To be the best in 2019

Quote: “Your potential is unlimited. Aspire to a higher place. Believe in your abilities, in your tasks, in your judgment”. – Bryan Adams. My dearly beloved readers and ever faithful friends and fans, let me begin by wishing you all a year full of divine grace, favour, love, mercy, peace, protection and all-round prosperity. For, those are the same goodies I wish for myself. The New Year presents before us all vast and varied opportunities in different fields of human endeavour. More like an empty canvas before an artist, the picture you eventually paint on it would depend largely on your vision, dreams, desires and experiences. All these encompass what you have seen, heard, smelt, eaten and the people and places you have encountered. Others include the ideas that sprout out of your fertile imagination, virtually on daily basis. And more importantly, the positive action you take to actualize those ideas.

Oh yes, your MIND! That is where it all starts from. According to Norman Vincent Peale, the best–selling author of ‘The Power of Positive Thinking’ your subconscious mind is like a fertile field. Be careful what you sow in it for that is what you will eventually harvest. So, what you dream of, think and talk about, wish for and do everyday of the New Year would define your fortunes or failures over the coming months.

This is not the time for self-deceit. No! This is not the period to look back at your past mistakes and keep blaming yourself or others and waste precious time dwelling on them. No! You must look deep inwards and out of sober reflections ask yourself the critical questions before you make those all-important New Year resolutions. What are your capabilities and limitations too? Are you at the right place doing the right things? Life is dynamic and you must be ready to move forward.

Interestingly, 2019 will don different colours and flavours from the previous year. For instance, political campaigns as well as the 2019 general elections will attract much public attention. New opportunities will spring up for printers, events organizers, advertisers, entertainers, fuel marketers and transporters. Others include brand managers, media consultants, public affairs analysts, political economists and of course, those INEC will engage before and during the elections.

You must be sensitive, like the insects with their antennae sensing the environment for available substances to survive on. To succeed, you should be open to the happenings in your environment. And muster the capacity to maximize the economic benefits derivable thereof. You must be able to dream big and to dare all odds to be on the receiving side of the billions of Naira that will exchange hands. But mind you, one is strictly against vote buying, as it is both an insult on Nigerians and an avenue that brings curse on oneself!

Firstly, you should understand yourself. Who are you in the real sense of it? What mission has God, your creator brought you here to achieve? What are your natural endowments; your talents and innate abilities? What do you enjoy doing so effortlessly that gives you self satisfaction? Have your educational career and experiences positioned you along this line? What problems can you solve with your aptitudes? What value can you add to human existence? Until you are able to answer these all-important questions, you may end up like the rudderless boat swept up and down by the seasonal tides. May that not be our portion?

Now, what is my major prediction for the New Year? Even in the absence of a crystal ball, one can see several young, enterprising, courageous and creative Nigerians smiling all the way to the bank before this year runs out. One is not talking about the sons and daughters of the devil, especially the political thugs, hired assassins, kidnappers, armed robbers and drug traffickers. Or, the yahoo boys with the Logo Benz mindset and all those who would want to take the short cut to riches. No!

Rather, the focus here is on those who would see a half-filled cup of water rather a half-emptied one, like those of who complain everyday, without making efforts to be solution providers. In the timeless words of Engineer Titi Omo-Ettu, a Fellow of the Society of Nigerian Engineers, “our new generation of engineers should accept responsibility that they are the solution providers of today. They must read widely, train continuously and synergize with other professionals. To make this effective, they should work in teams. They should see their environment as their constituency, communicate effectively, be fair and ethical and learn to choose wisely”. You do not have to be an engineer to drink from this fountain of knowledge. In 2019, if you want to be rich and successful you must be a problem-solver or a solution-provider. I commend these words to you.

Think about this for a moment: Where was Aliko Dangote during the military era and where is he today? What magic wand did the Kano state- born entrepreneur wave to become Africa’s richest and most powerful man according to Forbes magazine? Did he travel out to foreign lands to make his fortunes? The answer is obvious to us all.

After a thorough research into his phenomenal rise to his home-grown wealth I discovered these traits, as revealed in my upcoming book: ‘Unveil the Billionaire in You’. His success secrets are traceable to having an eye on lucrative businesses; by providing us valuable products we need virtually on daily basis, being a risk taker, having the courage to move from buying and selling to manufacturing, and being futuristic in his ventures. Others include multiple streams of income, staying close to the power brokers and having a global perspective.

If you claim that he and Mike Adenuga, Jim Ovia, Femi Otedola as well as Tony Elumelu all became billionaires because they are captains of industry, what about our young entertainment icons such as Don Jazzy, Wizkid, Davido, Ali Baba, Omotola Jalade, Genevieve Nnaji, Mercy Johnson, Mo Abudu, Kemi Adetiba or the world acclaimed Nigerian-born blogger named Linda Ikeji? Yes, that reminds me on the need to add technology to your line of business and start to smile to the bank.

Even as we complain daily about the prevailing, harsh economic environment, new millionaires are springing up everyday. So, what is the best way forward, for you?

The answer, I dare say Is in You, as the Peak Milk advert would admonish us. Truth is that many of us are our own worst enemies! We have to realize that inside every problem there are seeds of greatness; of success, of fortunes waiting to be harvested, sowed, and nurtured to fruitiness, if only we but look closely enough. For instance, our own Larry Izamoje saw the opportunity in sports broadcasting when others never saw a kobo in it. Today, Brilla FM is a success story. Similarly, Dr. Sunny Obazu Ojeagbase who never saw the four walls of a university has raised many millionaires over the years and pioneered Success Digest Enterprise Development Attitude as well as Complete Sports. Simply put, you have to discover who you are, capitalize on your abilities, overcome your weaknesses, apply information technology, never be easily discouraged by daunting obstacles but take them as stepping stones to move on to the higher ground. Take that first step now! Welcome to 2019, the year of limitless possibilities.