When Charisma meets Character…

Are you a team lead who seems to be having problems getting your team mates to work in sync with you? Well, you may choose to whine about it as I have done in the past; or you can get right down to work with the right attitude which is almost certain to motivate your team mates into action. That’s the essence of having character and charisma since it is almost a given that as a leader, you should possess capacity.

While capacity is that sum total of one’s ability or competence, character is that endearing trait, belief or value a person holds. Charisma on its part, is that ability to positively influence others by connecting with them physically, emotionally and intellectually.

So, when charisma meets character…success becomes a constant occurrence.

Keep ruling your world.

Practising what you preach

This note serves as a wake up call to me and any like me who may have slipped in our acts of practicing what we preach.

The other day, I was extolling a colleague on the virtues of checking the water level and what nots of a car daily before heading out. Well, I tried to do the same too, or so I thought.

I was using a ride that didn’t consume much water, judging from my daily checks and I ain’t proud to say this but I started taking the water level for granted and slipped in my daily checks. Well, your guess is as good as mine. One of these fateful days, I checked it in a rush and it seemed ok, so I rushed off to work. Well, would you believe it, when I was heading in late in the day, the car malfunctioned at a very unlikely and I might add, unsafe place. Of course, the mechanic had to come into the picture and his verdict, ‘overheating had damaged so many things in the car.’

I was downcast, not particularly because of the unbudgeted funds I had to dole out for the repair, but for the fact that perhaps, if I had been more careful to practice what I had preached, the malfunction might have been nipped in the bud.

Which brings me to my point that we need to be consistent in practicing what we preach because that occasional slip may just do us in. After all, better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof.

Knowledge’s never in vain…

Ok, so before you think that the header above’s referring to experience being the best teacher, please note that, this is not what I am canvassing in the least, although I admit that, experience is also a way of amassing knowledge.

The story which is the raison d’être for this piece goes thus…

You see, I ‘stabbed’ a tutorial session for an exam a little while ago to attend a youth empowerment session and iGnite the fire in me. It happened that one of the speakers at the iGniting session was formerly a top manager in one of the Nigerian telecommunication giants who decided to quit paid employment to follow his passion of clothing people. Of course, I enjoyed the session, being that I’m a ‘gistomania.’

So, fast forward a few weeks and I had to write the professional exam where one of the questions required justifying a statement that a fat compensation package at work is nice but is not the most important factor in motivating employees.

Of course, I remembered this memorable young clothier’s narration and threw it in to add spice to my answer.

Was the added spice, sufficient to take me to the next level? Only time will tell but my point remains that no knowledge is ever in vain.

Thus far…

When I sing that …Grace has found me just as I am, it’s not mere words. My little experiences in life have continually taught me that I am a product of grace and my induction as a chartered tax practitioner today is no exception.

You see, all through my life, it had been smooth sailing academically-wise until I encountered the professional exams into the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (CITN) where I got my first tastes of failure.

The first exam I failed was expected but the second was not. Was I weighed down, damn right but did I give up, hell No!

With each defeat came the determination to rise, and so I trudged on; and would you believe it, just after my penultimate exams, came the window of opportunity to apply for direct membership. I took it and here I am today, about to say the magic words to be fully inducted.

Ironically, I am being inducted with the same batch as I would have been in but for the mishaps.

So when I sing, ‘Your Grace has found me just as I am…,’ I mean every word, particularly because my experiences have all culminated in making me a better ME.

*raises glass in toast.*

The Fruits of Perseverance

Today is an epoch-making day in the annals of Nigeria’s political history because aside from the fact that a new president has been elected, the emergence of this president-elect is a classic example of the spirit of perseverance or never say never if you like.

This president-elect had been contesting elections for at least the past twelve years but failure to achieve his desired result did not deter him, not even the fact that he had to wait for an additional four years in each instance to try again.

Anyway sha, while we await the aftermath of this new birth, the words of one oldies rings true and I sign out with it…

“You can get it if you really want, you can get it if you really want, you can get it if you really want but you must try, try and try, try and tr…..y, you’ll succeed at last!”

Consistency

The words that readily come to mind when I come across the word, ‘consistent,’ are words like reliable and dependent. In other words, consistency brings positive notions to the mind.

Consistency is not usually about doing or not doing an earth-shattering thing. Rather, consistency is more about the little efforts repeated day in day out which lead to the conclusion that one is reliable.

A smile comes to my face when I recall way back in elementary school when pupils and students often looked with disdain at any of their colleagues who seemed to be favoured by their teachers because they could always be relied upon to provide solutions to their take-home assignments as opposed to copying the solutions from their friends at the due dates.

Today, in the office environment, even though colleagues may snicker at their colleagues who do what should be done at the right time, they inevitably envy such colleagues secretly because when it comes right down to it, consistency pays.

So, here’s raising my glass to consistent friends out there. Keep up the good work!

FEAR!!!

It’s now about *ticks off fingers* ten years since yours truly sang off-key to an entire congregation -at the top of the voice- one may add. Don’t get me wrong, it’s not like this chic had a naturally bad voice, rather fear had gripped her vocal chords.

Which brings me to my point that fear, like weed, is an unwanted phenomenon which stifles the growth of one’s potential; and just to be clear, living in denial won’t make the fear disappear. So what can be done, one may ask?

Well, I do not have all the answers but one thing that I’m sure of, is that if one does not face fear head-on, it does not go away; if anything, it only intensifies. I know this because ever since the chic used in the intro conquered her fear of singing in public, she has been able to croon sonorous tunes anywhere.

Wishing us all a fearless February.

Grace

The other day, just as I was about to click the send button for a mail I had composed, i just had this nag to give the words another once over and voila, I discovered typographical errors that had potentials of pouring sand sand in my garri.

A number of people have had quite a few of such experiences at varying degrees; and the experiences are not only limited to the office environment.

Then, it struck me, that those examples are just typical examples of grace in action. What is grace you may ask? I borrow the words of my cleric and define grace as “unmerited favour.” because that is simply what it is, in my view.

Have you almost made a bumbling mistake by a potential action or inaction only to right that error just at the nick of time? That is grace.

Yea, and I managed to correct those typos before hitting send.

In sum, my wish for us all as we go through this month of love, is that grace will locate us in all our endeavours.

This evil called ‘procrastination!’

It is with pursed lips and gritted teeth that I write this. You know why? My article just got bounced…all because of procrastination!

I learnt a long while ago that procrastination means putting off till tomorrow what ought to be done today. Did knowing the meaning of the word prevent me from indulging in it? Apparently not!

A few minutes of ruminating on the effect of my procrastination made me realise more clearly that even the best of intentions by even the best of us, mean nothing if we do not activate those intentions. Of course, I could pout and complain that my editor did not give me the head ups but in my heart of hearts I know that it is only myself I have to blame for putting off till today what I could have done yesterday.

As I lick my wounds and prepare for the new year 2015, I can only hope that I will not have this sort of touching story to tell next year because ‘ko ti e ni funny rara!’

That said, let me go and complete my take home assignment before I put off till next year what I could have done this year…

Crazy Sanity

the irony of life…

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