THE TRUTH, THE WHOLE TRUTH, NOTHING BUT THE TRUTH

Preachers have a tendency to exaggerate.

In a bid to make the illustrations, the descriptions, the stories more appealing to the ear, preachers sometimes lean towards exaggerating scenarios.

The aim is to ensure the full, rapt attention of the audience is captured. So, the stories are embellished here and there in order to 'fill the time' and delight the audience.

I've been under ministrations where it is clearly evident that the stories being spewed out by the minister were fabrications.

Most times this is explained away as 'using one's imaginations'. We'll, I call it falsehood, lies!

You have no reason to fabricate stories to capture the attention of your audience. If you have to embellish your descriptions and fabricate stories, it only shows you do not have content, you did not prepare enough!

Proper preparation prevents poor performance! Adequate studying, praying, and meditation will give you access to more than enough inspirations to minister effectively to the people.

Your job is not to keep them merely entertained, your job is to initiate a process of positive change in their lives. You cannot achieve that on the platform of falsehood.

As a communicator, resolve to tell the people the Truth, the whole Truth, and nothing but the Truth.

Good morning.

THE VALLEY EXPERIENCE

The last Salah holiday was quite an experience for me.

I had gone to the hospital the previous Wednesday to find out the cause of the feverish feelings and the weakness I was feeling.

Malaria was diagnosed.

I was given medications.

Then things went from bad to worse.

I got home on Thursday a different person.
I was seeing double, hearing things. My ringing phone sounded like a train was about to run me down. I jumped at every small sound. I must have starred in over 5 blockbuster movies, all while lying down on my bed. My imagination went agog, I simply lost control of my mind!

I cut my well groomed afro (e pain me ehn!), switched off all my phones, stayed indoors, all shades covered, all windows closed. Neither helped.

The hallucinations were horrendous!

Sure enough, I went back to the hospital, where I was told that the drug I was given was Quinine based.

Quinine and I are not friends! It has a way of turning me into a ghost of myself. My body turns white, hitching continuously, my nostrils become blocked, my breathing in spasms, and I feel larger than life, in an uncomfortable way.

I run from it, proverbially, with my heels touching the back of my head. But this was 'disguised'.

Anyways, I was told to let the drug wear off, in other words, 'you're stuck with this bro'.

It was a valley experience for me, and it got me thinking:

*Surviving the valley experience is a function of the amount of reserves you have from the mountain experience. I couldn't pray, I could not eat, I couldn't sing. I just rolled and rolled and yes, hallucinated. So while on the mountain, pray up!

*You need REAL friends during your valley experience. When you are having a valley experience, you are at the mercy of others. God help you if you're surrounded by haters! This underscores the need to wisely choose your inner caucus. It's not because of the good times, anybody is your friend when the going is good. But it's in the valley you get to know friends from 'frienimies'.

*Know yourself, what hurts you, what you react to, and run from such. What you don't know can kill you. What caregivers don't know about you can likewise kill you. It's their duty as well as yours to ensure that doesn't happen.

*Valley dwellers can't help you escape the valley. You need folks higher up to pull you up! In my case, what I needed was a good doctor. The key word here being, "GOOD".

I'm back at the hospital to conduct more tests, just to be sure the malaria is gone out of my system. I'm climbing back to the mountain top.

On another note, I still feel the medical practice in Lagos needs some attention. It would appear the care giving aspect has become secondary, attention is paid more to number of hours clocked. I know some amazing doctors, but I dare say too few.

Maybe I'm wrong, but that's the impression I get; but that's a story for another day.

To everyone going through the valley experience, hang on, help will locate you!

DEAR COMMUTER

Dear Commuter,
We know you have your own car. However, while you are in this bus, you are a passenger; therefore, behave!

It’s a vehicle, not your living room. Except you’re paying more than others (which I seriously doubt), give room for others- close your legs!

I know you’re tired and need to sleep. Aren’t we all? If you must sleep, don’t drool. If you are a known ‘drooler’, don’t sleep!

If you really have to sleep, try not to snore, at least not so loudly!

The neck bone isn’t that strong, support it, else you hurt yourself, but surely not on another commuter’s shoulders.

Yeah, the driver has no ‘conductor’, when passing your fare, PLEASE don’t poke!

We know you love the news/music/videos and you’ll love to listen on your mobile, but some of us just want some silence, as much as the driver would give. There’s a small accessory called headphone/earpiece. They are not that expensive. Get one!

So you got a call. We aren’t interested in the details of your conversation. Stop shouting at us all in the name of receiving a call.

Conductors no dey send o. More often than not they leave you be if you respect yourself. Borrow yourself some brain, maintain! Don’t attempt to initiate a brawl, trust me, you’ll regret it. You probably work in an office, while his entire world is violence. Even if you manage to beat him, you’ll likely suffer some hits. My advice- Be humble! The conductor is human too, respect his office.

Stop complaining about the traffic. Stop nagging the driver. Stop dictating where he should ‘follow’. You’re not helping matters joor, only spiking tension in the bus!

He’s doing 60-70KM already, but you want him to go faster? Bros, next time chatter a chopper! Better still, leave home earlier!

Hey, you two. Must you talk about your neighbor in the bus? Have some decency, at least gossip in whispers!

Bros, your shoes! What’s that smell oozing from them!? Nna, consider us na, improve on your personal hygiene!

“Do you know who I am?” How are we supposed to know who you are, when you don’t know who you are?

Yours sincerely,
Fellow Commuter.

TIME TO PARTY

Parties happen all the time. The birth of a baby, the celebration of a new union, burial of an aged father, house warming… And we invite all kinds of people. I’ve seen all sorts of people at such events, and tonight, I’d like to document a few!

The Impatient
Always in a hurry. They act as if every other person who has come to the event are jobless and time-wasters. They make their impatience so glaring to the point of irritation, unfortunately for them, they are oblivious of the tension their snide comments are creating in the air. Be wary of them, because when they are allowed to roam too freely, their sarcasm becomes infectious.

The Opportunists / The Scavengers
Food vultures, gift magnets. They pack food like they expect a famine the following day. They'd collect and store as if they are getting ready for hibernation. Nothing misses them. Even the very thing they are allergic to, they’d struggle to collect. Without any iota of shame, they’d lie, patronize, beg, fight and do practically anything to ensure no ‘freebie’ passes them by. They’d change seats to where the ‘sharing’ is happening. Look under their seats, you’d be shocked at the loadful of ‘goodies’ therein. A tramp would envy their ‘collection’ when they finally decide to leave for wherever they call home. It’s not a function of affluence, even the rich can be in this category! Keep an eye on them, they are capable of ruining your party!

The Party-ers
Partying forms a core of their existence. They are good at organizing, every party needs them. They bring the party alive! They are here, they are there, suggesting, counseling, advising, and just lending a hand. If no-one else would show up, you can be sure they’d never miss the opportunity and the offerings of a good party! Their focus is to ensure the party is lively. After-all, how can they have a lovely time if they don’t create the perfect environment! Most successful parties owe a lot to their creativity. They are more often than not sanguine in nature. If you want your party to be memorable, ensure you have them around!

The Barbies
These ones are the bling of the party. They wear the latest everything. You’d need a shovel to dig through the layers of foundation on their faces. They take selfies as if their lives depend on it. They’re not really interested in the goings-on around them. What they are sniping is ‘who wears it better then I?’ They never come alone, they need accomplices to display their charade. Make arrangement for security for the sake of the barbies, they tend to attract the wrong ‘guests’.

Party-Crashers
They know nobody, but they will attend anyways. As long as there is food, they are game. Every party has them! If you were careful enough to make yours strictly by invitation, they would surely make attempts at crashing. No harm in trying, shey?

The Helpers
They are the financiers, the friends who'd come to truly assist. They'd clean, fetch, arrange, dust, assist in any way they can. They desire that your party succeeds, and they'd help in any way they are capable. They truly care about you and your affair, and without prompting will show up to lend a hand, financially and/or morally. They’d remember the tiny details, would not shy away from the labor, will take initiative where required. They are not necessarily from within your household, but the help they render sometimes weigh more than that of family. Cherish these ones!

The Better-Than-Thou
Nobody knows how to dance; The Choir is dull;
The food is never good; The color is not perfect; The decoration is off; The MC is boring!
They’d complain about anything and everything! They’d suggest alternative ways it should have been done, and loudly too. Don’t take offense, it’s in their DNA to complain! If you were to present the party to them in the exact alternative they suggested, they’d go ahead to complain why you didn’t leave it the way it was!

The Analysts
These are the ones who will analyze every aspect of the event. They are close relatives of ‘The Better-Than-Thou’s. The dress of the bride, the groom’s appearance, the way he was pronouncing the words; the taste of the food; the way the celebrant danced. Nothing will miss their attention. They will talk about the event until another one comes along. If you’d like a record by record analysis of how the party went, these are your people!

Payback People
Yes, they gifted you with some cash, but they'll ensure they eat and drink enough to commensurate what they gave to you. They are always calculating the worth of the rice, the beef/chicken, the drinks, the souvenir, the everything! What they have eaten/taken minus what they gifted you equals their profit or loss. Like an industrious businessman, they would strive to ensure they did not make a ‘loss’.

So, which one are you?
Which ones have you encountered?
Which ones did I miss?

GET ON THE DANCE FLOOR

I welcome you into the New Year.

If you're reading this, it's an indication that you've been presented another opportunity to realize the fullness of your potentials.

In other words, while you can't dwell on the past (2017), you need to make inference to it in other to improve the present (2018) as well as the future.

The late Zig Ziglar said, "Doing the same things the same way and expecting a different result is the definition of insanity". In my own terms, drinking Fanta continuously and expecting it to taste like Coca-Cola, that's madness.

Stop blaming others for your 'woes', stop seeing the problems in every opportunities, stop seeing the cup as always half empty...

If you expect better results in 2018, then better inputs are required. QED, yes?

From my observations, the workspace has significantly moved away from the era of 'Jack of one trade, master of one...' We are in a phase of Total Service Delivery, end to end.

That being translated means it is no longer enough to be skilful in just one area. To deliver Excellent Service, multiple skills are required!

There's a quote attributed to Albert Einstein, "Everyone is a genius, but when you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its life believing itself to be a failure"

Einstein was wrong!

Yes, everyone is a genius, but in today's workspace, fairness rarely applies to recognition of skills and capabilities.

Competition has become stiffer than it used to be, and singularity of skill is no longer in vogue.

To effectively make a mark in today's workspace, the fish must learn to climb trees, the eagle must learn to swim, the monkey must find a way to fly; to distinguish oneself, diversity of skills must come to the fore!

A senior colleague (@Deen) recently sent me a message which I found inspiring.

It told the story of a man who hired a painter to paint his boat. The painter did the job he was asked to do and got paid as agreed.

Now, the most interesting part... The very following day, the owner of the boat sought out the painter, laden with emotions, bearing gifts and monetary rewards. The painter surprisingly reminded him that he already got paid for the job done.

The boat owner replied, "This is payment for the part of the job you were not informed to do but did anyway".

Here's what happened: The owner's children had come home, and seeing the boat all painted and looking dandy, decided to take it for a spin on the river. When the boat owner realized this, he was filled with fear, believing his children had definitely drowned.

He had forgotten to tell the painter that there was a hole at the bottom of the boat. While still in panic mode, he saw his children arrive safely. Upon checking, he realized the painter had repaired the hole in the boat before proceeding to paint.

His act of TOTAL SERVICE DELIVERY saved lives, and brought him great rewards.

Being a painter isn't enough, you must also learn to mend holes. Doing what you were ASKED isn't enough, you must take initiatives and be proactive.

Your service is not complete until the other party leaves fully satisfied. If you do this consistently, believe me, you will surely become the superstar, the go-to man.

Singularity of purpose is ultimate, but singularity of skill is no longer the route there.

To surpass the feats of the past year, some things have to give: attitudes must change, you must take responsibility for your life, words and actions; you must become a better you!

In this New Year, think diversity, think excellence, think SERVICE.

Opportunities, they say, dance with those who are already on the dance floor. In 2018, I challenge you to position yourself for great achievements.

So, #GetOnTheDanceFloor!

(c) @MotivatedDave, 2018

Oba Akiolu’s Utterances- How does it affect the Church?

I read the threat.
I had a singular feeling- disgust!

Orubebe came to mind. And I kept thinking, ‘Leadership ain’t for the emotionally extravagant’

That’s not the crux of this note.

I’m concerned about the faith I profess. I am concerned about The church of God in Nigeria!

I’ve seen the reactions of people who I have always held in high esteem and whom I’ve always believed have successfully eliminated the tribal sentiment from their faith. I’ve been proven wrong! Disappointingly so!

My alarm stems from the bitter revelational truths that emanated from some believers’ reactions at the words that spewed from the mouth of one man. As regards the present Church in Nigeria, it would seem some unfortunate anomalies are inherent in the minds of the standard Nigerian believer.

Here are my thoughts:

1.Tribe supersedes faith: I saw ‘Yoruba Christians’ and ‘Igbo Christians’ engaged in a war of words over the utterances of a traditional ruler. I used to think once you are a Christian, you belong in the same guild with other believers! I observed painfully that that didn’t seem so. Faith seemed to be shoved aside over tribal prejudice, and it became a matter of tribal defence! I kept asking myself, ‘don’t all believers belong in the commonwealth of Israel’?

2.Believers have not learnt that we are called to be mediators! It would seem to me that those who were supposed to douse the fire of this outrage even poured more venom into the minds of their ‘followers’. I listened and tried reasoning with a number of believers and what I found out was, there are too few ‘Pastors’ in this country, and too many ‘Ecclesiastical Actors’

3.The church has become a social gathering: I say this with all sense of responsibility! It would seem that the impact the church has on the lifestyle and belief of most of her members is purely superficial. We’re building edifices, but the shallow-ness of the pew is monumental. A recipe for spiritual disaster.

4.It is easy to divide the church: All you need is to introduce the tribal divide. The bigoted tribal ‘Pastors’ will implement the destruction, free of charge. The last few days is proof enough.

5.Racism lives in us! The black race is quick to point accusing fingers at the white folks when an injustice is ‘perceived’. The last few days enlightened my understanding wider, and my suspicions were confirmed. The highest level of racism is within us! As long as we continue to feed the notion of ‘This one is mine, nobody else should partake of it’; as long as we continue to engage the feelings of being the victim, we will continue to be our own enemies. Whatever happened to, ‘The earth is the Lord’s’, whatever happened to the biblical principle of giving oneself to his neighbors, whatever happened to loving without discrimination?

6.‘Believers’ react like ‘Unbelievers’: A traditional ruler made a statement, Christians respond by antagonizing even those who are of the same faith as themselves. We forget that we wrestle not against flesh and blood. We forget that the weapons of our warfare are not canal? We forget that we are called to a ministry of reconciliation. We forget we are not moved by what we see or hear. We allow a man’s words to rile us and divide us. We forget to ask ourselves, ‘What would Jesus do?’

No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t shake the feeling that the church has not built enough character in her people to see us through trying moments. If this was a mock test for our Christian unity, then I dare say so far, we are walking the lines of failure.
My confidence in the man sitting beside me in the pews just took a painful dent. I feel I’m all alone in this struggle for unity. I dare think if my help is designed to emanate from a man who is not from my tribe, he may just choose to withhold it from me, even though we attend the same church!
Will I go to church on Sunday? Between you and I, I’m still thinking about it!

©David Babalola, 2015

How to Let Your Boss Know He is Piling too much on Your Plate!

Are you being inundated with too much tasks than you can handle at a time and you are anxious about how to tell your boss? This will help you!

The thought of telling your boss you have too much work may make you nervous. You might worry that he will pass you up for a promotion, reduce your hours or even fire you. At the same time, you might worry that overload will cause your performance to deteriorate. According to Cigna Behavioral Health, you might benefit from making a list of your concerns and rehearsing the conversation before you approach your boss. Likewise, using assertive body language while avoiding aggressive postures may help ensure that the conversation goes smoothly.

Reference Quality
Explain the situation to your boss without using words that accuse, seem judgmental or sound vague or evasive. Instead of blaming your boss for your workload, frame your concerns to focus on quality. Tell your boss that you fear the quality of your work will suffer because of an overload of projects and responsibilities. Then share how much work you feel you can complete without quality impacts. For instance, you might tell your boss you can complete four high-quality projects in a week but six would be difficult.

Give Examples
Sometimes sharing examples of troubling situations can help make your point. For example, instead of just saying you have too much work, tell your boss of a time you have been assigned several extra projects or tasks on top of your regular workload. Then explain the length of time you would need to do a good job on so many assignments. You can also give examples of situations in which you've had to work extra hours to tackle an excessive workload. For instance, you might tell your boss that you stayed late four times in the previous week to complete your assignments. In addition, it might help to prepare a chart or calendar with all of your assigned work on it along with the projected amount of time you need to complete each task. This might help your boss visualize how your projects overlap.

Discuss Deadlines
Often, the problem with burdensome workloads is that the assignments all have similar deadlines. Deal with this by discussing the projects with your boss and explaining that you cannot complete all of them within the specified time frame. Ask him to adjust or stagger the deadlines to allow you to give each project a reasonable amount of attention. This might just require you to use your boss's input to prioritize projects. For instance, your boss may determine that projects A and C are the most important to complete this week, but the project B deadline can be extended a few extra days.

Discuss Delegation
Though you may be very good at your job, you might know of some co-workers capable of taking on tasks and lightening your load. For instance, if a project needs your analysis skills but also requires fact checking, ask your boss to assign the fact-checking part of the project to an employee with a lighter workload. In addition, you might discuss delegating some general office tasks, such as typing letters, sorting through mail or filing important documents, to an office assistant or receptionist.

Focus on the Positive
Many people dislike hearing refusals, but you can soften the blow by focusing on the positives instead. Instead of saying no to the work you can't handle, say yes to the tasks you can complete. For example, tell your boss that you can prepare the financial projections for a project but that completing additional tasks would require you to sacrifice your other assignments. If your boss requests favors rather than assigning tasks, use the same strategy to help her out without getting overloaded.

The Right Tone
Never approach your boss to complain about your job, and avoid sounding angry, frustrated or despondent. Realize that your boss may also feel overworked and may be less sympathetic because of all he has on his plate. Speak with compassion and focus your concerns on the health of the company. Rather than just complaining about the amount of work you have to do, focus on presenting new solutions for getting work done on time.