I am a young woman who is passionate about making a difference in the world. Sometimes it seems like a huge project but I am not daunted considering how large the world itself is. I start with my immediate environment and try and touch one life at a time positively, a word of encouragement, advise, an exchange of idea or information, a helping hand. One person at a time, one day at a time - little drops of water make a mighty ocean and I, refuse to be extinct before my time.
Take a close look at your life today. Despite all the challenges, difficulties and so-called failures, you are still here. You are still forging ahead, still trudging along. It is sometimes difficult to see the bright side of life when all that surrounds you is distraction, struggles, complications and tight schedules.
Have you taken a closer look at your achievements recently and see all the trophies you left on the side walk. Have you seen the victories you won at work that was not recognized? The excellent contribution to the family that everyone took for granted as your job or the keeping it all together for the friends in confidence, advise and guidance that was taken for granted.
Stop for 5 mins today to take a good look at you and appreciate the lines on your face, the hardness of your hands, the sweat on your brow, the heaviness of your sighs and for goodness sake show yourself some love that you truly deserve. You are doing a great job and it will come together in time. Love yourself as you go and let yourself tell yourself that “YOU, are doing a good job!”
After all, #YHTK and you have a lot more to be thankful for.
Be the architect of your own destiny. If others can, so can you!
I used to think it was a bit exaggerated to live life just the way you want it, that you can really have all that you want. But, recently I have moved away from cynicism to become a believer and also concluded that understanding your role in life is vital to becoming your best version of yourself.
Think about it, if you don’t know your current location or have the address of where you are going, of what use is google maps to you? You need to know yourself – Identity. Know who you are, likes, dislikes, passions, gifts, capacity. That is your current location.
You also need to know what you want from life, who you want to be, what you need to discard, what you need to adopt, how you want to be known or seen, what you want to deliver as a sign of being on this planet, who you want to identify with etc. That is your destination address.
The designing tool – Your personal life google map is found within yourself. You were created to be a creator in the image of who created you. All that you need to be you in within you. However, you need to learn to harness it and bring it forth. Some people call it the power of faith and others call it the law of attraction.
As far as I am concerned, you can give it whatever name that will help you be the best version of you. I am sharing Helene Hadsell’s video of her SPEC method of getting what you want from life with the hope of you joining the group of very few people who have hacked the secret of faith.
It was one of those days when reality dawns on you like a light bulb. I was wondering why in spite of all the wealth in less developed countries, the level of poverty ranks up to the highest heavens.
In comparison, developed countries are thriving, systems are working, their corruption is well hidden in fine lines like Ryan air service agreements and fine prints. I was deeply in thought about the extreme situations in 2 different world and it dawned on me that the difference lies in the understanding of what is valuable.
Developed countries are focused on people. Human capital. They understand that it is important to take care of the children, care for the quality of their food, health, environment, family structures etc; because they will be the work force of tomorrow and subsequently leaders driving the nation forward, who will in turn decide on policies affecting the aging generation.
Developed countries focus on looking after the aging generation, who spent the better part of their life contributing to society and nation building and as such, they need to be paid back in their old age when they are no longer able to help themselves. Schemes such as home health aides and skilled nursing care, home-delivered meals, help with household chores, transportation to shopping and medical appointments, as well as counseling, advocacy and legal aid.
Developing countries, on the other hand are more material focused. Leadership is based on personal acquisition of wealth at the expense of the well being of the average man on the street. His family may not be able to feed a meal a day, talk less of three. Education that should be priority now becomes a luxury, while poverty, insecurity and corruption spills over into every system of the economy, grinding it to a halt. All at the expense of less than 1% greedy b****rds.
My Eureka moment came in the focus of the two worlds. While one economy focused on people, the other was thing focused. While one is accountable to its people, the other is ridden with injustice and lack of accountability. People! People!People! Human beings, carriers of life. The economies will thrive. The government is dealing with living things, bringing LIFE (legacy, impact,freedom and empowerment), sustainability and continuity to the nations.
Things! value is limited to its current usage. Materialism is nothing and can all be wiped away in one “act of God” event. Remember Tsunami, earthquakes, mudslides, etc. This brings me to the truth of Zig Ziglar quote “You can have everything you want in life, if you will just help enough other people get what they want”
I implore you as you go about your business and various activities this week, please focus on helping someone else be better, do better, get better. You were placed in that little corner of the world purposefully to reach those people around you. Your thoughts, your words and your deeds may mean little to you but mean a lot to the guy sitting next to you.
Finally, remember it’s about people not things! #YHTK
Articulate hesitation is better than inarticulate certainty.
Like you and many others, I am on a race against time. I have set deadlines to achieve certain goals in my life and I know I will achieve them. However, because there is so much calling my attention, I am sometimes caught up in distractions here and there. What I have learnt though is that the distractions stop me in my tracks, I back track a bit and then I start to think of time lost.
Then I sometimes panic. (Not good at all). I don’t know about you but once I panic, I become confused, disoriented and paralysed with inactivity. I once shared one of such experiences with my sister and she likened my brain to the computer, with many windows opened. After a while if it is still working, the processes slows down and if unable to slow down, sometimes freezes, then ultimately crashes!
Our human body is the same, just like the computer and the brain, everything needs a break. If we keep working on high speed roll without sensible break, the body will shut down in phases. So, sleep is essential, balance is important, break is inevitable.
It’s a new week, fresh targets and goals to be accomplished by Friday and some by the end of each day. Don’t panic, if you want the goals achieved. Learn to stay calm, step back and restrategize your action plans in a more focused manner. You get more done with a clear head than in a panic form where nothing is moving.
Worry and stress has not achieved much for me so far in life and I am sure same goes for you. I implore you to join me this week as we work through a calm, refreshing focus on our live goals, while stopping to smell the roses, watch a movie, treat yourself, pat yourself on the back with the small wins, catch up with friends and family. Life is to be enjoyed daily and not endured.
Real success comes with mindfulness of your actions and articulated rest is indispensable to the human body.
From my heart I wish you a brilliant new week in every form, after all #YHTK.
I read a beautiful write up about time sometime during the week. It was a post shared on my old girls association platform. The reason why it resonated with me so much is because I have been reflecting on time in recent days, so coming across that post, simply opened my eyes to my other perspective of time.
The writer began with “It is a mistake to think time is going. Time is not going. Time is here until the world ends. It is you that is going. You don’t waste time. You waste yourself. You are finite. It is you that grows old and die. Time doesn’t. So make better use of it…….”
Harsh as it may sound. it is absolute sense. Which brings me back to my reflection on time accounting. There are 24 hours in a day. What do you spend yours doing? Who pays for the time you spend at work, play, family time and unaccountable time (wasted time).
When you show up at work, you have exchanged a part of your life for a fixed amount of income, that you agreed with your employer. The passage of time is the passage of life. Whatever you spend your time doing must add value to your life. it is not always monetary value because time spent with loved ones is priceless and should be memorable.
As we go into a fresh Monday week, the onus lies on you to make your life count. Think time. Think value. Think life and make sure it is worth your while.
One thing you can do this week is to evaluate the cost of your time. write out every hour of your day in one column, match each hour with an activity that you performed in that hour. In a different column write out how much you receive as income for each activity per hour. Value for each activity will vary from person to person and some activities will be priceless.
You will easily identify where you waste time, and how you can start saving on time and making good use of your life, because time is life. You will also be able to identify where you add value to other people’s life, where you let other people steal into your life and where you steal from other people’s life.
This time evaluation activity is a mindful exercise that you will be glad you did. Take 20 minutes at the end of every day to review your time evaluation sheet and I guarantee you, if mindfully performed, you will be a transformed human being by the end of one week.
Above all, dont mix business with pleasure unless business is pleasure. After all #YHTK.
I am probably ranting as opposed to writing with this post today! It is so annoying the way people show case their ignorance and lack of basic manners in expressing their dislike for anything that is foreign to their everyday experience.
Show someone a cultural experience or ask them to taste a spicy dish that is uncommon to their everyday experience, and they come up with “that is horrible” or “that is disgusting”.
When will people learn to understand that the horrible or disgusting experience is personal to them alone. If one person out of every hundred in the world can enjoy a thing, then there is nothing wrong with the activity or product or thing.
There is absolutely nothing wrong in saying “I don’t like it “. or “I find it not to my taste”. That is still a true expression of your feeling.
Learning to express your experience as personal to you is basic manners rather than showing absolute lack of grace. Simple ways of expressing your experience can be:
Sorry, It is not my thing. (Your facial expression will automatically tell the story)
I don’t like it or that is different (For more cultured people who are conscious about other people’s awareness).
I find it disgusting or I find it horrible (For people that really want to express the extent of their intolerance. Your personification of your FIND experience shows your feelings).
Some people think it is posh to knock other cultural experiences by saying “it is disgusting or it is horrible”, without realizing they are the one’s being pitied by their sheer display of lack of grace.
It is also a reflection of people who blame others for their own short comings and who fail to take responsibility for their actions.
If you belong to that category, check yourself. Respect and tolerance should be evident in all that we say and do.
All in all, the onus lies on us as change agents to raise our children with good manners, as a reflection of positive upbringing and understanding of equality and diversity in the society.
Also to comport ourselves in like manner. After all, children do what they see and not what they are told.
Deji Adenuga, celebrating the historic moment when HIS wife became the first black woman to be elected into a county council in Ireland.
On the 27th of May 2019, the Republic of Ireland held both local and European elections. History was made in Ireland as a black woman was elected for the very first time to a county council in the name of Yemi Adenuga. Navan was once again made a historic point for Ireland.
The news went all over media and celebration was huge among the African and faith communities in Ireland. This is so because if you have met Yemi Adenuga and held conversation with her, you know without a shadow of doubt that she is a woman of faith and integrity. I recall a conversation where she stated clearly that her name is her integrity and she goes all out to protect it.
In the age where women are subtly emerging to be able to stand on equal platforms and deliver along side a man, it is without any shadow of doubt that Yemi has been nurtured and shielded with love by a man who definitely understands how to treat a woman.
Deji Adenuga, a well known Nigerian actor plays no game and is neither entertaining when it comes to showcasing real men. His support for the numerous causes and projects that his wife dabbles into is publicly unflinching. He does not see her as a threat, but rather as a star shining on the top of his crown. She bears HIS name and showcases his home. In his own words “I am the husband of a strong woman”. That, is a fact.
The first time I heard Deji Adenuga say that, I knew without any shadow of doubt, that this is a man who has no doubt about his identity. He knows the capabilities of his wife to be limitless and understands his role as her husband, was to help her burn her unlimited energy in motion in the most positive way, by impacting lives together for a fulfilled destiny globally.
As history was made in Ireland on the 27th of May 2019, I proudly stand in the light of well defined feminism to celebrate a STAND OUT man – Deji Adenuga, for knowing his identity as the head that propels the neck to lead the body into fullness of purpose. Lack of identity and understanding has been a key force in destroying many relationships, particularly within the African culture.
Deji Adenuga, you are today celebrated among men and women and this historic victory is clearly yours. On behalf of women struggling through different conditions for fulfillment in relationship, purpose, freedom and empowerment, and on behalf of men taking your victory as a learning curve for their own self improvement, I say “Thank you”.
