A LESSON

While a man was polishing his new car, his 4 years old son picked up a stone and scratched lines on the side of the car. In anger, the man took the child’s hand and hit it many times; not realizing he was using a wrench. At the hospital, the child lost all his fingers due to multiple fractures. When the child saw his father…..with painful eyes he asked, ’Dad when will my
fingers grow back?’ The man was so hurt and speechless; he went back to his car and kicked it a lot of times. Devastated by his own actions….. ….sitting in front of that car he looked at
the scratches; the child had written ‘LOVE YOU DAD’. The next day that man committed suicide.

Anger and Love have no limits; choose the latter to have a beautiful, lovely life…..
Things are to be used and people are to be loved, But the problem in today’s world is that, People are used and things are loved…
Watch your thoughts; they become words. Watch your words; they become actions.
Watch your actions; they become habits. Watch your habits they become character.
Watch your character; it becomes your destiny

LIFE MARATHON

We are sometimes caught in between life being a sprint or a marathon. Which is better? We need both mentalities but in practice life is largely a marathon. As long as we cross the finish line we eventually won. The marathon analogy is a great lesson on persistence so we can learn stays the course in our life endeavors knowing that we will win only if we keep our consistency. The only way to lose is if we quit deliberately as a result of what life throws at us.

 Marathon Tips

1. Stay on the course – Why run miles if you don’t have to? Stop chasing shiny objects or every great new idea that is not on your course. Keep distractions at bay daily.
2. Take walk breaks – Walking in between runs allow you to catch your breath and rest to have enough physical energy to finish. Try 5 minutes mental breaks every hour keep your focus high.
3. Build up for long haul – Start where you are at the moment and build up your endurance. Doing too much too early can lead to burnout.
4. Stay hydrated and properly fuelled – If you want outstanding performance in your life, you need great fuel. Don’t waste your energy on unproductive activities.
5. Visualize yourself celebrating the finish line – All achievement is created in the mind first, then created physically. See yourself finishing strong as against doubts and fear.
6. Never quit – Keep walking and eventually you will cross the finish line that less than 1% of the population will ever do. Lots of people give shortly before the finish line,

 Life may be full of challenges but we must learn never to give. With God on our side, we can run through any troop and leap over the walls. We must see H.O.P.E. in all that we do this week which simply means Having Only Positive Expectations!

Ayo Daniels

EMBRACE YOUR FUTURE

‘Sometimes, in order to embrace your future, you have to be willing to make some changes in your life. You have to be willing to examine where you are and what you need to do in order to move forward. This may mean that you need to change some friends that you’re spending time with. Maybe they were just fine for a season in your life, but now you’ve outgrown them. This is a new season, and in order for you to rise higher, you have to break away from relationships that doesn’t add to you. Make conscious effort to develop relationships with people who are going to inspire you to greater heights in life. This doesn’t just mean separating yourself from people who are holding you back emotionally, financially, spiritually but also investing in yourself to become a better person. If you happen to be the smartest one in your group at the moment, you may need to reconsider your position because your group may be too small. Find people who are smarter than you, keep in pace with those who will challenge you to stretch to the new possibilities of your life’.

 Life is in chapters and seasons. We must be discerning enough to know when to let go of relationships that has never and will probably not add any value to our lives. We must not be sentimental about parasitic relationships. King Solomon admonished ‘whoever walks with the wise will eventually become wise’. When you company with the wise, you will drink from their wisdom, avoid their mistakes and chart a laudable path for your future. We can only pass through here once, so from today, learn to choose your friends wisely and don’t be deceived by the facade of wrong association. Choose your friends to walk and live out the roadmap God has in store for you in your career, business, academics and family.

Ayo Daniels

WHAT YOU CALL YOURSELF

He was born out of wedlock to graduate student parents who gave him up for adoption thereafter. He was considered a MISTAKE. He was adopted and raised in a working class family. His foster father fixed cars for a living. His biological parents wanted a girl not a boy. He dropped out of college after one semester only. His highest qualification was in high school. While he was attending reeds (his college) he would sleep on the floor in friends room return coke bottles for food money. In 1985, he was fired very publicly; from the very company he founded (Apple), after losing a power struggle with the board of directors. He later returned as CEO in 1997 after Apple had bought over NEXT, the company Steve Jobs founded after leaving Apple. In 2003 he discovered he had a cancerous tumor in his pancreas. He then engaged in a long battle with cancer for the next 8 years until he died. Most people who didn’t know Steve Jobs the founder of the IPhone or IPad would assume he probably had a privileged life, had a silver spoon in his mouth and had his path defined for him to success. No wonder Charles Dicken wrote “We all have wonders hidden in our breast only waiting for circumstances to evoke them” when his parents labeled him not wanted, he labeled himself MOST WANTED STAR. The world would only call you what you call yourself

THE FOUNDATION

A must read;

“A few weeks ago, I did a lectureship at Ohio State University. As I was being driven to the lecture, we passed the new Wexner Art Centre. The driver said, ‘this is a new art building for the university. It is a fascinating building designed in the post-modernist view of reality.’ The building has no pattern. Staircases go nowhere. Pillars support nothing. The architect designed the building to reflect life. It goes nowhere, mindless and senseless. I turned to the man describing it and asked, ‘Did they do the same thing with the foundation?’ He laughed. You can’t do that with a foundation. You can get away with the infrastructure. You can get away with random thoughts that sound good in defense of a world view that ultimately doesn’t make sense. Once you start tampering with the foundation, you begin to see serious effects”

 I have a simple question on my mind this Monday morning as we glean from this insightful conversation. What about the foundation of our lives via everything we do in careers, academics, businesses and life assignments? I guess it’s a good time to reflect as we take stock about stewardship, loyalty, team building, integrity, transparency, and truthfulness, reliability, to ensure we are building for a laudable future rather than get away with these basic infrastructures now and build a life-staircase going nowhere. We need not only put these virtues in the foundation of life endeavours but also have them as pillars of posterity.

THE SLAVE GIRL

Dear readers, I woke up this morning and as a routine i said my prayers spending sometime with the Lord, then I picked up my phone to see what I missed sleeping, my yahoo mail was full, i read the first mail from Akinwande Ademosu and iI just want t o share this for all my readers. Enjoy

B. Hinn tells the following story about the days of slavery. “During the years when slavery was legal in the United States, a gentleman happened upon a slave-bidding in a crowed street. The man paused to observe the activities. As he watched from the edge of the crowd, he saw one slave after another led to a platform, their arms and legs shackled with ropes as if they were animals. Displayed before the jeering crowd, they were auctioned off, one by one.

“Some onlookers would inspect the ‘merchandise,’ grabbing disrespectfully at the women, examining the muscular arms of the men. The gentleman studied the group of slaves waiting nearby. He paused when he saw a young girl standing at the back. Her eyes were filled with fear. She looked so frightened. He hesitated for a moment and then disappeared briefly. When he returned, the auctioneer was about to start the bidding for the young girl he had noticed beforehand.

“As the auctioneer opened the bidding, the gentleman shouted out a bid that was twice the amount of any other selling price offered that day. There was silence for an instance, and then the gavel fell as ‘sold to the gentleman’ was heard. The gentleman stepped forward, and waited at the bottom of the steps as the young girl was led down to her new owner. The rope which bound her was handed to the man, who accepted it without saying anything. The young girl stared at the ground. Suddenly she looked up and spat in his face. Silently, he reached for a handkerchief and wiped the spittle from his face. He smiled gently at the young girl and said, ‘Follow me.’ She followed him reluctantly. As they reached the edge of the crowd, he continued to a nearby area where each deal was closed legally.

“When a slave was set free, legal documents, called manumission papers, were necessary. The gentleman paid the purchase price and signed the necessary documents. When the transaction was complete, he turned to the young girl and presented the documents to her. Startled, she looked at him with uncertainty. Her narrowed eyes asked, ‘What are you doing?’ The gentlemen responded to her questioning look. He said, ‘Here, take these papers. I bought you to make you free. As long as you have these papers in your possession, no man can ever make you a slave again.’

“The girl looked into his face. What was happening? There was silence. Slowly, she said, ‘You bought me to make me free? You bought me to make me free?’ As she repeated this phrase over and over, the significance of what had just happened became more and more real to her. ‘You bought me to make me free?’ Was it possible that a stranger had just granted her freedom and never again could she be held in bondage and servitude to any man? As she began to grasp the significance of the documents which she now held in her hand, she fell to her knees and wept at the gentleman’s feet. Through her tears of joy and gratitude, she said, ‘You bought me to make me free. I’ll serve you forever!”

And, this is exactly what Jesus Christ did for you and me. He died on the cross in your place and mine to pay the ransom price for our sins so we could be fully forgiven by God and set free from the slavery of sin and its eternal damnation

Suggested prayer:

“Dear God, how can I ever thank you enough for giving your son, Jesus, to die on the cross in my place to set me free from slavery to sin and its eternal consequences. In the words of the slave girl, ‘You bought me to make me free. I’ll serve you forever.’ Thank you for hearing and answering my prayer. Gratefully, in Jesus’ name, amen.”

ARE YOU FULFILLED?

There is usually a huge gap between the birth of a dream and the achievement of that dream. The question you have to ask yourself is whether it will be a fulfillment gap or a frustration gap. If it’s a frustration gap you’ll be miserable most of the days you’re in it. And every day that you’re frustrated instead of fulfilled, you lessen the odds that you’ll be able to keep moving forward toward your dream. Author Seth Godin calls this gap between when you set out to do something and when you actually start to see significant results, ‘the dip.’ The dip represents the adversity you must face, the learning curve you must go through, and the hard work you must be willing to invest between conception and realisation. If the dip you are in seems to be a road without end, here are some Scriptures you need to stand on: ‘Don’t be impatient for the Lord to act! Keep travelling steadily along his pathway and in due season he will honour you with every blessing.’ ‘Do not throw away your confidence; it will be richly rewarded. You need to persevere so that when you have done the will of God, you will receive what he has promised’ (Hebrews 10:35-36 NIV). ‘So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal’ (2 Corinthians 4:18 NIV). God has promised you more than just the fulfilment of your dream; He has promised joy in each step you take toward it.

DEVELOPING GREAT MINDS!

For everyone who ever succeeded in problem solving aptitude, the state of their minds plays a very significant role. No one is born with a great mind; people only learn to develop theirs through formal and informal education in life lessons. Your mind plays a significant role in determining either your success or defeat in life. Successful people chose not to be discouraged or overwhelmed by the problems they face. So there is need for you to continually guard your mind against the various workplace distractions. If by choice you complain, nag or be constantly threatened, the result will be sadness, quitting and failure. Your mind needs to be sound for you to overcome the daily challenges we face in life. Worry and sadness only worsen things, even though it might look like the natural thing to do but for you to win in life, you need to develop an encouraged and joyful mind. 
We can draw up two equations from the above:
Sadness + worry + nagging + complaining = Failure in Life.
Joy + encouragement + wise counsel + God’s wisdom + sound thinking = Overcoming Life.

How we individually process our experiences determines our outcome. God’s Word gives us perfect peace in tough times. No matter how long a problem has lingered this Monday morning, make wise choices now and you are on your way to having the last laugh. Rise up to apply your mind to joy, strength and courage so you can overcome doubts, unbelief, desperation and compromise that has become the norm today. Don’t become so well-adjusted to your culture that you fit into it without even thinking. Instead fix your attention on God. You will be changed from the inside out, readily recognize what he wants from and quickly respond to it. Unlike the culture around you, always dragging you down to its level of immaturity. Enjoy your week in the marketplace.