Persistence Makes Superman

Ten days away from my blog appeared to have been a thousand year in this Internet Age.

Since my last post on the 17th, I have found it increasingly difficult to get around and drop some notes. These notes lived in my head. I slept and woke up with them. My notebooks, post-it pads, jotters and pieces of papers litter my room and everywhere with thoughts here and there.

Although my fingers were itching to type and publish online, I had been busy with office deliverables. I think the major problem is laptop. The HP Compaq nx9010 purchased brand new late 2003 could not have been aging! The technician kept saying the defective keyboard/keyboard pad had been fixed. Yet, its performance is still suboptimal. I have to take the technician to task in the new week and get him to resolve the keyboard/pad problems once and for all.

Now, in the world of ventures and entrepreneurship, success can only either be guaranteed or sustained through persistence and hardwork. I have come to agree with Thomas Edison that "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration". It is perspiration that produces the superman. Nobody is born a genius. Today's geniuses are geniuses because they persisted in their endeavours. Thomas Edison? Yes. Winston Churchill? Yes. Obafemi Awolowo? Yes. Bill Gates? Yes. The list is endless.

If I must keep this blog active, I must be persistent. Many activities cry for my attention. But, I need multi-focus to keep me on top of all the things I love to do. Running excuses is human and very convenient, but does not produce a superman. I have learnt that in life extraordinary things are done, not by extraordinary people but by ordinary people with passion for leading change.

So many things have happened in the last ten days. I have met people, shared philosophical thoughts, debated the course of life/humanity, indulged in wanton use of solitude, and pursued my business with intensity that equaled the strength of 100 men put together. What do I get in return? Loneliness. Amusement. Amazement. Happiness.

I must confess that it is lonely at the top. Sitting at the bottom put you in the company of all-comers. Striving for the top scare people away from you. They readily label you 'ambitious' and 'greedy' at the earliest convenience. Living at the top is fraught with unusual dangers. You want to get to the apex. You want to sustain the lead. You drive yourself so hard that can hardly afford a time for pleasure. Simply put, you want to remain at the top. You are vulnerable at the bottom, average with ambition and geared for fun when able to cruise at the top.

The joy of loneliness and shared feeling of commonality with the privileged few give you amusement. It is funny how people reason. It is really funny how people get mad at you for wanting to be yourself, different but accommodating. It is a free world. Tolerance makes us human. If a man can accommodate his humanity, tolerate his frailty and excuse his folly, such a man can learn to be less critical of his neighbor, associate with the weak and encourage the foolish. Men can really be fun when foolish. But never mock the fool. Seek to learn from his foolishness.

The elderly gentleman I met was very philosophical. His grasp of African philosophy humbled me. I told him to get on the Internet and publish his thoughts to educate the world. He differed from me. He wanted to go back to the grassroots through other media to convince Africans about their roots, and the need to seek/apply redemption through Judeo-Christian theology to resolve our African malaise. The elderly gentleman was a man of education and means. He was a top-notch executive in one of the conglomerates around. He knew what he was talking about.

The inner satisfaction you derive in doing things, in creating and innovating. We are gods. A man is average who cannot engage his thinking faculty and apply his full force of creative instincts to solve his problems. There is no day a man will wake up and find his problems all solved. We all have problems but the way we respond to them determines our happiness in life.

Postscript:
I have to switch to a desktop when my laptop keys went into a coma again.

Persistence Makes the Superman

Ten days away from my blog appeared to have been a thousand year in this Internet Age.

Since my last post on the 17th, I have found it increasingly difficult to get around and drop some notes. These notes lived in my head. I slept and woke up with them. My notebooks, post-it pads, jotters and pieces of papers litter my room and everywhere with thoughts here and there.

Although my fingers were itching to type and publish online, I had been busy with office deliverables. I think the major problem is laptop. The HP Compaq nx9010 purchased brand new late 2003 could not have been aging! The technician kept saying the defective keyboard/keyboard pad had been fixed. Yet, its performance is still suboptimal. I have to take the technician to task in the new week and get him to resolve the keyboard/pad problems once and for all.

Now, in the world of ventures and entrepreneurship, success can only either be guaranteed or sustained through persistence and hardwork. I have come to agree with Thomas Edison that "Genius is 1% inspiration and 99% perspiration". It is perspiration that produces the superman. Nobody is born a genius. Today's geniuses are geniuses because they persisted in their endeavours. Thomas Edison? Yes. Winston Churchill? Yes. Obafemi Awolowo? Yes. Bill Gates? Yes. The list is endless.

If I must keep this blog active, I must be persistent. Many activities cry for my attention. But, I need multi-focus to keep me on top of all the things I love to do. Running excuses is human and very convenient, but does not produce a superman. I have learnt that in life extraordinary things are done, not by extraordinary people but by ordinary people with passion for leading change.

So many things have happened in the last ten days. I have met people, shared philosophical thoughts, debated the course of life/humanity, indulged in wanton use of solitude, and pursued my business with intensity that equaled the strength of 100 men put together. What do I get in return? Loneliness. Amusement. Amazement. Happiness.

I must confess that it is lonely at the top. Sitting at the bottom put you in the company of all-comers. Striving for the top scare people away from you. They readily label you 'ambitious' and 'greedy' at the earliest convenience. Living at the top is fraught with unusual dangers. You want to get to the apex. You want to sustain the lead. You drive yourself so hard that can hardly afford a time for pleasure. Simply put, you want to remain at the top. You are vulnerable at the bottom, average with ambition and geared for fun when able to cruise at the top.

The joy of loneliness and shared feeling of commonality with the privileged few give you amusement. It is funny how people reason. It is really funny how people get mad at you for wanting to be yourself, different but accommodating. It is a free world. Tolerance makes us human. If a man can accommodate his humanity, tolerate his frailty and excuse his folly, such a man can learn to be less critical of his neighbor, associate with the weak and encourage the foolish. Men can really be fun when foolish. But never mock the fool. Seek to learn from his foolishness.

The elderly gentleman I met was very philosophical. His grasp of African philosophy humbled me. I told him to get on the Internet and publish his thoughts to educate the world. He differed from me. He wanted to go back to the grassroots through other media to convince Africans about their roots, and the need to seek/apply redemption through Judeo-Christian theology to resolve our African malaise. The elderly gentleman was a man of education and means. He was a top-notch executive in one of the conglomerates around. He knew what he was talking about.

The inner satisfaction you derive in doing things, in creating and innovating. We are gods. A man is average who cannot engage his thinking faculty and apply his full force of creative instincts to solve his problems. There is no day a man will wake up and find his problems all solved. We all have problems but the way we respond to them determines our happiness in life.

Postscript:
I have to switch to a desktop when my laptop keys went into a coma again.

Executive Carelessness

It does hurt to be careless
It doesn't harm to take extra care

It does hurt to be negligent
It doesn't harm to be meticulous

It does hurt to be carefree
It doesn't harm to be diligent

Show me a careless person
I will show you how a stitch in time saves nine

Pay a little attention to 'you'
It is all about yourself - the brand called 'You'.

The Things We Share in Common

I was chatting with a long-lost online friend this last Saturday.

I was in Accra, the capital city of Ghana in West Africa and my friend was chatting across the Atlantic from America. The benevolence of the inter-connectivity of the global village.

He actually called me up. We had lost contact with each other. We first met online early 2004 but the demands of business on my part and academic pursuit on his part kept us away from each other until this Saturday.

After the initial banters, I quickly asked him to share with me the things we have in common. It was important to ask him because these days unnecessary interactions online distract serious minded people from sound and effective relationships.

My friend said that the things we share in common are God, Family, Children, Business, Love, Humanity, Sports. I was elated when he rolled out these things. In spite of our distance and clime, it is heart warming to note that all of humanity really share certain things in common.

Yes, we have our problems as humans. Some things really seem to separate us, make us feel we are different. We also create some artificial barriers to separate ourselves from one another. Intelligent Quotient, Race, Gender, Commerce, Ideology, Religion, Government and a host of institutions designed by humans tend to make us feel differently apart. Deep down our hearts though, are we really different from one another the world over?

All of humanity is one. We laugh, we cry. We love, we feel pains, hurt and disappointments. We shout for joy. And, more. Just the same way. Does an African laugh different from an American? Does a Japanese cry differently from an American Indian?

I remember two songs that underscore the reality that we are essentially the same, from the same source as human and share all things, all of life in common.

The first song is titled We Are The World

There comes a time when we need a certain call
When the world must come together as one
There are people dying
Oh, and it's time to lend a hand to life
The greatest gift of all

We can't go on pretending day by day
That someone, somehow will soon make a change
We're all a part of God's great big family
And the truth - you know love is all we need

( CHORUS )
We are the world, we are the children
We are the ones who make a brighter day so let's start giving
There's a choice we're making
We're saving our own lives
It's true we'll make a better day
Just you and me

Well, send'em you your heart
So they know that someone cares
And their lives will be stronger and free
As God has shown us
By turning stone to bread
And so we all must lend a helping hand

( REPEAT CHORUS )
When you're down and out
There seems no hope at all
But if you just believe
There's no way we can fall
Well, well, well, let's realize
That one change can only comeW
hen we stand together as one

The second song is Jesus Loves the Little Children.

Jesus calls the children dear,
"Come to me and never fear,
For I love the little children of the world;
I will take you by the hand,
Lead you to the better land,
For I love the little children of the world."

Refrain
Jesus loves the little children,
All the children of the world.
Red and yellow, black and white,
All are precious in His sight,
Jesus loves the little children of the world.

[Alternate refrain:
Jesus died for all the children,
All the children of the world.
Red and yellow, black and white,
All are precious in His sight,
Jesus died for all the children of the world.]

Jesus is the Shepherd true,
And He'll always stand by you,
For He loves the little children of the world;
He's a Savior great and strong,
And He'll shield you from the wrong,
For He loves the little children of the world.

Refrain
I am coming, Lord, to Thee,
And Your soldier I will be,
For You love the little children of the world;
And Your cross I'll always bear,
And for You I'll do and dare,
For You love the little children of the world.

Well, well, well. We should halt the things that tend to make us different.

We should stop hatred, prejudice, stereotype, war, et al.

Let us begin to think about the things we share in common.

Then we can live in love, harmony and tolerance. War may not be 100% eliminated over night, but understandings will fill the hearts of men, and the leaders. Cooperation will help us accommodate one another and compete fairly with one another, as well.

So much for the things we share in common.

Acknowledgement: Picture source is susie1114.com/LittleChildren.html

How Again Did David Thrash Goliath?

Isn't it interesting?

The legendary one-to-one fight between the teenager David and generalissimo Goliath was certainly a mismatch. This is a classical asymmetric warfare that has not ceased to amaze military intelligence to date.

Asymmetric warfare is a military term to describe warfare in which the two belligerents are mismatched in their military capabilities or accustomed methods of engagement such that the militarily disadvantaged power must press its special advantages or effectively exploit its enemy's particular weaknesses if they are to have any hope of prevailing.

Ok, back to David and Goliath.

David won.

How? David was smarter. He was able to read the direction the war would go, and outpace the general by reinventing the combat tactics.

Goliath should have won. Naturally, you would say.

He lost. He was too conventional. Sword battle involved close engagement. David predicted this pattern. Goliath would rely on his skill in the use of sword, shield, spear, etc to snuff life out of him.

David shocked Goliath. He turnaround his disadvantage - incompetence in sword battle and turn the table around in his favour.

Instead of a close-engagement warfare, he engaged Goliath at a distance. He mounted his attack from a distance, using the unconventional tactic of a slingshot rather than the sword.

He combined speed with agility and accuracy.

Thud. Goliath was dead on delivery.

Learn something new?

Go ahead fight your asymmetric warfare. But, do not forget to win.

Spot the Difference

When life smiles at you
Smile back.

The will to live is stronger
Than the problems of today

The inner eye see
What the outer eye cannot

Life is full of fun.
Enjoy it.

Dairy of the Genesis

I met D. O. Fagunwa in 1981.

D. O. Fagunwa was born circa 1910 at Oke Igbo, Ondo State. He died in 1963 near Bida, Nigeria.

He was a teacher. My teacher. He was 71 and I was 11 when we met.

Do you remember Ogboju Ode Ninu Igbo Irunmole? D. O. Fagunwa authored it. I mean The Forest of a Thousand Daemons made available in English by Professor Wole Soyinka, 1986 Nobel Laureate in Literature.

I was born an unusually reflective child. I grew up in solitude.

Early in my preteen years, when my peers were building mud-houses and rolling tyres on the streets in the sleepy town of Akure, my tender soul was throbbing with a trillion questions.

About 'me' - the mysteries of birth and growth. About being African - the root and essence of being 'me'. About life in Africa - the problems of the continent in relations to the world and the purpose of existence.

My inner being ached. The society could not relieve me. Its glamour, music and wine offered less solace. My belly longed for answers. A mortal sojourn began.

So it was at the age 11 that I found a cobweb-sheltered treasure chest hidden under my maternal grandmother's bed. I was alone in her room. My heart was pumping fast. What could be the content of this chest?

I found diamond. Priceless treasure. I mean, books. Classics in both Yoruba and English. 90 per cent of the English books were the Longman series; Treasure Island, Return to Treasure Island, King Solomon's Mines, Allan Quatermain, et al (This is for another day).

Then I found D. O. Fagunwa. Rather, the Sage found me. He spent up to 24 months with me. He lived in my house for two years from 1981 to 1982.

On the first night, he taught me from The Forest of a Thousand Daemons that "... like the sonorous proverb do we drum the agidigbo; it is the wise who dance to it, and the learned who understand its language. The story which follows is a veritable agidigbo; it is I who will drum it, and you the wise heads who will interpret it.''

I went on to read Irinkerindo Ninu Igbo Elegbeje, Ireke Onibudo, Igbo Olodumare and Adiitu Olodumare.

D. O. Fagunwa taught me about life. He pointed the way up to God Almighty and showed me the mysteries of the unknown worlds. He took me through adventure. He lavished me with the beauties of African culture and language.

He taught me the omoluwabi principles – the ‘iwa akin’ and imperishable values of bravery, courage, discipline, industry, endurance, focus, humility, selflessness, persistence, focus, accountability, time management, fidelity, leadership and service to humanity.

I long to see these omoluwabi principles in Nigeria some day soon.

D. O. Fagunwa also taught me the ways of the world, the way of women and the path to happiness. The Sage defined my worldview.

He shaped my perception about service, leadership, women and the Black race. He answered my questions. He left me in the later part of 1982 with a peace of mind.

My quest began. I visited all known bookshops in Akure. Toyin Bookshop, Dims New Era and others I would not readily recollect their names. I was a regular face in one antiquity bookshop then located beside the Sacred Heart Cathedral Church on Oba Adesida Road.

In 1986 when I visited my antiquity bookshop, I was abruptly launched into the strange world of Oswald Chambers, Oswald Sanders, Watchman Nee, Richard Baxter, John Milton, William Shakespeare and Geoffrey Chaucer to mention but a few.

It was a rendezvous with Oswald Chambers' My Utmost for His Highest, Oswald Sanders' The Man God Uses, Watchman Nee's What Shall This Man Do?, Richard Baxter's The Reformed Pastor, John Milton's Paradise Lost, The Complete Works of William Shakespeare and The Canterbury Tales of Geoffery Chaucer.

These books were worn with age. They were resold to me but not until the owner queried whether I was studying theology, philosophy or something. Of course, I just finished my school certificate examinations. He wondered what I would be doing with these books when I could content myself with the Mills and Boon series.

The books were really hard to understand. They stretched my teenage mind beyond comprehension. I laboured to read and was rewarded. My philosophies of life, work, leadership and responsibilities were invigorated through my fellowships with these timeless authors. (A story for yet another day)

I lost D. O. Fagunwa to an inner conflict of ideology in the later part of 1986.

Twenty years later, in August 2006 I found him at the Muritala International Airport when I was returning to Accra from Lagos.

The Sage was 96. He was in the company of the Nobel Laureate. He glowed. I shouted, 'Baba, eyin ni yen.' The two lecturers from University of Ibadan beside me were bemused and embarrassed at my excitement. As they looked on, I rushed and embraced D. O. Fagunwa.

The quest continues.