REVOLUTION

REVOLUTION

Life for some is smooth and easy, they have no worries about what to wear, where their next meal will come from, how to get around; they are completely unperturbed by anything whatsoever, they are living what is called "the soft life" and have no reasons to do anything radical or out of the box. Life for them is at its best and can be no better.

On the other hand, there are a myriad of others who have no idea how they would survive the next day, they wake up everyday in search of a better life, a softer, and more pleasant life, but the more they work hard to get this life, the harder it gets for them. Life to them is a battlefield, and everyone is a potential enemy, so, they do whatever they can to get whatever they want.

One sure way with which things can be turned around is through REVOLUTION. Like Vladimir Lenin said, "Revolution can never be forecast; it cannot be foretold; it comes of itself..." In whatever sphere man finds himself, and is ready to turn an unpleasant situation around, he revolts, this revolution will surely lead to the birth of freshness and newness as he may desire.

William James once said, "The greatest revolution of our generation is the discovery that human beings, by changing the inner attitudes of their minds, can change the outer aspects of their lives." You don't need to fight someone else for your ill-fortunes, all you need do to turn your life around is to turn your attitude around. You will be amazed at how internal REVOLUTION can make everything different.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days  of wisdom".

QUIDDITY

QUIDDITY

Everything around a man, the items he owns, his friends, his family, the house he lives, his mode and pattern of dressing, every other that he hopes to have, and the things he so much cherish all have something to say about the kind of person he is. You can seldom separate a man from his environment.

By nature man is a producer, a creator, a designer, a carer, a nurse, a guide, and groomer. Man is supposed to take care of everything around him, living and nonliving, make the world a better place, and hand over to generations to come a better world than he met, but today, the story is not so. We have more men trying to destroy the world, their own people, and the environment than those who are willing to preserve, prepare, and present it to their descendants a better world.

These people were not supposed to be who they are, but somehow they became who they are, either by choice or through circumstances. As much as circumstances may alter the QUIDDITY of a man, he has the choice to either accept it or change it; and if what circumstances has tried to make you is something that is against who you should be, you should resist it.

Have you found your essence? Do you know why you are here? You are not here for jamboree or just to pass by without any impact, you are here for a purpose far more than who you are, your essence is far from just living to see the next day and merely survive, your QUIDDITY is to make the world a better place, and that you must do however you can no matter how little.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

PASSION

PASSION

I can't do this again; I am tired; I have done this for years and I haven't gotten anything tangible out of it; I can't continue to waste my time and energy doing this; I quit. The next time an opportunity comes to do that same thing you do it with the same strength, vigor and enthusiasm with which you have always done it, that is PASSION.

In the words of Jon Bon Jovi, "Nothing is as important as passion. No matter what you want to do with your life, be passionate." without the passion for a thing, it will be difficult to continue doing that thing over and again, especially when it does not give you the results you desire at the time expect them.

When it is convenient, and when it is not, passion keeps you going; when the odds are clearly not in your favour, passion urges you on; when you have tried several times and failed, passion say try again; "You can't fake passion." Barbara Corcoran said, if it is not there, you can't act like it is there, even if you do, it will easily fade away.

Unless you have that burning desire, the unrelenting sensation to do whatever it requires to get it done or keep doing it, you will not go too far on that journey. That which you have found pleasure doing, do it what all your heart; that which you have PASSION for, let it never die. You may not have your dream results today, but if you hold on a bit longer, you will begin to enjoy the rewards.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

OPPORTUNITY

OPPORTUNITY

A story has been told of two salesmen who were sent to different part of Africa by their shoe production company. Both men saw the same situation in their field survey. In both locations no one wear shoes, but when sending reports, one said "there is no market here, no one wears any shoe here. The other man reported the same situation but a different recommendation. He said, “No one here wears any shoes, there is a huge market for us, send inventory fast!”

Different people would encounter the same situation but see things differently, thereby approach it differently. Some people would see difficulties and would quickly begin to figure out the opportunities in it; on the other hand, some would see opportunities, and all they would think of are the difficulties in that opportunity. Like Winston Churchill  would say, "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." 

How well we have trained our mind, and what we have trained it to see will determine our perspectives towards situations and the attendant reactions. Never let great opportunities pass you by, sometimes you do not know when these opportunities come, but as soon as you discover them grab them with both hands and feet.

While you wait for that big break, the OPPORTUNITY of a lifetime, prepare yourself to effectively optimize these opportunities. It is not the number of opportunities you get that matters but the ones you optimized.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

NOISELESS

NOISELESS

In the words of ancient Greek Philosopher, Plato "An empty vessel makes the loudest sound, so they that have the least wit are the greatest babblers." noise is largely produced by empty vessels, the moment something fills up these vessels, they can no longer produce the kind of noise they produce while empty. This statement is true for humans too.

Water is one of the most effective and powerful elements in the world. It is so important that without water it is only a matter of time before every living organism dies out. Water is so powerful that it can destroy anything, through corrosion, abrasion, fragmentation, etc without making any sound. It can break rocks, pull down houses, sweep off human beings, without any noise.

The best form of success is the kind of success that is achieved without noise. There is a kind of effect that comes with noiselessness, it catches people by surprise. Some of the greatest and best things that happens in life happens without noise. A child is developed in a mother's womb without noise until the child is about to greet the world; a seed germinates and sprouts through the ground noiselessly; breathing is also a noiseless activity.

You don't have to make a lot of noise to achieve results, or be successful; work hard quietly, develop yourself silently, make great progress without noise, and let your results make the noise for you. Pursue success tirelessly, but be NOISELESS.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

MOTIVATION

MOTIVATION

When we here stories of how some men became successful despite the odds not being in their favour, how they made it through some tough times, and difficult moments, we sometimes get all fired up and bustling to get into the action to get our dreams rolling, but in a short time, when the enthusiasm raised by these stories are gone, we go back into our shells.

We cannot only be motivated to action by what we see or hear; we must be motivated by our dreams, visions, and aspirations; we must be driven from the inside, not from the outside. Until we have a deep rooted reason to want to succeed, we will not go forward after every failure; we will not have a good enough reason to rise whenever we fall; we will quit easily when faced with obstacles.

Thomas Edison has a long list of invention. Although popularly known for his invention of the light bulb, he was largely self educated, and failed at so many attempts on a lot of his experiments. Because he was confident of what he could produce, and his ability to achieve whatever he sets out to do, he never looked back until he had what he wanted.

Your dreams are valid; your ideas are unique; you can be all you want to be, but first you have to believe in yourself, you have to believe you can, and you will. Let your source of MOTIVATION be that which is ahead of you, that which you dream of, not what you hear or see. The effects of words and sight may be temporary, but the effect of your mind will never erode away until acted upon, be motivated.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

LAPIDARY

LAPIDARY

When you see a garden looking evenly dressed, fine, and well designed, some people have taken their time to make it what it is. Horticulturist take their time in planting a beautiful looking garden, they combine different flowers that gives the garden a pleasant landscape. Flowers, however beautiful they are can not arrange themselves in gardens to look like what the gardener would do.

Some men are meant to help others design their lives, they are supposed to be guides, and make other men's life beautiful. Their failures to do what they are meant to do would mean that there would be lack of organization, beauty, and order in the society, and the men they should have transformed their lives would wander as mere men.

The gardener may not look like what he wants to be, he may not be at his best despite his exploit of making the garden beautiful, he may even be seen as someone who has nothing to offer, but his handwork is a masterpiece, a work of excellent craftsmanship, one day the garden bring the gardener what he has always desired.

Are you a garden? do not despise your place, display with pride, honour and respect the efforts of gardener, and when you are in the position to make him known, never let the opportunity pass. Are you a gardener, do not fail in your responsibility to make your garden what it should be, a beautiful, well nurtured work, showcasing your abilities, skills, and capacity.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

KALON

KALON

I once met a lady that looks nothing close to being attractive, I cannot recall where exactly or when I met this lady, but I remember vividly telling myself that this lady would never be in consideration for marriage by her physical appearance.

Somehow, we had to constantly meet for some things, and I began to notice the very pleasant and beautiful character this lady posses. At this point I began to see how beautiful this lady was, her physical appearance did not change, but the discovery of her internal beauty changed my perspective about her and my consideration towards her. Today I cannot recall anything other than the fact that this event was real, but my view about beauty has since changed.

Beauty of the face and skin is vain and incomplete without the beauty of attitude and character. A good looking person with a bad character would initially be pleasant to the eye, but would eventually stink to the heart. No one would choose to be intimate with a person of questionable character and attitude, except they be of same make up.

Although we are responsible for our appearance, it is not entirely within our power to determine how we look, but one thing is well within our control: our character, attitude and behavior. We must do our very best to be a person of good and pleasant comportment, we must develop the kind of attitude that makes for internal beauty, the attitude that attracts the very kinds of people that we want in our lives: loving, pleasant, and KALON.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

JUMPSTART

JUMPSTART

Every man living wants to be successful, many are consistently and dedicatedly pursuing after success and doing everything they can to become successful individuals. Some on the other hand, sits idly hoping for a day of miracle, the day of explosion when everything will suddenly turn around, and they will become to live the life of their dreams: these are indeed dreamers who have refused to wake up from their slumber to the reality of life.

For those who are doing their best, who are waking up daily, and making efforts to become successful, some of them just need a little push, a little help, a little nudge, a little motivation, a JUMPSTART, and they are well on their way to real greatness.

No one is an Island of his own, everyone at one point or the other in their life needs a help and assistance from someone else. So, if you have the opportunity to help someone out of a situation, do it gladly without expecting nothing in return, someday someone else will come to your aid in a difficult situation.

Do not be afraid to ask for help from whoever can offer it, likewise, do not hesitate to render help to whoever needs it. When we all look after the wellbeing of each other, and support ourselves on our journey the to our desired determinations, we will have better relationships, better communities, and ultimately a better world we all will be proud of.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

IMPECCABLE

IMPECCABLE

Many there are who have done awesomely well in a world filled with weak minds and feeble hearts. They do not see the impossibility of anything they wish, or want to do; they know nothing like impossible; they set goals and set out to achieve them; they have built themselves to the level in which they become master of their situations, and themselves.

These people have overtime developed a kind of character that allows them handle difficult tasks with ease, and to a degree of precision that is beyond the norm. No one is perfect, but there are certain levels of competence, character, and comportment that one reaches and he is regarded as being perfect even in his imperfections.

Perfection is not a unidimensional phenomenon, but a multifaceted, multidimensional phenomenon which encompasses various areas of the human life and existence. Words, actions, interpersonal relationships, work ethics, and many more are the measures of a man's level of perfection.

You may not be perfect and without flaws, you may never attain the level of perfection that you so desire, but you can become so IMPECCABLE with your words, actions, and comportment that it becomes very difficult to point out and identify your flaws. You have got to keep working on yourself with utmost care and attention until there is no more to do. Keep growing, keep working, keep moving, go after excellence, be IMPECCABLE.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

HOIST

HOIST

Everything that goes up must obey the law of gravity, come down, unless it is acted upon by another law, which may not necessarily be superior, but can stand as long as it continues to be upheld against the law of gravity. The only things that does not come down are the things that grow up, or held up, otherwise, no matter how high a thing goes it must come down.

People who rise high, or achieve success without the necessary work of growing up through the process, and developing the right character, skills, attitude, and ability required and necessary to stay up will surely have a short lived success. Life does not work against its own principles, so whatever does align with its principles will not have the kinds of result it should.

To hoist a thing requires a lot of force and energy, it entails lifting a thing from a base, its inertia to as high as possible, within the capacity of the lifter, or hoist (lifting equipment). Whatever is hoisted by a hoist will remain there for as long as the hoist is in place, and available to keep hoisting the hoisted item.

No matter how successful one has been, however high one has grown, one must not stop working in himself, his abilities, skills, and talents. Success is maintained by consistent, continuous work, and can diminish once that work stops. To remain successful, we must constantly HOIST ourselves by the principles of successful living otherwise, we will lose everything in a matter of time.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

GENIUS

GENIUS

Every man is born with a special ability, everyone is born with something that makes him really unique, different, and original. We all have this as children, but most people lose this ability as they grow older, their quest for a lot of things, most of which are irrelevant and unimportant make them lose hold of their genius.

Charles Baudelaire once wrote about genius, he said, "Genius is nothing more nor less than childhood recaptured at will." it is the ability to do with ease, what others struggle to do. Hard work grows intelligence, it increases mental capacity, and establishes the genius in one. Without hard work genius fades away, and diminishes.

The world needs a lot of genius, the world need problem solvers, trailblazers, and pace setters. In the words of E.F. Schumacher who said, "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius — and a lot of courage to move in the opposite direction."

Make yourself a positive addition to your society; be an asset rather than a liability; be an instrument of solution, not an Originator of problems; do not let the GENIUS in you waste away, put it to valuable use. You may not be perfect with what you do, but you can be better today than you were yesterday, let tomorrow meet you ready for a new challenge, that is the path to real GENIUS.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

FANTASIZE

FANTASIZE

It may be sound odd to be encouraged to fantasize, in fact, some people think only lazy and shy people fantasize, or have fantasies, but the truth is, we all have fantasies. Anyone who have dreams of a better future; a higher level; a more rewarding position or situation, would have at one time fantasized about that situation they hope or wish to be in.

Fantasies are the first stage of dreams, it comes at conception and even in the execution process. You must move from the stage of fantasizing about what you want to planning, strategizing, and executing your plans, strategies, and ideas about your desires, or else it will end up like most wishes do, vanish in your head.

Ron Rivera once said, "A dream is what you fantasize about. It's what you hope for, but a vision is what you plan for. You map out and you have a set of goals, and you go out and you execute that plan to achieve your vision." Grow your fantasies into visions, be ready to put in the work necessary to achieve those visions, and never stop fantasizing.

Not all fantasies are realistic, and achievable, sieve your fantasies, identify those which will give you a better life, and never let go of them. Life will not be real and interesting without fantasies, it is what has given us some off the near impossible inventions of science and technology, it has given us a far more beautiful and easy life, FANTASIZE a better life, work towards a better life, and you will have a better life.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

ENDURE

ENDURE

Winning will never be a possibility without endurance. It is not easy to be a winner, winning comes with a lot of hard-work, determination, dedication, and consistency in whatever you do even in the face of failures, and disappointment. If only you keep doing what you need to do to win, irrespective of present results and outcomes, you will surely win.

Karim Benzema on 17th of October 2022, became the oldest player in to win a Ballon d'or award. He was a young talented player when he joined Real Madrid football club in 2009 alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, his efforts were never really recognized as he was always been overshadowed by the five times Ballon d'or winner.

Despite his lack of individual awards and honours, Karim never grumbled about his situation, he always supported and applauded his teammates who were getting the awards. Benzema never stopped giving his all and doing his best for his team. At the age of 34, he eventually won the most prestigious individual award in men's football. He was the undoubtedly, and unarguably the most deserving winner of the award.

Having endured tough times, Benzema got his well deserved honour. Like Christopher Reeve said, "A hero is an ordinary individual who finds the strength to persevere and endure in spite of overwhelming obstacles." There will always be obstacles; there will always be a reason to quit, but as long as you set your eyes on the goal, and ENDURE unto the end, you will surely achieve your goals.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

DOGMATIC

DOGMATIC

The man who considers some principles and philosophies unchanging is a man who would never experience growth. One characteristic that is key to the advancement and development of every man, kingdom, nations, and creed is their ability to adapt to changing times and situations. They should understand that one who does not learn how to swim with the tides, but struggles with it will be carried away by it.

Over the years, we have seen people become unprecedentedly transformed due to their embrace of new and modern ideas and ideologies; on the flip side, so many others have been left behind for their lack of flexibility and their unreadiness to embrace change.

Holding on to something without examining such, and relating it to the reality of present times may put us at a huge disadvantage, and keep us stagnated if not retrogressive. We must always seek to update ourselves with new discoveries, and ideas; we must always upgrade our knowledge bank to catch-up with current trends.

John F. Kennedy in a commencement Address at Yale University on June 11 1962 said, "Too often we hold fast to the clichés of our forebears. We subject all facts to a prefabricated set of interpretations. We enjoy the comfort of opinion without the discomfort of thought." Until we give ourselves to thoughts rather than depend on opinions, we will be limited in growth and advancement; when we bury our DOGMATIC personality, we give life to our growing, productive being.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

CLEVER

CLEVER

It is not enough to know a thing, one must know exactly how to use or apply what he knows adequately; you cannot know a thing if you don't learn it, and in learning one must be smart with the process. The earlier you get the concepts that are being put to you the better, but the ultimate thing is to learn, understand, and know how well to apply every knowledge acquired.

Life and people can be tricky, and one must devise means of handling their tricks with wisdom and intelligence. The clever person is not the man who claims to know all even when he knows a lot, he is more interested in knowing more, rather than boast in what he already knows, and if he allows his smartness to get in the way of his learning process, he would have himself to blame for the misfortunes that may follow.

Thomas Mann once said, "There are so many different kinds of stupidity, and cleverness is one of the worst." cleverness is not stupidity, but when it is not properly harnessed, it becomes a difficult problem to solve. You don't always have to do something new, you don't always have to do different things, but doing old things in new ways, and doing existing things differently makes you unique and different.

You don't have to be a genius, you don't have to be the most intelligent, you don't have to be the wisest to get to your desired destination, all you have to do is be ready to learn new things everyday, and be willing to apply smartly the new skills and knowledge, and life will unfold for you smoothly.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

BALLSY

BALLSY

Mokokoma Mokhonoana said something very true and profound when he said, "Plants are more courageous than almost all human beings: an orange tree would rather die than produce lemons, whereas instead of dying the average person would rather be someone they are not." Many people have become alternatives to who they should be, they have become duplicates of another person, when they are supposed to be their own original.

Without courage it is impossible to start anything; without courage one cannot continue a journey that has started; without courage you cannot be who you are meant to be. Maya Angelou once said, "Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently."

Be the sole proprietor of your own life; take full responsibility for everything that you do, and all the outcomes of your decisions. You cannot live your life on the influence, decisions, thoughts, and ideas of others, and expect to lead a successful life.

Take charge of your life; break the rules if need be; dream big dreams, and pursue them; set big goals, and go after them. Life does not listen to wishes, but it responds to work. Let your fears spur to do more, they are merely a pointer to the great possibilities that lie ahead. The man who is BALLSY is King, he will do whatever he wants, and achieve his wildest dreams.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

ACHIEVEMENT

ACHIEVEMENT

Everything is possible if you believe, but nothing is possible if you do not. You can not have what you have not conceived in your mind, the mind is the origin of everything that exists in our world today. Every great achiever is a great believer in the power of the mind, they understand how it works and gives all that it takes to make their pursuit a reality.

In the words of Roy T. Bennett who said, "Don’t let others tell you what you can’t do. Don't let the limitations of others limit your vision. If you can remove your self-doubt and believe in yourself, you can achieve what you never thought possible." Great achievements are only possible to the man who believes he can do whatever he wills, and is ready to give whatever it takes.

A great many have come and gone, a large number of these people left the world without any mark reasonable enough; many did not even scratch the surface of their potentials, talk less of achieving greatness. The ultimate mark of a great man is not the amount of money or possessions he is able to gather for himself, but the impact he is able to make in the world.

You can not continue to stay in the shells of safety, and expect to reach great heights of ACHIEVEMENT, no one has ever achieved anything spectacular through ease. Like Albert Einstein said, "Only those who attempt the absurd can achieve the impossible." Go beyond the norm, exceed your limits, go the extra mile, that is where great ACHIEVEMENTS reside.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

ZORB

ZORB

A lot of decisions in life are not very easy to make, they would sometimes require that one look away from the comfort, convenience, and safety, and look towards achieving results. You take a leap into the risky zone, and hope that all things work in your favour. The journey may not be smooth and easy, but when completed, it would be worth every bit of it.

In the sport of zorbing, people go inside a zorb (a large air cushioned hollow ball) and are rolled down a hill. The person in the zorb may not find it funny being rolled uncontrolled in that ball, but he would arrive at his destination safe and in time. It would have been impossible for one to go down same hill on anything else without a high risk of getting injured.

Sometimes, you have to go into an uneasy territory; at times, you have to let the wheels be, and let it go on autopilot; nothing in life is a guarantee, and nothing is achieved without an amount of risk, but not all risks are good risks. Before taking risks, you must examine the kind of risk, and what is in it for you, you should take calculated rather than blind risks.

Go into the ZORB; close your eyes to the fears; do what you want to do; live the life you have always wanted to live; the riskier, the more rewarding; those who would not take risks will not achieve greatness. It may be scary in the ZORB, but you will surely get to your destination faster. Nothing in life comes easy, whatever comes easy, goes easy.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

YOKE

YOKE

Many are those who submit themselves to being yoked to something they should ordinarily be superior to, and Lord over; many become willing slaves for benefits that are theirs but they do not know how to tap into it, and maximize their powers towards unleashing the potentials in them. They become ignorantly yoked to nothing.

Yokes don't choose the man to bound, men choose yokes they are bounded with. Many become free from one yoke, but submit themselves to greater yokes, they become slaves, when they should be kings. Anyone who seeks freedom, growth, and progress must identify the yokes that bind him, why he is bound, how he became bound, and how to be free.

Sometimes, you need to be yoked, you need to submit yourself to some yokes; sometimes just to learn how to be free from a yoke, and sometimes because those yokes will help you become a better person. Whether permitted or forced you must understand the purpose of every yoke. Nothing happens for nothing, so every yoke has a purpose.

You are the master of your own life, you choose who you submit to, you choose who your allegiance go to. You must carefully examine your decisions and be sure they will eventually be in your favour, maybe not immediately but, in the long run. Like Edwin Louis Cole once said, "The yoke you wear determines the burden you bear." Determine your burden by the YOKE you wear, it's all on your hands.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

XYRESIC

XYRESIC

Sometimes, one does not become a better person in life by adding more to what he already has, but by trimming down on the things he hangs around his neck, by shedding weight and letting go of some seemingly important stuffs he is tenaciously holding on to, but does not really add anything meaningful to him.

A razor does not cut through thick skin of substance because of its weight, but a razor cuts through substances thicker, and heavier than itself because it has shed-off the useless part of it to make itself light, and sharp enough to slice through substances and materials with ease. Sometimes, you don't need all you have to be what you want to be, or go where you want to go, you just need a little part of yourself, you need the tiniest, lightest, and sharpest part to execute whatever you want to execute.

As much as you must keep growing, and adding to your wealth of knowledge, skills, and abilities, you must seek to know and understand when you should freely move towards your goals and dreams.

You can not be too knowledgeable, too wise, too ready, too smart, too courageous, but you don't have to be all that to be all you want to be, you have just got to be equal to the task ahead of you, you have got to pull the bull by the horn, hit the bull's eye, and get things done as rightly as you can. Be as XYRESIC as possible, go for what you want, and slice through every difficulty that may come your way.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days  of wisdom".

WINNER

WINNER

No one enters into a race with the intention of not being the winner, even when some knows very well that they do not have what it takes to win, they would still hope that somehow they become winners, but life and reality does not always work by hope or expectation without the necessary inputs of preparation and hard-work. Like Paul Bryant once said, "It is not the will to win that matters—everyone has that. It's the will to prepare to win that matters."

To win, you must have a winner's mindset; you must be ready to push yourself beyond the limit; you must go over the line into the extra mile; you must be determined to beat the rest and the best; you must be ready to give all. Life respects no race, tribe, religion, or class, it produce and gives you the product of whatever you put into it, it respects your work not your face, faith, or fate.

Winning is never easy but with the right mindset, a can do spirit, and a never giving up mentality, winning is a great possibility. Sometimes, you don't have to be the best or even the first to win, you just have to be better than who you were yesterday, you have to do more than you did yesterday today, and even better tomorrow, you have to beat yourself everyday.

To be a WINNER you must learn and perfect the habit of not quitting, because quitters never win, and winners never quit. In the words of Mark Gorman who said, "Not all dreamers are winners, but all winners are dreamers. Your dream is the key to your future." Without the dream to win, no one can be a WINNER, winning does not come to non-dreamers.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom"

VALLEY

VALLEY

Everyone wants to be at the mountain top, everyone wants to be on top of the world, everyone wants to be in high places calling the shots, dishing out orders, and enjoying all the benefits and goodness of life, but most have failed to realize that without the valley experience it will be difficult to reach these feats; if there was no valley the mountain top would not be such an envy.

Most of the stuffs to be enjoyed on the mountain top would come from the valley; the valley is where men are built to climb the mountain, it is where you gather the strength, courage, and skills for the climb. Like Winston Churchill once said, “Mountaintops inspire leaders but valleys mature them.”

There are things you cannot do at the mountain top, they are only permitted in the valley, if you fail to do what is necessary in the valley you will either never get to the mountain top, or suffer the lack of these things. Without the valley, survival on the mountain top would be a difficult one.

The great Billy Graham once said, “Mountaintops are for views and inspiration, but fruit is grown in the valleys.” It is only in the VALLEY you have the resources to grow; the mountain top has no soil; it is only in the valley you can develop all the skills, ability, and strength for growth and development, once you are on the mountain top, another verse of life begins and a new you arrives, so, take full advantage of your VALLEY moment.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

UNANIMITY

UNANIMITY

At some times it may be very important and necessary to come into an agreement very quickly to fast-track progress to refocus on other matters; at other times it may become detrimental for a group of people to reach an agreement very quickly and conclude a matter without seeking other opinions or subjecting our thought to a reexamination.

When a unanimous decision has been taken on a matter, it may translate to the fact that the decision agreed upon is favourable to all the parties involve, and are therefore satisfied with all possible outcomes envisaged. UNANIMITY can be out of pure love for the united society, or out of sheer selfishness for that which one desires.

George S. Patton once said, "If everyone is thinking alike, then somebody isn't thinking." It is not far from the truth, that similar thoughts can be signs of a strong idea; on the flip, thinking alike may also translate to lack of thinking on the part of some thinkers. Top quality ideas will not always get the kind of acceptance that cheap, low class ideas may receive because great ideas is not meant for everyone.

UNANIMITY can be both an advantage or disadvantage to man's progress and eventual success, but the we must be able to decipher and sieve the good from the bad, the intelligent and smart ideas from the dumb, retrogressive ones act accordingly. When necessary encourage UNANIMITY, but when it is against a greater good, fight it out.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom ".

TALENT

TALENT

Most of us came to the world with precious gifts, gifts big and valuable enough to open great doors for one to enter in, gifts that can lead one to portals of greatness. Most of our problems arise from our lack of courage to put our talents to use. Erica Jong once said "Everyone has talent. What's rare is the courage to follow it to the dark places where it leads."

Trusting your talents may not always lead to where you want at the time you want it, it may take you to places dark and dreary, it may not bring the brightness you crave for, but if you do not relent, if you do not give up, you will surely get to the bright side of life with the doors of achievement wide open for your entry.

You must add to your talent, will, determination, dedication, and desire to become who you want to become, you must see the way through the storms, and test of your patience, resilience, and commitment to the course you have chosen. Talent is powerful, but talent alone will never do the work, it is only a boost to the attitude resident within.

In the words of Roy T. Bennett "Believe in yourself. You are braver than you think, more talented than you know, and capable of more than you imagine." you have all that is needed and necessary for your greatness, you are powerful beyond measure, you are a creator, a builder, and an originator, you are meant to dominate not to be dominate. Use your TALENT to your rising from obscurity.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

SANCTUARY

SANCTUARY

Safety, and protection is not in a place, neither is it geographically located somewhere; it is a feeling, an assurance, and a knowing that wherever you find yourself, you are safe and protected. You must first understand that the your own safety is your primary responsibility, and any attempt to delegate that to any other, can be a disaster.

On the other hand, as much as you can protect yourself from some things, the surest form of protection is from a power higher than you, and stronger than the predator, that hunts you as a prey. A sanctuary is not necessarily a building made with stones and bricks; You are a sanctuary, and you must identify the means by which you are safe and protected, and duly activate these means.

We are complete creatures of the Almighty Creator, we are made reservoirs of everything good, useful, needed and necessary. We are created to manifest unimaginable powers, and until we realize this, and activate these powers we will continue to live powerless. We must awaken to the reality of our gloriousness and live to manifest greatness.

Marianne Williamson once wrote, "Each of us has an inner room where we can visit to be cleansed of fear-based thoughts and feelings. This room, the holy of holies, is a sanctuary of light." There is a SANCTUARY in you, where you can visit and there you will get all that you need. Create your safe place, stick to your source of protection, keep the SANCTUARY of your mind intact and clean.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

REALITY

REALITY

The source of most realities we have today are fantasies that were not left where they originate from, but was seen as a possibility, was worked upon and the reward for such efforts followed. The mind is the source of everything good, although it can not differentiate between what is real and what is unreal, without it most realities will never have existed.

Nothing is impossible if we are willing and ready to give it what it takes. The only reality of life is today; yesterday is gone, and tomorrow is uncertain, but today we can shape ourselves and lives to whatever form it can and should be. Former United States Secretary of State, late Colin Powell once said, "A dream doesn't become reality through magic; it takes sweat, determination and hard work." Reality is not a challenge, but the kind of reality that one wants will be determined by the kind of work done in this dreams, and goal.

If you fold your hands and let life dawn on you instead of waking up to the fact that your desired reality is in your hands to beat into whatever size, shape, and form you desire for yourself, default reality will come upon you, and you will have yourself alone to blame.

Do not neglect your fantasies, your dreams, goals, and visions for the future, they are the ingredients that are used to create and build the kind of future that you desire, the kind of REALITY you want for yourself. You must define who you are and what you want for yourself, you must not allow the opinion of others create an unwanted REALITY for you.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

QUOTA

QUOTA

Everyone in the world has got a place and position; everyone has got a contribution to be made on earth; your unique contribution to humanity, your dedicated service to the continuous peaceful existence of man, as well as your determination to make the world a better place for the generations yet unborn is a quota that must be honoured and followed through.

Giving your quota of a anything is much more valuable, important, and respected than receiving your quota of something. When you give your quota, you are performing a necessary obligation; but when you receive a quota of something, you might have been considered for it without merit.

When we realize that we are more of a debtor to our world rather than an anticipatory receiver of what we are likely not entitled to, we would have a better and a more homely world. William Feather once said, "The wise man seeks little joys, knowing that life is long and that his quota of great joys is distinctly limited." When your expectations from life is limited, you have more peace than having a needlessly high expectation.

Be more of a giver, look more to what you can do for others, and what you can contribute to the general good of all around you, rather than expecting what you can receive from your society. The wealthiest people, societies, and organisations in the world are not those that are built on reception, but those that have made giving and making impact a responsibility. Do more of giving your QUOTA, than receiving your quota, that is the key to growth.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

PEACH

PEACH

Everyone admire good things, everyone wants to be admired, but not everyone is good enough for admiration. We can even question the concept of being good. What is good to some, may not be good to another. Human beings are unique in their ways, and one person's likes may be another person's dislike, what is more important is to be a person of value and impact wherever you find yourself.

One cannot be admired if he is not genuinely himself, you must protect your personality, originality, and uniqueness with all you can. You can always be an option as long as you are doing what others do, but when you find a way of distinguishing yourself, you can become the standard of comparison, you can become the number one go to person. Like George du Maurier said, "An apple is an excellent thing - until you have tried a peach." Be the best you can be such that you can become the PEACH.

You don't have to struggle with the acceptance of people, all you have to contend with, is the person you are becoming. When you are who you should be, you are a value to where you are, and you will always command the respect that is due you.

Decorate yourself, and your life with valuable skills; acquire useful and profitable knowledge; make yourself a pride and an envy; set goals, pursue them tenaciously, and hit your target. Ripen yourself up for impact, "The ripest PEACH is highest on the tree" ~ James Whitcomb Riley.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

ORIGINALITY

ORIGINALITY

In Herman Melville's words, "It is better to fail in originality than to succeed in imitation." No one has even been the best at an imitation; you cannot be first when you are reproducing, replicating, or imitating what has already been done by someone else, and the best way to be easily forgotten is to subject yourself to being second fiddle when you can be number one.

There is a first place reserved for everyone who is ready to occupy that space, you are created original, for a specific, special, and unique purpose; if you don't live up to the fulfillment of your purpose in life, no one will achieve that purpose for you. There is nothing new under the sun, the only thing that distinguishes you from everyone else, is your originality.

Edith Wharton said, "True originality consists not in a new manner but in a new vision." originality is not much of what is been done, but who is doing it, and how it is done. Products may be identical, your how is your identity, your process is your unique key.

Be creative, be flexible, life is not always about what we want, but what has to be done. We can be all we want to be, we can be the best around in everything we do, but we must be careful not to lose our identity and what we ought to be by wanting to become what we are not made for. Be yourself in all you do, you are a complete package of the best thing that can ever be.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".

NEXUS

 NEXUS

You may not always understand why some things happen the way it happens, why it happens, and the timing of the happening; everything may not be clear in the beginning, but like Steve Jobs once said, “You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future.” When you have done all you can, and possibly given your best to the course which you are on, you must believe that you will eventually get to the destination you have desired.

There is a connection between the dots of your past, your present, and that of your future; the dots might be appearing unexpectedly, it could also be unveiling by design, or by default, and what it will be is your choice to either allow or alter. Just follow your heart, it somehow already knows the path you have to tread and will not lead you astray.

To quote Frederick Lenz "What we are seeking is the nexus of all possible worlds and states of mind, which is within us. The source of everything is within you." (paraphrased).

You are made for more than just existence, you are made for much more greater than you have ever imagined nor achieved, but you shouldn't live below an honourable standard. The NEXUS of everything you can and would become, is enshrined in your thoughts of yourself and your future. If you do not design what you want, you will get what you don't want.

(A➡️Z)14➕Z)

John Kamikun

Author, "366 days of wisdom".