THE PLAGUE OF INDECISION

Man is an unconscious product of his thought process, and his life is a mirrored reflection of his decision making. Every thing about your life is hinged on a decision, be it the choice of a life partner, a career path, or better still, the journey to your life’s purpose. We live in a world where choices rule tomorrow, and seldom will a man attain any great feat, without having to first take a decision or a stand.

 All these truths, and yet, indecision is a disease that has plagued the human mind for as long as time. It seems that so many of us journey through life as spectators, too afraid to jump into the pitch and play the game.

 I don’t know what major step it is that you have to take or why you are finding it so difficult to commit to that good cause. How long will you fold your hands and expect lightening to strike you and say ‘ this is the way’?

 Friends, time and chance is too much of a risk for you to leave your destiny to them, you can get a grip on the handle of your life by the choices you make.

Scripture speaking says, ‘ I have set before you life and death, choose ye life, that you make live’. Don’t you see that you were neither destined to live nor die, you were destined to Choose! Your choices determine your consequences, and as such we must strive to make the right decision, hinged on sound moral, biblical principles.

 Now, haven known the importance of choices in shaping our outcomes, why still dance around the mountain of options? Haven been presented with life and death, why must we think it over a cup of tea? Please don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you shouldn’t investigate your facts and table out your findings, but having done all our homework, why do we relent in crossing the red sea?

 Indecision is a war I have fought for most of my life, and I am slowly winning the war, basically because I came to address one of the major reasons for my indecision…Fear!

What is it that makes a seven year old child so certain that he would be a pilot when he grows up, and yet a boardroom executive cannot make a decision as to the out turn of a meeting? Could it be because the child is yet untainted with the harsh realities of life? Has our knowledge, exposure and experience become our greatest limitations?  We so much fear the consequence of a wrong choice and so we settle for a worse lot which is no choice at all.

 We need to understand that the earth is constantly in motion, and I doubt if creation will wait for you to make up your mind. Sometimes, we need to embrace the blind gullibility of our childhood again, otherwise called Faith, believing in yourself, your dreams and the power of God answered prayers.

 That business idea may never kick off if you keep weighing the risk of failure, that project will likely not be implemented, if you don’t get up and Go for it, either way, whatever action you take towards the actualization of your destiny, must start with a decision.

So get up dear, Get up right now…commit that plan to God, and go make it happen!

With love and laughter,

© Tochi Eze

15^th April 2011.

SEVEN CHARACTERISTICS OF A GOOD TEAM PLAYER

First, let me start by saying that the earth has been structured to function and operate in teams. Now let me shock you further, the world wasn’t created by God alone,…it was created by his team.

‘ and God said, LET US make man in OUR image and after OUR likeness’ GENESIS. Before that the Holy Spirit, we are told hovered over the deep, before the word went forth.

Secondly, man being designed to look and act like God, was made to function in teams. ‘ it is not good for man to be alone, I will make him another helper’ GENESIS.

Contrary to most of our belief, team work is not limited to sport pitches or work schedules/tasks. No, team work permeates everyday of our every day living. Every man therefore is a potential team player.

Now before you would wonder why you would even want to be a team player, let’s look at some of the essential benefits of team work.

·        Division of labor

·        Pooling of resources

·        Mutual encouragement and motivation

·        Companionship

There we have it, so back to the point of this write-up; what are the characteristics of a good team player?

1.He knows the game: it has been said that when the purpose of a thing is not known, it’s abuse is inevitable. It is therefore pertinent, that at every stage or project of your life, you must know your purpose and your relevance there. A good team player must understand the project at hand, whether it be marriage, ministry, business partnership or a work related task.

2.He knows his teammates: ‘shall two walk together except they agree’ AMOS, Jesus Christ speaking says ‘I and my Father are one’. This basically connotes intimacy. There are no two ways about it, you simply cannot work with someone you don’t know, and I mean a tested and applied knowledge. Knowledge of your teammates helps you draw out their strengths and make up for their excesses.

3.He is willing to share: A good team player must be a lover, a giver and a sharer. Jesus Christ speaking says ‘all that my father has, he has given to me’. Whether it be in the form of ideas in the workplace or valued time in consensual relationships, each team player must be willing to let go and let his team member get.

4.He must sacrifice: ‘for God so loved the world, that He gave us his only begotten son’ JOHN. That same begotten son gave up his only begotten life, both sacrifices made at no small cost. A good team player knows how to put the needs of others above his, especially where it is sure to yield a far weightier glory.

5.He does his best:  A good team player does al he knows to do, suffers long, endures hardships , misunderstanding and sometimes even betrayals by his fellow team mates, but he takes it all in good stride, he ensure that his side of the out put is not affected by all these, he put his best effort to  ensure that the project is carried through.

6.He sees it through: Just before he gave up the ghost, Jesus Christ said ‘it is finished’. A good team player will never pull out of an uncompleted task. It is against his values because it is an ultimate sign of failure. He is in it from start to finish, in his marriage for instance, there is NO such thing as divorce.

7.He gets his credit: team work is always rewarded, and a good team player will always be accorded honor and recognition for the contributions and sacrifices he made.

There is always a reward!

Team work is essential to vital living, you were born alone, granted, but you were not made to function alone.

© Toch Eze. JANUARY 2011

THE PROCESS OF TIME

...And God said to Abraham being 75 at the time, leave your home to the place I will show you and I will make you into a great nation.

Isaac eventually was born by Sarah to Abraham who was a 100 years of age at the time. Now, I don’t know about you but 25 years seems like a heck of a long time to keep a promise, however what marvels me was not the fact that the promise eventually came to be, but rather the endurance level of Abraham, who no doubt deserves an award of 25 years of confident belief, loyalty.

My focus on this article is neither on Abraham nor the promise but on the 25 years waiting period.
Those 25 years represent a lengthy and uncertain period of expectancy, those 25 years represent an opportunity to stand at the edge of a mountain with a risk of falling, they represent the fear and possibility of broken dreams and unfulfilled expectations, they represent an opportunity for self development and enlargement to accommodate the promise, they represent a firm decision to stand resolute in your belief, for a better future, better hope and a better nation, those 25 years represent the uncomfortable situation that most of us are going through, those 25 years have a name and it is called ‘ the process of time’.
Sure enough, it is a necessary junction in our journey of life, some of us have been there and most of us are still there. I’d like to point out that the process of time is not a waste of time, it is merely a pause in transit to enable us offload our excesses and refuel for the journey ahead.
Don’t despise your process of time, and more importantly, don’t let any one despise your process of time. Don’t even think about compromising your values because that vision will come through and that mountain will be made low. It takes patience to stay in the process of time because like all other processes, it involves procedures.
Friend, I have just one message for you, DON’T GIVE UP! Hold unto your dream. Hold unto your belief, hold unto that promise. That is the virtue of success. Keep the faith fire burning, like any process, whether 2 months or 25 years, the time limit will come, and just like any vision with an appointed time, all we are expected to do is write and wait.
© Tochi Eze 2011

Leadership SECRETS( part 1)

How on earth did a slave from a foreign land wind up as prime minister? If we can unravel this mystery then we would finally understand the concept of Leadership.

Joseph was a man of like passions, his journey from home to a strange land and then to the prison is quite conventional, save for the fact that we don’t end up as prime ministers. I have had course to meditate on the rise to power of Joseph, and how someone who ordinarily should have a slave mentality or at least be somewhat bitter and resentful could emerge as one of the greatest administrators of his time. Now, there is a school of thought that Joseph attained his height of success because he had a peculiar dream and destiny, my question then is…who doesn’t? we are all born with peculiar destinies and we all nurse our distinct dreams.
Again, having acknowledged that it took more than two dreams to land Joseph at his desired and pre ordained destination, I had to admit that it was not just the dream, it was the life and habits of the dreamer. Leadership is therefore not a position, but a state of existence that is reflected in the daily and deliberate practice of a man.

The second question then is, what was the daily and deliberate practice of Joseph that landed him at the Palace?
1. Joseph had a Dream; we already established this right? We also agreed that it’s not so strange to us. Most of us are already good at this, infact we are a little too good at dreaming,
2. He knew the source of his Dream. The source of your dream determines the cost of your dream. Right from inception, he knew that he had a divine God ordained call to lead and he pursued this call not out of selfish ambition or pride but rather out of a desire to fulfill God’s purpose for his life.
3. He was confident; he didn’t allow his position in his family to affect his dream life, the limitations imposed on him by virtue of his birth position was merely biological and it did not affect his mindset. He was a second to last child but he definitely had a second to none mentality.
4. He was obedient and serviceable: he willingly took food to his brothers even though he knew they were his No. 1 dream killers
5. He was humble; he immediately adapted to the role of a slave rather than being rebellious and resentful.
6. He feared, loved and walked with God; this reflected in his high moral values and principles, the fact that he said no to pharaoh’s wife even though it would have landed him a promotion
7. He was optimistic; he knew the prison was not his last point of call
8. He was industrious; he employed his gifts even among his prison guards and wards.
9. He had a forgiving heart: in that he readily forgave and took back his brothers who dealt him the highest form of betrayal, that in itself was an unusual test of character and landed him the liberation to truly break out from the chains of the past hurts.
There is indeed no doubt in my mind, that if one can carefully study these habits and practices of Joseph, his Greatness will not only be inevitable but will also be uncompromisable!

ATTITUDE IS EVERYTHING

Almost everyone nurses some sort of dream, vision, ambition or passion as the case may be, however we are soon discouraged and limited by our prevalent situations. Life is often about bridging that gap between your (sight) where you presently are and your (vision) where you want to be. What ensures that we reach our destination or otherwise is not the economic situation, family background or even relationship status, it is our ATTITUDE.


By ‘attitude’, I mean a general positive and productive disposition towards things and life in general. Sometimes we embark on a journey or project with so much enthusiasm, with little more than a dream and a gift or skill as the case may be, just like Joseph the son of Jacob. We often dream but we don’t calculate and just like Joseph we fall victim to envious peers, colleagues and family, we confront that bait that entices us to compromise our values, and no matter how right the decisions we take in life are, we often end up in prison.

The truth is, what guarantees you success is not the nobility of your actions but the carriage of the right attitude. It was Joseph’s attitude towards life and as regards his gift that translated his prison into his palace.

Your attitude affects everything. It affects the way you carry yourself. Joseph had the carriage of a leader even though he was one of the least in his household, and regardless of the fact that he was exposed to slavery at an early age by his brothers. He became the leader in prison because he embraced the secret of promotion, which is to always put in your best even in a worst case scenario.

Your attitude determines the way you see, while others saw the prison as a cage that locked them away from their freedom, Joseph decided to see the prison as a perfect platform to express his gifting.

His attitude did not pay off ‘immediately’, but it paid off big time.

The next time life throws you into that very uneasy and uncomforting situation, like it did to me only recently, rather than grumble and be bitter, why don’t you put on the right attitude, an attitude for success, increase and breakthrough. It doesn’t mean the road will not be bumpy, but you sure will enjoy the ride and even if you don’t hit the destination target, you definitely will be ahead of the park. What looks like a difficult and impossible situation may well announce you to the king’s presence.

Finally, I leave you with this food for thought. the prison is not a place to wail and moan, it is not a place to idle away, don’t waste or underestimate the people you meet in your prison, they may well be your network out of there. Wear a smile, be proactive, watch and pray and most importantly always give thanks.

© Tochi Eze Nov 2010.

My 'thesis'on doors

I once had the acquaintance of a one year old boy, his name is obiora and he is the son of a family friend. Obiora at one had an unusual fascination with doors, the implication of this was that he was always trying his hand on any and every door, of course at that age, his hand could barely touch the door knob and if he was able to stretch himself, he would succeed in slamming the door on his fingers( ouch). This did not make him relent, the guy just had a knack for doors, it was thus my pondering on this observation that inspired this write-up and as I share this thesis with you I hope as always that you will identify at least one point that is educative and informative to you and for your application.

Doors generally represent a ‘legitimate’ entrance or exit to and from a place. I use the word legitimate basically because there is a presupposition that thieves don’t come in through the front door, in their sly nature they have to employ a more sinister approach, and if they must go through a door( whether front or back) it has to be a break in.
1. A door symbolizes a semblance of possibilities that await you on the other side of the door, possibilities that are so treasured that they need to be guarded by a wooden or iron sense of security. A door doesn’t open merely by invitation, acquaintance or urgency, what guarantees the opening is either you have a key, or someone on the other side has a key and is willing to open for you.
2. A door also symbolizes transition, exit from a place and entry or at least the demand of entry into another place, we are constantly in motion, it is what makes us unique, the ability to detest stagnancy, in life generally and in finances specifically and so it is this life of transit that often brings us before doors, unfortunately most of us get stuck there.
3. A door usually attracts people of like minded destination, the truth is that if whatever on the other side is worth the while, chances are that you won’t be the only one in front of the door trying to get in. while you are waiting for the door to open, take time to be friendly, meet people that are waiting on your side of the door to get in, the fact you have the same destination doesn’t mean that they are your competition, if you network hard enough, you’d be surprised to meet someone that has the keys to the door or has already made contacts with someone on the other side.

This write-up is the exclusive copyright of Tochi Eze and cannot be reproduced or forwarded without her consent.

The Ultimate Brand

Brand loyalty, as I have recently observed is the combination of a number of factors that result in a customer preferring a particular product or service over others that are of a similar nature. Most enterprises have realized the importance branding in the success of their businesses and hence a lot of financing is invested into developing a company’s brand loyalty as it were, ranging from beautifully designed graphic logo’s, innovative advertisements and excellent customer / service delivery system, they all strive for a niche that stands them out in the market.

As human beings, we all have our distinct brands that set us apart from the crowd, that make more readily appealing and desirable that every other person and that ultimately yields us better returns in life, these brands could be consciously or unconsciously developed.
Allow me to put it this way, a brand in a layman’s point of view is simply what a product, company or person is known as remembered by. X-pression reminds us of quality hair piece, Coca-Cola reminds of refreshing beverage, identita Nigeria connotes brand loyalty, amongst others. These brands did not just exist, they are a result of a deliberate line of thoughts, policies and actions, and like in the case of Coca-Cola, the effect has spanned generations, and yet, I will tell you a most perfect brand, whether for an individual, corporation or government, LOVE is a perfect brand. Scripture speaking in John 13.34 and 35 said that we should love one another, and that by so doing, all men will know that we are his disciples. LOVE is the ultimate brand, it sells itself always, wards off competition and the recipients never forget thereby generating the best form of brand loyalty.
Imagine if every time someone thought of you or your business, a nice warm feeling came over the person who by the way doesn’t mean to date you?
To love your neighbor is more than a cliché and it expresses itself in the smallest acts of kindness. For instance, when last did you pay for a stranger sitting next to you in a bus? How often do you smile at a beggar while giving him money? When last did you pray for a sick neighbor not because you were asked to but because you truly cared? How often do you forgive a wrong without an apology?
The extent of your brand communication ensures that your business still thrives even after you retire, its generally what you are remembered for. What comes to your mind when you think of princess Diana, mother Theresa, or Martin Luther King(JR)? these are people that are no longer with us and yet their actions still speak for them.
Finally, you cannot give what you don’t have, no business should sell what it is not prepared to buy because it douses credibility completely. The only qualification to loving others is to love yourself. Now, loving yourself goes beyond having a high self esteem or confidence the ability to make wise and credible decisions for your life, not just because they make you feel good but because it is the right thing to do.
My point exactly? Having seen the importance of branding and identifying the ultimate brand, we need to start making conscious and deliberate efforts to build or increase our already existing brand loyalty and like every good brand, it cannot happen overnight, but after a while you’ll eventually build that perfect reputation that you want people to remember you for!

This write-up is the exclusive copyright of Tochi Eze and cannot be reproduced or forwarded without her consent.