"CONFRONT THE BRUTAL FACTS BUT NEVER LOSE HOPE"

-






"Confront the brutal facts but never lose hope." 
I first came across this quote while reading Good to Great by Jim Collins and it means to face our truth but remain optimistic. It's about facing what makes us uncomfortable but having faith despite. The reality of death is one of those topics we are very uncomfortable with. However, I feel that we need to live our lives purposely because it is finite. 

We need to appreciate that life is such a remarkable gift and that wherever we are in the spectrum of bliss, we are OK because we are alive. When we fall on hard times, it might be tempting to commit suicide because we are trying to escape our pain. But the actual way to escape pain is to understand that life is never about us.  The real purpose of life is service and I know this for sure because everyone is a beneficiary of someone else's service. And everything we do matters to the perfect stranger.

Life is about being present. Not worrying about tomorrow and not regretting the actions we didn't take yesterday. I have been in situations where I felt overwhelmed and believed everything was going to topple over because of something I didn't do right. But guess what? Regardless of how tough the situations were, they were never always as bad as I had imagined. 

I wish I could just state that you'd be fine. Or that "this too shall pass". But I know that nothing in life is ever that simple. But regardless of where you are in life, people are watching you and learning from you. 
Your life is always speaking to others in ways you will never know. 

Tobi Amokeodo 


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

IMAGINE MESSING UP A BIG BREAK, YUP THAT HAPPENED TO ME ONCE. HERE'S WHAT I LEARNT!

-
Image
A few years ago, I did a styling gig for a major boutique brand in Lagos and it flopped! The next day I couldn't get out of bed because I could not believe how bad I messed up.   After that incident, I took a break from fashion styling for about six months. I would have quit for good if not for my fashion designer sister who asked me to style her summer collection a few months later. The summer collection went on to be a hit and I've continued styling since then.  We have all experienced setbacks before. At work, at home, and in our various relationships. I've had my fair share as well.  However, being unable to accept the fact that something unbecoming happened to us, is the worst thing we can do to ourselves.  No one is promised a life free of adversity or challenges. So being in denial of our shortcomings would prevent us from growing. Looking back, I realize that I couldn't deal with the embarrassment of failing even after I had taken responsibility for my work.  Ho
Read more

"WE LEARN TO CUT TREES BY CUTTING TREES"

-
Image
A while ago, I was part of a mentoring session with Ms. Folake Odediran, the General Manager for the pharmaceutical company, Sanofi Nigeria, Ghana. And as she took her seat to start her session, She looked around the table and said, "I want you all to remember this: you learn to cut trees by cutting trees. " She went on to explain that performing a task over and over again, makes us better at doing that task in the Long run.  However cliche, the truth is that Practice makes perfect.  For example,  I try to read some of my old articles sometimes and I sincerely can't believe how awful they are. For real. Over time and through practice,  I've been able to find my own writing voice and I know for sure that I am better at writing now than I was, a few years ago.  I also remember clearly when my sister first started out as a fashion designer. For a while, the only thing she could make by herself was an A-line skirt and a bustier top. But now, her fashion brand can pretty m
Read more

BG REACTIONS: THE SILHOUETTE CHALLENGE

-
Image
I really love the silhouette challenge. Maybe I'm a low-key bad boy. But I know for certain that I'm not alone here. Despite the fact that the challenge has been met with so much backlash from men and women, more and more people are participating. The silhouette challenge basically involves one switching from a robe or PJ into lingerie while dancing to Paul Anka's "Put Your Head On my Shoulder". The Silhouette is created by a crimson red Snap Chat filter available on the mobile App.  Why is this challenge bursting my head?  1. It's the fact that a song from 1959 makes a come back in the year 2021! Up until yesterday, I had never heard of a Paul Anka. It's also very heartwarming that he's alive to experience all of this. And really, from the looks of Paul's website, it seems the old man is also going with the flow.  "Life is Short, Art is long" is something I say a lot. And I know for certain, that art never really goes away. It is always
Read more