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.

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