LESSONS

Bread seller, Photobomb, Top model, yea right! I’m also talking about her. She was virtually the biggest positive story from February and till now you still hear people talk about how lucky and blessed she is, just because she was in the right place at the right time or maybe it was just meant to be. Call it fate or whatever you like but there are lots of lessons from Olajumoke’s story, some of which I will like to share.

Her moment came in the midst of a photo shoot where some people were telling her to walk past quickly and others told her to stay, she was just in limbo and TY bello asked if she could take her picture, she nodded and that nod changed her life at that moment, she probably didn’t know it then but the trailer of fame jammed her at that point big time. Irrespective of what madam Kemi Olunloyo and oga Reuben Abati might say (haters always gon’ hate), she’s famous and she’s living the Nigerian dream, if there is anything like that; maybe there is.

  

Asides the slippers she had on, its really hard to say she was just a bread seller, its not everyday you see a bread seller in Lagos neatly dressed and hawking. Lets assume she was looking dirty and unkempt maybe just maybe instead of being called a model on the internet she would have gotten the bashing of her life, I guess we will never know. Morale of the story; its always good to appear neat irrespective of your job because you never know. I see a lot of ‘mechanics’ in public buses looking so dirty and annoying, they make it very difficult for people to sit close enough to them without feeling irritated. Just because you do a dirty job doesn’t mean you should always be dirty. Learn from Jumoke!

Jumoke’s picture made it to the internet and everyone embraced her, TY bello nurtured and helped her and here we are. The truth is sometimes we all need that special someone to give our life a nitro boost. It can be the difference between being great and being okay.

Education is good and Talent is wonderful but it looks like its not enough in this country anymore, you need a whole lot of factors to come together for you to get to the top. If you compare what Olajumoke has gotten as a model to what the unilag student with a 5.0 CGPA has also gotten, then you will understand where education stands in our society today. She's now a celebrity everybody wants to attach to.

Never say never, nothing is impossible, just keep believing. Right where you are going about your daily activities, no matter how little, something really big might be coming your way. You never know.

If TY bello was like some of us she would have chased Jumoke out of the photoshoot. I mean why should a bread seller appear in Tinie Tempah’s ‘Disturbing Lagos’ photoshoot (whose slippers is looking like okun ifami tho) but TY bello being who she is, took the shot and well here we are. Another lesson is even after internet users said Jumoke looks like a model, she could have ignored and went about with her life and everything will eventually die down but no! she took that opportunity and looked for the ‘igbalode model’, nurtured that goal and has been helping her become a candidate for celebrity of the year and so far so good Jumoke is making money, she just moved into a well furnished apartment in Surulere courtesy sujimoto and I think all the financial aspect has been going smoothly while TY bello is already a candidate for person of the year. Yes I know we are still in April.

Lessons; it’s not always about what you can get from people, sometimes giving is greater than receiving. The true reward lies in giving to those that have no means of paying you back.

MIND YOUR MIND

Have you ever wondered what will happen if we take half the energy we put into complaining about the problems and whining about why things remain the same and devout this energy into solving the problems, maybe things will be better even if it’s not a 100%. I have seen people criticize the government of the day at every opportunity they get, in every way they can and when they are offered a seat in the corridors of power. Things actually get worse, they start looking like a masquerade because I can’t recognize the person anymore and they continue creating the same problems they once criticized.

I think one of the problems we have most times is we go in unprepared, well maybe that’s how life is, we came into this world unprepared without a manual on how to live right. No one asks for your opinion before you were born, you never get the chance to choose your family, your religion, your country or even your race. Everything just kindof chooses you and while some of us embrace family or tradition to teach us how to live right, some choose religion, for some people its philosophy and some people just embrace it all. But one thing is certain, at some point you have to decide for yourself which way you want to go and this decision is solely based on the content of your mind. What you fill your mind with from day one determines this eventual outcome.

It is very very good to be able to pick out the problems or faults in a system, it shows you are very observant but the truth is if you can sit all day and just talk about the problems and you can’t find just one solution that can work to that problem, then you are on a dangerous path and you are not minding your mind. Its never enough to pay attention to one half of the problem, the job is only done when you find the ability to solve these problems. Train your mind to look beyond the problems and find solutons. You never can tell, one day you might be in a position to solve these problems you always complained about, and if you go in unprepared you will create more problems than you complained about.

So Do you mind your mind? What are you feeding your mind with? Who do you allow access to your mind? Whether you like it or not the people you allow access into your life, the people you surround yourself with and listen to regularly determine the contents of your mind. You should always be conscious of what you are feeding your mind, because this subconsciously influence who you become. If your mind is going to be filled with negativity or positivity is entirely up to what and who you choose to surround yourself with. Mind your mind.

Minding your mind is like focusing on your priorities, chasing your dreams or keeping your eyes on the goal no matter what. Sometimes you need to ask yourself some bitter questions about where your priorities lie. Because if you don’t know what your priorities are, if you don’t place your priorities in the right places. You might end up spending all the days of your life building other peoples dreams for them. Dreams are somehow linked to priorities because if you keep chasing your dreams you would know where your priorities should lie. Its like minding your mind.

It can be quite amazing sometimes when you see the amount of energy some of us devout into things that adds no value to our life and then we forget our priorities in life and start losing focus. Some people don’t even know what their priorities are, maybe they have never asked themselves questions pertaining to it. Do you have dreams or goals? If yes Can you write them out? If yes then what do you think your priorities should be? What have you done today to move you a step closer to your dreams? These are questions you alone can answer and it gives you an idea into what you should be doing more and what you should stop doing.

So know your priorities, make them your goals, work towards achieving them because if you don’t you will end up taking care of other people’s priorities. Remember to always mind your mind until next time I live you with the words of Mahatma Gandhi ‘A man is but the product of his thoughts what he thinks, he becomes.’

Thanks for reading, please endeavour to share this post if you find it helpful and if not feel free to comment.

Harbinger Of Joy

A blissful heart
A joyful soul
Burning with optimism
A fire with no smoke
Exuding true beauty
Not superficial, but internal
The kind that melts mighty men
Makes you smile, instagram memes.
Anything she touches
Turns into gold
Her heart, her soul
Could never be sold.
She only comes alive
When through her eyes
She gives joy to a life.
Unperturbed by negative vibes
Lies and betrayals
Not because she is immune
Her smile a portrayal
That worry helps no one
Even life could end soon
So be happy, have fun.
Embodied with unfathomable innocence
You can not help but do good
At the mere sight of her
You care less about food
You feel an enthralling intensity
The kind in a magnetic field
Once felt, becomes a basic necessity.
Amidst all the confusion,
From her you get serenity
Through osmosis, maybe diffusion
Around her, so much positivity
You could pluck it
An apple defying gravity
In the end you reason
"A joyful heart, indeed, is good medicine"
To you and those in the scene.

Dedicated to Lalemi Oluwatosin Mary

By Ayodele Alle