The Power of Persistence by Isaac Oluyi

On Sunday, 23^rd February, 2014, I experienced two simple, but quite remarkable events. The events, to an ordinary mind, would pass for just routines, as there was nothing extra-ordinary about them. While daily occurrences are perceived by many as just mere routines, I strive to glean lessons from whatever happens to me daily. And so I have decided to share the inherent lesson in the two events with you.

The first incident: As I stepped into my car very early in the morning, preparing to go to church, I was welcome with the buzz of a tiny mosquito. The sound was so irritating that I decided to silence the mosquito so as to save myself from the irritation! By nature, I cannot hurt even a fly. But I had to give it a trial in self-defence. The more I tried to get rid of the mosquito, the more it tried to have a bite of my well-nurtured flesh, flowing with fresh blood. This ‘war’ between me and the mosquito lasted for almost seven minutes. In the long run, I killed the mosquito but not until it succeeded in biting and sucking my blood!

The second occurrence took place after the church service. On stepping out of the church, a beggar beckoned to me to give him alms. I walked away from him because I had to meet with a friend who was already waiting by my car at the parking lot. I thought he would turn away from me with the way I ignored him. How wrong I was! He followed me as I walked away, offering prayers on my behalf to the Almighty God. He refused to leave me alone. Like the Biblical Ruth, he followed me to wherever I turned to. When it became obvious that he would not bulge until I acceded to his request, I had to give out some money. He smiled and walked away from me.

When I reached my house later in the day, I took out time to reflect on the two incidents. After so much reflection, I came to the conclusion that God used the two events to teach me a lesson in persistence. While the mosquito refused to give in or give up even in the face of death, many of us abandon our lofty dreams because of minor disappointment (s) or setbacks. We give one thousand and one excuses why we cannot continue to pursue our dreams in life. My concern now is: If a mere insect will not quit even when it is staring death in the face, why do you have to abort your aspiration because of challenges? If a beggar, who ordinarily should not be a chooser, could choose to have his way despite my unfriendly countenance, why should you? I say it again, why should you?

Aspirations or dreams do not yield to talent, skill, education, hardwork or struggle alone, persistence, more often than not, bring them to fruition. I ask for the umpteenth time in this piece: What is your dream in life? What setbacks are you encountering? Do you want to give in or give up because of some obstacles on your way? Obstacles are mere stepping stones to your miracles. There is no gain without pain. I encourage you to learn from the mosquito’s experience. If a mere insect can, you can do much more. How about the beggar’s experience? All aspirations or dreams may stand aborted where persistence is not given a chance. 

How to Overcome the Fear of the Unknown by Isaac Oluyi

In the world of business, it is only a fool that would work himself to death for someone else. It is true that one should strive to justify what one earns, particularly if one is an employee, but it would be suicidal for an employee not to have a plan to be on his own at a point in life. This is because experience has shown that you cannot be richer than your employer, except if you are not 100% dedicated to your work or if you are cutting corners.

Some people work for security, while others work for freedom. This piece is not intended for those who work for security; it is targeted at those who are willing to take calculated risks in arriving at their desired destinations in life. Such people, I presume, know who they are and must be working consciously towards making it count in life. How can they make it count? This they can do by ensuring that what they know rubs off positively on others. That is why I say that it is not what you know that matters, but what you do with what you know.

Given that you know who you are, the challenge before you is to know what to do with it. It is not sufficient to know who you are, you must know how to maximize your God-given gift. What I have discovered is that if you do not want to lead, you are bound to be led. Put differently, if you do not want to be your own boss you will surely be bossed around by someone else. There is something in you that the whole world is waiting for. You only need to act on it as nothing moves until it is moved.

The greatest inhibition to taking one’s rightful place in life is fear. Fear has always been the bane of many a man that would have been great in life. Many, who would have become celebrities but are perceived as nonentities, have been victims of FALSE EVIDENCE APPEARING REAL (FEAR). Man is always afraid of what will happen next. He is often more concerned about tomorrow. He feels insecure and worried. This fear of the unknown has always prevented many a man from taking the bull by the horn. It makes many of us to leave our destinies in the hands of others to control.

You need to appreciate that there is nothing to fear about tomorrow.  God has not given us the spirit of fear. The expression ”fear not” appears 365 times in the Bible, which invariably means there is a dose of fear not per day! We must always remember that today is the tomorrow spoken about yesterday. If your employer had not overcome the fear of insecurity or what most of us tag ”fear of the unknown”, you would not be in that your office working. It takes courage and absolute faith in God to live the kind of life you are destined to live. Today, I run a demonstration farm in Ile-Ife, Osun State, Nigeria, where I rear rabbits, chickens, snails, quails, among others and still train people on the need to be self-reliant. This is possible because I confronted my fear. I could have raised several excuses why the farm should not start. Setting up the farm has come with its challenges, but the will to win has been my sustaining power.

What you must always know is that there is no gain without pain. You don’t have to fear failure. There are no secrets to success. Don’t waste your time looking for them. We pay a heavy price for our fear of failure. It is a powerful obstacle to growth. There is no learning without some difficulty and fumbling. If you want to keep on learning, you must keep on risking failure – ALL YOUR LIFE. Take that bold step now, fear not. Remember, what Orison Swett Marden said: ”many a man has finally succeeded only because he has failed after repeated efforts. If he had never met defeat he would never have known great victory