DANCING WITH GOLIATH

Merely looking at his burly figure, I knew that if he punched my face, my handsomeness would be distorted; and that if he grabbed my neck, I was more or less dead! So, going toe-to-toe with him wasn't anywhere close to being a very good idea. I needed another tactic to tackle him, to take away his strength advantage, to not lose the fight.

I chose the element of surprise. It was a calculated risk. It was either going to work or I was going to pay the price of failure. Either way, I had little or no time to settle down and come up with another plan; and, besides, what other tactic would work against the boy mountain in front of me, whose desperate spoil for a fight could already see him hurtling towards me in anger?

As he came in to tango with me and possibly hand on me one of those powerful fists of his, I crouched under him and grabbed him by the waist. Then, in one full swoop, using his momentum towards me, I moved slightly back, put as much strength in my legs as I possibly could, and lifted him sky high. And still in the same swoop, I banged him against the ground with all the force that I could muster!

Everyone was stunned...the bully, the crowd and even me! It even took me a while to realize my victory. But in the instant that it took me to realize it, I knew victory wasn't complete until I had stuffed the mouth of my fallen adversary with sand. So I started scooping and pumping sand into his mouth as he dazedly and frantically tried to fend me off. Within seconds my friends and some of his supporters had yanked me off him, and I found myself riding on the shoulders of my friends. It felt very good to win...for once!

True story. It happened when I was in elementary school.

We all have goliaths to face in our lives, and it doesn't necessarily have to be a person; it could be anything that causes us untold and painful distress. That we have such opposition though does not mean that our lives are over or that we can never make progress; neither does it mean that we must always cower in the face of whatever person or circumstance is bullying us. We cannot afford to give up.

I'm not implying that adverse situations that we face are powerless against us or cannot harm us. No. I'm instead advocating that every giant we come up against must have a weak point, which we can locate and take advantage of. If no such weak point exist, then it would imply that such a giant is perfect...but in truth there are no perfect people or perfect situations (good or bad) on this planet. So, the giant can be beaten, we just have to find out how. 

Running away from our challenges with the hope that someday or somehow they will eventually disappear is an illusion we simply cannot afford to have if we truly want to live satisfied or fulfilled lives. In reality, life itself isn't a joy ride until you're able to conquer your challenges and ride on them! We stay with what we accept and fight what we don't. And the giants before us we really cannot afford to accept, we just need to fight.

But our fight must be guided by wisdom...

1.  We should learn how best to apply our own strengths to any situation.
2.  We must never go toe-to-toe with our challenges but instead always look for better ways to tackle the problems.
3.  We must be willing to fight till the end and give it all we've got.
4.  We must show no fear and be confident in ourselves otherwise we would have already lost the battle before it has even begun.

This year, we need to resolve in our minds that those things that constantly bullied us in times past will stop being a recurring decimal in our lives. We've had a dance too many with them and it's time the dance came to a permanent stop.

Everybody Has a F.E.A.R!

Some people may choose to deny it and try to be all macho about it, but the truth is that every one of us have one fear or another constantly tugging at our hearts and minds from time to time. And there is a veritable reason why that is so...it's simply because no one has the power to do everything. We are imperfect beings and all have limits. We are all gifted, no doubt, may have ambitions or visions of what we would love our lives to be like, but it does not take away the reality that we all have limits. 

This awareness makes us skeptical about our plans at times, whatever they may be, and can really put pressure on our minds and lives. And if we're not careful, we could end up dreading certain days, moments and situations. We could end up believing that some things may never ever work in our favour or that we may never amount to anything. Well, in truth, that just shows that we are mere human.

The reality is that, irrespective of how we feel, we are responsible for what happens next in the midst of our fears. And, interestingly, fear itself carries within it acronyms that we could look at and decide if we want to make progress or if we want to stay put. We could either FORGET EVERYTHING AND RUN.....

 or FACE EVERYTHING AND RISE.....

The difference between defeat or victory in our lives will depend to a great extent on how we choose to handle our fears. We can decide to stop working towards our dreams or goals because of the foreboding we may have based on whatever facts or experiences we may have had...or we may decide to use our fears as the springboard to go forward no matter what. The choice ultimately is up to us individually.

But we must never forget...that nothing good and enduring in this life truly comes easy and that we will need to push ourselves a little bit more if we are ever going to excel or achieve some of our dreams. This life doesn't offer free lunches, it's one reality that we must all be willing to come to terms with. Every one of us will have obstacles to face, mountains to climb and battles we just have to win. If we truly value our lives and our dreams, we must be really ready to soldier on irrespective of the pains we may suffer along the way. Besides, any fear we have is what we choose to have and not necessarily what we should have. It's up to us.

This year, resolve in your heart and mind that you will give a few things a better go this time around. That exam you've been dreading for a while now because you've failed it a couple of times; that business you so love but somehow still has refused to pan out well for you; that relationship that keeps failing to be because you keep losing your guts; that job that you keep missing because you always lose your way at the last minute.

Everybody has a fear. But the presence of fear doesn't mean something is impossible to achieve. Fear is just a material that cloaks the reality of what is obtainable. I would rather you face your fears and rise up to the occasion that only you can.

What will you do now, my friend? Keep on running and stalling or take the bull by the horns and climb up your ladder of victory and success?

HERE WE GO AGAIN!!!

Happy New Year folks! Welcome to a new year, a new season and possibly a rewarding and very profitable twelve months for all of us. I see goodness, great things, breakthroughs and plenty, plenty testimonies on the horizon! It's going to be a good year, my friends, and I sincerely hope you're as hopeful and expectant as I am.

I bet you are. Quite a number of us have already made new year resolutions, while some of us have heard from some of our religious leaders that what we really need are new year revelations. Whether you have a resolution or a divine revelation as to how you want this year to run for you, it's all good. Our dreams matter to every one of us and achieving them is key to our fulfillment and sanity. We must achieve important goals this year, we must improve on what we accomplished from previous years. And as long as you see yourself walking up the ladder of success, that's all good.

But there's something I really need to bring to our attention here. Quite a number of us have stepped into 2015 with virtually the same mindset that we've had in previous years...the same mindset that didn't produce much for us in time past, and we just think it's all in the new resolutions and the new revelations. We probably think all we need to do is press the dream button and everything will start to fall into place.

Ehh...so sorry, but we will need to wake up from whatever sleep we're presently in and face the reality of how life really works. By now you should have realized that dreams do not automatically happen and that even after your new resolution and new revelation, something  needs to be added to them for your dreams to make it out of your mind and head into the world of reality. Something so obvious and key but yet so rarely given the prized attention it deserves. It's called SELF-DISCIPLINE and we are all going to need it in greater measure this year if we are ever going to see those dreams come true.

Self-discipline will ensure that journey we've started towards our dream does not end prematurely. It's the main fuel that drives us, most times slowly but definitely surely towards our dreams. No matter how much we've jumped and shouted about our new year resolutions and new year revelations, without cultivating this essential spirit of self-control, we may as well just wave a very big goodbye to our dreams for 2015.

Having self-discipline will help us reduce our excuses. Even when things don't really turn out as pretty as we expect them to, we don't lose focus because of this one very important virtue. Self-discipline helps build our character and confidence, helps improve our responsibility rate and persistence levels, it helps us to strive steadily towards our goals, helps to give good value to our work, helps us with our leadership thrust, can improve our businesses and can also help increase how and what we earn. Self-discipline will certainly have a positive effect on how we handle our time, and is guaranteed to help improve our happiness, marriages, families and friendships....if we will all be willing to put ourselves under some more control than before. Self-discipline will guarantee success if we will just calm down and let it be our mantra and pivotal principle for 2015.

Let's not repeat this year those things that didn't give us any success in previous years. Sometimes the vision, dream or plan could be great and mind-blowing, but because self-discipline is absent all that ends up being a waste and the year itself ends up being filled with frustrations and disappointments.

It was Walt Disney who said that, "All our dreams can come true if we have the courage to pursue them." I believe him. Not because it's a statement that bounces off positively inside my spirit, but because he has been proven time and time over that it is true.

I don't intend to be disappointed this year and so I'm ready to push my self-discipline levels up another notch in the different areas of my life that I've targeted need change. I need serious success and believe I will get it; but I will only deserve it if I'm committed to work hard towards it.

Are you ready? I am.

GET READY TO DEFINE 2015

 

Whether or not we like it, this year will end...and soon too. We may not have achieved everything we wanted this year but time isn't going to wait for us to see if per chance some of our expectations will still come true. While it is still very possible that we could still see some dreams happen before the year ends, I think it would be most advisable that we begin to plan ahead for the coming year. And the sooner we set on doing that, the better.

The reality is that quite a number of our results or a lack of them this year were based entirely on how we planned for them and also on how we went about to execute our plan. Life is primarily about cause and effect, and so what you put into it will determine what most likely you will get out of it. We will need to avoid the temptation of sulking all over the place about what and what didn't happen for us this year and instead take a very deep and cursory look at what we may have done or not done for us not to have had our desired results for 2014. It's called stock-taking and if we're honest and sincere enough with ourselves, we should be able to come up with a very fair and unbiased assessment of ourselves and how we've handled this year. It should show us what we did and got right, and what we did and got wrong. In any case, the main thing is to improve on our results in the coming year.

To ensure that we get results in the coming year, we must be ready to properly define how it will be for us. We can't afford to gamble our way through 2015 and certainly can't depend on luck to happen for us. Our lives are too precious and important to be lived based on chance, it is not even the way to live. So, here are a few pointers that I believe will help us achieve our goals for the coming year if we're willing and ready to apply ourselves to them:

Be Sincere

If you don't really desire a change in your life, then there's no need to have any expectation.  But if you desire change, then you must be very sincere about it. You must mean it. It mustn't just be one of those things we do because we see others do them. Change is only going to be possible if you're first of all sincere about it, because it is only then that you will now have the necessary drive to push forward towards your goal. Be sincere about yourself and also about the real change you truly want. Sincerity is the truth and is also the foundation for good progress.

Be Positive

You can't aspire towards change with a double-mind, with a mind that wants to push on one  minute and then the next minute wants to give up. No. You've got to be positive-minded about your goals and expectation for 2015 and not be sidetracked by anything contrary to your dreams. This is very important because it will not always be smooth sailing as you trudge along gradually and steadily towards your expectations. Keep your eyes on the goal no matter what.

Be Patient

Patience is a virtue many of us lack yet need for us to ever see our dreams come true. Our expectations are usually in a straight line inside our heads (as we've planned) but our realities are usually in a maze as we come to eventually realize. It doesn't necessarily mean that our dreams are wrong or impossible to attain but that there will always be circumstances and situations outside our realm of control that we must need to put up with as we work on getting to our goals.

Be Certain

You must be sure of where you want to go or get to in the coming year otherwise there's no point at all aspiring to get anywhere. Being certain of what you want helps you to stay the course and gives you an internal push that can't be given to you by anyone else, even those closest to you. Be clear about what you want and be certain about it. Then all your efforts towards it will not be scattered into other endeavors and you will have the necessary strength and staying power to pull through whenever obstacles or distractions come up to derail your journey.

Be Ready

Taking responsibility for your own journey is very important as no one else will do that for you. Being responsible means you're willing and ready to face whatever comes, that you're willing and ready to make the necessary tough calls, and that you're willing and ready to accept whatever outcomes may reveal themselves as a result of whatever judgment calls you made in the face of whatever situation that comes your way. Being ready will mean your being disciplined and diligent for your cause and would entail owning your decisions and actions. After all, it's your good life you seek for 2015 and so you better be ready to fight for it.

These are but a few vital principles that we must all take to heart as we approach the New Year. If we can adhere to them passionately, we stand a great chance of giving 2015 a good definition that in turn will lead to the attainment of good results.

I've already started putting my plans in place; I strongly suggest that you do likewise.

THE YEAR IS ENDING....

In about nineteen days or less, this year would be over. And it has indeed been a year filled with lots and loads of events and stories; the good, the bad, the ugly, the bizarre, the expected, the unexpected, etc, etc. All around the globe and in many spheres of endeavors different things have happened, to people, countries and continents. And you and I have been a major part in it, whether or not we believe it.

When the year started in January 1, I know I had hopes and expectations, and I'm pretty certain you did too. And I can say that those hopes and expectations were hinged upon certain dreams we all had from the previous year which we carried into this year and for which our desire meters (desireometer...my own phrase) was on a very serious high. I know that I felt like a man filled with some dream gas, intoxicated with so many dreams inside my head that at times I was guilty of causing my own confusion! But I won't be surprised if I was never the only one.

I said  Happy New Year! like everybody else and my eagerness just couldn't wait for the first few days in January to start.

I listened eagerly and with rapt attention at the preachings of my pastor as he detailed out God's plan for us all this year and I did my personal best to personalize the messages as much as I could. I sat down and penned down personal plans that included writing and releasing new books, audio and video products, improve on the excellence and regularity of my blog posts, starting my YouTube podcast as well as having my own radio program, roll out my dream empowerment seminar series and seriously improve on my financial investments, work on improving my health and seeing to it that I end this bachelorhood phase that I've been in for quite some time now. My expectations were quite more than I've listed above and I know quite a number of people also had a vast array of expectations too.

But the burning hope inside my heart that gave fuel to my passion and desire for the new year was soon to dissipate when reality hit me,

when I realized that there really is a marked difference between my expectations and my eventual realities. That my expectations were too much in a straight line whereas my reality was far much more complicated than that. That I had to wake up from my dream and properly face the realities on ground; the realities that my expectations were just too perfect but that my realities weren't.

So I've gone through 2014 with dogged determination based on all the great things I saw ahead of me in my mind but I also faced equally dogged obstacles that I'd not factored into the new year when it began. Mistakes have been made and opportunities missed. But I still have to keep on pushing on because the year still has some days left.

Now, I don't know if any of my dreams yet unfulfilled so far will eventual happen and I'm pretty sure there's little or no time for them to, but I would not because of that stop trying because I do realize that my efforts now are still forming foundations for my possible results or breakthroughs in the coming future. That future may be in the next nineteen days or it may actually be in the coming year, but I will keep on pushing on because I've come to realize that sometimes, the fact that you are slow does not mean that you are late. As long as I eventually get to my destination, that's all that will ever matter.

So, yes, this year is gradually grinding to an end but my own plans and expectations aren't. If some of them don't come true before December rolls out, I will wait for them in 2015 because I know I've sown some very precious seeds of proper planning and hard work and also because I know that I deserve my results. I will surely wait....

Is anyone with me on this?

FINALLY OUT!!!

The much-awaited second page-turner from my esteemed hot brain has finally landed! GIFTED! is now finally out and is guaranteed to bless your mind beyond measure! So, hurry and get your valued copies NOW!!!!

To get a copy, kindly send me an email on "michaelibiorika@gmail.com" or call me on 08062285589.

You will love this book...that I guarantee!

LEADING OF A DIFFERENT KIND (PART TWO)

In Part Two of this informative series, we will continue to look at the traits of the two kinds of leaders hip we have, that of the ruler and that of the leader.

THE BLAMER VERSUS THE FIXER

The ruler likes to blame others for what he may perceive as inefficiency or ineffectiveness by those under him. He rarely comes up with solutions but more often than not orders that the situation be rectified as fast as possible otherwise there would be consequences. He loves to put pressure on his subordinates and relishes the role of letting them know that they failed or that their incompetence is the reason why certain things have not worked out in the organization

The leader, on the other hand, takes a different approach. Even when he is fully aware that his subordinates were actually responsible for failure in certain regards, he still looks for a solution as quickly as he can to the problem. He does not shirk his responsibility of letting them know that they fell short of expectation, but certainly does not spend precious time hounding them over it as he realizes that there is precious work to be done and goals to be accomplished. So, he does the best he can to help them find a workable solution to the problem at hand.

THE KNOWER VERSUS THE SHOWER

The ruler always believes he knows a lot and far much more than the rest. He, however, only talks loads about what he knows but hardly puts any effort into showing what he claims to know. He feels no obligation in doing so as he thinks that everyone should be sensible enough to see that the position he occupies speaks of his brilliance. So, he cares less. Instead he likes to take all the credit.

The leader takes a very different approach. He is one who understands that knowledge is not an exclusive preserve of a certain few and also that no one can create knowledge, but that knowledge is encountered. On the backdrop of that, therefore, he does the best he can to show those working under him how it is meant to be done. He is not an armchair critic who may or may not have the gift of suave oratory, but is one who is much more concerned with teaching others because he is well aware that once they have been taught, the rest becomes easy. The leader then gives credit to whom it is due after his subordinate has gone ahead and used what he has taught him to achieve a desired result.