Look Within!

One of the most interesting Americans who lived in the 19th century was a man by the name of Russell Herman Conwell. He was born in 1843 and lived until 1925. He was a lawyer for about fifteen years until he became a clergyman.

One day, a young man went to him and told him he wanted a college education but couldn't swing it financially. Dr. Conwell decided, at that moment, what his aim in life was, besides being a man of cloth - that is. He decided to build a university for unfortunate, but deserving, students. He did have a challenge, however. He would need a few million dollars to build the university. For Dr. Conwell, and anyone with real purpose in life, nothing could stand in the way of his goal.

Several years before this incident, Dr. Conwell was tremendously intrigued by a true story - with its ageless moral. The story was about a farmer who lived in Africa and through a visitor became tremendously excited about looking for diamonds. Diamonds were already discovered in abundance on the African continent and this farmer got so excited about the idea of millions of dollars worth of diamonds that he sold his farm to head out to the diamond line. He wandered all over the continent, as the years slipped by, constantly searching for diamonds, wealth, which he never found. Eventually he went completely broke and threw himself into a river and drowned.

Meanwhile, the new owner of his farm picked up an unusual looking rock about the size of a country egg and put it on his mantle as a sort of curiosity. A visitor stopped by and in viewing the rock practically went into terminal convulsions. He told the new owner of the farm that the funny looking rock on his mantle was about the biggest diamond that had ever been found. The new owner of the farm said, 'Heck, the whole farm is covered with them' - and sure enough it was.

The farm turned out to be the Kimberly Diamond Mine . . . the richest the world has ever known. The original farmer was literally standing on 'Acres of Diamonds' until he sold his farm.

Dr. Conwell learned from the story of the farmer and continued to teach it's moral. Each of us is right in the middle of our own 'Acre of Diamonds', if only we would realize it and develop the ground we are standing on before charging off in search of greener pastures. Dr. Conwell told this story many times and attracted enormous audiences. He told the story long enough to have raised the money to start the college for underprivileged deserving students. In fact, he raised nearly six million dollars and the university he founded, Temple University in Philadelphia, has at least ten degree-granting colleges and six other schools.

When Doctor Russell H. Conwell talked about each of us being right on our own 'Acre of Diamonds', he meant it. This story does not get old . . . it will be true forever . . .

Opportunity does not just come along, it is there all the time - we just have to see it.

Hear This, What You Are Looking For In Sokoto Is Inside Your Sokoto!

- Earl Nightingale was an American radio personality, writer, speaker, and author, dealing mostly on the subjects of human character development, motivation, excellence and meaningful existence; so named as the "Dean of Personal Development."

Never Stop Dreaming...

To Lawrence Block, "Dreams are like stars...you may never touch them, but if you follow them they will lead you to your Destiny".

On this edition, I choose the story of Lagos bus conductor who becomes PhD holder in Australia. Engrossing is what the Dr. had to say about his journey so far. Listen to him,

"This is my story: it may be useful to someone out there, 20 years ago the only thing I had was a dream; a dream to have a better future, to break the cycle of poverty, and to study in one of the best universities in the world. Though I had beautiful dreams, the physical resources to meet my heart desires were beyond my reach.

At a particular period, I was homeless and had to sleep in a C&S church despite not being a member, had to work as a "danfo" bus conductor in Oshodi Lagos (Nigerians will understand this), worked 12 hours shift in a factory line without personal protective equipments, did a lot of horrible jobs to survive....
Despite all these challenges, I dedicated at least 2 hours each day to develop myself - studying, reading biographies, trekking miles to attend church conferences in Lagos, spend hours in the study of the Bible, praying, fasting and in vigils....

I was told several times to quit trying. I was told to stop dreaming. I was misjudged without listening to my story. But I refused to quit.
To keep the story short, in 2006 I had my first degree and I graduated top in my class, though I was denied first class at the Department of Guidance and Counselling, University of Ibadan. In 2010, I had my first master's degrees, also graduated one of the top students in my psychology class. Same year, I had a full scholarship to study at the University of Cambridge and I graduated in 2011 with my second master's degree in Criminology.

In October 2016, I was awarded a PhD in Criminology and Criminal Justice from Griffith University Australia. I was privileged to complete my studies on a full international scholarship from Australian Government/Griffith University. I had my official graduation ceremony in December 2016.

Today, to the glory of God, I'm a lecturer in criminology at the University of New England in Australia.

May I use this opportunity to thank Cambridge Commonwealth Scholarship Commission, Australian Government, and Griffith University for their generosity. I hope someday I'll be able to give back to support other students to achieve their dreams.
I would like to encourage every man and woman out there that, "never stop dreaming". Develop actionable plans to see your dreams come to fruition. I know that with a great dream on your mind, actionable plans to back it up, a strong "never-to-give-up" attitude, and God on your side, you can become whatever you choose to be. And no kings, no lords, no knaves can say you nay.

It may seems late, start all the same. 
It may seems impossible, don't be afraid to start. 

On your journey to significance, many will shout you down or try to redefine your vision, never give them a chance or allow them to distract you".

Is Mike Olu. AKINLABI, PhD., an inspirational compass? You answer.....

Remember the words of Thomas Edward Lawrence, CB, DSO, British archaeologist, military officer, diplomat, and writer who said "All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible."
I leave you with this capsule 'Don’t let go of your dreams. If you have determination and belief in your dreams, you will succeed in spite of your desire to let go'. If you have a dream, don’t just sit there. Gather courage to believe that you can succeed and leave no stone unturned to make it a reality.

Have My Cares........

Until Your Goals Are Achieved, Don’t Stop Pushing.

It was Thomas Edward Lawrence, CB, DSO, British archaeologist, military officer, diplomat, and writer who said "All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible."

Let me give you some examples to drive home my point; A woman born in an Afghan Refugee Camp is flying around the world to inspire other women to follow their dreams.
Who is she? Her name is Shaesta Waiz, 29,  the First Female Certified Civilian Pilot and the Youngest Woman to fly solo around the world.

She started her epic flight in a small, single-engine plane from the US where she now lives and recently arrived in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Ms Waiz was born in a refugee camp and travelled from Afghanistan to the US in 1987 with her parents and five sisters to escape the Soviet-Afghan war. She grew up in an underprivileged area of Richmond, California, and said it wasn’t until she discovered aviation that she started thinking about going to college and having a career.

In her word “When I was a little girl I thought maybe I would go to college, but I would get married at a young age and have a family. But then I found something that I really loved and that’s flying, I was willing to give it all, today it’s an incredible feeling to be the pilot of my own aeroplane and to fly wherever my heart desires. It’s a passion that I really enjoy, that I protect, and that I want women from Afghanistan and all ever the world to experience as well.”

She founded a non-profit organisation called Dreams Soar and wants her flight around the world to help inspire girls and young women to pursue science, technology, engineering and maths (STEM) education.

Ms Waiz is the first person in her family to earn a bachelor’s and a master’s degree. She says her message is that you can come “from any background, you can have any set of challenges but what’s really important is that you have to dream, to dream big and work hard and go after it”.

Listen to this, Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to influence the world. Everyday, do more, or build on the activity of yesterday so that you move closer to your goal.

Even when faced with rejection like Sambo below, understand that it is only a feedback – a call for you to go back to the drawing table, or in some cases, a call to go in another direction.

Sibongile Sambo, a South African woman was rejected when she wanted to join South African Airway as a flight attendant,   because she did not meet the minimum height requirement to become one. Then she decided to do something incredible. She sold her car, took her mother's pension money and started her own business - Africa's First Female Aviation Company.

Today SRS Aviation has become a households name not only in South Africa but also Aviation Industry world wide. 

Listen to Sambo's optimism in an interview with CNN Feb 3, 2016, "What I'm proud of about our company is that we have managed to penetrate the male dominated industry," Sambo adds. "Aviation is growing in Africa. We are going to grow with the growth in Africa."

Bottom Line Is, Keep Pushing Forward.

Impossible Is Nothing But Stories

It always seems impossible until it's done. Nothing is impossible, the word itself says 'I'm possible'! Start by doing what's necessary; then do what's possible; and suddenly you are doing the impossible.

Take a certain goal of yours and double it. Or triple it. Or multiply it by 10. And then ask yourself, quite seriously, what you would have to do to achieve that new goal.

This example is instrumental; Very recently a friend who holds a position in a  sales department of a fast growing organisation came seeking consultation/advice. He came because he was selling #1,000,000 worth of product each month, the most on his team, and wanted to somehow get to %140,000.

I asked him to tell me what is would take for him to sell #2,000,000 worth of equipment each month. "2,000,000!" he shouted. "That's impossible. I'm leading the team already with #1,000,000, and nobody thought that could be done."

"What would have to do?" I persisted.

"No," he said. "You don't understand. I want to hit #1,400,000 a month, and even that is so hard that I don't know how I'll do it."

"Impossible Is Nothing But Stories", I replied.

I finally told him the theory behind this game.
If you seriously look at an outrageous goal, such as #2,000,000." it will open things up for you creatively that wouldn't have opened up if you stayed looking at 1,400,000. He nodded slowly and reluctantly agrees to play along for a while.

"Okay," he said. "But remember, we're talking about something that's impossible."

"Fine." I said. "But if your life depended on hitting #2,000,000 next month, what exactly would you do?"

Just a digress, The problem with many of us is that we don't work on our goals as though our lives depend it.

He laughed and then started listing things as I wrote them down on a paper. After he got through the ridiculous ideas, like stealing other people's accounts and cooking the books, he began to think of more ideas. At first it was hard.

"I'd have to be two places at once," he said. "I'd have to make twice as many presentations as I'm making. I'd have to present to two clients at once!"

Then it hit him. All of a sudden he got the idea that he might be able to stage a large presentation of his product with a number of clients in the room at one time. "I could rent a room at a hotel and have 20 people in for coffee and donuts, and I could make a big deal out of it," he said.

A number of other ideas came to him- ways to combine his cold-calling with his travel time, ways to utilize e-mail as a sales tool, how to use the administrative staff better. Idea after idea came to him while I wrote furiously on the note pad.

All of the ideas were a result of his thinking big- "How would I sell #2,000,000 if I absolutely had to?"

He surpassed his goal of #1,400,000 the very next month!

Get this straight: “I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, “Move from here to there” and it will move. Nothing Will Be Impossible To You.” – Jesus Christ

That Is The Secret To Success.

When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breathe, then you'll be successful.

A young man asked Socrates the secret to success. Socrates told the young man to meet him near the river the next morning .They met. Socrates asked the young man to walk with him toward the river. When the water got up to their neck, Socrates took the young man by surprise and ducked him into the water. The boy struggled to get out but Socrates was strong and kept him there until the boy started turning blue.

Socrates pulled his head out of the water and the first thing the young man did was to gasp and take a deep breath of air. Socrates asked: " What did you want the most when you were there?" The boy replied: "Air." Socrates said: "That is the secret to success. When You Want Success as Badly as You Wanted the Air, then you will get it. There is no other secret"

The motivation to succeed comes from the burning desire to achieve a purpose. Napoleon Hill wrote: "Whenever the mind of man can conceive and believe, the mind can achieve."

American writer Williams Arthur Ward (1921-1994) shared more light when he wrote:
“If you can imagine it, you can possess it.
If you can dream it, you can become it.
If you can envision it, you can attain it.
If you can picture it, you can achieve it.”

A burning desire is the starting point of all accomplishment. Just like a small fire cannot give much heat, a weak desire cannot produce great results.

To Your Success!