OPERATION BUILD AND WATER!!!

Developing the entrepreneurs mindset in the next generation should be the priority of the present generation of Nigerians. If you have children or pray to have children start building the spirit of an entrepreneur in them. That is the only thing that can assure their future. Not your money, not the education, most definitely not your connection! Start while they are yet young!

In the book of exodus the word of the Lord came to Moses; "You have stayed too long at the place, tell my people to move forward!" Nigeria and Nigerian must listen to the words and relate to it. Not only in nature have we stayed so long in one place; waiting for the government and society to do what we can do and in some cases we even wait on God to do that which we can do. It is high time that we learn to begin to move forward and begin to build and water along the way. Our children will not thank us neither will they bless us when we do not leave anything behind for them to enjoy. You know at the start of this note I started with a quote and had an entirely different angle of focus in mind but then I realized that my mind just turned in a different direction from where it started out from. Entrepreneurship and not national cake or the break of a nation is what can build a nation that is gradually going from a position of light to darkness. Nigeria is a country blessed with what a lot of other countries don't have. We have intelligent people who have had their creativity suppressed for whatever reason you can think of by society, family, parent and even the individuals themselves. We have allowed the society and people determine how we grow, create and multiply. This should not be so! We have to; from this point forward begin to build in ourselves and our children the the mindset of what Africa stands for. Africa (especially Nigeria) is a group of people so blessed that we could actually be self sustaining but we have allowed ourselves to be ruled by our stomachs which has killed our ability to create. Creation and multiplication is a very important part of human existence which is why it is the first command that God gave to man - Be fruitful and multiply! Working in opposition to that order is against humanity. Therefore I implore us that from this day forward we begin to develop the mindset of an entrepreneur in our children. If you cant use it to create solutions and opportunities don't study it in school! This is what we need now. We need enough youths from the growing generation who are not afraid to create and multiply. Let it not be said that the break came in our generation or that of our children. You know I go round and I ask youngsters around what they plan to be in the future and non of them even think of starting a company or inventing a cure or innovation. They all want to be rich and powerful but they do not want to know how. They have no foundation and we know that a house that is built without a foundation will not stand.

So I am begging us; parents, soon to be parents and everyone who will be parents at one time or the other to begin to think of the well-being of their children. Well-being is not money or gifts its what future they can have even when you are not there to help them. Think (God forbid!) what happens to you 15yr old son or daughter if you die today? Can they face the would and its challenges head on or will they bow to influence of the society or friends? Will your 15yr old daughter turn to prostitution or other worldly devices because she does not have skills neither does she know of any other way she can take care of her needs? How about your sons?

How will they survive and cope once they are no longer under your roof? Can they stand strong? Remember any child with a sell-able skill will eventually look out for any way to make ends meet as is the nature of man. He would survive in any way he can! Begin today so that you do not regret when it is too late to help them! God bless Nigeria and God bless you as you read!

Are you eating or sowing?

“That he may give seed to the sower and bread to the eater” This is a phrase that brings questions to mind. It begs the question “are you sowing seeds and what type of seed are you sowing? Or are you a eater, one who eats without giving back? The quote above is from the book I love most; the Bible! Here we understand that opportunity and time is open to two categories of people. 1. The sower of the seed 2. The eater of bread A lot of us find it hard to move forward due to the fact that we find it difficult to sow, especially within our youths in this present generation. We see our friends in big cars and flashy cloths but what we fail to see is the time they have put into acquiring that which they have. It has become difficult for us to actually have the mindset to sow and wait patiently for the harvest while we prune, weed and cultivate the land in other for the seed to germinate and produce the good tree and hence good fruit. The eater is only concerned with today and the satisfaction of the stomach. They find it difficult to wait for the process of productivity and the time taken to sow and harvest. The eater can only see the now and not the future or the idea of the small mustard seed become a great tree. To them they look out for immediate benefit or gratification. No! They are hungry now and so must be satisfied. The word tells us that the rain water’s the ground that it may bring forth and bud to give seed to the sower and bread to the eater. The question now is you a sower or an eater? Do you look out for the now and present not thinking of the repercussion for tomorrow? Or do you sow a seed of goodness and growth for yourself and your business? Luckily for most of us reading this words; we have heard the saying that “patience is a virtue” whether that is true for us or not, we must know that the energy you exert in running a hundred meter dash is different from that for a marathon. As individuals we need to realise that he who sows lives to eat bread for many days to come. But he who lives to eat bread will eat for today and begin to look for where to get bread for tomorrow. In business sowing your seed; means you are saving towards your future to ensure that your business grows and becomes great. That we must plant and water thinking of tomorrow and while we are patient we continue to water (follow-up) on the seed we have sown. The follow up and level of management input says a lot about the harvest we get when it is time to reap the reward of the labour of sowing. The farmer is a very patient man as he would work diligently to have a good harvest by going to the farm daily to prune, weed, fertilize and continually ensure that pests or unwanted harm does not come the seed he has sown. This should be the same with every entrepreneur with our business as we work towards having a good harvest. Entrepreneurship and business is not about the here and now but about the solutions we can provide for tomorrow. So now let us start by asking ourselves the same question; am I a sower or an eater? Do I live to eat or do I live to sow? This will give us a better perspective of who we are and how the future will be.

THE YEAR 2010: TAKING A LOOK BACK

“Defeat is a choice, so is victory; you can only be beaten when you decide that you can never win. As long as you have breath and life in you keep on fighting and you will come out on top! - Anonymous”

At the start of the year, I had so much expectations; some of which I achieved completely, some in parts and some not at all. But! There were also the unexpected that signified and brought to the fore the beauty and goodness of God and his enduring mercies. To a lot of us what I am about to do is “counting my blessing and reviewing my losses”.

“MY BLESSINGS”
1.It will be remise of me not to start with the greatest expectation of all i.e. been alive to see the end of 2010 and starting a new year. GLORY BE TO GOD WHO MADE THAT POSSIBLE!!
2.Good health, this year I have not been to the hospital for any kind of ailment but only to visit with my sister when she gave birth
3.I am still single but I am also happy in that God would do the best
4.My business is moving forward a step at a time
5. Made new friends, great friends so much so that if I start mentioning names I might have to write a book. I hope we enjoy many more years as friends!!
6. Got selected to participate in a Youth Entrepreneurship program bootcamp out of about 1,000 applicants. Made it to the top 30!!
7. Volunteered for a teaching project, PROJECT RAISE ONE MILLION. Taught English to WAEC students of a school in Lagos and got a certificate to show for it!!
8. My sister got married and in December gave birth
9. Was selected to be part of the SMEDAN training of trainers program organized for enterprise developers
10. Was and is part of a facilitating team teaching entrepreneurship to a group of young men
11. Attended a minimum of 10 seminars and conferences all of which have opened my mind to new and greater things
12. A year older and wiser
13. Helped a friend organize the flow of caterers on her wedding day
14. Was on radio; Unilag FM (stood in for a friend actually) to speak about “business planning”
15. Was featured in Vanguard newspaper in Patricia Omoqui’s column ALLURE
16. Started three (3) blogs and still run them
17. Volunteer for a leadership school, NGOs, and causes
18. Reconnected with old friends even some as far back as my primary school days
19. Visited another state in the federation
20. Started another income generating project a bit staggered but with good potentials
21. Discovered a new and vital service that Nigerians and Nigerian Businesses need to help them survive. All I need now is the right person that can run with it!!
22. Go to bed each night and wake up to a new and better day each day!

“MY LOSSES”
I would like to call this part moving experiences that tried my faith in God and myself and not losses.
1. Did not meet my expected number of clients for 2010 (and I know why)
2. Failed to make it to the top 20 list for the YEP trip to Miami
3. Ended the year with a broken relationship (his loss is someone else’s gain)
4. Made a bad investment decision and I have the scars and dents in my pocket to show for it!!
5. Discovered a new weakness in my business (although I am not sure if this is a weakness) which has resulted in slow growth of business
6. Was unfortunate to be introduced to 2 persons (make that three) who turned out to be untrustworthy. You know yourselves!! You cost me money and a lot of trouble
7. Worked on a proposal for a LGA project but due to bureaucracy and the choppers syndrome it did not fly
8. Was broke for a third of the year, I wonder why!!

Whichever way I look at it, I find that “MY BLESSINGS” far outweighs “MY LOSSES” for this I give all glory to God who has made me see this. But most importantly I thank God for my losses and those events that I have not listed (so many of them) for without them I can never be a better person come 2011!

“Don’t look down while passing through life for your vision and faith is not linked to the ground. Look up and ahead because your vision is from God (who is up above and inside of you) and the sky is just the beginning”