DON'T REJECT YOURSELF

"I really wish I was less of a thinking man and more of a fool not afraid of rejection." - Billy Joel

To reject means “to throw away,” “discard.” It's the act of “being denied love.” The feeling of being discarded leads us to believe that we are unloved. When we feel unloved, we deem ourselves worthless. As much as we feel rejected, unloved or worthless that is how much we are unable to receive love, whether from God or people. Often, we hear when people tell us they love us, but we don’t truly recognize that love for the gift it is. Instead, we wait for the proverbial “other shoe” to drop, and anxiously anticipate when that love will be withdrawn.

There was a man whose life was characterized by failure. At the age of 22, his business failed. At 23, he ran for Legislature but was defeated. So he turned to another business, which failed when he was 24. At 25, things started to turn around when he was elected to Legislature, but at 26 his love died. He had a nervous breakdown at 27 and was defeated in his run for Speaker at 29. He was defeated at 31 when he ran for Elector, he lost in his run for Congress at 34, but then managed to win at 37.

THE GIFT OF A DAY (16): FACE IT TODAY

Face Your Fear

"You may have a million reasons not to get started now. But deep down, none of them can be as compelling as your desire to change, grow, and succeed. In a month or a year or five years from now, you may have only one regret - that you didn’t start now. Today matters. The way you spend today really can change your life." - J.C Maxwell

He has always thought of a better life; though he had a job, somehow, he knew that he couldn't just get all he needed in life from only a paid job. As a child he dreaded any form of business because he grew up in the streets. In an environment where he had to do business (hawk wares) to survive and he didn't quite enjoy it. Now he's an adult, but his childhood demons (about business) were still haunting him. He knows he'd run too long, he had to face his demons now if he ever wants to get her all he desires to get her; a fantastic life. He loves her so much; she is the one for him, he's so certain about it, he could perceive it in his gut! He kept looking out for business opportunities but each time he got one, the fear of failure and inadequacy gripped him so hard that he shrieks and most of the time he let's it slip past him. Now, he has a gut feeling, that this next one was going to be "it" for him. It isn't quite new, but he'd mentally brushed it off years before. Now that he decided to face his demons, the opportunity re-surfaced almost miraculously and he has to make up his mind as the days go by, drawing him closer to the signing, and registration for this business. Somehow, in his gut he knew - could almost feel the success in this one - but his demons are staring wide eyed, grinning like they always have expecting him to back out. He was used to that.

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."