YEASTY

YEASTY

The rise of a man is dependent on the plans, actions, and steps of that man; no one rises without the necessary ingredients put into the preparation and the making such person. Yeast is to flour as action is to ambition. As Richelle Goodrich once said, "Like yeast, it’s impressive how considerably an ounce of determination can make one’s efforts grow and expand."

Many things can be yeasts to our rising, success, breakthrough, some of which are determination, focus, hard-work, and enthusiasm. When the right amount of determination is put into effort, one can expect rising, and considerable amount of good results, and like Henry Ford said, "Enthusiasm is the yeast that makes your hopes shine to the stars. Enthusiasm is the sparkle in your eyes, the swing in your gait. The grip of your hand, the irresistible surge of will and energy to execute your ideas." enthusiasm is a great deal of ingredient for success.

Everything that one does has a way of multiplying, good or evil, right or wrong, life will always have its way on any course or cause. We must therefore concentrate on doing the things we want to have more of.

In preparing the life of your dreams, make efforts never to leave out anything important, every ingredient is as important as the other. However tasty, delicious, yummy, and nice a loaf of bread may or could be, it would not rise without yeast. No ingredient is negligible, all is important. All men cannot be everything, but all men should be what they can be, and make efforts to be the best for themselves and their world.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

XYLOTOMOUS

XYLOTOMOUS

When superficially examined, most issues in life does not reveal the real and actual causes and effects of different actions and reactions. Unfortunately, most people do not go beyond the superficial examination into the depth and root of matters, this in turn gives them a shallow knowledge and understanding of real issues.

You cannot be who you really want to be, and who you really should be, of you do not dog deep into why you are here; if you do not ask the tough questions, you cannot get the right answers to the most important questions of life. The quality of questions one ask will determine the quality of answers he will get in the quest to becoming who he ought to become.

Many times, on the journey of life, we get pushed to the wall, we get to limits we do not envisage, we get exhausted, tired, and weak, it is in those moments that we must dig deep into our resolve, into the reason for which we started this cause, it is in that time like Ryan Shay said, "It is necessary to dig deep within oneself to discover the hidden grain of steel called will."

Never settle at the surface, the surface is controlled by the core, but to get to the core, you need to dig deep. Life does not happen at the surface, but at the depth. Go beyond what you can see into the unseen, explore your hidden potentials, uncover your purpose, find your reason, make your life worth more than what the eyes can see, but what the heart, and the soul can feel, and be remembered for.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

WATERTIGHT

WATERTIGHT

John Green once said, "Each of us starts out as a watertight vessel. And these things happen - these people leave us, or don't love us, or don't get us, or we don't get them, and we lose and fail and hurt one another. And the vessel starts to crack open in places ...Once the vessel cracks open, the end becomes inevitable... But there is all this time between when the cracks start to open up and when we finally fall apart. And it is only in that time that we can see one another, because we see out of ourselves through our cracks and into others through theirs."

There are times we need to be all by ourselves, times we need to keep everything that happens to us with us and us alone, and there are times we have to let people know what is happening with us. There is no one way to doing things in life, wisdom is needed to do everything we want to do at any time, and we must be careful of our approach to different situations.

Life is not always about what we want, what we know, and where we want to be; sometimes, life is about how long we can hold on to who we are, how much we can endure what happens to us, and how well we can handle difficulties. As much as we need to seek help from those who can help us, we sometimes need to dig deep into ourselves to find solutions to our problems and challenges.

Keep yourself from the unnecessary intrusion, learn to keep to yourself when you have to, and when to open up to people who can help you when the need arises. Be wise.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

IMPOSTORS IN POWER

IMPOSTORS IN POWER

African political space is direct opposite of what obtains in any regimented sphere. The political gaming and gambling of most African politicians, defy all known logics and political principles that emphasize civility, logicality and rationality, in any democratic system. Elections in African nations, Nigeria being the chief, is no longer the survival of the fittest. It is the dominance of the richest.

With monetary power, they wangle their ways, doling out bales of currencies, like piles of leafs, plucked from nearby trees. They brandish Pound Sterling, American Dollars and European Euros, in the midst of hunger stricken citizens, to hijack electioneering process. Like gamblers in casinos, they sit around the table in the dark, setting strategies on how best to commandeer with cash, the wish of helpless poor.

They are impostors in power, having nothing to offer than to make the people to suffer more than they have ever been. From doorposts, they tactically trail and tailor the people to the polling booths, till the votes are cast. Then, like a dog innocently lying flat on the floor, they lie blatantly, denying ever coming close to the electorates, much less influencing their voting decisions. By all means, crude or crook, they end up holding the scepter of power.

After feeding fat like fattened cows, at the expense of the posterity of the impoverished people, they impose another impostor, just to hold power in perpetuity. There are too many impostors holding brief for some Master impostors in the polity. They are only occupying the seat of power, they are not in power. Like a toothless buffalo, they lack the power to oppose the obnoxious notions of the impostor that imposed them on the throne.

It is no longer the survival of the fittest but the dominance of the richest. It is no longer about the best hand, it is now about the biggest liar to steal the conscience of the populace. It is no longer about meritocracy but the celebration of mediocracy. They are impostors in power.

Morack Akin-David is a biographer, content creator and author of “Rich Brag, Poor Beg”.

VALIANT

VALIANT

It is a common phenomenon to see many die even before death come visiting them. Men who allow fear into their thoughts are liable to die many times before their eventual death, but like the great William Shakespeare said, "Cowards die many times before their deaths; the valiant never taste of death but once." death comes to the brave only once, because they live their lives without fear.

Fear is a killer, it kills men but never buries them; it cripples men, who physically remain strong and agile but have been weakened and rendered inactive in their minds. It makes them believe they cannot do or be what they are fully capable of doing and becoming, and keeps them so, until they are liberated by something more powerful than fear.

Valiant men understands the power of fear, but they never allow it powers to permeate the membrane of their mindset, they shield themselves from fear and allow faith, trust, and believe in their ability to guide their decisions, drive, and passion. Being valiant is not about always having the desire to win, but believing that despite losing, winning is still a possibility.

Valiance does not come by size, neither is it determined by colour, gender, age, ethnicity, race, or religion, Valiance is in the mind, and the mind has no class nor grade, what makes it up determines what it give out. Go beyond the ordinary, do what others won't dare, think outside the box, the comfort zone does not always give the best rewards, go outside of it, be VALIANT.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

URBANE

URBANE

Bertie Charles Forbes once said, "Courtesy is doing that which nothing under the sun makes you do but human kindness. Courtesy springs from the heart; if the mind prompts the action, there is a reason; if there be a reason, it is not courtesy, for courtesy has no reason. Courtesy is good will, and good will is prompted by the heart full of love to be kind. Only the generous man is truly courteous. He gives freely without a thought of receiving anything in return.

Dealing with people requires a great deal of courtesy, civility, and politeness. One have to be cautious in ensuring that he does not deflate the self esteem of another man all in the effort of making themselves feel important and relevant. One who wants to go far on the journey of life must see other men as an important part of that journey, not just as a tool to be used to get to their destination.

Being URBANE may not be as easy as people think it is, in fact, it is not easy to be sane in our world today, but intense, and intentional efforts must be made to be so. Angela Merici once said, "You will accomplish more by kind words and a courteous manner than by anger or sharp rebuke, which should never be used except in necessity."

Let your speech, actions, and deeds be a true reflection of your thoughts, let them be seasoned with lifting and encouraging words, be kind, be courteous, love others, and try make yourself happy, it is a way of promoting and ensuring a better society. When you are URBANE, you increase your beauty, your value, your happiness, and your life, so act wisely.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

THRIVING

THRIVING

The world is not a playground of rats and roaches, it is not a place of merry making and jolly riding; the world is a fierce and raging battlefield where only the battle ready can fight for their rights and obligations to thrive. Jamais Cascio once said, "resilience is all about being able to overcome the unexpected. Sustainability is about survival. The goal of resilience is to thrive." When things get tough, and difficult, one must strive to keep moving and resilient to the challenges thrown his way, that is the only way to keep THRIVING.

We were born with different traits, abilities, and talents, we develop different characters, attitudes, skills, and behaviors as we grow, but one thing we must never forget or fail to have is the ability to thrive in a difficult, and ever changing world.

We may not always have all that it takes to thrive the way we should, we must seek and locate those that will aid our thriving, and associate with them in ways that will ensure our thriving. When we do eventually thrive, we must also appreciate the efforts of those who have assisted and help us thrive. We must also find ways of helping others around us thrive as we have.

Go beyond survival, climb into the realm of THRIVING, survival does not serve you right, but when you thrive without limit, you would help liberate others and show them the way to thrive unabatedly. You have what it takes to be more, you are built for more than you are at the moment, strive to go beyond and be more, strive to keep THRIVING.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

SHAMELESS

SHAMELESS

Shamelessness can be both a must have, and a should not have for everyman. There are circumstances in which one have to be shameless and there are some in which you must thrash shamelessness. Sometimes, being ashamed is a way of putting us back on track when we are going wrong, and helping align with the proper sense of human reasoning.

You cannot not take pride in being shameless when you  do something that is unreasonable, immoral, wicked, and degrading of proper human values; on the other hand, you must be shameless in fighting for the right cause, going after your dreams, visions, and aspirations, you must be shameless in doing the things that ought to be done irrespective of what people say or think.

As David Brooks once said, "There is a virtue in Shamelessness" let not your shamelessness be that of evil virtues, not considering the negativity it might awaken around you, neither let it be that of the right pursuit of everything good and honourable, let it be that of growth, good deed, ideas, and passion for a better world.

Wisdom is needed in knowing when to have shame and when to be shameless, it should not be determined by people's opinion, or thought, it should be based on what is right or wrong; what is honourable or dishonorable; what is important or unimportant. Follow after righteousness, be shameful when necessary, and be SHAMELESS when you have to be.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

RECEPTIVE

RECEPTIVE

The receptivity of a man's mindset goes a long way in determining what that man becomes. Life is an ever dynamic adventure, and anyone who would move with the dynamics of life would have an open and receptive mindset. Having a receptive mindset does not mean accepting everything that is thrown at you, you must also be selective in receptivity.

Opportunities knock at doors hoping for an opening to manifestation, if it continues to knock and you never open, what importance is it to you? Opportunity: if it goes away it may never come again. The mind is very powerful and determines a lot of what we receive or get from life. If we do not train it to receive new ideas, you may never grow beyond your current state, and that does not spell well for anyone.

Shunya once said, "There is no point in reading anything until your mind is fully clean and receptive. Mind’s tendency is to interpret things the way it suits you, the way it strengthens your existing beliefs." most times when we come across new ideas, our mind tends to always want to interpret it to suit its existing beliefs and knowledge, but we must intentionally seek a better narrative for our own mind.

This advice by Francis Lucille invaluable, "Keep everything open and live from openness to openness." Living from openness to openness is to live with the readiness to accept whatever can make your life better, and bring about improvement in your living. Clean up your mind once in a while, tidy up your reception, and be RECEPTIVE to everything good.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

QUICK

QUICK

John Wooden once said, "When you hurry you are more apt to make mistakes. But you have to be quick. If you are not quick you can't get things done." To be quick is not to make haste or be in a hurry, but to do the things that should be done at the time they should be done. One who hurries at doing things will eventually be dragged back, but one is quick will go in good pace.

Life is in stages, we have to grow through it to get to where we want to be; getting to certain heights require climbing through the rungs; any attempt to skip, or bypass any of the steps, stages, or processes that is required to achieve what you want to achieve may get you to where to go, but might lead to missing some vital or necessary things to sustain your stay at your destination.

Quick fixes, instant gratifications might be destructive and leave permanent dents on one's life and journey, but being wise and knowledgeable of what is necessary and needed to be done at the right time will surely salvage our life from going in the wrong direction.

Be quick, but not in haste; do what is necessary at the right time, not what gratifies you; learn to go through life the way it should be, not try to skip or jump your way through it. In the words of Earl Monroe, "Just be patient. Let the game come to you. Don't rush. Be quick, but don't hurry." Patience is an attribute of quick persons, they know and understand when to do, and when to be patient. Learn to be QUICK.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

PALATIAL

PALATIAL

There is no new thing under the heavens, every thing that we now see, some have experienced, life is is not an engine that runs only for one sole purpose or running, for for the purpose of achieving something with how it runs. We always deserve whatever we get, sometimes maybe we deserve more, but deserving alone is not enough, fighting for is very important.

We are supposed to live large in merriment and comfort, we deserve a palace lifestyle, but we are sometimes not ready to give what is required of us to get that which we really desire in our hearts. You can have what you want, you can be what you want to be, only if you are willing,and ready 

 to pay the prices for a what you want.

Living in palatial buildings, and enjoying a palatial lifestyle should not hinder one from living the life of their dreams. They should consider what would become of their lives should they bask in the euphoria of the moment and forget about the outcome and results of the future. E. M. Forster once said, "Life is easy to chronicle, but bewildering to practice." life is complex, Play along and don't be pressured into what others want.

Focus on building a palatial lifestyle for yourself, and those around you, and work tirelessly towards being the person you are supposed to be for the world. The bigger picture, the PALATIAL lifestyle, and tomorrow's comfort should be prioritized. Do not neglect yourself on your journey to becoming great, you are more important than anything else, without you nothing PALATIAL happens. 

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

OBEDIENT

OBEDIENT

Ancient Greek tragedian Aeschylus, once said, "Obedience is the mother of success and is wedded to safety." There are rules to every game in life, and playing by the winning rules will certainly assure one of success, and success in life is the only way to safety. Success does not mean the absence of failure, but succeeding through failure.

Obedience is a necessity for survival and growth, as going against the foundational principles of life may be disastrous. Being obedient does not also mean being subjected to everything that is thrown at you, it does not mean being docile, or too flexible to be played around by crude men only for their own benefits.

Prophet Samuel told King Saul in the twenty second verse of the fifteenth chapter of the first book of Samuel that, "... To obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed is better than the fat of rams”. Nothing replaces obedience, when you want to have something, you must give or do whatever it is required of you to get that thing, otherwise you get nothing.

If you do the right things, you get desired results, if you do the wrong things, you get unwanted results. The right thing is not determined by you, but by life, irrespective of what you think it is, if life and nature judges it wrong, you will get the kind of result that your actions yields. Let your actions not be determined by the gratification of today, but by the result of tomorrow, live your life the right way, be OBEDIENT.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

NIFTY

NIFTY

A man's real value is not in what he has or owns, a man's real value is in his contributions, his usefulness, and the benefits people around him derive from him being associated with him. Being NIFTY is an attribute of highly effective people, people oriented people, result oriented people, and improvement seeking people.

You should be concerned about a better world, but there is a lot to do in making the world a better place. Marie Curie  once said, "You cannot hope to build a better world without improving the individuals. To that end, each of us must work for his own improvement and, at the same time, share a general responsibility for all humanity, our particular duty being to aid those to whom we think we can be most useful."

We must always learn to make ourselves useful, we must learn something everyday that makes you useful, and you must live a life of being useful everyday, because life is all about what you can make happen. It is better you do something everyday that leads you on the path of usefulness than to sit idly doing nothing, and being useless.

Being useful may not always be about your functionality and what you are a able to achieve or do, it may also be about the things you tried to do and could not make happen, it can be about the mistakes you have made, because it will eventually become a guide to you and many others. Like George Bernard Shaw "A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable, but more useful than a life spent doing nothing".

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

MULTIFARIOUS

MULTIFARIOUS

Life is an uncontrolled, unregulated, and tricky playground, it is not for the monolithic, mono-directional thinkers, and actors who are not concerned about having different, and multidimensional thoughts patterns and approach to life, people, events. The game of life does not play to the favour of these set of people, and they are majorly the biggest losers in the game of life.

One who will achieve good success in life must be someone who is not one dimensional; a man or woman of many parts, in many ways; there must always be an alternative to every thing, nature itself has shown us that in many ways. There is the sun, and the moon; there is land, and water; there is night, and day; there is the heavens, and the earth; there is life, and death.

Nothing in life is without options, there is nothing that is cast in stone, so, do not limit yourself to a certain principle, way of life, thought pattern, but be a person of broad reasoning, and perspectives. Learn as much as you can, do as much as you can, be all you can be, for that is what you are meant to be, that is why you are here, that is you fulfilling purpose.

Don't be the one who never changes, don't be the one who never sees from the other end of things, don't be the selfish one. There is strength in diversity, because when diversity resides in one entity, it becomes a stronger entity, and can deal with different ideals in different ways. Many roads roads sometimes lead to the same castle, so, do not bank on one road road but be MULTIFARIOUS.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

LEGENDARY

LEGENDARY

Legendary status is not attained because one have had a clean and successful life, it is not gotten because you never failed, but it is attained by what you make of yourself in spite of your failures, challenges, and difficulties.

The legendary Michael Jordan once said, “I have missed more than 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times, I have been trusted to take the game-winning shot and missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed.” Today, Michael Jordan is a legend, not because he had it all smooth, but because despite his many failures, he never gave up, and eventually recorded huge successes.

“Legends are not born legends are made” you might not have come from the lineage of legends, it might not have been recorded of anyone around you, or that you know, that became legends, but you can be the first one. You can be the progenitor of a generation of legends. One becomes legendary by performing legendary acts. Legendary acts are acts of courage, bravery, guts, and gumption, it is moving forward even when there is no strength to move at all.

Legends never quit, they would rather lose than quit, but they never give in to defeat, they always come back again, until they win. In the words of Michael Jordan, “Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen.” don't just want or wish for what you want, do not leave it to chance, but make it happen. Go all out for what you want, be focused, determined, and dogged, be LEGENDARY, because legends make it happen.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

KENSPECKLE

KENSPECKLE

Being different, unique, and distinctive is not in anyway an easy feat. It takes a lot of work to be different, and life does reward distinctiveness. We all are born for a purpose, unique, distinct, and special, we must not fail our purpose. Failure to fulfill your purpose is like a tree growing without bearing fruits, it is a waste of all forms of resources.

As difficult as being unique may be, the simple answer to it is, "go the extra mile". On the extra mile, you are separated from the crowd; on the extra mile, you have less difficulties, oppositions, and challenges, but more opportunities, privileges, and clearer vision; the extra mile is the less crowded mile, it is the stand out mile.

The gains of being KENSPECKLE is spectacular, you certainly always win. When you prioritize distinctiveness, you automatically beat every competition, you become a yardstick, and a standard of consideration; you become the object of competition rather than a competitor.

Go the extra mile; do a little more; move out of the crowd; be who you are; be all you can be, there is no pride in being numbered among the crowd, there is no honour in following the majority. As Ernest Agyemang said, "Being genius does not necessarily mean knowing it all or having the highest academic qualification; but a persons ability to apply wisdom and common sense to common things in a distinctive manner and courageously, exhibiting the latent deft to the admiration of the masses".

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

JIMP

JIMP

Ikechukwu Izuakor, Auther of the book "Great reflections on success" wrote in his book, "Neatness and cleanliness is not a function of how rich or poor you are but that of mentality and principle". Rich or poor, neatness and cleanliness is a matter of the mind. Neatness boosts one's self esteem and confidence, it may not be as critical as some other things, but it is very important to one's growth.

Life may not be as clean as we want, messy, dirty, and unattractive, but we can always make life the best of what we want, we are responsible for making our life as lively, neat, and delicate. These does not come without serious hard work and determination to make all things good and in order, we must go the distance in ensuring our plans go right.

You are a masterpiece, you are a unique breed, nothing can be compared to you, and nothing is like you, never underestimate or look down on yourself, you are deserve all you want, but you must work for it. Life gets rough along the way, every man is born clean but life gets everyone dirty, and you can't get through life stained, so, you have got to clean up yourself.

Ikechukwu Izuakor also said, "Don't cheat the foundation of a house because you want to save for the roofing for at the end, you will have only roofed rubbles". You must be very critical of what you are building, the lifestyle you lead, and what messages you pass across to others, if you do not do the right things at the right time, you will eventually lose everything you have laboured for, so, do the right thing, be JIMP.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

INQUISITIVE

INQUISITIVE

Tonnes truth will not be known by many, because they lack the ability, skill, and attitude to seek, they are either nonchalant towards increasing knowledge, or feel they know enough, they suffer from their lack of knowledge but fail to realize how much they need it. No one can know enough irrespective of how much they already know, and there is no such thing as too much knowledge.

The art of inquisition is something all men who hopes to climb to levels and heights beyond the ordinary should learn. No matter how much you know, you have the capacity, ability, and opportunity to know more, and as a matter of fact the more you know the better life becomes for you, and the easier you can sail through life.

Our knowledge should not be limited to things outside ourselves, of what use will what we have known be if we do not know ourselves, and how what we have known affects our lives? We must therefore seek to know ourselves first and everything else, we must know what we want, how we want it, and when we want it, knowledge truly is power, but we cannot know if we do not get inquisitive.

These words by Kilroy Oldster says it all, "Without curiosity and passion, the world will seem to lack possibility and everything in life will appear pre-ordained. It is important for a person to spend the majority of the day pursuing their passionate interests and enlisting their innate inquisitiveness. Life is so much sweeter when we contemplate pleasant as opposed to distasteful thoughts..."

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

HEURISTIC

HEURISTIC

Problems are an ever present phenomenon in people's lives, many times we don't address problems the way we should, they are not to be left lingering, but to be tackled as soon as possible, because the longer it stays the stronger it can get. When a seed is in the ground and it starts to sprout, it is easy to uproot, but when it has grown into a tree, more work is required to get rid of that tree. Such is the case with problems, whenever they come, efforts must be made to get rid of them, otherwise it get deeply rooted and becomes much more difficult to get rid of.

Sometimes, you don't have a lasting solution to a particular problem at a particular time, but it is better to effect a temporary solution while efforts are been made to get the permanent solution.

An elephant can not be consumed at once, but when it is cut in pieces, overtime it is nowhere to be found anymore. Same goes for problems, however big they may be, if you deal with them bit by bit, piece by piece, in no time you would have solved a big problem. Never give problems space to thrive, deal with them as soon and as quickly as you can.

HEURISTIC solutions may not always be the best, but they are tools towards ensuring safety in preparation for an enduring and lasting end to problems and challenges. There is a thin line between an HEURISTIC and a wrong solution, be careful not to engage the later when you need the former. The wrong solution is no solution at all, but an additional problem.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

GRATEFUL

GRATEFUL

For every new day, for every bright morning, for every safe journey, for every privilege we continue to receive while we still have breath in our nostrils, we owe gratitude to the One who keeps giving us that opportunity. We may not always be where we want to be, we may not always have what we want, but we must not forget that, all some people want is just a fraction of what we have.

Whatever situation we find ourselves, we must be grateful. Melody Beattie once said, “Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” when you show gratitude for what you have and who you have become, you realize how what you have passed through have shaped the person you now are; you have a settled mind, and you are able to plan for the future that you want, because you know that your today is shaping your tomorrow.

A grateful person does not have all he needs, but he has enough. You don't always have to be happy to be grateful, but being grateful makes you happy, and fills your heart with joy. No one becomes anything purely on his own efforts, different people must play different roles in your getting to your dream destination, these people deserve your gratitude.

Be grateful for what you have, be grateful for who you are, be grateful for who you are becoming, be grateful for those around you, be grateful for where you are going. A GRATEFUL heart will have grace-full life.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

FORTHRIGHT

FORTHRIGHT

Truthfulness, Honesty, Transparency, and Sincerity are scarce attributes and qualities among most today, many have indulged in dishonesty, falsehood, and now use them as survival mechanisms. They even take pride in these things and revel in their expert applications of them, and are not ashamed to be associated with such.

One cannot live a life of falsehood and expect to thrive unabated, it is like erecting a building on a weak foundation, and expecting it to stand pressure and the test of time. Truth and honesty are as important to the mind and soul, as good health is important to the body. Sustainable growth, and strong social capital can be built on forthrightness.

Kamand Kojouri once said, "You have to be transparent so you no longer cast a shadow but instead let the light pass through you." what people see in you is a reflection of who you truly are. When people look at you and see shadows, when they have too many questions to ask about you, check your character, but when people give you privileges that are not common, they have seen through you.

We are not just beings, we are beings with moral values; we are beings with standards; we are beings who have got dreams, and visions; we do not just live, we live to make living a worthy experience for others, we live to brighten the path for others, and we can't achieve all these if we do not live transparent, honest, and FORTHRIGHT lifestyles. So, live for a better world.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

EXCEPTIONAL

EXCEPTIONAL

It was Syed Sharukh that' said, "Being Different is, Different". It is not easy to be different, it takes lots of guts, courage, and bravery. Sometimes, being different gets you into trouble, at other other times it gets you what you want and deserve. It is then left to you to decide if you want to be different and bear whatever you get, or be among the crowd.

It is always easy to flow with the crowd, but it never ends well for the crowd. Even when the crowd arrives at their desired destination, the resources available to them will most likely not serve everyone well enough, there would be no satisfaction. Life in the crowd is easy, but the result may be hard to bear, so it is best to be exceptional, to be different.

The exceptional man does not see himself in competition with anyone else other than himself, he fights daily to be better than the person he was yesterday, he looks into the future rather than at the past, he sets standards for himself, and aims to beat this standards everyday. He develops himself at every opportunity, and never stops moving.

Everyone will not attain exceptionality, but everyone has the potential to be exceptional, what we do with those potentials determines where we will get to. When you strive for success, you automatically set yourself apart from the crowd, when growing becomes your priority, you start becoming EXCEPTIONAL, so keep striving, keep moving, success is just by the corner.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

DOUGHTY

DOUGHTY

Life is like a river of unknown depths, the farther you go into it, the more you discover the depths, the more you realize that current of the waves, and other intricacies of it, but if you must go far on this necessary but difficult journey of life, you need a lot of strength, courage, and bravery. You can not face the heavy tides with a faint heart, and weak a mind.

When all you have gone through, and all you have experienced are the good and wonderful things of life; when all you know is the goodness and support of those around you, and you have not been threatened by families, or betrayed by friends, you can not talk about bravery. When you haven't tasted the bitter side of life, the lessons necessary for boldness and strength is far from you.

St. Catherine of Siena of once, "To a brave man, good and bad luck are like his left and right hand. He uses both." you must be able to maximize every opportunity that comes your way, good or evil to your growth and better self. The good times, gives you growth and progress, while the bad times teach you lessons, and shows you the true realities of life.

Until you are ready to forget the comfort you now enjoy; until you are ready to take new risks and swim for shores unknown, you may not achieve your purpose, dreams, and aspirations. It takes courage to grow up, and be ready to be responsible for what is ahead of you. Like Steve Jobs "Have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become." Without courage dreams may not see the light of day.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

CONSCIENCE

CONSCIENCE

Frederick Lewis in a 1925 sermon once said, "The Seven Social Sins are: Wealth without work. Pleasure without conscience. Knowledge without character. Commerce without morality. Science without humanity. Worship without sacrifice. Politics without principle." all these are primarily tied to your moral sense of judgment, of what is right and wrong.

The concept of right or wrong is sometimes left to the convenience of our individualistic and selfish view, but right and wrong are a matter of our attitude and character towards fellow men and women. If we do not consider our neighbors, if we do not love them, if we do not put ourselves in their shoes, and treat them as we want to be treated, we have failed our conscience.

Right or wrong is not democratic, it is not a matter of numbers, but that of good judgment. Leo Tolstoy once said, "Wrong does not cease to be wrong because the majority share in it." Wrong is wrong irrespective of the numbers that indulge in it, if it is good for you but it hurts another, it is not good for both.

We can not all be perfect, we cannot have the right sense of judgment at all times, we can not at all times act in the best interest of others, but we can make efforts to do our best in being people of good conscience and character. We must allow our CONSCIENCE to guide our decisions, we must not be selfish at all times. Our CONSCIENCE is a God given compass to living right, let us follow where it leads.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

BENIGN

BENIGN

Arrogance, pride, cruelty are ingredients for chaos and destruction, they are the machinery to a disorganized, and deadly society, but kindness, mercy, gentleness, love, and peace are the ingredients for a better world, a progressive, and preserved community where everyone is interested in the growth and success of everyone else.

Lift people's sorrows, ease people's tension, make people feel comfortable doing what they want, pursuing what they want to become, and living their best lives by showing them love, making peace with them irrespective of who they are, where they come from, what they have, or how they look like, be a source of peace not a source of chaos, instability, cruelty, and disorderliness.

People thrive in an environment where love, peace, trust, mercy, and friendship reigns, progress comes without stress in a society where everyone is BENIGN to the other, life becomes enjoyable when we have other people's interests at heart. Life should not always be about ourselves, but about what we can do with ourselves for others.

Toba Beta once said, "Always try to be joyful and proactively benign to the people. By doing so everyday, people have no control at all over my mood." the best way to live your best life is to seek the good of others, and to be BENIGN in all you do, this way you make life easier for yourself, and make peace a default state of your mind.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

AUTHENTIC

AUTHENTIC

In a world where everybody is trying to be like someone else, and some people are leaving what they should become to pursue what someone else is, we need to discover, and identify what we are, who we are, and what we should be, and diligently go after our dreams, desires, and aspirations. The best we can do for ourselves is to become what we should be, anything else is a betrayal of who we are.

You cannot give what you don't have, you cannot be what you are not, Peter Guber once said, "Truth is a point of view, but authenticity can't be faked." who you are cannot be hidden from the people around you, no matter how hard you try to fake it, the truth of who you are will always be in the face of everyone.

Aaron Rodgers in clear words spoke about authenticity, he said, "Authenticity is everything! You have to wake up every day and look in the mirror, and you want to be proud of the person who is looking back at you. And you can only do that if you are being honest with yourself and being a person of high character. You have an opportunity every single day to write that story of your life."

Be yourself, write your own story, think first of who you are, and not what the world demands of you, or say you should be. Authenticity does not listen to the crowd, neither does it follow the multitude, authenticity does what is best for who he is at every given time to the best of his abilities. Be honest with yourself and everyone else, live an AUTHENTIC life.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

ZHOOSH

ZHOOSH

Irrespective of what you do about life or to life, life will always turn out in a way, the question is how will your life turn out? Will you at the end of the day get what you want from life, or will you receive what life gives you? What you get in life is determined by what you put into it, your result is determined by the effort you put into what you do.

Don't play default in life, everyone else is on that level, so if you want a better life, live an upgraded lifestyle, you must always improve on what you have, your skills, your knowledge, and your experience, as Helmut Schmidt once said, "The biggest room in the world is the room for improvement." Strive for improvement always.

Antonio Brown once said, "The journey is never ending. There's always going to be growth, improvement, adversity; you just got to take it all in and do what's right, continue to grow, continue to live in the moment." Whatever we do, we must seek to do better always or else we would be left behind, we must always outgrow our former self or risk being stagnant.

Improvements are a two sided bargain, we increase our knowledge bank when we improve, we upgrade our skills, and abilities when we improve, and these things in turn makes our lives and that of others better. As much as we are the primary beneficiaries of a better life, we do not enjoy the good life alone, everyone around us become beneficiaries in one way or the other.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

YEME

YEME

What you pay most attention to in life will always find a way of manifesting in your life, and whatever you don't give attention to, will lack manifestation. What you give is what you get, give attention, you get manifestation, and if you don't give the necessary attention to what you need, or want to manifest, you get will get nothing.

Sometimes, the little things we fail to pay attention to in life are the things that needs our attention the most. Nothing big started big, every big thing started as a small, minute and sometimes impossible phenomenon, but little attention multiplies its potentials which in turn brings about full attention and then, a big irresistible and valuable result.

One thing we must also pay serious attention to is the kind of people in our life. Some people come into your life and make it better, while others come and make it worse; some come and make you happy, while others make you happy when they go. You must identify what different people mean to you, and what they bring into your life, then place them in their rightful place accordingly.

Mitchell Gibson wrote, "Pay attention to the people who make you feel happy and smart. Gather as many of them into your life as you can. They are true blessings from the Creator." do your best to pay attention to everything that adds value to your life, people, things, ideas, places, events, and so on, they are your instrument for growth and a better life.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

XYLOMANCE

XYLOMANCE

It was Abraham Lincoln who said, “The best way to predict the future is to create it.” You can not have a future that you desire if you do not plan towards, strategize, and work for that future. The means is the only guarantee for the expected end, you can not plant a plantain sucker and and expect a mango tree, not even will you get banana from a plantain tree despite their similarity.

The future that you want can be predicted by the path that you tow, and the process you follow. An unplanned future does not arrive out of the blues through abstract wishful thinking, and expectation of miracles. You don't have the power to shape the future you do not work for, if you want a kind of future you have to work for it.

Nothing predicts the future better than creating it, for most, they sit back and watch how life unfolds before them; for some, they follow the path that has been created and arrive at a pre-designed destination; for a few, they create a path for themselves, and follow through as they carve out their desired destination.

Create your own future, carve out your own destiny, do not leave what becomes of your life to time and chance. Nothing is predictable only what is created. Fear no failure, it is a pointer to progress; fear no falling, it is a reality check for what you need to strengthen. You can turn around your life if it does not please you. As Germany Kent said, “Start today creating a vision for yourself, your life, and your career. Bounce back from adversity and create what you want, rebuild and rebrand.”

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

WALL

WALL

Walls are a protection against unwanted encroachment and pilfering of valuable personal assets and belongings, they are basically erected to avoid, unapproved inward and outward movements. Every man have got to have a wall around them, emotional, psychological, and social walls, to protect them against uninvited, and unwarranted access to our soft self (emotions, skills, and psychology).

You must protect yourself at all times, you must wall yourself from those who wants to bring you down, and make no sense of what you posses, or ridicule your values; you must protect yourself from people who want to discourage you from doing the things you want to do; you must wall off those who jeer you instead of cheer you.

Christopher Paolini once said, "You must be willing to protect yourself and what you cherish, no matter what the cost." sometimes, it may be difficult to put off from ward off people from accessing your innermost being, from enjoying what only people who make valuable, and productive contributions to your life should enjoy, but you have to do it regardless.

One most important responsibility you owe yourself is your personal protection, if you do not protect yourself, no one else will, and no one else can protect you. Gautama Buddha once said, "If you hold yourself dear, protect yourself well." if you know your value, if you know your worth, if you know what lies ahead of you, and you know you are of undeniable greatness, WALL yourself properly.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

VISUALIZE

VISUALIZE

Everything that exists today has been visualized through the lenses of imagination before they were able to see the light of day. Nothing comes into being unless it is first imagined, visualized, and then executed. Visualize, a derivative of the word vision means, to make something visible, but more relatably in this sense, "to have a mental picture of something before it is seen".

You cannot live the life of your dreams if you cannot visualize the life that you want for yourself. Helen Keller once said, "The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision." a man without vision is a man that would be tossed where he does not want to go, and he will find himself in situations he does not want to be in.

Today you can be in an unwanted situation, but how do you see yourself tomorrow? Where do you see yourself tomorrow? Today's situation does not have to be same for tomorrow, but you have to visualize a better one. You must paint the future you want, and see yourself in it, or else you would not feature in your desired future.

Anything and everything is possible only if you are willing to do what is required of you. Like Janet Jackson "Dreams can become a reality when we possess a vision that is characterized by the willingness to work hard, a desire for excellence, and a belief in our right and our responsibility to be equal members of society." VISUALIZE your desired future, and work towards realizing it.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".