HE STOOPS TO CONQUER 1

"True religion is real living; living with all one's soul, with all one's goodness and righteousness." - Albert Einstein

It's a rather busy and noisy part of town, everyone minding their business: he was there, doing his thing. From a few feet away comes an indistinct chatter, it's normal in this part of town. The chatter soon become audibly distinct. A combination of 'boos,' and 'ahs'. He turns to behold a beautiful lady. She's halfway between standing and squatting: shielding herself with both hands. In an attempt to block any fist that might be hurled at her. She's in her twenties or so. She's got long, dark, shiny hair, which is now ruffled from the crowds man-handling. What a beautiful creature he thought if only this troublesome lot would let her alone. Just then, it seemed, as though everyone began talking at once. Some yelling. They push her to him, What do we do to her. But he takes one look from the corner of his eyes, at this lady, stoops and ignores the crowd. Not saying a word.

Have you ever been caught in a web of confusion. The confusing arising from people - church folk - wanting you to say something, on a matter. And you're aware that the object of the discussion is a church folk as well. The traditions of men isn't the same as the laws of God Almighty. Where God almighty pleads leniency man calls for judgment.

BETWEEN THE PAGES!

"Any fool can know. The point is to understand." - Albert Einstein 

Between the Pages

If you have lived for a certain number of years, then I am sure you have made one interesting discovery, one that doesn’t require much experiment or analysis - it's the truth that life is a roller-coaster from one problem to the other, every turn has it's challenge, something that must be confronted and solved, and this universal arrangement is not necessarily bad. In fact it's this setup that is responsible for the advancement of life and the development of civilizations. So let me remind you of something you may already know but may not have taken a great deal of time to ponder over. This unarguably is, what I consider the greatest advice there is. "The answer to 90% of all challenges lie in-between the pages of a book."

Burghardt DuBois, the great black educator, sociologist, and historian upon completion of studies at Fisk, Harvard and the University of Berlin, was convinced that change in the condition of the American black could be effected by careful scientific investigations into the truth about the blacks in America so he proceeded. His research was flawless and his graphs and charts impeccable. After waiting several years and hearing not the slightest stir of reform, Dr. DuBois had to accept the truth about truth. Which is, "It being available does not mean it will be appropriated, discovered and deployed."

PROBLEMS, FACILITATORS OF PROGRESS

WISDOM NUGGET: "And once the storm is over, you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won't even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won't be the same person who walked in. That's what this storm's all about."
                                                                                                       - Haruki Murakami

Problems are like pregnant women. They usually come pregnant with "progress babies" inside of them. Please understand that most problems are a good sign. Problems actually indicate that progress is being made, that wheels are turning and that you are moving toward your goals. Beware when you have no problems; because then you really have a problem. Take it or leave it, problems are like landmarks of progress.

Nelson Mandela is perhaps one of the most influential men of all time. But you would recall that he did not necessarily set out to become that. He just wanted to solve the problem of Apartheid. He was so consumed with his drive for finding a solution to that problem that when the problem began to swallow all he had, he most likely didn't realize it. That drive made him daring and astonishingly brave. In Soweto, when the kingdom fell in darkness and shadows ruled the night; with no sign of dawn, he soldiered on and in the long run brought the black race in South Africa back to the dawn of a new life founded in freedom. Had the brutal Apartheid regime known they would never have incarcerated him as they did. If only they knew that 27years in Roben Island will make that man  "The Number One Citizen of The World" today, they would quietly have left him alone. Today, one man's die hard decision to solve a national problem has led to "The Making of a Hero" and has put the nation of South Africa in an enviable place in the map of the world, producing the strongest economy in Africa, hosting the World Cup and becoming Africa's number one tourist destination.

If you read further our key scripture, you will notice that Paul implied that the troubles that some folks cooked up, which should have caused him more trouble in prison, brought about an explosive fast tracking of the accomplishment of the very reason why he was apprehended in the first place. Can I challenge you today to focus 90% of your time on solutions and 10% on problems and see the great world of difference it will make? It was Haruki Murakami who said, "And once the storm is over, you won't remember how you made it through, how you managed to survive. You won't even be sure, whether the storm is really over. But one thing is certain. When you come out of the storm, you won't be the same person who walked in. That's what this storm's all about."

CONDEMNED TO SUCCESS

WISDOM NUGGET: "It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer."
                                                                                                           - Albert Einstein,

Isn't it amazing? The fact that problems are gifts, whichever way you look at it. It is exactly the way it is.

Truth be told, the presence of problems in our lives have in countless ways contributed a lot more in moving us to where we are today, than their absence have. I'm sure a brief stock taking will prove this to you.

Yinka Obalade, in an interview talked about the origins of his success. He humorously attributed his success to the problem of poverty. He explained that his fortunes in life came about as result of his condemnation to poverty.

He came from such a poor family that when people often cursed a person; they would say "may you be as poor as the Obalade family". There was no way he could have gone to school without getting a scholarship. He had only one option, which was to emerge best student in his primary to qualify for a government scholarship, which he did. At secondary school level, the same decision would make him proceed to the university on scholarship, were he still had to maintain the top position in his entire faculty, all through four years to continue to qualify to enjoy sponsorship. He either had to be the best student or not be a student at all. So he graduated with a first class by default. Simply put, he said "poverty condemned me to success."

Is poverty not one of the greatest eaters of men in life? Yet, as our key scripture says, "out of the eater has come something to eat". Out of the aching problem of acute poverty was born a die-hard determination to succeed. If Yinka Obalade said poverty condemned him to success, then even you will agree with me that that is indeed a good condemnation. I guess the longer he stayed with the problem of poverty, the more successful he had to become. Hear Albert Einstein, "It's not that I'm so smart, it's just that I stay with problems longer."

This is how Brian Adams puts it, "Difficulties are opportunities to better things; they are stepping-stones to greater experience. When one door closes, another opens; as a natural law it has to balance."

Perhaps, There's A Message In Your Mess

Wisdom Nugget:"We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them."

                                                                                                                                - Albert Einstein.

                                                                                                                         

Joseph Addison had this to say, that “our real blessings often appear to us in the shape of pains, losses and disappointments (problems); but let us have patience and we soon shall see them in their proper figures”

Someone said, "Chance favours the prepared mind." That's the genius behind all great inventions. The following “accidental” inventions by some scientists weren’t prepared for. These scientists did their science on the brink and were able to see the magic in a mistake, set-back, or coincidence.

Alexander Fleming, the accidental inventor of Penicillin - which today is one of the most famous and fortunate accidents of the 20th century arrived at this invention albeit mistakenly. Here’s how it happened, he went on vacation one day in 1928, but didn't clean up his workstation before he did. When he returned, Fleming noticed a strange fungus on some of his cultures; even stranger was that bacteria didn't seem to thrive near those cultures - he’d created “Penicillin”

Penicillin became the first, and still is one of the most widely used antibiotics today.

William Perkin wanted to cure malaria; but instead his scientific endeavors changed the face of fashion forever and, helped fight cancer. Here's how, in 1856 Perkin was trying to come up with artificial quinine. Instead of a malaria treatment, his experiments produced a thick murky mess. But the more he looked at it, the more Perkin saw a beautiful color in his mess. He unwittingly made the first-ever synthetic dye. Which was far better than any dye that came from nature; the color was brighter, more vibrant, and didn't fade or wash out. His discovery also turned chemistry into a money-generating science - making it attractive for a whole generation of curious-minded people. One of the people inspired by Perkin's work was German bacteriologist Paul Ehrlich, who used Perkin's dyes to pioneer immunology and chemotherapy.

Here’s one more message in a mess discovery. In 1907 shellac was used as insulation in electronics. It was costing the industry a pretty penny to import shellac, which was made from Southeast Asian beetles, and at home chemist Leo Hendrik Baekeland thought he might turn a profit if he could produce a shellac alternative. Instead his experiments yielded a mouldable material that could take high temperatures without distorting. Baekeland thought his "Bakelite" might be used for phonograph records, but it was soon clear that the product had thousands of uses. Today plastic, which was derived from Bakelite, is used for everything from telephones to iconic movie punch lines.

Problems are often minefields for greatness, if we are patient enough to pause for a second and wade through the thick, murky, annoying and unpalatable situations called problems life throws at us – it turns out that most disappointments are blessings in disguise after all.