Labrinth feat. Emeli Sande - Beneath Your Beautiful

 
Fell in love with this song the moment I heard it which is quite strange since it is not my usual fast-tempo kind of music. 

Thought to share, for those that have not seen or heard it before.

Enjoy :)

Six Vital Lessons

Hello Peeps,

For your reading pleasure, enjoy and do have a productive week ahead:

Lesson 1:
A man is getting into the shower just as his wife is finishing up her shower, when the doorbell rings. The wife quickly wraps herself in a towel and runs downstairs. When she opens the door, there stands Bob, the next-door neighbor.

Before she says a word, Bob says, "I'll give you $800 to drop that towel."

After thinking for a moment, the woman drops her towel and stands naked in front of Bob.

After a few seconds, Bob hands her $800 and leaves.

The woman wraps back up in the towel and goes back upstairs. When she gets to the bathroom, her husband asks, "Who was that?" "It was Bob the next door neighbor," she replies.

"Great!" the husband says, "did he say anything about the $800 he owes me?"

Moral of the story:
If you share critical information pertaining to credit and risk with your shareholders in time, you may be in a position to prevent avoidable exposure.

Lesson 2:
A priest offered a Nun a lift. She got in and crossed her legs, forcing her gown to reveal a leg. The priest nearly had an accident. After controlling the car, he stealthily slid his hand up her leg.
The nun said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?"

The priest removed his hand. But, changing gears, he let his hand slide up her leg again. The nun once again said, "Father, remember Psalm 129?" The priest apologized "Sorry sister but the flesh is weak."

Arriving at the convent, the nun sighed heavily and went on her way.

On his arrival at the church, the priest rushed to look up Psalm 129. It said, "Go forth and seek, further up, you will find glory."

Moral of the story:
If you are not well informed in your job, opportunities for advancement will pass right by you.

Lesson 3:
A sales rep, an administration clerk, and the manager are walking to lunch when they find an antique oil lamp. They rub it and a Genie comes out. The Genie says, "I'll give each of you just one wish."

"Me first! Me first!" says the admin clerk. "I want to be in the Bahamas, driving a speedboat, without a care in the world." Puff! She's gone.

"Me next! Me next!" says the sales rep. "I want to be in Hawaii , relaxing on the beach with my personal masseuse, an endless supply of Pina Coladas and the love of my life." Puff! He's gone.

"OK, you're up," the Genie says to the manager. The manager says, "I want those two back in the office after lunch."

Moral of the story:
Always let your boss have the first say.

Lesson 4:
An eagle was sitting on a tree resting, doing nothing. A small rabbit saw the eagle and asked him, "Can I also sit like you and do nothing?"

The eagle answered: "Sure , why not."

So, the rabbit sat on the ground below the eagle and rested. All of a sudden, a fox appeared, jumped on the rabbit and ate it.

Moral of the story:
To be sitting and doing nothing, you must be sitting very, very high up.

Lesson 5:
A turkey was chatting with a bull. "I would love to be able to get to the top of that tree," sighed the turkey, "but I haven't got the energy."

"Well, why don't you nibble on some of my droppings?" replied the bull. They're packed with nutrients."

The turkey pecked at a lump of dung, and found it actually gave him enough strength to reach the lowest branch of the tree. The next day, after eating some more dung, he reached the second branch.

Finally after a fourth night, the turkey was proudly perched at the top of the tree. He was promptly spotted by a farmer, who shot him out of the tree.

Moral of the story:
Bull shit might get you to the top, but it won't keep you there.

Lesson 6:
A little bird was flying south for the Winter. It was so cold the bird froze and fell to the ground into a large field. While he was lying there, a cow came by and shit on him.

As the frozen bird lay there in the pile of cow dung, he began to realize how warm he was. The dung was actually thawing him out! He lay there all warm and happy, and soon began to sing for joy.

A passing cat heard the bird singing and came to investigate. Following the sound, the cat discovered the bird under the pile of cow dung, and promptly dug him out and ate him.

Morals of the story:
(1) Not everyone who shits on you is your enemy.
(2) Not everyone who gets you out of shit is your friend.
(3) And when you're in deep shit, it's best to keep your mouth shut!

Gratitude

Hello Peeps,

Just saw this post and thought to share, it reminds me of how “ungrateful” we get sometimes and how hard it is for us, as humans, to be unconditionally grateful to God.

Enjoy:

A CONVERSATION WITH GOD
Me:  God, can I ask You a question?
God: Sure.
Me:   Promise You won't get mad ... ... ...
God: I promise.
Me:  Why did You let so much stuff happen to me today?
God: What do you mean?
Me:  Well, I woke up late.
God: Yes.
Me:   My car took forever to start.
God: Okay.
Me:  At lunch they made my sandwich wrong and I had to wait.
God: Hmmm...
Me:  On the way home, my phone went DEAD, just as I picked up a call.
God: All right.
Me:  And on top of it all, when I got home ~I just wanted to soak my feet in my new foot massager & relax. BUT it wouldn't work!!! Nothing went right today! Why did You do that?.
God: Let me see, the Angel of Death was at your bed this morning & I had to send one of my Angels to battle him for your life. I let you sleep through that.
Me (humbled): OH
God: I didn't let your car start because there was a drunk driver on your route that would have hit you if you were on the road.
Me: (ashamed).
God: The first person who was supposed to make your sandwich today is sick and I didn't want you to catch what he has, I knew you couldn't afford to be sick and miss work.
Me (embarrassed): Okay.
God: Your phone went dead because the person that was calling was going to give a false report of what you said on that call, I didn't even let you talk to them so you would be covered.
Me (softly): I see God
God: Oh and that foot massager, it had a shortage that was going to turn off all of the power in your house tonight. I didn't think you wanted to be in the dark.
Me: I'm Sorry God.
God: Don't be sorry, just learn to Trust Me.... in All things , the Good & the Bad.
Me: I will trust You.
God: And don't doubt that My plan for your day is Always Better than your plan.
Me: I won't God and let me just tell you God; Thank You for everything today.
God: You're welcome child. It was just another day being your God and I Love looking after My Children...:).

“An Attitude of Gratitude increases your Altitude” :)

Gentle Wahala

Hello Dudes and Dudedets,

So something happened on Saturday that am itching to share and then get "your" opinions.

First of all, it was a great day because I saw two best friends get married (Julie Amafah and Alex Attah) and it was ohhh so lovely and fun-filled :).

While I was basking in this happiness and carrying out my "bridesmaid" duties, a young bloke walked up to me and the following conversation ensued:

"Excuse me, someone asked me to give this to you" the bloke said while pulling out a complimentary card from his pocket.

My first reaction was shock then it slowly ebbed to mild irritation, like really what happened to the "old fashion" way of guys walking up to girls and asking them out or at least delivering the "love letter" (infused with his best perfume...lol) himself?. Am not saying every guy does this but it is getting quite rampant especially in Abuja and I just wonder why???.

So back to the conversation...
"Hmmmmm...I will try not to be rude to you but can you go back to the person that sent you and give him back his complimentary card" I said as calmly as I could manage.

"Ahhhh..stop acting proud now and just collect the card, he even asked me to collect your number" the bloke insisted.

At this point it took all my strength to hold it in, I was so irritated...now am being proud for refusing to collect a guy's complimentary card delivered by a "messenger" and then to add to it all, am supposed to hand over my number and probably say; “please ask your Oga to call me ko"...smh.

"Bros, please go back to the person that sent you, if he wants to talk to me, he should come and meet me himself, end of story" I said and turned around before the bloke asks me to "frog jump" for refusing his "Oga's" request.

Luckily for his sake and my sake too, he went back to his master, but I have been wondering and can't help asking:

Is this the new trend of "toasting"? Is it a sign of authority and "big boyrism" for the "sender"? Abi, is the number of courageous guys especially in Abuja slowly dwindling?.

Please shed more light.

Weekend Quotes

When a new day begins, dare to smile gratefully.
When it seems cloudy, dare to be the first to shine a light.

When there is injustice, dare to be the one who makes it right.
When life seems to beat you down, dare to fight back.

When there seems to be no hope, dare to find some.
When you are feeling tired, dare to keep going.

When times are tough, dare to be tougher.
When love hurts, dare to love again.

When someone is hurting, dare to help them heal.
When another is lost, dare to help them find their way.

When a friend falls, dare to be the first to extend a hand.
When you cross paths with another, dare to make them smile.

When you feel great, dare to help someone else feel great too.
When the day has ended, dare to feel as you've done your best.

Dare to be the best you can.
At all times, Dare to be!!!.

- Steve Maraboli

TGIF...Do have a fun-filled weekend.

Smile

Gifted hands

Sometimes life’s lessons can be gleaned from little and seemly inconsequential events, such as reading a very good book or watching a wonderful movie. Yes, they say “experience is the best teacher”, but I guess there is no harm in learning from someone else’s experience and that is what the inspirational book that has also been made into a movie titled Gifted Hands does.

It teaches you vital life lessons which is believable, since it is a true story, as it depicts what a person can accomplish through hard work, dedication, and believing that anything is possible if you put your mind to it. 

The story focuses on the life of a Pediatric Neurosurgeon; Dr. Benjamin Carson, who not only went against all odds to become the first Pediatric Neurosurgeon to perform a Hemispherectomy but also went through a childhood filled with anger, racism and low self-esteem.

But with love and constant encouragement from his Mother, who had insecurities of her own, and his unwavering faith in God he turned out to be greater than he had ever imagined.

Gifted hands by Ben Carson is a book/movie for those who are plagued with insecurities, anger and the fear of trying.

Enjoy either reading the book or watching the movie. It’s worth your time.

The Trailer:

Society or Not

So the other day I was gisting with a friend, one gist led to another and we got talking about the "general" notion that men are created with a certain "gene" that makes them liable to cheat and this act (wrong or right...I won't say) is widely acceptable in most societies especially in Africa; where a man is free to "sow his wild oats from Niger to Chad".

This "gist" got me thinking because according to my friend; "that's how they (men) are all wired and we (women) are expected to accept them like that", she said in a resigned tone. Well, I won't say exactly what I told her but our opinions definitely differ especially the "acceptance" part. I may sound like a feminist but really people, let's call a "spade a spade".

If as a young vibrant man who is in a exclusive relationship or is married and the urge to "cheat" strikes you, don't blame it on the society....take "credit" for your actions, its either you have alot of "love" to spread around as per "da love machine", "konji" is catching you or you just hate that word called "commitment". Don't blame it on the poor society that has no solid representative, abi has anyone ever seen a child called "society"?.

In my humble opinion, I think people "generalize" things or put the blame on the "society" when they know the action they are involved in has negative connotations. If the society is to be blamed for every "general" action, then why doesn't anybody say its natural for a young man to yearn for success despite unemployment issues? How come nobody says a young African male should grow up with the urge to be responsible and goal-driven?. Nope, I guess that's not the "societal" way of thinking.

The "societal" way of thinking is:

1) Every man is born with the urge to be unfaithful and he will most likely satisfy that urge either in his early years or when he is sixty years old with a young "grand daughter" calling him "baby".

2) 90% of the girls in Abuja are "runz babes", it is unthinkable for a young girl to work hard, pay her rent and buy herself a good ride. Nahh,one aristo must be responsible and it is ok, because that's "Abuja life" for you.

3) Igbo people are so money driven that they can sell themselves just for profit and it's ok, besides he/she is an igbo person and the "society" expects and accepts this action.

I can go on and on, but am sure we get the drift. When are we going to learn to stand as individuals, each person responsible for his/her own actions, strong enough to say "I did it because I felt like doing" and not because "na the usual thing" or (my favourite") "the devil caused it" (wonder how people communicate with the devil so effectively...smh).

Give the "society" a break and be your own regulator, everyone is free to differ with my opinion as long as they have met a dude or a babe called "society".

Until then...I choose to draw a clean and straight line between my actions and what the "society" expects from me.

Sweet Mother

Dedicating this lovely quote to all the extraordinary moms out there especially my big sister who just took her first “baby” steps into motherhood.

Mothers = Diamonds (They are forever).

Lecrae – Tell the World feat. Mali Music

Another lovely track featuring my favorite artist, Mali Music :).

"Tell the World, Tell it Everywhere I Go...Am a Bill Board, Am Brand New"

Enjoy:

Time : Simi and Akin

It was a bright sunny day, everything seemed fine to Simi, she walked with a certain gait in her steps, thinking of all the endless possibilities life has in store for her. At this stage of her life, she had absolutely nothing to worry about everything seemed to fit in perfectly except one glitch in her "bucket list"; she assumed she would be happily married by now and when she closes her eyes at night, she feels a certain sense of panic; "what if I never meet the right guy", "what if I become an old spinster, alone and miserable", "what if..." and more "what ifs...", she goes through this cycle till she finally drifts off.

But on this day, she felt good, probably out of denial or just the fact that she had chosen to accept her lot, either way, she breezed into her office with a huge smile on her face and greeted everyone with extra joy. Just as she was about to settle into the day’s work, a young gentleman steps into her Office and unknowingly to them this was about to become a new chapter in their lives.

"Good Morning, I was directed to see a Miss Adeyemi, I have to make some enquires" Akin said. In an effort to act like she wasn't impressed by his looks, Simi kept her face as bland as ever but she had taken note of how good Akin looked and liked what she saw. "Welcome Sir, please sit down, I am Miss Adeyemi, what can I do for you?". After several minutes of talking about the benefits of her Company's Insurance Policies, Akin seemed satisfied and promised to come back the next day.

Even though Simi tried to block out the image of Akin in her head long after the brief interaction, it kept coming up at strange times. The next day, she took extra care in applying her make-up and choosing her outfit for the day but kept convincing herself that she was not doing it because of the fact that Akin will be coming back that day. At the end of the day, she had stopped lying to herself, Akin never showed up that day and she felt disappointed, all the make-up for nothing :(. 

A week later, Akin’s image had already started dwindling and she was getting back to her normal state of mind, she was just about to step out for lunch when she heard a soft knock at her door, "Come in", she said reluctantly, she was quite hungry at this point but the hunger vanished when she saw who it was, "Hello Miss Adeyemi, sorry for not coming back the next day as I promised, I had to travel, can we carry out the necessary transactions today?". "Sure, you don’t have to apologize, I even forgot we had an appointment the next day" Simi lied. 

After an hour, the transaction was completed and it was time for Akin to leave, unknown to Simi, Akin has been thinking of how to ask her for number, even though he was a ladies man for some unknown reason he felt shy and unsure of himself around this lady, he was being absolutely careful not to mess things up but he knew that this would be the end if he doesn’t make a move now, besides it will either be a "yes" or a "no", where is the harm in that. With this pep talk, Akin summoned the courage and said "hmmmmm...I hope you don’t take this the wrong way, but I would like to have your number and keep in touch with you outside your Office, maybe we can go for lunch sometime, that is if you don’t mind" Akin said (his mind kept hammering; please say yes!!!). Simi was taken aback, she knew she was fine and attractive but she never thought he had an interest in her since he was behaving all business-like from the onset, she was already dancing azonto in her head, but she had to play it cool, "Well, I don’t really like giving strangers my number but since you are now our client, I don’t see any harm in having lunch with you, you can have my number, it’s 080...". She didn’t have to call it out twice, Akin as a sharp boy had stored the number quickly. "Thanks Simi, I guess I can call you that now, I will give you a call later, enjoy the rest of your day" Akin said with a huge smile on his face, "You are welcome, alright later then" Simi said , feigning disinterest despite the butterflies doing Etigi in her tummy. 

A year down the lane, a "harmless lunch" had led to a serious relationship, everything seemed perfect, Simi had met Akin's family and friends and everyone seemed supportive of the relationship. She had already envisioned her three kids having Akin's handsome smile, even though he hadn’t proposed yet, they had talked about marriage a few times and they both seemed to be in tandem with spending the rest of their lives together until the 2nd of February, 2015; that day will be etched in Simi's heart forever.

As usual, Akin dropped her off at work and promised to come and get her later in the day. The day proceeded relatively well even though for some unknown reason she felt funny, she couldn’t shake off the feeling that something was going to happen that day, she prayed about it for a bit and forced herself to concentrate on the day's tasks. At 6:30pm, she was already getting worried, she had tried Akin's number several times but got no response, she decided to take a cab home instead since it was already getting dark. She got home and continued trying his number, at this time she was already panicking because this was not her usual Akin, he always took her needs seriously and called if he was going to be tied up in the Office. Just when she was about to call his elder brother, her phone rang, it was Akin calling she felt so relived, she started talking as soon as she picked up, "Baby, thank God you are alright, I have been trying your number all day and got so worried, are you still in the Office, I hope all is well?" She gushed out. There was silence at the other end of the line before a strange male voice said, "Hello, am sorry, I picked up this phone at the scene of an accident, it has been ringing all day and I didn’t know how to pick up and inform the caller about what happened" the stranger said. At this point, several thoughts were running through Simi's head and all she heard was the word "accident", "Am sorry, did you say accident, where is Akin? is he in a hospital? what's the name of the hospital? is he alright?" she asked hysterically, "Am so sorry, he died while we were rushing him to the hospital, his body is presently at the morgue in Maitama General Hospital" the stranger said, "I am currently in the hospital, I can wait for you to come down before I leave" he added. 

At that moment everything seemed like a dream to Simi, she clearly imagined how Leonardo DiCaprio felt in Inception, she was praying someone would tap her and bring her out of this nightmare. She couldn’t remember how she was able to call up Adaora, her best friend, to take her to the morgue or even remember how Akin's siblings came to meet her staring blankly at the man that she had come to love like the air she breathes, all she could think of was their last moment together; "Why didn’t I hug him tighter", "Why didn’t I tell him I love you more often", "Why did we even quarrel over trivial things last night", "why, why, why...." and all she got in response was silence, it was too late, her Akin was gone forever. 

The pain was unbearable and she thought there couldn’t be more pain until she saw his coffin being lowered down into the earth several weeks later, her life as she knew it had ended and she hadn’t gotten the opportunity to show Akin how much she adored and appreciated him, she assumed since he knew how she felt, there was no need saying it. Now it was too late, the words she never said and the hurtful words they said in the heat of anger will hunt her forever.

The End.

"Say what you feel, when you feel it, and how you feel it"

Weekend Quote

Something for us to digest in our moment of solitude this weekend and as we struggle with our fears in our day to day living: 

Enjoy:

“Our deepest fears is not that we are inadequate, our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, “Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented and fabulous?”. Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the World. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won’t feel insecure around you. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us. It is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others” – Nelson Mandela

TGIF :)

How To Succeed at Being Yourself by Joyce Meyer

A lovely article by Joyce Meyer, I think it makes perfect sense and decided to share.

Do enjoy reading it: 

It's tough to enjoy life when you don't like yourself. People who haven't learned to accept and get along with themselves tend to have more difficulty accepting and getting along with others. Yet, the Bible repeatedly tells us to "love your neighbor as yourself." I personally spent years having a hard time getting along with people, until I finally realized through the Word of God how my difficulty with other people was actually "rooted" in my difficulties with myself. 

The Bible says a good tree will bear good fruit, and a rotten tree will bear rotten fruit. Likewise, the "fruit" of our lives comes from the "root" within us. If you're rooted in shame, guilt, inferiority, rejection, lack of love and acceptance, etc., the fruit of your relationships will suffer. However, once you have a revelation of God's unconditional love for you and begin to accept yourself and others, eventually these new roots will produce good fruit, and your relationships will thrive.

Here are a few tips I believe will help you succeed at being yourself:

1. Never say or think negative things about yourself, such as, "I never do anything right." "I'll never change." "I'm ugly." "I look terrible." "I'm dumb." "Who could ever love me?" Matthew 12:37 says, ...by your words you will be justified..., and by your words you will be condemned…. Proverbs 23:7 says, …as [a man] thinketh in his heart, so is he. In other words, the way we talk and think about ourselves reveals how we feel about ourselves. 

2. Speak good things about yourself (as private confessions) in line with what the Word says about you. For example: "I am the righteousness of God in Christ." "I am made acceptable in the Beloved." "God created me and formed me with His own hands, and God doesn't make mistakes." I like starting the day making good confessions. Perhaps you can do this while you're driving to work or cleaning house. I also encourage you to look in the mirror and say out loud, "God loves and accepts you, and so do I." You may even try hugging yourself. This is beneficial to people who have lacked love and acceptance in their lives. 

3. Never compare yourself with other people. God must love variety or He wouldn't have created us all differently—even down to our fingerprints. You'll never succeed at being yourself if you're trying to be like someone else. Other people can be a good example to you, but duplicating even their good traits will manifest differently through your individual personality. 

4. Focus on your potential instead of your limitations. Actress Helen Hayes was told early in her career that if she were four inches taller she'd be the greatest actress of her time. Her coaches tried various methods of stretching her, but nothing increased her height. She refused to concentrate on the supposed limitation of being five feet tall and decided to concentrate on her potential. As a result, she was eventually cast as Mary, Queen of Scotland—one of the tallest queens who ever lived. 

5. Find something you like to do that you do well, and do it over and over. If you spend your time doing things you're not good at, it'll frustrate you and cause you to feel defeated and unsuccessful. 

6. Have the courage to be different and deal with criticism. Be a God-pleaser, not a man-pleaser (see Galatians 1:10). If you dare to be different, you'll have to expect some criticism. Going along with the crowd—when you know in your heart God's leading you a different way—is one reason people don't succeed at being themselves. You won't like yourself very much if you go against your own convictions.

7. Don't let the way another person treats you determine your worth.

8. Keep your flaws in perspective. People with a high level of confidence have just as many weaknesses as people without confidence, but they concentrate on their strengths—not their flaws or weaknesses. 

In conclusion, let me remind you of my opening statement: It's tough to enjoy life when you don't like yourself. When you learn to succeed at being yourself, you'll be well on your way to enjoying life more fully.

---

This article is taken from Joyce's book, How to Succeed at Being Yourself.

New Year

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Happy Birthday to Moi :). I turned a year younger older yesterday and it felt really good knowing God deemed it fit to keep and sustain me for ----- years on earth, indeed He is worthy to be praised (OluwaTosin).

Corner Stones

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Seeing the smiles on the faces of the children above, it would be hard to imagine that they were abandoned by people delegated by God  to care for them :(. Those were the thoughts that went through my head while I was at an Orphanage recently (Abuja Children's Home – visit sometime :)) and those thoughts have been filtering in and out of my head all week; Why go through the hassle of carrying a child for nine months, go through the pains of child birth and then give that same child up?...I still can't comprehend it. 

It's really heart shattering when you visit these kids and all they do is hold on tightly to you, craving the love and affection that almost everyone who grew up in an average family takes for granted.  I am not an advocate of abortions but what makes a person who commits abortion at the early stage of pregnancy different from someone who carries it full term and then dumps the child in a dumpster?. What is the huge difference? *confused face*, because in my humble opinion, I think they are very closely related; the difference maybe that in the first instance you have to come to terms with the fact that you "killed" a fetus while in the second instance you live with  an illusion and in an absolute state of denial, thinking a good Samaritan will pick the child up from the dumpster *raised eyebrow*. What if the child dies, is that not the same as "killing" a child?.

I can go on and on with my questions :), but the major thing I and a lot of people (I guess) would want to know is why give up on something you spent nine months of your life nurturing?. Why?

PS: Deviating just a little from my line of questioning :), I would like to suggest that we create a little time out of our verrrryyyy busy schedules to visit these places (Orphanages) from time to time. Trust me, you will feel like a million bucks for putting that smile on the faces of these children, try it…it won’t hurt and they don’t bite :).

“At the end of life we will not be judged by how many diplomas we have received, how much money we have made, how many great things we have done.

We will be judged by 'I was hungry and you gave me to eat, I was naked and you clothed me, I was homeless and you took me in.'

Hungry not only for bread -- but hungry for love. Naked not only for clothing -- but naked for human dignity and respect. Homeless not only for want of a room of bricks -- but homeless because of rejection” - Mother Teresa

“I expect to pass through this world but once; any good thing therefore that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer or neglect it, for I shall not pass this way again” - Stephen Grellet

Smile.