by Patrick Ogungbola
MD/ CEO, BLUEHEDGE REALTORS
This is wishing you a Happy New Month!!!
I still find it very difficult to believe that we’re in November 2018; the activities of the past few days have been very tasking and challenging that it seems to me that time is flying.
Yeah! Yeah!! Yeah!!! This is the second to the last month of the year 2018. That’s just the reality, nothing can be done about it, whether we like it or not, this is November 2018! How has it been so far with you? We usually begin the year with lofty and fantastic plans on what we intend to achieve and how we intend to achieve them. But often times, along the way, our plans may not go as envisaged, there’s usually a deviation from the original plan. There could be many reasons for this, good or bad, but the most important thing is never to give up, but to keep trying until we achieve our goals.
The more I live, the more I tend to appreciate the privilege of life, love and existence. The best things in life are indeed unconnected with money; they have more to do with the good human nature in us, the ability to positively affect the life of others and be good to them. I feel that to be and to do good should be natural with us, but the contrary most times seem to be the case, especially for us in this part of the world. ‘To know how to do good and not do it is itself a sin (James 4:17)’. Hmmmhhh!!! May God have mercy. But which is easier: To do good or to do evil? I have discovered that to do good is far easier. Doing good can cost nothing and may be effortless, but we can’t say the same of evil – because it is usually ‘plotted or planned’. Have you ever noticed the kind of inner joy that comes along with doing good or putting a smile on someone’s face.
Howbeit, why is it that we know what is right but we choose not to do it? Why is it that we are so self-centred and preoccupied by our own selfish desires, without showing any concern for others? For instance, why will a single individual want to divert the wealth meant for a whole nation to himself? Hmmmhh, it was not for nothing that the Holy Book said that the heart of man is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked (Jeremiah 17:9). But is it not sheer ignorance and lack of proper understanding that one will be so preoccupied with the affairs of this world. Our life is finite; we are here today, we may not be here tomorrow. And unfortunately too, the wants of man are insatiable, the more we get, the more the urge to get more. We often forget that, ‘Godliness with contentment is a great gain’. A wise man by the name of Gaur Gopal Das summarized the above point when he said:
‘Whether you drive a Volkswagen or you drive a Bentley, the road remains the same, isn’t it?
Whether you speak on a Samsung or you speak on an I-phone X, whoever you’re calling remains the same, isn’t it?
Whether you’re flying economy or you’re flying business, the destination where you are heading remains the same, isn’t it?
Whether you‘re wearing a simple Fast track or you’re wearing Omega or a Rolex, the time remains the same, isn’t it?
It’s quite amazing how we work ourselves up so much with increasing the standard of living that we forget to increase the standard of our life,
And which is why wherever I travel, I make an appeal to people; there’s nothing wrong with an Omega watch, there’s nothing wrong with Bentley; God bless you with that, and if you have it, drive it, no problem.
But in trying to enhance, increase and improve the standard of living, please, please don’t compromise the standard of your life. It is not the standard of living that makes you happy, It is the standard of your life that makes you happy, and very often we forget to give attention to it, we forget to give attention to those things that can truly make us happy, which is why I always say things that I am talking about have utility value right? Not happiness value.
Travel business class or first class, travel no problem. Drive a Bentley no problem, but in doing so never compromise on those principles that also improve standard of your life.
And therefore, I always say some people are so poor, so poor, so absolutely poor that all they have is money. That’s all they have. I consider that life a poverty stricken life. If all you have is money. You are the poorest person in the world, because there is more to life than money, and there’s way more to life than what money can buy.
And therefore I many times say, if you truly want to know how rich you are, drop a tear and see how many hands come to wipe that tear.
Ladies and gentlemen, our happiness, our increased standard of life are not in things, it’s in people. It’s in relationships. It’s meaningful, heartfelt deep bonding of love that brings fulfillment to the heart.
It’s those meaningful exchanges of love that we share with each other in relationships that bring true joy to the heart. And isn’t it the greatest irony, that something that brings the greatest fulfillment, we very conveniently neglect it in just running after increasing and enhancing our standards of living?
This is powerful and thought-provoking! It is not intended for us to live an average life or a life of mediocrity, but for us to get our priorities right and to focus on what matters most in life – relationship with people.
One of the greatest discoveries in life is to know what we are created for, the solution you were to solve for humanity. No one is born by mistake in the true meaning of the word. Oh, the God of creation has created everything so perfectly well. He gave each and every one of us different abilities, skills and talents to help and complement each other.
The world today is craving for genuine love, total peace, mutual respect and empathy. Everyone wants to feel loved. Everyone wants to be respected. Everyone wants to feel safe, but are we really our brother’s keeper? Until we imbibe the golden rule of ‘Do to others as you would have them do to you (Luke 6:31)’ we won’t be living the kind of life we’re meant to live. I learnt a very profound truth in the book of Zig Ziglar titled ‘Ziglar on Selling’. He said, ‘You can have everything in life you want, if you will just help other people get what they want’ – This is what I refer to as the ‘golden rule in business’. The reason we are always in need is because we are always so focused and preoccupied with ‘our own’ needs and desires that we care less about how others feel; it’s just all about ‘me, myself and I’ mentality, but Ziglar advised that in order to get what we want, we should help enough other people get what they want. The more we do this, the more we get.
There is a Chinese saying that goes thus: “If you want happiness for an hour, take a nap. If you want happiness for a day, go fishing. If you want happiness for a year, inherit a fortune. If you want happiness for a lifetime, help somebody.” For centuries, the greatest thinkers have suggested the same thing: Happiness is found in helping others.
In closing, let’s ponder on the following nuggets:
Saint Francis of Assisi once said, ‘For it is in giving that we receive’; Leo Tolstoy said, ‘The sole meaning of life is to serve humanity’. Winston Churchill buttressed these when he said, ‘We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give’. The Nobel Peace Prize recipient Muhammad Yunus also said, ’Making money gives happiness, making other people happy gives super-happiness’ and lastly, Goldie Hawn said, ‘Giving back is as good for you as it is for those you are helping, because giving gives you purpose. When you have a purpose-driven life, you’re a happier person’.
Let’s be good to others, because you never know how long people will be with us, and you cannot take a chance to mess up with the most amazing experiences of love, just because something happened (Gaur Gopal Das).
Let us also remember the words of Prof. Williams James which says that, ‘the value of life is computed not by its duration, but by its donation’.
We wish you the very best in the month of November.
As usual, we want to remind you that we care so much about you, and that when it comes to your real estate investment and advisory, we are always here to give you the very best service you can never get elsewhere. That is our promise, and will always be.
Meanwhile, please find below the powerpoint presentations of our current properties for sale in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, Nigeria.
Thank you.
Affordable Properties For Sale in Lagos, Nigeria
Affordable Properties For Sale in Abuja, FCT, Nigeria
Affordable Properties For Sale in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria
