STEP UP AND JUMP

Yinka grew up in a family of 9, where the core ideologies of his personal beliefs were impressed upon his heart. Right from his teenage age, his dream was to become a Movie Star, a career he earnestly hoped would make him rich enough to empower his family and travel the world.

All through his young life, Yinka watched as his parents struggled to make ends meet. He watched patiently as his father, a pensioner, struggled to pay his school fees and feed the family.

He watched as his parents and entire family, walked the journeys of life, safely, even in the midst of their sufferings and lack.

Trapped in all this scenarios and realities, Yinka promised himself to deliver his family from poverty and lack. And to achieve this goal, he pursued his education and got a degree in Mass Communication.

Although intelligent and brilliant, Yinka played it safe at school. He never answered any question in class even when he knew the answer, neither did he ask one; he was just comfortable listing to everyone else’s discussions.

Though naturally gifted with a cheerful and charismatic free-spirited personality, Yinka, continued to be on the safe zones in a bid to avoid mistakes and ridicule, just as his parents did and taught him to do likewise.

When Yinka left school as a certified graduate, his friends and classmates went out to pursue their dreams, Yinka on the other hand, turned the newspaper stand into his second home.

Right there, at the newspaper stands everyday, Yinka would scream and shout as he flipped the papers open from pages to pages, “This Country with useless government, we must make am!” The complains simply never stopped!

14 years later, Yinka was still screaming at Newspaper stands “We go make am” when he had a call that his entire family died overnight as a result of “I Better Pass My Neighbor” generator fumes that was positioned in the passage of their “Face Me I Face You” family house, somewhere in Ajegunle.

He was devastated!

Right there, at that moment, Yinka realized that he had been asleep for too long, that he has failed to step up his life and deliver his family out of poverty; that he was wasting away his life, his destiny. And now, his lack of desire to take up responsibilities and face his mountains, has cost him dearly. The cost? His family!

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“The worst thing that can happen to any human being, is a life of regret. Trust me!”

You see, isn’t it funny that there are many “Yinka” scattered around us today?

People who have brilliant ideas and dreams but fail to act on their dreams just because they fear failure or what people would say if they tried something and failed with it?

Isn’t it funny that most of us fail to realize the weight of responsibilities and destines resting upon our shoulders – waiting for us to come set them free and rescue them from diminishing?

Isn’t it funny that we toss aside our dreams and ambitions, and then spend the whole of our lives complaining and pointing fingers at other people as being the cause of our very own misfortunes?

You see, you can choose to be like Yinka if it that’s what you want. You can choose to play life safe if that’s how you wanna live. But I tell you with all honesty, you will not have anything to live for, why? Because your life will be wasted just as Yinka wasted time and resources sitting at the newspaper stands for years, when his family were waiting on him to come rescue them out of the shackles of poverty.

What a pity.

The other day, on my way to give a speech at a Seminar for which I was a guest speaker, I saw Yinka, looking so depressed and haggard. I invited him over for dinner and we talked for a while.

As we talked, I asked him, “Yinka, you're a captain of a Ship and the ship is sinking fast, everyone else is trapped and cannot do anything to help themselves, but there’s an island nearby filled with people and empty ships, now tell me, would you take the risk of jumping into the river and get help, even when there are sharks about to eat you alive, or would you sit back and sink with everyone?

“I will jump,” he replied……

“Then why didn’t you jump,” I asked him?

Why didn’t you jump into the sea and rescue your family? Why didn’t you jump and create your dream? Why didn’t you jump and turn all your secret mockers into public admirers? Why? Why haven’t you jumped even till now?

Feeling emotional. Yinka folded his arms, buried his head, and then started crying. But not wanting to have any of that crab, I yelled at him….. “Wake up Yinka! Wake Up!”

“You're sleeping away your destiny. You have dreams, you have gifts, you have talents, you have ambitions, you have goals, you have a purpose…..Don’t blow it!

Don’t waste it! Don’t ruin all the destines attached to your success in life. Jump!”

“Step up and jump so that the destines and life-purpose attached to yours, can be fulfilled.”

Don’t play life safe, because if you do, you will lose everything. Everything that matters to you.

No matter how talented you are as a skydiver, you will never really test yourself and achieve great success if you don’t JUMP off a plane and fly in the air.

Your parachute will NEVER open if you remain in the plane-beating your chest and thinking you're winning the battlers of life, really?....Hey! Go out there and test yourself, jump! Jump hard and high.

You’ve got bills to pay, absolutely, I agree! But the paid receipt to these bills ain’t coming to drop right your doorstep. Go work your a** off. Get dirty, get busy, get creative.

You’ve gotta jump off your ship, off your plane, and then activate your parachute to carry you through the fall.

God got plans for you, but until you jump off that plane of comfort you're currently cruising in, He is never going to send you a parachute – a rescue team that’ll lead you right to your destination – your safety!

So why don’t you just do yourself a favour and JUMP?

Even if it means doing it this once, only one time, just do it and JUMP. Let us see the outcome! Who knows? Your life could change in that singular moment of productive activity.

Your success is laying there in front of you, but it will never be yours if you don’t jump off the cliff, off the ship, and swim towards it.

You cannot lay your hands upon this Success of yours if you don’t jump off the plane and then turn on your parachutes.

See, if you keep playing life safe, you're never gonna win. No wonder most people die even before they ever have a chance to live.

Jump and refuse to be like most people.

Don’t live a limited life when you can dominate and conquer your world.

The choice is entirely yours!