Exercise is more important than mu career

I was thinking this morning..... about exercise and career. Where I sat at the Teslim Balogun Stadium yesterday participating in the closing ceremony of the 17th Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Games (NOGIG), I wondered how so many professionals could leave their job and career for a week to participate in sports that gives them nothing more than ceremonial medals. Moreso, the medals won will not count during the end year appraisal. 'Are the participants really serious about their careers?' I had soliloquized. 'Or are they a group with NFA (No Future Ambition)?'

 

As I placed exercise/sports and career on a mental scale, to see which weighs more, I recalled an article I read in Time Magazine titled 'Why exercise is more important than my career' by one Joshua Steimle, an entrepreneur. But how can exercise be more important than my career? 'OYO (on your own) for him,' I concluded with finality. Will exercise put food on my table? Will exercise pay my children school fees? Too many questions popping up to justify my parochial line of thought.

 

But then, just a little patient reflection exposed my folly. Think about it. It is prevalent attitude amongst professionals that career or business comes first and that it trumps everything else including family, friends and health. But is that really true? I think not. Also, could exercise be more important than my career? Maybe that's why Cyril Ramaphosa, the current president of South Africa, was seen taking his usual early morning walk/jog along Cape Town's Sea Point Promenade in spite of the state of the nation address and the looming budget speech he had to give on the day of his inauguration. If he was a Nigerian politician, he probably will be in meetings all night and day with party members and associates strategizing on how to share potential available positions.

 

Maybe exercise should be important than my career. Vladimir Putin, the Russian President became a master in martial arts and has been actively competing in sports such as hockey, badminton and horse riding since 1966, while Tony Abbot, the Prime Minister of Australia until 2015 competed in an Iron Man triathlon, he runs a marathon and regularly cycles up and down hills near Parliament House four to six times around dawn. Yet the only information available of a Nigeria past or present president committed to exercise or sports is OBJ and his love for 'Ayo' (the African game board.)

 

Should exercise be more important than my career? Dick Costolo, the CEO of Twitter from 2010 to 2015 bikes and does grueling CrossFit workouts and he tweets more about fitness than tech or business. Imagine, while the CEO of Twitter was focusing on exercise, many CEOs are focusing on Twitter.

 

Truth is, exercise is more important than your career and therefore must be come first. If exercise stops, then your health goes downhill. With loss of physical health, your productivity t work goes down. You become depressed and lose the motivation to do the things that make your business or career successful.

 

For me, I have decided to exercise. If I can't find time to go play badminton at the club, I will skip and jog-on-the-spot in my house. And if time will not allow me, I will box in the shower. Whatever it takes, I must exercise because 1st Tim 4:8 says 'For bodily exercise profits little.' We need that little to achieve great things.

 

Happy Sunday.

 

....Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey.

Love and Procrastination

Love and Procrastination

I was thinking this morning..... about Love and Procrastination. While in the office last Thursday, I overheard a colleague reminding another colleague to send the data she had requested for. She asked him, 'Do you know what today is?' trying to make him realize that the target date was past. Jokingly, he responded, 'Today is the day after Valentine's Day.' Yes, the day before was Valentine's Day, but how will that enhance the delivery of the target at work? As far as this guy was concerned, Valentine's Day was the most important event this period and therefore has to be the reference point.

As I smiled at his response, I wondered why I don't give so much thought to Valentine's Day as much as others do. Is it that I am 'old skool' or I just don't appreciate that day? Hmm!!! So much happened on February 14th, with so many waxing love poems for their spouse or partner. But the message that stood out for me, by a long shot, was that written by a friend of mine. He wrote, 'You are the egg in my egg roll. Without you I am puff puff.' Hmm!!! Truly puff puff takes a whole new life with egg at the middle and changes its name to egg roll. Very loving and very original but I know that egg roll is not a delicacy that you eat once a year. Why then do you wait till February 14th to tell your spouse he/she is the egg in your egg roll?

Why do we procrastinate our love demonstration till February 14th each year? My thinking is that we love procrastination. Psychologist Joseph Ferrari has said, 'Procrastination is not waiting and it is not delaying. It is a decision not to act.' Many have decided not to act on their relationship until February 14th each year, during which period the ships and the relation may have drifted too far apart. I believe that most of the gestures people demonstrate on Valentine's Day are things they should be doing every day.

As I probed a bit more as to why I don't pay attention to Valentine's Day, it wasn't clear at first, but then it dropped. Aha! I can see why now! It is because it is not 'Wey Mey's Day.' Why should I wait for St. Valentine to remind me to show love to my wife? While I have created many 'Wey Mey's Day through the year, when I do special things for my wife, thereby making February 14th like any other day, I still pray the words of 1st Thessalonians 3:12 that says 'May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other.'

Knowing that the 2019 Valentine's Day is 361 days away, please do not procrastinate to show love to your loved ones. Tell them that they are the eggs in your egg rolls, the sim card in your smart phones or the data in your modem. Whatever description works for you, just let them know you love them today and everyday.

Happy Sunday.

....Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey.

Oh God, Please Make Me Humble

Stay Humble

I was thinking this morning.....about humility. Last Sunday 4th February was the 14th birthday of Facebook and the founder Mark Zuckerberg put out a message to all Facebook users. It was a simple message that acknowledged the many mistakes he had made over the period and how he is honored to be on the journey with every user. As I read the message, I couldn't understand his simplicity. How can a man that is the founder of a network with 2.2 billion monthly active users as at Q4 2017 be that simple? When I consider that there are many people, especially Nigerians with only 100,000 followers on a platform they did not create, but yet see themselves as demi-gods with celebrity status, I could not help but say 'oh God, please make me humble.'

As I prayed, I recalled that while signing off from work penultimate Friday, I was attracted to the news on CNN that Facebook had announced a revenue of about $13 billion for Q4 2017. I was humbled by the news not because they made $13b, but because they did so in 3 months. If you imagine that one of the most successful Oil and Gas Companies in Nigeria made a profit of about $1.5 billion in the whole of 2017, then you will understand my humility. And if you consider that with an annual national budget of about $20 billion, we go about killing ourselves in Nigeria in the fight to get a chunk of the national cake, while a young man that makes about $40 billion in a year can still be simple and stay calm, then you will join me to say 'oh God, please make me humble.'

 

But how can anyone be so blessed and remain humble? Even if he had made a commitment to be humble, the sheer number of people he controls should make his head grow. The number of full time employees at Facebook increased from 600 in 2006 to 25,000 as at end December 2017, yet you can hardly differentiate Mark Zuckerberg from his staff because of his simplicity. If you consider that some people have just two or three domestic staff working for them and they have assumed the status of lord, demanding that the staff kneel down to serve them, you will join me to say, 'oh God, please make me humble.'

 

If Mark Zuckerberg was over 60 years like the other billionaires in America, I would understand saying that the many huddles of life had probably humbled him, but he will be 34 years in May, meaning he is a Millennial (also known as Generation Y or Echo boomers). If you look around us and see how Nigerians of his age that had made their first N100 million (about $300,000) drive about town in flashy cars with the 'I have arrived' attitude, then you will join me to say, 'oh God, please make me humble.'

 

How can a young man who is worth $76.6 billion (5th richest man in the world) not be proud and egoistic? It is ironic. If you consider that the highest paid executive in Nigeria, Mrs Sola David-Borha, MD/CEO of StambicIBTC Holdings (though a humble woman as well) is paid about N485,000 daily and Mark Zuckerberg who could easily have requested for a six or more figure salary but opted for one dollar a year salary, then you will join me to shout, 'oh God, please make me humble.'

 

It is common to hear people being referred to as 'Bigger boy, the Boss, the Don, Master or even Oga at the top' by virtue of their blessings, making them think they are achievers. For me, I always remind myself that we are only receivers and not achievers, to keep me humble. James 4:10 says 'Humble yourselves before the Lord and h will lift you up.'

Happy Sunday.

....Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey.

Love is not an Emergency

I was thinking this morning... abut the timeliness of love demonstration. While observing my week days unwinding routine, watching Tinsel on TV, Serena, the run away wife of Chief was expressing her concern to Brenda Mensah, about her partner, Ike moving too fast and wanting to take her for a family function. While Brenda advised her to take it slowly, she concluded thus, 'I may not be an expert in relationships, but one thing I have learnt is that love is not an emergency.' That 'love is not an emergency,' struck a cord in me.

 

If love is truly not an emergency, then why does the heart skip a beat when one is in love? I remember in 2001 when I first saw this young damsel who later became my wife, I made every move possible to engage and marry her as soon as possible, because as far as I am concerned, it was a 'Marital Emergency.' How can they say love is not an emergency?

 

As I protested, something in me tells me to calm down and reason. As I did grudgingly, I discovered that it is like two sides of a coin. If you are on the verge of losing your loved one, love will definitely be an emergency, but if your loved one 'falls your hand,' you are in no hurry to strike. Love, at this point will not be an emergency. But how can love not be an emergency? I kept wondering. I recalled the several News stories of people committing suicide  because they were dumped by those they loved and yet someone is telling me that love is not an emergency. Surely, love in this instance is a 'Medical Emergency.'

 

As my mind continued inditing this view that love is an emergency, I imagined the behavior of a typical Nigerian politician and Civil servants placed before the State coffers. They are like dogs on heat, with an urgent need to loot. The budget for four years is stolen in a  few months. Their love for money is definitely a 'Financial Emergency.'

 

When I considered this in the complex Nigeria setting, my thinking got a bit fuzzy. Think about it. Just before the last election, the then opposition, APC, needed the love of Nigerians. They were urgent in making Nigerians see why the change was imperative. To most people, the love was an emergency. They did not only preach love, they promised marriage and a life of bliss thereafter. There was a sense of urgency in their love demonstration. Shortly after we gave them our hearts, they went to sleep. It took months to appoint Ministers and get the economy to work. While we kept reminding them that love is an emergency, they gave us a convincing response, when in spite of the mass killings by marauding herdsmen, there was a near absence or at best a lack luster response to the killings. At this point I was convinced that love is not a 'Political Emergency.'

 

On the surface, that love is not an emergency seems like the flip side of 'Love is patient,' but in reality, it is like the plant, Impatiens capensis (Spotted touch-me-not). The fruit of this plant is a thin pod about 1 inch long that pops open at the slightest touch, throwing seeds in all directions. Love could or could not be an emergency depending on the seed it throws at you when you touch the subject. What matters is, in every aspect of your life, according to 1st Cor 16:14, 'Do everything in love.'

Happy Sunday.

....Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey

How are we Influencing our Children?

Influencing our Children

I was thinking this morning.... about how my birthday yesterday made me reflect on the impact I am having on my children. I remember being at lunch with my colleagues some time ago when one related her experience after she left church one Sunday. According to her, while driving very slowly through the potholes on the road to her estate, a female driver behind her, with kids in the vehicle, was getting impatient. At the slightest opportunity, the driver overtook her, blocked her and brought her hand from the car and said the Nigerian curse word 'wanka.' Immediately, the passenger in my colleague's car shouted in disbelief that the lady driver was her home cell leader and just left church with them. Wow!!! So much for living by example, but it got me thinking about the example the lady was setting for her kids that were in the vehicle with her. How will her actions of today influence the behavior of her children tomorrow? But wait a minute, are we more influenced by our immediate family or by our peers/bosses or by the environment (neighborhood) we grew up?

 

I reflected on how growing up in Warri had made me a  Warri boy (you will not miss my waffi pidgin English.) If my parents had listened to my prodding to relocate to Miami when I was in the womb, imagine how my Yankee intonation will be. Nothing spoil. There is power in environmental influence.

 

As I sunk into deeper thoughts, I recalled visiting my children in school recently. Having feted with the children, it was time to give the hugs and see them back to their hostels. Then I observed a parent stuffing chocolate into the socks of her daughter to help her beat the rule prohibiting taking of food and snacks to the hostel. I was stunned because I know this mother has just given her daughter a life lesson on how not to obey the law. Hmm!!! Parental influence is solid.

 

Have you thought lately about the influence you are having on others? It is a sobering thought. As I x-rayed what may have influenced me to becoming such a nice guy, I recalled a story of a car accident in which a teenage boy was killed. He and his friends had been drinking. When the police reached the home of the deceased boy and explained the details of his death, his father's immediate reaction was, 'if I could find who sold those boys that alcohol, I'd kill him!' The dad was so shaken up he went to his liquor cabinet for a drink and there found a note that read, 'Dear dad, I knew you wouldn't mind if we borrowed this bottle of liquor. We'll pay you back soon.' Hmm!!! He had provided his son the weapon that killed him.

 

Take a moment to evaluate the effect you're having on your kids and those around you and be certain it is positive. Just wondering the sort of influence our crooked leaders are having on children of today, it scares me to imagine what the future holds. In my little space, as I appreciate God and you all for the love shown me during my birthday yesterday, I have chosen to be guided by the words of Matthew 18:7, '...woe to that man through whom offence comes.'

 

Happy Sunday.

 

.....Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey.

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Offence of Cattle Herding in 1000BC

Cattle Herding in the City

I was thinking this morning.... about what constitutes an offence. I was updating myself on current affairs after a very busy week when I read this news report about Ryan Carney Williams, a man traveling from Iceland to England by British Airways (BA). On getting to the check-in counter, he was told he had excess luggage and has to pay for the excess. In order to avoid paying the fee, he opened his bag and wore all the excess clothes. He was arrested for wearing an excessive amount of clothing and of course prevented from flying. I laughed when I read the story and according to Spiff of The Johnsons comedy show, it was a classic example of BTD (Boys Thinking Deep.)

 

In my attempt to 'think deep,' I wondered, 'If wearing an excessive amount of clothes to avoid paying excess luggage fee could be classified as an offence by BA, how come the open grazing of someone's farm by the cattle of herdsmen, is not seen as one in Nigeria?' On my way to the office days ago, the cars ahead of me suddenly came to a stop. I immediately concluded that it must be another police check point. I was wrong. A young cattle herder was leading his cattle across the road in a location that is almost built up. Have you observed that these herders and their cattle don't obey traffic rules? Not Zebra (or even cattle) crossings, traffic lights nor pedestrian bridges, where they exist, yet none has been arrested for traffic offence. As I pondered on this, I recalled Exodus 22:5 that says, 'If an animal is grazing in a field or vineyard and the owner lets it stray into someone else's field to graze, then the animal owner must pay compensation from the best of his own grain or grapes.' Hmm!!!

 

Think about it, if open intrusive grazing was an offence hundreds of years before Christ (BC), it is shocking why some will consider it otherwise over 2000 years after the death of Christ (AD). When the rest of the world has gone ranching in line with biblical and best practice, Nigeria is debating cattle colonies. Na wa! This cattle colony debate reminds me of the dark past when lepers colony was common. Could it be Nigeria is operating in year 1000BC?

 

It seems logical that the compensation for destroying the crops of one man is replacing it with the best of your crops. Makes sense, right? But can someone please explain why human lives are taken in place of stolen cows. Because the only reason the umbrella body of the herders have given for the slaughtering of villagers is that their cattle were rustled. One would expect that the compensation should be the produce of the farmers and not the lives of the farmers, except of course in the estimation of the herders, cows are equal to human.

 

My take is, until we recognize that we are a nation with laws and enforce the law irrespective of who is involved, we are living in deception, because while the rest of the world is counting forward in AD, we are moving backward in BC.

 

Happy Sunday.

 

.....Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey.

Snake Servant Vs Monitor Lizard

Monitor Lizard

I was thinking this morning... about how the beliefs of yesterday can affect the thinking of today. The other day as I stepped out of my house, I noticed a reptile by the fence. As I looked closely, my native mind identified what I was looking at to be 'Snake Servant.' And immediately, my eyes scanned the immediate vicinity for snakes. 'Wake up,' my educated mind raised its voice telling me that it is but a Monitor Lizard and not a servant of any snake.

 

When I got into the car I started thinking about why we refer to Monitor Lizard as 'Snake Servant' back then in Warri. I can understand if the name came about because someone once observed a snake going after the lizard and concluded that the lizard was the messenger of the snake, but can't understand why every one of us back then believed the story. Ignorance, they say, is a voluntary misfortune.

 

As I smiled at our ignorance back then, my native mind, refusing to accept defeat, asked my educated mind, 'if you are laughing at us for calling it 'Snake Servant,' can you explain why it is called Monitor Lizard? Are they class monitors or monitoring spirits?' My educated mind, lost for words, decided to consult Google. The search engine revealed that Monitor lizards, belonging to the genus Veranus, with the largest species being the Komodo dragon, derived its name from ancient Egypt.

 

In Egypt, in the early days of civilization, the Nile river was the life line of the Egyptians villages because they depended on it for cooking, washing, bathing and swimming. But the Nile had a problem. Crocodiles. How were the Egyptians to know when it was safe to enter the water, without risking being eaten? They devised a scheme. They would catch one of their large Veranus lizards and chain it by its front paws to a large boulder on the edge of the river. If the Lizard was lying peacefully sunning itself, the Egyptians knew it was safe to enter the water. If however it was thrashing about and struggling to get away, they knew that danger was lurking nearby. A crocodile was in the area. The lizard didn't want to be eaten so it would struggle to get loose of its chains. The Monitor Lizard monitored the crocodiles movement, hence its name.

 

'So how is that different from the story of the Snake Servant?' my native mind had asked. At this point, both of my minds agreed that there was no winner in this debate. But how was I drawn into this debate in the first place? It was my belief of the past affecting my thinking of today. I realized that if I don't put the beliefs that the events of 2017 had shaped in my mind under control, it will affect my thoughts in 2018.

 

 Think about it. Due to the failures of governance at all levels in Nigeria in 2017, many have entered 2018 believing all hope is lost. While many were trying to reprogram their memories from the negative beliefs, then entered fuel scarcity and killings by herdsmen. In describing what is happening, Wole Soyinka aptly captured it, 'We have been here before - now, 'before' is back with a vengeance.' Truly, 'before' is back with a vengeance, but I beg you to unravel 2018 with renewed hope for you and this nation. Do not let negative beliefs of the past affect your thinking of today. Romans 12:2 says, 'And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will of God.'

 

Happy Sunday.

 

.....Just the thoughts of a certain Wey Mey.