Carry on

It's easy to fight when everything's right,
And you're mad with the thrill and the glory;
It's easy to cheer when victory's near,
And wallow in fields that are gory.
It's a different song when everything's wrong,
When you're feeling infernally mortal;
When it's ten against one, and hope there is none,
Buck up, little soldier, and chortle:

Carry on! Carry on!
There isn't much punch in your blow.
You're glaring and staring and hitting out blind;
You're muddy and bloody, but never you mind.
Carry on! Carry on!
You haven't the ghost of a show.
It's looking like death, but while you've a breath,
Carry on, my son! Carry on!

And so in the strife of the battle of life
It's easy to fight when you're winning;
It's easy to slave, and starve and be brave,
When the dawn of success is beginning.
But the man who can meet despair and defeat
With a cheer, there's the man of God's choosing;
The man who can fight to Heaven's own height
Is the man who can fight when he's losing.

Carry on! Carry on!
Things never were looming so black.
But show that you haven't a cowardly streak,
And though you're unlucky you never are weak.
Carry on! Carry on!
Brace up for another attack.
It's looking like hell, but -- you never can tell:
Carry on, old man! Carry on!

There are some who drift out in the deserts of doubt,
And some who in brutishness wallow;
There are others, I know, who in piety go
Because of a Heaven to follow.
But to labour with zest, and to give of your best,
For the sweetness and joy of the giving;
To help folks along with a hand and a song;
Why, there's the real sunshine of living.

Carry on! Carry on!
Fight the good fight and true;
Believe in your mission, greet life with a cheer;
There's big work to do, and that's why you are here.
Carry on! Carry on!
Let the world be the better for you;
And at last when you die, let this be your cry:
Carry on, my soul! Carry on!

Robert William Service

A Price for the Prize

A price for the prize

Any gift is affordable as long as there’s someone ready to bear the cost;

Anything is possible as far as there’s someone to pursue what is required;

Any feat is achievable as long as there’s someone ready to pay the price;

Any height is attainable as far as there’s someone ready to climb all the way;

Any crown is wearable as long as there’s someone ready to carry the cross;

Any result is obtainable as far as there’s someone ready to accept responsibility for its possibility.

You were not born to be a statistic, a son or daughter of Mr. and Mrs. so and so. Have you noticed that everything on your body points forward and the only part that points back is designed to pass out waste – what you don’t need!

It’s time for you to move beyond where you are to pursue where you are meant to be. It is time to pursue the target of your destiny. I believe you become what you pursue consciously or unconsciously. If you pick a target especially when it’s a target inspired by God and pursue it, you end up emerging as a star, in the same vein if you pick nothing you will end up with nothing; life is a game of choices! Every great name in the world past and present have at one point or the other made a defining decision to pursue something; when they hit target we then say they as successful.

Impossible is a strange word, it is actually the most controversial and defeated word in the English dictionary. It’s like every time somebody says impossible the word becomes challenged and eventually the subject matter is debunked.

A story is told by Pastor Sam Adeyemi about an eighteenth century Bishop who visited a seminary and got into a discussion with the president of the seminary. He noted how he suspected the coming of the Lord is so near. The president of the seminary inquired why he had such suspicions; the older clergy man responded that looking at all that man has invented we have exhausted all the inventions possible and therefore the end of the world is near. The seminary president, a much younger man disagreed with the bishop saying that he believed man is yet to exhaust his potentials to invent novel ideas. He particularly said he believed man will someday fly in the sky. The bishop got annoyed; he reiterated that only angels were created by God to fly. The name of that bishop was Bishop Wright, as God would humorously have it, his sons; Ogilvy and Wilbur (popularly referred to as the Wright brothers) years later caught the idea of building an aircraft and succeeded in making man to fly. Impossible is NOTHING to reckon with.

If you will live above the limitations of impossibility you’ll have to embrace the principle of paying the price for the prize. Once the price is paid nothing is impossible. You are the core determinant of the quality of life that you live. You must come to the point where you accept responsibility for anything that takes hold of your life. Every grace, help, favor, breakthrough or open door you get in life whether from God or man is actually your call. Like I always say “if you fail it’s your fault; if you succeed it’s also your fault”.

The price you decide to pay today influences the prize you receive tomorrow. During a leadership conference in 2007 Dr. David Oyedepo said “everything of value carries a cost”

The legendary feats in basketball as accomplished by Michael Jordan was built on the back bone of 500 throws every morning, the dexterity of Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi was birth in the early morning private practice sessions while their mates were asleep. Tiger Woods began playing golf at seven while his mates enjoyed their holidays, a cross section of entrepreneurs and CEOs particularly of Fortune 500 companies attest to engaging the early hours of the day (between 1am and 4am) for deep reflection and decision making. Friends, there is a cost for your crown, a fee for your field, a bill for your deal – a price for the prize.

I have always said “until the eaglet stretches out its wings it is not permitted to become an eagle, all its desires notwithstanding”.   

Your literature gives structure to your future.

The next few pages are spiced with the seasonings of destiny. Illumination with the intention of unlocking the inner depth of your passion to unleash what and who you really are, that’s the core purpose of this work. The future you will experience tomorrow is the one you capture today. My mentor Sam Adeyemi said “today was created yesterday”, which implies tomorrow will be created today. Today is what you and I have, by tomorrow it will be another today, so maximizing today is the wisdom of every achiever. You can’t wait for the future; you go for it. Headliners are those who get “there” first in their minds. 

I have come to find that success actually begins with accepting that there is a future; that you have a future. If you don’t come to terms with this truth; that the reason why you are still alive now, why you woke up this morning is that you have a future that is worth living. I believe very strongly that you don’t live a day more than you are relevant to this earth. Once your time is up and your being here physically is of no use, life has a way of exiting and evicting you. If you are holding this post then you have a bright and very important future. Embrace the future, release your treasure; pay the price.

The prize of your destiny is great but there is a price, find it, pay it and win it.

This is your finest hour!

You will succeed!

Culled from the book "Capture the Future" by Edmundking Ogheneochuko

A price for the prize

A price for the prize

Any gift is affordable as long as there’s someone ready to bear the cost;

Anything is possible as far as there’s someone to pursue what is required;

Any feat is achievable as long as there’s someone ready to pay the price;

Any height is attainable as far as there’s someone ready to climb all the way;

Any crown is wearable as long as there’s someone ready to carry the cross;

Any result is obtainable as far as there’s someone ready to accept responsibility for its possibility.

You were not born to be a statistic, a son or daughter of Mr. and Mrs. so and so. Have you noticed that everything on your body points forward and the only part that points back is designed to pass out waste – what you don’t need!

It’s time for you to move beyond where you are to pursue where you are meant to be. It is time to pursue the target of your destiny. I believe you become what you pursue consciously or unconsciously. If you pick a target especially when it’s a target inspired by God and pursue it, you end up emerging as a star, in the same vein if you pick nothing you will end up with nothing; life is a game of choices! Every great name in the world past and present have at one point or the other made a defining decision to pursue something; when they hit target we then say they as successful.

Impossible is a strange word, it is actually the most controversial and defeated word in the English dictionary. It’s like every time somebody says impossible the word becomes challenged and eventually the subject matter is debunked.

A story is told by Pastor Sam Adeyemi about an eighteenth century Bishop who visited a seminary and got into a discussion with the president of the seminary. He noted how he suspected the coming of the Lord is so near. The president of the seminary inquired why he had such suspicions; the older clergy man responded that looking at all that man has invented we have exhausted all the inventions possible and therefore the end of the world is near. The seminary president, a much younger man disagreed with the bishop saying that he believed man is yet to exhaust his potentials to invent novel ideas. He particularly said he believed man will someday fly in the sky. The bishop got annoyed; he reiterated that only angels were created by God to fly. The name of that bishop was Bishop Wright, as God would humorously have it, his sons; Ogilvy and Wilbur (popularly referred to as the Wright brothers) years later caught the idea of building an aircraft and succeeded in making man to fly. Impossible is NOTHING to reckon with.

If you will live above the limitations of impossibility you’ll have to embrace the principle of paying the price for the prize. Once the price is paid nothing is impossible. You are the core determinant of the quality of life that you live. You must come to the point where you accept responsibility for anything that takes hold of your life. Every grace, help, favor, breakthrough or open door you get in life whether from God or man is actually your call. Like I always say “if you fail it’s your fault; if you succeed it’s also your fault”.

The price you decide to pay today influences the prize you receive tomorrow. During a leadership conference in 2007 Dr. David Oyedepo² said “everything of value carries a cost”

The legendary feats in basketball as accomplished by Michael Jordan³ was built on the back bone of 500 throws every morning, the dexterity of Cristiano Ronaldo⁴ and Lionel Messi⁵ was birth in the early morning private practice sessions while their mates were asleep. Tiger Woods⁵ began playing golf at seven while his mates enjoyed their holidays, a cross section of entrepreneurs and CEOs particularly of Fortune 500 companies attest to engaging the early hours of the day (between 1am and 4am) for deep reflection and decision making. Friends, there is a cost for your crown, a fee for your field, a bill for your deal – a price for the prize.

I have always said “until the eaglet stretches out its wings it is not permitted to become an eagle, all its desires notwithstanding”.   

This is your finest hour!

You will succeed!

culled from the book "Capture the future: Character"