MY CHARGE TO THE 13TH SET

Hello Regal Eagle, Welcome to the Skies!

There's an innate desire in everyone of us to leave footprints in life. There's a longing to add value to the next person beside us with our resources. Now that you have scaled a major hurdle in your journey towards meaningfulness and significance, it's important that you are equipped with the forces that enable you to make impact in life.

"Where do you see yourself making your utmost contribution to life?" That was one life transforming question Dr. David Oyedepo asked the early sets of students at Covenant University. That question led many to the point of discovery of purpose, potential, plans and programmes. An attempt to respond to that question led to pursuit of impact in life.

As you graduate and commence your journey into your next phase in life, I will share with you what I consider vital to the success of your quests.

1. TALENT: You must take advantage of your capacity to produce results. You must leverage on your brilliance to render phenomenal service and products to the society. The challenges that we see today are great opportunities for you to express your aptitude and gifts. The society needs to experience the expression of your skill and cleverness. Your genius is waiting for manifestation. Your great artistry is likely the solution to the gloom that pervades certain sectors of the Nigerian economy. Walk away from clumsiness and show forth your dexterity. Work more on yourself than on your job because as you do so, the work gets easier as you get better. Your competence is required to excel therefore pay attention to personal development. Never pray that your job gets easier rather work on yourself to get better.
2. TEAM: You must build a network of resourceful people. You must consciously cultivate interactions and engagements with people for specific purposes. Build a relationship with people that share similar interests with yours based on principles and not on sentiments. Your team should be a group of people that provide support for one another. You must relate with people that you can draw strength from to make up for your weakness. Get yourself on platforms where you can share and draw beneficial information from people. Be intentional about getting yourself into the company of people that promote the exchange of meaningful services that advances the cause of humanity. Note that the worth of your network is determined by your inquiries with the network. You may never know what you have until you ask those you know. Don't be silent in any association you find yourself in because many people suffer because they don't know what their network can offer.
3. TECHNIQUE: You must be deliberate and intentionally strategic in your aspirations to the point of attaining results. You must have approaches for carrying out your tasks. One approach doesn't fit all tasks. We live in an era of extreme diversities that will require unique strategies to meeting their needs. Execute your duty in a way that you maximise resources and minimise losses and wastage. Improve your skills and proficiency in handling assignments committed into your care. Endeavour to engage often on your obligations because it is practice that converts a novice to a master from being an apprentice. Your labour must empower others not just because you have a vision or have set worthy goals but because you know how to get the vision and goals realised. Design processes that enhance the accuracy and quality of your results. No matter how your results are viewed, ensure that you have attained it in style so your uniqueness can be revealed to all. If you follow the crowd, you will not soar in the cloud. Your technique is what makes you unique.
4. TECHNOLOGY: Leverage on technology to accelerate processes and enable accuracy. Let technology aid your activity and productivity. Engage technology to advance humanity and not stifle her prosperity. Get familiar with devices and information technology tools that will facilitate your learning and personal development. There abound a lot of temptations with the use of technology hence the need for discipline becomes paramount in the times that you find yourself in. Use technology to maximise time and your resources. Use technology to access information that can give you an edge in this competitive world that we live in. Be aware of the things that technology is impacting in other areas of life.
5. THOUGHT: As you go into the world, you must note clearly that your thoughts are the producers of your experiences. The things you think about will surround your life simply because your life will gravitate towards your most dominant thoughts. Your thoughts are seeds that grow when given attention through deep contemplation and meditation. Focus your mind on things that build your capacity not the one that magnifies your incompetences. Let your attention be on things that promise a better life not the ones that scares the life of your dreams. Think on things that are pure and edifying not things that corrupt. Let your decisions be guided by reasoning and not mere wishing. Your thoughts are anchors that your decisions and actions hold on to in delivering the substance of your dreams. Your thoughts represent your considerations for actions. Be optimistic even in the face of bleak opportunities.
6. TIME: You must maximise the opportunity to plan ahead. The best approach to make the most of time is to set definite and realistic goals, break them down into tasks. Once you have a task list then prioritise the list using approaches such as the time management quadrant. Thereafter you should schedule those activities into sections of the day and then work on them. Time is a universal currency that we all have in the same quantity. It is what we do with it that determines what we can do with the one ahead of us. Let your time be focused on building your capacity to produce results. Let your time be used in building relationships that add value beginning with your family. One way to know if you have maximised time is to check the dreams of your youth, if they still seem farfetched, then you need to pay more attention and stop getting distracted.
7. TRUTH: You must strive to build strength of character. My brother and friend, Reginald Bassey when referring to the essence of the National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme said that it is a National Yearning for Strength and Character. Your integrity will pave way for your dignity and preserve your posterity in honour. Never give yourself to moral relativism (the idea that there is no pervasive set of moral principles). Live your life based on sound biblical principles and ethics. Your values are more important that your valuables. Don't accept the idea that your circumstances will determine your conduct. If you stand for something, you won't fall for everything. Live about situations and circumstances. Don't get locked down in situational ethics. Don't let context define you rather be sure that in whatever context you find yourself, you will uphold the noblest beliefs and pattern of life.
8. TASK: Don't be idle. Ensure you work hard on any noble thing your hands find to do. Your greatest joy will come from doing that which pleases the Lord and lifts others up. Find your purpose, develop your competence around your areas of interest and then deliver results to the extent that it becomes difficult to replace you. Get a job or work on a business venture. By all means don't be idle. Volunteer to gain experience and build your competence. The bible has said when you are diligent on your task, you will naturally enhance your social status. Don't chase fame rather work to the point where you won't need a title to bring honour to your name. Be responsive to opportunities around you. Make things happen for others by working with them to achieve their goals. Seek support of others where you are weak in realising your dreams. Work with the notion that "if it's got to be, then it's up to me". Note also that "you are absolutely responsible for the outcomes of your life."
9. THANKFULNESS. Be grateful for life. The bible says "in all things, give thanks". Every situation, event and circumstance of life is an opportunity to express gratitude and appreciation to God. You should not only be thankful to God, you should also express gratitude to everyone that has been a part of your growth and development. Those who have come through for you in your lowest moments. Be grateful for the resources you have and the opportunities that abound around you. Be grateful for the lessons that life teaches you because it will become manure to grow your tree of a meaningful life and a strong message to inspire the future generation.
10. TACT. The world you are going into will require that you possess strategy beyond dreams and sensitivity beyond ideas. You need to know how to deal with issues as they arise with the objective of profiting from everything that life hurls at you. You need to possess not just technical skills for your profession but conceptual and human relations skills in managing the people around you. You must learn how to exercise discretion in all matters of life. The bible admonishes that "see that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise." You must work on your ability to discern things. You must practice prudence and courteousness in the next phase of your life. You must be an embodiment of politeness and respect in every circumstance you find yourself. Never give in to pressure or cow to demands that won't project you as a noteworthy person. Don't be rude or crude, it is by all means not good.
11. TIMELINESS. Effort is meaningless when engaged at a wrong time because it will not produce desired results. There is a time for everything under the sun. The activities that have grabbed your attention must be planned before they are executed. You must be prompt in responding to opportunities that beckon on you. Don't procrastinate on matters of significant value. We live in a competitive world and the things that are seeking your attention are been chased down by other people. The keyword in timeliness is appropriateness. There is an appropriate time to plan, organize, and implement. You must plan the sequence of all your engagements so you don't miss out on your day of visitation. You must learn to be instant in season and out of season. You must live ready when chances for lifting yourself or others come your way. Don't assume that there will be another chance, seize it once you can.
12. TRAINING. Jim Rohn said, "Don't wish that things become easier, wish that you were better." If you work on yourself, you will find out that your work becomes easier. Take time to identify the areas of your life that require improvement and focus on them. Present yourself as a teachable person. Be ready to learn because the "teacher will appear when the student is ready" Pay attention to acquiring knowledge. Study to show that you are capable of been called upon to handle a task. Always tell yourself that "you are not good enough to remain the same." Develop yourself by focusing on your spiritual, intellectual, emotional, social, financial, work and physical life. These 7 areas are pivotal to the greatest experiences you can have in life. Submit yourself to tutelage by learning from role models, mentors, sponsors, coaches and parents as the case may be. There are people that possess what you desire and it is only logical to find them and learn from them. Jesus said, "learn of me..." Many people suffer because they don't know what personal development can offer. Embrace lifelong learning as principle and never shy away from receiving guidance.
13. TASTES. Don't settle for less. Don't embrace quantity over quality. Don't settle for mediocrity. Let your sail be set for excellence. Always look out for better experiences than the best you have ever had. Desire the best possible and available. Don't make a case for that which is not comely to a person of royal blood like you. Let your affection be set on things that build and not on things that drown your nobility. You were raised in an environment of order, always have a penchant for order and beauty in all that you do. Let people know your preference is only for things that befit royalty. Have a bias for splendour that is wrapped up in humility but without consideration for inferiority.

These 13 arrows will bring you to your point of glory.

OAO