The Secret of Life Rhapsody

GEORGE CLASON: THE CAPTAIN WHO LIVES FOREVER 3 Today, we travel to The United States of America to visit a superhero that teaches us financial freedom based on principles from ancient Babylon. Let me introduce you to George Clason. George Samuel Clason (November 7, 1874 – April 7, 1957) was an American author. He is most associated with his book The Richest Man in Babylon which was first published in 1926. George S. Clason was born in Louisiana, Missouri. He attended the University of Nebraska. He served in the United States Army during the Spanish–American War. Clason started two companies, the Clason Map Company of Denver Colorado and the Clason Publishing Company. The Clason Map Company was the first to publish a road atlas of the United States and Canada, and did not survive the Great Depression. George Clason is best known for writing a series of informational pamphlets about being thrifty and how to achieve financial success. He started writing

KIMANI MARUGE: THE CAPTAIN WHO LIVES FOREVER 3 Today, we travel to Kenya located in East Africa to visit a superhero that has sent a powerful message to the world which is: It’s not too late to go to school. Let me introduce you to Kimani Arthur Maruge. Kimani Arthur Maruge claimed to be born in 1920 and holds the Guinness World record for being the oldest person to start primary school – he enrolled in the first grade on January 12, 2004 at the age of 84. Maruge attended Kapkenduiywo Primary School in Eldoret, Kenya; he said that the government's announcement of universal and free elementary education in 2003 prompted him to enroll. Maruge met resistance from the staff of the school, when he tried to enroll in school after the Kenyan government declared free public education for all Kenyans.  They told him that he has no pencil and all students need a pencil and notebook.  (The truth of the matter is that the school provided pencils and notebooks for th

ANAND KUMAR: THE CAPTAIN WHO LIVES FOREVER 2 Today, we travel to India to visit a superhero that has built a powerful legacy and is still impacting generations in the education space. Let me introduce you to Anand Kumar. Anand Kumar (born 1 January 1973) is an Indian mathematician and a columnist for various national and international mathematical journals and magazines. He is best known for his Super 30 program, which he started in Patna, Bihar in 2002, and which coaches economically backward students for IIT-JEE, the entrance examination for the Indian Institutes of Technology (IITs). By 2016, 366 out of the 420 had made it to the Indian Institutes of Technology IITs and Discovery Channel showcased his work in a documentary. His father was a clerk in the postal department of India. His father could not afford private schooling for his children, and Anand attended a Hindi medium government school, where he developed his deep interest in Mathematics.

THE CAPTAIN WHO LIVES FOREVER The captain who lives forever is one who has learnt to leave a legacy and who is continuously remembered many years after he/she is no more. In my own opinion, this person has cheated death and is immortal. As I write this piece, one fictional character and superhero that readily comes to mind is Captain America. Captain America fits this description as an entity that is still living forever. As a child born in the 80s, I grew up reading Captain America’s comics. My kids born in this millennia are watching movies of Captain America and I can bet that many years and centuries to come, people will still read comics, watch movies, buy toys and catch-up on Captain America. Now stop for a moment and ask yourself a very sincere question: What can I do to be a Captain who lives forever? OR What can I do for me to be remembered like Captain America? My response: Become a Superhero. Leave a legacy that outlives you. One w

THE CAPTAIN AND HIS COCKPIT OF LIFE An American friend of mine is a war veteran and a retired air force captain. He goes on to excitedly tell me that the first rule to flying is: knowing your flight controls and instrument panels. All these are in front of the cockpit. Life is pretty much like that. I tend to believe that if we know all our gifts and can control ourselves to lead good lives; we would pretty much attain any height we push ourselves to. So let us look at the various components on the cockpit and juxtapose them with life. The Control Wheel or Yoke is used to steer the airplane in different directions . In life, we need to have written down vision and goals for the next 20 to 50 years of our life; else we will be moving in different directions without control. The Rudder Pedals on the floor helps the aircraft to turn left or right. The brakes are also located at the top of the rudder pedal. In life, we must be flexible enough to turn lef

BE THE CAPTAIN OF YOUR SOUL When I was 13 years old, I had an aunt who said to me: You will amount to nothing in life. Apparently, she had sent me on an errand and I had done something else. Those words rattled me for many years, as I couldn’t figure out why a fellow human being would conclude about a human being based on a childish mistake. It also made me afraid of doing anything as I had been told: “that I will amount to nothing.” However, I realized that as I grew older, more insulting words were thrown at me at the university: I remember very vividly my first day at college: the lecturer came in and said let me make one thing known to you class: 70% of you will fail this course. I started working with a boss who said to me one week after I was hired that: Michael, do you know that you are wrong hire and I think I made a mistake hiring you. I am sure you are wondering how I overcame this entire negative vibes. I became the captain of my soul, beca

The Greatest Gift of All Times --- Service A wise sage once said: “He who is greatest must first of all be a servant.” Little wonder that all the Global brands in the world today namely: Facebook, Microsoft, Google, Coca-Cola, DHL, FedEx and Dangote are impacting the world by providing service to the world. Want to be great? Then learn to serve the world with your gifts. Microsoft’s vision is to help businesses actualize their potential. Today, every business in the world uses Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint on a daily basis, showing that they understand that they are in business to serve people and companies. There are many ways to serve. They include helping someone achieve their goal. Zig Ziglar said that you will get to where you are going to in life, if you will help a lot of people get to where they are going today. Another way to serve is to mentor and coach people who need your advice. Another way to serve is to help the world solve

How Do You Unlock your Gift --- Begin With the End in Mind The secret to unlocking your gift is knowing how high you are willing to JUMP. Steven Covey in one of his excellent books titled:  “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” actually recommended that you should start the journey of discovering your gift or yourself by writing your own autobiography. He specifically says write down what you want your best friend to say about you, what you want your spouse to say about you and what you want your children to say about you. So I ask you again , have you written your personal biography and how you want the world to remember you and your gifting. If you haven’t, then you must start today. What does Begin with End in Mind really mean? Architects do this a lot. They design a house before it is built. That means that there is a mental (first) creation, and a physical (second) creation. Begin with the End in Mind means to begin each day, task, or projec

Know Yourself Sun Tzu in the art of war said and I quote: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.” Let’s assume that your enemy in this context is the interruption, mishaps and disappointments that can prevent you from developing your gift. You have to begin the journey of developing your gift by knowing yourself. When you know yourself, you also identify your limits and your limitations. How do you do that? You identify your strengths and your weakness and identify which you will work on developing them. One challenge, I see in the world today is people struggling to develop gifts that they don’t have an aptitude for.   I dedicate today’s article to them. PLEASE READ!!!!! Growing up as a child, I didn’t attend music cla