BLOOM AND GROW

Let’s start your week off with these quotes from some of the world’s most successful people. Enjoy.  1. Jeff Bezos on Work Hard: First off, I like the fact that Jeff Bezos keeps fit.   I come across the word “healthy-billionaire” a lot on Instagram (it’s one of the many hashtags used by fitness influencers) but I think Jeff Bezos exemplifies the word. He is the founder and CEO of Amazon.com, Inc. and the world’s richest man (according to Forbes). On Hard work, Jeff says, “Be proud, not of your gifts, but of your hard work and choices.” According to Bezos, “you can’t really be proud of your gifts because they were given to you. You can be grateful for them and thankful for them. But your choices; you choose to work hard…those are choices you could be proud of.” 2.         Tom Ford on Improvement. Well, if you do not know anything about Tom ford, at least know that he is the guy, Nigerian Oil tycoon, Femi Odetola tags in all his ...

Photo credit: Chimamanda.com In this article, I explore some of Chimamanda's  ideas from her 2015 Wellesley address. Original Photo from Chimamanda.com 1. Your standardized ideologies will not always fit your life because life is messy. In my opinion, this means we should learn to take life has it comes. There are many things in life we cannot control, so we should not try to mend the world to fit our ideals. For example, you cannot always win. That is, going by the mainstream understanding of what winning means. A lawyer can argue as best as he can but the court might not rule in his favour. A doctor can try everything to save a patient’s life and that patient might still die. Hence we must be willing to change our beliefs about everything. Make your ideologies your own. Give your own meaning to things; to winning for example.   Perhaps, something that justifies the efforts you put into the work you do; without the need for external validatio...

Shoe Dog is the account of Phil Knight's journey as a dreamer and as an entrepreneur. Phil Knight is the founder of Nike and as of June 2019, Nike was estimated to be worth 134.78 Billion US Dollars. That's a lot of money! This memoir sheds a good light on how Nike became the big brand we know today. Here are a few key points to note from Shoe Dog: 1. He had a passion for running:  By Phil's account, outdoor running was not popular in the 50s and 60s. It was the stuff of weirdos but Phil liked running and believed that runners deserved better shoes for running. So, he turned his passion into a business. whatever is not mainstream is always considered weird and people like Phil are oftentimes regarded as the perpetrators of crazy until their plans work out just fine. The lesson here is for you to embrace your quirkiness.  2. You can always make a detour.  Phil left home (amidst the fears of his parents about traveling by air) for Asia with the h...

 The Book of Joy is by the Dalai Lama and Arch Bishop Desmond Tutu. Yes, a Christian and a Buddhist co-authored the book (cue joke about the Christian and the Buddhist who went into a bar; I never get those jokes). Anyway,   I am not yet done reading this book but there is a lesson about togetherness which I think will benefit you, especially if you are dealing with anxiety. The word used in the book is Ubuntu which I think describes the idea of community and togetherness. Ubuntu is often translated to mean "I am because we are".  Growing up, I heard people say "the world is becoming a global village" a lot.  Then, the internet was just becoming and I really didn't understand the saying. Now I do and quite agree with it. However, I also think that as much as we are connected to one another through social media and the internet, in our daily lives we are increasingly becoming disconnected from one another. Everybody living in the city (wheth...

I don't think it is possible to avoid people asking you about your life. In your early 20s, you will be asked this question a lot, So what do you want to do with your life? And when you respond, it would launch a discussion about how right or wrong you are. Well, you are not obligated to take anyone's advice. Do whatever ( insert the f-word here if desired ) you want. It is your life. I would advise you to take in as much information as possible from people who I call masters. Industry giants, people who are thriving exceedingly in their own spaces. People like Oprah, Jeff Besos, Tony Elumelu, Ibukun Awosika, Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, Michelle Obama, Phil Knight of Nike and so on. Or it doesn't have to be any of these people. Find your own people. It could be Jay Z, Rihanna, Beyonce or even Naomi Campbell. Read their books, listen to their interviews. You can gain a thing or two from whatever they have to say. So go out and put your best work...

While at the university, I spent Tuesday and Saturday evenings at choir rehearsals. I was a member of the New Sweeter than Honey Choir, NSTHC. In my time at the University of Ibadan, that name was synonymous with untouchable musical excellence. Crowds roared whenever the name was announced for a performance. I too was mesmerized the first time I heard NSTHC perform. I had never heard people sing the way those choristers sang. I auditioned and joined the choir in my second semester of Uni. Rehearsals were held behind the student union building. Many times that place stank because as people often explained a toilet pipe had burst and smell kept oozing from the suck away. But the stench didn't stop us. In fact, it was usually grounds for dry jokes about the stench making us add weight. Maybe it was just the gases we inhaled that made us laugh, who knows? Even though many of us were not close friends outside of the choir, during rehearsals we were like little kids. ...

I have got to admit, I am a mama’s boy. I was raised almost exclusively by my mother because my parents were separated. My siblings and I grew up in the same house and many Saturdays were spent swapping funny and/or bizarre stories and showing one another the latest dance moves we had learned. There is a huge age bracket between my siblings and me, so that meant that at some point growing up, it became just my mother and I left at home. Everyone else was either studying at the university or had begun a life of their own. Every single day I felt my mother’s love and I knew I was always her priority. There were many things that I adored about her. For example, the fact that she was extremely hardworking. She was a serial entrepreneur and that meant trying many businesses and failing a lot.   The fish farm and the snail farm were not exactly successful and eventually, we ate the stock ourselves. Nevertheless, there were other businesses that thrived. The pure water factor...

It was Lisa Nichols who said that "your life will change in needlepoint movements." What this means, in my opinion, is that there is really no such thing as an overnight success. We are an accumulation of our daily practices. There's a nursery rhyme from when I was little which comes to mind often these days: "Little drops of water. Little grains of sand make a mighty ocean and pleasant land." The other part of that rhyme actually notes the power of time: "Thus the little minutes, humble though they be; make the mighty ages of eternity. " The point is that numbers matter in the grand scheme of things; specifically the number of days you spend working on your craft.  Your life will not change because you went to one seminar. Or because you ran one 10 km race or worked out at the gym for 2 hours. Little things done consistently over time can bring about huge results. When I look at my life: working towards becoming a content creator, trying ...

This week, Opeyemi Aderibigbe (@opeyemii_ on Instagram) shares his story below:

I don't take the opportunities that I have been given for granted. My parents were middle class but they were self-made, so they trained us to value the privileges we had. As I have gotten older, I have become more conscious of my society and I try to help my community in the little way I can.  If you are in a position to help your fellow Nigerian, I think you should because in our country today, many people still struggle to feed themselves daily. Also, many low-income families cannot afford quality training for their kids and have to settle for government schools that lack the required facilities for learning. However, I urge you to support low-income families with your money, skill or time. I particularly believe that quality education is one of the sure ways to get out of poverty. So, sponsor a child's learning. Your help could be the very thing that determines whether a child becomes a nuisance to the society or a responsible citizen.   Dr. Paul's...

Becoming Michelle Obama is such a well-written book and I highly recommend.  There is a quote from the book about handling doubters which I think everyone needs to keep in mind:     "I’ve been lucky enough now in my life to meet all sorts of extraordinary and accomplished people—world leaders, inventors, musicians, astronauts, athletes, professors, entrepreneurs, artists and writers, pioneering doctors and researchers. Some (though not enough) of them are women. Some (though not enough) are black or of color. Some were born poor or have lived lives that too many of us would appear to have been unfairly heaped with adversity, and yet still they seem to operate as if they’ve had every advantage in the world. What I’ve learned is this: All of them have had doubters. Some continue to have roaring stadium-sized collections of critics and naysayers who will shout  I told you so at every little misstep or mistake. The noise doesn’t go away, but ...

Good morning Fam,  1. In 2018, I really did burn some bridges and I am glad I did. Those bridge-burning experiences taught me that: My job is not to lift everybody up.  My job is to live your own life.  I am not a shadow.  As I have always said, "when people show you who they are, believe them the first time" 2. Practice your values, don't just profess them. This bugs me a bit because I know there are so many who cut corners and are still thriving. I mean, there are successful. The real question then for me is, why do I need to practice my values. Anyway, I want to believe that there has to be some consequence to cheating and being "fast". Maybe I am naive but at least  I know there are other people who share my school of thought. People like Khaled Hosseini author of  The Kite Runner. Here is a line from the novel I believe and agree with.   "When you kill a man, you steal a life.  You steal his wife's righ...

1. Your life’s purpose is to create more meaning in life. That meaning is found through the work you do.  Opinions may differ on this but I know that your purpose is basically that activity that completes you. For me, I am certain that I am here to write.  Period. And your work is usually as simple as that. I have a job; a 9-5 which I am happy about but I am a writer at heart, so I write. 2. I like Maya Angelou’s point of view on living a legacy. According to Maya, "your legacy is in every life you touch." 3. Happiness is not your life’s purpose. I am learning that happiness should not be the main pursuit. We should not chase happiness like nothing else matters. What about fulfillment? What about leaving a legacy?  I am not saying that depression and anxiety should be the preferred state of mind. What I am saying is that there will be times when you will feel less than 100 percent. Just know that there is nothing wrong with you. We all have our moments. 4....

1. On some days, you will feel less than. You might feel tired or fatigued. Move on. There will be good days, So don't dwell on your shortcomings so much. 2. Everyone goes through some form of difficulty. That should not be enough reason to throw in the towel. Even if you start out rough, things can still look up for me, if you are willing. 3. Slow down. Acknowledge the fact you have the power to move at the pace you want to in life. 4. Breathe. Right now. Take a long deep breath. Every time I do this, it reminds me that I am alive.  5. Perfection is really a bastard. There is no perfect timing. We spend so much time in our heads that we actually become paralyzed. Get it out of your head and just do it.  6. Be wary of people who always see the negative in other people. You cannot trust people who give you the juice about other people. 7. When it comes to your body, people are going to say a lot of things. Ignorant stuf...

Today, I learned about integrity. I actually learned about Trust, listening to Brene Brown's Anatomy of Trust on my way to work. I like how Brene defines integrity: A. Choosing courage over comfort, B. Choosing what’s right over what’s fun, easy or fast, and C.  Practicing your values, not only just professing your values. Integrity is not a medal. It is not something you say you have, just for the sake of saying you have something. It is an action word. 2. Teamwork makes the dream work. Everybody you work with has something unique to contribute to your workgroup. You have to appreciate what everybody brings. There is power in collaboration 3. I did some exercise this morning. I actually was reluctant but I made my way out of the house.  The big lesson for me was seeing that there were other people on the streets doing the very thing I was reluctant to do.  If you choose to give up, there will be many others who would not. 4. Your word is your bond....

1. The biggest take-home for me today was  worthiness. Being worthy enough to own the life you have. Yesterday I spoke about how we allow our lack of faith hold us back. Sometimes we wish against good things happening to us because we are afraid we are not worthy to receive them. Or Afraid of what people will say. This is a note to self. And instead of constantly worrying, I would pray a small prayer of Grace.  2. Give life whatever it takes. Sometimes you need to work really hard. Not to sound cliche but Tough times never last... 3. Being nice to people will take you places. I don't mean being overly likable. I mean being a pleasant person.  4. Say thank you. Especially to your co-workers. Their work affects yours. So when people do their jobs, let them know you appreciate them.  5. Commit. Don't be that guy that has no grit. That guy that gives up at the slightest difficulty. Let me share William Henley's poem Invictus: Out of the n...