Newsmakers and Noisemakers

There are two kinds of influencers in our world; the noisemakers and the newsmakers.

According to the World Health Organisation, in 2018, there were an estimated 405 000 deaths from malaria globally, compared with 416 000 estimated deaths in 2017, and 585 000 in 2010. On the other hand, according to reports on Wikipedia, it is estimated that over 250 people are killed by lions every year.

Mosquitoes have killed more humans than what lions can boast of, yet the sound of mosquitoes is nothing compared to the roar of lions. Impact has never been about the size, sight and sound of a thing but it’s capacity to have an evident effect.

The lion is regarded as the king of the jungle, mosquitoes don’t even have a place in the jungle, yet, statistics show that mosquitoes have more impact on our world than lions. Influence has nothing to do with titles and labels.

The roar of a lion shakes the earth but the bite of a mosquito causes death (if not attended to). The difference is found in the capacity to have put more emphasis on influence than tags and titles . The sun does not shout to shine, salt is not seen in meals but its effect is prominent.

Who is a newsmaker and who is the noisemaker?

Newsmakers are those who make the world a better place with their beauty, brains and brawn, but noisemakers are those who make the world a bitter place with their attitude, abilities and actions.

Life is beautiful because some angels decided to dwell on earth and make this world an extension of paradise, I guess you are one of them. These angels are newsmakers. They beautify everything and everyone around them.

Life can also be awful just because some terrorists refuse to stay in hell, they decided to become tourists in this realm. These folks are noisemakers, they wreck everything and everyone they come in contact with. Noisemakers shout, newsmakers shine.

Every human has an innate capacity to be powerful and impactful irrespective of their size, strengths and setbacks. However, positive impact requires a certain amount of distinct ingredients.

What are the Ingredients of Influence?

• Intentionality: this is the power of minds to represent, or to stand for something significant. What do you stand for? Everyone is born with unique skills and talents but not everyone maximizes their potentials. Intentionality positions you to find your purpose and helps you attract the right people. Find your voice and reach your audience with a clear purpose.Ingenuity: Originality is the spice of true impact. Imitation is not just limitation but suicide, a person who refuses to be distinct will always live as a ghost in the market place. Carve a niche for yourself. Build a brand.Integrity: Don’t fake it till you make it. A lie is lame, it needs more lies to stand for a while, only to fall and fail eventually. To have indelible influence, be honest to a fault. Do you thing without pretence or falsehood.Information: you cannot give what you don’t have. Talent has never been enough. The more you know, the more you grow. Invest in getting the right information about your scope and sphere of influence. When you develop yourself, you deliver better.Inspiration: When you have a powerful ‘love language’, even your mess will become a message. See the positive side of everything and help others to see beauty even in ashes. Be a problem solver. See the best in others and help them achieve it. Add value to life with your voice and your vision.

I challenge you today to be a newsmaker and not a noisemaker. You are here to happen, you are made to manifest.

© 2020 Adeleke Adeite
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Worship and Warship

Worship is a weapon that guarantees undeniable victory, especially when it is genuine. Every worshiper is a winner.

Life is a battle, the more we live, the more we fight against fear, discomfort, death, sicknesses, depression, injustice, poverty and every other nature of negativity. The battles of life always produce two sets of fighters: those who worship and those who worry.

Worship is not about singing soulful songs to a deity, it is the art of submitting totally to a divine being or supernatural power. Worship is a way of life, it’s a weapon of liberation, while worry is a weapon of mass distraction.

Who you worship or what you submit yourself to will ultimately determine the kind of victory you will enjoy: short-lived or permanent victory.

Sacrifice is at the core of worship. You have to leave some things in order to lift what matters to you. I think that those who want to serve two masters end up becoming bad losers. Worship is not a more than a therapy, it’s the essence of spirituality.

You are at liberty to worship whoever or whatever works for you. For me, my mind is made up to worship the Almighty God, and my relationship with Him transcends religious rites and rituals. I encounter His goodness always, I enjoy His daily mercies, and I can testify that His love for me is limitless, reckless and timeless.

Worship lifts Everlasting doors and makes the King of kings rise from His throne. Even in the stormy seas of life, the seeds of our worship and faith bring calmness.

Our messes pass a message to God when we worship, and He clears them.
Chains are broken, iniquities are forgiven, burdens are lifted, sieges are frustrated and infirmities are healed when we worship.

In our insecurities, worship brings perfection.
In our weakness, it brings strength.
In our restlessness, it brings peace.
In our confusion, it brings order.
In distress, it gives hope.

It’s amazing that the glorious God craves our worship.
What an honour! Worship is our passport to God’s presence and our visa to victory.
When the banner of the praise is lifted in truth and spirit, the King Himself stands!

My call and cry to you today is, choose to worship the Almighty God, surrender your soul to Him! He has won all wars already, your worship gives you access to His warships.

Every other thing will fail and fade away but God remains faithful and lives forever. Worship His Majesty
© 2020 Adeleke Adeite and Timilehin Adeyanju

She is also a budding songwriter, singer and most especially a lover of God.

Timilehin is a vibrant teenager, tech enthusiast and student leader who is passionate about creating inspiring contents.

You can reach her via
oluwatimilehinadeyanju222@gmail.com

Sanity and Sanitizers

Amid global panic, pandemic and pandemonium, I have come to realize that we need more than hand sanitizers, we need sanity. Hand sanitizers can eliminate germs from our hands but what can eliminate fear and frustration from our hearts? Face mask has proven to be effective in preventing the spread of virus, but without ‘faith-mask’, a lot of folks may continue to struggle with depression, despair, fear, grief, and anxiety.

The scourge of Covid-19 has rendered world powers clueless and powerless. People all over the world still look up to the government, scientists and medical practitioners to proffer solution. However, there are certain things that requires more supernatural support and human effort.

Some of us wonder why God would allow the whole world to be groaning and grieving this much. Why would a good God permit bad things to happen? The question I ask myself is, why would a good man allow his wife to get pregnant, even though the woman will go through a season of discomfort and the terrible pain of child labour?

This pandemic has made some to lose their faith and love their fears. If you don’t have any iota of faith in a God that you cannot see, why do you fear a virus that you cannot see?

I have met quite a few people who say that prayer is pointless in situations such as this global pandemonium. Action is required, and I agree. I think that prayer has never been the solution to any problem.  However,  the lack of prayer has been the source of many problems.

Prayerlessness is not only a pathway to powerlessness, but it’s the catalyst of cluelessness.

Prayer doesn’t necessarily change the mind of God, but it puts us in a position to access the storehouse of God and also enjoy His peace even in the storm. God already has a plan and purpose for everything happening in our world. He is not trying to figure out how to help us.

He doesn’t need us to tell Him what to do, but He only wants to know if we would factor Him into our fears, failures, floods, flames, and frustrations. Our trust in God is a fragrance that invites Him into our situation. Faith promotes peace, progress, and prosperity. Fear, on the other hand, fuels frustration.

Faith Boosters and Fear Busters

Let me share with you ten faith boosters that have always helped me.

• Don’t look forward to the light at the end of the tunnel, there is light within the tunnel, and it’s in you. Find your spark, speak your light into existence.

• Don’t declare defeat when the battle is still on. No matter what you are going through, tell yourself that it is not over until God takes over. The presence of pain is not the absence of gain.

• Don’t be an instrument of torment to yourself or the people around you. Encourage yourself. The fact that you are still breathing is a sign that God has bigger and better plans for you.

• Don’t magnify your mess. Gold is not found in clean and comfortable places. We get buried sometimes because we are treasures. Life uses pains to refine and rebrand us.

• Don’t contemplate suicide. Speak out. Help is always available. Rock bottom is not a burial ground but a good place to bounce back to grace.

• Be positive in a positive way. Renew your heart with good and godly materials. Don’t just seek motivation, find revelation. What you know is more important than what you feel.

• Be sensitive: life is always speaking. Storms have a voice. Don’t be distracted by delay, denial, or discouragement. Be vigilant to new visions if you desire positive change.

• Be confident: bravery is an antidote to slavery. Cowardice has a way of making potential champions act like a chicken. Failure is not the opposite of failure but an opportunity to succeed. Face your fears and forge forward.

• Be positioned for possibility. Life will not always give you what you deserve but what you demand. Don’t wait for things to happen. Make things happen. Take bold steps, even if they do not make sense at first.

• Be prayerful: God has a pivotal role to play in our journey to survival, success, and significance. Those who deploy the drone of prayers see situations clearly and capture opportunities faster. Don’t be robbed of your peace and progress just because you refuse to include God in the equation.

I affirm that God will take you from panic to praise as you engage these faith boosters. I strongly recommend my book: Whispers of Winners, it’s a great tool that will boost your faith this season. Click here to get a copy. https://adelekeadeite.wordpress.com/whispers-of-winners/

© 2020 Adeleke Adeite

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Watering Words

Words are an integral part of our existence. They remain one of our major interaction tools, whether written, spoken, or otherwise; and are used to express a vast amount of emotions, opinions, and instructions. The words we speak are not only a reflection of our lives, they determine the direction of our lives.

In the book of wisdom, Proverbs, King Solomon makes emphasis on the influence of words. Words are powerful and impactful currencies in the market square of life. Some turn away anger while some turn on affection. Some give encouragement while others cause despair. Some promote peace, while others invoke discord. I’m sure you get the gist.

Words are like seeds, every seed has its right season and the right soil. Timely words are powerful tools to propel peace and progress, but untimely words can be a source of struggle and stress. Words runs the world, they can ruin or repair lives.

Saying ‘Yes’, at its basic form, is an affirmative response; but sometimes it can be an impatient response, an irate response, an unconcerned response or a welcoming response.

The Bible in Matthew 12:34 (NLT) reads, “…For the mouth speaks what the heart is full of.”

The verse above points us to the timeless truth, that our words (and how we speak them) are hugely influenced by the contents and condition of our minds.

A person whose heart is steeped in bitterness will speak from the abundance of negativity within. A person whose heart is full of joy will speak from the abundance within.

Let your heart be a huge well
Gushing out beautiful utterances
Bestowing peace and progress
Not drowning them.

Bridle your tongue
Pay attention to its proceeds
If you let it gallop away
It will only leave havoc in its wake.

Let your words be water
Relieving thirst in parched people
Contributing to their growth
Not annihilating them.

Allow your words to be light
Brightening the lives of others
Illuminating their dreams and talents
Not snuffing them.

Wise words are like fertilisers,
use them to boost blessings.
Timely words are like sanitizers,
apply them to fight viruses.

Kind words are tranquillizers,
use them to reduce pains.
Perfect words are like stabilizers
install them to fight fears.

Want to use words to attract value and victory? Get a copy of Whispers of Winners here.

© 2020 Deborah Olajitan & Adeleke Adeite

Side Chicks and Side Gigs

At the core of human existence is family life. Everyone is a product of the union of a man and a woman. Florishing families produce a sane society.

It has been observed that fidelity, financial stability and faith play a fundamental role in family life. Everyone has legitimate needs, but when such needs are not met, frustration often sets in, which leads to pointless pressure.

Men and women express their needs in different dimensions. Some of the most commonly expressed desires of men comprise sexual fulfilment, physical attraction, encouragement, friendship, domestic comfort and respect. Women’s desires include attention, affection, loyalty, communication, sexual satisfaction, affirmation, financial support and responsibility.

The inability of partners to meet or get some of these needs met often causes a crack in relationships if not properly managed, hence some end up satisfying these needs with awful alternatives.

It’s all about mindsets. A broke person with a high sense of productivity will create alternative streams of income but a bored person with low self-esteem will crave unproductive streams of satisfaction.

I stumbled on the story of Rebecca Meza on Quora. He story expresses the clear perspective of woman on infidelity

I was the main woman to this man, we were together for 5 years with children. I always kept it fun, romantic, spicey, cooked and took care of our children. He ended up choosing to destroy our relationship by getting a side chick. He kept it from me, but I found out. For this man, it wasn’t about me, it was all about him. He was insecure and needed a constant ego boost, no matter how nicely I treated him.

I got numb to this man and his dumb choices – instead of growing up, fixing us, or breaking up, he chose to cheat. No matter what I did for this man it wasn’t enough and he decided to be selfish.

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If a man decides to get a side chick, he doesn’t have respect for you, that other person, or himself. I deserved better and kicked him out. Ladies, remember it’s s not you, it’s that person’s choice.

• Rebecca Meza

It has been claimed that one of the major reasons why men get side chicks and side gigs is BOREDOM. It should, however, be noted that infidelity and productivity are not gender-biased.

Everyone gets bored at one point or the other and as a result, we all desire something new but how a person deals with boredom is a reflection of his self-esteem and values.
When real partners want something new, they spice up their love life instead of looking outward for undue satisfaction.

Renew your relationship instead of finding a new partner (especially in marriage). Human beings should not be treated like pieces of fabric. You wouldn’t want to be treated as such. When partners know better, they do better.

Using boredom as an excuse for infidelity is baseless.
A man who has a bag of corn, with a producer mindset will use the corn for cornflakes, popcorn, custard, cornflour and others just to get something new. Suffice to say here that real partners get side gigs to kill boredom, and also get financial freedom. But rash partners get side ‘chicks’ to kill boredom and thereby enter into emotional thralldom.

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The aim of this piece is to draw a link between productivity and fidelity, especially for married couples. However, I strongly believe that sexual urge is not man’s creation but a creation of God. When people commit their sexual life to God and consciously set boundaries, they will find grace to shun infidelity.

God is the grand producer and creator of all things, for a man to fully maximize creativity and productivity, he needs a touch of divinity. However, there is the place of practice, partnership, platforms, products and persistence.

If all men decide to get a side gig instead of a side chick, our world will be better for it. Someone may say that what a side chick offers can’t be compared to what side gig offers. I have never seen a man who died of fidelity but poverty kills every day.

Men, it’s time to man up!

© 2020 Adeleke Adeite
Reference:

I Fell For a Phoenix

It was love at first sight, I knew there was something phenomenal about this rare writer who wields the pen of a fighter – call it a sword. In my quest to unearth the depth of her deftness, I kept wading into wild and warm words, the hallmarks of her art. Her writings are mostly a blend of rage and courage.

No syllable is void of vigour, every line is either a lifeline or a deadline. she makes her readers look too fit to quit. As expected, I found myself flowing in love with this luminous lady. Who no like better thing? She’s a gem too genuine to be jettisoned.

Puzzles are quite easy to punch, but this Shally is a marvel no mortal mind can unravel.

I have met quite a few beautiful female writers, this one is not only a limited edition but a female version of what a man can never be. She is in a class of her own.

Friendship was born in the comment section of an online writing platform, we exchanged contacts along the line( winks).
Ready to relish every bit of her beautiful but broken heart, I kept probing. Alas, our first discussion about her growing up experience left me in tears, I couldn’t imagine how she was able to rise from the ashes and unseen bruises caused by childhood abuse, to become a vibrant, versatile and virtuous young lady!

Life has thrown many bricks at her but she used each of them as stepping stones to strength, success and significance.

She is a canvas of grace, a signature of strength, and symbol of boundless beauty. She vividly reminds me of the unique bird in classical mythology that lived for about six centuries in the Arabian desert, after this time burning itself on a funeral pyre and rising from the ashes with renewed youth to live through another life cycle.

For brave girls like Shally, there is no sanctuary, they need no safe place to retreat but a strong place to rise. For blessed girls like Abeke, there is no mortuary, death to them is not the opposite of life but an opportunity to live to the fullest.

She is something else; a tale no tongue can tell, a gemstone no merchant can sell. She is my sister from another mother, but we now have the same Father – the Father of all fathers.

Here is to my amazing sister, friend and ‘love-muse’.

Your courage is colourful,
it makes Rainbows jealous,
it makes nature get desirous,
If I’m a painter, I’ll be covetous.

Your bravery is beautiful,
it makes butterflies captivated
roses of all shades get fascinated,
If I’m a magician, I’ll be enchanted.

Your warmth is wonderful,
It makes the mountains crush
even the rocks and hills blush,
If I’m a mountaineer, I will rush…

Your passion is powerful,
It makes raging storms stare
and forces furnaces to flare,
If I’m a superhero, I’ll give a glare

Dedicated to Olaseni Mary
© 2020 Adeleke Adeite

Forgive Yourself First

My heart has been broken, burnt and buried a couple of times. How I still get to love again is a miracle. If you have never been heartbroken, don’t read any further. Okay, that was a joke. Read a little more till you stop seeing yourself in this mirror. (Laughs)

It is believed that prevention is better than cure, but I think that knowing how to prevent unnecessary pains is priceless and pure. When undue pain is not permitted, unwanted regret is not remitted.

I have been in quite a few rash and reckless relationships and have come to realise that there is nothing more depressing than a sinking and stinking relationSHIP. It makes people drown even before their ‘ship’ starts drowning. You know those ‘rosy relationships’ with bitter waters flowing behind the scene.

Folks who are in bitter relationships may not necessarily be frowning but are drowning within. The late music icon, Fela Anikulapo Kuti called it ‘suffering and smiling’.

So, let’s get this straight, everyone will at one point or the other make wrong choices not because they are not wise enough but because they need to learn to value the right choices. Challenges make champions, for those who choose to give change a chance.

One thing that makes it possible to get out of toxic relationships faster is forgiveness, I’m not talking about forgiving the other person, but forgiving yourself.

Forgive yourself first, internal freedom fuels external freedom. It becomes easy to forge ahead when you learn to forgive yourself and stop struggling to forgive the offender or abuser. Stop trying to forget the past and start building a brighter future. Pick up the messy pieces and build a masterpiece. Even God created a bright and beautiful earth out of an empty and worthless earth.

You are not too battered and shattered to be rearranged and repackaged. Your pain is a puzzle that only love can fix – self-love. Forgiving yourself frees you from the hold of your past and gives you access into a deeper dimension of affection. And when you are free from internal bondage, it becomes easy to break free from external bondage.

Tell yourself sorry…

I’m sorry, to say the least,
I’m sorry for the last.
I’m sorry for forlorn feasts,
I’m sorry for the fast.

I’m sorry for weak heartbeats,
I’m sorry for the blast.
I’m sorry for my faulty feats,
I’m sorry for the past.

I’m sorry for dull film and frame,
I’m sorry for dead desire.
I’m sorry for my flagrant flame,
I’m sorry about the fire.

I’m sorry for shadow and shame
I’m sorry for the mire.
I’m sorry for every blame game,
I’m sorry for my quagmire.

I will do better by learning better,
I need not get bitter.
I have this one lovely life to live,
I will learn to forgive.
©2020 Adeleke Adeite

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I Tested Positive

I think this will make some friends feel sorry, while some will be encouraged and inspired by my story. However, I am not ashamed to share my health condition, especially in a season like this.

Before the lockdown was imposed in Lagos, Nigeria, I used to drown in depression a lot, I tried my best to stay afloat by volunteering for different communityy development projects, I also tried to spice up my social life with friends, and be vulnerable to those who can help me.

My healing process was going fine, then came Covid-19 with a thick layer of lockdown and isolation. I was boxed into my ‘four walls’, and my greatest fear was not financial loss or fear of the unknown. If there was anything I had to fear, it’s depression.

Fear of the unknown is easy to conquer, but this ‘familiar fear’ seems closer than a friend, you don’t fight it, you face it till it fades away.

Days turned to weeks and weeks into months, I was waiting to get depressed but that ‘familiar stranger’ was nowhere to be found. After a while, malaria crept in, it got so bad that I had to take my first injection for 2020. Bedridden for a whole week, it was as if I was going to die. I started getting better after a while and then I decided to put calls through to my friends – we call it pastoral care calls.

The first person I called was a female member of my small group, and our conversation left me in between devastation and appreciation.

Me: Hey sister Yolanda, it’s been a long time, how are you?

Yolanda: I am not fine, I have COVID-19.

Me: (not sure I heard her clearly) pardon, the line is breaking, I didn’t hear what you said.

Yolanda: I have Covid-19 (she almost shouted back at me).

Me: What! What happened, how?

Yolanda: I came into contact with a carrier of the virus. (Conversation continued)

Not sure what to say, I prayed with her and told her that I was going to ask my friends to pray with her. The testimony is that she has fully recovered after about four weeks of medication and self isolation.

Back to my story. I recovered fully from malaria and then I began to wonder why I couldn’t get depressed all through the lockdown – I should have been happy about my victory over depression, isn’t it?

In my unrest, I decided to go for a test and it turned out positive – a positive kind of positive. Oh my God! What could have made me so positive to the point that I couldn’t get depressed? I realised that I have been busy promoting positivity through my new book, Whispers of Winners, a compilation of positive poetic affirmations inspired by God after I fought the last battle with depression in 2019.

Alas, I tested positive for faith, hope, happiness, victory, grace and joy, and not for Covid-19. Depression must have gone to look for me in my former address, not knowing that I have relocated.

My friend, if for any reason, valid or trivial, you feel depressed or sad this season, I would recommend that you seek proper care and attention, and make it a habit to always make positive declarations over your life, health, career, family and businesses. Your winning start with your words.

Get a copy of Whispers of Winners today, it’s filled with powerful positive affirmations to uplift you in every area of your life.

Declare this over yourself.

Death is defeated, I walk in victory of sickness and diseases.
Depression is unseated, it no longer reigns over my life.
I am positively positive. I sanitize my soul with positive thoughts.
Grave is turning to gardens, I fertilize my vision with faith and actions.
I will not support the devil to suppress my soul. I am stronger than my fears.
It’s my season of victory. It’s my season to shine.

© 2020 Adeleke Adeite

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