A PIECE OF YOU

Everything we do describe in detail who we are. We as mankind carry with us impression which people use in judging us as good, bad, honest, dishonest, diligent, hardworking, lazy, trustworthy etc. The honest man reflect that piece of virtue in what he does. The diligent man reflect that piece of virtue in carrying out his duty. The man of integrity reflect that piece of virtue in everything he does. The cleaner realising no one is watching her carelessly does her job forgetting she is leaving a piece of her on that floor which she refused to clean well. The way the cleaner decides to clean the floor reflects the content of her character. The janitor realising no one is there in his place of assignment carelessly carries out his duty forgetting he is leaving a piece of him behind. Many employees today in many organizations wish for a superior position, a better opportunity, a better salary but still remain in the same position for years because they lack character. Many have lost out on great opportunities because they lack character and many have been exalted from the position of a mere security guard to the position of a manager because they have demonstrated a high level of integrity in what they do. Nothing good can be attained by mere wishing for it, it has to be earned through deliberate practice including the building of a good character.

Many as a result of lack of willingness to sacrifice immediate gratification for the greater good of others have lost out on many business relationships because they are seen as untrustworthy as a result of what they do. As mankind what we do reflect our character content. That work you are doing as a janitor, a cleaner, a trades man, a contract worker,  a cook, as an employee working in an organization, how well do you do your job? The truth is whatsoever you do, somebody is watching. As a trades person is your word in alignment with what people see? Many trade person lie to make sale. Many trades person in an attempt to make quick sale exaggerate the good qualities of their products and make promises which their products fail to deliver. The dishonest man is  quickly discovered through his work and word. His words are never in alignment with what he does. Many people have lost great opportunities because of the poor quality service they offered their previous clients/customers. Many contracts workers have sacrificed future business relationships as a result of  inability to delay immediate gratification. Character and humility are inseparable. The man who does bot want to remain in an inferior position for too long can't do without humility. The man of integrity humbly admits to his mistakes and fixes his errors while the man who lacks humility covers his mistakes as a result of pride. Pride comes before a fall says the book of proverbs. Many contract workers as a result of not wanting to be seen as unprofessional in their field fail to admit their inability to recognize quality cements or bricks before purchasing them and on realising such mistakes they decided not to tell the truth to the owner. But what such building contractor fail to know is that he is leaving a piece of him in that job which will determine his success. People appreciate honesty and when you show honesty in little things people commit bigger things in your hands because they believe you got their back.

The seamstress who out of the need to make excess profit overcharges her customers and under performs as a result of the need to quickly get to the next job fails to realise she is leaving a piece of her in every dress she makes and this inevitably will speak for her and with time ruin her reputation. Many contract workers as a result of the need to make excess profit use inferior materials and overcharge. Thus they fail to give equivalent service for the money they charged the person who they do business with. In the end of the day they stamp their character in the job they do.

As mankind the way we choose to do our work reflect who we are. Our destiny is tied to our character. Character is a strong moral virtue. The man of character allows integrity to reflect in all he does. His words and actions are always in alignment. The man of integrity is a just man. He gives equivalent service in return for every business transaction he makes and as such he is able to build trust in others as his words, actions and works speaks for him. As mankind every work we do express the content of out character. People either see us as just or unjust, as sincere or insincere, reliable or unreliable, through the work we do. We are the molder of our destiny. If we mold our destiny with bricks of trustworthiness, dishonesty, insincerity, it comes back to us in the same measure as it injures our reputation and put a limitation on our successes in life. Make a choice to leave an admirable piece of you  in every work you do. Remember people are always watching.

Thanks for reading this article

I dedicate this article to the God Almighty who is the source of wisdom and knowledge.

 Written by : Uwagboe Anthonia Peace.

                            

   STAND ALONE (your unique label to greatness)

We manifest little of the vast potential that resides within us because we are used to playing small, because we fear to stand alone. The man who discovers his unique call but wait for society to part him on his back to begin his journey is yet to be a man. Society wont trust him with the mission if he shows any sign of smallishness. It is like a designer who says buy my clothes but i don't know if they are good. Society respect such a one who knows what he wants. A doctor must prove himself manly and express no doubt if he wants the trust of his patients. Many look up to people to tell them who they are, what they are capable of but society count us capable when we show independence in our thinking and judgement. The man who shows no independence in his reasoning will always find himself relying on the instructions or advice of the majority who lack direction in life but find convenience in dominant or wide spread belief. Only few who are ready to stand alone walk through the path less traveled. Simply because it is the path most traveled does not make it the right road. Sometimes playing safe means playing small. Many end up playing safe because they prefer to avoid criticism from the majority. They are those who have chosen the opinion if the majority over their dreams, over their potentials, over their callings in life.

We spend our years obeying traditions that don't serve is well. There comes a time in a man's life when he must learn to stand alone and face the topple crowd who do not know exactly what they want but feel safe because they are among the majority who feel no external pressure but are inwardly discontented with their lives. No growth, no change, no evolution but keep maintaining dead tradition and customs because it just feel very convenient.  They fear to confront the norm but instead conform to it at the expense of their dreams, their purpose, their happiness and inner peace.

Society is ready to tell us where we best fit, where we belong  if we fail to choose for ourselves. But while choosing we must be ready to fight for our right, our dreams because in real sense it is a fight. A fight that is not physical but mental and emotional. A fight that requires the evolution of our emotion because our self esteem is involved in this fight. The physically challenged boy who sit at the corner of a street is easily stereotyped as a beggar and many easily look upon him with pity and many drop coins in his laps even  when in reality  he is not a beggar. In the eyes of the society that blind boy is not fit as a lawyer, a teacher, or comedian to them he is an invalid, a waste to a generation as society can't see beyond their physical limitation. They are treated as a marginalized members in many societies. Society is ready to feed him by giving him coins than listening to that genius that resides within him. Many stopped fighting and succumb to the life of beggary. Society is comfortable treating that blind boy as a beggar than seeing him on the platform cracking jokes as a comedian. They are lost and fail to get his jokes as they focus so much on his physical disability.  To them he can't be a dancer because because she lost a limb. He can't host a show because he is on a wheel chair. She can't be a model because she has vertigo. Society keep telling us where we best fit and as such keep producing mass of confused and invalid individuals who are not forces of change. Many wanting to be a married member of the society as a result of pressure end up in marriages they don't like and with spouses they don't love. And we see how much this has led to the rise in  divorce in many  societies today.

Today society sells to us confidence in exchange with the beer. Alcohol now defines the social standing of a man. Take away the beer from the table and the man sees himself less than a man, he sees himself like a boy or more closely like an anti-social individual. In many social gathering the man who says no to alcohol is labelled as a week man and he gets his self esteem injured in the crowd. Many in an attempt to escape the label gulp the beer even when it is not in their constitution to do so. It is quite absurd to give so much credit to the liquid that has the capacity to disrupt the motor coordinator of a man and make him lose his physical balance and make him do foolish things when under the control of such liquid by virtue of the number of bottles he takes than the capacity his frame can support.

Religion is creating more bigots than saints and we have seen the direction where this has led the human specie. The increase rise of prejudice which has led many down the road of violence, blood shed, massacre, suicide bombing is often a result of one man trying to prove the superiority of his own religion over that of his fellow man. Hate , resentment, fuel many religious debate as a result of one man trying to condemn the system of worship of his fellow man.  Religion which is put in place in order to convey moral virtue and support human existence has now become a means where a man fight his fellow man, disagree with his fellow man  and to a large degree has led to the feeling of separateness among mankind. Religion which is put in place to unite mane with man and make his express that piece of God to his fellow man has created to a large extents religious bigots. To what end then was religious put in place? If you put away your system of worship ( religious doctrine) will that piece of God still remain in you?

Standing alone requires also that we build our emotional intelligence as our intellectual strength often fail us when fellow man tries to prey on our emotion. Fear is often that tool which man use against his fellow man in order to render his intellectual power of non effect. We see how seemingly intelligent individuals do dumb things because they lack the emotional capacity to confront seemingly threatening situations. Hence they follow the crowd and add up to the majority who lack direction in life and lack  personal voice of their own. Social media has now become a platform where a man who in an attempt to expand his "like chain" and make many type "amen" instill fear in them by assuring them they will have seven years of bad luck if they fail to do so. It is amazing how people allow others to control their mind and take advantage of their vulnerability.

To be a different maker you must learn to accept some labels. These labels are often intended to injure our self esteem and pull us on the side of the majority who are confused and who allow their lives to be governed by popular opinions. Society has succeeded in producing a mass of overly busy individuals who lack direction, vision, and dreams but pride themselves in the fact that they go out early in the morning and come back late at night and as such are labelled hard working and not lazy. That young man who is not often in the busy state but devote much of his time in mastering some musical skills and who does his work at the comfort of his home is seen as an unserious fellow and easily labelled a lazy man simply because he is not moving about. The fear of being labelled as antisocial, geek , lazy has made many sacrifice their dreams and take up disempowering habits. Society inwardly admires the man who exercise courage and stand on his conviction and not on popular opinions or dominant belief that limits his capacity.

We spend our years trying to avoid labels. We keep following the dictates of the majority despising that voice within us. Society keep replicating themselves in us. Many have lost their personality as a result of fear of expressing their true selves. Many have become replicates. To stand alone you must fight alone. Fight to restore your personality, fight to restore the real you. Stand on your conviction, on your belief and not on popular opinions or beliefs and that is when your soul will find true happiness and peace of mind.

Thanks for reading this article. I dedicate this article to the Almighty God who is the source of inspiration and knowledge.

Written by : Uwagboe Anthonia Peace.

WE ALL HAVE TALENTS (2)
 

Greatness is the heritage of all living Homo-sapiens. But too many individuals fall short of expressing their individual talents to its fullness because they have been made to believe only few people are blessed with talents. The misconception that talent is meant for a chosen few has led many to lead a life far below their potentials. Our talents gives us a chance to express our individuality. It gives us a voice. When we fail to recognize and build our talents the world fail to hear our voice and we become silenced in mediocrity. Human society is held together and supported by talented individuals. If you are not making use of your talent then you might not be among those who are shaping the existence of mankind. Our individual talents sets us apart for a special call, a special need that we are required to meet, that we are required to fulfill. Our talent make us locate our special place in the world. We all have talents. We all are equipped with the innate ability from birth but too many individuals as they grow older into adulthood wonder in the cloud of confusion because their lives lack meaning, because they are yet to discover what they really want to do in life. You don't realize how much gift you have until you start using it. We are all great people because each of us carry the seed of greatness. We all have the gift to touch souls.

We all possess the ability to change lives and drive the human society in a positive and progressive direction. Life delivers to us great responsibility which requires application of work. When some talented people exhibit excellence and are highly successful in their respective field if calling majority of individuals tend to attribute such talented individual successes to their talent and leave out the work part of it that made their talents receive so much attention and recognition. When some people see a talented dancer, talented musicians, talented doctors, talented lawyers, talented footballers, they tend to attribute their successes to talent alone and fail to acknowledge the determination, hard work, commitment, dedication that goes with such talents. Our talents gives us the opportunity to participate in shaping the lives of many and extend influences through out the world. Human society continue to evolve and prosper as a result of the individuals who are willing to participate in growing it by making productive use of their talents.

Talents alone can't change anything. It has to be supported with work and great values for it to add meaning to the lives of people. We overrate talents a lot and overlook the work that is required for it to grow. You have the right to participate in shaping the lives of mankind, in shaping the environment, in shaping the existence of other lower specie but your journey starts by seeing yourself as an important and worthy individual that is needed in bringing change in the lives of others. Most time when some individuals discover their talents, they feel so unworthy to have them as they judge themselves by their family background , poor educational background and some undesirable condition. Having realized you are an important and needed individual in the world you need to discover your talents. We have been made to believe talents are hidden and require effort on our part to search it out and this is the reason majority of individuals overlook that very thing they do without much stress and begin to work on that very thing they lack the natural ability to do. In any talent related topic I like to bring in this very important sentence" talent in their most undeveloped state often seek expression" in order to make the reader realize that talents are not hidden as they show themselves in what we love to do most. When people lack the idea of how what they love to do can be of value to other people they label themselves as people without talents. Gossips for instance was not considered as something of any value in the past. Today gossip has become commercialized and people who are interested in the lives of others, their stories, successes, failures, shortcomings their status and wealth have found a path for themselves in this line and the also contribute in shaping societies as they bring stories or events to mankind through their blogs. Nobody could have considered gossip as a talent in the first place but when the word commercial is placed behind it the concept change and we see it as mere entertainment. People who find pleasure in talking a lot may not see such ability as  a talent.  But indeed it is a talent that require such individual to locate a channel where such talents can be fully expressed and be of great value to other souls. Watching a lot of sports and engaging in sport related  discussion may not be considered as talent to many but it is actually a talent that require such individual  who is passionate about sport to look for channel of expression where such love ( talent) can add value to others and to himself. The passion for nature, sight seeing, mountains, oceans, beauty  has led many to embrace photography which enable them express their love well and also make them add values to souls. Ability to learn different languages is also a talent and such individuals can make use of such talents by being a translator or interpreter and as such  help minimize the language barrier which is a way of adding value to the human society.

Each of us are equipped with natural ability. No one is born empty. Each of us has affinity towards something and that is our true self. When you fail to align yourself with your calling in life you become separated from your true self and unhappiness, and the feeling of void becomes a life long companion. Talent is what you enjoy doing, what you love and what really connect you with work. Talent on the other hand is cheap. Developing or converting talent into skill requires lots of patience, commitment and hard work. Accept the true you, accept the place of your calling that is where you will find peace of mind and meaning.

Thanks for reading this article. I dedicate this article to the Almighty God who is the source of wisdom and knowledge. Written by: Uwagboe Anthonia Peace

  TALENT IS A DEVELOPED SKILL

The talent that expresses genius is a developed skill. Most time people tend to separate talent from skill by attributing the success of many great people people to their talents alone. The misconception has led many to believe they are   "talentless" people because they don't operate on the same level of genius as others who have gained recognition and attention in their various field of endeavor. Those who exhibit excellence in their field of interest are those who have developed their innate ability into skills.

Converting talent into skills does not come cheap. Talent alone is cheap. It requires no effort and one does not need to pay so much attention to details when expressing ones innate ability. For example having a natural affinity for cooking may not require so much detail on the part of the individual but working in a five start restaurant as a talented chef requires so much skills on your part. Having a innate ability for photography may not require one to pay so much attention to detail but becoming a professional photographer requires so much skills. For you to make meaningful impact your natural ability (talent) must be converted into skill and this requires work on your part. Most time it is not because we lack the ability to improve our talents but because we have failed to commit to learning which is required for our talents to be converted into skill. Although we say talent is something that comes easy to us. That is very true. But developing that talent  into skill in order for it to be of great commercial value requires hard work and can be very challenging as it opens to us even more challenges that requires greater work as we advance in our field of interest. But our passion keeps us strong and make us confront any possible challenges that may arise in our journey towards improving our innate ability in order for us to impact greatly in the lives of others and connect with souls.

You might have a natural ability for singing but for you to arrive at the level of a genius you need to convert your talent into skill. There is a portion that is suitable for every social specie to really thrive and make their individual voices to be heard. That portion is their niche. That portion can only be occupied or attained when the individual recognize what they carry within them. Our triumph begins with listening to that voice that calls our attention to our true self. Skill is that vehicle that bring talent into stardom. The world is full of people with talents but what the world really need is people with skills. Talent alone can't effect a desirable change in the lives of people but when converted into skill the reward is enormous.

Thanks for reading this article. I dedicate this article to God Almighty who is the source of wisdom and knowledge.
Written by : Uwagboe Anthonia Peace.