Posts in category: Leaders Connect

No matter how long you live on earth, if you don’t do anything to make it impactful, you have not lived a truly fulfilling life. Some people live for many years on earth without making any tangible influence on anyone or anything. While some others live just a few years and leave a legacy to be remembered and treasured forever.

Abraham Lincoln said…” In the end, it’s not the years in your life that count. It’s the life in your years.  That’s the word on marble from a leader that lived quality and impactful life.

You need to change your thought pattern. Stop measuring the true essence of life by the number of years a person lives. Rather, it should be by the quality that was spent in living those years. No matter how young a person was before death. The true measure of his life is in the way of life he lived and the number of people he touched and influenced positively.

You still have life, make good use of it. Dedicate to improving yourself the best way you can, so that other people’s lives can be turned around by your lifestyle and what you stand for. Everyone prays to live long, but the true essence of life is not in the length of years one lives, but in the quality of the number of years.

Make your years on earth count!

It is important for us to know that we won’t always win in life. But,this is no reason for us to feel bad or think that we are outright failures. We must understand that sometimes in life we will fall and when we do, we must not remain on the ground, we have to get up and keep moving.

I so much love this quote by Jay Z… “I will not lose, for even in defeat, there’s a valuable lesson learned, so it evens up for me”

Now, that is the spirit! There is always a lesson to be learnt whether we win or lose. The only time that it would be a loss is when the person has not identified the reason for the loss and learnt from it, so that such won’t repeat itself anymore. Life is full of lessons, we learn everyday either from good or bad experiences. And if we think deeply, we would find out that it is to bring out the best in us.

Life is a Teacher, learn from it!

A tale was told about two young men who were sailing on the sea. The first man asked the other if he had any knowledge about the Arts and he replied, No! Man A thought it was strange that his friend didn’t know anything about his area of specialty, which to him was an important aspect of life. He told his friend that he was disappointed that he was living a boring life.

Few minutes on, a storm started and the two men were scared their boat would capsize. Then, Man B asked his friend Man A if he could swim. With fear in his eyes, he answered “NO”. Man B saw it as an opportunity to also rub it in that his friend was living a dangerous life because he couldn’t swim and was going to lose his life if the boat happened to capsize.

It is important for us to understand the uniqueness in our diversities as a people. We must understand that we were created differently and by so doing, have our unique abilities.

Albert Einstein in one of his quotes says…” Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by it’s the ability to climb a tree, it will live it’s whole life believing that it is stupid”. The natural habitat of a fish is in water, and it’s form of locomotion is swimming. How then is it possible that this same fish will be able to climb a tree like a Monkey?

It is wrong for us to expect that a person should be able to function in an area where he knows little or nothing about. We were all born differently with distinct features and capabilities and we must learn to appreciate each other for that.

What makes the world beautiful is how we all harness our different abilities to achieve greatness together.

There is unity and beauty in diversity.

According to a popular Chinese proverb, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”. What this means is that for you to get anywhere, attain any height or reach any goal, you have to take that first bold step.

To achieve your dreams in life, you must erase every thought that you don’t have what it takes to start or you are not well equipped for the journey ahead. This quote by Arthur Ashe is so instructive “ Start where you are. Use what you have. Do what you can”.

Who says you can’t start small? Who says you have to wait till you have everything you think you need to set your goals rolling? Begin with the little you have and from wherever you are. With dedication and determination, you will achieve your goal and even surpass it.

If you decide to wait till you have everything figured out, you may have to wait for long, and if not careful, forever.

Life will not always present us with what we ask of it, it is left to us to make do with whatever we have at our disposal. There is no shame in starting small, the real shame is in not starting at alI.

I’ll leave you with no choice, get to work now or NOW!

Every day, we get hurt by People whether intentionally or unintentionally. They could be our friends, foes or even family members. No matter how hard we try, we can not escape being hurt by People every once in a while. But what’s important is how we respond when we find ourselves in such situations.

A lot of people like going by the saying “ An eye for an eye”, some say “do me I do you” meaning that “if you hurt me, I hurt you right back! But if we think deeply, we will find out that there’s more to life than taking revenge. When you take revenge, you bring yourself to the level of your offender and that portrays you as being weak and immature.

Check out this quote from Mahatma Gandhi….” An eye for an eye only ends up making the whole world blind”. Imagine that we all take revenge on everyone that hurts us, the world would have gone bizarre by now. Everything will be upside down by now.

But you see, the beauty of life is the ups and downs, the good and bad, the right and the wrong. We find joy and fulfillment when we are part of the ones that stay on the right path to ensure that the world is not destroyed by the evildoers.

Which path would you rather be on?

It’s funny how some people try to avoid being criticized. They never want anyone to disapprove of whatever they say or do.

Oftentimes, people that are guilty of such funny traits are either those that feel inadequate and lack confidence in themselves, or the ones that are overconfident. Those who always think they are too big to be judged. They forget that not all criticisms are destructive but constructive most of the time.

Criticism is an integral part of our lifes as human beings. There’s no perfect being on earth and that is why, at one point or the other, we need people around us to analyse our works and attitudes. See, as long as you’re a living being, you need criticism to make you a better person.

Aristotle in one of his quotes on criticism says….”There is only one way to avoid criticism: do nothing, say nothing, and be nothing”

Ponder on that quote and you’ll understand that the only person that has immunity from being criticized is the dead. In as much as you engage in one activity or the other, you talk and have conversations with people, you will definitely be criticized!

Why then don’t you embrace criticism? Especially when it is targeted at working on your weak points to make you an improved version of yourself.

All the best!

In our pursuit of greatness, we are sometimes faced with sudden disappointments. It may be the loss of a job or losing out at the verge of reaching our goals. This hits so badly we tend to break down, thinking all hope is lost. But we need to understand that everything happens for a reason.

That disappointment might have happened because there is something better in store for you. I love this quote by Helen Keller, “When one door of happiness closes, another opens, but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one that has been opened for us”.

We need to understand when to hold on and when it’s time to walk away from something that is obviously not working in our favour.

We need to look around us for greater and better opportunities, rather than dissipate energy trying to resuscitate a dead course. We must learn from it and move on because if we dwell too much on it, we may get carried away and end up missing out on the fresh opportunity that the disappointment birthed.

Leave the past where it belongs. Let bygones be bygones.

A new chapter is open for you!

Whatever you do in life, make sure you’re making a forward movement. It doesn’t matter how fast or slow you move. Just ensure you are making progress and getting better at whatever you set out to do.

Martin Luther King Jr in one of his quotes says,…” If you can’t fly, then run. If you can’t run, then walk, if you can’t walk, then crawl, but whatever you do, you have to keep moving forward”.

There is absolutely nothing anyone can achieve by being stagnant. Because a stagnant person has nothing he or she looks forward to in life. His dreams are empty and however has no drive to push and want to more in life.

I bet you want to be that person. Why don’t you make that move now!

People say you are skilled at talking. You know it’s true because talking is your forte. You talk so much you even wear yourself out at times and when you talk, you want everyone to listen.

Hey, give yourself a break! There’s more to life than you being the center of attention all the time.

Life doesn’t revolve around you alone. Life is all about give and take. You talk, someone else listens. You listen, someone else does the talking. We all learn one thing or the other from each other, no matter how insignificant the other person may seem.

Mardy Grothe has an important message for you, “ Instead of talking in the hope that people will listen, try listening in the hope that people will talk”.

Nobody has the monopoly of knowledge. Give other people the chance to express themselves. It will amaze you how much You can equally learn from them.

Make that Change!

The fact that everyone is moving in that direction doesn’t make it acceptable, neither does it make it the best way to go. How about you change the narrative? Dare to be different!

It is so easy for people to jump on the bandwagon these days. Once they see a particular idea, product, or service working for someone, they automatically think it’s the way to go. Everyone wants to do the same thing. What makes you think you can’t do better? What makes you think you can’t set the pace for others to follow?

I’m particularly in love with this quote by the great Margaret Thatcher, “Don’t follow the crowd, let the crowd follow you”. It’s as simple as it sounds, never be the one to adjust to the dictates of the crowd, rather, be the one that calls the shot.

You can’t continue to live another person’s dream. You have to fashion out your life such that you will also be a point of reference for people to follow. Don’t limit yourself, stretch your imagination, dare to stand out from the crowd, and do something that will make people gravitate towards you as well.

You can do it!