The last few days of the year really present us with the opportunity to begin planning and projecting what and how the coming year will be like.

One of the reasons the end of any year catches some people unawares is because they didn’t start the year early or well. So, by the time it is the middle of the year or third quarter of the year, they then begin to ask themselves where the days, months went to. You then begin to hear things like how time flies.

This then triggers the fire brigade approach just to ensure that they at least hit some set goals before the year ends. This approach strains us, stresses us, and gets us feeling kind of overwhelmed. Year in, year out we don’t get to achieve much and this seems to be the status quo.

I know you are tired of this pattern and really desire to grow and achieve your goals. You really want change but you do not know how to go about it. You desire to be more, to do more, and have more but then you have been getting the same results every year.

Here is what you should do friend, just START WELL!

Starting the year well is entirely dependent on you. You are the singular determining factor of your outcome. I want you to critically think about this: Of what purpose is a new year, new resolutions, new goals, new wishes, new dreams without a new you.

A new year is influenced by your plan, the people around you, and how you position yourself. A new year requires a great planned beginning. Remember they say if you fail to plan, then you have planned to fail. Planning is key.

This plan is what will position you to meet the kind of people who will help you, support you and encourage you to achieve your set goals. What exactly is the juice of life without accomplishments? Accomplishments give you personal fulfillment, pride, and joy.

Honestly, time is life. There is no time to waste living life in circles or chasing small dreams or achieving uninspiring goals. Do yourself a favor to ask for help in living the life of your dream, ask a mentor or life coach and start working on your plans as soon and as best as you can.

As a quote I read somewhere; “Early is on time and on time is now.”

The best time is now to start your new year well and great. Do what you must friend and ensure you are starting well.

 

Love is all I have,
Atinuke Odjenima
Transformational Growth Catalyst

I was reflecting on the recent Ikoyi building collapse and I was considering possible causes, what really went wrong. While there are a lot of factors that might have contributed to the collapse of the structure, one thing that struck my mind, which I will be discussing, is how we as Nigerian seem to have a culture of just doing things anyhow.

There was a project to be executed but the supervisors probably didn’t do a thorough job in ensuring the quality of work done met the required standards. The laborers also were probably only concerned about earning their pay and didn’t care about how the quality of their job would affect the overall project.

This isn’t an unlikely scenario, if you have had any form of renovations in your home, you’d agree that a good percentage of artisans have a very lackadaisical attitude to work, if you aren’t there to breathe on their necks as they work be sure to get a tardy, shoddy job.

However, this poor attitude of not being thorough doesn’t only apply to artisans alone but is seen in almost every sector. When a task is set before a typical Nigerian, more often than not they do it anyhow. Anyhow; meaning that they do not follow due process, aren’t thorough, skip necessary steps and checks, aren’t concerned about the quality of work done. We just want to be able to say we did the task regardless of how well it was done, we believe the end always justifies the means.

Many people go to school just to get a certificate and be able to get a job in the future and therefore do all it takes to do just that. They bribe their way through school, cheat in exams, buy certificates, and so on, forgetting that the primary purpose of education is to be imparted with knowledge and the certificate is just proof of the process.

In business, we see that many businesses, sole proprietorship especially do not follow a proper structure, all the business owners care about is that they make a profit and for as long as the profits are rolling in, they’re satisfied and do not see the need to have a well-designed structure. But when there is a change in ownership the business collapses. It is rare to see Nigerian businesses that survive more than one generation.

In governance it is even more pronounced; the best hands are not hired and it is impossible to get quality results. The government spends about three months repairing a particular road only for it to begin developing potholes after 2 weeks.

To drive it home, as basic as cooking many Nigerians don’t follow recipes. There is no precise measurement for salt or other spices used when cooking or the precise timing for the process, we rely on our instinct and experience to guide us and many times we can’t predict the outcome of the meal and cannot accurately replicate a dish.

The reason for this ‘I don’t care any which way, attitude may not be clear but it has got to stop. We cannot make any sustainable progress or achievement by doing things anyhow. There cannot be growth and advancement in our country if the quality and standard of almost everything is poor.

We need to develop a culture of being deliberate and thorough with our duties. We must stop focusing on the end result alone but also the necessary requirements, due process, and quality.

 

Love is all I have,
Atinuke Odjenima
Transformational Growth Catalyst

I once read somewhere that children are the messages we send to the future, I find it profound. So it got me thinking, what exactly are we sending to the future. You can choose to think about it in a global context but for my message, I will narrow it to the immediate context of the clime where we are; Nigeria, Africa.

How are we raising our children? How are we really preparing them for tomorrow? What problems are we grooming them to solve? What values are we inculcating in them? are we as parents, guardians, caregivers, adults modeling the right moral values and life perspective to them? Sincerely what really can we see tomorrow?

Oh, pardon me too many questions right? Well don’t mind me, these are questions that engulf my thoughts when I see the level of moral decadence and loss of values in our children and how most of us as parents and guardians excuse these shortcomings.

Could it even be that it is a way to defend our irresponsibility or failures? It appears that we have successfully raised arrogant and proud children and we call it confidence. We have underplayed respect and tagged it old school, we are raising a spoon-fed generation of children and we deceive ourselves and say we don’t want them to suffer what we suffered.

Today’s society has evolved to a point where we are so consumed with working hard to provide our children all comfort and the best of what money can buy. To this effect, many parents no longer have time to cater to their children and see to their proper upbringing.

We rely on schools, churches, mosques, and chief of all -the media, to fill the vacuum.

When we are home with the children after stressing ourselves out with work, we keep them distracted/engaged with gadgets; phones, video games, television. After spending so much time away from home, when we are home we are still not present in the lives of our children. We want to keep them occupied so we allow them unlimited access to the media.

The truth is children are largely influenced by media; music, movies, and other entertainment. They tend to copy what they see on the screen. Our children want to emulate what they see: the young musician with bling, fame, money, and indecent lifestyle.  They want quick, easy money, fame, accolades and as portrayed in the media our children want to go into movies or music to find expression in politics. They have seen and heard of the flamboyant and luxurious lifestyle our political class is living.

They even want to become pastors because they are rich influential and famous, gone are those days when pastoral work was modest and noble.

Please don’t get me wrong, I do not mean that there are no reputable, hard-working, and decent musicians, actors, politicians, and spirit-filled pastors. I do not at all intend to undermine the efforts, hard work these sets of people put into their work. I honestly appreciate the creativity and doggedness.

I am simply highlighting the negative impact of leaving our children to be parented by the media. We need to be more deliberate in inculcating the right values and morals in them.  More importantly, we need to consciously take time to model exemplary behaviours to our children. They need us to be present in their lives, they need us to show them the way and to lead them in the way they should go.

We shouldn’t just entrust them to schools or the media, our children require our consistent presence, guidance, and leading.

Our duty as parents is not only limited to providing quality education, comfortable shelter, clothing, or nourishing food.  Although catering to these needs is a daunting task in itself for parents, they still need more.

What kind of children do you envision? How do you hope they would turn out? What are you really doing to make this vision a reality?

Beyond providing all forms of comfort, are you imbibing in them the character, habits, mindset, and skillset that would position them for success?

Development of character and values such as integrity, modesty, respect, and compassion is important. You else need to help them discover, develop and maximize their talents and gifting, equip them with the right mindset which will give them a positive perspective to life.

These attributes will almost take the first 20 to 22 years of our children’s lives for them to be fully formed and mature into their life’s purpose.

Even at the community and national level, a lot needs to be done. When we look at Nigeria’s budgetary allocation for critical sectors such as; education, science, and technology, health, it becomes apparent that we are only paying lip service to securing our future.

Asides from the infrastructural deficit in these sectors, what about the quality of staff being engaged? Are they competent for their assigned roles? Have we put in place an environment for children that would encourage innovations and inventions?

With the current situation, we can only expect total failure. No wonder the search for leaders in all spheres across the globe is on the increase.

There is an indirect communication our children are demanding of us to lead them, role model them, consistently guide and guard them holding their hand and helping them to see the light they carry. let’s not pay lip service to raising our children, let’s provide for them strong values high moral standards and a sense of purpose for living.

Love is all I have,
Atinuke Odjenima
Transformational Growth Catalyst