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

            globalstageimpacts@gmail.com