectators and onlookers anymore; we must do what it takes. The spectator profession and that of the onlookers and the bystanders are unpaid employments we must resign from and never return. Haven’t you realized that it cost more to be a spectator? In a football stadium you pay to be a spectator and at the end of the day the participants take the trophy and are rewarded with your money. Participation in nation building and social restructuring are professions we must take up by default if we must take our nation back.

Also, we must not contribute to the ruin and decay in the nation, we must not join them because the destiny of this nation lies in our hands and we cannot afford to toy with the lives of men. If we decide to join them we mortgage the lives of our children and quite frankly there will be no nation that our children can call theirs.

Youths, we are very significant at this moment in time because we alone can determine the future of this nation- do we want a standing nation in the next 50 years or no nation at all? We must hand over an organized nation to the generation after ours. We must relief our children from the duty of having to rebuild a dead nation. Where our generation is that of builders, theirs must be that of manager administrators. They must inherit an organized, structured and systemized nation to manage.
We must wake up to our responsibility as builders because God always sends the deliverer a people need per time. Literally, the deliverance of today is not that of leaving Egypt for Canaan or crossing the red sea which God sent Moses to do. It is not that of prophecy which He ordained Jeremiah for; the deliverance of today is that of nation building; somewhat like Nehemiah’s mission to Jerusalem.
The deliverance you’ve been praying for is in you! You are the deliverer! We must take back our nation. We must be involved in national development and societal transformation.

It is your passion for a nation that will determine your position in that nation.

Nehemiah’s passion for Jerusalem led to the king giving him letters to the governors for his safe passage and for all he’ll require for his building project. The king also gave him a royal escort. Nehemiah was granted diplomatic immunity. Psalm 122:6 says, “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem, they shall prosper that love thee”. Ladies and gentlemen, your prosperity and security in any nation is tied to your love for that nation.

Practical steps we must start taking.
• We must strive for excellence because excellence sells. The world always moves towards the direction of excellence. The world will always go for excellence.

• Be value driven. Don’t just be a consumer but seek to contribute and add value wherever you are.

• Always improve yourself. Build your capacity. Seek to always advance. Forbid stagnation and hate mediocrity. Only people that build capacity will be relevant in the New Nigeria.

Today, I’m not asking you to challenge your governor or local government chairman but to challenge yourself. We must use a change of approach to end the reproach. We must challenge ourselves to become the best in what we do and where we are because it is people that make up a nation and better people can only make a better nation. We must take the lead in our fields and make ourselves too relevant to be ignored. Become a leading leader.

Joseph was too good in dream interpretation that he was appointed prime minister.
Daniel was too good in administration that four different kings required him to remain in office.
David the Shepherd boy over sheep became the shepherd king over Israel.
Don’t wait for tomorrow; be a Leader today.
Let’s take our nation back! 

   

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The Urzua mindset

There's this Yoruba proverb that goes "Eefin niwa".
2 words but a great message packaged in it.

A raw translation to English goes thus - Character is like fumes.
Place fumes in a pot, it always finds its way out. Our character as it is, can only be concealed for a little while. It takes only a matter of time for it to surface.

You know that feeling when you meet someone with a great character, you just feel that rich smile they beam, there's warmness in every word and mannerism and you just love to be around such a person.

One issue that has caught international attention is that of the 33 trapped miners in Chile.
I heard of the rescue operations that commenced some hours ago in which 5 out of the 33 have been rescued.
One stunning fact was that they had been there for 17days at first before discovery, feeding on sips of water, bits of biscuit and tuna fish that they had.

33 men just for emphasis sake... underground for 10 weeks!

Now what exactly is the whole point of this? I mean you're probably not from Chile and you've heard the news too, so what's all the fuss about I hear you ask...Read on...

Now for your info, the food with them was supposed to last just 48 hours but...(I had to dedicate a paragraph for the next point..yes)

Now the food was only meant to last 33 of them for about 48hours, but with the exceptional leadership of 'one man', Luis Urzua (also trapped) who brought up the idea of managing their food supplies by taking 2 spoons of Tuna and half glass of milk - every 48 hours! which helped them endure another 17 days without outside contact. He is decided to be the last man to be rescued out of the mine.

He'll be the last out because the others need him...Chile needs him...he's got the strongest character!

I mean I can just imagine one of them freaking out with tears in his eyes and saying he can't make it again and Urzua goes, "Yes you can, they will find us, they will, just hang in there...Here, have a sip of my water".

He's trapped in the mine but his mind is free from being controlled by external forces of discouragement that surround him.

Now check out this excerpt from my source:

"Urzua's neighbors told the AP he probably insisted on being the last one up.
"He's a very good guy — he keeps everybody's spirits up and is so responsible — he's going to see this through to the end," said neighbor Angelica Vicencio, who has led a nightly vigil outside the Urzua home in Copiapo."

I don't even think I should write on Character cuz its far broader than that. I mean, after I read the analysis of the rescue operations it was far from believing how they managed to keep them calm or even rescue them. They faced risk of rocks falling to destroy the rescue capsule and close up rescue paths and a hundred of other contingencies.

Now that is a great mindset I must say, one that stays calm in face of adversity and puts up a resilient attitude against failure, optimistic and also infects people with his/her confidence.
Nelson Mandela was in prison for 27 years but still came out to lead a whole nation. He was in prison but his mind wasn't imprisoned.

You have imprisoned this your great mind for too long!
You will never understand what I mean if you're still 'trapped in the box'... dirty old traditions!

Our mind is a great tool, guard it with diligence. If this is still not making sense, then there's a big challenge here.

What I'm I trying to say?
Your true character only comes out in times of adversity...or how do you test the strength of a knife if it has never cut anything?
Events like that of the Chilean miners will happen and then the true 'you' will come out. Will you be the Urzua?
Bad stories spread faster than good ones I must add.

So what's the way forward I say? Talking to myself too:
Build a strong character and interact with people of great attitude(Iron sharpeneth Iron you know).
Watch your reaction to situations, people and what do you laugh at?
Question your integrity by watching how you react to money.
Don't be sentimental about making decisions that are beneficial to your well-being all in the name of 'what people will think'.
Don't be scared to start all over and rebuild. At least now you know, so work on it.

1st of the rescued miners hugging Chilean President

"I've missed more than 9000 shots in my career. I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the game winning shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
-Michael Jordan

Let them say...they always say and they will never stop. You just do what you do best.

Its all a process in developing the Urzua kind of mindset and watch how a whole nation will celebrate you just because you decided to not conform to 'the usual'.

Last man out: Luis Urzua waving his hand as the rescue ends!

Read more on the Chilean miners and don't forget to pray for them as the rescue continues.
***************************************
UPDATE: All 33 men have been rescued. God is definitely good! On the Left is the national hero, Luis Urzua having demonstrated true leadership in the depths of no hope, waving his hand as the whole world celebrates a true Leader.
 Boy o boy...such drama...lots of lessons.

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The Ant told me this

I've been reading this Bible verse for long but of recent it kept cropping up in different circumstances, speaking of |Prov. 6:6 -  Go to the ant, you sluggard; consider its ways and be wise!|.
So since I couldn't go to the ant literally as I always thought it meant, I decided to read something about ants which later metamorphorsed into a reasearch on this interesting and inspiring specie of insects and principles of life they reflect. (Research Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ant).
Enjoy as you read...@ moi frequency...*wink*

> The Social man
You know one interesting thing is I only used the Wikipedia page to research on this and every line of information was inspiring and as you read you can just relate the lessons I learnt from the ant to our everyday life. I won't spell out some of the lessons I learnt but will leave you to extract the juice (its always sweeter that way).
How much more if I went into deeper depths of research, a book could come out of this.
One dominant fact about the ant is that out of all animals...on earth if I might say...it the the most eusocial.

Ants have strived on this unique characteristic as  they perform various functions such as the worker who is responsible for defending the colony, sourcing for food and storing it. Also the queen ant who just produces eggs and the male ant that also produces clones after which it dies (i.e. it only eats, mates and dies).
Now the lesson to be learnt here is the importance of Role-playing as regards to us humans. We are not made to do everything but made for a specific purpose and carrying it out wholeheartedly.
A man is supposed to be a man and a woman likewise. In business same applies, misunderstanding of your role leads to frustration and unfulfillment.


> Poor Eyesight but Great Vision
Most ants have very poor to mediocre eyesight with few completely blind, so they use chemical substances called pheromones to communicate leaving trails for other ants to follow.

Your 5 physical senses are not enough for your success in business, relationships and life as a whole even though they are essential.

The one who relies on beauty as a 'dominant' characteristic for choosing a life partner could be making a big mistake. Beauty fades away, Mutual respect and selflessness - never.
The one who treats business clients based on appearance will soon discard the thousand-naira looking client with a multi-billion naira idea.

The Bulldog ant (one of the biggest of ant species) I learnt out of all ants is the least-developed socially. Why? I decided to plunge into this too.
Quick fact I'll give you is that it hunts alone by relying on  its large eyes to hunt for food instead of its chemical senses. hmm...Its left for you to pick your own lesson as it applies.

> Insight + Service
Based on the lesson above, ant pheromones have strong smell leaving trail for others to feed. So lesson to learn here is insight. The ant in front obviously has seen what is ahead so the ant behind follows based on pheromones (insight) left behind.

Sounds to me like acquiring knowledge. Knowledge is like pheromones left behind for you the new-comer to explore and give you insight into your own ideas. Your business idea might not be the first just like Coca-cola isn't the only drink. But Excellence sells anyday.
Ants leave food trails behind for others to follow to locate the food source
This is a lesson of service: Any idea or innovation that doesn't have a positive impact or based on the principle of service to your environment is void.


> Built to last
Average life 'expectancy' of an ant is 30 - 40 days - note that it means thats what is expected due to their size and nature of challenges they face but do you know Ant queens live up to 30yrs.
How come?

Quick facts: Ants adapt to any kind of environment (tropic or temperate) and work all-through the year.
In temperate places like the Antarctica, they provide their food ahead of the winter so when winter finally comes...

they rest?

NO! They slow down food production based on weather contraints.
This culture ensures that all-through the year, food is available. So why won't it live that long.


> Role Models
Even ants have got mentors
Check out this excerpt from the source I read:
"A knowledgeable forager of Temnothorax albipennis leads a naive nest-mate to newly discovered food by the process of tandem running. The follower obtains knowledge through its leading tutor. Both leader and follower are acutely sensitive to the progress of their partner with the leader slowing down when the follower lags, and speeding up when the follower gets too close."

hmm...this next quote by Isaac Newton in a letter to Robert Hooke also buttresses the importance of having a role-model:

"What Descartes  did was a good step. You have added much several ways, and especially in taking the colours of thin plates into philosophical consideration. If I have seen a little further it is by standing on the shoulders of Giants."

> Size a'int no excuse for the Ant
An average ant is 2mm in size but it attimes travels 200m meters in search for food!!!
How far are you willing to pursue your dreams? I ask myself the same

Move out of your comfort zone!
They face a great risk of desiccation in the course of their long journey but due to their sense of adaptation and scent trails it leaves behind, it avoids this by finding shorter alternative routes.

This sparked off a thought in me:
You know those times when we have this crazy idea or dream, or we map out a plan and strategy to achieve something...The initial urge, drive and motivation...very high!...and all of a sudden...pshew...engines quench out (desiccation) and we abandon it.

(Desiccation - make uninteresting: to remove vitality from something
Microsoft® Encarta® 2009. © 1993-2008 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.)

NEVER!
Ants don't do this.

So I say to you and to myself: If this minute creature could achieve so much feat, then how much more you?

You can choose to go to school, get a degree, marry and die without an impact
or you could still let your works and impact speak and bless lives long after you've passed away.

These are lessons from the ant...(You can read more here)

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Freedom vs Decision

What are the best decisions and what are the worst decisions?
By the end of this post, you'd judge by yourself.
Always @ moi frequency...*wink*

Imagine how liberating it is for you to wake up in the morning in your seaside mansion, have a cup of light green tea as you read the newspaper from the view of your exquisite balcony facing the gentle sea. No stress, no hassle. You make your own decisions without any concensus. Its Utopia for you definitely.

This is probably a vague description of how free many people want to be. Seriously, nobody likes to be pushed around and due to this we develop this sense of independence which is expected to give the freedom to make choices and decisions without any opposition. But how do we handle this freedom? Read on.

A 17-year old girl on the eve of her birthday told her dad, "Dad, tomorrow I'll be 18, I'll now be free" and he replied her gently saying, "Honey, freedom does not come with age, it's a thing of the mind".
She replied, "So does that mean I can stay till 10pm tonight at the party?". "Not in your dreams, you're still 17 today", He sharply responded.

There are many misconceptions about freedom. The society has so abused the real meaning of freedom, making many actually free in the real sense to do whatever they wish but trapped in the bondage of true definition of freedom. It the reason children and parents have conflicts over choices, its the reason government imposes policies not putting in mind how favourable it is to its citizens.

True freedom comes from inside-out. It is first a state of mind before it manifests in the decisions we make on the outside.
It is your ability to make right decisions based on strong principles that determines how free you are.
You have the right to say what you want, but true freedom comes from saying the right thing.
You have the right to wear whatever you want(to a certain extent) but true freedom is wearing not what you like but what is right.
You have the right to sleep a whole day and free to do so, but true freedom comes from restraining one's self from excess sleep and planning the day well.

As I earlier said, it is based on principles. You have the freedom to keep eating every one hour, but you have no access to choose the consequences that comes with doing that. Freedom without limits is actually bondage in disguise.

Many are trapped in the bondage of a routine life, old ways of doing things, same old thinking pattern, nothing new.
When you feel you are free to live the way you want, it might actually be that you're not experiencing true freedom.
The story of creation talks about how God gave Adam the freedom to eat of any fruit in the Garden of Eden except that of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

So in life, their are forbidden trees that pose as beautiful temporary perks but will always rob you of your freedom cuz in actual fact you're bound by them.

Take away cigarette from a smoke addict and see how uncomfortable you'll make him... Why? Because he has exercised his freedom to smoke which is in actual fact a bondage.

It takes maturity to manage freedom, this doesn't come by age...but actually by your mind.
True freedom is essential for success in business, relationships and life generally cuz it empowers you to have the sense of choosing from a limitless bank of decisions and the inner piece and fulfillment that accompanies making the right decision.

So use your freedom wisely, your life is yours definitely...Yours to nurture or to destroy...Make your decisions wisely.

As a wiseman said: "Freedom is the opportunity to make decisions"...
 I paraphrase: "True freedom is the opportunity to make the right decisions"
    

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