by
Patrick Ogungbola
MD/ CEO
Like play, like play, February 2019 is here. This is wishing you a Happy New Month.
However, beyond the new month wishes, we must all come to the realization that we are aging gradually. The common greetings for anyone celebrating birthday nowadays is, ‘Age gracefully’. This shows that we are aging, although gracefully, and as each day goes by, our life span is being reduced, whereas there’s still so much for us to do – so many goals to be accomplished, and so much impacts to be made. The more we do, the more we realize that there’s still so much yet to be done. Whatever may be the case, we just have to live our lives one day at a time, while ensuring that we make every day count. January 2019 has passed away, just like every other month will pass away, whether we do anything or not. What has been our achievements in the past month? What ‘landmark’ achievements can we point to? May God help us to be conscious of our time, and to properly utilize same judiciously.
Obviously, times and seasons are fast changing, most things can no longer be accurately predicted, including the weather. As at the time of this writing, there’s been heavy downpour in Lagos; the kind of rain one will never expect at this period of the year. Can anyone accurately predict the outcome of anything these days? Even the upcoming Nigerian election seems unpredictable. In Nigeria, it’s been proved that online opinion polls does not truly represent the opinion of the people, as there are millions of Nigerians, especially in the core North and other areas that are not computer or internet literate, but are eligible voters. Whatever may be the case, we have a strong belief that the election will come and go, and everything will be fine.
Now, going back to the discourse on predictability, even if we can’t accurately predict events, weather or other natural occurrences, should we not be able to predict each other as humans. The question is, ‘Are you predictable?’ Can others say, for sure, that they know you indeed; that is, can they vouch for you? Let’s even bring this question a bit closer, ‘Do you know yourself?’, ‘Can you vouch for yourself or your integrity?’ At the surface, these questions may look absurd or insane, as the natural and spontaneous response will be, ‘Why won’t I know myself? However, when we examine our lives very closely, we may discover that we know just little about ourselves or what we are capable of doing. For instance, have you ever done certain things which were the last thing you or any other person would expect from you, and when asked if you actually did it, you’ll blamed it on the devil?
Now, if you really know yourself, why won’t you be able to surely know what you’re capable of doing or not doing? Do we really know ourselves in the real meaning of the word? One of the greatest admonitions given by an ancient Philosopher, Socrates is, ‘Man, know thyself’. The greatest discovery in life is ‘Self-discovery’ which is the process of acquiring insight into one’s character. This is really very important because many people are not truly in control of themselves and their destiny. Imagine, having lived for several years, you suddenly realize that you don’t even know yourself; that is, you’re not in tune with your true self, and you then discovered that you’ve actually not lived the life you’re meant to live. It will be a big tragedy! The greatest frustration any sane person can face in life is to be living without a true sense of identity and purpose.
It is amazing that the current world population according to Worldometers is about 7.7billion people (as at January 2019), and still science has proved to us that no two people are exactly the same, not even the so-called ‘identical’ twins. Research has proved that each person has a unique finger print, iris and retina (eyes), ear, lip print, tongue, voice, toe print and teeth. This means that if anyone ever told you that you are one in a million, they lied to you; you are actually one in 7.7billion.
Honestly, this is not a motivational talk; I value and respect everyone I have come across; it’s just unfortunate that most people don’t know the kind of power they possess, and hence, they end up living a mediocre life. We are indeed very powerful. Few days ago, I was at a mechanic workshop, and I saw how the engine of a car was pieced, and I began to imagine how everything that makes up a car was manufactured. Think about air plane, jets, massive ships like titanic, think of everything in existence today, they are all products of man. As a matter of fact, we can conclude that what is not yet in existence are the things that have not been thought of.
I repeat, you are indeed very powerful. The value you place on yourself is the same value others will place on you. You may not have control over other people, but you should at least have 100% absolute control over yourself; this is the greatest privilege every man has. You may deceive other people, but you can never deceive yourself. This is why William Shakespeare advised that, ‘To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as night follows day, thou canst not then be false to any man’. This means that if you are true to yourself, you are most likely to be true to others, and with this you can be predicted to be truthful.
There’s even a common saying that human beings are not predictable and can’t be trusted, but you still have to rely on people to accomplish many things. Agreed, not everyone can be trusted, but there are some that can hold on to their integrity till death. As a matter of fact, the people that can’t be trusted are doing a great damage to themselves without knowing. For instance, can you do business with someone you can’t trust, vouch for or predict their character? Business and relationship thrives on trust and predictability. Generally, we base our analysis and assertions on previous events or occurrences. And this is why we need to be careful as people so as not to betray the trust people have for us, because trust once broken, may never be regained.
Usually, someone’s future performance will be judged by their previous performance; in the same vein, in business, the future worth of a company will be measured by their current and previous results. If a company is known to be under-performing for years, or the management are of low repute, the stock value of such a company will be very low. This is why it’s extremely very important for us to always hold on to our integrity and keep our reputation above board.
The above is even much more important for those in our line of business. You cannot go far in the real estate business if you can’t be trusted and you’re unpredictable. Clients don’t care so much about your academic qualifications and professional affiliations; all they care about is, ‘can they trust you with the millions of Naira or Dollar they want to invest’, which may be their entire life savings – no one will want to gamble with such. What enhances the value and dignity of a man is trust and integrity. No wonder, Late President Nelson Mandela once said, ‘Honesty is a very expensive gift, don’t expect it from cheap people’, and Mary Kay Ashmore also pointed out that, ‘Honesty is the cornerstone of all success, without which confidence and ability to perform shall cease to exist’. We can then be right to say that you can lose money and make it back, you can lose friends and win them back, but once you betray someone’s trust, you may never gain it back. This is why we need to be careful and disciplined in all we do. Let’s strive to create and maintain good relationship, because this is what life is all about.
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
