I read a story today that gave me a picture of my true aspirations. I had given one of my protege’s an assignment, I asked him to read a book, summarize it and present it to me as a PowerPoint presentation. It had taken him over 3 weeks, not haven used MS PowerPoint before. Eventually he came to make the presentation. First of all, he will need to redo the exercise, but in the spirit of everything is useful, I decided to pay close attention to a story in the e-book he read. Here is the story (tweaked to express my views).
There was once an old fellow, woman or man, I cannot tell. He had been at a particularly strategic spot for about 30yrs begging for alms. On this particular day, a stranger approached him, an in his regular style he called on to the stranger and held out his hand for the stranger to give something. Instead of giving him something, the stranger responded -“I don’t have anything to give you!” Then he asked, “what is that you are sitting on?” “Nothing,” replied the beggar. “Just an old box. I have been sitting on it for as long as I can remember.” “Ever looked inside?” asked the stranger. “No,” said the beggar. “What’s the point? There’s nothing in there.” “Have a look inside,” insisted the stranger. The beggar managed to pry open the lid. With astonishment, disbelief, and elation, he saw that the box was filled with gold.
That stranger walking by, that’s me (by aspiration). I am that stranger that has nothing to give you, but who is telling you to look inside. Not inside any box, like the parable but inside you. All I have is a little information about where your miracle hides, I don’t have anything, save information. At times it might sound like knowledge, at other times like wisdom, but the raw material is information.
You might refute and say you are not a beggar, that’s correct, you are not. But you are looking for something. You’ve moved from job to job, from experience to experience, from relationship to relationship, from high to high and low to low, you are looking for something. You are chasing a high, you are looking for scraps of pleasure, of security, of validation, of fulfillment. You go online, type in Google, and search. You are looking for motivation, for love, for success, greatness, significance. You have a need, and chances are, you have been searching for many years.
I’ve come to town to tell you to look inside of you. Your limitations are not without, they are within. You have a wealth of treasure on your inside, it’s all you need. What you don’t have, you don’t need. The reason why you think you need all that you are going after, is that you haven’t taken a proper look at what is within. Quit roaming through life begging for scrap while sitting on precious stones!
We get so used to our routines, we don’t see them for what they are anymore. Don’t lock yourself into your room because you don’t have money to buy food in the ship of life, get out and exercise your rights, the ticket that guarantees your boarding guarantees your feeding. You were packed with all that you will need at conception, your assignment is to discover those resources within you, and use them for the good of all. You are a prince don’t dress like a pauper, you are a jewel, don’t gather with stones, you are too much for your comprehension. You should walk like the kings daughter, talk with authority, bounce with confidence. Quit looking at the mirror of society, look within.
No amount of coaching will make a snail win a race against a hare, no known college degree will elevate a rabbits speed to that of a cheetah. When you identify your core competence and you expose it to training and practice, you are well on your way to opening the lid on your box of Gold. The greatest and most significant of men, don’t have a PHd in their competence areas, they only exposed their flairs to the fiery furnace of consistency. If I get a professorial fellowship in boxing today, Tyson will still beat me silly.
So, look within…and work with what you see.
15 thoughts on “Who I aspire to be!”
Adeolu,Once again you got me or us thinking again. I read this and remember book AWAKEN THE GIANT IN YOU!!!
I or sorry i owe you a lot. Not to buy gift for you but very to soon to speak at the seminar organised by ME,give speech at my Coy Board of Director meeting(if you are not a member and lecture at the Leadership Institute that i presides on. What could be more golden than that?
Thanks a lot for sharing your wisdom, knowlegde and understanding that you call infromation.
Good day
Mr D, Nice one. Keep it up! Tope Odukoya
Waoh…Very serious stuff.
This wise saying comes to mind: ‘Its the Glory of God to conceal a matter, and its the glory of kings to search it out’. I used to wonder why everything of value is concealed. They are never on the surface. You have to search to discover. We have to mine for the gold, diamonds, oil etc…trapped on our inside, waiting to be unveiled. Until a King discovers his territory, he’ll not differ from a servant.
Deolu, I think your assignment is a very sensitive one. Helping people to find their territories and ascend their thrones. Helping them dig and discover their own deposits. Its something more than gold. Just as ‘the ability to fish’ is greater than a hamper filled with grilled fish garnished with mouth-watering spices.
I heard about a dog trying to get a Phd in ‘flying’. At its best, the smallest bird is still miles ahead.
I’ve decided to visit this portal every day or as often as possible. In my quest to discover and mine all my hidden deposits, I’ll need to consistently ‘RECHARGE’.
Hi Deolu, this is great. You are a gift to this generation. This message is an eye opener.
Keep it up brother.
Hi,
You are doing a great job.
Can you send me the details of investment companies like Uphenry, Wealthzone, Wazo…, and others.
Phil
he that watered shall surely be watered!.Your contribution to my life and that of others in invaluable.Thank you.
The Nigerian Police will Ask Wetin You Carry? i think we need to declare what we carry to the world….thats the question life is asking us daily.
Oluyemi Adeosun
TRUE!!
There is no doubt that human being are made up of potentials and the problem with many is that they don’t know how they can tap into the plentiful of potentials they are endued with.
Deolu, you’ve done a good job by encouraging people to look within because there lies talents, skills and potentials.
In every man there is greatness that we all inherit , it is in-built and we all must look within to tap into it. Unto every one a talent is given but most of us fail to realise this earlier. The most successful people are the ones who realise their potentials early enough and are able to utilise most of these potentials embedded in them.
There is never a time that is too late for one to realise oneself and begin exploring and using the potentials inherited in them.
Regards
Michael
Very very true. Another wonderful piece from Deolu.One should learn to look inwards, because the solution or what you are looking for might just be closer to you than you expect. Thanz so much for this.
Always look inwards.
Godspeed!!!
I aspire to be Me, but to do the things you do. i.e touch lives in a special way.
Extracts from your post, dear Deolu….
(A) ‘No amount of coaching will make a snail win a race against a hare, no known college degree will elevate a rabbits speed to that of a cheetah. When you identify your core competence and you expose it to training and practice, you are well on your way to opening the lid on your box of Gold’
(B) ‘The greatest and most significant of men, donโt have a PHd in their competence areas, they only exposed their flairs to the fiery furnace of consistency’
A & B above seem to be contradict each other. Kindly clarify, for A advocates that sharpening one’s core competence will lead to the gold thing; while B speaks of great men thriving not by sharpening core competence, but doing such to flair- consistency!
inability is not the lack of inner abilities but the presence of deactivated inner abilities. we’ve got to look inside most times. change begins from the inside and that is the power of productive thinking. look inside and start inside..
your true image isnt in what you see in others but what you find out about yourself!many people are busy begging for alms when they have a treasury inside og them that can help their society. lets always learnt to look inward first. Oliver Wendell Holmes said” what lies behind us and what lies ahead of us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us”
the answers we have been looking for is not in anyone or in the fourwalls of any university but in the discovery of who we are.when you do not know your purpose on the earth, you may not know what you are capable of achieving.