News
Opinion: The Power of Zero (Part 2)
By Tolulope A. Adegoke
Zero as Little Beginning
“The law of Effective Achievement states that, “being consistent in doing ‘mini’ on and on guarantees effective DOMINION. Little drops of water could make a mighty ocean. Don’t be too proud to start small, break that ego! never despise the days of little beginning”! – Tolulope A. Adegoke
Dear Readers,
Here is another important perspective from which we must consider this interesting subject. As individuals, we tend to overlook the foundations of little beginnings. We often do not want to start small. We forget that just as the number zero is a cogent number that requires work to make it significant, we need to work on our small beginning to make it great. As long as we keep working on it tirelessly in the right way, it will surely produce the desired results.
Whatever your calling or talent in life is, never despise the days of little beginnings. God Himself has promised, “And though thy beginning was small, yet thine end shall be very great” (Job 8:7). The zero beginning of today may become the biggest corporation of tomorrow. People who own the biggest companies today did not become successful when their businesses began to blossom; they became successful the day they conceived the ideas that made them successful. They were pregnant with ideas that were so rich that they yielded success when applied.
This must again prove to you that ‘zero’ is a very pregnant number that must not be underrated or undermined! To use the words of James Allen, “The greatest achievement was at first and for a time a dream. The oak sleeps in the acorn; the bird waits in the egg; and in the highest vision of the soul a waking angel stirs. Dreams are the seedlings of realities.”
A woman who gave birth today became pregnant immediately her fertilised egg was implanted in the lining of her uterus. It was the continuous nourishment and splitting of this little egg that resulted in the beautiful bouncing baby that was eventually born. That is the power of zero, the mother of all numbers!
Many young people today do not want to start small; they do not believe in the potentiality of zero, let alone igniting it. Yet the truth is that the power of zero starts manifesting – even when there is ‘nothing’ in your bank account – as soon as you conceive an idea that will eventually change your life when applied.
Let me quote James Allen again, “Your circumstances may be uncongenial, but they shall not long remain so if you but perceive an ideal and strive to reach it. You cannot travel within and stand still without. Here is a youth hard pressed by poverty and labour; confined long hours in an unhealthy workshop; unschooled, and lacking all the arts of refinement. But he dreams of better things: he thinks of intelligence, of refinement, of grace and beauty. He conceives of, mentally builds up, an ideal condition of life; the vision of a wider liberty and a larger scope takes possession of him; unrest urges him to action, and he utilises all his spare time and means, small though they are, to the development of his latent powers and resources. Very soon so altered has his mind become that the workshop can no longer hold him. It has become so out of harmony with his mentality that it falls out of his life as a garment is cast aside, and, with the growth of opportunities which fit the scope of his expanding powers, he passes out of it forever. Years later we see this youth as a full-grown man. We find him a master of certain forces of the mind which he wields with worldwide influence and almost unequalled power.”
Lessons from the Creator
Genesis 2:7 says, “And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” God made man, the crown of His creation, out of the dust of the earth – which was like an insignificant thing, a zero. First, He moulded the man into His desired shape and structure; and then He brought life into Him by breathing into him. He empowered him with His ‘breath’ to become a living being.
God did not underrate the power of the zero (that is, the dust of the earth). He knew that, with the right input and approach, a hero could emerge from the zero. And that was exactly what happened! God saw HOPE; He saw a bright future in mere dust. And that’s because He knew that nothing He created was useless – even the earth and its dust have many powerful potentials.
It is this same principle that worked for the creation of man that still works for re-creation through man. All of the inventions and breakthroughs that we see around emerged because some people decided to work on their seemingly insignificant ideas and dreams. This should let you know that no idea, dream or beginning is insignificant. And of course, most importantly, no individual is insignificant.
Let’s apply this in the workplace. You can never get the best out of any staff that you consider a dummy and never-do-well. What such a staff requires is relevant motivation, direction and impartation. It is the combined force of these approaches that will awaken the giant in the staff.
Even the best of your staff members must be constantly appreciated and rejuvenated with consistent trainings and motivating incentives. This process births the best out of them and propels them to deliver their very best and at the same time retain their loyalty to the organisation.
It is the same with youngsters in school. A student who is constantly rated zero would soon begin see himself as a failure; yet, in the real sense of it, he is not a failure because he, at least makes attempts – only that he is not able to perform up to expectation. As the case of Prof. Imafidon and others have revealed, that same child, if nurtured and bolstered with appropriate motivation, the zeal for success will be activated within him and this will enable him to take the required steps towards attaining excellence.
The student who scored zero in a test or examination has hope; at least, he made an attempt and could be better next time if he could work harder with the zeal to succeed. He is far better than someone who was absent for the test or who never made an attempt at all.
A Personal Experience
Before wrapping up this part, let me share my experience with you. I remember that when I was much younger, I often took the last position in school, until my story changed – mainly through the influence of my mother. My mother was a disciplinarian; yet, instead of beating the hell out of me whenever she saw my report card, she would draw me closer with words like: “I still believe in you! You can do better”. Her attitude always made me look at her with wonder and I would ask myself, “What kind of woman is this?”
It is now that I have come to realise that my mother used this approach because she understood the power of zero. Her motivations, calm words and constant efforts towards making me better sparked the desire to succeed in me. I found myself saying, “You must succeed and prosper, even if not for anyone else but for the sake of this woman…She believes in you so very much!” This mentality activated a lot of dead cells in me for excellence beyond human comprehension.
The effectiveness of this approach of my mother has tremendously contributed to shaping my belief in the boundless potentialities of zero. The law of effective achievement states that, being consistent in doing MINI on and on guarantees effective DOMINION. Little drops of water could make a mighty ocean. Don’t be too proud to start small, break that ego! never despise the days of little beginning!
I hope it further convinces you that you must never give up on yourself or anyone else, nor should you despise your little beginnings!
Watch out for the Book titled: “The Power of an Empowered Zero” (Awakening the Giant Within You) by Tolulope A. Adegoke. Foreword by Dr Yomi Garnett (CEO/Chancellor, Royal Biographical Institute, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania U.SA., U.K., Abuja, Nigeria.) Edited by Ola Aboderin.
Tolulope A. Adegoke is an acclaimed “globalpreneur”, with the mandate to enrich lives and provide the professional, spiritual, academic and leadership empowerment needed to birth, maximize and sustain possibilities in peoples, corporates and nations. He is a prolific writer, frequent keynote speaker and spoken word poet, among others, having written countless articles in diverse reputable fields and honoured many public invitations.
He is also a Senior Administrator.
Tolulope Adegoke can be booked for public events via the contacts below:
E-mail: adegoketolulope1022@gmail.com
By Henry Ukazu
Dear Destiny Friends,
What would be your answer if the question, ‘who is your source’ is thrown at you? Tough, right?
Let’s begin from the beginning. Source may mean different things to different people. For a spiritually minded person, source may mean divinity while for those in the academia, it is where they get their research information from. Again, in courtroom settings, opposing counsels are noted to verify evidence to ascertain their origin. Even judges sometimes insists on for the authenticity of documents before admitting them as evidence. Even a child looks upon his/her parents as their source. Source therefore, can refer to the origin, or emanating point of a particular thing, action or activity. It can be that quality, trait or character that sets one apart and draws other things his way.
Somebody’s source can be his money, charming smiles, lovely voice, or even their access. The source varies depending on the aisle one belongs.
It must be said however, that the fastest way to destroy someone is to silence their source. For instance, the earning power of a man is seen as his bargaining power. So, if someone wants to frustrate him, they can tackle his business or job. Just like if someone wants to frustrate a child, the target will be the child’s parents because they know if the parents are down, it might affect the child.
As humans, sometimes we depend on our parents, mentors, friends, boss, husband, wife, children, siblings, leaders, benefactors, lecturers or men of God for support. Don’t get me wrong, all these are great support, but they are not the main support we need as human beings to go to the next level of life. They are all relative support one needs to thrive.
Source is like a trade secret. Nobody tells anyone what their secret is. Those, who have distinguished themselves in their particular fields might refer to God as their strength, but would surely remain silent as to the extra work they put in to get to where they are.
Let me give you a practical example; as a published author I can authoritatively tell you that God has been extremely kind to me. My books have opened doors for me, they has connected me to lots of resourceful people in addition to providing opportunities for which has brought value to my business. An ordinary man on the street will think I have been favored specially; some might even say I’m lucky or I’m a blessed man. But the truth is that I did my part. So, despite all my attributed and perceived success, I will tell you God did it for me. Again, remember, if I had not taken the time to write the manuscripts and have them published, networked with the right people, maybe I wouldn’t have gotten the opportunities I have received in recent times.
The moral is that everyone has a source, but not everyone is bold enough to tell you their source, but I can boldly tell you my source is God.
There was an interesting story I recently watched on social media where Pastor Mildred Okonkwo shared a true-life story about her marital life. According to her, despite Pastor Kingsley always being on television preaching and receiving ovations, she and her husband (Pastor Kingsley Okonkwo) were living in poverty to the extent that sometimes, they don’t have food to eat.
Sometimes, they had to manage to squeeze the tube together to get paste to brush their teeth and when that wasn’t enough, she had to use her kitchen skills to cut the container to scoop paste. She further stated that the situation degenerated to the extent they had to join crumbs of soaps together before they could get a decent bath. That was how bad it was.
This is where it gets interesting; she stated that she came from a family of those, who marry broke men. The situation was literally depressing. It made her take a deep breath to ascertain if that was going be her new reality. Her pensive mood was activated, and she asked herself for how long she would continue to live like this. Many thoughts were running through her mind. During one of her meditative moments, she got a revelation, she would be putting too much pressure on her husband, and it wouldn’t save the situation because her husband is not her source. God is her source.
When she came to that realization, she began to seek the face of God for blessings upon their family. It was at that moment she realized, as human beings we carry the blessings. This is the reality of most women. Most times in marriage, people put the burden and enrichment of their life on their husband instead of looking up to God, and within themselves. Who told you, you can’t make money as a person? The man you are looking up to doesn’t have two heads, four legs nor does he have four eyes, four hands, or fours ears.
It’s sad to note that sometimes most women think a man will take care of them; this mindset limits their creative abilities and possibilities because they think their is limited or may never come if a man doesn’t marry them.
It’s instructive to note that men and money don’t make people rich, rather it is the blessings of men and money that make us rich. Just like your salary doesn’t make you rich, rather the blessing on your salary makes you rich. One maybe wondering how this works; when one receives blessings from their parents, mentors, benefactors, boss, or even strangers who are beneficiary of their good deeds, that blessings have a way of positively affecting their lives in such a way that whatever the person lays his hands on will be fruitful. This is a typical example of how source works because the original blessing has manifested.
In conclusion, I will ask you, what’s your source? Take time to ask yourself, what am I you working on? Who can assist me to get to the next level? What is the requirement(s)? When these are figured out, take time to nourish and preserve them because one’s source is his power.
Henry Ukazu writes from New York. He works with the New York City Department of Correction as the Legal Coordinator. He’s the founder of Gloemi. He’s a Transformative Human Capacity and Mindset coach. He is also a public speaker, youth advocate, creative writer and author of Design Your Destiny Design and Unleash Your Destiny . He can be reached via info@gloemi.com
Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday began delivering judgment in the long-running terrorism trial of Indigenous People of Biafra leader Nnamdi Kanu in the defendant’s absence.
The judge ordered that the proceedings continue without Kanu after describing his behaviour in court as unruly.
The decision followed the dismissal of three fresh motions filed by the IPOB leader, which the court deemed unmeritorious.
Kanu had interjected during the ruling, insisting that the court could not proceed as he had not filed his final written address.
He accused Justice Omotosho of bias and claimed that the judge lacked understanding of the law.
After a brief recess, the prosecution, led by Adegboyega Awomolo, urged the court to continue the trial without Kanu, citing his disruptive conduct.
Justice Omotosho stated that while a defendant has a constitutional right to be present during trial, repeated misconduct can allow proceedings to continue in their absence.
“If a defendant misconducts himself or acts in an unruly manner during the course of his trial, his trial can be conducted in his absence,” he said.
He added that the Court of Justice is a temple of God.
He noted that Kanu’s unruly attitude was not new, as he had previously exhibited similar behaviour several times in the past.
The judge added that Kanu had indicated he would not present a defence, and that Thursday’s session was for judgment and possible sentencing.
Following the order, Kanu was removed from the courtroom, and the judge proceeded with delivering the ruling.
