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.

Statement of encouragement: Resilience.

 

Hello everybody! Eku deede iwoyi o!

I hope, as always, that this message finds you doing well and staying safe.Yasmin Mogahed wrote that: ‘Resilience is very different than being numb. Resilience means you experience, you feel, you fail, and you hurt. You fall. But you keep going’. I think that Yasmine made a terrific difference about how we handle when we are hit by a crisis. We could just go numb, which basically means that I feel nothing. I’m not learning. I’m not even living. And that makes us a victim. But Yasmine said, no. When we go through a crisis such as the ongoing pandemic, we don't go for numbness. We go for resilience. And resilience is alive. It is learning. And what happens is resilience makes us victorious.You see, when somebody goes numb about a bad experience, they kind of look back and say: ‘Oh, my, it was just a nightmare, Wow! I don't even remember what happened.’ But when you're resilient, you do remember what happened. In fact, you remember everything that happened. And it's that remembering of how you overcame, how you, despite the odds, rose above what other people thought you could rise to. It's that resilience and remember that you put in your heart and store it. So, the next time you have an obstacle or difficulty, adversity in your life, that resilience remembers. Don’t allow the crisis to numb you. Be alive. Learn, feel, fail, and learn. That's what it's all about if you want to make this difficult time a good time.

We rejoice with you as always if you were born in December. Good wishes to you always and your future filled with happiness and joy. Happy birthday!

Best wishes for a peaceful and rejuvenating December! We hope you and your loved ones will take this opportunity to relax, reconnect, and enjoy this festive month. And if this message helps you, share it with a friend. Let them know about it to encourage and lift someone else up.

Stay safe, stay strong, and stay healthy!

Eric O. Thompson.

Statement of courage: Do not allow adversity to affect your attitude.

 

Hello everybody! Eku deede iwoyi o!

Everybody can have a good attitude when things are going great. But what happens when things go the other way, contrary to your plans or expectations? Such problems as; discouragement, change, failure, pandemic, etc. How are they going to affect you?

You need to be ready to meet the challenges. You need to be ready mentally to keep them defeating you. Veterans of most natural disasters words of advice focus mainly on attitude like; be patient, be war, prepare yourself, lean on others, have faith, stay mentally tough, etc. What they are trying to say is that you cannot control disasters and circumstances, but you can control your attitude. If you do, it will make the difference between giving up and bouncing back.

Every adversity, every failure, every heartache carries with it the seed on an equal or greater benefit. – Napoleon Hill

The attitude we adapt in times of adversity will not only define the moment but will determine the future. Winston Churchill was right when he said, “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” Your attitude in adversity will either demote you or promote you. Here are four common attitude approaches when times are tough.

1.      Why me, why now?

2.    This is not fair.

3.    Why not me?

4.    Everyone together.

Which one will be yours?

The attitude formula in play looks like this: GA (good attitude) + RA (right actions) = GO (Great Opportunity). A good attitude gives you a distinct advantage. Let`s try as much as possible to have a good attitude at all times. It is the single greatest asset you have when facing the challenges of life.

We celebrate with you if you were born in the month that starts with NO which may mean New Opportunity. Wishing you New Opportunities in the month and always. 

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

Eric O. Thompson

Statement of courage: Salt and Light.

 

Hello everybody! Eku deede iwoyi o!

When you think about it at its most basic, salt has a powerful, distinctive and at times overwhelming taste to it. In this trying time, we are to be a community defined by self-sacrificial love. A great comedian once said; “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.”

A great teacher also once said “You are the light of the world. A city built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.”

So, when people ask, ‘When will the Coronavirus end?’ ‘What will happen to me?’ It is our responsibility to give hope to people in our lives that we will be fine, we will come out of this, even when we don`t know. Be an encourager. Imagine the sublime power of a single candle piercing, shattering the darkness of a pitch-black room. It is imperative for us to tear down the walls, to cross the barriers, and to be present and active in our neighborhoods, communities, and cities. Let people say of you at the end of the day; ”You did your best”.“You left an outstanding heritage which is difficult to match. You stand tall and we are deeply proud of you.” History which, you deeply respected will be kind to you and your legacy. To be the light of the world is to actively pursue the dark places, to willingly enter into places of pain, poverty, injustice, sickness, and violence. Let your light shine before others. Our salt, therefore, stays salty only so long as we practice the good deeds we do in imitation and shining the light of God within us in and among our communities and before the watching world. 

We rejoice with you if you were born in October. Count your life by smiles, not tears. Count your age by friends, not years. Happy birthday!”

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

Eric Olusegun Thompson

YAJ.

Statement of courage :You.

 

Hello everybody! Eku deede iwoyi o!

When Was the Last Time You Invested in Yourself? If you have difficulty answering that question, it's time to change gear! When there is so much work to be done, we forget to carve out space for our own personal development. By and large, we focus on growing our businesses, taking care of the never-ending needs of our loved ones both near and far, not ourselves. Does that really make sense? A friend told me how he walked away from an event feeling proud of himself. He said, “It got me fired up.” Never doubt the value of investing in yourself, whether that means taking a special meeting or attending a conference, seminar/webinar, or Buy (and read) a book. You're not being selfish. You're empowering yourself to see beyond your day to day and into the future. Instead of doing things for everybody else all the time, it pays to invest in yourself…We will pay good money for our kids to get tutors at school, for music lessons, to join sports teams, to join clubs, and the like. We sign them up for activities that broaden their horizons. Yet, we don’t do it for ourselves. Why? It doesn’t have to cost money. Invest your time instead. Download a podcast. Watch a TED Talk etc. Failure to invest in ourselves can promote stagnation. We grow as we learn. Bet on yourself, invest in yourself and that investment will surely pay off! 

We rejoice with you if you were born in September. Wishing you all the blessings you are due for and good health all year round!

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

Eric Olusegun Thompson

YAJ.

 

 

Statement of strength and courage

Hello everybody! Eku deede iwoyi o!

Someone once said, ‘Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change’. Wow! What he was really saying to us is that life is not the lottery that we think it is where we're just waiting for our lucky day, our time, our moment, our number to come up. He said, I want you to understand that chance has very little to do with your life, or my life, being successful. It's all about being better because of the changes that we're making. And that's a choice. You see, I choose to change so that I can grow. Growth always means that there's a change in your life, and the author understood that when a crisis comes, it creates a lot of change within us. In fact, in times of crisis, we have the chance to go through 3 zones, 1. Fear zone, 2. Learning zone and 3. Growth zone. Don`t count your losses now, count your lessons, because they will help you grow internally and externally. But the writer said I want you to understand the right you have to choose to make the right changes in your life, and that determines how well you will survive, live through, and overcome that crisis. Put behind you what you can`t do but put before you what you can do such as learning a new skill. Put behind you the difficulties, but put before you the progress. Stay focused and your world will expand.

We celebrate with you, if your birthday is in August. We wish you and every one an Augustus visitation in the month. Congratulations!

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

Eric Olusegun Thompson

YAJ.

Statements of Encouragement 3

Eku deede iwoyi o! Good day everybody!

This month`s statement of encouragement is a sequel to last month`s as we are still in the middle and somehow experiencing the second wave. Robert Frost said; “the best way out is always through.” The tendency is that when we're going through difficulties, we don't think of going through. We think of turning around. We think of taking the nearest exits. In fact, we're looking around and saying, where's the exit sign? How do I get out of the mess? Because when we're in the mess, so many times, we aren't thinking big picture. We're just thinking, momentarily, of convenience. And if I think of momentary convenience for myself, I will always look for another way out of a difficult situation. A crisis like this helps us make a lot of adjustments, it also helps us appreciate things we have always been taking for granted. A crisis is part of life, in fact, one of my favorite quotes says “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me…” and the point is to keep moving i.e. go through the crisis with grace and hope.

What Robert Frost knew is this, what we focus on determines what we become. He says focus on finishing. Focus on getting all the way through. The moment we focus on finishing, we stop looking for the exits. We stop trying to make a U-turn. And we basically realize the best way to overcome any difficulty, or adversity in our life is to put our head down, suck it in, go straight to the end, and by the way, when you go straight to the end, that's the quickest way to get there. We celebrate with you if you were born in July. Wishing you another year of good health and accomplishments. Stay safe, stay strong, and stay healthy until we will be able to gather together again.

Eric Thompson

YAJ.