SHARPEN YOUR AX

“If the ax is dull,more strength is needed but wisdom is profitable to direct” Eccl 10:10

Have you ever tried to cut with a blunt kitchen knife? Were you ever hooked into cutting grass with a blunt cutlass? I have been in both situations before and the only wise thing to do in those situations was to sharpen the tools. If you do not sharpen the tool, you will have to use more strength. But why would you want to use more strength if you can just sharpen the cutting edge and then use less strength?

What are the advantages of using a tool with very sharp cutting edge?

1. You expend less energy. In cutting with a sharp tool, you do not have to use all your energy. The efficiency of the tool is at optimum.

2. You spend less time. Because the tool is sharp, it takes shorter time to cut. The time spent on a task using a tool with a dull edge can be used to accomplish more tasks with a sharp tool.

3. The job is neater. If you try cutting with a blunt kitchen knife, it will never cut neatly and smoothly. For you to get a neat job, you need to use a tool with a sharp edge.

4. Ultimately, you are perceived as a wise fellow. You will never be appreciated for a job not well done. If you can accomplish your tasks effectively and efficiently, you will be respected for it.

I want you to see yourself as a tool and whatever you do as the cutting task. How sharp are you as a tool? How much of success have you achieved in your assignments? If your answer is short of 100%, then you need to whet the edge of your cutting edge. Is your boss is always complaining about your work output? Are you always short of meeting your deadlines? Do you get frustrated midway into a task? Are u frequently identified as the weak link during team reviews? Are you dissatisfied with what you do? If your answer is “yes” to any of the above questions, then you need to hone your tool.

How do you sharpen (hone) your tool?

1. Identify the need for sharpening. It is said that the first day a mad man identifies himself as mad, then he has began to recover from insanity. The same way for everyone. If you identify your need for sharpening, then your journey to improvement has begun.

2. Make yourself ready for the sharpening. It will require effort, it will require time, it will require finance and it will require you. But i can bet, it will be worth it. The dividend will be more than the investment. You will thank yourself for doing it.

3. Go all out to learn. This is where the honing is done. No one is above learning. Learning exposes you to change. It processes you into a better product. Learning must ultimately lead to change. You must not be the same again after an episode of learning. There are several ways to learn. Here are a few tips:

a. Go back to school. Does that sound harsh? No, i don`t think so. You may have to get a higher degree. That means, you will learn more deeply than you have. You may have to take a switch. I mean take another course that would enhance you.

b. Read. I mean read books along the path of your career which you want to enhance. Almost everything you want to learn are scattered in different books. Finding those books and reading them will increase you. Read and internalise the things you find in those books. Nobody brings knowledge into the world at birth. You have to amass it. Start on a serious race to improve yourself by reading. Buy books. If you can`t buy books, hook to a library. You must know someone who has a book that you need. Borrow it. But believe me, if you buy books for yourself, you are making eternal investments into yourself. Infact, you can buy second hand books if you can`t buy new. It will be well worth it.

c. Attend Seminars, Conferences, Workshops and Training sessions. These programmes afford you to be able to listen to people who are more knowledgeable than you explain a few more secrets that you need. They afford you the opportunity to meet and interact with sharp, upwardly mobile minds.

d. Apprentice yourself to a master. This is not meant to put you down. I mean look for someone who knows more than you, connect with that fellow and ask questions. Draw from his well of knowledge and experience. Listen to him, watch him and learn from him.

Put these few tips to use and let us watch you become a more productive person. Be wise. Sharpen the tool so that less strength will be needed and eventually you get to keep your strength to use for other things. The English man says a word is enough for the wise, but the Yoruba man says just half a word is enough for the wise,for when it gets inside him it becomes whole. So choose to be numbered among the wise.

LIVING FOR OTHERS

- A TRIBUTE TO ADEOLU AKINYEMI @ 30

Yesterday, my mentor, friend, brother, teacher – Deolu Akinyemi, CEO Generis Solutions, Lagos Nigeria, turned 30. I’m writing this as a mark of honor in celebrating a great man who has lived his life for the benefit of others and in the midst of all that, has become an icon of the true measure of success which a lot of people strive to attain. You think he is young because he is just 30, but believe me, his achievements tower far above his age.

I have known him for 7 years now and I have heard about and witnessed the life of this great man. When he was an undergraduate-that was when I met him-he virtually spent all his time teaching tutorials to his classmates and junior colleagues. By the time he was in his finals (Part 5), he had to teach the 4 levels behind him almost all their courses. Recently, someone who met him earlier than I did said he had actually been in the habit of organizing tutorials for his classmates since Primary 6.

Since he started his working career as a HR practitioner, gathering experience with Procter & Gamble, WA and later Virgin Nigeria, and now his own brain child-Generis Solutions, he has always been into efforts that would impact the next person positively. His various seminars and trainings, which I have had the privilege of attending and sometimes being part of the organizing team, have always been value-adding for all who participate, with startling testimonies after. He is the country representative for Clubfreedom (an international investment club) in Nigeria and he has been doing a lot to get as many people in the club, invariably making us millionaires in a legitimate way.

To celebrate his birthday yesterday, he wrote a cheque of 1 Million Naira for Little Saints Orphanage in Lagos – what a way to celebrate your birthday. Also, he’s giving discounts on his services for this month.

I could write on and on about his selflessness but that’s not the point. The point is encouraging you reading this piece to begin to look at ways of living your life, not just for yourself but for others too.

Everyone who has made positive impact in our world is a person who lived not for himself alone but for others too. You do not have to wait till you become a multi-millionaire before you can impact others. `Deolu did not wait.

You have a smile to brighten the day of your colleague at work, a touch of comfort to that child who is hurting, a listening ear to that young fellow who needs a friend to talk to, a meal to share with that hungry fellow next door, some time to teach what you know to that person who does not know what you know, a word of prayer for that person in trouble, a lift to that neighbour who is almost late for work, a word of encouragement to that person who is going through a rough time… and so much more that you can give.

The most important gifts are not the most expensive ones but those that reach down to the recesses of the heart of the receiver to lift him/her up to a higher level. You have something someone else will appreciate, give it. You have a helping hand, offer it. You have a little money, spare part of it. You can actually live your life to better the lot of someone else. You might just be the Angel that fellow has been praying for. Be the answer to someone else’s prayer and watch God speedily answer your own prayers. What you make happen for others, more than that will God make happen for you because the harvest is always greater than the seed.

Live a meaningful and purposeful life; do not live for your self alone, live for others too.
To Pastor Dee – as many of us who knew him in school fondly call him – HAPPY BIRTHDAY. May your life continue to bring hope, joy, light, comfort and many good things to others, and as you do that, may you continue to increase in influence and fulfillment.