What Can You See?

I want to welcome you to this new column which by the grace of God will serve as capsule to sharpen the life of the youth in our society. It is now an established fact that where the youths are deformed, the future of that nation will be paralyzed. It is right time to understand that the youth is very crucial in any society and they need to be informed, guided and mentored to take their place in the world.

Bishop David Oyedepo once said that “we are not backward because we are black; we are backward because we are blind”. However, we are blind not because our physical eyes cannot see. Life’s picture goes beyond the ordinary eye. Insight is much more than what your ordinary eye can see. It is written in the Scripture that ‘the young men shall see vision…. When the young people in a nation fail to see the future of the nation, the entire generation may walk in darkness. This is because when an opportunity comes, inability to see will make them to discard it. There is nothing wrong with being black; there is nothing wrong with being African. Our youth can complete with other parts of the world if they see beyond their nose.

You are not likely to doubt what you have seen. In starting this episode, I will begin by saying you must open your inner eyes before you start any journey of life. Where your physical eyes cannot see, your mind can see it. Your mind can go farther than your eye. Your mind can be abroad while you are still physically present in Nigeria. Nothing motivates people than the end picture. Many students in higher institutions, especially in this part of the world, read diligently not because they like reading or are compelled to read but because they can see the glorious opportunity of using the certificate to work with some reputable organisation.

Though, ‘go to school, get certificate and look for job’ is not the best way to develop the youth or cater for the country. If we ask many young people in our country what they see concerning their future and that of the nation, you will discover that many are just ‘clouds without water’. Without vision, people perish, says the Bible. What you see will definitely give you a direction, but when you picture nothing, you will just be moving without direction.

A man who goes without a direction will definitely end in an undesirable destination. This will make me narrate a story about a hunter and a young man. This young man was attacked by a group of armed robbers who wanted to snatch his car.

Unconsciously he stopped and ran into the bush with the car keys. When the armed robbers discovered that he had fled with the key, they started pursuing him but unfortunately they could not get him. He ran so far into the bush that he got lost. He then found a hunter, while still very much afraid, panting; the hunter asked him why he was running. He did not answer the hunter; instead, he asked the hunter to please show him the way out. The hunter answered, “the way to where?” He responded that, “anywhere, just anywhere and somewhere!” The hunter answer, “anywhere you take, you will surely get to somewhere”

In life, anywhere you take will lead you to somewhere but will that place be where you are supposed to be in life? Have you ever pondered the end picture of that journey? Speed, most of the time is not as important as the direction. You can run faster than every other person and get to the destination without stress. Always make sure that you are always on the right direction if you want to win the race of life.

Many people have worked so hard, climbed the corporate ladder to the top, and when they got to the top they looked down and discovered that the ladder was actually on a wrong wall. It may be impossible to jump from the top of a ladder to the top of another ladder. Therefore you will need to come down and start climbing the right one all over again. However, in order to prevent fighting the air, be specific. See before you move.

 IMPORTANCE OF A PICTURED GUIDED JOURNEY

End Picture Enhance Focus: When you know where you are going, to be misled will be very difficult. Focus is giving attention and effort to a particular thing more than the others. No one gets to a desirable destination without focus. Focus on course will bring discovery on it. Show me a man without focus and I will let you know a man who may get nowhere. Someone who has a clear picture of where he or she is going will strive harder to survive than the one without focus. A man without focus is open to be initiated into a wrong thing than the one with focus. For instance, no persuasion or gimmick can convince me to follow someone to a brothel, because it is not part of the steps that will take me to my glorious destination.

End Picture Prevent Wrong Relationship: The picture of where you are going makes you to be selective in making friends. Moving with people without a goal will make you goal-less. There is nothing you can get but foolishness when you are always in the companion of fools. Your relationship has great impact on your future. Never join hands with people with whom you are not going in the same direction. In fact, any time you entangle yourself with people who are not going where you intend to go, you may miss your flight. Read a story about two friends who met at the Lagos Airport; one was going to Kano while the other was going to Calabar, they got involved so much in a discussion that when the Kano flight was announced, the one going to Kano did not hear it. After the Kano flight left, Calabar was announced and the one going to Kano asked: “what of Kano?”and  he was told Kano had just left. Anytime you are entangled with someone who is not going in your direction, you may miss your flight. If you are not careful about your relationship, it may earn you a wrong destination or bring stagnancy into your life.

End Picture Prevents Wrong Direction: If I’m at Ketu heading to Ikorodu, I will never board a bus going to Yaba. Even if I get a free ride, I will not change to a wrong direction. Many young people are heading to wrong destination because of free ride. Highlight from that bus! If you will need to cross to the other side, do it quickly and get your way right. Excitement and free rides are not as important as riding on a right part of life.