One of my favourite stories I found myself telling again on the first day of this week had to do with planning. I was at the singles fellowship of RCCG at Satelite town and the title of my presentation paraphrased,was “How to get your Dream Job and maintain it”. The week was just starting for me, and I had three speaking engagements on that same day – all with very diverse topics.
This story I made references to earlier was the story of two frogs who lived in the Festac side of Lagos. For some reason or the other, their natural habitat had dried up, the small pool of water where they lived and enjoyed life, had dried up without much notice.
“Have you ever felt that you needed to move from where you are? From a relationship, a job, a line of business, or a career? Have you ever felt as though the excitement you once got from doing certain things weren’t there anymore? Have you ever literally watched the little pool that provided you with the basic comforts of life thin out? Let’s see what lessons these frogs had to offer”
These frogs decided not to stay and wallow in unnecessary self pity, they decided to move out and try out for other opportunities. They could have sat around where they had always known as home, and sang “why me oh”. But they didn’t, they decided to search out other possibilities. So hippity hippity hippity hop, they sojourned to Amuwo Odofin. They searched and searched, still no sight of water. They decided to go to Oshodi, but Oshodi still didn’t provide any opportunities. They kept on going, from Oshodi, to Ajao, to Ikeja until alas, they sited water in Ogba.
“Have you ever tried and tried and it seems you were going from frying pan to fire? Have you ever made a move and it seemed like it would have been better if you stayed? Have you ever felt like throwing in the towel and giving up? Have you ever been in a situation where it seems that what you are looking for doesn’t exist? Don’t give up! If you advance confidently in the direction of your dreams, you will meet with success in common hours. Many great men remain unknown because they stopped few minutes short of their breakthroughs, if they had tried just once more, if they had waited just a little longer. History will forever glorify Thomas Edison, Colonel Sanders and Sylvester Stallone, why? Because they tried and unbelievable number of times against all odds. What you are writing with your life is a story, is it banal or is it a bestseller?”
The body of water these frogs saw in Ogba was gigantic. It was oozing endlessly. It was actually a deep well of water filled to the brim and overflowing. It seemed the perfect place to surf, have fun, enjoy, dive and live life to the fullest. After having searched for so long, the site of water was like magic. The smaller of the two frogs was turbo excited and was strategically positioned to take a plunge, when the bigger frog held it back. The smaller frog was shocked, and wondered if they psychological framing of the bigger frog had not already adjusted so much to scarcity that the sight of abundance scared it so much. The bigger frog looked at the smaller frog, and explained. “You are happy because at last we have found water, and you are eager to jump in. This however is a really deep well of water, if we jump in now, we will have lots to enjoy, but if this water dries up, like where we are coming from, how on earth, will we ever get out?”
“Never take a decision today, without considering the future consequences. Never move into action without a plan. Never let your quest for success blind you into making a move that is good today, but bad tomorrow. Weigh your actions in the light of possibilities. Most importantly plan ahead.”
Nigeria is a blessed country, we have abundance of too many things, is it oil, arable land, intellectual prowess, rich culture, or is it surface water? We are so blessed that we never need to worry about the seasons, if one fruit stops another will be available. In the midst of these abundance, it takes conscious effort to develop the skill planning, of prioritizing, of time management of the conventional wisdom of the ant. What is your plan? It doesn’t have to be cast in stone, it’s yours, you can change it as you grow, but you need to have a plan. Great buildings are not built from rough sketches, they are built from masterplans. My friend, do you have a plan?