In 2011, I remember one of my friends posted a funny stuff on facebook, he wrote, “I just checked the expiry date on the can of milk I bought and it says 5-MAR-2013. That means the world isn’t going to end in 2012.” He was right, afterall! The world didn’t end in 2012 as the Mayans predicted. His reasoning was wrong anyway. All the same I’m glad you made it into 2013. Happy new year.
For me, 2012 was a good year. And I expect that 2013 will be better. Many of us equally have that expectation. However, many limit their expectations to their thoughts, they don’t make concrete plans or take steps that will help in birthing and actualising those expectations. For some of us, we don’t take steps because of fear of failure, for others its just laziness and some others are held down by fatalistic views. Life, most times, answers to demands. Those who get things out of life are mostly those who make demands on it. I have been careful not to be absolute about life’s formula because life is not a subject of mathematical precision, there are exceptions but you can’t afford to hang loosely onto life hoping to be one of the few exceptions.
At this point, Let me share my favourite poem once again,
“For Life is a just employer,
He gives you what you ASK,
But once you have set the wages.
Why, you must bear the task.
I worked for a menial’s hire,
Only to learn, dismayed,
That ANY WAGE I HAD ASKED OF LIFE,
Life would have willingly paid.”
All I want to do here is to encourage you to put plans in place to make 2013 the year of your dreams. My father in the Lord, Bishop Oyedepo says, “expectation is the mother of manifestation” and says further that “if you don’t have a goal, you are a goat.” The first step to take in turning your expectation into realisation is to write it down, this is because one of the essential features of goals is that they are written down. Hear what the Almighty says,
“And the LORD answered me, and said, WRITE the vision, and make it plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it.” (Habakkuk 2:2).
When plans and aspirations are written down, they are supplied some raw form of energy to become reality. There was the story of a university lecturer and some students I recently read and I’d love to share it. The man called ten of his best students and gave them an assignment to come up the next day with a description of where they see themselves in the next ten years. The next day, three of the students came with explicit notes describing themselves in ten years’ time and how they’ll get there. Four other students had a clear picture of where they wanted to be, just that they didn’t bother to pen it down. The last three said they felt there was no need to worry over such a thing, for what will be will be. Ten years down the line, the professor set out to find these ten students and see how they were faring in life. He didn’t encounter any trouble locating the three students who penned down their plans, they were making waves in the country. Of the four who knew where they were headed but didn’t just write it down, he found one of them blazing trails while the remaining three were still struggling. None of the last set (the fatalistic three) was close to success.
Life is more than a game of luck and accidents. Its good if we write down our resolutions. Haven’t you noticed that ALL great corporations in the world clearly write out their vision and mission statements? Its not just a trend, its because there is great wisdom and many benefits in writing out goals and aims. I have also written out my goals for this year in my orange diary, let me share just two of them:
1: Write more consistently (at least once in a month, so any month you don’t see anything on this blog, draw my attention to it.)
2: Learn to play the piano (ahahaa, that’s a “big fish” if you know me.)
People, its not too late to write your expectations down. Live purposefully.
Once again, happy new year.
'Seun Alade 
Brother mi, you are soooooo right! It’s one of the initial steps in living a purposeful life. God bless u for that piece. …and that poem, Thumbs up. Best of God in 2013
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Kudos to U̶̲̥̅̊ brother, thanks for that insighful write up. More grease to your elbow.
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Welcome 2013! Doing things in the same old same manner and expecting a different outcome is leading nowhere but a dead end. Well written sir, may God help us to be consistently dilligent this year.
And the first of your written goals got me dancing Alingo…lol
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Lovely piece bro.
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I never had a new year resolution since the last time I had one……reason is, the opposite happened. Great piece, but you didn’t consider those of us who are but passengers in this life, we are most comfortable when we don’t blaze trails and all we set out for is a nice & cozy abode with food on the table. Brother, what help or advice will you have for us?
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“The best thinkers are those who plan on papers.” Succinctly expressed! Thank you, Seun. Well done.
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Truth is many of us find it hard to write down our resolutions because of past experiences. One thing to note is that writing the resolutions down doesn’t guarantee that they will be fulfilled, it is just the first point in working towards the attainment of those goals. A student, for example, who wants to top his class doesn’t just stop at writing that in his resolution, he takes steps, makes sacrifices and puts in effort to ensure it happens. Writing resolutions down doesn’t do the magic, it is just a first step that leads the way.
Abdulwahab, I know you too well to know that you are not comfortable being a passenger in life. I know greatness burns in your loins, otherwise you wouldn’t have done what you did last year. But I will reply all the same, believing that you might be speaking for some people.
Martin Luther King Jr. said “A man who hasn’t found something he is willing to die for is not fit to live.” Harsh as that may seem, it is important to note that God created everyone of us for a purpose. He didn’t create anyone to be a mediocre. My best advice is that we all go back to Him and ask Him what He wants us doing. I’m not an expert myself, but there are books that will help, one that readily comes to mind is “The purpose-driven life” by Rick Warren.
***And, let me use this opportunity to thank everyone who reads this blog and those who drop comments, especially. I was elated when I saw the report card sent to me by the blog admin for last year. God bless.
I stopped replying comments on this blog because of the “blog stats” I get but I always get in touch with every commenter through mails, pings or DMs. I’m grateful.
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Write the vision, and make it plain! Thoughts are great, and the precursors of all great human achievements, but that spirit of spoken word never comes into effect until thoughts are penned down. Thoughts wander, written words do not.
Thanks for this marker bro, I am adding to all I got here the habit of making confessions.
I wish you a prosperous year. God bless.
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I have seen your comments sir and I appreciate them. I will look into it sir.
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Thanx so very much for this, Seun!
A friend once told me “we don’t get what we deserve – only what we desire”. And we all know real desire is that backed up by worx.
2013 is my year of completion – but I know it’ll take more than auto-pilot to land any plane.
Writing plans down worx in more ways than we know! “….that he may run that readeth it”. The one who believes runs with it; the one who doesn’t, runs away!
God bless, bro!
Hava an amazing 2013.
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Great one dear!
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Every true leader must have a vision,and no worthwhile vision finds fulfilment without a clearly defined goals. So Mr Seun,your thoughts on having a goal for the year and putting it in black A̶̲̥̅̊Ω̶d white is actually for the wise,A̶̲̥̅̊Ω̶̣̣̥̇̊d̶̲̥̅̊ I believe the wise ones will put it into action. As for •̸Ϟ ̷̷̴̐͠€,the ink is dried but my action is fresh .Thank you for a wonderful piece.
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