Tuesday, November 28, 2006

Free to fly

A lot of us have somehow signed up to certain things unknowingly that continually guarantees our lack of limitations. We are just not away that we are "free to fly". When this topic first came to my mind it came with the picture of a bird in a cage, this bird has stay in the cage so long, tried to get out for so long and now has gotten used to the fact that it is confined to a defined radius and a very small one too. If the cage is opened and the bird is left free to fly, it doesn't know without a push. I hope you are feeling me.

There are certain things you have, that has guaranteed you wings and has also increased your radius thereby making you "free to fly". Lets get to them

God on your side: This is one ultimate thing that a person can have. If the creator of the universe is your friend then the secrets of the universe, how it will work and what part you should play, what path you should take are not far away from you. You only need to Listen and Hear him as He desires to share these secretes with you.

A network of influence: Friends who matter in the world. A mentor to guide you. A physical representation of God and his Grace

An attitude of thanksgiving: If you have the heart that a appreciates, things are done are will continue to be done for you. You will never have to worry,You will always be happy, There will always be a bright side for you to see and utilize, you'll most likely be the only one seeing it and then that singles you out in this competitive world.

A Talent, A skill, a GIFT: The gift of a man will make way for him. That skill you have has a better tendency of putting you in a fulfilling career and life far better than the education you have. However like I've said If you education fall in line with your natural God-given skill, you have a two-hit combo.

with these and a few more, we do not have any excuse not to make it, not to fly without limitations. If you are lacking in one log-on now, cos you will not be able to blame anybody from today for not soaring with eagles, for not being on top, ahead, above in e very area, facet of life.

YOU ARE FREE TO FLY. You have all it takes... so no more excuses.

Final note: "Aspire for a level beyond success...SIGNIFICANCE" Meet a need instead of seeking to gain and see how much you will gain in the process.

Cheers
@biola.com

Monday, November 27, 2006

Country people

A friend by the name of Kike sent me this via email, it's kinda interesting so I decided to post it. I'll really love to hear your thoughts. It seems to me though that somebody somewhere does not yet know the power of GRATITUDE
A Trip From Abuja By AirBy Reuben Abati
I had cause to travel to Abuja a few days ago. I was accosted at the airport by a television crew who wanted to know how I felt traveling by air so soon after the ADC plane crash of October 29. "What can we do? Life must continue", I declared, matter of factly. And indeed life must go on, although I noticed that there were not too many passengers at the usually busy local wing of the Murtala Muhammad airport in Lagos .
But the drama that I experienced on the return leg of my trip was so memorable I cannot the resist the temptation to report it. I arrived at the Abuja airport very early on Friday morning, to beat the rush and see if I could get a seat on either an Aero Contractors flight or Virgin Nigeria. For now, these are the only two airlines which Nigerians prefer to patronise. But at the Aero contractor ticket counter, I was told that all the airline's early morning flights to Lagos had been fully booked. I ended up buying a Chachangi ticket. The plane was already boarding so I rushed off to the tarmac. Sitting next to me in the aircraft was a young lady who pestered me endlessly with her anxiety. First, she lamented not being able to get an Aero ticket. Then, she declared that her mother would nearly faint were she to be told that she travelled with another airline.
"Do you think this plane will get to Lagos safely?", she asked me.
"I don't see any reason why it shouldn't", I tried to reassure her.
"Ah", she sighed. "And I didn't tell anybody I was travelling o. I want my mum to see me in Lagos and be surprised."
I kept mute. I had nothing to say to this. Meanwhile, the door of the aircraft was being shut, preparatory to departure.
"They are locking the door", she told me. "Someone cannot go down again. Ah, what have I done to myself? I think I should have gone back home and travel later."
"Don't worry. We are in it already. Everything will be fine"
"But see" she said, sweeping the aircraft with her left hand. "There are not too many people on this flight. It's like other people are afraid too. This is an early morning flight on Friday, ordinarily it should be full of passengers. I just hope I have not made a mistake."
"Don't worry, take it easy. Everything will be fine."
"Anytime I can't get either Aero or Virgin, I will just go back home."
The plane was now moving onto the runway, and just as it lifted itself off the ground, it shook at the wings a bit.
"The plane is shaking. It is shaking", the lady said, her voice quivering.
"That is normal when an aircraft is taking off, It will soon stabilise once it gains altitude," I told her.
"See, other people are praying."
She placed her head on the seat in front of her and mumbled some words to the Almighty. I looked out of the window, and behold, just below us, on a burnt out patch of ground, almost at the end of the runway field, to the right of the aircraft was the tail of the ADC plane that crashed on October 29. I could see it very clearly. I drew the young lady's attention to it. She looked out too noting that the crash was really close to the airport, and judging from the position of the aircraft in which we were traveling, we were able to confirm that in fact the crashed ADC plane had not even gained altitude before it plunged into the earth below and exploded. If such an accident had occurred in a city like Lagos where houses surround the perimeter fence of the airport, the tragedy would have been worse. More people would have died. The plane was now airborne. The young lady was still fretting.
"Don't give yourself hypertension" , I advised her.
"At least we have survived the take-off, it remains landing. I understand that these planes only crash when they are taking off or when they are landing," she observed.
"Well, well". I restrained myself from giving her examples of air crashes in which the aircraft developed a fault while airborne. She kept talking.
"And the planes tend to crash either on Saturdays or Sundays. Thank God today is Friday," she noted. I could see that the lady was trying so hard to reassure herself that she was safe. Just then, the cabin attendant said certain things and mentioned the name of the pilot. This proved to be a useful piece of information for her.
"The pilot is a white man", she said, sounding as if she had just resolved a puzzle. I couldn't immediately figure out what she was driving at.
"That is a white man's name" she added.
I had wanted to tell her that the pilot could well be a Nigerian bearing one of those foreign sounding names, and that she should not judge a man's colour by the sound of his name alone. But I left her alone with her illusions. She won't give up.
"At least a white pilot will be reasonable," she told me.
"How?", I asked
"He will not take the kind of risk that our people will take."
"May be." By now, this lady was beginning to get on my nerves with her panic. So, I pretended as if I was feeling sleepy. I actually rested my head on the seat in front of me. But she would not leave me alone.
"You want to sleep?"
"Yes"
"How can you sleep in this kind of situation? Me, I can't sleep o. I am going to stay awake and monitor everything that this plane does till we get down safely in Lagos ."
I mumbled something about not getting enough sleep the previous day, because I don't always feel comfortable sleeping in a strange bed in a hotel. She was not interested in my sleeping habits.
"Do you think the weather is good today?", she inquired. Not being a meteorologist, I was not in a position to offer her an expert opinion on the weather, other than to describe what she herself could see. It was bright outside, and the sun was already out.
"I think the weather is good today, the pilot shouldn't have any problems", she answered her question herself. I nodded. And if it would be of any comfort to her, I drew her attention to the news that the President had redeployed Professor Babalola Borishade from the Aviation Ministry to Culture and Tourism, a sign at least that the Federal Government is just as concerned about the state of the aviation industry as the rest of us.
"Who is now the new Minister of Aviation?", she asked. I told her. She shook her head.
"But that Professor Borishade, does he have any shame at all?," she inquired. How on earth she expected me to offer a definite opinion on this, I didn't know.
"The man should know that by redeploying him, the President is making a statement of disapproval about his headship of the Aviation Ministry and particularly his management of the ADC crash. What is he going to do at the Culture Ministry? He should have resigned; in fact the President should have sacked him."
"The man says he likes his redeployment. He is not thinking of resignation. He is happy"
"Why won't he be happy? If the President had redeployed him as a Personal Assistant in the Presidency, he would also have taken it. People like him have an explanation for everything. No shame at all."
Finally, the lady kept quiet. But as soon as the cabin hostess announced that the aircraft would commence its descent into the Lagos airport, my tormentor started fretting again. But we made it. The landing was smooth, and I saw her praying again, and singing. I took a close look at her for the first time. A pretty girl. Used to being pampered, obviously. Nice physical assets; delicate and tempting features. We disembarked. It took some time before we could collect our luggage, and now it was my turn to fret. "I don't like being kept waiting", I said. "Why is it taking these people so long to bring our luggage?" Someone spoke beside me. It wasn't the lady now, but a man who had been with us on the same flight.
"Any time they like, they can bring the luggage. You should be thanking God that we had a smooth flight and arrived safely", the fellow said.
I had nothing to say to him. I didn't want another cry baby on my hands, lamenting about the woes of Nigeria 's aviation industry and how it has turned air travellers into victims of paranoia.

For now this is all i have to say:
Let this be a word to all: "Those who take life too seriously don't live long" and
Candid advice: "Do not let what you can't do, interfere with what you can do"
Cheers
@biola.com
Nb: What are your thoughts

Education Versus Skill

Education vs Skills

In Nigeria today we have two classes of youth. We have the one whose parent put up to learn a trade or a skill such as "mechanic" or "tailor" and we have those in our own category whose parents put on the part of education. Both parents have one thing in mind: that the young lad should grow up and be able to fend for himself and the family he/she will eventually make.

The lad that learns a skill and starts at the age of say ten know that after about ten years he will do "freedom" and start a workshop of his own, be his own boss, and from then onwards fend for himself and eventually his family too.

The lad whose "parents choose the path of education for him" will pick a career path that most fits his JAMB score and will know that his options are to get the best grades possible, get a job and work for one big man for a while, earn 20% of the value he adds to the big man's company and eventually retire after many years and still depend on the big man for pension to survive the other years that he has left before he dies.

If the educated lad cannot fend for his family on his salary and it is not just enough, he begins to add some other means such as trading, farming, etc just to keep body and soul together.

The one that is most victorious if we were really to look at it well is the one who chooses the path of education, which is in line with his skill. The gift of a man will make way for him. Such a person will get a job and dictate the price because he will most likely be the best at what he does and when he is fed up of working under somebody he will start his own. He will so easily be an entrepreneur and an employer of labour

We were not told these things while we were choosing our career, most of us picked the course that was given or most convenient for us without putting passion and skill into consideration and we suddenly find ourselves in the crowd or should I say "The rat race".

There is hope however, though things cannot be reversed again. We cannot go back to school now to study what is more in line with our skill. If we could, we should.... on the other hand we should seek to do what we love and love what we do. We should think of being a job creator and not a job seeker.

We should most importantly leave a better legacy for our children.

This is my piece


Cheers all
@biola.com

Tuesday, November 21, 2006

Gratitude 2


Some quotes to ispire, feel very free to contribute

Gratitude is not only the greatest of all the virtues, but the parent of all the others.
- Cicero (106-43 B.C.), Orator and Statesman

He is a wise man who does not grieve for the things which he has not, but rejoices for those that he has.
- Epictetus

If we could forget our troubles as easily as we forget our blessings, how different things would be.
- Robert C. Savage, Life Lessons, Galahad Books

Turn your face to the light and you'll never see the shadows
-@biola.com

Monday, November 20, 2006

Gratitude: Thank You

In showing Gratitude we are showing appreciation for a good deed or act of kindness shown to us. What then if no good deed is done to us? Does this mean that life can be so cruel to a person that he will not have any reason to be grateful either to God or to his fellow men?

"Life can give us blows about by the wings of change and chance"

It is rightly said that sincere gratitude makes the "giver or doer" to want to "give more" or "do more" This makes gratitude key to getting.

Correct me if i'm wrong but I believe if we will be grateful in hard times they will not last long and though they last because we chose to look at the bright side and we are grateful for how things are, we can begin to make the best of it.

Life is too good not to be thankful, in doing so we command blessings. We may never know all the steps but we must learn to join the dance.
Look at the sanguine and learn from him, though he is not a principled person and is very good at disappointing appointments, he takes life easy and is always high in spirit. Little wonder he does not attend classes yet somehow he passes, though he disappoint many he is still loved by the majorinty. He is given preference over most others because of his very jovial and ever happy spirit. He feels sad but he quickly looks at reasons to be happy and he makes the needed switch, sees thigns from the bright side, appreciates that all hope is not lost and within minutes of tragedy his bubbling again. Just like he looks as it things just somehow work out for him.

Look on the bright side and smile, show some gratitude for little as well as big things of life and you will be surprised at how much is still in stock

Thank you for reading this please call again

Monday, November 06, 2006

No Excuses?

I am wondering what would be the ideal first thing to talk about and something tells me that now that you are here you may probably be asking yourself what I mean by no excuses. I leave in a world that I believe is run by a God majorly. This God gave us abilities that makes us able in everyway. We have capacity to make/create. If we can only believe then there is no such thing as impossible for us, me, you. Even if I do not believe in God the Laws of the universe guarantee this fact. There is therefore no such thing as impossible. In reality impossibility will be another possibility if we choose to allow it. Many have used the word in times past and now in the present world have been proven wrong. Some have lived to see what they claimed could not be done, other we can tell the tale to their children, that is if it wasn’t their children that proved them wrong. If my belief is responsible for what is and what is not, what is alive and what is dead. Then “alive or dead it is in my hands”. I personally believe now that “I will make it” If I don’t, “It will be my fault” end of story. I cannot claim ignorance, because if I really wanted to know the way, I would have sought like I did I would have found. You, by reading this have also found like me. Someday you would be inclined to share this simple truth with someone else who is willing to learn it. If we are not willing to learn, whose fault? Know the truth now… that a right mindset makes thing happen. If you don’t know it’s because you are not ready to know. Truly “when the student is ready, the teacher will appear” ignorance therefore is not an excuse. Should this be the case, then, what is my excuse? If I gave excuses for what I could have done something about so easily would you not call me stupid or worse? Put yourself in my shoes right now and believe when I say we have no reason to make excuses, no basis for that anymore and as such form this day forward there should be no more excuses.

Thursday, November 02, 2006

shh...

If You and I do not make what excuses would we have?

Shh... No more Excuses

Stay tuned for my reasons