There are people who doubt, and there are people who believe. It could be about the possibility of all things, life after death, the inevitability of eternity, or just something as simple as passing a particular exam. If you say ‘I CAN’, then you can but if you say ‘I CANNOT’ then you cannot. In this kingdom you have to first believe…then you see. In between you have to sweat it out. Life is not easy.
A certain uncle of mine taught me a life long lesson. We disagreed on an issue back in the day and I did something he didn’t approve of, so he said to me ‘He that says I CAN funds the way’. As a result of that statement decisions were made and by serendipity I had to start my first business to survive …omezyphotos was born. Those were the days of little beginnings at Nsukka. I remember hustling one matriculation day and a classmate of mine in high school saw me and laughed me to scorn. He couldn’t imagine a student pharmacist hustling with photographers, taking pictures of people and selling them. For him, photography was not dignifying enough. But I understood there is dignity in hard labor. I had bills to pay and I wanted to get to the next level by all means honorable. So I didn’t mind him.
‘He that says ‘I CAN’ is probably one of the best lessons I learned in school and today I am grateful that it came to me when and under the circumstances it did. The person that taught me that lesson may have forgotten but it is still driving me. I will make sure my daughters learn that lesson too. Today I want you to think about it for a minute. When you say you can, you actually can but you have to get to work. You cannot say ‘I CAN’ without rolling the sleeves of your shirt. You cannot say ‘I CAN’ and not expect to sweat. Nobody says ‘I CAN’ and observes the weather or yet expect that lines will just fall for him in pleasant places. If they fall, that is an extra but hardwork beats talent every time talent does not work hard. So while we all want to become successful by sheer luck, I am sorry to tell you it will not happen.
Even the greatest investor of all times, Warren Buffet has not retired from investing, and making money. Although his money is working for him, he still tells his money where to work. He still keeps up with current affairs and still projects where opportunities for the future are. When there is problem in society for example Covid-19, he is able to see opportunities in the midst of the global crises to make money sitting in his couch. That is hard work my friend even though it is easy for him. Ability to see what others do not see is what makes people outstanding. Ability to do what others would not do stands people out. Seest thou a man diligent…he will stand before kings.
He that says ‘ I CAN’ must be ready to do what it takes. But before you say ‘I CAN’ do you understand what it actually takes? Do you really know the nitty gritty? Some people say ‘I CAN’ only to get to the middle of the road and realize they cannot. You don’t know how to swim and you saw little children in the pool having fun. If you jump into the pool because little children are there, may those little children be able to save you when you start drowning. Although that is the way most people approach issues, what they don’t know is the strategy and the preparations that went into what Jill and John are doing.
Let’s consider this little boy who refused to listen to his parents here in America. His dad kept talking and kept correcting and kept instructing until when he could kick him out of the house, and he sure did. This boy, whose parents are well educated and pretty comfortable became homeless…like the prodigal son in the Bible. He eventually paid his bills and went days without food. He got to his whits end and realized he messed up. Today he is a college graduate, but not without humbling life experiences and lessons from ‘I CAN’.
As a matter of fact, when the prodigal son wanted out of his father’s house and out of his father’s leadership what he said was ‘I CAN’. By the time his resources were depleted then he realized how stupid he was. But I give the prodigal some credit for despising shame, coming to his senses, throwing pride to the trash and coming back in humility to his father who had been waiting for him.
Even though his father received him, the father also knew the boy had leaned his lessons. Life will teach you more lessons than any teacher will ever teach you in the classroom. When we left school, we were excited that we don’t have to sit within the four walls and do what the teacher wanted. Little did we know that graduating means falling from frying pan into the fire. Life is much more complex than algebra and calculus put together. If you haven’t seen or realized it yet, wait. You will surely see. You cannot copy from anybody the way you copied from your neighbor in school because everybody has a different question paper. There are as many different question papers as there are people so you will fail this exam if you copy from me. As we graduated we thought we would become millionaires in no time, twenty years later most of us have not even become ‘thousandnaires’ let alone millionaires.
Nobody gets a credit for answering the question the teacher did not ask and you don’t get to tell the teacher what question he should ask you in the exam. What is even more interesting, the exam is an ongoing daily experience. When you fail an exam what do you do? Unfortunately you have to repeat the class. Even though your age mates may be in 12th Grade of life you may still be in 3rd Grade because you haven’t passed 3rd Grade life exams. And you don’t get promoted because others are promoted…i wish it wasn’t so.
But you said ‘I CAN’. So it is not in the saying, it is in the doing and in doing it right. Activity does not always mean productivity. Some activities lead to productivity and some don’t. You have to determine what productivity means and then make sure that your activity will lead to productivity. If you assume it, you waste time and resources for nothing. Life will not just reward you for activity, you got to produce. No employer pays you huge bonuses for just going through the motions and yet adding no value. He that says ‘I CAN’ has to add value….what value do you bring to the table ?
When someone interviews for a job he strives to convince the interviewer that he brings to the table relevant values. When they say ‘why should we hire you?’ You don’t say because I have bills to pay or I have student loans due or I am good looking. If you really want that job which you have applied for, then you must tell in 2 minutes, what values you bring and what values you will add to the company.
I was once invited to an interview and there were tens of applicants and I was maybe the fourth person to be interviewed. By the time my interview was over the rest of the applicants had bad luck…the job was no longer available. My employer was convinced I was going to add value to the team and the rest is now history. Convincing the interviewer you will add value does not guarantee that you will add value…so you will still be evaluated on the job. You better get to work. When you stop adding value that counts, then you start counting days that don’t count and your job soon goes away. He that says I CAN does not count what doesn’t count.
When you tell your brother or your spouse or your parent or your employer, be gone…I am of age, I am grown, nobody tells me what to do…then get ready to pay your bills and to drink your water and to eat your food. Make sure you got it. When you fire your boss, then make sure to boss yourself all day every day or you will soon be in a bind. ‘I CAN’ means you can….including holding yourself accountable daily and accepting responsibility for everything you do or fail to do.
When you say America is a land of freedom, it is also a land of freedom to pay your own bills. With every freedom comes responsibilities….whatever represents freedom to you, go for it but please take your wallet and your check book with you….you got to fund the way through whatever you said ‘I CAN’. When I disagreed with my uncle and behaved in a way that said ‘I CAN’, I paid my bills. ‘I CAN’ can be a costly venture but all things are possible to them that believe and to him that says ‘I CAN’.