USAIN BOLT - The CHAMPION

A Lot has been said and written about Usain Bolt. He has been called a Legend, An Icon, A pacesetter, a History Maker, A Great Champion, a lovable sportsman  and so on and so forth.
In fact many were at the Olympic Stadium to watch him make history the 3rd time winning Goal in the 100m Race that when he came out of the tunnel for the race, the whole Stadium went up in applause and cheers.
It was beautiful to behold and he was really taking all in and appreciating the warm welcome.

This is a young man who loves running and possibly on bare foot. (Have you not observed that he always removes his sandals after the Race?) He is so humble and very appreciative of all that God is doing in his life and for Him. After every race , he will kneel to pray and end with the sign of the Cross. He is not arrogant and proud like other sprinters and Athletes. He is always acknowledging other Athletes and extending his hands of friendship to them.
 
From all his winnings and medals, someone wrote this beautiful articles on lessons to learn from this young man from Jamaica who has been on the spotlight for the past 12 years now. Its a beautiful write-up.

 LESSONS FROM USAIN BOLT
Sunday August 14th, 2016 was the date, Brazil the location and Usain Bolt once again won like a true champion, outrunning all other competitors in the men's 100meters Olympics race.

To be honest, the tension in the room was palpable. Would he beat his past records? Would someone else beat him? It seemed inconceivable, and yet possible. As the gun went off, and they all took off, it appeared in the initial seconds that Usain was lagging behind. Somehow though, I had a feeling his coach wasn't worried, and even closely watching him, you could just about detect that sense of confidence, that told you, this lagging was only temporary and possibly even strategic.

In sports, life or in business, there's a tendency to sometimes think that the person who's appearing slower, or who doesn't appear to be heading super fast for the finish line is going to lose or not do as well. Yet, it's what goes on behind the scenes, your background, routines, your practice, dedication, discipline, practice, and understanding that those who take off faster may not necessarily win the race that matters.

As we celebrate Usain Bolt's win, let's recognise a few championship principles highlighted by his win:

1. THE PREPARATION OF A CHAMPION.
What we didn't see was the consistent practice that went on before the Olympics. Practice, practice, practice makes champions.
The biggest challenge is consistency. Are you consistently working at your goals? We are all born as champions, but to actually win, we must put in the disciplined consistent work of unleashing the champion within through preparation and persistence.
2.  The CONFIDENCE OF A CHAMPION Champions have strong belief in themselves and their source. Usain prayed before his race, even in full view of the world. He ran. He won. He even thumped his chest before the finish line!  That's championship faith...knowing you will win even before you've touched the finish line. Too many lose their race because they lack confident belief in themselves and who they are. Confidence is a non negotiable trait in champions.
3. THE FOCUS OF A CHAMPION. Focus is a master strategy of champions. We see Usain staying focused when others even for the split  second when others were seemingly outrunning him. Did you notice he didn't start off at the head of the race? Yet he took it away. He didn't look back, or look around. Instead, he looked ahead at the finish line and the prize that was ahead.
4. THE VICTORY OF A CHAMPION. Champions own their victory with humility and pride. They understand that recognition, is part of the prize of winning the Olympics and excelling in life or business. He alone had the camera on him after the race and he didn't shy away from it as many of us do in the name of humility. Humility is recognising who you are and owning it with a sense of responsibility understanding it serves a higher purpose.
In life as in business, no one remembers  those who "also ran". Life doesn't reward the- "almost made it". The 'I tried'. It's a great story but it doesn't make history. History is made by those who push through first to the finish line. And then stand to be recognised, while knowing that with victory and recognition come responsibility. The expectation to model positive values for the young and old alike, for competitors as well as collaborators. Winning makes you accountable to keep on winning. It's a privilege as well as a commitment which champions don't take lightly.

5. THE STAMINA OF A CHAMPION. Finally, the the principle that resonates the strongest with me is the one that played in my consciousness at the end of the game. "The temporary lag of a true champion is at best strategic and at worst temporary" Don't ever count out people who have the DNA of a champion. They may appear slow in a season or even successive seasons, but give up on them or look down on them to your detriment. Those whose backgrounds, roots, values, standards, commitments to winning, who've been tried hard in past battles are not to be too quickly written off.

If you or anyone you know is going through a slow or tough season, be encouraged. Understand that it's only temporary. Trust the process, the practice and the purpose for which you are here. It will come together. You may not be Usain Bolt, but we all have the ability to come through into our own versions of victory.

What will you do differently to make history in your Life or business? What will you do to make your business a  standout championship business. What will you do to make sure you unleash your personal championship at work?

I know Practice makes perfect. More Practice more Perfection. So if you want to Ignite the Champion within you, please be humble, PRACTICE, PRAY, PRACTICE and you will definitely be a force to reckon with soon.

God is Faithful

The Jeep Freelander that is burning above was once my husband's beautiful car.  It burnt on the way when he was returning from Esan to Lagos.
This has taken me a while to write because the shock of loosing a car through burning ( the car was totally burnt) was too much to bear. The blow was just very painful.

During the Easter holiday, my husband traveled to his Villages with 2 of his cousins. I did not go because I wanted to use the holidays to rest.

 He left that Good Friday very early. I had to attend prayer rain at prayercity and the traffic was hectic. I called him and he said he had passed through easily because he left earlier.
Throughout his stay and and all the places he went to in the village, he would call and tell me about the activities and the people..
On Sunday, the brother who is a Pastor  left the village for Ajaokuta, Kogi State where he resides with his family. I had expected my husband to leave the Village to Uromi to sleep. But he didn't. He went back to the village for an important meeting.

What was the Meeting about?
In the Village, they had a  businessman who came from the City of Warri to start mechanized farming in the village.The man had met some Elders and given them money. But the Youths were not involved in that negotiations so they protested and stopped the man from starting anything in the village. In order to resolve the crisis, my husband and others went to the Village.

Back at home, a meeting was held by all the stakeholders and the Elders were not happy that people came from Lagos, Warri, Port Harcourt and Benin to resolve the issue in the village and i think, it was then that they decided that my husband being a Lawyer probably talked the others into the Meeting.
He said after the meeting, the Elders and the business man came to see him claiming they wanted to discuss privately with him. He refused them having a talk with him and advised them to abide with all the decisions taken at the General meeting. So the Elders left (so it seemed).

In the morning, that Monday,  they all came out and saw a fresh tail of porcupine by the car. My husband said he quickly went into the house to pick the Anointing Oil and came out to pour it on what he saw. He said they all prayed and  afterward burnt the porcupine tail.
On their way, he noticed the exhaust pipe was leaking so he welded it in the next village and continued on their journey to Lagos.

The Sunday night, I had a dream where my husband was rushed to the hospital and I was asking people to call his brothers to tell them. I woke up and I cancelled the evil dream and rejected in its totality what the dream stood for. I commanded God to frustrate the effect of the evil dream and convert every defeat to victory.

My Husband said he heard some noise but he was on the Benin Bye-pass which is always lonely. The Cousin that was with him said that they decided to drive close to Okada where people are but the smoke that started coming out from the engine made them stop. He said when he opened the bonnet, he heard a loud bum sound. He ran to the booth, brought out the Fire Extinguisher and other travelers stopped too to help but the fire refused to be extinguished.

So when he called that the car has gone up in flames, I just advised him to stay away and start praising God for sparing his life.

That day was really hectic for all of us. It was full of anxiety and worries. I was on the telephone throughout trying to comfort, encourage and hold his hands in prayers.

To the Glory of God, he was able to salvage some things from the car before it burnt down finally.
He had to take a commercial vehicle from there to Lagos. He got home late that day and we were all grateful.

I thank God for Life. I thank God for disappointing our enemies. I thank HIM, for not allowing us to put our hands on our heads to cry and mourn.

Affliction will not rise up again in our lives or home in Jesus name.

Thank God that he has gotten a new car. All praise to JEHOVAH Over-Do

Our God is Faithful.

RANCHING IS IT

Every day now, we are waking up to hear that some innocent people or farmers are killed by the Cattle handlers or herdsmen.
Suddenly, they have taken over the killing spree from the boko Haram sect.
Then I ask, where were they before now? Why this sudden urge to maim, destroy and kill? They have been living with these people and in most cases, happily so why turn around to start killing these people who have provided food for their Cattle?

Before now, we used to see the Fulani Herdsmen going about with sticks and water bottles. But as you can see from the pictures above, these handlers are no more carrying sticks but guns and in most cases, AK43. These are the new faces or herdsmen that are roaming from the Northern part of Nigeria to the Southern part.

We know that so many factors are responsible for the increased movement of theses herdsmen to the South

The first one is the climate change which has resulted from global warming and desertification.Of course, the owners fearing for their flocks, pay these young men to take them to greener lands. So the  herdsmen had no option than to migrate southwards to find pastures for their animals, which now faced starvation in the North. But the issue is that  nomadic cattle rearing is becoming out of fashion.
In developed Countries, Ranches are built to cater for these cattle etc.

In Ranches, adequate food and care will be provided for the cattle. The livestock would be healthier, more productive, while the herdsmen too will be taken care of. This nomadic lifestyle is outdated.
We know climate change from global warming and desertification has affected the Northern region of this Country and the activities of the terrorist group, Boko Haram has made life difficult there.
We also know these herdsmen think they have no option than to migrate to the Southern region to find pastures for their animals which may die of starvation in the region.

These and many other reasons may force these herdsmen to head South but all the reasons could be addressed by creating grazing fields and Ranches in their area. The owners of these Cattle have money and can take care of their life-stock without inconveniencing others.
Israel has succeeded to turn deserts into oasis and i believe the rich owners of the Cattle can built Ranches too and create green belt on those ranches. Cattle rearing is a private business so why make others to suffer?

REASONS WHY RANCHING IS THE WAY OUT
 
-Nomadic cattle rearing had become obsolete.

-Human activities have increased.

-Infrastructural Development have taken over the bushes and forests

-Education is everyone"s RIGHT.

-Child Abuse is a Crime.

So I plead with our President, Muhammadu Buhari not to go ahead with the so called grazing routes because these herdsmen will still be moving from one area to the other destroying farmlands and killing farmers who dare to challenge them  or stop the destruction of their crops.

In Ajaokuta, Kogi State, many farmers have been killed because they tried stopping the rampaging cattle from destroying what they had planted. The same gory scenes are being witnessed daily in Benue, Enugu, Edo, Oyo etc
The President and his Federal Executive Council should encourage building of Ranches and ensure adequate food for the Cattle and the handlers are provided.
This will forestall unnecessary clashes, the livestock would be healthier, more productive, and peace will return once more to the areas where attacks are commonplace now.