iyawos blog

Failure. A word no one wants to associate with. Failure is a negative  word. No  one wants to be called a failure or acknowledge failure. However, it's almost inescapable. We fail so that  we can succeed oftentimes.  Also, failure teaches us to lookout for the missing ingredient (s) and position ourselves not to leave out that important ingredient again. Failure isn't a random rain drop. It's usually a result of some activities. When we fail, what do we do? What's our approach to failure? How do we channel our failure and ensures it leads to success at the end of the day? First, there is the need to come to terms with the failed end result and realise that failure doesn't mean the end of our dreams and the pursuit of our goals. Self forgiveness is highly important here.  Some of us are prone to being judgemental.  We think no good of ourselves and over critise and condemn ourselves.  We can't move past that failure if we keep putting ourself down. Rather, let

You see a picture of me gaily dressed. Everything is on fleek, I look so flawless. You pause to like the picture (or love it as the case may be) but before you do, you zoom it a bit and look at the finer details of my picture. You see that my hair is a Brazilian weave and the finishing is so perfect it could pass for mine but of course it could be my hair because I’ve been known to flaunt my long, full and almost-black hair but then you take a quick look at my shoes and then decide in that instant that it’s a Brazilian weave because my shoes look like I can own a Brazilian weave. That settled, you look at my face. Your perception of beauty transcends the tenets of philosophy that states that there’s no ideal beauty: it’s in the eye of the beholder or better still, it’s from deep within, a function of the character of hearts and souls. Your perception of a beautiful face is determined by how much of make-up I can get away with and still appear to look natural. You squint your e

The things we miss out on, simply because we don’t know who we are. There’s this story (paraphrased by me) about the man who saved so much to buy tickets to get on a ship. He could only afford the tickets, or so he thought. During mealtimes, while others headed to the dining room to enjoy sumptuous and lavish meals, he would stay back in his room to eat cabin biscuits and the likes that he had managed to bring on board. The last night on the ship, a fellow passenger who had observed his withdrawal into his cabin at meal times finally decided to question him to find out why he chose to miss out on the mouth-watering culinary delicacies other passengers were enjoying. His response: “After paying for the ticket, I did not have money to pay for the meals” The other fellow was surprised and had to explain that the ticket was his pass on the ship so he had a right to the meals and much more. The man was shocked to hear this. He was also sad. If only he knew the statu

This is long overdue, I’m so sorry. So, there’s more to enjoying the African cherry (Agbalumo, Udara, Otien) than popping it in your mouth and enjoying its fleshy juices. That can’t be all. The curiosity that led to the first cooked meal must definitely have led to the discovery of the African cherry cocktail. I’m sure you must be wondering by now where the juice from the cocktail will come from, I wondered at first, but now I know. Without further ado, you need the following for the cocktail: 3 African cherry 2 Tablespoons honey 3 Scent leaves 1 teaspoon ginger powder A tablespoon of sugar 2 cups of water 1 tablespoon Angostura Bitters (or any other bitters) 2 shots of Hennessy (Optional) The Hennessy has a sweet undertone to complement this drink but you can it have this drink as a mocktail instead if you choose not to add alcohol. Method Wash and peel your agbalumo fruits scraping the seeds and the skin for all the elements of the fruit into a bowl. In a bl

"Then the Priests and Levites stood and blessed the people and the Lord heard their prayers from his holy temple in heaven" I Chronicles 30:27 God hears: This is the confidence we have when we call on him, talk to him and wait on him. He not just hears us, he responds. One of such responses is in I Chronicles 18-20 when God listened to Hezekiah’s prayer and did not destroy the people who ate the Passover without undergoing purification/sanctification rites. God saw the thoughts and intents of their hearts and the fact that that they had come a long way because they were determined to follow him. God heard Hezekiah’s prayers and responded.  Talking to God is therapeutic, you’ll feel better afterwards.  Talk to Him today

To be unemployed means to be jobless, to not be in a paid employment, to not be in use. Credit: Getty Images So, are you unemployed? The fact that you are not officially on the list of employees in a firm or organization does not make you unemployed. Even if you are not an entrepreneur in any form, you are still not unemployed.  Yes, the fact that you have something to do (you are not jobless) you are of value (in use) and can get a form of remuneration (be paid for what you do) means you are not unemployed. You are unemployed and in fact unemployable if you are totally jobless, have no value that makes you useful and cannot be paid in return for certain products, services or value added. So, are you unemployed? Credit: Unemployed image via Shuttershock  The fact that you do not have the job of your dreams does not make you jobless; it just means there’s more work to be done to get that job. This is actually supposed to make you look within an

Where have you been all these years? You seem to be awakening out of a slumber, the kind of slumber that is a dream within a dream, a reality within a dream. Wake up! Yes you. “I am awake”, you say. “You are not”, I reply. “How can this be”? You ask me “Prove it”, you charge me. “Alright”, I say. Do you know what it feels like to dream? To be caught in a situation where you want to scream but words don’t come out of your mouth. You want to move, probably run, but your legs seem to be frozen. You know you’re supposed to jump but the air is heavy. You cannot help yourself because it’s all a dream. The dream state is a state of helplessness. Your hands are tied, your voice cannot be heard, your opinion does not matter and whatever you do will not change a thing. You need to wake up! This is just one of the many sides to the coin of dreams. Sometimes you have it all good: your ideal job, home, friends and family [The (wo) man of your dreams and even

The New Year euphoria is gradually fizzling out. However, you can still set things straight in case you didn't get to do so early enough. Before you go on to read this, kindly read Ruth Nzere’s piece on the New Year if you haven't done so. Thanks According to the Gregorian calendar, it’s the beginning of a New Year. As it's customary of almost all individuals, the year usually begins with setting goals and mapping out how we want to run the new 3by65 metres race set before us. One of the deepest concern of everyone is how to run the new race in a different way and not give up on laid out routes and plan. For every game, there is a game plan. Also, for every new year, there is a game plan called New Year goals, resolutions and the likes. Some of these goals are long standing things we want to change or get rid of. Some of us almost gave up on some item(s) and almost did not add it/them to our New Year game plan, but on second thought we decided to add it/them, thinkin

Simple as ABC? Ask a child in kindergarten to share his/her experience and explain how simple it is to learn ABC. ABC isn't simple a'll! If you can read this, it means you already know your alphabets. Can you take a quick flashback and picture your little self while trying to learn ABC back in the days? You might not be able to. Ok then, have you ever being with a child while that child is trying to wrap his little head around ABC, trying not to miss an alphabet while learning? The truth is learning ABC was never easy and isn't going to become easy. Then the question is how did I succeed in learning ABC and 123 finally, how did I get to understand the fact that A comes before B and B before C? How did I grasp the fact that 2+2 would always =4? How, how and how… I'm sure you must have heard the cliché that life is in phases, well that’s true. Life is really in phases. At a phase in our life, all we could do was to put everything we laid our hands on in our mou

Picture credit:daystarng Everything is still seemingly new; new dreams, new hopes, new ambitions and high expectations. There’s something we all want to be. There is at least a thing you want to have achieved by the end of the year 2018.  It’s not about what your friends, folks and even foes want or hope for you but about what you want for yourself because in the end, it’s all about you.  So, what do you want? You may be familiar with the phrase “if you stand for nothing, you can fall for anything”, it can also be said that if you don’t have a plan, anything can and is set to happen to you.  Don’t be a victim of circumstances. They are the worst kind of victims because they are found in unfortunate situations that could have been avoided if they had a plan they were working with. What exactly am I driving at?  Have a clearly stated vision, goal, and plan for your life this year. Let it be SMART and workable. Don’t stop there, work with it, talk about it, ponder a

African Cherry, also known as Agbalumo, Udara, and Otien in different parts of Nigeria is an exotic fruit that comes with harmattan and is usually at the peak of its season in January till March when it phases out. The African cherry at the peak of its season is sweetly-sour, plenteous and affordable. Health Benefits Of The African Cherry Agbalumo has a rich fibre content that aids weight loss by allowing you to feel full for a longer time. You will enjoy the fibre benefits best by eating the skin with the pulp. Udara helps to lower blood sugar and control diabetes.  Otien is a good source of vitamin and minerals. African cherry contains vitamins A, B, C, calcium, iron, potassium, phosphorus and magnesium. African cherry contains folic acid, a vital nutrient for pregnant women that prevents congenital diseases. It is nutritious and can serve as a healthy snack. It prevents nausea. The sour-like taste of the African cherry has the ability to sop nausea i

"We are saved by trusting. And trusting means looking forward to getting something we don't yet have- for a man who already has something doesn't need to hope and trust that he will get it.  But if we must keep trusting God for something that hasn't happened yet, it teaches us to wait patiently and confidently" - Romans 8:24-25 Do you trust God?  Let your trust be evident in your confidence. While trusting God for something you don't have or cannot see yet, it is possible for you to lose faith, shift your focus or give up totally. Don't give in to this possibility. While you're waiting, while you're expectant, be CONFIDENT!