IT STARTS FROM US...

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever can, or ever has (changed the world).- Margaret Mead...

Today, I am visiting a friend at the University of Ibadan (we go a long way back, and I have known him for almost 9 years now). Visiting UI means going from one end of town to another and this provides me with an opportunity to observe quite a lot of happenings I seem not to have noticed before, and I will relate some of them below.

As the cab moves from Gate (sort of the commercial nerve centre of Ibadan) towards UI, I cannot help but try to quantify how much work needs to be done to bring positive change to Nigeria. You would understand this statement better if you could see and experience the same things as I have today. Close your eyes for a moment, and imagine that you are sitting next to me in the cab – let me relate the things that I can see as I ‘enjoy’ my ride to UI.

Look as far as you can see. Treat your eyes to the sight of mountains of debris alongside the road, gutters that have been blocked by yearlong deposits of trash, streets strewn with sachets of all sorts and sizes, rubbish stretching as far as you can see in any direction. I used to think keeping the environment clean was a collective responsibility! Whatever happened to waster-paper baskets? Hello, weren’t the first few hours of the last Saturday of every month reserved for cleaning the environment? Is it just me (probably an error in perception), or is it like that last Saturday only comes once a year?

Hey, look straight ahead! Can you see that policeman over there? Can you see him stop a cab driver and collect N20 from him? Alas, our cab is to suffer the same fate, however – my driver has to pay N50 because he refused to pay yesterday! Guy, to see the way the policemen carry on and on about the compulsory ‘contribution’ to their salaries, one would think it is an ENTITLEMENT! I used to think that bribery was something that was done only in the dark, alas the day is here when we see it right there in the light – on our roads!

Sorry, but look to the left. Can you see the artisan on a ladder – leaning against an electric pole? He is making an ILLEGAL connection, and I guess he is trying to beat the pre-payment meters. Sorry, but I thought that it was the prerogative of PHCN officials to touch NEPA cables. Gosh, I even read once that tampering with PHCN property could lead to a jail term!

While you look to the left, I can see a terribly scared woman flagging down a bus. Everyone in our cab seems to know her. On investigation, I find that she got the scars when a kerosene lantern exploded in her face – because the kerosene she used was adulterated. I did not know that the drive to maximize profit could lead to such callousness and lack of respect for human life. What if she had died?

OMG, see our very own cab driver scramble to put on his seat belt as we approach a checkpoint, and then take it off the instant the policemen at the checkpoint are out of sight! I cannot keep it in any longer – and so I say “sir, seat belts are for your own good, not for the policeman’s good. Did you know that having a seat belt on increases the chances of your survival in event of an accident by 50%?”

Right in front of us, can you see a driver rear-end another man’s car as he tries to change lanes without using his indicators? Glory to God, one of the first things I read about driving is to assume that every other driver on the road is insane! Listen, I thought driving tests were conducted before licenses were awarded? Where on earth could you be going in what kind of a hurry that would make you disrespect every traffic rule known to humankind? I was taught in primary school that it is better to be late than be the late (if you know what I mean). Or did he (the driver) not go to primary school?

Eewo, see that woman mixing two OBVIOUSLY different grades of garri! As we pass we can hear her swear by God that they are the same. Geez, take a second look at the garri! One looks very white, as in white, and the other is as grey as grey can be. Does she think that our complexion clouds our perception?

See that fine Ibo boy selling pirated films in a fake DVD labelled 100 in 1 (it is actually about 10 films divided into 10 subsections – so you have The Mummy 1A, The Mummy 1B, The Mummy1C etc). Pete! What happened to the regulatory boards? Or do they think that we cannot read?

I cannot help wondering if these things just started happening, or is it that I just started noticing them? Are these things part of what the average Nigerian has come to accept as ‘normal’, or is it just coincidence that I happen to see all of this in a 10minute trip?

I was reading Salisu Suleiman’s ‘140 million liabilities’ sometimes yesterday, and now I agree with him more than ever that we have got a whole lot of work to do to get there.

It goes both ways, top-down and bottoms-up. We do not need a re-branded image, what we need is 140 million re-defined identities! I quote Salisu - ‘only then can we begin to see our population as assets and not liabilities’. The change we want will come from inside, and it cannot be forced (look at WAI – it did not last beyond the regime that started it), it can only be taught...

When last did you hold on to a used sachet of sachet water until you could find a waste-paper basket to dispose of it properly? Or do you belong to the group of people that drops sachets and wrappers at their convenience? When last did you hold on to a used recharge card till you found a proper way to dispose of it? When last did you jump a queue (particularly at Health Sciences – if you know what I mean)?
Do you do the very things that you complain about? Do you ask for bribes in the thousands, and then complain when a minister is accused of fraud in the tune of billions?

It starts from me, it starts from you, collectively – it starts from us. We need to commit ourselves to standing for the truth at all times, and in all places; our rooms, and on the roads. I will take a break from my usual practice of using one quote, and I leave you with the following:

You must be the change you wish to see in the world. - Mahatma Gandhi.
Take what you learn, and make a difference with it. – Indian Proverb.

I can see a new Nigeria! Can you?



PS
I talked something similar to this over with Nike ALADE a while ago, and Nike – this is for you. Love you...

NIGERIA, LET'S DO IT! (Part 2)

I don't know why, but blogger (my blog provider) suddenly decided to strip their blogs of formatting (a temporary error I guess), so please forgive the plain format... This is also another long read, but it is worth it, so please stay at it. Comments will be appreciated. This continues the earlier post...



I contend that Nigerians are not the most happy people on earth, listen, we are simply the most complacent people on earth. The man on the street that rides motorcycles to make a living is not exactly happy with his quality of life, it is that he has accepted that as the best that can happen – and is not particularly concerned with the concept of a better standard of life. The average Nigerian does not take personal interest in an issue that does not concern himself or his immediate family; thank God change has come!

Let’s look at education. I would love to look at it right from primary education up until tertiary education, but I have neither the money for petrol nor the credit to drive my research. As much as I hate to write this post from home (I would rather write this from school, particularly in JPH), I am in total support of ASUU’s strike action. I agree with ASUU that the task of repositioning the Nigerian university system is one that can no longer be delayed if Nigeria is to become one of the leading economically and culturally advanced countries in the world by the year 2020. Vision 2020 calls for a development of quality indigenous manpower, if we are serious about its actualization; ASUU is simply pushing that fact in our face.

We do not expect universities to develop better manpower without better funding. While 26% allocation to education might be an unrealistic figure for now, 2.2% is alarmingly small. Such a small percentage is a pointer to the low importance that the present Government places on Education.

ASUU claims to have spent over 2 years in dialogue with the government to create an agreement which the government is now trying not to sign. I cannot understand why the government no longer wants to sign an agreement it was party to. Even though some of the demands of the Union may be unrealistic in the present context of the Nigerian economy, at least the government can provide the ones it can, and demonstrate a commitment to achieving the remaining ones in the near future.
Actually, it is quite puzzling that this unnecessary impasse is being allowed to continue at a time that we have former university lecturers, Dr. Sam Egwu, Dr Goodluck Jonathan, and Umaru Yar'Adua as education minister, Vice President and President, respectively.

Yar’Adua, when will I graduate? One option I have (just like many other bright Nigerian students) is to travel out the instant I am through with NYSC, and never come back. However, if we all do that, then who will make Nigeria into the great country that we WILL be? I understand that the brain drain is one of the many ills that ASUU is trying to slow down and eventually reverse. Yar’Adua, all my professors have gone abroad, and the rest are awaiting visas!

I plan to do my masters abroad, because I intend to be relevant academically and be able to hold my own amongst my more privileged friends who got admitted to MIT and Stanford when I got admitted to OAU. Yar’Adua, what is there to guarantee that I (like many others before and after me) will come back? (Not to worry anyway, I will, because I have a part to play in the making of Nigeria).

I know Yar’Adua will not provide me with answers anyway. What am I to expect from a president who made less public outings in 2 years than Barak Obama made in 100 days? What answers am I to expect from a president that the average WESCOS undergraduate will conveniently outtalk and outdebate? What answers am I to expect from a president that did not know that ASUU was on warning strike for 2 weeks until after the strike had ended?

ASUU, as much as I hate to be at home, I support you. All I ask is that you be considerate, and know when to end this logjam. As fathers yourself, you sure don’t want to know how many lives our bad and pot-hole ridden roads have claimed while they were going back home due to school closure as a result of ASUU strike as a result of FG’s high-handedness as a result of... (The list could go on till... and then end with Yar’Adua). (I have been personally touched in this regard).

Enough talk on education, I will be back quite soon with gist on another sector, but till then – can someone please proffer an answer to my question. Mr. President, when will I graduate?
Time out!

(I have quoted directly or indirectly from quite a lot of sources – some of which are direct statements from Yar’Adua, Dr. Ademola Aremu, Dr. Akin Ademuyiwa, (both of whom are ASUU executives), Salisu Suleiman, Jack Welch etc etc).

NIGERIA, LET'S DO IT!

This post is quite long, but it is worth reading, so please take your time. Estimated reading time is 5 minutes.

We expect the funds agreed upon to be used to effectively remedy deficiencies in programmes and facilities, to systematically upgrade programmes and facilities, to advance research, create adequate living and learning conditions for our students, and to attract brilliant graduates into the universities as teachers and researchers while keeping excellent academics in the system. - ASUU

I am sitting at my antique table, basking in R ‘n’ B, and feeling like I haven’t got any serious questions on my mind, other than this one – when exactly will I graduate? I dare say that question is common to most other undergraduates of public universities throughout Nigeria – when exactly shall we leave our ivory ‘dungeons’?

By the way, I haven’t seen a light bulb run on PHCN power since my return home and my siblings say I’ll most likely not get to see PHCN light throughout my stay at home. I can remember Mr. President promising to declare an emergency in the power sector; where is it? Am I mistaken, or is he promising to take Nigeria from generating less than 2000MW in June to 6000MW in December? I cannot exactly remember electing (or was it selecting) a sorcerer as president; or what kind of illusion does he plan to create?

That means I have to spend more than my daily allowance buying petrol for the generator (did you know we are the largest consumer of generators in the world?) and credit to fund my internet research. Am I mistaken, or do we really have 4 refineries? Am I misinformed, or are we one of Africa’s largest petroleum exporters? Is it not funny how we spend billions to import petrol, when we could spend far less to get our refineries in working condition, or build new ones? Needless to say, I wonder how long my resolve to surf the net for (at least) an hour a day will last – in the face of such discouragement.

In fact, I really do not have a theme for this post, so I will probably just speak my mind the way it comes to me. Let’s go!

It is November 30, 2006. I finished secondary school in July, and I am saying the matriculation oaths at Obafemi Awolowo University just 4 months after. In some other country, this might not be note or news worthy, but considering the odds (1 out of every 10 Nigerian students gain university admission per year, and way less than that percentage get the courses they wanted) today warrants quite a celebration in my family.

I go off to school on the 3rd of December, 2006, quite naive – and hoping that the next time I will see Ibadan (my home town) will be at the end of my 1st semester. The semester runs quite smooth initially, but towards the end dark clouds start to appear on the horizon. Students protesting for better welfare conditions (steady power supply, water, and other basic amenities oh), and among other things – that the federal allocation to education be increased to 26% of the annual budget - lead to school being closed down (well the protests were not entirely ‘peaceful’) just before the 1st semester exams, and then to make matters worse ASUU goes on an indefinite strike just about a month after the closure.

I get home sometimes towards the end of February, and immediately register with a library (ARFH). My aim is to read towards my 1st semester every day, because I keep hoping we will resume ‘next week’; funny how ‘next week’ does not come until about 5 months after. At the end of the ‘break + strike’, I have spent 4 months and 3 weeks at home – doing almost nothing; I am told to resume on a Sunday, and I write my 1st paper on the following Wednesday. Needless to say, the numbers of failures recorded in the 1st few papers are alarming... What a ‘splendid’ welcome to university?

Let’s cut the long story short - we resume, and then manage to run a relatively steady session for almost 2 years, and then on the 23rd of June, 2009, ASUU goes on strike again, and so we are back home. I have learnt, and so this break I have not bothered to come home with any text books – save for the ones on my computer, and I have absolutely no plans to read anything academic. If you ask why, the answer is that I have lost my naiveté – I now know that ‘next week’ could be 5 months from now, and I have made plans to do a lot of other things this break – such as pay particular attention to developing myself.

My complacence went with my innocence, and I have made a commitment to saying my piece. God helping me, I will not stop saying it. It’s all part of the fight for freedom.

Can we conduct a quick survey? How many Nigerians like where Nigeria is presently (please drop your answers as comments)? I will bet my Grade Point Average that I cannot get an informed and educated Nigerian to answer a serious yes to that question.

As a country, we need to move forward – and we need to do it fast. From a study of recent world history, we understand that the fastest way to move a country forward is to liberate and empower its citizens. And what better way to liberate and empower the citizenry than to provide them with access to qualitative education? I invite you to take a look at the ‘developed’ countries around, and you will find reason to support this statement.

I have come to find that the way to the survival and eventual growth of our country lies in our ability to produce applied and theoretical knowledge in Science, Technology and the Humanities. The era of dependence on expatriates/foreigners to solve our problems for us is drawing to an end – and that is if it has not come to an end already. Look at India for example, you will note that it was Indians (albeit those educated abroad) who returned home and started IT boom possible – it took well developed indigenous labour to keep it going. OMG, look at Infosys!

Simply put, for Nigeria to move forward – we have to provide the shirtless Ibadan boy on the road, and the girl that hawks tomatoes with access to relatively ‘inexpensive’ (such that it is affordable) and qualitative education.

For some time now, I have had issues with the Nigerian political system, or is it just me? Nobody seems to remember their manifestoes once they get into office. Everybody comes out with n-point agendas, where n ranges from 0 to infinty; yet the n agendas never get achieved. As a people, we seem to have gotten used to so many failed promises that we hardly (if ever) complain when people fail to keep their word. Whatever happened to integrity? Last time I checked, integrity was/is so fundamental that it is only a ticket to the game – without it you have no business on the court. Nigeria, whatever happened to integrity?

(Continued above...)

PS

Please forgive the uneven formatting, blogger is acting up... 

I'M SORRY!

I am quite sorry that I have not made an update in recent times. My ISP (O-Net) decided to go MIA, and I kept hoping that they would be back on-line in time. Please bear with me. KOYE-LADELE Mogbekeloluwa

Will you BUY me?

On Saturday, at the BEYOND IFE breakfast session with ‘Deolu Akinyemi, Temitope Akinyemi, Christian Love, and Joshua Adeyemi, I was asked to talk about myself – in the context of who I am now, and where I will be in 5 years. I also had the opportunity to hear about 30 bright people talk about their own visions too.

There were lots of curious opening lines, and there were some really attractive ones. There were some people I had to seek out after the session because their personal visions were tripping, and there were others that I blacklisted after hearing them speak. The ones who tripped me all spoke extensively about themselves, and curiously – the ones on my blacklist spoke about their products. Listen, when you are SELLing, if people don’t buy YOU, they most likely won’t buy YOUR product. For example, from what I gather - no employer wants a dishonest first class graduate.

Think about it. During an interview, you are trying to SELL yourself to the panel; at a proposal defence, you are trying to sell your idea; (on a lighter note) when you are asking a girl out, you are involved in SELLing yourself. I can remember hearing someone say he asked a woman to marry him while he lived in a one room apartment – and he would give her a house in VGC in 5 years – talk about SELLing!!!

As young professionals, we must develop an ability to project ourselves as ‘desirables’. (A desirable is someone who you want around, an available is someone who is just there...). On the rare occasion when you do not have anything to offer, you still must be able to convince your audience that you are just what they need.

Quite a lot of factors are involved in SELLing. First of all, you have to know your product, which in this case is YOUrself. You must start by establishing what your strengths and weaknesses are. This is often the easiest step.

Secondly, you must develop strong communication skills. Lee Iacocca said and I quote, “You can have brilliant ideas, but if you can't get them across, they won't get you anywhere”. It is not enough to know what your strengths are, you must learn to package and project them in such a way that they appear to minimize your weaknesses. This is very important.

Thirdly, you should never under-estimate the power of relationships. One important skill that every young professional should have is the ability to NETWORK. You should not SELL in order to get things from people; SELL in order to make friends and leave a strong positive impression on people (refer to my earlier post about personal branding).

I’ll be back soon with another post in this series, but till then -

“Make it easy for people to BUY your product (YOU), give them something they’ll ask for by name.”

BEYOND IFE!!!

The second session of BEYOND IFE held on Saturday. We had Deolu AKINYEMI (one of my role models), Christian Love, and Joshua Adeyemi in attendance. It was TIGHT!!!

Take care.

KOYE-LADELE Mogbekeloluwa

BY THIS TIME NEXT YEAR

On Wednesday, the 3^rd of June – 2009, I once again had the privilege of listening to Tolu MOODY, one-time president of the Christ Ambassador’s Student Outreach, speak about a quite curious topic at the bible study meeting of the Student Christian Movement, both of them of the Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria.

This young man was simply the bomb! People like him remind me that there is hope for Nigeria. He spoke for about an hour on the topic – ‘BY THIS TIME NEXT YEAR’. This unusual title had me thinking immediately, and the magical words – BY THIS TIME NEXT YEAR, have occupied my mind for quite some time now.

I have done quite some thinking about it, and it has sparked a new series, of which this is the first. Enter BY THIS TIME NEXT YEAR 1!

In Habakkuk (2:2), it is recorded – put the vision in writing and make it clear on tablets, so that the reader may go quickly [BBE]. There are quite a few keywords in this verse and in the context of this post – they are: vision, writing, clear, and tablets.

1.  VISION

 If a man knows not what harbour he seeks, any wind is the right wind. - Seneca.

 According to the Encarta dictionary, a vision is an image or concept in the imagination, it is also the ability to anticipate possible future events and developments. What do you see? Where do you see yourself in the next one year?

It is important to find an answer to these questions, because you have to be able to clearly imagine and visualize (in your mind and if possible with your eyes) where you want to be – for you to be able to take steps in the right direction.

The question – what do you want to do with rest of your life? – seems quite big and hard to answer. Take a break, and think – what do I want to do with the rest of this year?

2.       CLEAR / CLARITY

 Your goals and your vision have to be clear. You sure don’t expect to hit a target on a blurred picture with accuracy. You have to define your expectations from the rest of the year quite clearly. Don’t expect to get just any car this year; expect to get a blue 2008 Toyota Camry with leather seats.

 Make your goals quite clear.

3.       WRITING, TABLET

 After getting a vision, the next thing is to write, and not in your mind – on paper. According to Bill Fitz Patrick, a recent survey indicates that only three percent of people have written goals, and only one percent reviews those written goals daily.

You need to make it your goal to become one of that elite one percent.

You need to commit your goals, your vision to writing. It is quite easy to lose things that we leave unattended-to in one of the many corridors of our minds. There is this special effect about writing your goals and putting it somewhere where you cannot help seeing it every day. After you get an answer to the question – what am I doing with the rest of this year? – put your answer on paper. Find pictures that correlate to your vision and goals, and put them on your desktop – if you have a computer, if not, paste them where you see them everyday – could be your bathroom mirror, or your bedpost or something.

Get your dreams on paper, attach dates to them, and then work towards them.

For now, I will leave you with the following words – A goal is a dream that has a date attached to it.

KOYE-LADELE Mogbekeloluwa,

Get a positive mental attitude!

This is going to be quite short, because I am doing some work on  a larger article, I'll keep the title under wraps for now.

Lets go.

A positive mental attitude is what results when you commit yourself to self-improvement and service. 

With a personal commitment to doing your best today, you do not have to be overly concerned about tomorrow. 

You can be confident that good things will happen and at the same time be confident that even if trouble comes you will have gotten the strength and skills to cope, take control and conquer.  

You are tough. Please, do not allow your doubts to destroy your dreams.

Keep dreaming, because the things we see around us today were dreams yesterday.

Love y'all.

I'll be back.

AMD vs INTEL - It is all about the brand, don't you see?

 [An office set for an interview - you are at the head of the table, your panelists are at the sides; and at the far end - there is a seat for the job seeker].

You have two applicants, one of them with a first class, and the other with a second class upper division – same qualifications, and same discipline. Let us assume that the guy with the first class has no idea how to dress properly (long and untidy hair, stripped shirt on stripped trousers, brown belt on white socks plus black shoes, and far from straight G-line), and for the sake of this article, we will assume that the guy with the second class uppers looks the part of the perfect employee (he oozes confidence from head to toe, and he is looking like he deserves a place on your side of the table).

Last week, I was privileged to meet ‘Lolu Mogaji, of Image Quotient Consulting. He was at Oduduwa hall, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria, to speak about Image and Personal Branding - as applies to a young graduate.

He has set me thinking, and for the past few days, I have done quite some research on the place of Image and Personal Branding in business and personal success, and I will be sharing my findings here.

First of all, to the scenario above, no right thinking employer will give a job to a first class graduate who has no idea how to dress for an interview – (as in the guy looks like a fisherman with a net around his neck), and who cannot speak clearly and convey his ideas with clarity and force over a second class upper division graduate who looks the part of a business executive, sounds like he has been in the business of public speaking for decades, and speaks with lots of enthusiasm and vigour (probably except  you set out to employ a first class fisherman).

I was reading a great book by David H. Maister recently, Some Advice to a young professional, and in it he tries to give pretty straight to the point advice to people like me (and maybe you) – who fall into the class of people called young professionals. I am working on making the book available for free downloads, if possible without breaking copyright laws. As one of his many points, he argues that a young professional should be an individual, and not a member of a class or subset. 

It strikes me now that we meet far more people in one year than our parents did 25 years ago (what with facebook, messenger, mobile phone chat, etc), and now I understand when people cannot seem to remember my name after they met me once – it is just proof that there was nothing about me that impressed them. For example, you simply don’t get to forget someone like ‘Lolu Mogaji, Deolu Akinyemi, Wale Osideinde, Koye-Ladele Mogbekeloluwa, Deji Adeshina etc when you meet them; they leave an indelible mark on your mind. In simple English, for someone to remember your name – out of like the thousands of people he meets per year, something about you has to stand out.

Enter brand, image, and reputation!!!

AMD vs Intel, Google vs Bing, Coca Cola vs Pepsi, Vista vs Linux, Linux vs Macintosh, MTN vs Etisalat? Frankly, whichever one you prefer is most likely not because of the composition, it is because of the brand, the image, and the reputation. Many computer users do not even know the difference between AMD and Intel boards, the singular reason why more Nigeria computer users prefer Intel is because of the brand, theimage, and the reputation.

I am going to be drawing my definitions from quite a number of sources. First of all, according to Encarta English Dictionaries, a brand is a distinctive type of something (for example, Google is a brand as far as Internet search is concerned, etc). Secondly, according to Marshawn Evans, your image is how you portray yourself – simply put, how you communicate visually. Thirdly and very simply, as far as I am concerned - your reputation is what people think of you.

I was reading another great book, How to think like the World’s greatest high tech titans, and there is this chapter about Yahoo where the author says something quite profound – Make it easy for your customers to choose your products over all others, give them something they’ll ask for by name. And in quite a lot of ways, that statement is as simple as it sounds – you simply have to make it easy for people to choose your product – which in this case is you – over all others on the block. There has to be something about you that will make people/an organization/an employer choose you over every other person who professes to add the same value. There simply has to be this outstanding thing about you that will leave an indelible mark on the minds of people you meet.

That something could be in the way you walk (I have a friend who spent 3 months perfecting a CEO gait), it could be in the way you pronounce your words, it could be in your word play and your use of language, it could be the way you dress, it could be anything. This is the place of image. You simply have to pay attention to the image you project, because the kind of image you project determines the kind of mark you leave on the minds of the people you meet.

Funny enough, consciously or un-consciously, you are leaving a mark on the people you meet anyway. You could meet some people and they just go like – I never want to see that guy again in my life. That goes to show that if you do not consciously doctor your image, people still get an impression. For example, a guy who thinks it is not important what he wears, and goes to a business meeting in a slack round neck and jeans, still ends up projecting the image of an unserious guy; and on the other hand, the guy who pays attention to the smallest details ends up projecting the image of someone you want to work with.

Finally, your reputation is what people think of you. There is this one place where we like to claim that we don’t care what people think, and that is church. There are some ties that once you see them, you don’t need to ask what denomination the guy belongs to, it is written all over the tie, and there are some skirts that look like they are supposed to assist the Lagos State Waste Management Agency in keeping our streets clean. Mostchurch guys and girls like to claim that it does not matter what they wear, and that haters (people who have a different opinion) can go to “hell”. Hey, I may not know much, but I sure know that it matters what people think about you. Obviously, you have to leave a good impression on a panel of interviewers before they give you a job, bro - isn’t that reputation?

There is this link between your value system, your image, and your reputation, and I will look at that in detail very soon.

But for now, please seat back and ponder the following statement from ‘Lolu Mogaji – Image is everything...

I'll appreciate your comments...

Love.

What are you doing with your now?

I took a typing test sometimes last week and found out that my typing speed has reduced drastically, from 120wpm with 90% accuracy when I was 10 to 100wpm with 80% accuracy something around 8 years after.

A lot of people see me type, and wonder how come I do it so fast, and then I tell them they ain't seen anything yet, because my mom does it like 2times faster.

I remember that as early as age 6, I would sit at a typewriter for hours, and my closest companion during those times was my paper-back copy of the book - TYPING MADE SIMPLE.

At the time, typing came naturally to me - because I did not have anything better to do; however, as a result of my seeming 'idleness', I have mastered a skill that almost every computer user on the planet would like to have (but only very few can pay the price to attain).

You are probably wondering what the moral of the story is, aren't you? Just hang on a little longer.

During that same period, I had a friend that would sit and stare at a television screen for hours on end, - God bless Galaxy TV and NTA Ibadan, and today - you need to hear him analyze cartoons (Hey, he even thinks TMNT beats Ratatouille any day any time, I disagree with him on that point); you would think he serves on the Oscar board...

However, today, one of my strong skills is my ability to type fast with lots of accuracy.

Now, to some real talk.

I have often had issues balancing between putting up a good performance in the present and preparing for my future. What with the funny realization that I still seem to have a lot of friends' who seem to be stuck on life in the present; guys and gals whose lives seem to revolve round attending meetings, arguing the difference between faith and reality (and at times, arguing whether there is a difference at all), watching films, discussing everybody's business (except theirs'), and then attending class once in a blue moon.

At some point in my search for a balance, I came across this quote by Sir William Osler - "The best preparation for tomorrow is to do today's work superbly well".

I argue that the best way to prepare for what the future holds is to perform the tasks at hand to the best of our ability. I once read somewhere that "Life seems to require that we make the most of our present situations before we are given a chance to move on to the next".

Please, wherever you are, and whatever it is that you are required to do in the present, do it faithfully, because you never know if tomorrow will require the skills you learn today.

PS

This is just to launch this blog, as for some time now - I have been using a freewebs address. I'll be back with something better soon, for now... L8r.

Koye.

BEYOND IFE!!!

On Saturday - the 30th, we held the first session of BEYOND IFE, which seeks to provide young job seekers with the basic requirements for success in the market place. We started with some amazing speakers.

I had the singular honor of listening to a guy that I could not help falling in love with - Lolu Mogaji, talk about Image and Personal Branding.

I am taking a break now, to go type up a post on my own views about the place of image and personal branding in business success, and I will put it up here soon.

But for now, take a seat and ponder on the following statement - Image is everything...

Koye.