FROM ONE OF MY BOOKS COMES THIS ONE...

DARE TO BE DIFFERENT…

Firstly, in life if you are not inspired, you become expired. You must endeavour to discover what inspires you. I want you to know that it is not by mistake or coincidence that you have decided to read this book. Over the years, a lot have been said about vision and there have been lots of confusion about it. However, let us carefully examine what the word “Vision” represents in the context of this book and beyond. Vision is viewed as a desired goal with a structured plan and a set-time for achieving such plan with the necessary tools in place. It can also be seen as the act or power of perceiving imaginative mental images; foresight, a vivid concept or mental picture; a pleasing imaginative plan for, or anticipation of future events.
The word empowerment, on the other hand, is derived from the word ‘empower’ which means to authorize individuals to make decisions in matters relating to self-development. With this understanding serving as our reference point, I implore you to do the following for me as a favour: empty whatever it is you have on your mind (This may sound funny but remember it's a favour). Whatever you are faced with just put it aside for the duration of this book (I know you may be saying you must be joking) and endeavour to concentrate fully without any forms of distraction. Similarly, all forms of anxiety or reflections on failures of the past, challenges you are experiencing should be ignored for the time been. Although, you may not win a lottery ticket after digesting the content of this book, but be reassured that three good things will happen to you:
Firstly, this book will make you understand that your past and present failures, trials and tribulation, disappointments you have been experiencing may actually be an indicator of what you are being called to achieve by your Creator.
Secondly, after evaluating your position and present status in the map of life, you can then ask yourself, “What kind of individual am I?” This book will help you take an inventory of where you are, where you want to be and how you are going to get there, ultimately achieving the vision for your life.
Thirdly, this book will act as a catalyst that will motivate you towards the attainment of your desired vision, because this is mandatory. We have been instructed by our Creator to have a VISION or else we will perish.
According to the Great Book, “Where there is no VISION, the people perish.” This simply tells us that vision is a very important phenomenon in the whole life experiences of any human being. The complete functionality of any individual is based on his ability to identify what his vision is and how to achieve it. I have been privileged to encounter few great men and women, whom have influenced me both in my personal and business life. One attribute that is common to them is that they are all visionaries. I studied some of them closely and found out that what they have been able to achieve in their respective fields of endeavour was not by accident, but rather by sheer determination, which was as a result of having a clearer vision of where they wanted to be.
Also, I’ve read autobiographies of some prominent individuals, visionaries of major corporations (like Sir Richard Branson of Virgin Group), great inventors (like Henry Ford of Ford Motors), founders of Human Aid Organizations(like Bono the lead singer of the rock band U2 and the co-founder of DATA-DEBT, AIDS, TRADE, AFRICA), exemplary Presidents (like Nelson Mandela of South Africa), Great activists (like Dr Martin Luther King Jr. of the Civil Rights Movement) Church leaders(like Bishop T.D. Jakes of The Potter’s House, Dallas-Texas, US), Great mothers (like Mama Winnas of the Winnas family) & Great fathers(like Joseph, the father of Jesus Christ of Nazareth), Great sports Men (like PELE, the Brazilian football Icon), Great sports Women (like Ellen Macarthur who set the world record for the fastest circumnavigation in her yacht), laudable actors (like Ronald Reagan, who later became the President of The United States), high-profile actresses or inspiring TV presenters (like Oprah Winfrey).

In addition, there are other distinguished personalities worthy of recognition because of their extraordinary contributions to the global community in general. Individuals like Mother Teresa of Calcutta (who founded the Missionaries of Charity), Africa Nobel prize-winner, Professor Wole Soyinka of Nigeria and the Former Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ambassador Kofi Annan of Ghana. Also, the 20th Century’s most remarkable entrepreneur, Konosuke Matsushita of Matsushita Electric. Not forgetting Sir William Wilberforce, the Great Anti-Slave Trade Campaigner (who spearheaded the campaign and eventually abolition of slave trade). They all share a common denominator, they were all vision-driven!
In life, you cannot get to your destination accurately if there are no navigational aids. You have to know where you are so as to know where you are going. You have to understand that visions are conceived differently: some out of pain, some borne out of persistence, some out of desperation, some out of personal sufferings, some out of defeat and some out of the understanding of what is needed, while most were inspired out of the needs of others. Every human being is born with a different vision. Our Creator has a plan for every one of us; it is our duty to discover it!
It is preferable to purchase a brand new product because whenever there is a problem; it will make sense to go back to the manufacturer of that product to get informed on what needs to be done correctly for the product to function properly. In the same vein, we need to go on a discovery journey to find out what the Creator has placed on the inside of us. You cannot pursue other people’s vision but that which the Creator has chosen for you. Not what we want to do in life that matters, but what we are created to do. To some it is easier for them, while for others it could take years to discover it. It does not matter how long it takes, you must discover it.However, the most important of all is to know and do it.
It was recorded in the Holy Bible that a man called Methuselah had children and was 969 years old when he died, which is the only thing we know about him. Yet, there are other people who lived lesser years than that but made a lasting impact on their generation. Now I ask, are you just living or exiting? Are you just getting by?, Is it business as usual? It is of uttermost importance for every human being to make an impact in life. It does not matter how minute it might seem, just endeavor to add value to humanity the best way you can. Do not be a looker, be a doer. We don’t have to continue staying where we are without attempting to move forward.



TURN YOUR DISABILITIES INTO ABILITIES

According to a Scripture in the Great Book (The Bible), in 2 Kings Chapter 7 verse 3, there were four leprous men who sat at the entrance of a gate saying, “Why are we sitting here until we die?” Soon afterwards, they decided to achieve something positive with their disabilities. They analyzed where they were and evaluated where they were going. Eventually, they prepared for the task and took action. We cannot afford to have a pity party for ourselves and invite others to join us just because we have one form of disability or the other. In life, whatever we attract, we become. We must learn to transform our disabilities to abilities, weaknesses to strengths, failures to successes, impossibilities to possibilities, disadvantages to advantages. We also have to understand that no quest no justice, no war no victory, no struggles no achievements, no attempts no accomplishments, no efforts no successes, no labour without profit.
It’s about time we woke up to life fully because destiny is calling. Most times, it is difficult to yield but all it requires is just a single step; for a Chinese proverb says, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step”… just that single step is all that is required! No matter the size of your VISION, you have to believe you can do it even when people say it cannot be done. Let that serve as a challenge to you; see it as a motivator. Quoting Scott Volkers, “The greatest pleasure in life is achieving things that people say can’t be done”. Whoever says you can’t do it? The only one that can stop you or can stand in the way of achieving your vision is YOU.
Understanding comes to us on how to go about our VISION by way of Empowerment.
Empowerment starts when we begin to take control of our own life, before we start to empower others. For you cannot give what you don’t have, neither can you teach what you don’t know. I have come, not with a fantastic concept or enticing words to heighten your hope, but to stir you into taking result-oriented actions in matters concerning your life, and for you to move from where you are to where you ought to be. I’m giving some practical tools that are necessary for you to get to the next stage of your life if well implemented.
Now let us go on a journey called vision empowerment and discover how we can get to our destination with the 12P’s of the FOUNDATION of Vision Empowerment aiding us. These are: PLACE, PREPARATION, PROTECTION, PLANNING, PROCRASTINATION, PATIENCE, PEOPLE, PERSISTENCE, POSITIONING, PRAISE, PROVISION and PROMISE. Get your mind prepared, the journey is about to begin, for “SUCCESS IS ONLY A JOURNEY, NOT A DESTINATION”…


(An extract from my book: THE FOUNDATIONAL 12P`S OF VISION EMPOWERMENT)
-COLIN B. ADEPOJU.