Currently Reading Battling for Your Prophetic Destiny: Ten Golden Gleanings from a Father to His Son By Herman J. Najoli see related

DOL Summer Residency at IWU

Well, here we are! It's Summer Residency week at Indiana Wesleyan University and all systems are go for a doctoral blast through the organizational leadership continuum. I arrived at the Campus in Marion on Saturday morning at about 7:30 am after a four hour drive from Cincinnati. I was signed in and registered. I'm in Marion Hall, room 315. It's really a fun campus. We have bonded very well as a class and cohort and it's exciting to see everyone and hear what their goals, plans, hopes and dreams are.

I am the first student from Africa to pursue a doctoral degree at Indiana Wesleyan University. It is a huge honor and blessing that I do not take lightly. I am truly grateful to God for this opportunity and will seek to do my very best in being an effective representative of His calling on my life. Hearing from the second and third year students, the journey is tough but the system of support is tight. I am committed to graduating within the minimum amount of time allotted to thsi course: three years. So, I'm buckling up and getting ready for the ride of a lifetime.

This is really the first time I am away from my son. It's been great talking to him and my wife over the phone but I truly miss them. Absence does make the heart grow fonder. I recorded some videos and have shared them with my family. I will try and video blog every couple of days. It's an exciting experience and I love it!

Currently Reading The Post-American World By Fareed Zakaria see related

Sky-Diving to the Next Level

Next month (on July 12th), I will be in Indiana for about one week as I officially start the summer residency that will keep me tied to books and study for the next three to four years as I work on my doctorate. As the day draws nigh, I find myself filled with the anticipation and excitement of pursuing a dream yet humbled by a deep understanding that it is only by God’s hand that I have come this far and only through His grace will I be able to keep on. I find myself really thinking about the implications of this opportunity. It is a dream that has been long in the making and my gratitude goes to God for making it possible and even supplying for my tuition plus related needs even before I get started. I am truly excited that this has come to pass and my faith is that it will bear fruit in many different ways.

The truth, however is that I am overwhelmed by the knowledge that the next three to four years will be huge. My sense of overwhelm comes from the knowledge that tremendous uncertainty lies ahead. This is wholly a God-thing and I realize that I have to totally rely on His grace and wisdom. While people easily say that you have to live by faith, many fail to capture the true essence of faith. I say this because my life has been a series of jumps from one level of faith to another. It all started with my attempting to capture glimpses of my destiny and then writing them down about nine years ago. Then came my faith that I would be able to travel to the US. I thought I was so rich coming here with only US 140 in my pocket and a 21-inch suitcase yet I have managed to sustain myself now going into seven years. Then the next leap was believing that I could pursue my masters degree and pay for it all by myself. That was a huge faith move that I had no idea I could pull through but look at where I am now.

Every single moment of my life is seemingly being laced with a band of faith that I am continually striving to embrace and learning how to fully appropriate into my experience. Now comes this huge step – pursuing my terminal degree - which for me is the ultimate journey of educational and academic excellence since it's implications are immense and the potential of it's ripple effects astounding in magnitude.

You know, one might look at all that I am doing and think that I am a very confident and bold person but the truth is that deep down there is that constant fight between the tangible and the intangible. I feel almost like a sky-diver just about to jump out of a plane, not knowing what to expect once he leaves that which he can see, touch, feel and smell. He looks down at the sheer expanse of sky down below and he knows that the flight will be exhilarating but he shudders at the idea that anything could happen that could potentially alter his entire life. What does he do? Should he jump out of the plane and experience the finite limitless or should he stay in the plane and forever live in the infinite limited? What should he do? You ask, "Is he scared?" You bet he is!! You quip, "But he's conquered almost similar challenges before!" Yes, he has but no one ever stepped into the same river twice. Every new attempt at the impossible (even the possible that is seemingly impossible) is a whole new endeavor that calls for a rising of new human spirit empowered by God's spirit. You wonder, "What is he going to do now?" The answer to that lies within the individual because every one of us is a sky diver whether we know it or not. What separates the true divers from those who never do it is GANAS. It all begins with that first step of just thinking about the joy of the experience.

My friends, the fear rises with the approach of the moment of separation between the old and the new. The desire to hold onto that which I have known and embraced in my past, albeit even as short a past as only seven years since I came to the US, tugs at my inner being. With an equally opposing force, the longing to step out of the boat and walk on the water consumes every marrow in my bone. What will I do? Go for that which I have never ever done before or stick with that which I have tried and done? Should I log-on and experience the quantum life or should I camp in this valley and live the ordinary life? What makes a champion, the former or the latter? Yes, I know the answer but then that doesn't eradicate the momentary fear that continually infiltrates my very attempt at clarity of thought. Do I want to live the rain-lashed life or should I forever stay under the cover and warmth of a roof over my head? Should I go out there and rub my shoulders against the friction that elevates purpose or should I hold my peace in my little domain where everything is just as I want it to be?

Susan Jeffers, PhD, wrote a book and produced audio-tapes on the subject, "Feel the fear, but do it anyway". Nike lives and operates by the slogan, "Just do it!" God governs His earthly kingdom with the motto, "The just shall live by faith". Ralph Waldo Emerson left his stamp on this page of human experience by saying, "Courage is not the absence of fear but the conquest of fear". Well, many have left their personal stamps on the hall of difference-makers and gotten their names forever engraved on the wall of legacy but then they all had to experience many fears. The sky-diver in the doorway of the plane. His moment to take the plunge has come, but he is experiencing all sorts of things. A million thoughts are running through his head. He's got a weak stomach. His knees are wobbly. His heart is faint within him. His mind is stodgy. Is he going to dive? Does he know that there are many invisible fathers of faith cheering him from the balcony of heaven? Does he trust that if anything goes wrong his father will send an angel to cushion his landing? What will THIS sky-diver do???

Stay tuned to find out.  

Currently Reading Leadership Gold: Lessons I've Learned from a Lifetime of Leading By John C. Maxwell see related

An April Doctoral Blessing !!

I just learnt that I've been accepted into the Doctoral in Organizational Leadership program at Indiana Wesleyan University. I'm thrilled and full of gratitude to God. I mean, this is the first step towards attaining an academic position in research and teaching at a leading universities or leadership opportunities in business, hospital and health care executive level administration or faith based organizations and/or research foundations. It could also potentially elevate my credentials for operating my own business or organization. It's a huge blessing and I'm super-grateful to God for this opportunity. Please keep me in your prayers as I explore financing possibilities and opportunities. God is great! 

Embracing a Vision for Newness in 2008

Potential, Focus, Output and Results

When I was a kid my dad bought me a couple of magnifying glasses of varied colors. I enjoyed playing with the glasses and feeling like a serious detective as I roamed in and out of the house looking for clues to mysteries that I created in my overactive imagination. Perhaps the greatest power of those glasses, I came to discover, was that when I held them over a piece of newspaper and allowed the sun’s rays to stream through, pretty soon I would have a fire (I was a little older and understood the need for safety). We lived directly under the equator and the sun was always hot and directly above us for most of the day. However, it’s rays never burnt anything until when they were brought to a point of focus.

While bringing those rays to a point of focus might seem like reducing the sun’s power, it actually increased it’s intensity and resulted in the generation of heat. This is the same thing with our potential. When potential is brought to a point of focus it results in greater output and results. Activity is not necessarily productivity. It’s what you focus on that brings about your greatest productivity. Much has been said about the Pareto Principle, which I believe to be true. According to Pareto, 80% of your productivity will come from 20% of your activity (paraphrased). Here’s the key to generating lasting results: find the 20% of what you are most effective at and give it 80% of your time and resources.