::: El Fiz Concept :::: | Consults | Events |

On-goings..

2011-02-15T17:33:00.000+01:00

What's good people?

It's been a while I got personal on this blog. So much has been happening in such a short period of time; but in the midst of it all, I've been observing, learning, dreaming, reading and I'm happy I'm growing.

So much happening in the corporate world. I've been redundant at work while some are over-stressed and completely over-used. I understand in-house corporate politics better now, I see how people constantly rub crap on other people just so they can look good and appear efficient to their superiors. Eye service and the likes

I feel for those that are pressured at work, the ones that have to work long hours, some work till almost mid night and by 7am the following morning they are already at work. Now I get why homes are shattered, why spouses don't even notice each other, why family bonds are weak, why kids never see their fathers, why family members don't understand each other.

People do so much and earn so little, with no hope of pay rise

People average 4-6 hours in traffic daily

Little wonder why people are generally aggressive; be it in traffic, church or even at play.

People are making themselves go through a lot for no just cause, so they console themselves with the age long equivocation that "it is for the greater good"

And when you attempt to convince people that they shouldn't be going through this much stress, they perceive it as lack of ambition. Its painful!

But if I may ask, what is that greater good?

Life as I know it, is meant to be enjoyed and not to be endured

Many unfortunately don't know how to draw the divide between sacrifice and self-punishment

And it all boils down to a weak definition of purpose. When purpose is not defined, your pursuit will be directionless

Working long hours is acceptable, but it becomes a problem when you're not happy doing it.

Take a little time off to observe your schedule, review the life you have been living and fix your wrongs now before it causes further damage!

Ciao

U don't have to be the best to be the best II

2010-08-25T00:16:00.000+02:00

U might want to read the first part here

This topic had been on my mind for long and expressing it in a poem was a big one for me because it has been running through my mind for long.

Do u know how many times u come across young talents all around?

U see a child in a local street soccer tournament and u say to urself "this guy is better than C. Ronaldo"

but then that guy will never ever ever in his life be recognised globally as being better than C. Ronaldo

I don't want u to end up as that guy who was potrayed so much potentials that is why I want to share this with you.

There are those two, three or maybe four guys somewhere out there in those villages who have what it takes to beat Usain Bolt to it, but they will never ever ever make it to their National Athletics team...so how will they get the opportunity to prove themselves to the world?

See what Solomon said

"I returned, and saw under the sun, that the race [is] not to the swift, nor the battle to the strong, neither yet bread to the wise, nor yet riches to men of understanding, nor yet favour to men of skill; but time and chance happeneth to them all."

---Ecc 9:11 [KJV]

He made it clear that hardwork is no guarantee "...not to the swift"

Strength cant kill it

Intellectual robustness is no security

Wealth is no guarantee

So what is the way out?

A wise man said

"The future belong to those who recognise opportunities long before they become obvious"

We are all bloody opportunists strolling on the surface of the earth. I'm sorry to hurt ur school of thought...but if u look deeply. We are simply opportunists!

I looked at these things at the beginning of the year and I said "fine, I will plan for January - June and I will leave July - December to chance" and I think this is why I'm living in the best season of my life.

We are all opportunists, don't let that paper in ur study where uve outlined ur life's agenda deceive u! We are all opportunists seeking for the next opportunity that looks like will take us to where we deserve the most

As I'm typing now, I don't know what point I want to prove to u but I'm just typing what I feel like typing and u just have to keep reading bcos u have started and u have to get to the end of this mind-bugging expositions.

Be opportunity driven, don't gawk

If strength cant kill it

Intellectual robustness is no security

Wealth is no guarantee

Solomon says "time and chance happeneth to them all"

op·por·tu·ni·ty (¼p”…r-t›“n¹-t¶, -ty›“-) n., pl. op·por·tu·ni·ties. 1.a. A favorable or advantageous circumstance or combination of circumstances. b. A favorable or suitable occasion or time.

time and chance = opportunity

So when next ure praying to God u might to ask God to give u a 'thing' for opportunities

I think I lost control of this piece at some point....lemme hear ur views

I guess I'm anti-success

2010-08-20T05:59:00.000+02:00

The fact that I'm enjoying life is kinda cliché but get used to it, its a life long reality!

I had a most interesting conversation wit Nomso today, and it was based on my last post on Legacy, I hope most people didnt get distracted with the Justin Bieber talk, because the morale of the talk is rooted in the 'legacy' mentality and I would just like to re-emphasise my thoughts on leaving legacies.

Nomso seemed to love these two different statements that I made at two different times in the course of our conversation

1. Copy and paste works in real life

2. It is too much fun when u start early

I think I understand why he loved these statements

1. Copy and paste works in real life...though it is branded 'model'

On a daily basis I've been growing myself and it was only until recently that I understood the importance of setting out to grow yourself with purpose, the act of self development has been abused by many because they really don't know what it is all about before they venture into it but that's not the focus of my talk.

On the long run I desire to be recognised for two major things: a business consultant and a life coach; two intellectually demanding aspirations but the most interesting thing about my life thus far is the speed of accomplishment that God has blessed me with. And just like I shared with them at the speaking function in Apapa recently. There are two important combinations I always use: the combination of the mind and the combination of the hand.

I want to be a living intellectual giant, I want to be an embodiement of inspiration, I want to emerge as that guy that will drop just one statement that will transform the lives of millions, I want to be that guy u will spend 5mins chatting with at the coffee shop and ur life will not remain the same again.

With the combination of the mind I allow God to inspire me to think of things to come and with the combination of the hand I play my own part by paying my dues, I work hard to push my dreams into reality. Understanding that information opens the pathway to transformation, I seek to become an information bank and my motive is simple: if I always have the right information at the right time to give to people I'm in communication with, their lives will be transformed and they will shine in line with their destinies.

So for my tomorrow, I read all sorts of things these days and I have discovered that truly readers are leaders...information puts u one step ahead.

I've been studying my mentors too much and in recent times, by virtue of the information I've been favoured to have access to I have realised that 'success is too cheap' and I'm all out to make everyone realise it, the things u do attain success are simple and straightforward and only require a little bit on consistency and commitment.

But I don't want to be successful, I want to be great....in John C. Maxwell terms, I want to be a Level 5 leader!

Success is defined by efforts while greatness is defined by impact. To inspire men and women, boys and girls is my dream, my purpose and my joy; to watch mankind live in line with the demand of destiny is all I crave for.

Anyone can be successful, after all getting admission into an educational institution and completing you course is an act of success on its own, but greatness is not that cheap.

I bought a car - success

I just signed a multimillion dollar deal - success

Racism ended in Africa because of my speech - greatness

20% of the people I coach every year emerge as billionaires - greatness.

Greatness just sounds great and so are the demands, but the demands of greatness are as simple and plain as the demands of success; hence, there's a thing line of difference between them. Success is driven towards one's own self whilst greatness is driven towards making life better for others...that's all! U definitely don't need me to remind that success definitely comes before greatness i.e. u ought to have worked on ur own self to a given standard before u can now start influencing others.

My romance with self development is fresh because I have a defined model in mind and I will stop at nothing to see that this model is birth forth within a couple of years from now, I want to emerge as an intellectual model and I see it happening already.

Just like my mentor, Dr David Oyedepo, when u're hot enough major national decisions will be taken in ur parlour..heads of governments will be running after u and same goes for presidents of nations worldwide....this is d dream, this is my dream.

I love to follow the Oyedepo growth model since it has been proven and tested over and over again by ME ;-)

The model is simple: before u start out into any new business, spend quality time studying the stories of leaders in that sector.

"The secret of men lies in their stories"

Before he ventured into ministry, he studied the biography of world great ministers and ministries. before Covenant university was founded he spent quality time studying and analysing how Ivy league universities emerged from scratch to the top.

This model never fails, try it!

2. It is too much fun when u start early

Day in, day out I'm all out updating myself with what young folks all around the world are up to because I can't afford to rest on my oars...my dream is not to become an author...it is far from that, the books will only be an overflow...the bestsellers will just be one of those things, it will never be the main deal.

I cant sleep at nite again now because there's no time. If I must cram up what my mentors took 10years to achieve into 1year then there's no time to waste. I only praying this piece will inspire just 1 person out there to realise that there's no time again.

Early retirement is now the ish oh

Young folks are joining the billionaires club in their 20s now so where's the time to waste!

I've always dreamt of retiring by 40 so you might understand why I don't have time, it is however striking to know that in this generation that is passing away (the one before ours), we see lots of people shying away from purpose with the belief that they have time, they hold on to their bank jobs like they were created to do that and now retire by 40 to start chasing destiny.

We are too fresh to make this mistake!

According to Forbes, of the 937billionaires in the word right now,

5 of them are in their 20s

Mark Zuckerberg United States Age 25 $4.0bil

Albert von Thurn Germany Age26 $2.2bil

Yang Huiyan China Age28 $3.4bil

Fahd Hariri (Lebanese) France Age29 $1.4bil

Li Zhaohui China Age29 $1.0bil

24 of them are in their 30s

This shows us that we stand a chance

I wish I could keep on and on on this topic, but the essence is not in multitude of words. I hope this was indeed an interesting read

Be inspired

Remain inspired!

Packaging: Just be somebody

2010-08-18T06:18:00.000+02:00

This one is an overflow of the discussion I had with Funeh yesterday, and some of these things I shared with Harry today.

I was in Abuja for 5days for a book tour and even though that was my first time in the FCT, Abuja felt like home, beyond the warm reception at the media outing and beyond the 'author' status, everyone I came across were very well receptive.

I try to compare what I experienced in Abuja with what obtains in my everyday Lagos life and well, no doubts there's a very big difference; let me just skip the details of this juxtapose.

One striking thing about the Abuja enviroment in the warmth and the only thing close to that is the village life; it is only in the village that you see people showing so much love and interest and I used to leave it as lack of exposure: the 'city people' mentality.

But how come Abuja being a city still enjoys this?

I've realised the one thing responsible for that

IN ABUJA, EVERYBODY IS SOMEBODY

The best way to get people to respect you is by being a somebody. People don't respect nobodies. Being a somebody gives u access to a great deal of respect.

How does it work in Abuja?

Everyone thinks

"Oh, I think that boy is a senator's son"

"That girl's father is an ambassador"

"Is that not the Senator"

"Is that not the CBN guy"

So u discover that in a way, everyone is beclouded with that 'u never can tell' mentality and this in return affects how u relate with people, u treat them with respect just because u don't want to step on toes.

How does it kill Lagos?

Lagos is a no-man's life

"Who born u?"

"Who u be? Who be ur father?"

Except they see u coming down from those tinted SUVs, u don't earn the respect; and atimes even ur affluence is no security, they look at u straight in the eyes and call u a thief.

They ask "is it your money?"

And so because we go about feeling there are no special heads, that all men are equal and that everybody is a nobody, there's no room for respect to find expression!

How does it work in the village?

Same old, same old

"The city people are here"

"They have come from obodo with plenty money"

"He owns a fleet of cars in the city"

"He works in one of those sky scrapers in the city"

So the respect and warm reception is automatic even if he borrowed his friend's car plus fuel money to pay them a visit in the village, he still gets that respect.

So why am I telling you?

I'm telling u this so u can wake up to the realisation of the fact that the 'somebody' mentality is a winner any day, any time!

It is ever a killer move. If I should go into the details of the things I've done in the name of packaging, the post will be unnecessarily long and u'll laff to much to get the point.

But taking advantage of this principle will help ur life big time, it will grant u access to unimaginable realms, and it will push u to want achievement

In conclusion, let me leave u with a practical example

In Abuja,

I go "This is my first time in this city, I have no business coming to Abuja...my book was doing soooo well in Lagos, flooding the internet, TV, the media world talking about it and the Abuja Literary Society couldn't help inviting me down to Abuja"

And what do I get in return

"Are u serious? Do u have the book here with u? How much does it cost?"

I just sold myself and I sold my book....Why? Because they know I am somebody

In Lagos,

I go "Sorry I couldn't come over the weekend..I was out of town, I was in Abuja and I had a fantastic time out there, I mean God was faithful opening doors here and there...I was hosted by Silverbird, I was on radio, I even met....bla bla bla"

And I return

"Wow, that's big! Do u have the book here with u? How much does it cost?"

If I want to go futher in proving a point, I could tell the person I dont have the book with me

"But check it up in Terra Kulture, Silverbird galleria or at the Palms...."

These are killer moves anyday, anytime....the things I just revealed are exclusive background stuffs oh....I dunno why I got this generous today, U just keep reading, God is pushing me to share more background gist in the coming days.

I just shared a life lesson on Packaging!

Tell me what u think...

On that lonely day, I wrote..

2010-07-26T17:36:00.000+02:00

I wish I could tell you this looking into your eyes
But again I dont want to
I wish I could absolutely express myself
But again its not necessary

I smell the hurt
I smell the pain
I smell the withdrawal
That's why I know its not necessary

Its about you
Its about him
Its about your union
Its about your thing

I don't feel it
I don't fancy it
I'm not a fan

I don't mean to judge
Its just an opinion
Not much of an opinion
Its just an impression

I see him everyday
Yet I dont see him everyday
I see him through your eyes
His person, so vivid when I look into yours

The union
You dont have to
Its not needed

I dont believe in the foundational complexities
I dont believe in that traditional take-off
I believe in simplicities

I believe in flow....flow...natural flow
U call it flow...slow mo...step at a time
But I know flows....I recognise flows
This is no flow...u need to take it slow

I didnt have to say this
U dont have to listen
I didnt have to say this
I hope it doesnt spoil us

22.12.09

EXCERPTS FROM THE BOOK - 2A.M. by Jaye Aderounmu

2010-07-23T08:35:00.000+02:00

What ure reading is an excerpt from the concluding chapter the about-to-be-released book of Jaye Aderounmu, titled
2 AM ( A MIND AMOMGST MANY) "real life experiences in tales"

It is a contributing chapter from urs truly...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

BECAUSE I WROTE A BOOK AT 21
by Tolulope Akanni

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This chapter will change your life if you choose to read with relevance, it would remould your existence because this is success being discussed in its raw form. If only you will believe me and put to practice the combinations discussed in this chapter, you will never let go off this book for the remaining days of your life.

Because I wrote a book
I was made to learn that your first book is an introduction to the second
And to learn that the greatest challenge I'm gonna face is the challenge of practicing the principles I teach.

Because I wrote a book
I was offered a seat amongst kings and princes and I could humbly say "yet not I"

Because I wrote a book
God's promises for my life bore flesh

Because I wrote a book..
...at 21 and published it on the eve of my graduation from the university, people started believing the principles I taught because I was a living proof.

Because I wrote a book
I came to realise that success is cheap and that is why I write this hour - to let you know that success is cheap and say it with confidence knowing that I am a success and that if only you do the same things myself and some many other successful people all over the world did, you too can be a success.

Are you faced with challenges?
Smile and appreciate the heavens because in every dark cloud is a silver lining and all you need is a little patience before you get full grasp of why you had to face that negative circumstance.
You need to live with that mentality that you can always bring something outing of nothing.
Each one of life's moment carry the same amount of relevance and importance...there are no special moment, if one moment is special, then every other moment is special. If one moment is ordinary, then every other moment is ordinary.

After success became my friend, I screamed and yelled at success saying "Success, how come you never told me you were this cheap to get!!"
Because success came to cheap.

Of the many combinations I have put together to unlock the door of success and pave in deep into its inner chambers as though it were my birthplace, I want to be generous enough to leave you with just two combinations that have opened these doors to me; it has exposed me to a world of unlimited possibilities.
1. The combination of the Mind
2. The combination of the Hand

The combination of the Mind is one I got from the Scriptures and I got it fresh from the wisest man that ever lived on..........

<<<<<<<<<<<<>>>>>>>>>

..don't mess with these two combinations, don't see it as just another motivational talk!
The fact that you could read this book up to its last chapter means your combination of the hand must have been fired up, don't make a mess of it by not using the combination of your hand.

I'm only 21 and my hands have touched things because I consistently put these principles to work, don't delay the application of these combinations, use it now and start making exploits time waits for no man.

What you just read is the introduction to the first chapter of my next book.
Be inspired!

Tolu Fiz Akanee
|Thought|Written|Spoken|

***********************U'll get d rest of the gist wen u buy d book**************

What last?

2010-07-17T14:26:00.002+02:00

I'm still basking in the euphoria of the John C. Maxwell experience, u know the answer

he gave to my question still baffles me each time it comes to mind.

I asked him "what challenge did you go through after writing your first book?"

And in reply he said "The challenge I had after writing my first book was the same

challenge I had before I wrote my first book - the challenge of practising the principle I

teach in my book"

I look at the mistakes of yesterday and I'm happy I made them because I believe that if

I can actually look at a particular action and genuinely admit to myself that it was a

mistake, then it is a pointer to the fact that I can tell myself the truth

This is more like a contination to the piece I wrote on "what last"

before u ask what next, do ask urself that question..."what last?"
why did I experience the things I experienced, what can I bring out of it.

In asking myself that question I said to myself "I might not be a first class degree

holder, but I must live life as a first class graduate"

That's deep even though it makes sense on the surface as well
So every morning I wake up and I ask myself, how can I be the best at what I am

doing? How can I be the best?
The race has started already, my mates are already doing things and I'm not even sure

if we are still mates! It is a terrible thing to be left out, so I have to stay on top of my game!

I discoverd only some days back that I'm not doing what I'm supposed to be doing! No, I'm not
I had 1,000 books to sell...now I have 600 books to sell and there's no strategy on ground on how to sell it!
Did I say strategy? I'm never short of strategies! I meant to say action
I need to do something!
Imagine, my strategies are as simple as
I approach 4 churches..
1. House on the rock
2. Daystar christain centre
3. RCCG City of David
4. Fountain of life
Let me paint the RCCG City of David scenario to u
I walk in to see one of the pastors and I tell him how much God has been blessing me..graduation from Covenant University..a book.. a book launch..a John C. Maxwell feature.....all at age 21 and I'm moved to share my story with his church particularly the youth and that I need just 5mins to talk about my book or if they want to give me an entire youth seminar, I'm down. I just need to tell my story..that's all.
Books will be on the stands after the service.

It is that simple..
Now, uve heard me talk about my book before...do you think I will go to a church on the island with about 1,000 worshippers out of which 500 of the 1,000 regular wealthy worshippers are superwealthy folks and I won't sent sell 200copies of the book?
Do u honestly feel there's a possibility of failure?
If I sell at #1,500 I will be smiling home with 300k

So ask me why I am not doing any of these things..
No cloth to wear?
No perfume to wear?
No books to sell?
No car to convey me to the venue?
No english to speak?
No demeanor to charm?
I don't see any of these things as a problem..so what's up with me???
I can't tell!!!

I need to do something with my life a.s.a.p.
U know, I need people around me....I think! But I shouldn't consider that as an excuse..I'm responsible for my own life!
I have the target of selling 1,000 copies in 40days and even though Aug12 sounds far, it's here already!
I'm not gonna leave my books on the stands of book stores to seat among the crowd, no I won't do that....who knows Tolu Akanni?
It's a first book so I have to hustle on my own!

I need friends to start doing things jare
The launch of A-Z Life lessons has come and gone
John C. Maxwell has come and gone
Creativity fair has come and gone..
wonderful past week!

Now, what next?
Who are we seeing on TV this week?
I'm angry at CU mass comm peeps o...it just occurred to me recently that we keep seeing the same newscasters we've been seeing since primary school days on TV...where are all of those peeps that were dreaming to be newscasters too? Don't they have their degrees now? so where are they? They are waiting to gain experience abi? so they wait another 15yrs b4 they start living the dream...forget jor!

I still have this pending idea I have to implement soonest.
Empowerment seminar!
That thing is free money and what keeps amazing me is that it as fresh and ever-producing like the oil wells on Nigeria.
Any random dude will just wake up and design fliers, tell us Fela Durotoye will be there, Leke Alder is coming, Ibukun Awosika on board, Niyi Adesanya has also confirmed his presence....and all of thoe things they say
Then we all bring out 1k, 2k, 3k....and we all rush down only to hear some random folks teaching principles they dont live!

Now, forget the fact that there's money in it...empowerment seminars, conferences....all those things....they are things I should be doing, they are things CU students should be organising because it comes cheap for us. We have the teaching materials already, we are already used to the rationale behind seminars...we know how it is done, so why are we not doing it?

I grow greeeeeeeeeeeen with envy each time I remember the faces behind Atrium consult - the organisation that brought John C. Maxwell down to Nigeria.
Leadership conference - #25,000 per head
Dinner with John C. Maxwell - #1,000,000 per table (table of 10) i.e. #100,000 per head.

U know what? If all John C. Maxwell requested as pay for him to come down to Nigeria was #5million, all the organisers need to make the event successful is to source #5million.
After paying John C. Maxwell and are sure of his coming, they budget another #1million for publicity - they storm TV stations...fliers, banners, radio jingles and all.
Next they approach Federal Palace hotel and tell them they need one of their halls for a seminar since they are expecting International Leadership speaker and author - John C. Maxwell and that they will lodge him in their hotel for 3 nights and there will be a dinner in their restaurant as well. They secure all of these things without paying Federal Palace Hotel a dime - all Federal Palace will them is 4 d dinner...it will be say #30,000/head and that's all. No charges for the seminar nor the lodging.

Atrium goes back to the drawing board...they sum up d #6million spent so far look at how best they can make maximum profit, consider the class of attendees they are looking at and they say fine...
#25,000/person for the seminar
#100,000/person for the dinner
Tell me if they will smile to the bank or not?
But it doesnt stop there for Atrium Consult...they have made a name.
I mean, THEY BROUGHT JOHN C. MAXWELL DOWN TO NIGERIA WITHOUT ANY SUPPORT!

At this junction, let me tell it plainly now...if I'm not a self-made millionaire by the end of a year from now, please dont ever read me again!!
I'm serious...don't read anything I write again.

In conclusion.
1. Success is cheap
2. Success is only for the brave
3. I'm dying to know ur reaction to all of these...leave a comment

Yayyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-06-09T02:52:00.004+02:00

Rejoice with me, I'm through with my final exams!

3 weeks felt like forever, but God saw me through.

I feel so excited, I'm overjoyed to know that this phase is over! Because, really the doors opening to the next were beginning to look like a distraction.

Check out pictures of the day here

A-Z LIFE LESSONS making waves...and just in case you've not read the interview NakedSha had with me, check that out here

God has really been faithful, and He's treating me great!

..on CLIMBING

2010-05-23T22:56:00.004+02:00

Climb

The higher you climb

The tougher it becomes they say

Anyone can write

Because anyone can talk

You can either talk with you mouth

Or talk with your hands

Writing is simply talking on paper

I ran out of people to talk to during my internship days and that was what initiated my affair with paper, my journal quickly became my bestfriend, and since I couldn't help keeping quiet still, I had to publish myself on Facebook.

You see, when people appreciate your stuffs and they make it known to you, it keeps you going, it's a fuel to your jet. People kept asking for more and I couldn't help but deliver, my delivery led me to having my thoughts being published in a magazine, and today magazines; the expression of my thoughts coughed out a book in me and it keeps getting bigger and better each passing day.

I was talking to my x-CU uncle - Folusho - yesterday, and he had taken my book to the counselling team of his university in UK where he's currenty running his masters program, and he returned with a truck load of counsel and insights on the way forward.

I have a feeling someone reading this really needs to take a second look at my story. Most of us are still climbing the ladder of life and we are constantly experiencing change all around, and two things in particular that catch my interest at this point do happen to us as we climb higher in life.

1. You have too many people praising you.

2. You have few persons challenging you, making you realize that you only just started.

Most young folks suffer these things greatly, we get carried away with the achievement mentality, and in the process we get our vision blurred out, becoming comfortable with the immediate, hmnnn...shortsightedness.

Will I end up like this?

God forbid!!!

I said it three days ago on my other blog that "I will wake up someday and discover that all the captains of industries are my childhood friends"

That's a pregnant thought, and it's not really a thought so to say, it's more like a conviction! I'm too sure about it.

What I what to bring out of that particular proclamation as it relates to Climbing is that, the kinds of persons I'm priviledged to have as friends today are not persons that give me the opportunity to stop growing. And I'm constantly being challenged! Dear reader, please find your motivation.

In my last post here, I mentioned it that I was PLANNING to register a domain name for El Fiz Concept but unknown to me, the heavens read it and as I speak Foluso is almost done setting all of that up for me. I never talked to him about it, and trust me, he never read the post.

My bible tells me "the path of the righteous is like a shining light that gets brighter and brighter until the perfect day"

This is just the beginning,

I just started climbing.

Do check out the excerpts of my book here

Introducing...

2010-05-20T01:22:00.004+02:00

"A-Z: life lessons" is a 26 chapter, 94page book that stands out from the everyday book in the freestyle approach of the author, the text of some of the chapters are in shorthand, and every chapter has its unique pictorial expression, it explores the multifaceted experience of the author.

It is a book that makes you appreciate the undiluted thoughts of a 21st century 20year old as it is a product of a selection from the 365 day old archive of the 20year old author. The beauty of this book lies in the fact that every page leaves you with something you can relate with; something the old can pick up and feel young remembering their youthful days, something the young can read and appreciate ‘youthfulness’ yet again , this book bears great trans-generational relevance!!

The book is authored by Tolulope Akanni, a 20 year old member of the Covenant University Electrical and Electronics Engineering graduating Class of 2010, a blogger and C.E.O of the Brands and Event consultancy outfit, El Fiz Concept.

TO BE LAUNCHED FRIDAY, JULY 9, 2010

on FRIENDSHIP

2010-05-19T01:11:00.003+02:00

No matter how hard you try, you cannot please everyone, you just have to let go and let be. Not everyone will understand the reasons why you do the things you do in the immediate, but with time the big picture will be visible for all to see.

That's one fact, I'm slowly coming to terms with as I recall one or two memories. But I'm holding on to the words of my mentor who while responding to the issue on how he gets people driving over long distances to attend his church "The church is not far, not when value is being added" and I will love to paraphrase that as it relates to friendship as "The bond is never broken when value is being added"
The works of my hand and heart will bring back even those I have genuinely hurt.

One part of friendship that hurts the most is when you realise that you don't actually talk to the people you talk to, as in you talk everyday yet you don't talk. Surface talk is crap!

I just have to live the rest of my days ensuring that I'm not making that mistake and that the people I'm in communication with are drawing something from me, I have to give more, I have to love more, I have to digest more - as in learn - so I won't run dry feeding others.

Well, that's a lifestyle already I just need to be more self conscious.

I've been meeting lots of people lately, and I'm enjoying every bit, people business is great fun.

I'm thinking of buying a domain name and turning this blog into a website, I plan to kick of publicity on my book pretty soon ahead of the July9 launch. Progress is being made on securing a venue, I just confirmed Terrakulture to be free for that date...that's looking cool already. As well I'm beginning to think twice about selling 300copies in CU alone and all of that..I just hope these random thoughts take better form in the coming days.

Relationship talk

2010-04-23T01:40:00.000+02:00

What's happening to this our generation?

People are fast giving up on relationships. After one, two and maybe three tries, we just give up on emotional intimacy. We see no need in giving out ourselves to the "loving" thing; we see "dating" as suicidal.

Where is all of these coming from?

Why do relationships fail? Most of the relationships we are in do fail really because they have to fail, if we sit down to analyse our past relationships, must of us would rather not step into them again if we had a second chance. We would say no to such relationships due to a lot of factors other than the fact that it would still leave us broken at the end of the day.

But again, can we now say there's no fun in broken relationships? Because overtime, we've seen people who take pride in celebrating numbers, yes, number of old/broken relationships they've been in.

It's a compicated world!

So what's the trend?

The modern trend now is that everyone wants to have fun! Fun is the main ish now, it's the happening thing! But can we now say relationships of old were void of fun? Nay! Fun has always been a major motive for making relationships, but the definition of fun has evolved.

In this age where making out and having sex is a priviledge that comes with some form of friendships, people don't see any need to be committed again.

Why get a partner that would tie me down in the name of relationship over things I can get outside the barriers of relationship?

Again, we all believe there's time and now is not the time to be tied down, so let's enjoy freedom. But can we really call this freedom? Freedom u explore from when u are 17 till 27 and after that period of 10years, there's serious need for u to get serious, so u take that walk with ur partner to the altar and make ur marital vows before man and God. And say ure alive till ure 80, that equals 53 yrs of being tied down!!!

0-17 : tied down for 17years

17-27 : exploring; 10 years of freedom

27-80 tied down for 53years

Now because those 10yrs of freedom is silently embedded in our formative years, our system is programmed to freedom. 53 years now feel like a burden. U feel limited cause ure optionless...u crave for those 10years to come back to u. Those loose 10years, the serial short relationships that perforated the pages of ur romantic history text.

53 years now feel like a burden, so committment issues start coming up, u wish u never made that choice, u wish u could travel back into the age of freedom, and re-stategise our exit from freedom, divorce is given serious thoughts.

I don't even know what more to say, I'm feeling sleepy here. But i'ld love to hear ur thoughts on this topic, am I the only one seeing things like this?

""""::::........Little droplets

2010-04-08T01:40:00.003+02:00

U know that phenomena that says when u wanna do something bigger than u n u lack d required inner drive, tryna remind urself of little, little things u have achieved in times past n u'll draw strength - that inner drive - from there.

I've been trying out new stuffs lately, I've been trying out the unusual just to help myself gather momentum for the days ahead n I wanna advise u do same.

This phenomena is not unrelated to faith, infact it's just another dimension to faith. "If God healed her n his word has already said that He changeth not, then my miracle is on the way"

Looking at business in the same vein, the mere fact that u could raise #5,000 when u had a little project to handle gives u the confidence to approach #25,000.....#100,000.....and on to millions in the nearest future.

The mere fact that I could write a Facebook note gave me the confidence to start a blog, to get published in magazines n that same confidence leads me to embark on a publishing a book.

Atimes when I experience writer's block, I find myself going thru comments ppl drop on things I've written in past times just to build my confidence that I can write something impressive.

Leadership also follows that trend in a way, u evolve as a captain over ur class, on to being prefect of ur school, u carry that on to attain being an association president in ur university, on n on like that the trend continues.

Little droplets!!

I've had to quote this postulate from my mentor, Dr. David Oyedepo over n over again; it says "U don't grow big to manage well, u manage well to grow big"

If I keep talking, I'll find myself repeating some old topics of discuss, and I don't want to do that. Hp u get my drift somehow.

Just...

2010-04-07T00:24:00.000+02:00

I warned u not to use ur head
It was as simple as following ur heart

U didn't listen
U didn't trust me

U saw all of the good
And u walked away like it was cheap

My good is not cheap
I am not cheap

U chose to be calculated
And d calculations cancelled d faith in me

I knew it didn't make sense for u
But I wanted u to do it for me

I knew it had to be for me
Before it could be for us

U asked questions
And I said "Just believe"

Just believe
So I could wake up each day happy

Just believe
So we could wake up each day grateful

Just believe
And u'l be d only one in d world that believes in me!

Just believe
And that believe will make me love u endlessly

xtra talk, xtra blog

2010-03-26T22:51:00.002+01:00

Hi guys!

I'v decided to get back in full swing with my blogging experience. I feel so great about this, today makes it 97days to my convocation ceremony...cant wait to earn my B.Eng degree!!

So the concept of the new blog is to share the daily experiences of my last days as an undergrad. I named it "Lobby experience"the concept being that I see my convocation ceremony as a flight, n these 100days r the moments I'm spending at the lobby while waitin 2 catch my flight. I hope to hv u guys follow me. I'l stil blog here from time to time tho.

Btw, I'm making good progress on my book. Work is at graphics stage...drop ur email add if u wanna c a couple of pages from the first draft.

Click here to catch a glimpse of my new world

back!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

2010-03-14T01:40:00.000+01:00

I lost my mojo to write in these past few weeks
Being so blank
Being blank is not even the issue sef
I've not just been pouring out jare
Cos I've def had 1,2 tins runnin thru my mind

I need a new story
I need something fresh
I need a new experience
I need a new state of heart
I need to explore a new realm

Being building on a relationship these past weeks
But, that task takes too much patience jare
Cant believe I'v been calm to a reasonable extent
People change rite?

A-Z making reasonable progress
Very reasonable, my time lines are stil in check
Yossie, if u see dis. knw therz trouble 4 u

Friends
People
I've not been meeting people in recent times o
Its one of the new experiences I wanna explore

CPC entertainment ish is rly a golden platform
For me to build on my network
Friends in d grad class, fine!
But no jare
I want younger frnds

Plenty tins
On my mind
In my head

Hope I have more to talk about in the coming days...

rest

2010-02-14T21:08:00.002+01:00

This past week has bin crazy men; its bin work, work, work, n work.

Preparing for a wedding ceremony is no joke..no joke 4 d couple, no joke 2 their parents, no joke 2 family, wellwishers....its jst stress, stress, stress, n stress!!

But overall, I'm grateful to God for the success of it all
Oshe Baba!!!

Yaaaaayy!!!!

2010-02-03T00:02:00.000+01:00

So I'm done with my exams now n thank God I can think again, I can write again n I can voice out my feelings.

I'm losing my respect 4 schooling too fast. It doesn't just make sense especially when ure at this end of d world. Schooling in a 3rd world nation is crap...pls don't let it happen to ur kids!!

Sooooo february has a whole lot of sturvs in stock for me, project work, broda's wedding, A-Z manuscripts, An Evening with the Poet, a romantic deal to close, one or two potential employers to meet, books I wanna read n a whole lot of other sturvs... I can only hope for God's grace to make reasonable progress.

Speaking about "An evening with the Poet", dats d next big deal m builidng on. It's a poetry show I wanna host in school, not something big, but some extraordinary. I just wanna have a gathering of poets displaying poetic eloquence; so I just wanna use this opportunity to call for your support, I need u guys to help make this tin work, n u can do that by sending in ur poems; they will credited to ur name n I sure will send video clips to u....cos rly I don't know wher I can get better poets other than on blogspot. So if ure willing to help, u can send me an email: tolulopeakanni@yahoo.com
Thanks to u all for ur anticipated support!

Bro's weeding 11th n 13th. If ure gonna b in gidi dat period...holla I'll get d venue details across to u.

Nyz, I just ended my long wknd @ hm n m back to sch nw.....time to conclude work on my manuscripts.

Wish y'al a splendid February!!!!!!!!!!

Be Mindful

2010-01-22T23:51:00.000+01:00

The inspiration to write this piece came as a result of series of accusation as to me being Proud, so this is a big opportunity for me to work toward correcting this misconception.

I am someone that gets influenced so easily and if you've ever taken time to study my living pattern, you would agree with me on this one. But just as it is common to most of our weakness, I've been able to tame this one.

How do I cope?

Prov 4:23 is my #1 drug, I've been using it over the years to help keep my life in shape.

How does it work?

"Guard thy heart with all due diligence for out of it are the issues of life. Prov 4: 23 {NKJV)

If I must guard my heart:
1. I must watch the company I keep.

2. I must switch to high level confidence and believe-in-self when peer pressure comes knocking.

3. I must watch the kind of materials I expose myself to: Music, Videos, Books.

The #1 reason I listed above has put me in a whole lot of trouble and I must sincerely admit that even though I'm mostly not happy with the trouble that comes with it, there are times I enjoy it! **laughs**
I watch the company I keep because what I do per time is a function of what my company expects from me. I know what effects short talks, long discussions, and all sorts of interactions have on me so I cannot afford to be in certain circles per time.

My inner circle friends will bear me witness to the fact that I always complain when we have to walk down somewhere together and some people join us midway. Occassionaly, I enjoy having another party around, but most times when these people come in in the middle of a conversation and they start puttin up views, I'm always like "what r we doing talking to people we do not share common values with?"

Why do I reason like this?

In the year 2006, I was priviledged to listen to both the MD of Access Bank, Mr Aig Imokhuede and Mr Jimoh Ibrahim, and they talked about the personal core value system and they inspired me to create four for myself and one of the values they mentioned "Pride-in-command" is what I refined for myself as "Class"

In 2007, I started feeding on Donald Trump's materials and that guy did a lot to my Ego!!

And the deal is, these days I never do something eccentric except I commit my ego to it.

Ever find yourself in my shoes?

A man that myself and a couple of colleagues had d priviledge to interview last summer with a group of colleagues said something I may never forget in a long time. He said "Every principled person will always be perceived as being wicked"

A random quote I stumbled on reads "Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind"

In conlusion, we all have one or two things people around us have issues with and you'll always know when you are indeed misbehaving, but there's this right feeling you have deep within when you know you are doing that thing for a greater good.

Friends,
Have principles
Cherish your values
Live by them!

The visit

2010-01-16T21:27:00.000+01:00

This is rather strange, I woke up at my regular 5a.m study hour and 4 real I knew I wasnt going to read, I remember I had planned to wait on God today n I stil have a lot of study time planned out 4 d remaining hours of the day, so I free acada n I decided to spend some time with God.

I went into my audio archives to dig out a couple of audio messages I'd not listened to for me to sync to my iPod n listen to 1 of em just to keep my spirit man energised for the day, so I picked one of Pastor Poju's message buh I switched the moment I stumbled on one old worship album.... my spirit was rly lifted n I was caught up in dat realm of worship n on n on lik dat.. then Zzzzz......

Hw on earth did I sleep off??? sleepin at 12:30am is really no xcuse, this sleep off during worship used to be one wicked habit back then o..
Nyz, ther was sumtin unusual in dis sleep. I just found myself in my mentor, Leke Alder's office. It looked like I had been seated in his office for a while, then this young guy came in (I was also young guy too sha) n he had a quite a lot to discuss n it so happened that myself n Mr Alder began to dole out encouraging words to dis guy n I was freaking intelligent in my discourse.... as in it was serious o.. then Mr Alder spoke some words that recounting some of those lines as I wake up now actually makes it look lik that young man in that office was me!

In that same dream, there was this other striking scene.... sum random guy that was in d rest room as I walkd in just started picking on me like he had known me 4rm d day I was born, n his blabs was all pointing to how the FEAR FACTOR can ruin me.. one of his lines was "...young men like u will neva go far because ure to scared to bring out that inner u..."

I woke up wishing that this visit left me wit a verse of the scripture, cos 4 reals, I hardly remember my dreams now n its jst strange sha.. more lik I timed out of consciousness for an appointment with d subconscious.
So this one has changed the course of my thinking for the entire day, I need to take out time to carry out a 'Fear factor analysis' on my existence.

I'm all out to stategically fight my fear n empower my guts, what r u fighting??

killin exam seasons

2010-01-12T17:02:00.000+01:00

So lik I've not been doing any serious writing this year,
Exam seasons could be killin.. loads of zero-value-adding information 2 cram in my head.
No serious social activity, cos society says its irresponsible to have fun when ur exams r goin on.
Thank God 4 online buddies that help me make up 4 those fun outdoor evenings, by making themselves available 4 quality indoor chat.
Thanks Miss Mac, Yosola, Bukola...alwys ther 4 me.

So I'v been chattin all afternoon wit one of my most respected uncles.. jst last nite I was talkin 2 my aunty dat didnt hv my time n I was just mission al of my CU uncles n aunties that used 2 b ther 4 me. Now they'v graduated n I'm nw an uncle, buh I stil miss bein "Uncled" jare
So me n my ex-CU uncle were rubbing minds n I'm telling u dat great minds cant stop thinkin alike!
One unique thing about these my uncles is that they r alwys workin on sumtin new per time, and I guess thats one of the major reasons y I love them so much.
And like I'v promised myself, I want my 2010 to be saturated with "results" I want to be achievin something per time, big or small.
It keeps me going!

So now I really have to step out now to go watch naija!
Lemme quickly use this opportunity to appreciate Myne Whitman, shez been a real "blogspot mummy" I alwys appreciate reading her comments!

2010

2010-01-02T20:33:00.000+01:00

I'm just excited!!!!

It's all over!!

2009-12-31T08:58:00.000+01:00

I woke up this morning and all I felt like doing was to yet again take stock of the ending year, n as I began to recall events of the year, tears never stopped rolling and even as I'm tryin to type this I'm soooooo freaking emotional.

I'm just overwhelmed! Really, it's been a fantastic year.
I recall all my close shaves with what could have led to my death.
I recall all of the stupid things I did.
I recall moments when I had lost hope.
I recall moments when I needed acceptance the most and I was rejected.
I recall moments of fun, of joy and of love.
I recall moments of pain and hardship.
I recall moments of hardwork, commitment and reward.
I recall moments of moments I cant define
I recall toooo may moments.

The conclusion is this, God is real and He is ever ready to help.
I've learnt too much in this ending year, toooooo much. I learnt to learnt to learn and unlearn. I was superanturally blessed this year, God did some things that man couldn't have done.. m talkin about those miracles that come with undeniable divine proofs.

2009! these tears cant stop rolling.

I'm grateful to you God.
Everything was God!!!!

Memories

2009-12-29T23:27:00.001+01:00

So I go inside this old room(store) today which I believe contains thousands of documents, and I had 2 get my own sturvs outta d room cos I was gettin a new room and actually its more lik dis is d 1st time m havin a room all to myself! Its alwys been me n any1 of my brodas.. so its an interestin adventure ahead.
So speaking about the old documents, I was digging out bookssssss from primary sch, sec sch, early uni days n mehn.. its sweet seeing all of those sturvs mehn. My weakest point was when I stumbled on my gift prizes.
Best Grad Student - Mathematics
Best Grad Student - Yoruba
Best Grad Student - English
Best Grad Student - Geography
n Overall Best Grad Student
n damn! It jst brought memories of the glory days. Those days of pride wen I used to feel like an academic god..lol. University educatn came, I hit first class once, n I'v remained on a so close 2 first class P. chai!
Notebooks wrapped wit dis carton coloured brown sheets
...with Pages of X n O at d back
My Technical drawing sheets!!!.. hours of backpain..lol
Love notes were missing tho.. I possibly cldnt hv bin so careless 2 leave traces :-D
Glory texts like
M.O Odiaka
Ugo C. Ugo... ur no1 passport for common entrance exams
Mastering English.. oops! I 4got 2 search 4 my fav story about dat local boy dat raised false alarm

wat else did I c? I dunno jor.. bed time

yuletide

2009-12-27T23:44:00.002+01:00

Best Boxing day ever... was just the best. I had sub my speaking appointment for a precious reunion gig wit my skye high peeps and an opportunity to relate wit the MD, Skye Bank. At first, I felt bad about freeing church youth camp for a social gathering, but I soon forgot all of that when the fun started
1p.m was dropped of in VI by my bro who was headin to Takwa bay wit his fiance
Ehi comes around to pick me up n we head to Ikoyi to McG's house.
We get to McG's house and first thing was to grab d PS3 pad to play our fav soccer game. I dealt wit Ehi n d 1st game, buh I lost d concluding 2 matches, so he was d winner 4 d day :-( I hate to lose!!
1:30 Obioma came in during the 1st match n while myself n Ehi were playing our match, himself n McG were jst busy plannin the 'no-plan' plan..lol. No one knew wat Mr Fiz had in mind
Obioma's dad wasnt leavin lag 2day again, so no big trips 4 him again.. :-P
2:30 we are off to check out Obioma's house I insisted I wanted to see his house b4 I leave d Ikoyi n we sure did have a wonderful time there. We all left McG's house in d corolla 09 Obioms came wit (al these rich kids sef), n we hookd up wit Deji on our way down, dat made it 3 of us plus Obi.
We had a nice time in his house.. sum fresh self-service apartment. His dad had a guest so we picked up our glasses 4rm d house n sat by d pool side over a bottle of wine.
3:00 I had alrdy called Lulu (my host @ d reunion) 2 check if I cld come around wit frnds.. n she was like yeahhhhh..so my guys were def in on this 1.
3:30 we leave Obi's crib so he cld dress up n al, dropped McG so he cld do same.. Myself, Ehi, n Deji wer alrdy dressed so we cruised down to parkview to go check out d noise they'v bin makin about dat estate. Rubbbbbish jor!! its over-rated VGC is wayyyyy beta
4:00 we all leave Ikoyi
4:30-5:00 ish. We get to Lekki, 1st stop is at d Macaulays. Welcomed wit chocolate. Posh party.. but daddies n mummies all ova. 2 bottles of Moets per table speaks a lot about the host. We jst sat down inside n we cldnt help but eat their foot..d buffet was mad
6:00 we leave d Macaulay's met dis fresh babe dat was jst drivin in wit her fam.. as soon as she said LSE, Deji was lik.. "Must all these fresh kids alwys come from london???" Deji, sowi... hehehehe
6:30 we get to Ehi's crib to go upgrade d 2nd vehicle we had in our convoy n den I rmbr Mariya, my blind date dat I'v bin plannin to meet since May, we stopped by at her crib n Alleluyah!! I wasnt soo blind afterall, she made sense.. n so she hops in, says shez partyin wit us. Bt she refused 2 drive her own ride (extra work 4 Ehi dat wil drop her off)
7:00 we get to the Akinfemiwa's crib
Fun Fun Fun
saw all of the ppl I'd nt seen since summer ended. lots of hugs, greetings, smiles......
Wide range of dishes to pick from
lots of drinks
DJ was on steady classics.. old sch hip-hop mehn
Soon, I switched to where d Daddies were.. had my moment wit Mr Akinfemiwa n one other big man lik dat.
Spent time wit my Boss..told him al my fears as regards finishin sch this July n gettin a job, n he said sumtn dat I mite nt 4get in a long while. He said 'Tolu, it's a lot more fun out here than it is in there, so free ur worries..." n he rly assured me dat if all else fails he'l get me a good job
8:30 soon as I left my boss n i returned 2 venue 4 children.. Wande Coal was alrdy on stage.. straight away, I went up 2 get my shot wit him. He rocked 4 lik 30mins ending wit "You Bad" everyone was excited!!! I asked him 2 sing speechless, he sang d 1st 2 lines of d chorus n was like "MJ is dead jare" ... dat Wande is an Olodo boy! lol
9:00 on d dance floor, jst chattin away...
9:30 checked out mehn!

wat a day!!!
I'm happy I didnt catch al d fun alone, my hommies r more than grateful n my blind date was over-excited!!!

Business

2009-12-12T19:19:00.000+01:00

Great day with an early start, went out shoppin with my bro. I needed a brown shoe n in my usual pattern I didnt get what I wanted until d point where I had given up n I was alrdy leavin the market... long n short, I got myself a beffiting Brown Zara flat soles. :-)

Back home now, got big work to do. El Fiz Events owns my evening. Emma's L.A.U.G.H musicomedy concert is coming up next friday n El Fiz Events is the event program manager. This entails the sequencing of performances i.e who sings first, when should they be cracking jokes, when they should be dancing and all those stuffs.

I'm quite confident I would do a great job.

For now, like I've been doing all week long I need to sit down in the imaginary hall and pen down how I want that show to rock!!!

Wish me luck guys!

saved

2009-12-11T20:48:00.001+01:00

So I took that walk to confess him yet again as my Lord and Saviour
Hmmnnnnnnnnnnn...
I know He will see me through this one
I can only ask for abundance of grace to play my own part

on EXPOSURE

2009-11-25T14:07:00.001+01:00

Was having breakfast with a couple of friends yesterday morning, classmates actually, and in our usual fashion we had a large chunk of random issue to take down, and one of the most captivating topics we brought forward was on the reason why we, as a department, are not united; The main thing I pointed out to was exposure, and well I just feel like sharing a couple of thoughts with u on how I see exposure.

Exposure
Knowledge they say is power
Its reforming
Its life giving

Giving life
That's what exposure is all about
But wait
There's a life that gives life indeed
Yet another that leads to death

Like there are things I discover
And I'm like,
I wish I knew this all this while
Others And I'm like
Why did I ever found out about this
Moments when ignorance indeed is bliss

Exposure
Its forever a plus
To them that embrace it
That embrace the right kind

Exposure
It has caused me to end friendships
Dont blame me
Darkness stinks
When uve found light

Exposure
That al I can c 4 nw
So I drop my pen

on GREATNESS

2009-11-23T21:21:00.002+01:00

One of my most respected young achiever, Toyin Subair, CEO of HiTV delivered a speech at a conference in Lagos Business School a couple

of months back and he made reference to an article Dr David Oyedepo referred him to many years back as one of the best things he has ever

laid his hands on.

The complete article is here: http://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2006/10/30/8391794/index.htm

But lemme quickly highlight the key points in case ure unable to read d full article

WHAT IT TAKES TO BE GREAT
Research now shows that the lack of natural talent is irrelevant to great success.
The secret? Painful and demanding practice and hard work.

For one thing, you do not possess a natural gift for a certain job, because targeted natural gifts don't exist. You are not a born CEO or investor or chess grandmaster. You will achieve greatness only through an enormous amount of hard work over many years. And not just any hard work, but work of a particular type that's demanding and painful.

Scientific experts are producing remarkably consistent findings across a wide array of fields. Understand that talent doesn't mean intelligence, motivation or personality traits. It's an innate ability to do some specific activity especially well.

The article goes on to discuss these key points:
1. No substitute for hard work
2. Practice makes perfect
3. The skeptics
4. Real-world examples
5. The business side
6. Adopting a new mindset
7. Be the ball

Why?
If great performance were easy, it wouldn't be rare. Which leads to possibly the deepest question about greatness. While experts understand an enormous amount about the behavior that produces great performance, they understand very little about where that behavior comes from.

The authors of one study conclude, "We still do not know which factors encourage individuals to engage in deliberate practice." Or as University of Michigan business school professor Noel Tichy puts it after 30 years of working with managers, "Some people are much more motivated than others, and that's the existential question I cannot answer - why."

The critical reality is that we are not hostage to some naturally granted level of talent. We can make ourselves what we will.

Maybe we can't expect most people to achieve greatness. It's just too demanding. But the striking, liberating news is that greatness isn't reserved for a preordained few. It is available to you and to everyone.

indoors

2009-11-19T20:34:00.003+01:00

funny funny week

its been a funny one really. I had a really stupid/troubled last week, was sick all of a sudden on frid n that led to the obstruction (or is annulment) of my sickness free 2k9 covenant I had wit God.. **sobs** it happened 2 fast n I cant blv I wrote 3midterm papers that day. Long n short of d whole P is that m sure it was a spiritual attack.

Stil on last week, an old crush came back my way n trust me, it doesnt look like I'm d man 4 her... so I'v freed jor

This week started well, lots of good things happening. Lik its 8:38pm n I'm in my room!!! feels so strange breaking my no-indoor-evenings policy.. lol

Yet this act is definitely not unrelated to Miss Dupe Mac.. I'v enjoyd a whole lotta sturvs I'v learnt about how she lives her life, n being indoors is jst a nu life I'm tryin out. Thanks D!

Bukola was awesome on sat nite.. thanks 4 being there 4 me, I had 2 clear out my head n she was ther 4 me

Yossie!!!!!!!!! m proud of ya, ur blog is totally fantastic. Funi enuf I kinda lik it dat u left fcbk, dat tin is too much distraction jare

Yossie's blog add is http://aiminghigherthantheskies.blogspot.com/

What else?

I have mitre magazine deadlines 2 meet oh.. n I'v nt bin workin, me n my laziness! Olumide wil b here b4 noon n I can only hope I have my deadlines ready.

Adieu to now late Chief Judge Justice Edokpayi

Ima. all I can say is "God be with you"

This is raw, take it the way it is.

2009-10-21T01:44:00.001+02:00

Tick tock tick tock

days come and go

seasons come and go

It's getting closer each day

Heartbeats pacing faster

Uncertainty fast creepin in

Hmnnn... July 09

Hmmnn.. commencement

I leave here and I head where?

I end this and I start what?

Compulsory service thing?

Or compulsory knowledge thing?

What am I doing for my masters

Where am I doing it

Is there funding available

Is it gon be work work work

Is it gon be work + study

Certificate acquired

Will it be a motherland's call

Will it be a call far from home

Job acquired

Climb up the ladder in a career

Or highest bidder wins?

Wealth is d dream

Comfort is d brand

The dream says money, cars, clothes

influence, affluence

Reality has them not for now

Time is the bridge

Bridge length left unestimated

Some cross it in days

Others in months

Yet for some in years

I leave it all where it is safest

I leave it in the hands of d porter

Mould it as you will Lord I pray

Make it your usual "Behold it was all good" affair

UNBORN

2009-10-20T02:17:00.002+02:00

hmmnn... 500 level.

tick tock tick tock... it's started already, I'm already living in it.

I miss my blog, I miss my readers, I miss those comments.. but really I....

Looking through my archives tonite, I again stumbled on a note I wrote at the beginning of this semester. It's been published on facebook already, but I love it too much to restrict it to facebook alone. This is a raw reflection of my state of mind wen sch resumed this session. Enjoy!

UNBORN

I want to wake up in the morning, say my prayers and spend quality time drawing from the word of life.

I want to get that done with, brush my teeth, take my bath and get dressed up for class looking smart and sharp

I want to sit down in class, love my lecturer, love the lecture and overall leave the class with a large chunk of knowledge

I want to rub minds with my mates and ponder over a few theories together

I want to get out to the cafetaria, feel popular having so many friends extending their greetings, eat good food and enjoy some quality chat over drinks

I want to get down to the library to regurgitate the academic knowledge I have acquired and bring light to certain grey areas

I want to digest materials from my mentors and yet have some younger ones around me that I can helping to maximise life

I want to make 'business' an attitude and not just an affair because I know how much I produce within few minutes of seriousness

I want to take those quiet evening strolls with the one I love and have her make me feel like I have the world with me when I have her around me

I want to get down on the internet, catch up with civilisation, be on facebook and chat with unseen friends

I want to end each day getting back to my room sleeping as a student, christian, lover and thinker

I want to wake up in the middle of the nite as a non-thinker at those late frosty hours

I want to stop thinking and be a conceptualist writing down concepts, poems, articles, speeches and then go back to bed again

I want to wipe my teary eyes clean and forgive myself for being so distant from these dreams

I want to eliminate the thin line between my ideas and reality

And if and only if I can think 'it' and be 'it'

Then I would wake up in the morning, say my prayers and spend quality time drawing from the word of life

Get that done with, brush my teeth........

Sit down in class, love my....

And if and only if I can think 'it' and be 'it'

Then I would leave the realm of the unborn and be born

One of those nites..

2009-08-28T01:43:00.000+02:00

Tonite is jst one of thoe nites that I feel like I'v got too much in my head, one of those nites dat I feel like pouring it all out.

But where do I start from? I've got a lot to contemplate on cos I've got a lot of things I'm lookin out for.

I still feel d pain of havin to part wit my Skye family, they made 5weeks look like a lifetime, d entire experience was more than worth it!

500level fast approaching. Final lap it is, yet it smells like a fresh beginning.
Ummm.. rly got a lot to work on.
I still have my dreams of havin a 5.0GPA
n I still have my vision of polishin men to excellence compelling me to want to speak in conferences, write articles, n consciously mentor the ones that are coming up;
I have to print my first book "A-Z OF LIFE: experience of a 21yr old" by my 21st which is jst a couple of days 2 grad;
I have a network to build on cos I wanna make sure each cu student is just a friend away;
I still need more time with God to figure out how my post-grad life will be cos I've got loads of assignments but I dont know the ones that will go first.

Overall, in all of these things I can only do 1 thing and this 1 thing is what I know how to do best- commit it into God's hands.

again I feel like...

2009-08-23T22:06:00.004+02:00

Hauwa.. m chattin wit her rite nw, she wnt let me type this piece in peace
Busola. chattin, bt rubbish fcbk chat = 2lines/min
Chima.. annoyin me rite nw by askin unnecessary questions
Tanga.. hearin 4rm him afta sum 3wks communication break
Dami.. shez gone offline n hopefully by d nxt time she comes online she shld be seein this blog.

A couple of hours back, I was brushing up a old write-up for fresh publication. Title: Networking: How who u knw counts over what u knw

n I rly luv I line I used in dat article:

" Trust me, there is no future for those who do not place value on relationships!"

Lookin at these ppl I mentioned above, I hv loads of things 2 say abt hw wonderful these guys are

.. bt m so lazy 2 finish this. Lord help me!!

,,,,,

2009-08-14T02:22:00.002+02:00

cant blv i'v nt been here in a long while!

Quite a lot has changed since the last time I posted anything, but the summary of it all is that I'm gettin bigger n better by d day all cos of God's favour.

I'm not sayin much 2nite... i'l b back some other time.

All I can say now is THANK YOU LORD. I will always love You!!

There is a God in heaven

2009-07-31T08:52:00.000+02:00

I was in the waiting room yday n I'm glad to announce to u that I did not wait for nothing. GOD did it!!!!

I'm so grateful to the heavens, but hw did it all start?

Monday: I went for the 1st stage of the 2day screening for a job wit Skye (a 5wks prog aimed at publishing a youth mag for Skye Bank)
1st thing was the traditional "Tell us ur name-tell us about urself" interview, and after which we started the real deal, writing.
14 applicants, 10 to be picked
Monday's main task was to pick out 5 random words out of a basket filled with diff words, and use ur 5words 2 write an article, half a page making sure that ur 5words r swallowed up in the article.

I got the words "intervention, disconfiguration, abundance, imminent, odious" And as u wld xpect, I did sumtin on naija.

Conclusion is, I thot wat I did was mad.. bt wen I heard others, I cld conclude it was crap.

Tuesday followed d same protocol(bt we had increased in numbers to 10) but it was one word this time arnd n I did sumtin on FOOD.

We left there with the instruction that only the "needed" will be called back n dont come again if u dnt get any sms 4rm us.

Wednesday: SMS no show!!!!
Some deep prayer sessions, declaration of rhema, speaking in tongues, no SMS, no call!!
But I was persistent.
I stil had a fun day on wednesday; BIG UPs 2 Ehi 4 d sweet ride n to all of those we were able 2 hang out wit - Asha, Hauwa, Chidinma, Busola, Soko.. wednesday made sense.

Thursday: Prayers were stil on n my hopes were stil very high that my God of "suddenly" can still do it.
U wont blv d call came when I left my phone in my bag... but since dat tuesday I'v bin callin back anytime I see "missed calls" oh.. cos u neva can tel uno. lol
The Boss (Uncle Yinka) called n asked me 2 come around 4 2more days of probation.. and this time it was 5 of us n he needed 2!
I knew God had done it already.

I got there and as the tradition is: u write n read 2 everyone's hearing and they all criticise.
He brought out the article I wrote on tuesday n he was analysing it. But every1 else in d room loved the article n u wont blv we were arguing/discussing/analysing my article 4 the next 30mins!! (against the traditional 5-10mins), and after they all reached d conclusion that this article made sense.

He said "Tolu, if ur article can raise this much argument then ure automatically in!!!!!"

The last time I checked, I saw a God in heaven.

Are you seeing him right now?????

Waiting room

2009-07-30T10:06:00.000+02:00

Wow! I cant blv I stil need 2 more days 2 prove myself as an excellent writer
I quote my employer who says "I believe u've got potentials, I can c d potentials, bt I need u 2 express it.. ure nt expressin it well enuf"

Now that I have just 45mins to go join them in that room where stars of the writing world gather to display expertise n unravel unimaginable expressive tendencies, I can only run back to my world here n remnid myself of how "kingly" I am in this territory.

I love it when I write, that joy that thrill, that sudden rush I get when the inspiration comes on dat topic, that gigantic ego that builds up in me when I imagine readers smiling at their screens, doving their hats, in applause to what I've offered n imagine God bragging over me like He did wit Job saying "I knew that clay was special when I picked it up to mould this boy, I knew that breath was special when I released it into him"

At this moment, I dont care if they didnt applaud me when I read my 1st article on monday, but I loved it when they did on tuesday though. I dont care if I've not been voracious enuf in my expressions, rite I see myself ripping thru the gates of honours like an avalanche of fury stopping at nothing to hit the mark.

The El Fiz dream is all about being specially different, its all about functioning at full capacity to maximum performance

God, this is the point where I surrender it all into your hands. You know I need this job to become a better me. Just like you have done all through these years, give unto me this one job I again ask for, In Jesus Name I pray. Amen.

Life as I see it...

2009-07-06T09:58:00.000+02:00

THE FUTURE I CANT WAIT TO STEP INTO
At this moment, I choose to look beyond d frustration of these present times. I choose to look beyond d vanity of rising as early as 5am, spending 5hrs in traffic daily. I look beyond this frustrating routine. I choose not to match d pains wit d gains cos one obviously overshadows d other. I choose to ignore d misplaced challenges cos since d job wont b challenging, situations n circumstances surrounding d job itself hv chosen to be.

For what cause r we running this race? To what end is this journey? How much time have I got? How much time have I expended? How much do I have left?

I console myself with d fact that there is a thing called "tomorrow" I console myself with d reason for my existence, I console myself with that which I was created to do. I console myself with d fact that m born to bring out d best in others; born to see men live to their full potential, born to make men out of babes, born to make giants of men.

As I close my eyes in an attempt to give up, out of that supposed darkness one sees when d eyes r closed, I see a large beam of light, I envision an untouchable 2mrw, I c myself practically transforming lives with words: both written n spoken. Words: d same order of words that served as d molding blocks of existence.

I see myself speaking to millions of people, I see men purchasing volumes of my publications, I see d best coming out of people, I see smiles on faces, I perceive satisfaction in their hearts, I feel d wave of fulfilment.

As I make further attempt to imagine what this life would be like if we all could live up to 50% of our potentials, m moved to tears.. hw much more 100% ?

As I open my eyes n I see d frustration of these present times, I cannot but blame it on purpose. I've never seen a man grow weary doing what he's good at. Show me a frustrated labourer, u will find him toiling in another man's field.

I know of a MD of a bank who wept when he got to the top of his banking career because that still did not give him d desired fulfillment. Purpose will always come back to haunt u if u choose not to live in it.

I shake my head when I meet people who place no real value on their purpose. There is not one thing that u have on ur inside n ure committed to that will not bring u profit.
People gossip for a living
People tell lies for a living
People look for a living
People sit for a living
People sing for a living
People walk for a living: yes, they made trekking a sport in d Olympics!
Some swing a stick for a living.. gosh! I so envy dat guy called "Woods"

Even when there's obviously no money, purpose keeps u goin. Even when there's no reason to be happy, purpose gives u this inner glow. U cant doubt it when u have found it!

If only u can take this journey into self discovery, u will be surprised by d immense wealth of resources u will find within.

It is important I remind u of d divine injunction that says "Whatsoever thy hand findeth to do, do it with all of thy might"

Event planning was like the only thing myself and Jaiye could find doing when El Amin approached us 4 dat cause during TW 09 n by virtue of that, MASK was birthed, El Fiz Events + EVEnts Royale r living proofs today.

Writing was the only thing Aregbe could lay his hands on at a particular point in time n that's how MITRE magazine came to being.

Food was the only thing Funeh could lay his hands on at a particular instance n soon we would have a chain of fast food restaurants as a subsidiary of Funeh Corp.

Fixing faulty electronics was all Ife could lay his hands on then n today, we have FEUS electronics

Papa just loved God n was ready to go any length to spread His word n d vision 4 Living Faith Ministries came out.

I need to be sure something is driving u to ur purpose!

In conclusion, I say it's time we stop d paper chase, it's time we stop running another man's race. Let's all go back to where we belong, shut all of d noise u have around u n take out time to look within. U never know how much ure missing by living outside purpose, go find it n live in it.

Welcome!

2009-07-03T08:50:00.000+02:00

U rly dont wanna knw d number of demons of procrastination I had 2 fight b4 dis dream blog finally came alive. I feel so good rite nw n I feel dat sense of fulfillment dat's characteristic of my existence, I mean always fulfill sumtin per time.

Should I be happy 4 u dat u joined my blog? I cant tell, but al I can say is this:

Finally, I can give u an insight into d real me!!!! But I most let u knw that I find it difficult to understand myself most times. I'm jst too "swingy" 4 my liking.
Happy now, sad later;
Proud nw, humble d next second;
friendly nw, snubbish d nxt minute
even my pictures.... fine nw, swagless d next moment
bt all of these things make me trip 4 God d more cos He's invested a lot in packaging this uniqueness into one ME.

U would be makin a big mistake if u visit this page today n u dnt make plans 2 make it an habit.

This is not supposed 2 b my 1st post, d real one is 2 hot... m 2 scared 2 drop it on 1st timers.

I really really appreciate u 4 doing this.. welcome 2 my world!