LEAD THE CHANGE: THE EXECUTIVE SQUARE

Remember the Brian Tracy seminar organized by Leadership 300 (an arm of Benson Idahosa University aka BIU) I attended a while back that I blogged about and you loved? Well, I had the similar privilege of attending another powerful seminar held on the 23rd of August and organized by BIU’s Knowledge Development Centre, only this time I paid so don’t expect me to spill all the goodies I learned.

This seminar was titled The Executive Square and the Guest Speaker was Julian Kyula, the CEO of Mo-DE Africa (Mobile Decisioning) and the winner of IBM’s 2012 Global Entrepreneur of the Year Award. His company is the owner of the Telco, “Borrow Me credit” feature so whenever you borrow any amount from your network he gets richer, hehehe.

I had never heard of this Kenyan before but I felt a strong urge to hear what he had to say. Most millionaires make their money silently away from the watchful eyes of the paparazzi, while improving different sectors of countries economies. Enough of my philosophies, here’s an overview of what he taught or shall I say what I learned from my two hour session with him.

Starting out as an entrepreneur
The world of e-commerce is going global due to the value placed on people to share information e.g. Facebook - pictures and stories. The saying that entrepreneurship is not for everyone is a lie. We are moving into a world of partnerships, no one can do business alone, so anyone can become an entrepreneur. The world of entrepreneurship is one no one is prepared for. It feels like a lot or responsibility thrown at you very quickly once you decide to start a business. You don’t have to do it alone. The world is full of people that have the potentials to make your dreams come true.

Your passion/business is personal; nobody else is as passionate about your vision as you. Don’t confuse it for other people’s passion when talking to people like future investors/partners. Do not personalize your business plan; make it factual because people are driven by bottom-line (aka profit). Study who you are speaking to – what excites them, what their passion is, how your passion can be relevant to them and listen when they speak. Investors are serious about investing in people who will bring result and they spend a greater percentage of time assessing the risk factors associated with your business. Be ready to rewrite your business plan over and over again.

On your journey as an entrepreneur
Look at your business like a science, do your maths, get experts to partner with you, know your market size, get statistics on the sector you are venturing into to enable you position your business and break into the market. Get an accountant, history of your longevity in the business, a clear analysis of your competitor and outline the risk factors associated with your business in your business plan. Deliberate planning for positioning is vital for the survival of your business and it prevents you from being sidetracked by success when you’ve not attained your ultimate goal. Have a structure for your business and put people into it, people who will question what you do not yes men. Failure is part of your journey; it teaches you when you don’t get it right. You need to be resilient when venturing into business and plan to live off the interest of your interest. E.g. let’s say your seed is 1 billion and your interest is 10% (100 million) take 10% of your interest (10million) and live off it then invest the remainder or save part of it in Trust funds for your future generation and invest the rest.

What you must do today:
1. Take Charge of your dream because no one else will care about it until you’ve made it. Your passion is more important than your enterprise.

2. Take responsibility. Your time is very precious; don’t waste it on things that won’t add to your life. Find your compass and your true north, you’ve been inspired enough.

3. Take the fire. Don’t let your dream be crushed by external forces. What you have will be rejected so many times but you must have the fire to keep your dream alive.

4. Study your dream. Is it the solution to a problem that a bigger company is looking for? Start looking for global problems to solve. Whose problem are you solving?

5. Pray over your plans.

Lessons of Life
 Relationships are paramount for your next level. Ask yourself, who is my introducer? There will always be someone that will take you to your next level so be careful about ‘burning bridges’.

 Be grateful for the sacrifice of your parents but ensure you are living your dreams not theirs so you don’t pass yours on to your children.

 Spend time writing out your plans. Think trans-generational, let the legacy you leave for your children, their children and their children’s children be your focus and motivation.

 When people say you’ve changed, it means you simply stopped living life their way.

 Stop trying to perfect things, get it out there. There are people out there who are willing to put money into what you started that isn’t perfect.

Now that you have all this information, what do you do with it? Position yourself.

Movie Review & Spoiler

I haven’t done this in a while because I have been enjoying too many cinema movies, Japanese anime and TV series as well as mobile downloaded movies. After so much, I’m in the mood for some spoilers. Here goes:

1. Godzilla – In one sentence, it is a glorified mock-buster on a larger production scale than its counterparts e.g. Sharknado. It is the story of two ancient creatures that woke up to mate but are being stopped by a dinosaur while humans scramble around trying to obliterate them with their military prowess which just happens to be the creatures’ meal. I’m glad I didn’t waste hard earned cash watching this in a cinema. I advise you to watch this only when you are bored.

2. Transcendence – The story of the pros and cons of using technology to explore the potentials of the human mind alongside a tale of undying love among scientific-minded lovers. For all its hype it is more sci-fi than drama (genre); it reminded me of Tom cruise’s Minority Report. This movie opened my eyes to what blind faith in those we love can cause (it creates a monster that cannot be tamed) and in the end I couldn’t tell if the lead character was human or computer generated. I advise you watch this at home with a large flat screen TV.

3. Divergent – It had the feel of Susan Collins’ Hunger Games adaptation, maybe because it’s an adaptation from a bestselling novel as well. While it is simply the story of a young girl trying to find herself in a class system that kills out anyone who dares to be different, it is also about parents supporting their children in their life choices and being willing to sacrifice their all to save them if necessary. It was a young adult genre with a few popular actors and actresses like Shailene Woodley, Jodie foster and Kate Winslet. I actually enjoyed this movie even though the end left more to be desired. I just pray there’s no part two because I won’t watch it.

4. Blended – Another comedy film by the dynamic duo - Adam Sandler and Drew Barrymore. The tale of a bad date gone wrong that continues on a family vacation in Africa. I would say they at some point the comedy felt unreal like the part where the girl deliberately threw out the rubber slippers false external breast implants. Some funny parts were repeated like the walking down the stairs and certain soundtracks playing in people’s head. My favorite character was Terry Crew and the male singing/mocking choir, they were just hilarious.

5. Half of a Yellow Sun – So far this has been the most anticipated Nigerian movie not only because it was am original Nigerian tale played by Stellar award winning Hollywood actors but also because of its ban. It was the first Nigerian movie I have ever watched in a cinema. But I must say, even though it is a cinema must watch it did come across like a documentary with the use of real life clips from Ojukwu’s speech and so much focus being placed on the historical part of the story and sexual nuances of the characters. It made it hard to connect with the characters on a deeper level. Even though I haven’t read the book, I did find a strong need to do so after watching this movie as it is obvious a lot of important details were taken out to make the film as commercial as it was (like why the lead character was called a revolutionary lover – I didn’t think a few heated conversations were enough to brand him as a revolutionary). I must say besides making me angry at Ojukwu’s desire for self preservation at the expense of the many lives of the Ibo people who were lost & torn apart, it left me wondering why he was celebrated in his death.

6. Angriest Man in Brooklyn – This is the story of a pissed young medical doctor who happens to be sarcastic with the diagnosis of an annoying patient and the fear of imminent death makes the patient realize what a messed up life he’s lived as he discovers the infidelity of his wife, comes to terms with non-existent relationship with his son, hatred of his friends and generally the fact that he’s an unbearable someone. In the end he dies in peace as the messed up doctor helps him find the missing pieces of his and her life. An ironic film to watch in view of the recent passing of its main character Robin Williams by suicide, so glad he has three new movies to be released in December that’ll help us remember him in a positive happy light.

Time won’t permit me to share all I’ve watched since my last movie talk. Hope these suffice.

GOODBYES AND SEE YOU LATERS (fiction)

I wrote this isolated piece a while back.

"I’ve never really been fond of saying goodbyes. I would rather say, “See you later” than to ever say ‘goodbye’. I think the word goodbye has a touch of finality to it. So you can imagine how I felt when my eldest son got married. He’s been my strongest emotional support ever since his father’s death, picking up the slack and becoming the bread winner in his father’s stead. I know he deserves to be happy but with all the plans for the wedding, I could sense this was more of a goodbye that a ‘see you later’ celebration. Don’t get me wrong I love his bride and I wish him the best but as the vows were being read, I had the strangest feeling within to jump up and say something, anything, and nothing in particular, that would not only disrupt the wedding but put an end to it permanently. I realized in that moment I was being selfish. I tearfully clapped as the bride and groom kissed. It was not tears of joy, no, not at all, it was tears of sorrow and a resolute determination to stay away, long enough for me to forget that we had such great moments together as a family. I want to be there for my son but I know I need to know better than give unsolicited advice or expect him to still take care of his siblings like he used to because once his wife gets pregnant and has a baby, he’ll have to spend more money on them. Maybe by then I’ll just become a glorified free baby sitter for them, who knows. I have to stay in the present for now, they are just getting married and after their honeymoon, I’m sure they’ll want to hang out with me on occasion. Oh I’m doing it again; drifting into the future. For now I have to put on a brave face, smile, dance, and rejoice with the newlyweds, tomorrow will take care of itself."

If you were the son, how would you assure your mother that being married wouldn't make you love her any less and that her place will always be in your heart?

5 SPECIAL THINGS NEEDED FOR A STAGE PLAY

Bet, you are thinking, I know what she’s going to write. Beyond the usuals which is finance, actors, a script and props, there are a couple of things that are just as important and have direct impact on the success of your play. Over the years, I have featured in numerous stage plays starting from my first pantomime at age 9 and if there is anything acting has taught me, it is that a lot more goes into making a stage performance go smoothly. They are:

1. Mics – as long as you have dialogue, you’ll definitely need these. Not just any regular unidirectional microphone with Chord but clip-on mics and chordless mics that can be strapped on unnoticeably. Of course you can and should use multidirectional and condensed mics which can be hanged or placed above the stage to help actors when they project. Once a scene is done with, the sound operators should ensure that the mics are switched off along with the stage lights so that the backstage talk or noises do not get heard by the audience.

2. Makeup artists, wardrobe assistant and hairstylist – depending on the theme and era your play is staged in as well as the transitions in scenes from the script that may require different looks, you need these people to make your play believable. For instance to make a character look sick, the makeup artist can give the person nude lips and pale skin while the hairstylist can scatter the persons hair to look bedridden and the wardrobe assistant can dress the person in slightly wrinkled/ruffled clothing to show restlessness from all the turns on bed while asleep or damp tops to show the person drenched in sweat.

3. Extras – the actors on stage will delay scenes immensely if there are no backstage helpers to handle things like moving stage props, switching unidirectional mics on actors going on stage for different scenes, setting the stage by building different sets, prompters that help the actors remember their lines or sequence of the script by queuing them in or those handling the stage lights to create ambience. And all these various manpower need to be coordinated by a stage manager who no one will ever see on the stage. These people are so important because their work begins as soon as the script is written, during the rehearsals as well as before, during and after the stage play. They make sure all the little logistical details needed are sorted out appropriately.

4. Sound specialists – having microphones doesn’t guarantee that the audio of the drama is in the clear. Sound specialists are the ones who take into cognizance the nature of the hall and how the types of speakers enhance the sound/voicing from the stage which can affect how drama experience is received. They also make sure the interference from multiple electronics being used is at an all time low and ensure certain scores and sound effects are properly timed and played to give the drama a realist-feel. That way there are no echoes or hollow sounds in the hall being used and the mood of the drama is on point without people’s ear suffering from irritation or partial deafness due to loud/poor volume control.

5. Audience – what’s a drama without you, the audience? All the preparation and work put in by the production team would mean nothing without a sizable crowd that appreciate all that is being done. That’s why so much effort is put into publicity because in the end, the aim is to create a satisfying experience for the members of the audience.

This list is in no way conclusive because as times change, a lot more changes in the creation of a satisfying stage play experience like the introduction of live animation. Feel free to contribute any other observation you have about stage play production.

Half of the year gone already?!

I'm tired of apologizing for my writing inconsistencies lately so I won't because there's no excuse for my seeming laziness with my blogging. once again like everyone else i'm shocked how quickly 6months have gone by in relation to all the things i planned to accomplish this year. i decided rather than write on the obvious, i'll share a word of encouragement from my pastor (preached at the beginning of this year) on how it's never too late to START.



A million thanks to my friend Charles who created this brief pictorial summary of the sermon.

THE ISSUES WITH THE MISSING CHIBOK GIRLS

The #BringBackOurGirls campaign is still very much on and alive in Nigeria. This is not a social media stint. It is our reality. Since 2009, Boko Haram have killed no less than 6000 people, destroyed about 750 churches along with schools, vehicles and other properties including the UN national headquarters building in Abuja, and kidnapped more people than we can keep count of. For years the Nigerian populace has been praying for an end to this menace and the kidnapping of the chibok girls was the last straw that broke the camel’s back and sent series of protests all over the country that brought the attention of the international community. Since April 14th, 2014 hundreds of parents go to bed every night crying and wondering if they’ll ever see their daughters again.

Citizens have been and are still outraged at the government’s slow and seeming nonchalant response to this crisis. When the news of the kidnapping of over 200 Chibok secondary school students hit the media, Aso Rock never issued any statement or reacted in any way that showed the masses the Government’s stand on the issue. It was not until Oby Ezekwesili voiced the pain of the people during the International Bookfair held in Port Harcourt in the month of April that the hash tag (#BringBackOurGirls) campaign began. For once people could identify with pain of the affected families and know they were not alone in these feelings of outrage. United with one voice, they cried out in multiple protests in different parts of the country and asked to the government to do something to curtail the excesses of Boko Haram and rescue those innocent girls whose only objective before their abduction was to prepare for their WAEC exams in hopes of having a better future in a place where prosperity is a dream.

When our government finally reacted, it was with plans to set up a committee 4days later that will look into the matter of finding the #Chibokgirls instead of decisive action. Over the years, setting up of committees has become a way for government to pacify the people which usually meant the death of an issue rather than the solution the people seek/demand for. That is why that move did nothing to soothe the pains Nigerians over the issue and only further enrage us. People interpreted it as the President’s lack of concern for its citizenry. In her husband’s defense, the First Lady made a public spectacle of her pain 2weeks too late regarding the abduction and called for the enrollment records to be made available to verify the identity of the girls. Why didn’t anyone have the initiative to do that before she did? Rather than pacify Nigerians, her actions were interpreted as pretentious and insincere. Then came the Presidential chat with Channels TV News where Nigerians expected the President to address the huge media scandal this issue was causing worldwide for his administration. To our gross disappointment, his stance was more on highlighting the good his administration had done so far as well as promote the World Economic Summit to be held the following week in Abuja, just days after the 2nd bombing of Nyanya Bus park in Abuja. Once again Nigerians were infuriated, myself included.

Next on the list of atrocities held by the people against the government was the blame game and the casting of doubt - on if that many girls were actually kidnapped - by politicians claiming it was all a fabricated story, a smear tactic by opponents of the ruling party PDP (People’s Democratic Party) against GEJ’s administration. Desperate for answers, numerous civilians cried out for International News agencies to help inform people with investigative Journalism - which seems to be none existent in our news agencies as many were simply echoes of whoever first had the breaking news of the day - of what’s truly happening in the Country. They showed up and proved that the girls were actually kidnapped and nations around the world were more than willing to help rescue them as well as the origin and journey of Boko Haram from 2009 (way before the GEJ-Sambo administration) till date.

But with the intervention of the international community, a new dilemma arose. Initially Nigerians were afraid that the intervention of world powers like England, USA, France, China, etc would mean an end to our democracy via indirect colonization. America was the first to declare their intentions to assist our military not to take over and with time plus the release of detailed reports of their assistance, Nigerians minds were appeased. The new challenge we face now is the fact that it’s been well over 2months (73days to be precise) since the international community said they were intervening to help find the girls with promises to support our government and still no results, the girls have not yet been found or returned home to their families. Now we are asking, what is going on?

The Writing Process 'Blog Tour'

My friend Pamela Aboga ( blog: ChoWilson.wordpress.com. Nick name: Chocho) invited me to take part in it. I have no idea how it started and i hadn't heard of it prior to when our mutual friend Timendu invited her to join in. But after reading the links below, I felt it won’t hurt to join in. The blog tour is the electronic progeny of the old chain letter - where you used to receive a letter and have to pass it on to ten of your friends to make something wonderful happen- remember?

Anyway, This Blog Tour is a fun way of creating links between writers and perhaps introducing readers to authors they wouldn't otherwise come across.

The idea is, I post my answers to the four 'tour' questions on my blog the week after Chocho does hers. When I do, I name 3 other writers and give their links and bios, and later they post their answers on their blogs the following week. so here are my answers to the four questions about my writing process.

1) What am I working on?
Currently, I'm trying to keep up with my blog posts, writing school assignments, a graphic novel and raising funds to publish my book "The Quilt" in paperback. The Quilt is my collection of stories of different genres and themes. So far everyone's favourite is Tomi's Dairy and Erene's Plea (from Life behind the Family Portrait), which talks about about rape, hurting hurting-people and living in a broken home. A couple of other stories with a bit of dark undertone are The Sacrifice and Before the Tunnel. At the moment, it is available for sale on the Okadabooks.com app.

2) How does my work differ from others of its genre?
I've been told my work is an easy read. With so much going on in our world, i guess people like to escape into fictitious worlds but one not too complicated that they get lost trying to find their way. And in so doing, I find myself adding value to the lives of my readers as they embark on the journey through my eyes.
Honestly, I hate answering this question as well as "why should anyone want to read/buy your book?" because, I think it's very limiting/stereotyped. There are so many great writers out there that we'll never know because we stick to reading only what we are sure we are comfortable with. If only we would open our minds and explore different writers' works, we would find some amazing writers who aren't popular but equally have works that colour our lives.

3) Why do I write what I do?
There are just some experiences in life that take a hold of me and won't let go till I've penned them down. this isn't restricted to my fiction stories but also my non fiction pieces that I blog about. Plus, I have a 'darker side' that i fight with all the time but sometimes i can't deny it's presence and it tends to shine through my works of fiction. While i tend to tone down my emotions before i write, sometimes i find emotionally release from getting these stories and issues out of my heart.

4) How does my writing process work?
Well, call me an amateur but once i have a muse or get an inspiration, i usually plunge in and write till it's gone. I know i should draw up an outline but sometimes, that kills my momentum and makes it increasingly hard to get the first draft up and running. once the first draft is done, i tend to struggle to get the second and final draft. that's usually the phase where all the hard work really begins because the work has to be revised and edited till it is coherent and literally perfect. Thanks to wonderful friends who not only proof read my work but also critique it till it makes total sense, grammatically or developmentally, I'm usually able to get the finished product readable for your consumption.

Now you've heard my answers, here are my nominees for the next blog tour:

1. Ugochi Akwiwu - Ugochi is a smart, beautiful, tall, adventurous, fun loving but hardworking ibo girl who loves English, Writing, Editing and Travelling. She also seeks to change the world by adding value practically to those in her sphere of influence starting with one person at a time. Her blog is a positive delight (http://ugochiakwiwu.wordpress.com).

2. Tope Damilola Oyewusi - esoteric and full of variety, Dami is a dynamic writer that swings between God-centred pieces and fictional stories focused on female emancipation/empowerment. With lots of guest writers on her blog, you are sure to have an interesting read (see http://otdamilola.wordpress.com).

3. Isi Ehize - Isi is an inspired worship leader, writer, teacher of God's word and a certified fashion consultant. She is the creative director of shammys beautiful living with a skin care studio and clothing outlet currently operational in Lagos Nigeria. Her blogs are http://www.isidressforsuccess.com and www.isi-biblestudyseries.blogspot.com