Unfortunately, I have a degree

‘If you don’t finish school, you will never amount to anything’! do people still say that? This is the worst era since the renaissance to say such a thing. It is a great thing to attend university and have a degree. It is a greater thing to gain relevant knowledge and pursue a worthy purpose or vision.

Anyone who can utter such statement (the first sentence in this piece) is a person who clutches dearly the dogma that states: ‘with a degree in hand, the door of success (or should we say survival) open for you’. in this age, we know that is not true anymore. It probably was true in the good old days. We are now in the dangerous spontaneous days.

If amounting to anything means having a lot of money, we know that the richest man for many years in the recent past does not have a degree. If it means rocking the world of music, we know Lady Gaga does not have a degree. If it means being consistent in your profession for decades upon decades, we know King Sunny Ade does not have a degree. If it means espousing the fundamental issues of leadership,....unfortunately I have a degree!

Examination vs Real Competence

It is my belief that some people do not perform excellently in school (university or other educational institution) because examinations, which are the criteria for evaluation in school, do not motivate them for performance. Exams do not really task their capabilities. They do not find exams enough condition to really lay demand on their capabilities.

For them, real situations of life are what lay adequate demand on their abilities. When they find themselves in actual and real-life conditions, their capabilities begin to unlock. Their counterparts whose capabilities were easily unlocked by examinations sometimes may not match their performance in real-life situations. In fact, it is my opinion that anyone whose potentials are easily unlocked by examinations but manifests a clear shortfall in performance in real situations possesses an artificial and faulty perspective of life.

What to you is a good life?

I ask people this fundamental life question, "What to you is a good life?" For the answer to be effective it should be personal and include all areas of life.

I also have tried to answer it.  A good life for me is: to be totally godly; to be a faithful and reliable husband; to be a great father; to inspire people I encounter to be the best God wants them to be by modelling and teaching true excellence.
What entails good life to you can be reviewed as you gain more understanding.

We were all born very foolish

I was born very foolish. You, yes you, were born very foolish.  King Solomon said, 'Foolishness is bound in the heart of a child'. It is the responsibility of the child's parents (or foster parents) to take out some of the foolishness. ( I said 'some' because no one can take out all the foolishness in a child's heart). How will parents who themselves retain much of the childhood foolishness help to rid a child of much of the foolishness? The child raised by such parents has the task of ridding himself of some of the foolishness his parents should have helped with.

 

We are somewhat disturbed when a young man/woman manifests a level of foolishness that is expected from a younger child. Everyone of us still carries about some of that childhood foolishness. However the degree varies. I dare say that your success in life is determined by how much you have ridded yourself of the childhood foolishness.

 The process of departing from childhood foolishness is a path we all must take to attain maturity(wisdom) whether we had a great headstart with our parents or not.

 

Note: Now that you are grown you can't keep laying the responsibility for your foolishness at your parents' doorstep.

Why?

Why would I save to buy a typewriter to use to produce documents? Why would I study Secretarial Studies at an age when everyone can now easily produce documents they need? Why would I make huge investments to set up keyboard and mouse production line? Why would I think the smarter child is the one who does better in Mathematics? Why would I put pressure on my child to join a profession because such was considered when I was his age, the profession of the higher social class? Why would I make huge sacrifices to acquire a skill that increasingly has no more problems to solve?

The reason I would do any of the above is because I lack understanding of the times; it is because I have refused to attempt to detach my thinking from the mob worldview—social mirror; it is because I don’t understand relevance.; it is because I have not prudently studied the connection between my activities and their results; it is because I assume I can be busily involved in any kind of activities while thinking that somehow they will just result in the consequences I desire.

Sometimes, relevance is a very individual concept. Things I do that amount to relevance for me might not amount to relevance for you. Your destination determines relevance for you!

Foundations of Effectiveness

Effectiveness is not efficiency. Most times, effectiveness has within it efficiency but they are different. It has been said that efficiency is doing things right while effectiveness is doing the right thing. Effectiveness is focused on accomplishing the objective. It is not just doing things. It is not just being busy. It is not even being a hardworking person. It is getting what should be done done sustainably. We need effectiveness personally, in families, in business organizations, in government, in every human endeavour. The obvious consequence of ineffectiveness is WASTE, WASTE, WASTE!

Effectiveness is founded on these 3 principles:

·        Purpose—there must be a purpose. Trying to achieve effectiveness without a purpose is like trying hard to score a goal when the goal posts are down. It is purpose that defines effectiveness. Therefore, to be effective individuals, organizations, groups must have purpose.

·        Long term perspective—effectiveness cannot be disconnected from a view of life that goes beyond the now. The farther you sight, the more effective you will be.

·        The Whole (Holistic view)—being holistic in view refers to a kind of outlook that sees the whole and the relationship between the parts. There is an unmistakeable interconnectedness in life. This means that progress in one aspect usually affects progress in other areas. The same way decline in one area affects other parts. The effective individual is aware of this and uses his resources with prudence.

 

 

The gift in the manger

I had always thought a manger as an animal house. How wrong I was! A manger is actually a feeding trough for cattle or horses. The most precious gift of all time was laid in the manger! So Jesus was not just laid in some place in the animal house. It was actually the feeding trough. It does not cease to blow my mind the fact that God chose to give the Saviour in such a lowly place. It was no coincidence that the inns were all filled up. God wanted it so. This points some things out to me:

• The things of greatest value are with the lowly.
• Things of abundant worth do not need extensive packaging. The value will still show forth. In fact excessive packaging may belie a content of little value.
• Value is not always in the celebrated or well-known place.

It still blows my mind that the greatest of all gifts was given in a manger!