Acts of Mad men – Fola Daniel Adelesi Wednesday, Jul 8 2009

One of the things that I quickly realized about succeeding in life is that you have to be single handedly and consistently mad enough to be able to do anything that you will need to do in life. If you think this is a weird concept then you need to see a few things that I have been thinking about that made me conclude that you also have to be doggedly mad and passionately stupid to be able to make it life.

Imagine that when God wanted to make you he saw nothing but he spoke to something was that that not madness? That was the genesis of the fact that if you need an exodus from the land of mediocrity that you need to take upon the seed of madness that was sown by the almighty himself at the inception of creation. He saw water but he said land should come out of water. He looked at the water and said it should be filled – when there was nothing in the water and there was no manufacturer – with living creatures.

He looked at the land and he said trees should start springing up. He looked at the ground and he said edible materials should start growing and that was potent enough to make every creature of his to be mad in order to succeed. When a man like Moses caught the madness he was told to stretch a rod across the water that the water would pathways. He gullibly did so like a drunk mad man. He had never see water split before yet he did not challenge God on the grounds of logic.

Another man got the seed of madness by way of omission or commission and he woke up one day to say that he wanted to discover places that have not been seen before so he started a journey. He said his name is Christopher Columbus but forgot to tell us that madness was his compound name. It was also a mad man that made it possible for you to be reading what you are reading right now because he woke up one day and thought he could make a device that will help people not to write on papers but by striking plastics what they intend to write will appear on something that looks like a tv. What would they have told him when he said to friends that he had a dream? Your guess is as good as mine! They must have told him, “you must be mad.” The guys who wanted to be the first to enter the moon must have been told that they are mad people and indeed they are mad because they didn’t even think about going to the ends of the earth but outside the earth!

When every sane person some hundreds of years ago said nothing metallic will fly in the air some mad men said it will work and the decided to test their madness but today many of us are flying because of the decision of some mad men. Today those mad men are called inventors.

I can go on and on to give you a catalogue of the acts of mad men but that will not do you as much good as telling you that beyond all reasonable doubts you must convince yourself of the need to be uniquely mad. After your madness begins to produce result then you will find people who believe in you despite the fact that you are mad. The unique thing about we mad people is that we dream too much and people abuse us yet when our dreams are kept alive we give the society a great hope.

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Fola Daniel on Fatai Rolling Dollar – Fola Daniel Adelesi Wednesday, Jul 8 2009

For more than 50 years this man has been playing music but I dare say that he did not become as famous as he probably expected he was going to be. He stayed in the same room with his 10 children for years and obviously did not own a home of his own. He was very good and there is no doubt about that but something was not working just the way he thought it would work.
He composed his song “won ke re si number wa” in the 60s but the same song only became famous around the year 2000. He had gone through so much and at a time music was not enough to feed him so he had to work as a security officer in a church. He was, according to him, wrongly accused so he had to be fired. He went on to play music in churches using his acoustic guitar box at different occasions. He did this again and again but what I did not understand was why he did not give up.
His contemporaries, the likes of Ebenezar Obey, King Sunny Ade, Orlando Julius and many others who are even far younger than he is made more money in music than he did but he still did not quit.
Around the year 2000 when he was slightly above 70 years he went to perform in an event where Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the governor of Lagos state in Nigeria between 1999-2003, was one of the guests seated. After his performance he had a yearning in his heart so he took the courage and asked the governor if it was ideal for a living music legend to live in a rented apartment with his 10 children. When the governor heard this he offered him a two bedroom apartment where he now lives.
It was after this that this octogenarian who is preparing for his 83rd birthday as I write this article remixed one of his songs and the song brought him back to limelight. When he walked into the studios of Galaxy television just a few minutes before I went on air for the motivational segment of morning delight, a few things struck me.
At 83 this man walked in with his leather kangol cap and a sun shade. He had a jeans trouser and a jeans jacket to match which was obviously made by the same designer. His skin was clean and still looking very agile. There was no video clip the presenter could play to show some of his works so he quickly picked up his guitar and played with the kind of dexterity you may not even get from young players.
He played music for many years and suffered for many years but finally made it. Go on with what you know you were called to do. You may not hit the gold right away but if you are in the right track and you are doing it right you will always have your place amongst the best folks in your chosen endeavours. Don’t assume it will not work just as soon as it is beginning to work out for you!

Fola Daniel & Fatai Rolling Dollar - Your time will always come

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My challenge as an entrepreneur (57) – Fola Daniel Adelesi Monday, Jul 6 2009

Walkie-talkie was something I always thought about but sometimes I get to a point as an entrepreneur that I begin to consider “walking-tangueing”

I am sure you have never heard that before but you already have an idea of what it means but in case you don’t then I am talking about walking and having to speak in tongues as a result of the challenges you are going through. One day I was returning from one of my television series and I thought I would have been able to get a buyer for one of my books in the studio but I didn’t so I had to start walking home. I first checked into a bookstore to see if they would be able to remit some funds from what they sold but they could not because the shop attendant had to first inform the mangers so I was still left with only one option and that was walking home.

I could have walked home as a bitter person but one of the things I have made up my mind never to do is to be bitter in whatever circumstance I find myself. I want to be responsible for the actions that I take and that means I will not complain about what I am going through if I chose to go through it in the first place. As a way to get out of the trap of being bitter I just knew that the best thing to do was to “tongue-walk” – speak in tongues as I walk on the street – rather thinking about those who are supposed to help that did not help.

In the middle of all these it began to drizzle and just then I knew I was going to drenched by the time I get home because I didn’t just feel comfortable about staying back under any shed if at all there was any. I did not know how long it was going to rain so I kept going in the midst of the light showers. At some point it became heavier and a few minutes after that it stopped then it sun came up brightly. I thought that was it but before I could finish the thinking the sun was down and the rain was coming again. I kept “tongue-walking” but it looked as if a slab in front of me didn’t just respect the tongues. I hit the slab inadvertently with my right foot and off went the strap of my sandal.

At the point the issue was no longer the rain because I had to think of what to do with the sandal I was wearing. I knew that there was no penny in my pocket and just as it happened I saw a street cobbler walking by. I could not call him because there was no money to pay for his service and I do not have a beggarly attitude. I immediately removed the sandal, picked up and continued walking with the sandal in my hands. A sandal on one leg and none on the other was a little funny to me because I had to walk through the messy grounds of Mile 12 and some other places without a sandal on a rainy day.

It was not, for me, an interesting thing to experience but I know you can read and laugh about it now. All I could do was to “tongue-walk” or to use my “walkie-tongueing” because where I am going in life must be the focus and not what I am going through in life. If what you are going through becomes your focus you may never get to your destination in life.

Fola Daniel Adelesi - There will always be challenges

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Sunday, Jul 5 2009

Think to make an impact

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Admiring your courage – Fola Daniel Adelesi Friday, Jul 3 2009

Whenever you think about going back there some things that can help you to take a second thought on not going back on the things that you have started. Some of these things include the admiration of other people who are watching the things that I do. There are times I feel like giving up and just I begin to think about giving up I begin to see people who tell me how much they like the things I am doing and they also keep talking about how they really wish they had my kind of courage.
Each time they talk about courage I just start thinking about what is really going on in my mind. Just at the time they think that I am a really courageous person I say to myself, “do these people really know that I just taught about quitting?”
We need to always look at some of the people who admire what we do because I have found out that there is a whole lot of strength that comes from people’s admiration for our strengths. Sometimes what other people see in us are not really strengths but because we have stayed longer than they expect anyone to stay we begin to win their admiration.
Now that you know you can always draw strength from the admiration of people make sure you take advantage of it but never live your life depending absolutely on people say or never say to you. There are times we just keep moving not because we really have the strength to go on but because people look at us and they think we must be different and we do not want to give up right in the face of the people who think we are different.
In all of our lives people’s opinions will trail us from time to time and from one activity to another but we must not learn to live by the opinions except for situations where the opinions can propel us. Think about a situation where a friend says, “I think you are good with comedy.” That’s an opinion and it’s an opinion that can propel your life if you are truly good with comedy. If someone says you are a very good public speaker you should know that the person is expressing an opinion and if that is what you are really good at then you had better start working on it because it will help you to move on to greater heights.
Sometimes the other peoples’ admirations for us are like winds beneath our wings that are struggling to strike a balance in life. There are times when the birds are trying to fly high but there a great problem because they need to winds to help them and it seems not to be coming. As soon as they get the wind then they soar high again.
Sometimes what we need is just a bit of admiration for what we do to get us going in life. Take advantage of the encouragements from people to propel yourself in life. Stop focusing on the things that are negative about you. Stop focusing on the things that are not too encouraging about you. Focus on your strength and soar on with the winds of inspiration coming from the admiration that you get from the peope who never knew that you were planning to give up. Some people might just give you the greatest encouragement at the time you are almost concluding that you are a loser. Don’t tell them you were already thinking like a loser! Just take advantage of the admiration and ride on!

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Two things God will do – Fola Daniel Adelesi Thursday, Jul 2 2009

I have come to the understanding of the fact that whenever God intends to do something on earth he will establish a clear purpose and will also establish a company of people that will work for the accomplishment of his purpose here on earth. He works not in a magical way but in a mysterious way. It is mysterious because whatever God does has a principle and all those principles are established in the collection that we now refer to as the Bible. I make bold to say today that there is one principle that God also uses and that principle is that God has a way of always using both the good and the bad to accomplish the same purpose at every given time.

Without much suspense let’s take a good look at the life of Moses and Pharaoh to understand what the principle means and how we can use it to our advantage. When God was to begin the exodus of Israelites from Egypt what he did was very strategic. He caught the attention of Moses through a burning bush and gave Moses a vision for the leadership of the house of Israel. He “strengthened” the heart of Moses because you never would dare facing the king on just any kind of issue needless to talk about the release of Israelites. But just as he strengthened the heart of Moses he also “hardened” the heart of Pharaoh. He was using the heart that received strength to advance his cause but he was using the heart that was hardened to prove that he is the God that rules in the affairs of men.

When he wanted to start another cause he stirred up the heart of Cirus. These examples only prove to us that when God intends to do certain things he strategises some of the oppositions that the people he will use will face. Before the opposition will come he would have empowered his people to overcome the opposition and he usually plans the opposition for the mockery of those involved in it so that it will be the point of glorification for those who are his sons and daughters.

The two specific things that God will do are simply and straight forward. When he wants to accomplish a task he will strengthen the hearts of some people and put a vision there. At the same time he will harden the hearts of some other people usually for their destruction. The most important thing here is for you to understand that you can either make yourself available for the hardening of heart or for the stirring of heart. God wants to use your heart as the launch pad for some visions but when you refuse consistently to yield then he can decide to harden that same heart against a vision for the destruction of that heart.

Some people unknowingly stand in the way of God’s vision that is to be accomplished by other people. They are ignorant of this fact because they are not spiritually sensitive enough to know about satanic manipulations over them to work against God’s plan. What about the last time you stopped someone from doing what was supposed to be done for no just cause? What about the last time as a lecturer that you did not allow some students to graduate. What about the last time as a boss that you didn’t pay staff salaries when you had the money in your account. There are countless things that point to the fact that satan has used CHRISTIANS against God’s purpose. Open your spiritual eyes!

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What kinds of school to go – Fola Daniel Adelesi Thursday, Jul 2 2009

In my opinion I think we really need to understand the differences between the school that we go to so that we can be enlighten and the school that we go to so that we can understand business and the other kinds of school that we should also go to. Many of us go strictly to the school that I suppose should be the least in the cadre of schools that we ought to go to.

For any man to be referred to as a man who is thoroughly educated I do sincerely recommend that such a man must been to the school of enlightenment – our conventional schools, the school of business, the school of leadership and the school of the spirit. If you ask me why this should be so I have a simple answer for you to go and mediate on till you understand what I am talking about. The school on enlightenment only opens you up to the importance of holding your head high in the society and communicate in a place where the educated people are speaking. It gives you a job that helps you make a living and often sends you in to a routine life because you hear a lot about what has to be done and the way it should be done. Many of us never graduate into the three other kinds of school especially because of mediocrity.

I have met a number of people who think there is no need for them to go to a business training and they tell you they are not business inclined but they still want to make money at the end of the month. They are not business inclined but they want someone else to be so that they can get a job to do and be paid at the end of the month. The excuse of some other people is one question that has its roots in mediocrity and they will ask you if everyone is supposed to be an entrepreneur. The people who will go far in life often do not look at themselves and say this is information I do not need. They understand that this information can be required at any time and at any level.

Some of the people who manage to go for leadership also forget or sometimes neglect leadership because they think they do not need it. They will tell you again that they are ot leadership inclined. When you truly understand the nature of business then you will know that there is a level of business you can do without much requirement of leadership. Businesses rise to a level where they no longer thrive solely on the business expertise of the employees in the company. At that point in time the company owners would begin to look out for leadership in the people that are working with them and those who have the leadership qualities required will go further. Where there is no leadership the business expertise will have nothing to fall on and there will be problems for the business. A nation falls and rises on leadership. Everything falls and rises on leadership. There are so many people who have the potentials of becoming great leaders but they never go beyond being potential leaders or at most occupying a position because they do not pursue leadership.

The last school is the school of the spirit and it is at this point that you can say a man is completely educated. If you have been to the school of enlightenment, business and leadership but you have not gotten a taste of the school of the spirit then your education is not complete. This takes you beyond information, assumptions, opinions and loads you with revelation. The world cannot understand it so they sometimes despise it. Does it really matter if they accept it or not? What matters is that you have and understanding of how it stands you out from those who have information and are loaded with facts and figures. There is a level where facts and figures will fail and the only things that will not fail is what the teacher is saying in the school of the spirit.

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Vision Driven Community – Fola Daniel Adelesi Thursday, Jun 11 2009

Many of us have talked about the need to live in a developed country but we have neglected some of the most paramount issues that we need to trash and I must say without any reservation that the issue is about a vision driven community.

Take a good look at the town you live in right now. Most of you get out in the morning and just say “hi” to one another but you never get together to talk about a common vision for that town. These same people who live together in an area expect the government to perform a magic. You are always talking about what the government has refused to do but you never start talking about what you have refused to do. You have been trying hard to do something together in your community for more than 10 years now and you have not succeeded but all of you can open your mouth to blame the government. You do not realize that what you have not been able to do is also a failed government in your community.

If the nation must succeed it is going to be a cumulative effort of the people in the nation and it is not about the president seating in the state house hoping to perform a miracle with the magical powers he does not possess. We all are going to have a vision driven country when we first have a vision driven community. You have to get involved in what goes on in your community. Don’t just talk about what is not happening. Begin to talk about what must happen and how it can happen. I think it is really easy for us to have a vision driven community in all the towns of our country but we have to think about what kind of community we live in right now and what we want it to be in ten years time. I am living in a local community right now but I see it as a commercial beehive ten years from now and that is what it is going to look like. The whole process has begun with me not just talking to people but being their example. They are beginning to see me set examples that so many people have not set yet and with that we can pass the message across with less of talk and more of action.

Our vision driven community idea will materialize if people in the community begin to see that people around them are getting busy and are making things happen to improve the status of the community. People naturally begin to take the shape of what they find in their atmosphere. They often get into cold communities and that is why they are cold. That is why you can get into a town and everything in that town is cold because everyone hopes there will be a magic from the government. Let’s begin the hot-fire movement by making the atmosphere uncomfortable for people who just want to settle down and do nothing. Let’s put them on the run. When they see us as great examples and action oriented examples they will not need to be told to get started on something instead of just seating down and eating or enjoying what other people have already done.

Create a vision for your community and sensitize them towards it. Do you want to see a commercialized town? Start work on it. Do you want to see a town that will be referred to as the home of a great product? Start working towards it. It is really possible and a crowd does not have to start it. It takes a mind belonging to one man who is willing to take action!

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Zeal and Desperation – Fola Daniel Adelesi Thursday, Jun 11 2009

I have already talked about the differences between vision and ambition in one of the numerous articles that you probably have read on my site but I have this one to add to it. If you really want to identify the differences between the people who have visions and ambitions then you just need a great understanding of the words “zeal and desperation.”

The person who has an ambition is desperate about so many things and the reason he would be desperate is because he has the ambition for a selfish motive. The one who has a vision has a zeal and the zeal is controllable because he knows that he needs the zeal for the execution of the task at hand and he know when to be zealous and when not to be over zealous with what has to be done. Often times the reason for desperation is that the person who has ambition keeps thinking about what’s in it for him. What he stands to benefit and what he will gather for himself alone but the other person who has a vision thinks about what other people will gain so the zeal is geared towards people’s benefits in whatever he is doing.

You really have to put yourself to check and be sure that you are only zealous and not desperate for what needs to be done. Go ahead with your dream but always put your passion under check. Be sure it is not for ulterior motives because only zeal can get you and your team to your destination. Your desperation will make you think less of others and more of yourself and you don’t care what happens to them. You will not mind stealing just to have what you need when you get desperate. That is what a lot of people are desperate to make money. They kill other human beings and back bite other people to make money. Writers blackmail people to make money but this is all desperation because there’s a difference between desperation and zeal.

The zeal we are talking about is devoid of evil intentions so you really want to achieve but not at the expense of other people. You want to make money and you have the zeal so you justify your zeal by reading and getting the necessary information to get wealth. One of the things that help you understand the differences between desperation and zeal is that with desperation you are always thinking about getting and you see everything as a right but with zeal you see the offers that come your way as a privilege. When people refuse to help you they are not seen as wicked people who don’t want to help. You understand that they own their money and can choose who to help and who not to help with the money.

Desperation comes alive in your voice if you are a desperate person. You always want to boss people and sometimes make them feel guilty for not helping you even when they are not under any obligation to help you. If you continue this way you will end up blaming people for your failure. People are not willing to help desperate people but they are willing to help zealous people who have a properly guided zeal.

You need to begin a re-channeling of your desperation and turn it into zeal. Don’t always put people under pressure when they have to do things with you or for you. Let people know your passion for the things you do but let them see that you also put them to consideration. Be zealous but not desperate!

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Reward system for team building – Fola Daniel Adelesi Wednesday, Jun 10 2009

1.) Do not presume that the salary you are paying your people is enough to motivate them. People usually outgrow the things that get the excited after some time.

2.) Let there be a performance indicator that will deteremine how people will be rewarded so that some people in the team will not feel cheated.

3.) Don’t motivate people based on personal sentiments because other team members will expect the same and when they don’t get it they may withdraw their support which means their productivity level will drop.

4.) Once in a while you can pay for the lunch of every team member.

5.) It will not harm you to offer an all expense paid vacation if you can afford that or you travel with your team to a serene environment once in a while to refresh and relax.

6.) You can have award ceremonies specially to recognise efforts of your staff.

7.) You can do a weekly check on the borad for the staff of the week or staff of the month because your team member also wat to be recognised when they do things well.

8.) Make sure there is positive affirmation through words when people do things well.

9.) You can sometimes reward people with a short break even when they are not due for a break from work just to show that you reckon with the kind of hard work they have been doing.

10.) Let your members know that they come first in your team’s financial plan because if they know their rewards are at stake then you can be so sure that their commitmments are not guaranteed at any point.

11.) Plan your reward system to accomodate promotion for those working hard. People should not workd hard and remain on the same level all the time especially if they have acquired new skills.

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