Focus on the focus.

FOCUS ON WHAT IS IMPORTANT.

In a football match, there are typically twenty two players on the field including a referee, making a total of twenty three men on the pitch. Sometimes, there may be thousands of spectators in the stands watching that football match, but of all the people and things on and off the pitch, one thing is very important: the round leather (football), and there is only one objective for all those on that pitch, putting that round leather into the opponent's goal post.

A lot of times, the spectators, some of which have come to support and cheer you towards putting the ball into the opponent's goal posts will make sounds and noises that are distracting, they sometimes would have and blow whistles that sounds just like that of the referee, and as a professional with a mission, you must be able to distinguish between the sound of the referee's whistle, and that of the spectators.

As a person who knows what he wants, and earnestly wants to get it, you must be able to sieve and separate distractions from measures. In your pursuit of that which you want, you must be focused enough to know that whatever does not eventually lead to you achieving your visions and aspirations are distractions on your journey.

The journey will not always be smooth, there might be stops, bumps, hurdles, and ditches, you may get so tired and frustrated, you can even be at a disadvantage very early on your journey, but if you keep your eyes on the ball, and your heart on the goal, if you are ready and willing to give it your best shot, and keep going irrespective of current realities, if you will focus on what is most important, you will eventually WIN.

Kamikun John, Author 366 days of wisdom.

Attitude is everything.

YOUR ATTITUDE CREATES YOUR ATMOSPHERE.

Skill, knowledge, ability, wisdom are all enviable qualities to posses as human beings, in fact, they are qualities that one must strive to have. These qualities would really go a long way in determining what one becomes in life, but one thing is very important if not the most important; Attitude.

Irrespective of who you are, and what you have, if you do not have a positive attitude, you will never become the best you should be. Your attitude will determine how well you make use of all the other qualities you posses; it will determine people’s perception about you; and ultimately it will determine to what extent those qualities will take you.

In the words of the legendary Winston Churchill "Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference." Attitude might be perceived as little, simple, and irrelevant, but it is that which makes the big difference in everything else. In difficult times, your attitude will determine whether you come out winning or beaten; in the days of ease and pleasure, your attitude will determine whether there is more, or you have had it all.

Your attitude speaks volume of who you are. World renowned leadership Coach and Consultant John C. Maxwell once said, "People may hear your words, but they feel your attitude." If you do not have a positive attitude, you can consciously begin to work on yourself to change your attitude from what it is to a more positive and productive one that will create the atmosphere you yearn for, and take you to the altitude you desire.

Kamikun John, Author 366 days of wisdom.

Just do it.

DO IT WHEN YOU CAN'T.

Yes, you saw right, that is exactly what you read in the title - do it when you can't. The best time to do what you think you cannot do, is exactly that moment you think you can't do it. It is always difficult to start anything at all, even the things you think you can do. Talk less of the things you think you can not do.

The major obstruction against you getting started, and doing anything is what you think, and how you think. Your thoughts are either the building bricks, or the stumbling blocks to your actions and activities. If you want to get anything done, you have to change how and what you think about yourself. No one has the ability to stop you from doing whatever you want to do, or being whoever you want to be, but you.

Henry Ford once said, "Whether you think you can, or you think you can't, you are right." So, when you think you can't, it is not necessarily true that you can't, but your mind is making you believe that you can't, and if you just ignored what your mind is saying and just go ahead doing it, it will surprise you how you would get it done. Even if you don't succeed at getting it done, you would have learnt lessons that you would not have learnt if you had not made any attempt.

If we can make it an habit to just do it even when we think we can't, and reverse our thoughts to thinking we can, we are most likely to succeed at it. Like Theodore Roosevelt said, "Believe you can, and you are halfway there." The believe alone can get you as far as halfway through, when you put in the action, and really get down to work with determination and dedication, you will surely get it done.

Kamikun John, Author 366, days of wisdom.

Think long, think short.

SHORT OR LONG TERM THINKER?

Life is lived in the moment, and you can be fortunate to live for a very long time, so you would have lived many short lives within a more elaborate and longer life. However, what you want for your self and what you get from life is dependent on how you plan your life, and the things you do, or are ready to do to get what you want to have.

Some considers thinking and planning for the future as a waste of time, and some does not even think of planning for any future. These are short term thinkers. Their thoughts does not go beyond the now; they think only of superficial things like feeding, clothing, and shelter. They do not consider the possibility of doing better than what they currently do, and are very satisfied with playing small and petty.

There are others who think only in future terms, they do not see a need to live in the moment, all they do and want to do is to prepare, plan, and work towards a better future. They ignore the things that require their immediate and urgent attention, forgetting that it is the pleasant present that culminates and accumulates into an awesome future.

As much as it is far more important to always think in the long term, it is also very necessary that we do not ignore short term thoughts. If we fail to consider what is happening in the present, that we do not see how it can affect the future, we are likely to fall short of achieving our long term goals. We must always have a balance for our long and short term plans, we must not ignore or exhalt one at the expense of the other. Long or short term, always give critical thoughts to everything you do and be disciplined enough to follow through on the best path to a better ending.

Kamikun John, Author 366 days of wisdom.

Your hidden powers.

MINDS, BRAINS, AND EMOTIONS (PART 2).

Beyond being instruments of decision making, the mind, and the brain are very powerful gifts to us as humans. They possess unimaginable powers to make a man whatever he wants to become. At birth, the mind and the brain are fertile, flexible, and empty, and as we grow, we begin to fill them up with different experiences, ideas, culture, thoughts, and so on, and these begins to form the person that we become.

According to science the human brain possesses about a hundred billion neurons with roughly one quadrillion (that is, one million billion) connections known as synapses linking these cells together. These enable it to process about sixty bits of information per second, and store up to 2.5 million gigabytes of information. These are clear indications of our underutilization of our brains going by what some of us have created so far. So, if we are more conscious, and more determined to engage our brains more productively we will achieve more with it.

The seat of imagination, perception, thought, and will is the mind. We cannot fully exhaust what the mind is capable of doing, but if we engage it as much as possible, we would enjoy so much benefits from it. Whatever is conceived in the mind can be created and achieved. Without the creative capabilities of the imaginations of the mind, everything that exist today would not have been.

If we desire better lives, we must imagine better things, and think better thoughts, but our thoughts and imagination will never be positive unless we have fed our minds, and brains, with positive informations, ideas, and beliefs. Marilyn Monroe once said, “The sky is not the limit. Your mind is.” You can go as far as your mind can take you, but your mind will only take you as far as you have nurtured it.

Kamikun John, Author 366 days of wisdom.

You are your decisions.

MINDS, BRAINS, AND EMOTIONS.

Decision making is a crucial part of every man's life, and how a man's judgements are made up is as important as the man's future, and what he wants to become. If decisions are not made with the right instruments and factors adequately examined, problems are likely to abound. Numerous are the factors and elements that determine and affect our decision making, and of all, the mind, brain, and emotions are crucial and most personal.

As personal and deep as our emotions might be, it is one of the most faulty instruments of decision making. Before we can engage our emotions in reaching conclusion for a decision, we must have passed it through our mind and brain, and if proper scrutiny has been done, emotions might not be a necessary consideration.

The brain deals mostly with facts and figures, it examines past experiences, and lessons, then draws up a mental graph for the probability of success against failure. This is probably the best means of consciously reaching a decision, as the presence of accurate and precise information will aid proper judgement.

Sometimes, a strong nudging from the mind to do a certain thing, follow a particular path, or act in a certain way is all we need to get on track to achieve some things we want, and need to achieve. The mind is a worthy compass that can be followed, but it must be a mind that has been well fed, and positively nurtured. Whatever you do, make determined efforts to ensure your decisions are the right ones, as Wesam Fawzi would say, “The quality of your life is built on the quality of your decisions.”

Kamikun John, Author 366 days of wisdom.

Friendly enemies.

ALLIES TURN FOES.

Imagine you having to fight a battle, and to win that battle you need to plan and strategise effectively and efficiently. While planning you discovered that it would be difficult to win that battle without creating alliances. In a bid towards  creating a stronger army you reached out to people who you think would be worthy allies, and they responded. You planned and strategised together on how to defeat this common enemy. On the day of the battle when all parties file out on the battlefield, your supposed ally is standing right beside your opponent.

It was Winston Churchill who said, "We have no lasting friends, no lasting enemies, only lasting interests." Some people are barely your friend, not for a cause that is just or mutually beneficial, but for the fulfillment of their own personal aims and ambitions.

You must be careful how you let people into your inner circle. You cannot be sure of everyone that present themselves to you as a friend, they may be enemies who have come to destroy you from within. Life is a personal journey, but succeeding in life requires the support of trusted and honest allies who share the same vision and passion without placing personal achievements over team success.

Choose your friends wisely, those who have sworn to stand by you in every situation can deny you to your very face within a very short time. So, whatever you do in life, take a stand, and remain unshakable. Fight for what belongs to you or that which you strongly desire. You are your own only best friend, and loyal ally.

Kamikun John, Author 366 days of wisdom.

Losing is sometimes a win.

VICTORY IN LOSES.

Winning in every sphere of endeavours is the ultimate goal of every man, but as much as no one wants to fail, failure is part of the journey to success. Sometimes, failing itself is a win, because it teaches some valuable lessons that success will not teach you. Failure is not the end of the road, neither is success, but advancing towards a better self is the real essence of every journey.

Some battles are not meant for your enrollment; you don't have to fight in some wars, therefore, winning those battles may be detrimental to your growth and progress as a person, and sometimes to your overall journey in life, as it can mark the beginning of a nosedive.

A lot of times we don't really know what is ahead of us, we do not understand the effects of some of our actions until we come face to face with the realities that those actions yield. Whenever we fail in an attempt to get something for ourself, or miss out on some opportunities we thought could be life changing for us, we must not always see those failures as losses, but we must look out for the positives in those situations.

God always have a way of kicking us back on track, He has a way of correcting us when we make mistakes, and sometimes He prevents us from embarking on journeys that would sweep us off our feets and make us lose focus of what we should be fighting for. So, whatever happens, as long as you trust in Him and believe He will not let you down, win or lose, be grateful.

Kamikun John, Author 366 days of wisdom.

Responsibilities not titles.

LEADERSHIP IS NOT A TITLE

Leadership is not about the position you occupy or the portfolio you handle, neither is it about the number of people that follows you, leadership is about the impact you are making in people's lives, and it's overall effect on the society. There are different levels of leadership, and various types of leaders; if you are not creating positive impact wherever you find yourself, irrespective of how highly placed you are, you are not a worthy leader.

You cannot emerge into any position of leadership through force, coercion, or trick, fuelled by a strong desire to achieve or fulfill your personal dreams, and objectives, and expect to breed positivity of any form. The emergence of anyone as a leader can either be through election, selection, or any other legal means of appointing leaders, or an automatic ascension through the consistent exhibition of valuable and acceptable leadership trait in the society.

Anyone can be a leader, irrespective of age, gender, social or societal status, all that is important and needed are good leadership qualities fit for the advancement of the society one is leading. Rosalynn Carter once said, "A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be."

You don't have to be the strongest, you don't have to be the most intelligent, neither do you have to be one without weaknesses, but you must be one who is clear about where you are taking the people you are leading to, you must understand that you have to be an example to those you lead, and be ready to accept the consequences of your decisions. Leadership is not a title or position, it is a responsibility.

Kamikun John, Author 366 days of wisdom.

Kill or get killed.

PROCRASTINATION: KILL IT, OR IT KILLS YOU.

Benjamin Franklin once said, "Do not put off until tomorrow that which you can do today". One thing that ensures nothing gets done if it is not done in the instant is procrastination. It is a killer of dreams, and a sleeky thief of time. Procrastination deceives you into believing that you have a lot of time on your side, and by the time it is done with you, you would realise how much time has been wasted, and how little you had in the first place.

Time waits for no man, it never stops ticking, if you wait for time, it will leave you behind, and lost time will never be found again. The secret to getting anything done is to do it in the moment. Do not overthink your decisions, and never doubt the validity of your thoughts and ideas. "Ideas rule the world" they say, but an idea that is never acted upon will not even rule a small village.

Jesus Christ in the ninth chapter of the book of John said in the forth verse, “I must work the works of him that sent me, while it is day: the night comes, when no man can work.” If you do not do what you must do while the time is right, you will not be able to do it when the time is gone.

Procrastination kills, it steals, and it destroys; indiscipline is its most lethal weapon, and the surest way to deal with procrastination is to fight indiscipline. Be determined, be focused, and wake up to the fact that dreams don't come to pass while you are asleep, but when you wake up to fight for what you really want from life. Kill indiscipline and procrastination will die an automatic death.

Kamikun John, Author 366 days of wisdom.

Gratitude: the way up.

ALTITUDE THROUGH GRATITUDE.

An adage in Yoruba language says, "the person who is grateful for yesterday's favour would receive another". The expression of gratitude opens up the portal for more goodwill and favour. The one who shows gratitude, and the one to whom it is shown automatically gets psychologically bonded to do more to and for each other.

Gratitude is a free gift, but its effect is priceless. Whether you deserve a thing or not, giving gratitude to someone whom you have received from will cost you nothing, and it can buy you more than you can ever imagine. It is the key that opens the portal to greater altitude. We can not have all that we want, desire, or even deserve from life, but we can be grateful for the things we have.

Germany Kent once said, “It is a funny thing about life, once you begin to take note of the things you are grateful for, you begin to lose sight of the things that you lack.” Abundance and lack are neighbours on the border of gratitude, you decide which side of the border you want to be. The most happy people in the world are not those who possess everything, but those who in spite of their little, expresses gratitude.

Sometimes, it might be difficult to be grateful for something, because you think it is too little, irrelevant, or that you deserve more. Irrespective of what the situation may be, be grateful. Gratitude is like an inexhaustible step, the more you use it, the higher you go. You would determine how high you want to go, and how happy you would be by how often you express gratitude.

Kamikun John, Author 366 days of wisdom.

Obstructions or Construction?

DON'T FIGHT IT, GO THROUGH IT.

A sailor does not set his sail against the storm, otherwise he will find himself in unwanted territories. You either wait patiently for the storm to pass, or you set your sail such that it is supported by the storm. Storms do not come to sink your boat, except you fight it. After the storm, comes serenity, and brightness; storms clear rubbish and anything that may want to stand on your path to your destination.

Life's challenges are not death traps, they are not meant to pull you down, destroy you, or make you quit your journey, rather they are meant to build you up, toughen you, teach you how to fight, and gear you up towards pursuing your desired goals and aspirations.

Learn to ride on your challenges, learn to use stumbling blocks as stepping stones, do not give in to oppositions, do not let the noise around you hold you back. Champions are not people who do not face difficulties, but they go through those difficulties and come out better and brighter than they were before challenges and difficulties came.

You may be getting tired, you might have been drained of all the energy that is left in you, do not let it get the better of you. Think of any precious stone anywhere in the world, they have all gone through some of the hottest and harshest conditions to come out the way they are. Do not resist difficulties, do not fight challenges, but go through them, grow through them, and learn through them, you would come out perfectly refined to take your rightful place.

Kamikun John, Author 366 days of wisdom.

Life, not fate.

UNTIL IT IS ALTERED, IT IS FATE.

Your hands, mouth, and actions are the moulders and shapers of the life and future you would have. You are the determinant of what would become of you by what you do, don't do, say, don't say, and how you think. You are not entitled to anything, nothing is just supposed to happen for you unless you or someone else work for it.

So many people attributes some of the events that happen in their life to fate, meanwhile, if they had been more conscious of their environment, and the things happening around them, such events would have been averted or turned around. When people fail, they call it fate, but when they succeed, they attribute it to hardwork, determination, intelligence, and many other things.

Things are not meant to turn out in any particular way, we can create what we want by how we react to the events around us. We can alter some outcomes by properly planning for and against them. Fate does not have to determine what we get; if everything has been predetermined, then we do not have to do anything for everything to happen.

The fact that you work hard for what you want does not guarantee your getting it, planning, hoping, and working towards a particular goal, and purpose is not a guarantee that it will happen to you just as you expect it. Life is not fair, so, as much as you do your best towards ensuring that you get what you want in, and from life, you must also understand that you don't get all that you work for, or even deserve in life.

Kamikun John, Author 366 days of wisdom.

Shining together.

YOUR SHINE SPARKS MORE SHINE.

Everyone on earth is on a different track, everyone is running a different race, and everyone is in a different time zone. You are responsible for your own life, and how it turns out, no one will get the stick for your failure, or the honour for your success. Nevertheless, some people will be affected by either your success or failure, so, you should consider the impact neither will have on them.

You don't have to be successful for others to be successful, but your success will increase the probability of succeeding for some people around you. Even if you don't shine, some people will still shine, but when you shine, you help others see their light faster, and the sparks goes around more easily.

Marianne Williamson captures it all in these words "Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, 'Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous?' Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It's not just in some of us; it's in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others."

You can be a source of light to others, you can be the reason someone achieves success faster than they ordinarily would, you can be a source of motivation to those around you. Let your light shine, and do not hide it, let it brighten the path for others coming behind, let it give them hope that they too will one day be a shining light.

Kamikun John, Author 366 days of wisdom.

Talkers and Babblers.

 ARE YOU TALKING OR BLABBING?

An audio amplifier is a device that helps increase the volume of a speaker's voice, or any form of sound. The amplifier does not sieve what is been said, it only amplifies it. Whatever is been amplified is either taken in and digested by the listener or hearer, or discarded immediately.

In today's world of social media, there are so many voices that are being amplified, so many people are uttering statements, without giving them reasonable thoughts. A lot of people just want to be among those to be heard, not necessarily saying something logical or reasonable, but wanting to satisfy their ego, chose to make utterances that does not bring positivity, or make any tangible impact in any life.

There are TALKERS and there are BABBLER, and everyone of us fall within one of these categories. Are you a Talker, or a Babller? Are you creating voices of peace, freedom, progress, and logic, or you are just babbling? Are you one for societal growth, and development, or you are all about your own public perception, popularity, personal gains, and self aggrandisement?

Our society needs more talkers; people who are ready to render their voices to just causes, who will stand their ground for what they know, and believe to be true; people who will take the burden of the less privileged, and make a case for them; people who are ready to educate the younger generation, and lead them in the path that is right, true, and just. Not those who will create contents, not considering the negative effect it could have on the younger generation, just babbling for fame and money. Are you talking or babbling?

Kamikun John, Author 366 days of wisdom.

Life; a rollercoaster.

UP OR DOWN, NEVER STOP MOVING.

Life is like a rollercoaster ride, you would experience many ups, and many downs; you would experience the sweetness of life, as well as the bitterness of it. All these experiences are what makes life worth living. No one, not even the wealthiest of men has the luxury of a smooth life journey. Everyone at one point or the other would have to experience both sides of the coins of life.

While on the rollercoaster, some scream, yell, and make lots of noise, while others just sit still and enjoy the ride. When you go through your tough times in life, your reactions and response will determine what you will get out of those events. The up times are a period of enjoyment and merriment, they tell you how sweet and lovely life could be, while the down times are a period for learning important lessons that may be needed as you progress along the journey of life.

Either you are up or down never stop moving, never stop learning, never stop improving yourself, life is a journey, and success is not a destination. There is no end to what we can become, or where we can get to in life. Pop singer Kesha Rose once said, "You can be anything. You can be the infinite amount of things people are", nothing can ever, and should ever stop you from moving forward irrespective of where you are, or what is happening to you.

There will be very tough days, days you feel like quitting, days you feel like letting it all go away, days you feel like crying your eyes out, no matter what you do, no matter how tough it gets, never stop moving, never give in to the pressure, never let the situation get the better of you, dig deep into your inner arsenal, and find the strength, courage, and motivation to keep going.

Kamikun John, Author 366 days of wisdom.

Only you can be you.

NOBODY BUT YOU.

On the battlefield, the only person responsible for keeping you alive is yourself. Collaborative efforts is key to that responsibility, but no one will collaborate with a dead man. Soldiers who lose their lives on the battlefield does so in spite of collaborations, but those who live, are those who ensure that irrespective of whatever happens, even when their partners drop dead, they will return home to their families and loved ones.

No one is coming to save you; no one will do for you what you should do for yourself; no one is responsible for your personal growth, and development; if you do not do what is required of you, you will not become who you are meant to be, and your life will be just a shadow of the real you.

Disappointments await those who expect others to do for them what they should do for themselves; your happiness should not be determined by anyone else other than yourself. Live your life as you would want it lived, not as anyone else  would want you live it. Whatever becomes of you is your responsibility, and you will live with the consequences of your choices, irrespective of how it was made.

Live for what you believe to be true; live for what you know to be right; your input is of great value and effect to the existence of all; you are a part of the whole, but if you do not keep yourself right, and in good shape, you cannot bring the necessary contributions and impact the world needs from you. In the words of Edwin Elliot, "By being yourself, you put something wonderful in the world that was not there before."

Kamikun John, Author 366 days of wisdom.

Your availability does not mean you are valuable.

AVAILABLE OR VALUABLE?

You must have heard the phrase "When the preferable is not available, the available becomes preferable." Availability is never a true indication of value, in fact, excessive availability is likely to drive down the value of something. Sand, water, and air (compounds of the most abundant elements on earth oxygen, and silica) are some of the most available substances in the world, but people do not accrue so much value them as should be, because of their availability. The scarcity of any of these will easily remind you of how valuable and important they really are.

You are a unique entity, made for a purpose, you must always create value, and make impacts wherever you go. Nevertheless, you must apply great wisdom with how you make yourself available and accessible. This is not to say you should become inaccessible to those whom you are supposed to impact, but to eleminate familiarity which breeds contempt.

It is always better to leave the stage when the ovation is loudest, because after that moment, you might begin to lose the respect you have earned through the value you have created. If you leave at the right time, your value is kept intact, and you are more likely to be called upon when situations that need your expertise arises. You should be in charge of all that corncern you, take control of your time, and be wise enough to give yourself that break when necessary.

Rather than make yourself unnecessarily available, be delibrate about improving yourself and making yourself more valuable. Your availability should not make you preferable, but your value should ignite a call for your availability. Work towards being an asset, rather than a liability. Go bury yourself, water, nurture, and equip yourself with all that you need to be valuable, and sprout out of the ground blossoming unhindered.

Kamikun John, Author 366 days of wisdom.

Your purpose is within you.

STOP FINDING PURPOSE, FIND YOURSELF.

Imagine you need to pass a message across to a speaker on a pulpit, and you cannot whisper, nor mutter words into his hears whilst he is on that pulpit. All you have to do is to put your message in writing and pass it across to him. To achieve this objective, you need two things that has been made for this purpose; a pen, and a paper. You have to find these items, and your goal will be achieved as the purpose of these two items are already known.

You cannot know, or understand the purpose of something you do not have, something you have not seen, or known, or even familiar with. When you become familiar with something, you can study that thing to be able to find what it was made to do.

If you must discover your purpose, you must first find yourself, know who you are, and what you are made up of. You must be able to identify, and understand your strengths, and weaknesses. Until you find yourself, and know who you are, you cannot fulfill purpose. Nevertheless, the knowledge and consciousness of who you are does not guarantee the fulfillment of purpose if you are not ready, willing, and disciplined enough to give your all into the fulfillment of that purpose. The actualisation of purpose does not come cheaply, but it can come easily when you have found yourself.

In the words of Blaise Pascal, "One must know oneself. If this does not serve to discover truth, it at least serves as a rule of life, and there is nothing better." Lao Tzu also said, "Knowing others is intelligence; knowing yourself is true wisdom." True wisdom is in the discovery of one's self, and it is the best thing to happen to any man, for in it purpose is birthed.

Kamikun John, Author 366 days of wisdom.

Don't just grow old, grow up.

GROWING UP OR GOING UP.

The passing of time is not a guarantee for growing up, but it certainly guarantees your growing old. A child does not grow up just because he was born, a child grows up because he was born, nurtured and taken care of, and when he is a man, he takes up the challenge and responsibility of doing a better job in taking care of himself and ensuring proper growth.

Going up may seem a good phenomenon, you might get carried away by the sudden flight into height, and feel ontop of the world, but that path is a dangerous one. A kite can fly to unimaginable heights, it can go far into the sky above so many trees, and high rise structures, but it will eventually come back down, but those trees and structures remain up, because they grew up, and were built up. The trees take years to grow up to those heights, and those high rise structures also take time to get to those heights, but a kite will surpass them in minutes, which speaks to the reason it must come back down also in a matter of minutes.

Growing up comes through a clear and intentional process of building yourself through the different levels of growth, and maturity that is required and necessary for certain functions, responsibilities, and performance. If the ingredients necessary for growth are not complete, growth may become stunted, which will not be a true reflection of who you are, what, and who you should be.

Do not seek to go up, rather be intentional and deliberate about your growing up for that is the only guarantee to staying up. Whatever goes up must come down, according to the law of gravity; but whatever grows up, stays up, and any attempt to bring it down would take so much effort and time. You don't want to just grow old, and let time pass you by, you want to grow up and show the world what a blessing you are.

Kamikun John, Author 366 days of wisdom.

Just do it.

THE TIME IS NOW

The best gift every man has received from life is 'time', it is also the most abundant gift, yet the scarcest. You can have so much time, but do not know how to maximise, you can also have same time and be too busy to know when it is all exhausted. Time waits for no man, it moves at a speed that is mostly confusing to many. Sometimes, people wonder how so much was done in so little time, and others how nothing or so little was done in so much time.

You have to be prepared and ready always to be able to make the best use of time, otherwise you would come into time and waste all of it. Time is a revealer, time is a judge; it will reveal everything that has been hidden, and it will unfold the result of every  actions and activities or inactivity.

Whatever you do, or want to do, just get to it and do it. Do not wait for the perfect time, for there is no perfect time, the perfect time is a wasted time. The more you wait, the more you are likely not to get to do whatever you want to do. If the time it takes to achieve a thing is what discourages you from starting that thing, consider what you will become, and what will be of you in the same time it would have taken you to do that thing.

Like Stephen R. Covey would say, "The key is in not spending time, but in investing it." Invest your time in the things that you will be proud of tomorrow; invest your time in the things that would yield for you tomorrow what is valuable enough for the future. Do not take time for granted, rather see time as a resource tap that is permanently open and can be closed at any time. It is better done earlier than latter, but in any case the most important thing is that you do it now.

Kamikun John, Author 366 days of wisdom.

What you say is what you get.

DON'T SAY "I CAN'T"

When it comes to the uttering of words, and attendant actions, truth is a relative phenomenon. The only time something can be established as truth is when it has occurred, that is, the past, history. So, when reporting an already established reality, the facts, the truth must be stated, otherwise falsehood would be established.

If you say you can't, you shut yourself away from the possibility of being able to do, or achieve what is been set before you, you at that moment establish a truth or a lie that could have been otherwise. Confessions create the reality that you utter, not necessarily the reality that you want. So, If you want something, confess it as you want it, and everything around you will conspire to give you what you want, and your utterance will also inspire you to do whatever will be necessary to achieve that which you want.

The mind can not differentiate reality from simulation, but it can bring to reality whatever it is wired and configured to do. You can trick the mind to work in your favour, your can tell it whatever you want, and it will find a way around whatever obstacles lie on your path to getting that thing.

It was Henry Ford who said, "If you think you can't, you are right; if you think you can, you are also right". All you have to do is to go with the right that you best desire. Many people have achieved so much, that when they look back at who they were before getting to where they are, it would have been an almost impossible task for them to reach such heights, but they got there just by first believing they can, and everything else fell in place for them. Just say I can, and surely you will be able to.

Kamikun John, Author 366 days of wisdom.

Winning comes through fighting.

YOU DON'T WIN A BATTLE YOU NEVER FOUGHT.

A football team can win a match they did not play in, but they must have been prepared and ready to play that match but cannot as a result of a shortcoming on the part of the supposed opponent. In soccer, this phenomenon is called "walkover" and it happens when a team does not turn up for a game or turn up with fewer players than required. These sort of events happen in football but never happens in real life.

You don't get results for efforts you don't make, you don't reap what you never sow, you wouldn't receive what you can't give. Life never honours dormancy or inactivity, but supports and grants opportunities to those who prepares and makes themselves ready for opportunities to come their way.

Wishes and expectations never yield any kind of results except continuous wishes and expectations. If you need something from life, you must go all out and get it for yourself. Nothing comes cheap, nothing comes easy, If you get anything for free, someone somewhere apparently made a down payment for it, or put in the effort to make that thing reach you or available for you.

The battle is won only on the battlefield, if you want the win you must get on the field, unsheath your sword, and slay all that needs to be slain. Dreams come to pass, but only outside of the dreamland, in bright awareness of your desire and heartbeat. Wake-up to the realisation of who you are, wake-up to the fulfillment of what you want and go all out and get it all for yourself.

Kamikun John, Author 366 days of wisdom.

Small win + small win = big win.

SMALL WINS BUILD THE BIG WINS.

Have you seen giant anthills and wondered how they became so huge and humongous? Have you seen those tiny ants moving in a straight line, carrying tiny particles of sand and food? That is a perfect example of what small wins look like. Ants build their nests, hills by moving tiny particles of fine sand, dirts, clay, and twig. It would usually take months and sometimes years for ants to build their nests, but every step of that process is as important as the end result. 

Without the tiny particles of fine sand, dirt, clay, and twig as materials, the giant anthills will never be formed. So it is with pronounced success; without the small wins, the daily victory over indiscipline, procrastination, and self doubt, there will never be a big win. The little moments of laughter and pride, these are the real moments that make up the actual moment that is visible and celebrated by all and sundry.

Never despise those small wins, in fact, they should be celebrated as though they are the major wins, because in deed, they are the materials for the big wins. The small wins are pointers to your progress, they are the evidence of your effort towards growth and development, they are the indicators that great success lies just ahead.

Success is like a season movie, every episode has its highlight, but if an episode is missing, the series will never be complete. A series of small victories is what becomes success. So, bask in the euphoria of every win, celebrate every breakthrough, enjoy every moment, and never stop winning, because winning is all we should do.

Kamikun John, Author 366 days of wisdom.

Hard work and smart work.

 HARD WORK IS SMART WORK IN OVERALL.

It is not uncommon to hear the phrase "you have to work smart and not hard". The truth is, these saying is mostly uttered without giving indepth thought to what it actually translates to. One must truly work smart, but it is impossible to know how to work smart if you have not first worked hard enough to understand how to execute the work in a smart way.

Some people work hard all their life, giving no thoughts whatsoever to alternative means of carrying out their daily routine in an easier, faster, and more effective way. They become so comfortable with the routine that the introduction of an alternative would seem to them as draining the water in which they swim as fish.

Hard work is the prerequisite to smart work, every day you get on your job is an opportunity to learn how to do it better. People who have gone on to invent machines and equipment used today in manufacturing and production are people who sought to do their work better, easier, and faster than they always did, they wanted more of what they had in shorter time, and even better; they were not comfortable with going round in cycles of daily routine all in the name of hardwork.

To be able to work smart, you must work hard enough to understand how to work smart. Challenge yourself to build on your smart skills, and critical examination of your roles and responsibilities. You must make little improvement everyday on yourself that will reflect on the effectiveness and efficiency of your execution. "Work hard, and you will earn good rewards. Work smart, and you will earn great rewards. Work hard and work smart, and you will earn extraordinary rewards." Matshona Dhliwayo.

Kamikun John, Author 366 days of wisdom.

Character is key

CHARACTER CONQUERS COMPETENCE.

While many go around looking to build competence in their various fields of endeavour, striving for more performance related skills, and relegates the importance of character building, they would discover that as time goes by, that as much as they could still achieve great success through their competence, they could have achieved more had they been more intentional building character, as the absence of character would be an inhibitor to real success in life.

Competence includes skills, attitudes, or behaviors which, when present, enhance a person's effectiveness. While, character on the other hand, are the values and virtues that a person upholds which determines how he executes his job, tasks, and responsibilities. Before a man gets the opportunity to prove his competence, his character could have robbed him of that privilege.

When competence fails, character will keep you standing; when competence disappoints, character will keep you the appointments.

Late legendary evangelist, Billy Graham once said, "When wealth is lost, nothing is lost; when health is lost, something is lost; when character is lost, all is lost". Character is the foundation and the bedrock for which everything a man is, has, and will be is built upon, and when it is dented, tainted, or taken away it is difficult to redeem. Learn skills, develop competence, increase knowledge, and seek wisdom, but never never forget to build a worthy CHARACTER.

Kamikun John, Author 366 days of wisdom.

Ease is not easy

AN ENEMY CALLED EASE.

Most annual crops are crops that are planted and harvested within three to nine months. On the third day of planting, some of these crops are already springing out of the ground. Ease of germination for them is a norm, they do not struggle to sprout, but they never go far, the never grow tall, and even when they do, they would easily be brought down by any little pressure. The period between seed time and harvest for these types of crop is very short and you have to go through the process of planning them again in preparation for another harvest.

Meanwhile, there are some other crops whose seed can take up to sixty days before germination. Their seeds don't part way easily, and their sprouting has to be that of a forceful one. These plants are called perennial crops and some crops in this category can live for as long as fifty to a hundred years. Some of these plants grow into very tall and humongous trees, and are able to withstand different kinds of pressure year in year out.

Annual crops mostly grow under very mild conditions, they are pampered, watered, sometimes shaded, prunned and weeded, but never last long. Perennial crops on the other hand grows in harsh, and sometimes unfriendly conditions, they are left all by themselves to weather the storm, face the pressures of heat and wind, and sometimes have to grow their roots so deep to be able to get enough moisture to keep growing. Ease is not in any way associated to perennial crops, but their life eventually spell pride of great achievements.

Ease is an enemy of sustainable growth and development, no life of ease has ever, and can ever produce anything meaningful and of pride. Whatever comes with ease would go fast and with ease. Like Franklin D. Roosevelt said, "A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor", whoever has not gone through the challenges and difficulties of life would not learn the necessary skills needed for personal growth, and development. Never see difficulties as hindrances but as privileges and opportunities for development.

Kamikun John, Author 366 days of wisdom.

Learning never cease.

LEARNING TO LEARN.

A wise man is not the man who thinks and act all by himself, who does things independently and never considers the input, nor counsel of others; a wise man is a man who in spite of his knowledge, and understanding of issues, he listens, and weighs the counsel of knowledgeable men like himself. He seeks to know more and remains teachable.

As we grow through life, we most of the times discover that we have either learnt some things the wrong way, or learnt the wrong things or both. It then behoves us to unlearn, and relearn most of the wrongs we have learnt, known and held dear. We at this point become intentional about what we learn, considering what benefits the knowledge would bring us. Learning is a lifelong activity and practice, as long as we breathe, learning has to keep happening, the moment we stop learning, even if we yet breathe, we become a walking dead.

No matter how much you know, irrespective of your level of understanding, you must keep on learning. Steve Jobs once said "learn continually - there is always 'one more thing' to learn". In fact, the more you know, the more you need to know, because there is nothing more terrifying than partial knowledge. It is better not to know a thing, than to know it partially or wrongly.

It might be difficult to continue learning after you have known so much, and gone through some very rigorous processes to know and understand some phenomenon, but that is the hallmark and the evidence of true growth and real wisdom. Never stop learning, learn to keep learning, and when learning seems tough, learn to learn in the tough situations.

Make this year a year of constant and consistent learning.

Kamikun John, Author 366 days of wisdom.

Silent growth over empty noise.

AN ICEBERG OR A BANANA TREE

Have you seen extremely tall forest trees, and some really huge ones, big enough to shade some mighty buildings? Do you wonder how they keep standing year in year out withstanding storms, heavy downpour of rain and mighty winds? That ability to stand inspite of those forces ready to tear and pull them down is a result of intense and deep root growth.

Many attimes, the growing and development you have to go through is that which no one can see, it is the kind of growing that may not even be visible to you or anyone else, but will eventually lead to enormous obvious and visible growth. It is this kind of growth that ensures that you keep standing, running, and functioning at optimal capacity when things get hard and tough. When you have developed so much invisible deep root, no storm, no wind will be able to shake you or sweep you off your feet recklessly.

The major challenge with the period of underground growth is that it takes a lot of determination, and strength; it thrives so much on discipline, and seriousness; and it requires intense desire, and steadfastness, because to the world, and those around you, sometimes even to yourself, it seems like nothing is happening in your life, it feels like you are just passing time and wasting away, but that period would eventually become the most cherished when successfully passed.

Take your time to grow silently, work hard in silence, deepen your roots, and your growth would be effortless. A seed does not come out of the ground until it has first developed roots. An iceberg would not stand strong, the Titanic would not have sunk, if all there is to it (the iceberg) is what we see on the surface. Whoever prioritises superficiality over depth would not stand the test and pressure of time.

Kamikun John, Author 366 days of wisdom.

Speed is immaterial, it sometimes kill.

LIKE A SNAIL OR A CHEETAH, JUST GET TO THE FINISH LINE.

Imagine a race in which all participants that get to the finish line would receive same price irrespective of the time taken to arrive there. Imagine you don't have to go through the pressure of having to arrive at the finish line earlier than anyone else. I guess you would give a warm embrace to everyone who have come there to cheer you up; you would want to feel the track, the fresh air, explore, enjoy the moment and smile as you go.

Three key things to know in achieving anything in life is where you are, where you are going, and what you must do to get to where you are going. Everything else in between and the time it takes to get there is immaterial, but the experiences you gather, and the moments you savour along the way will determine so much of who you will become.

Life's real eseense does not lie in the fast paced achievement of dreams and desires, nor in the enormity of achievements, but in the effects and impacts of these achievements on you and the world around you.

In whatever you do, set your sight on the things which you so dearly aim for, ignore the speed at which you must get there, nor consider how fast someone else has achieved it, but focus on the process on your path to this dream. You don't have to be the strongest, fastest, most knowledgeable, or most intelligent, all you have to be is the person that never quits irrespective of how difficult it gets.

You must also remember that, it is not only the horse that gets to its destination despite its speed, the snail also gets to its destination no matter how late it is. Either you fly, run, walk, jump, or hop, never stop moving until you get there.

Happy new year.

Kamikun John, Author 366 days of wisdom.

Creating tomorrow today.

HISTORY OF THE FUTURE

Events of the past has mostly been the major determinant of today’s happening. The New Year which today is been celebrated on the first day of January of every year has been celebrated on different days by different generations in the past, and today some sects, tribes and regions, and religions still celebrate New Year’s Day on a different day other than the first day of January.

For all the different days accepted by different groups of people today, some people in the past made these decisions and they have shaped today's events. These decisions were backed by some reasons salient to them in their time. For example, In 46 B. C. It was Julio Caesar with the introduction of the Julian Calender who instituted January 1 as the first day of the year, in honour of the Roman god Janus (god of beginnings, whose two faces allowed him to look back into the past and forward into the future) from whose name January was derived.

Whatever we do today will always be a reference and lay precedence for those who are coming after us. We must give careful thoughts to our decisions so we wouldn't act carelessly in ways that will bring discomfort and inconvenience to the coming generations.

In shaping our future, in planning, and creating what we want for our selves and those around us, and as good students of life, we need to look retrospectively into the past, studying and knowing the history related to what we are dealing with, so we can be well informed on how to deal with pressing and present situations, so we will not be shocked nor surprised by the results we will get. As George Bernard Shaw said, "If history repeats itself, and the unexpected always happens, how incapable must Man be of learning from experience".

May the New Year bring us closer to the fulfillment and realisation of our dreams, aspirations, and purpose.

Happy New Year.

Kamikun John, Author 366 days of wisdom.