“Life is tossy, not always rosy. To focus on
one thing consistently is to become a Focus: scattered energy is a wasted
effort….. Why move away when the grass isn’t green? Can it be green always?”
–O.J.O
‘Kayode Oyero
“Good morning Uncle
Saka!”
“Bawo ni Fatai- how are you Fatai?"
“I’m trying to be fine Sir!”
“Trying to be fine bi bawo? What happened? Your countenance
is gloomy- Oju E kore lowo.”
“Egbon Saka- Uncle Saka! I am fed up! Totally fed up!”
“Haba! Fatai! Fed up ke! Why are you fed up? What are you
fed up of?”
“Everything and anything! In fact, life in general!”
“Calm down Fatai. Okun ki n ho ruru, ka waa ruu-
Aggressiveness does not solve anything. More fury, more worry! Fatai, ease,
please- pele pele dowo E! O ya, aburo, what tempest rages your soul?”
“Uncle, it is this business of a thing! It is three years
now, and all seemed not to want to be well again with the business. You can
imagine recently, things have been falling apart and the center of the business
seems like it could no longer hold. Can you imagine Uncle that the cost of
maintaining the business is higher than the profit coming in from it? Can you
just imagine that patronage has declined so drastically. And that Competitors
have sprouted from nowhere and everywhere like cactus in the desert. In fact,
to be candid Uncle Saka, I am suspecting that the matriarch of the under-world
are after me! To tell you Uncle, I am beginning to think that this line of
business I settled for doesn’t fit my star! Yes, O da bi eni wi pe ko barawo Mi
mu I think I need to consider a business diversification.”
“Ha ba! Fatai, don’t say that again- Ma so bee mo! Your
language is that of hopelessness. And your aggression that borne by frustration.
Fatai, you have to know that life is tossy and not always rosy. The fact that
the grass isn’t green today doesn’t mean it won’t be green again. Everything in
life is bound to be challenged by the blizzard wave of life. Persistence is the
cock-sure resistance in the face of daunting challenges. Wo- see, Fatai,
there’s a natural principle called the power of concentration. When you
converge your attention on something consistently, you’ll eventually become a
Focus in that area. You’ll be a point of reference in that particular field of
human endeavor. Fatai, it is sad that some people lack patience whilst pursuing
a goal or a career. They stay when there’s grain and gladly enjoy the gains
that accrue from the grains while they abscond in times of pain.”
“Uncle Saka, I don’t quite understand what you mean by ‘they
flee in moments of pain’?”
“Alright, Fatai, don’t get it twisted. You see, the pain I
mean here is relative. Let me give you an instance, in white collar ministry,
the pain may be delayed promotion, while in entrepreneur, the pain most time is
frustrated sales and deterring turn-outs. People who dance to the rhythm of the
stay-when-it-is-green-only music are people with the Nomadic mentality.”
“Egbon Saka-Uncle Saka! What again do you mean by Nomadic
mentality?”
“O se- thank you Fatai! You see, Nomadic mentality is a
toxic mindset. It is the mindset of Cattle rearers. People with this type of
mindset are never stable on a genre of business or build a career at a firm.
They change job and business line between the intervals of every two or three
years. They move where the grass is green; where there is relative succor;
where there’s moolarh! Today, they are Car sellers, tomorrow, they are Paint
manufacturer, next tomorrow they are into clothing and textile. And the day
after next tomorrow, they are into Cathering and hotel management. They are
consumers who don’t want to invest their sweat into anything but to consume
solely. They are always unstable. No definite goal or mission. No set ambition.
Experimenting characterize their lifestyle. They go where they know the grass
is rosy, forgetting that to thrive in life, one must sweat it out striving.
Fatai, you see, people with this nomadic mindset have no understanding that
it’s a taboo for a baby to walk perfectly in a day without first crawling for
months and tottering for a little while.”
“Uncle Ododo oro you have spoken! They are indeed cattle
rearers!”
“Yes, Fatai, ko siro bee- All correct! You see, our fore
fathers have a saying that Oju kan bayii ni a maa n to si, ti o fi maa n ru-
Scattered energy is a wasted effort. You see, Fatai, let me not deceive you,
life is a process and not a recess. It is a series of instruction and a number
of operations. No line of trade or career path is challenges-free. Problems are
the price of progress. The obstacles in life are to make us better and not
bitter.”
“Hmmnn!”
“Fatai, your case is a reminder of the words of Martins
Luther King Jr.! He had said long long time ago that the ultimate measure of man
is not where he stands in moments of relative comforts but where he stands at
times of challenges and controversy. There’s also this wise man. I have
forgotten his name ooo! Okay, now I remember his name! They call him Oral
Roberts. He also reflected many many years ago that no one can bring renewal or
change without confrontation. He said then before you came into this world that
the truth is, if you like things easy, you will have difficulties. And for
those that like problems, they will quickly succeed. To take chances is to make
advances. Take the obstacles you’re facing in your business as an opportunity
to make advances by defeating it. Fatai,
get up! Don’t give up! Mere seeds become a forest of thick and sturdy
timber! Don’t dump a business because of the little, little shortcomings of the
moment. Obstacles is the breakfast of champions and not cereal.
Tuju ka Fatai- Cheer up Fatai! You can prevail over your
travails!” (O.J.O |09, 13)
ff @Imodoye_1
…Kip da Optimism Alive!
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