Statements of Encouragement: Tenacity.

 Hello and eku deede iwoyi o! Welcome to December again everybody! I'm so glad you're still here and healthy during this difficult time. Hope this year`s statements have given you a little bit more backbone, more courage to face some of the difficulties that we all are surrounded by at this time especially with the new omicron variant.

Margaret Thatcher said, ‘You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.’ She was a wise leader, and she understood that when we go to war against crisis and adversity, we don't get this victory easily. It doesn't come quick. If we win a battle, that doesn't mean we won the war against this adversity. It just means that there's probably another battle coming and another battle coming after that. You see, crisis tests two things in our life. It tests our tenacity and it tests our persistence. You have to understand it's not easy. It's uphill.

There are no easy wins. Imagine when we thought that the covid-19 was going down and suddenly the outbreak of another that can be contracted even after taking the full Covid-19 vaccine shots. Glad though that it`s not as deadly once you`re fully vaccinated.

A major leader in Israel in the area of military strategy once said Eric, if you're fighting the enemy, and if your advance is going too smoothly, to be honest with you, you're not winning that battle. You've run into a trap.’ In other words, they've just let you have it easy so they could surround you. And I just want you to know almost everything easy in life, whether it's in the military or life itself, is probably a trap. Remember what Margaret Thatcher said is true wisdom. You may have to fight a battle more than once to win it.

We celebrate your trip around the sun again if you were born in December. Wishing you a very special birthday and a wonderful year ahead!

 Have a wonderful month everyone! Stay safe, get vaccinated, or get ready for the booster, stay strong, mask up, and stay healthy until we will be able to gather again possibly soon.

Eric Thompson

 YAJ.

Statements of Encouragement: Changes.

 Hello and eku deede iwoyi o!

I was going to write about Change as the topic for the month then I remember that I have written a lot on the topic 2 years back way before the pandemic. Please go back and read again if you have the time because they are just as very useful now.

However, I will add that one of the most distinctive aspects of the traditional worldview that has always assisted Jews to cope with change is the view that humans aren’t ’ merely smart animals but are qualitatively distinct and unique beings. You may know the old childhood guessing game of “ animal, vegetable, or mineral. ” Well, the view is that there is a fourth category to add to that three — human. 

Minerals undergo almost no change through the ages. Marble, for example, is cut from a quarry in Italy and shipped to New York City where it will form the facade of a bank. The years go by, and the marble remains virtually the same as it was. Finally, the building may be demolished, but the marble is preserved to be reused in another building.

 Vegetables don’t last anywhere near as long as minerals. During the existence of, say, a radish, the vegetable changes more than a mineral does, but its changes are minor. It may grow larger, it may become redder, but it is still just a radish. There is only a small quantitative difference between a ripe radish and one that still needs a few more weeks in the ground.

 Animals change far more than vegetables. A newborn puppy dog can be almost irresistibly appealing; yet the same animal a few years later might be a mangy cur, the scourge of the neighborhood. A newborn calf must be nurtured by the farmer until it can take its useful place in the herd. That mature cow is very different from the calf it started out as, but once it is mature, it will change very little in appearance or even in milk production.

Humans are indeed unique. Not only does the appearance of a person continue to change throughout his or her life, but so do experience, character traits, and skills. Few people would like to be judged by the way they were 20 years ago. People change; and for the most part, they would like to think they change for the better.

The only way to prevent change like this pandemic from utterly dominating your life until you are driven to distraction by the absence of any fixed framework of reference is to make sure that your life does possess a fixed and unchangeable framework of reference. Your ability to embrace some changes and to profit from them depends on your ability to staunchly resist other changes too though.

We celebrate with you if you were born in November the only month with NO. We wish you no sickness, no accident, no failure in all areas and no weapon formed against you shall prosper.

Have a wonderful month everyone! Stay safe, get vaccinated, or get ready for the booster, stay strong, mask up, and stay healthy until we will be able to gather again possibly soon.

 Eric Thompson

 YAJ.

Statements of Encouragement: No Surrender.

 Eku deede iwoyi o! Good day everybody!

I've often admired Michael J. Fox. I loved his acting and think he's a wonderful person. He says, ‘One’s dignity may be assaulted, vandalized, and cruelly mocked, but it can never be taken away unless it’s surrendered.’ Now Michael J. Fox has Parkinson's disease. I happened to watch an interview a couple of years ago where Michael was on television and you could see by the movement of his body, that Parkinson's disease was taking some major control over him. To be honest with you, it was a little difficult to watch. But it was also inspiring because even when he was making awkward movements, his words were so positive, so uplifting, so encouraging that I was mesmerized by this man who is going through great physical difficulty and yet was not ready to yield. And so, when he said those words, I thought to myself, probably that happens to him because his difficulty is quite visual. But it's not what happens to you, the assault and the mocker from the outside, the pandemic crisis. It's what happens in you. And Michael J. Fox has learned something that I want to learn myself. But I want to pass it on to you, also. It's not what happens to you. It's what happens in you. Like I`ve posted some time ago, it's your choice. It's my choice. Michael made the choice. Choose not to surrender to the adversity in your life, this pandemic. But as you consistently weather the tough times, you become tougher, or stronger, here's what I know, the tough time you're going through and that I'm going through right now will not last. Let`s keep that positive mental attitude. Keep the motions going in a good way and after this tough time is over, we'll look at each other and smile and I'll just kind of point to you and say, Hey, tough people, we lasted, didn't we? Thank goodness, it seems the COVID is losing its grip as the medical personnel, the scientists have been working hard to get rid of it or as they say, see how we can live with it. Thank you, Michael. You inspire all of us.

We celebrate with you too if you were born in October and we are blessed to have you in the family! 

Have a wonderful month everyone. Stay safe, get vaccinated, stay strong, mask up, and stay healthy until we will be able to gather again possibly soon.

 Eric Thompson

 YAJ.

Statements of Encouragement: Overcoming

 Eku deede iwoyi o! Good day everybody!

Helen Keller said, “Although the world is full of suffering, it is also full of the overcoming of it.”

Helen Keller was a political activist, and was a huge influence for the women's suffrage movement. She was an author, a lecturer. But what I want you to know about Helen Keller is that she was deaf and blind.

Take a look at this story; during a class prank, a student stuck a paper on his classmate's back that said “I`m stupid, and asked the rest of the class not to tell the boy. Thus the students began laughing on and off.

Then came the afternoon math class and their teacher wrote a difficult question on the board. No one was able to answer it except the boy with the sticker.

Amid the unexplained giggles, he walked toward the board and solved the problem.

The teacher asked the class to clap for him and removed the paper on his back.

She told him: "It seems that you didn’t know about the paper your classmate has pasted on your back." Then the teacher looked at the rest of the class and said:

"Before I give you a punishment, let me tell you something:

Throughout your Life, people will put labels on you with many nasty words to stop your progress.“All you have to do in life is ignore the labels people give you and seize every opportunity you have to learn, grow and improve yourself.”

“Had your classmate known about the paper, he wouldn't have gotten up to answer the question.”

“It’s clear that he doesn't have any loyal friend among you all to tell him about the sticker.”

I would encourage you during this difficult time to listen to overcomers. You see all around us, we have people that are being overcome. They're kind of like victims, and then we have overcomers. These are victors. These are people that rose above the difficulties of their situations.

Helen was saying, I’m deaf, I'm blind I have all kinds of reasons not to succeed, not to do well, but I want you to know I've overcome. The fact is, she had a helper who literally taught her through touch.

Who you listen to determines how you respond to this crisis. So I encourage you, find some overcomers and listen to them. What they'll tell you is this: It's dark. It's difficult. It's not easy, but you can overcome, keep going, and keep running your race.

We celebrate you if you were born in September! The world got a little bit better on this day because you were born and we are blessed that we are your friend!

Have a wonderful month everyone. Stay safe, get vaccinated, stay strong, mask up, and stay healthy until we will be able to gather again.

 Eric Thompson

 YAJ.

Statements of Encouragement: Decisions

 Eku deede iwoyi o! Good day everybody!

I will like to encourage you all again this month with another amazing story.

Thank you for the feedback on the previous stories.

First look at this quote on decisions: 

“It is our decisions, not our conditions that determine the quality of our life.”

A businessman said to his employee: I want you to build me a house; here are the plans,

I want you to do it according to this plan! I do not want you to miss anything!

The employee read the chart and was upset because he only had 3 months left until his retirement, he started saying: 3 months on retirement and this guy is giving me a job that will last six months.. ..., I don't really mind, I'll do what I can, it will save me more money!

So the employee began to work and made the pillars of the house without much care, and he also used cheap and low-quality materials for construction, in every building in the house he used materials that did not match the structure, and only worked on the facade to deceive the owner from the outside, and what could be left was left, and that

"To earn” the time he usually needs to do so and leave as quickly as possible.

When the construction was completed, the owner appeared and looked at the house. He was very impressed with its appearance from the outside, so the employee thought that he had deceived the businessman.

The businessman looked at the employee and approached him and said: Take the keys! ...it's your gift! ...for all the years you served me! It’s your home!!!

Wow! That's kind of a turnaround, isn't it? It's our decisions, not our conditions that determine our quality of life.

How do you think this guy felt when he heard this? Unfortunately, he reaped what he sowed because of his decision.

We rejoice with you for another trip around the sun if you were born in August!!! We hope you`ll remember to keep having a good time in this journey we all call life, especially during this trying time.

Have a wonderful month everybody!

Eric O. Thompson

 

PS. Get vaccinated when it gets to your turn because FYI I`ve got mine, it helps.

Statements of Encouragement: Inner Strength.

 

Eku deede iwoyi o! Good day everybody!

How time flies, we are already in the second half of 2021. I will like to encourage you all this month with another amazing story.

Once upon a time a daughter complained to her father that her life was miserable and that she didn’t know how she was going to make it. She was tired of fighting and struggling all the time. It seemed just as one problem was solved, another one soon followed.

Her father, a chef, took her to the kitchen. He filled three pots with water and placed each on a high fire. Once the three pots began to boil, he placed potatoes in one pot, eggs in the second pot, and ground coffee beans in the third pot.

He then let them sit and boil, without saying a word to his daughter. The daughter moaned and impatiently waited, wondering what he was doing.

After twenty minutes he turned off the burners. He took the potatoes out of the pot and placed them in a bowl. He pulled the eggs out and placed them in a bowl.

He then ladled the coffee out and placed it in a cup. Turning to her he asked. “Daughter, what do you see?”

“Potatoes, eggs, and coffee,” she hastily replied.

“Look closer,” he said, “and touch the potatoes.” She did and noted that they were soft. He then asked her to take an egg and break it. After pulling off the shell, she observed the hard-boiled egg. Finally, he asked her to sip the coffee. Its rich aroma brought a smile to her face.

“Father, what does this mean?” she asked.

He then explained that the potatoes, the eggs, and coffee beans had each faced the same adversity– the boiling water.

However, each one reacted differently.

The potato went in strong, hard, and unrelenting, but in boiling water, it became soft and weak.

The egg was fragile, with the thin outer shell protecting its liquid interior until it was put in the boiling water. Then the inside of the egg became hard.

However, the ground coffee beans were unique. After they were exposed to the boiling water, they changed the water and created something new.

“Which are you?” he asked his daughter. “When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a potato, an egg, or a coffee bean? “

In life, things happen around us, just like this pandemic, things happen to us, but the only thing that truly matters is what happens within us. How we respond to adversity or crisis. Which one are you? Are you taking advantage of the crisis for your good or the other way round? This pandemic will soon be over everybody!

Happy Birthday to you if you were born in July! May your life be full and wishing you many, many, more birthdays!

Have a wonderful month everybody!

Eric O. Thompson

Statements of Encouragement : Add Value to People.

 

Eku deede iwoyi o! Good day everybody! Every person has value, and to make a difference, we need to intentionally value others and express that value to them. It’s not optional if we desire to be significant. We’ve all benefited from someone’s contribution in the past. Adding value isn’t just about your career, of course, it is about your whole life. The value here doesn’t automatically mean money- although of course, it could if that is the way you help people. No matter how we contribute, it’s important to add value in an authentic way—without an ulterior motive—genuine and helpful, and unassuming.

 I remember this Kenyan runner Abel Mutai who was just a few feet from the finish line but became confused with the signage and stopped, thinking he had completed the race. A Spanish runner, Ivan Fernandez, was right behind him and, realizing what was happening, started shouting at the Kenyan to continue running. Mutai didn't know Spanish and didn't understand. Realizing what was taking place, Fernandez pushed Mutai to victory.

 A journalist asked Ivan, "Why did you do that?" Ivan replied, "My dream is that someday we can have a kind of community life where we push and help each other to win."

 The journalist insisted "But why did you let the Kenyan win?" Ivan replied, "I didn't let him win, he was going to win. The race was his." The journalist insisted, and again asked, "But you could have won!" Ivan looked at him and replied, "But what would be the merit of my victory? What would be the honor in that medal? What would my mother think of that?"

 What would you do if you were in the Spanish`s shoes?

 Let us pass on the beauty and humanity of a helping hand.

 Contributing to other people—adding value to their lives—is the only way to gain another person’s respect and it’s one of the few ways to get others to believe in you. For obvious reasons, this is important in many facets of life: leadership, friendships, relationships, connecting with new people, and especially with your family.

 Here are Some Proven Ways to Add Value to People; Lift people up with your words.  Support people by offering to help them. Encourage other people's professional growth. You add value into the world through every relationship you have- every friend you help, every stranger you care about, every family member you support, every child you bring up, every time you care about anyone else. When you add value to others, the world will be better for all.

We celebrate with you if you were born in June. May your special day and the month bring you a better tomorrow. Happy birthday!

Have a wonderful month everyone. Stay safe, stay strong, mask up, stay healthy until we will be able to gather again.

 Eric Thompson

 YAJ.

Statement of strength and courage

 

Hello everybody! Eku deede iwoyi o!

Robin Roberts said ‘It takes courage to believe the best is yet to come.’ That's a good statement. But the context of the statement makes it a great statement. She said it when she was diagnosed with cancer, severe cancer. The picture didn't look good. That was a very courageous statement for her in the very bottom part of her adversity. But here's what she knows. Courage doesn't remove our crisis. Courage moves us in the crisis. Courage moves us to a better position in the midst of the storm.

Do you remember some posts back when I mentioned Robert Frost where he said “ what we focus on determines what we become”? He says focus on finishing. Focus on getting all the way through. I also found out that FOCUS means Following One Course of action Until Successful. This takes time and effort, learning from mistakes, and of course, the strength of character. That means in whatever you do and wherever you are.

The good news is Robin Roberts is still alive and doing well. But remember, when she made that courageous statement many years back, she wasn't doing well. It's easy on the back end to say, well, I kind of thought things would work out. It's much more difficult in the middle to say, I think things will work out. Courage isn't after the fact. It's right in the middle.

We celebrate with you if you were born in May. Our wishes are; May your days and years be full of good health, prosperity, and accomplishments. 

Stay safe, stay strong, and stay healthy until we will be able to gather together again everybody.

Eric Thompson

YAJ.

 

Statement of encouragement: Act !

 

Eku deede iwoyi o.

Here is this month`s statement of encouragement;

Henry Ford said, “When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the airplane takes off against the wind, not with it.”

He's basically saying that the airplane has no chance of getting off the ground unless it has some opposition. It has to go into the wind to be lifted to the heights of its possibility.

Similarly, when we come into the winds of opposition and the winds of adversity, there are three possibilities. First of all, it can drift us. The winds of opposition can get us off course. And, drifting is never good. So if you're drifting during difficulty, that's not a positive move. But, secondly, it can sift us. And sifting can be very good because sifting, you think of that as separating the good from the bad. And if we let difficulties separate and get the bad out of us, and we begin to hold onto the good. In those cases, sifting is good. But what I also know, as Henry Ford knew about that airplane, is that the winds of opposition can lift us. They can take us to higher ground. These are possible things you can do during difficulty especially now;

 

1.           Stop complaining and appreciate how lucky you are every day.

2.           Embrace loneliness and reinvent yourself in the process.

3.           Say goodbye to the people that don't bring positive energy into your life.

4.           Throw off the TV and set Internet controls.

5.           Pick one skill you want to cultivate and put all your effort into developing it.

6.           Commit to the goals you set and never look back.

7.           Sweat every day to boost your mood.

8.           Fail forward. Learn from every mistake you make.

 

I'm betting that drifting will not be on your calendar anymore. We're going to let it sift us and make us better and lift us and make us bigger.

We celebrate with you with the spirit of Ubuntu if you were born in April. We wish you good health and prosperity as you add one more year to your age.

Have a great month everybody. Stay safe, stay strong, and stay healthy until we will be able to gather physically again.

 

Eric O.Thompson.

statement of encouragement: Don`t Give up!

 

Eku deede iwoyi o.

Here is this month`s statement of encouragement for you as the Covid-19 vaccine is gradually rolling in, ready for immunization and possibly end the pandemic.

An author said that “Experience gives you the test first and then the lessons afterward”. You see, when you and I are taking the test, we're working through all the questions of life and experiences, and we're asking ourselves the questions: Can I make it? Can I just get through the test? I mean, can I live to see another day? After the test, we’ve got to breathe a sigh of relief and just say I made it!

It's at that time, that we have to ask ourselves the question through that difficult time, through that experience, what did we learn? You see, your goal and my goal is not to just finish the test, it's to learn the lessons from the test. And almost always the lessons are understood on the backside. After any experience, negative or positive, I encourage you to reflect, stop, think and say, What did I learn from that experience?

Just because you're struggling, doesn't mean that you're failing.

But the very fact that you're still struggling means you're still in the game. You know, giving up means that I'm out of the game. I just want you to know that we, in this crisis, we're either giving up or we're getting up. Well, during this time, I hope if you get knocked down, it's okay. Just get right back up.  I'm not down. I'm either up or I'm getting up! Because here's what I know: You may struggle, but that's not a failure. We are all in this together.

We celebrate with you if you were born in March. We wish you good health always as you add one more year to your age and more experience.

Have a wonderful month everybody, stay safe, stay healthy and strong!

Eric Olusegun Thompson

https://yorubaassociationj.wixsite.com/japan

https://www.facebook.com/yoruba.japan

 

Statement of encouragement: Hope.

 

Eku deede iwoyi o.

I have another statement of encouragement for you today. So here's one quote from Lucille Ball, she is a great comedian, she says, ‘One of the things I learned the hard way was that it doesn't pay to get discouraged. Keeping busy and making optimism a way of life can restore your faith in yourself.’ It also can restore faith in others and faith in your life. But here's what Lucille Ball basically says. She said I learned that discouragement doesn't pay. So, let me ask you a question. Have you ever met a discouraged person and walked away from them and said, Wow! I have just received so much hope from them. I just feel like I can conquer any-- no way! Discouragement is contagious. It drags everybody down. So, Lucille Ball was right. It doesn't pay. What we all need is Hope. Carol Bright said, ‘Hope is not easily defined, but impossible to embrace without faith.’ What she basically means is, there's a relationship between my faith and my hope. As you may know that, FAITH is an acronym for; Full Assurance In The Heart.

I think probably as I've shared with you all of these statements of strength over the last couple of months since the beginning of the pandemic, I hope that you've received hope, faith, belief, strength. Let us share less discouragement but, hope through which we will all overcome this crisis.

We rejoice with you if you were born in February! We hope you enjoy your birthday, all the pleasures it has in store, and we hope you have many more!

Eric O. Thompson

Statement of encouragement: Courage.

 Happy new year everybody! Aku odun aku iyedun o emi wa a se pupo laye o. Anikun owo anikun alaafia.

I’m not sure who said this quote, but it's good enough to be in our Statement of encouragement as we are still in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic battle.

Here it is: ‘Courage can be in the small choices that we make each day, in doing something despite being afraid of it.’ And I love this phrase that courage can be in the small choices that we make each day. Because so many times, we save courage for what we call the big things, and I would just have you to know that we don't get courage for the big things until we have applied courage to the small stuff. It's kind of like the corny joke that I grew up with; how do you eat an elephant? Well, one bite at a time! And the tendency is for us to try to muster up big courage for big things, when we should just take bite-sized pieces and one step at a time to build our courage.

I was recently with some of my friends. It was a short but wonderful book promo tour trip, and we had a great time. And I shared with them the story of David and Goliath in the valley of Elah. And of course, you all know the story of David and Goliath. He took on the big boy. But what gave David the courage to take on the big boy? Well, it's very simple. He said, ‘As I was out in the field watching the sheep, I killed a bear, I killed a lion. Now bring on the big boy.’ You see, David had to have courage for the bear, the lion, before he was able to have enough courage for the giant.

My favorite definition of courage is; Courage is the quality or attitude shown by someone who decides to do something difficult or dangerous, even though they may be afraid instead of withdrawing from it.

Again, "someone who decides", a decision is a choice.

So just take off the small stuff every day as we are starting the year 2021. Be courageous in the daily stuff leading to your big stuff, eat your elephant bite by bite and you'll someday have the courage to handle the big boy, your big goal, your big dream.

 We rejoice with you as always if you were born in January. Good wishes to you always as you advance in age and wisdom, and may your future be filled with happiness and joy. Happy birthday!

And if this message helps you share it with a friend  to encourage and lift someone else up.

Have a wonderful year everybody! Stay safe, stay strong, and stay healthy!

Eric O. Thompson.