ONYINYE'S MIRROR ON LIFE |
Onyinye Oyedele | Tuesday, July 4, 2006 |
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[email protected] Ontario, Canada | ANNOUNCE THIS ARTICLE TO YOUR FRIENDS |
VISION---------------------WHAT DO YOU SEE?
Join us, come with us
We are on our way,
Education for all by the year 2000.
wonder how many of us can remember the above song. I heard it on TV (NTA), in the 90's just as we approached the year 2000. I sang it and I believed so much in what I heard. You mean by the year 2000, we will have free education for all in Nigeria? Then I heard another mission---- "Vision 2010"! Different committees were set up and big names from various sectors of the economy were called to make strategic plans. The year 2010 is four years away----is the vision still strong? What will be delivered when that year comes? I still believe in the ideas of that vision. Just the way I happily sang the above song. Now, we have vision 20-20-20! To make Nigeria one of the top '20'strong economies, by the year 2020. These visions give us hope that we are moving forward. There is something that those at the top can see and I hope that they will achieve it. Let us join in making it a reality.
Vision is a vital tool in life. You can call it being focused, staying on course, having a dream, having a purpose or having a passion in life. It is having a direction, a map for your destination. The issue is not getting there smoothly, it is more about if you get lost along the way, how do you know? How do you retrace your steps? Staying focused can be one of the most difficult things in life because there are so many things to distract you. Try closing your eyes and thinking of one thing at a time! So many images are struggling to take over your thoughts! But in the midst of all the distractions, if you try hard enough, you will see just what you want to see. So where do you want to be a few years from now?
We all have the ability to dream or have a vision. Rich or poor, you can still nurture a dream. Small or big, you can have a plan, it does not have to be something that will amaze the world, it can be about living a godly life and passing it on to your children. It can be your intimate personal goals that have nothing to do with the world's standard of success. It can be just waking up each day and saying---- "today, I will be happy and I will make someone else happy too". Sometimes we think the term vision is so big, that we should not mention it. It sounds like being in a trance or something reserved for special people. So we leave it for presidents, executives, athletes and pastors/prophets. Let them dream. But when you think of vision as something you can do--- little steps, it is a starting point. Then you can project it into bigger things for your life. Sometimes you could become so obsessed with being or doing something great, or even being famous, that you forget to be unique where you are right now.
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One new terminology that I hear quite a lot out here is "Taking a year out". It is a case where students take a break for a year, from school maybe to travel or just go and do unrelated work experience. Or make some money. For some people, it might help to refocus but for some others, it may sap away your drive and energy to continue studying. A school related work placement, internship or industrial training is fine and you might even get credits for that. But I think any other leisure traveling to explore the world can wait! It would be ideal to hang in there with the rest of your classmates and get the job done now. Have the sleepless nights and suffer now. Back home, the only prayer was "oh please let ASUU not go on strike oh". We all hung in there and finished the course. And you really never heard people dropping out of school--what will you tell your parents? They will use a cane to chase you right into your classroom! Out here there is so much to distract you! Even your part-time job could be a distraction so you have to really strike a balance. What do you want? A good grade with a good job in future or poor grades with temporary pay checks from part time jobs? It is a tough call, but if you have signed up for that degree, it will need a lot of hard work and sacrifices. You appreciate more what you have worked for so stay focused.
On the business level, I have walked into some hair salons and I thought I just entered a mini shopping mall! It is a beehive of activities unrelated to the main concept of the shop---hair dressing! Jewelry, clothes, movie sale/ rental, shoes and handbags, cosmetics, books, money transfer, and phone cards adorn the shelves and shop floor. It is fine to sell hair-related products but I think the main focus should be on hair dressing and how to make your customers feel relaxed when they come to your shop----Space is the key here. If you must succeed in your business, you have to focus and develop in one area and be extremely good at it.
When you look at the world that we live in, you will understand that it not an accident. Someone with a vision put things in place for us. If you also look at people who are making impact in the world today, they are men and women with strong visions. A vision may not just be for your lifetime, maybe you have been called to lay the foundation for the next generation. So whatever your role is, play it well. Sometimes we give our vision a time line and we get discouraged when we get there and we have not yet accomplished it. The issue really is doing the best you can while you can. Taking advantage of your youthfulness and understanding the time and seasons of your life, is important. There are some achievements that are better done earlier in life when you have fewer distractions. However, we should carry what we can handle at a particular time.
--------------------------Their old men shall dream and their young men shall have visions.