Forgotten Diaries

You might be wondering why things are not working out as planned, there is a scripture that says "God makes everything beautiful in its own time" - Ecclesiastes III:XI.  I just thought to remind, and encourage you that God has not forgotten you. Even though the last few months have been tough and challenging, yet you've managed to scale through, that alone is a sign that there's a greater future ahead of you. Don't be discouraged, don't be perplexed, let your mind be filled with positivity and trust God for the best.  September is your month of greatness!   #September #NewMonth #September2020

A old man and his son planned a vacation, so he bought a donkey (today’s equivalent of a car). The father and his son were excited to spend some bonding time together. The old man got on the donkey since he was older and weaker, and they began their journey, with the son walking alongside him. They were suddenly accosted by someone who said to the father, “Lazy old man! How dare you allow a little boy to walk under the blazing heat of the sun?” The old man got off and put his son on the donkey. They continued their journey, then a passerby said loudly, “What a foolish old man! Do you want to die in the heat while your son who is youthful and stronger rides on the donkey?” So the father got on the donkey as well. As they rode through a village, they saw a crowd of people who yelled at them saying “Those two heartless riders are trying to kill that poor donkey.” So they both got off, and walked alongside the donkey and continued their journey. As they approached another village, th...

Recently, I came across a book titled, "I for don blow, but I too dey press phone " written by Nymar David. I wouldn't dwell much on the content or summary of the book but one thing is certain from the title, the author acclimatized his refusal to blow (become extremely successful) to the fact that he was addicted to his phone... Many youths have become entangled and chained down to their phone such that they no longer have control over a common device... A non-living element now controls the lives of several young people due to their inability to curb their insatiable desire to remain online forever. Thomas Edison has found 1001 ways to create a single item not by sitting on Facebook all day and tweeting away all his life. Steve jobs, Mark Zuckerberg and other world renowned successful people only spen d their time on social media doing stuffs that would either provide useful information, encourage others, promote a content or generate revenue for them, a truly ambi...

The Yorubas will say “àgbà kìí wa lôjà, ki ori omo tuntun o wó” , meaning (a baby’s neck not properly placed, cannot be left unadjusted when we have elders in the market). Is this adage still true? So many children (teenagers & youth) nowadays already developed stiff neck (rebellion) because the elders have concentrated on something else and refused to act.  Mothers meant to protect, guide and train their children have been occupied with business matters, social group parties and even go to the extent of borrowing money to buy things they do not need, eventually to impress people they do not even know. Leading them to frustration and sometimes depression.  Fathers who are supposed to use iron hand on disobedient & wayward children, only threatens denial of basic needs of such child. The baby’s neck had fallen, and it will only take grace to get it restored. Religious societies are trying their best but still we need the elders, I mean the knowledgeable elders...

Thursday night, I forgot my apartment key in the office while in haste to close early. I eventually got home and had to stay at the door for so long, helpless and thinking about how I will gain access into the house, then I got this insight. No matter how small, tiny or little a key is, it remains the sole access to opening a locked door and in a bid to do without the key we have two alternatives… either to break the door, or to damage the lock (or a combination of the two). Nonetheless, my point is “it is important to have the key to access every doors of life", with the appropriate key, you may not have to struggle to achieve anything, you may not have to go a longer route, you may not have to destroy something else, you may save yourself the whole stress of trying to cut corners in achieving goals. Grab hold of the right key today and you will be surprised how easy it will be for you to access every closed door. In conclusion, I eventually had to request for th...

It is no longer news how so many people have fallen victim of fake pastors, churches and other prophets, all in the name of searching for miracle hand of God. Many have been duped and still would not believe it because the men in white gown has not only scam them, but also invoke the terrestrial spirit of fear and delusion in them. Some churches now operate like joint ventures where there are directors and trustees, some operates like business ventures with lots of apprentice pastors, others unveil themselves like companies where acquisition of so many physical properties is one the principal goals of the ministry. In fact, do not be surprised to know that some churches now have shareholders of whom they pay dividend to after the financial year, these are those set of people that finances the major activities in the church, they are made deacons and deaconesses in no time irrespective of whether genuinely born again or not. Richard Okunola Many of the 21...

Beyond being an excellent staff, know that "you are the Manager in charge of your life'' - Richard Okunola

Saving your savings: An Extract caption from R-EDx Int'l Journal “Sadly, many children are not financially literate as their parents do not consider this important. To compound the problem, the curriculum of most schools does not include financial education. Therefore, the only time that most children get exposed to money matters is when they are much older. No wonder they struggle with their finances when they start working.” (Adewale Ajayi – Money Matters: Your Children & Finances) It is pertinent to know that many people have fallen victim of being slave to money and financial resources. If you are controlled by money rather than controlling your money, then this content will be really helpful. So many adult lack the ability to manage any monetary/financial resources committed to them and that is why I would like to share some tips I learnt about a year ago while struggling to manage the very little resource in my possession. “First thing you should know is t...

Life is an opportunity, benefit from it. Life is beauty, admire it. Life is bliss, taste it. Life is a dream, realize it. Life is a challenge, meet it. Life is a duty, complete it. Life is a game, play it. Life is a promise, fulfill it. Life is sorrow, overcome it. Life is a song, sing it. Life is a struggle, accept it. Life is a tragedy, confront it. Life is an adventure, dare it. Life is luck, make it. Life is too precious, do not destroy it. Life is life, fight for it.                                                                       

Worry not my friend, tremble not Your parent may be humble, average class or they might be super rich It may not necessarily determine the aftermath of your successes. The world is not friendly, especially because you are not trendy Your palms are dry and you feel you are behind the bars Be not discouraged, be not bothered Life will get more interesting, only if you can hang on a little more. Do not be a loser, rather use your failure to boost your success The most successful people in the world have a powerful failure story behind. We only admire them because no one will talk about their failures until they are successful Sometimes you feel like taking your life, so many times you wonder why you are in this country Be not dismayed, startle not cos its all gonna be over soon. Be positive and always motivate yourself with positive affirmations like "i can do this", "I will do this", "I can achieve this"... Your academic performance looks v...

Show me a man who is expedient, jovial, outspoken, diligent, ambidextrous and upright then I will bring to you Charles Coker. A young man with vision, mission and a great ambition. He is humble, openhearted, hardworking and highly enthusiastic Charles, Coker As much as he is a brainard, he is also a fashionista. I have seen only very few people who keeps a 100% social life (actively on instagram, facebook, whatsapp etc) and still have outstanding grades and results in their academics. Charles Coker happens to be one of those best personalities I have met in the last one year upon my strategic relocation to Lagos, winning so many social media challenges yet keeping up with top notch grades at school. It all started from the point he was designated as my buddy (work-buddy). He is a very free person to be with, always ready to put you through whatsaover seems arduous to you. Charles is not just kind, he is also completely harmless. A zealous lover of integrity. He happens to...

A great man once said, “The best way to hide something from a black man is to put it in a book". This is unambiguously the truth, an average Nigerian (either student, youth or adult) basically read just to pass exams, immediately after which reading is over except if there are other exams ahead. How often do we read other healthy book? How often do we schedule time for our personal development? Do we even have a library to make reference too? Pause, think and reflect on this. Benjamin Franklin said in one of his quotes that "You either write something worth reading or do something worth writing". It is important for you to know that your reading life has a lot more to contribute to your success as an individual. Books basically express the mind of different writers and authors, while some are healthy and soul nourishing, others are not and we can easily depict the good from the bad. Hence, we as much as I would encourage us to ... THIS IS A WORK IN PROGRESS!!! ...

If you fail, your excuse is irrelevant, If you pass, your mistakes are irrelevant. Either way, just make sure you do the needful. Succeed in all - Richard O.A

Yomi Olugbenro (Partner,  West AfricaTax Leader at Deloitte) For young professionals and job seekers: Are you fit for purpose? Would you hire you? I’ve been reflecting over my recent experiences while interacting with fresh graduates and how inadequately prepared they are for the corporate world. There’s crisis brewing as we unleash more into the labour market without the needed capacity and mentality. We seems to talk quite often about unemployment issues in the country, but the challenge of “unemployability” is far bigger. Many job seekers approach interviews for which they are blatantly incompetent with entitlement mentality. The words of Dr Salami at the recent Deloitte in Dialogue on Nigeria Economic Outlook 2018 (#DeloitteNEO18) on our labour force’s “fitness for purpose” brought back the memory few days back. We claimed to have large and cheap labour force but we do not fully appreciate the competence gap. We could blame it on the education policy and/or the scho...

You can offer your ideas to people as bullets or as seeds In one way or the other, your efforts at helping someone to change may fail, worsen, alienate them, unless you approach them in love and humility. Most people already know what their problem is. Chances are they’ve been grappling with it fora while, and deep down they want to do better. And unless you’re prepared for a ‘Who-are-you-to-tell-me’ response, you’ve got to approach them in the right way.  Former U.S. Senate Chaplain Richard Halverson writes: ‘You can offer your ideas to people as bullets or as seeds. You can shoot them or sow them. Ideas used as bullets kill inspiration and motivation. Ideas used as seeds take root, grow, and bear fruit in the life in which they are planted. But there’s a risk: once it becomes part of those in whom it’s planted, you’ll probably get no credit for originating the idea. But if you’re willing to do without the credit…you’ll reap a rich harvest.’ So the word for you today is: ta...

"If you occupy a position without having value to add to others, you are only wasting space" -  Richard O.A

"When you have a set-back in any circumstance, do not think of taking a step-back neither should you push-back, but endeavor to knock-back & take a deep breath, while your mind be  unwavering, let God plan a come-back" - Richard O.A

It is better to be prepared for an opportunity and not have one, than to have one and not be prepared for it. - Richard O.A

A broken pencil with a new phase of life. "Success is not final, failure is not fatal; It is the courage to continue that counts." Recently, I deeply researched about the reasons why we fail and the lessons we learn (or ought to have learnt) from such failures. In this light, I would like to share a personal experience. In 2006, I partook in an international exam of which I failed woefully. I can remember I was in the junior class in college then. The effect of that exam's result was so traumatic that I became completely abashed with everything around me. Friends whose assumptions is that I cannot pass the exam were elated because they didn't pass too. We all failed! But then, I was astonished when I came about this broken pencil's ✏️ picture again last year. I remembered how the sight of the picture proffered a permanent solution to the 1,001 thoughts in my mind back then. I grabbed my pen as I began to outpour my mind inside my notepad. Yet, I w...

Written by: Richard Okunola Have you ever wondered what hiring managers are thinking as they read over your resume (CV), and how they choose whom to interview and whom to reject? This early screening is generally pretty straightforward on the employer side of the process. Here's a look at what most hiring managers are thinking about as they read through your resume and cover letter, and how they decide whom to invite to interview. How closely do you match the must-have and nice-to-have qualifications for the job?  Every job has certain "must-have" qualifications – core requirements for skills or experience that you must have. Most also have "nice-to-have" qualifications that the hiring manager would like to find, but which are more flexible than the must-haves. The first thing most hiring managers will look for when reviewing your resume is how well you match up with each of those lists. If you're missing a must-have, you're probably not moving ...