LET'S ACT A MOVIE TOGETHER

If the world was a movie,  would you feature in it? What role will you play? Will you just be an extra in the movie or a key actor in the movie?

Well,  good news is the world is actually a movie. And guess what the more interesting news is, the world is any movie you want it to be.

When we say characterization in a movie, that is something the character does.

Shakespeare says that the whole world is a stage. Everyone is acting a movie but folks will always have to decide what roles they want to play.

The people who are really successful in life today are people who have recognized that the world is a movie and they have chosen the character they want to play.

Musicians are characters. Politicians are characters. It's all play acting.

Once you realize this fact,  you're set on your way to undauntable success.
Whatever you have chosen to be if this world was a movie, take it seriously.

Choose the character you want to be and start to build the persona of that character and the world will pay you for it.
It's only a matter of time before companies start requiring that skill.

You're like an empty slate.  So you can choose whatever you want to be.  That, my friend, is characterization.

You are still young and that's when it's even more beautiful.
Remember when we were younger, and we'd watch movies and then try acting exactly what the actor did in that movie. I remember when my elder brother tried becoming superman, he'd tie a 'cape'  round his neck and then jump down  from the top bunk of the bed. Yeah,  he lost some teeth in his adventures. But who knows, if he continued, maybe he would have learnt how to humanly defy the laws of gravity and eventually fly.  Okay,  that's taking it a bit far, but you get my point, right?

Soon, we all grew up and started going to school. School took away that daydreaming, they thought you were wasting your time, you were actually finding a character.

Choose that character and learn to play the character. If the character you choose is one that people are willing to pay to watch the movie, then the character you choose will be one that people will be willing to pay.

This is not a joke, rather it is one that will teach you how to enjoy living.

In real life movies, an actor playing a character, leaves who he is in real life and switches and gets into character.
One can play a character so good  that you can play  it well and people will  build an industry  around  it.

People will pay  lots of money to listen to Basket mouth, a character, not  to Bright Okpocha.

The question is what character will  you become?

You have got to build that character. There  has to be a character in  the real world that is a model of the character you want to become.
If you are not getting the name, it could  mean you are not reading enough.

Choose that  character, even if its not real, build yourself to that level and people will pay to hear you speak.

If you are actually acting a movie, they will bring you a script. Pick a model in real life,  that will provide the script for the character you've chosen to become. By picking a model, it will help your footing  before you  select your own path.

You can even  create a character that does not have an earthly equivalent. Build that character and in a matter of time, the world will pay that character.

There is something interesting about  human nature.  Human  nature is like flour,  it can take any shape.  It all depends on what you decide you want to shape it into. It doesn't matter what you see, you can become it.

See the characterization of that future and build yourself to dominate it.
Build yourself  in a way, that it didn't matter you say, you will sound very knowledgeable.

You've got to choose that character you want to become in this movie called life.

Let's consider the movie called Prison Break.  One of the main actors in the movie,  Michael Scofield,  had some cool features. He had Low latent Inhibition. His brain didn't have the ability to block out things and focus on just one thing per time,  so he could bring lots of stufs into focus at once. Learning and developing oneself to be like a Michael Schofield can enhance such abilities of the person and eventually develop oneself to being a good investigative journalist or crime analyst or even better, a National consultant who will be able to advice on many national issues concurrently.

Leave the hard way,  you do not have to suffer to succeed.

Stop buying nonsense philosophy.

Sit in your own house and turn yourself into a product. The moment you walk into the market,  people will buy.

Transform yourself into a money attracting magnet.  Have a paradigm shift in your thinking.

Eventually, success is not by who you know but by what you know. 

Learn how to fix your mindset.

Finally,  make that decision and choose that character and begin to build it now, Choose your character in this movie

Creativity : Inspiration vs Revelation

Creativity: Inspiration vs Revelation
June and July for me is one of the most crazy seasons. We have an amazing young peoples’ conference at the church I am part of and I have the great honour of being able to work on the creative elements that make it an event that is as fun as it is impactful.

But coming up with ideas for creative elements – live moments on stage – is not always easy… When I was growing up, I wanted to direct the opener for the Olympics. There is something about the wonder of things unfolding before your very eyes that completely changes the atmosphere and establishes the tone for everything to come. When things happen live in the moment, people are drawn in and there is a potential to unite people that is unlike anything else in this world.

I might be “nerding” out a bit, but the challenge as a creative person is to catch you audience off-guard. The element of surprise – of something fresh and different – forces people to reset their expectations… And they have to do that while you are intentionally communicating with them through all their senses: sight, hearing, taste, smell, and intellect.

Before you think this is starting to sound a lot like strategic propaganda, I want to let you know that it is not about manipulation, but rather revelation.

In looking for inspiration as to what to put on this year, I looked in many areas… From YouTube clips, awards shows, world tours; to art installations, Pinterest, Instagram, architecture; to movies and documentaries. But as much as looking at what other people have done is great, I have realised that fresh perspective will always trump cool ideas. In other words: getting a revelation will always make you more creative than finding inspiration.

Everything in your life benefits from you being creative. Creativity is simply a highly stylised form of problem solving. Whether it be in making a birthday card, planning the perfect date, producing a television show, reassessing your priorities, addressing your colleagues, or planning your travel time – the more restrictions you face, the more you need to think out of the box. There is no such thing as art without restriction. Whether it’s the frame of the picture, the time and rhythm of a song, the size of the page or the battery life on your laptop – there will always be some restriction that will help you focus and be original.

You may feel like you’re stuck. Like you have lost your “spark” or inspiration for what you do and face every day. Whether it is writer’s block, or having enough energy to start the day, I have found there is one question that has helped me be creative in life: simply asking “Why?”.

If you get a revelation of “why”, you are able to nail down the reason to create. So for this conference – why do we put on crazy fun items? To engage young people and help them come out of their shells. Why do I write blogs? To communicate what I have learnt in life, so that I can articulate my journey for myself and (hopefully) help others. The only way that you will overcome the limitations of life is by looking for the reason “why” in a whole lot of reasons “why not”.

Inspiration might get you excited about life. But revelation will result in tangible change for you and those around you. If you are looking for revelation, can I encourage you to address the biggest “why” in your life? Why are you on earth? Do you have a revelation of your purpose? You cannot move past this question without looking at the reason for your existence. We are creations ourselves. I have found that purpose through knowing God intimately. Having a revelation of His intention for me – which boils down to love – has set me up to be creative in every other area of my life.

Source: David Webster

Work/Life balance is bullshit.

There is no question being asked more often than how I manage my work/life balance. Every time someone asks me that question I struggle with a straight answer.
For me the concept of work/life balance is bullshit. The fact that we call it work/life balance automatically implies that one of the two is negative and we need to balance it with the other.
It usually implies that you have work on the evil side, and life on the other. It makes it look like these two things are competing for your attention and well being.
But work and life are not separate. They are the same, there is only one thing, it’s called LIFE. Work is part of my life, it’s not competing against it.
Family is important, friends are important. But work is a huge part of who I am as a person. I believe work is one of the most important things in ones life.
I believe that work is the reason why I get up in the morning. It’s what I love to do with most of my days.
Now some might say I’m speaking from a privileged place because I can decide what I want to work on every day. And maybe yes, that might be true to some extend, but it wasn’t true a couple years ago.
I strongly believe that every person can make a living doing something they love. And often enough, it’s more of a mindset to become happy with your work. Often it’s not the work that sucks, but how we see it.
I remember, many years ago I asked a “Waste Collector” on the street what happened that he has to work in this job? (notice how my question was with negative assumptions in the first place)
With a smile on his face he replied. “I’ve been working as a Garbage Guy for more than 20 years now, I love this job and would never trade it for anything else.”
Completely shocked I asked him why. “You know, I can be outside every day and I have the honor to clean up the city. It’s like a computer game every day, street after street, faster than the other garbage guys.”
I loved his answer, and from that day on I stopped assuming that every waste collector in the city must hate their job. It gave me a different perspective on what work can mean.

Because ultimately, it’s only “work” if you don’t like it. If you love doing what you do, it doesn’t feel like work. And yes, you still need balance, because you need balance with everything yo do. For the same reason you can’t just eat only Nutella everyday. (trust me, I tried it)
But what you don’t need is life/work balance, because if you do, you might need to make some drastic changes with either one of them.
And this either means changing your job (yes you can) or simply looking at your job from a different perspective. Maybe you don’t like your job because society tells you it’s cool to hate what you do from Monday to Friday.
I mean, just look at how much society celebrates Fridays and hates Mondays, but shouldn’t it be the other way around?
Imagine we would all love what we do so much, we would be all sad every Friday because it would take us away from something we love doing.
And I’m not saying there is something wrong with taking a break from any activity, but just the way we as society “hate” Mondays is what’s so surprising to me.
If I could decide, on Mondays we should all celebrate because the world is awake again. We can work, get some shit done and do what we love.
How do you feel about work/life balance? Let me know on Twitter please.
I love Mondays.
Tobias
Thanks for hitting the 💚 if you enjoyed this article. This will tell me to write more of it!

Author : Tobias van Schneider

Source: Medium Daily

When You Can Walk on Water, Take the Boat 2

CHAPTER 2

It’s my habit to wake up very early in the morning. I’m one of those ridiculous fellows who finds it almost impossible to sleep late. Whether I to go to bed at eight o’clock in the evening or two in the morning, I still get up by five or six. This morning being no exception, I was up and ready to go by six-thirty. I said good-bye to my family and drove the short distance to the office. A breathtaking morning it was, indeed. The rays of the sun streaming through the windows of the car warmed my very being and made me want to sing for joy. Actually, ‘sing’ is not the word to describe the sounds I make in the attempt, but in the car no one hears and there’s the feeling of safety in that private cubicle. Except on those rare occasions when a driver pulls up at a stop light, looks at me quizzically and drives away, I’m not even conscious of the quality of my singing. I pulled into the parking lot half expecting to see the red car of the night before. Of course, it wasn’t there. “What a strange man,” I thought. “I feel as if I know him or have seen him someplace before. Perhaps it was at a conference or a convention.” It wasn’t long, however, before I was caught up in the day’s activities. Things were not going too well for my business. We had designed and built a portable device that was of use to printers and photographers. It was an excellent machine, capable of recycling the valuable chemicals from their waste processing solutions. Although we’d received a large number of compliments about it, sales weren’t increasing as fast as we had expected and, as everyone knows, compliments don’t pay the bills. I had built an excellent management team and we were expanding our horizons. But still, at times I felt so alone in what I was doing. The sound of the ringing phone woke me from my reverie. It was our plant manager calling to inform me that an entire production line had to be shut down immediately. “Do whatever you can. I’ll be over shortly,” was all I could say. Another phone call. The voice of my secretary first answered the type of calls I would receive all day. “It’s Mr. James Aba,” she said. “Do you want me to tell him you’ll call him later?” “No, I’ll take it,” I replied. She switched the call to my line and for the next five minutes I explained to Mr. Aba the reason a past due bill remained unpaid. Phone calls for the purpose of collecting past due payments coupled with the company’s financial situation were enough to drive me to distraction. We had recently applied for a substantial loan from a local bank only to have the banker laugh at us. Whenever I feel like becoming depressed, there is a game I play with. It always seems to work. I stop doing everything and say to myself, “Now, Jason, since you like to do everything well, take the next ten or fifteen minutes and become as depressed as possible. Wallow in your misery. Think of how terrible things are and how the entire world is against you. Note how everyone you know goes out of his way to make your life unpleasant. Think of how very unfortunate you are. Now, as soon as the second hand on your watch reaches twelve, start.” When the second hand reaches twelve I try to become as miserable as possible. Within a few minutes I’m laughing so hard at the absurd nature of my thoughts that the depression vanishes. Somehow or other, I was able to make it through to lunch time. We were able to get the production line back on stream and Mr. Aba agreed to wait for another week. I don’t normally eat lunch. In fact, I could go without breakfast and lunch without ever feeling uncomfortable. Today was no exception. I had a strong urge, however, to leave the office and go for an invigorating walk. It would be refreshing, I thought, to get out of the office for a while. I’d gone quite a few blocks when I decided to return by an alternate route which would take me past a quaint little restaurant. So demanding was my morning that I’d taken a longer walk than usual. As I approached a corner, I had the persistent feeling that there was an appointment I may have forgotten. I’ve been known to forget appointments before so, instead of returning to the office, I figured I’d use the pay phone in the restaurant, call my office and check whether or not there was an appointment. I quickly walked up to the restaurant, opened the door and entered, looking for a phone. Although the restaurant bustled with lunch customers, I located one on the other side of the room, went over and dialed my office. I asked whether I had an afternoon appointment and was assured that I didn’t. I breathed a sigh of relief, but could not shake the strange, nagging feeling that I had to meet someone. Since I was already in the restaurant, I decided to have a quick lunch. I approached the hostess who looked at me, smiled sweetly and said, “Mr. H., please follow me.” As I followed her across the dining room, I thought how flattering it was that she recognized me. It’s a small northeastern town I live in. It’s an even smaller town that I work in. Almost everybody knows one another. She led me to a table over by the far corner near a window. I thanked her and even before I was properly seated, she said, “Your other party will be here soon.” “My other party?” I asked. I was surprised since no one, not even myself, knew I would be stopping at this restaurant. Noticing my surprise, she looked around and said, “Oh, here he is now. Enjoy your lunch.” Up to my table strode Charles. Ignoring my questioning gaze, he seated himself, smiled and said, “Fine day it is.” “Fine day it is, indeed! But what are you doing here?” I asked not rudely, but rather out of surprise. “Hope you don’t mind my joining you.” “Of course not. But I certainly didn’t think I was going to see you again so soon.” I was becoming somewhat confused. First the incident in the parking lot, then the strange urge to walk past the restaurant, followed by my decision to have lunch and, finally, meeting Charles again. “Did you make reservations or plan to be here for lunch today?” “Yes, I made the reservations for both of us.” “How did you know I’d be here? Even I didn’t know.” “Just had a feeling. You have these feelings at times, don’t you? The phone rings and you know who’s calling. You think of someone you haven’t heard from in years and you receive a letter from that person. Just had a hunch that you’d be here and I took the chance.” “I was thinking about you. I wondered whether I was ever going to see the bearded man whose car broke down in our parking lot. By the way, is everything fixed now? Does it run OK?” “Runs better than ever.” His eyes seemed even more piercing than in our previous encounter. They seemed to probe the very depths of my mind, leaving me to feel that I could hide nothing from him. “Didn’t think you’d make it this time either,” he continued, as if speaking to himself. “Pardon me?” “Oh, nothing. I talk to myself sometimes.” “Well, since you’re here, I’ll say it’s good to see you, again. Let’s have a quick bite because I’ve got to be back at the office shortly.” “One of your problems, Jason, is that you hurry too much. Yesterday in the parking lot, you were in a rush. Today at lunch, you’re in a hurry again. Take some time to enjoy life. Everyone has the same measure of time, you know. Twenty-four hours a day. It’s what you do with your time that’s important.” I really didn’t think I needed to be preached to today, but I wanted to be as polite as possible. “It’s easy for you to say,” I replied. “I have responsibilities, you know. A business to run — things to do. Sometimes the burden of it all gets to me.” “Only if you let it. And everyone has responsibilities. Do you know that the word responsibility could mean ‘ability to respond’? Do you have a business to run or do you have a business that runs you?” For someone I was meeting for only the second time, he certainly had a lot of opinions about me. A good philosophical discussion, however, always brightens my day and besides, there was some truth in what he had said. “You seem to have things nice and easy,” I quipped. “Where do you work and what do you do, anyway?” A strange look came over those dark eyes. “Actually I’m a trouble shooter,” he said, “a jack-of-all-trades, if you will. What you’d probably call a consultant for my company, if you know what I mean.” “And your company?” “It’s called G & M Enterprises, Inc. It’s not the car company. I’m sure you’ve never heard of it.” “Can’t say that I have. Is it a large corporation?” “To a certain extent — very diverse — in many countries. World headquarters in the Big City with branch offices throughout the country.” “What do they make or do?” “Somewhat of a service company, more or less.” Sensing his reluctance to offer more information and not wanting to be rude I asked, “Are you on vacation now?” “No. Actually, I’m on assignment. I’ll be in this area for a little while.” “Do you live around here?” “Not really. Just passing through. After completion of my current assignment, I’ll be on the road again.” “Well, I hope they give you a better car,” I said with a laugh, remembering his problems of the evening before. He smiled, and changed the conversation back to my work. “So things aren’t going too well with your business?” he asked. “We’ve been struggling for a long time, a real long time, Charles. There are times when we think we see light at the end of the tunnel, but more often than not it’s a freight train. It’s tough.” I was surprised to find myself speaking this way to a stranger. I normally don’t share my problems with those who aren’t close to me, but somehow this time seemed different. “Why struggle? A seasoned swimmer does not struggle against the water. He flows with it, using it as a means of reaching his goal. Don’t struggle, just follow the flow. Let the river of life carry you.” The restaurant was mostly empty now. In between our conversation we’d managed to finish our brief lunch. Only two tables across from us were occupied. I glanced at my watch. It was time to go. But my strange friend wasn’t ready to leave. He gave me the impression that he wanted to tell me something. Again, I had that sense of foreboding — not quite foreboding, but almost like I was getting involved in things for which I wasn’t ready nor prepared. I paid the bill and he offered to pay his share, but I refused. He thanked me and got up. “Do you have a business card?” I asked. He reached into his pocket, pulled out a card and handed it to me. “Thank you. I must say good-bye now and get back to that crazy job I have,” I said. “Be grateful that you have a job to go to,” he replied. We walked to the door and went outside. I hoped he wasn’t setting me up for something. I’m somewhat of a pushover when I like someone and I was beginning to take a liking to this stranger. As we said good-bye I told him I hoped we’d meet again soon. He nodded and said, “Who knows? It really is a small world.” He turned, waved and left. I walked back toward my office. All during lunch I felt an aura of kindness and, strangely enough, power around Charles. Now back in the sunlight, the apparent mystery seemed to vanish. The afternoon passed smoothly without as many difficulties as the morning. Several times I glanced through the window into the parking lot where I’d first seen Charles. Perhaps, we’d meet again. There was going to be a little dinner party at my house this evening. Just a few friends and neighbors getting together to enjoy each other’s company. It was beginning to get dark. Possibly a storm was on the way, I thought. You never can tell with the weather these days. I decided to leave early to reach home before the rain came. I was about to pull into my driveway when all the driveway lights went out. I thought, perhaps, the impending storm had something to do with it. Then the storm broke. Such fury of wind and rain I’ve rarely seen. The rain was a sheet of white water alternating with the reflection of brilliant flashes of lightning. The blasts of thunder reminded me of the legends of the gods on Mount Olympus hurling thunderbolts at their enemies. I could hardly see I drove up the driveway and, since the electricity was out, I couldn’t open the garage door either. After parking the car, I rushed into the house, getting drenched in the few seconds it took me to do so. All was dark inside except for the areas lit by the few candles Mary had found. Our dinner guests arrived and we made the best of a poor situation. We ate by candlelight and marveled at the many faces of nature. “It seems really strange to me, Jason,” one of the guests remarked. “What seems strange?” I asked. “The fury and nature of this storm. I just telephoned a neighbor down the street and he said that it didn’t rain there.” “Didn’t rain there? A few blocks away? How can that be?” “And all their lights are on,” he continued. It was strange to see a storm that occurred in only a few square blocks. For no apparent reason I thought of Charles. Immediately there was a blinding flash of lightning and all our lights came back on. We discussed the storm for a little while longer. Personally, I seemed to connect it with something having to do with Charles. Yet, that made no sense...

To be continued