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Issue 00416 |
April 22 - 29, 2006 |
issn 0856 - 9135 |
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Features |
| BREAKING BARRIERS Of Adversities Becoming Opportunities by George 'Gbenga Olowoye I would like to share the story of a great woman with you who turned her adversity into great achievements. At the age of 35 Esther became a widow with six children to look after. This happening in an African country that has no welfare system in place, where women and children are vulnerable and it seemed that Esther's life and that of her six children were sentenced to a life of doom and gloom. In this case, Esther's adversary was death. Yes, the death of her beloved husband, untimely. What will she do now? Fortunately Esther had some education, was already trained as a nurse and indeed a very beautiful and intelligent woman. So she could re-marry and get her life going on but what would happen to the lives of her six children aged between one year and 14? Esther decided to remain a widow for the rest of her life and see to the welfare of her six children vowing that her four boys and two girls must all become great in life. She was not going to allow her adversary, death, and her circumstances to dictate the pace of her life. She set to work. Yes, Esther died on September 18, 2005 at almost 70 years. Now, all of Esther's six children graduated from Africa's most beautiful university, the only family in the history of the university's 44 year history to have six graduates from the same mother. Esther saw all her children marry wives and husbands and saw her sixteen grandchildren play with her while her seventeenth grandchild was born a day before she was buried and the eighteenth one due next month. Her second son is the one writing here about Esther's story. Esther Arinola Olowoye (1936-2005) is my best illustration in life of how to turn adversities into opportunities. Esther's story I have vowed to tell and make available in a book form for as many African women as possible. For us to have adversity it means there is an adversary that is "an opponent who opposes a course of action, belief, person, etc." In life, every human being must have an adversary at some point in time or the other. An adversary could either be your enemy or your catalyst. The enemy clearly hates your guts like death is for Esther but as a catalyst adversity can rouse you from a state of inactivity and luke-warmness into action. David, an ordinary shepherd boy, was a nobody who was catapulted from obscurity to prominence. It was Goliath, the ranting raving Philistine giant who gave David the rare opportunity to display his hunting prowess. Indeed, little David became a superstar when he used a sling stone to fall and kill Goliath. Friends, we all need Goliaths in our lives! If you're having problems with defeat, discouragement and adversity, I strongly recommend Conrad Hilton's book, "Be My Guest." So, how should you deal with your adversary and adversity, in order to windup a success and not a victim of circumstance? The following tips will be useful: Have a positive attitude to every situation. Make up your mind to face every challenge that life brings your way courageously. Don't crumble under pressure. Don't be crippled by fear. Face your situation squarely and ask God to open your eyes to see the advantage in your situation, so that your challenges become stepping stones to victory. See your adversary as an enemy you must conquer. Get angry with your negative circumstance and thrust yourself forward into success zone. You simply need to pursue excellence, prove your mettle, and silence your critics by making a legitimate success of your endeavours. Maintain a positive attitude to criticism. Keep an open mind and weigh/consider every criticism and opposition. There just might be wisdom contained in a piece of advice which could save you from a lifetime of disaster. Ask God to give you grace to discern. Your value is determined by the mold you yourself make. It doesn't take any more energy to expect to be the best housewife, the finest cook, the most capable carpenter. It has been my experience that the way most people court failure is by misjudging their abilities, belittling their worth and value. Did you ever think what can happen to a plain bar of iron, worth about $5.00? The same iron when made into horseshoes is worth $10.50, If made into needles, it is worth $3,250.85, and if turned into balance springs for watches its value jumps to $250,000.This is true of another kind of material - You! Coach GEORGE conducts explosive success and personal development sessions every Monday (6-7pm) at the Golden Rose Hotel, Arusha. The seats are free for all to attend. Make your next conference, meeting and convention a success by writing to book George. He is here to help your winning team succeed with a boom! E-mail: coach@successboom.net Tel: 0748-240838 (24hrs) Website:http://www.successboom.net
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