The Future Belongs To You

Being the best version of yourself is all it takes to make your life great. Why are you trying so hard to fit in when you already stand out?

Whatever it is you've learnt from the valley part of your life, why not take to the mountain top and resolve to living each day being the best you can ever be. 

You know, you don't have to figure it all out to move forward. Endeavor to put aside your fear and worries, and whatever setbacks you may have encountered in the past that's been limiting your progress and the will to fight and start rebuilding.

Regardless of what happens in the long run, remember that true happiness begins to arrive only when you stop complaining about your problems and you start being grateful for all the problems you don't have.

The future they say belongs to those with big ideas, thoughts and dreams but I say it also belongs to those who are ready to forgive their past, make peace with their present situation and embrace the future. 

Getting ahead in life basically involves hard work and perseverance, as well as a willingness to take risks and learn from failure. 

No doubt you have failed, but it's time to pick yourself up and start rebuilding. Winning begins with your attitude and it starts with the decision to try again. God bless!

Kay Magnate 

There's No Shame In Being A Broken Man

You reach the bottom of the mountain much quicker than you reach the top. In other words, it is a pretty difficult task to climb your way up the ladder of success but dame easy to fall off and find yourself back at the bottom of that very ladder. Be silent and pray. You will need it. The truth is, not too many of us make it to see the day we would be able to make a statement. So amidst the pain and life struggles, be grateful if you eventually make it through. 

It is not how soon but how well as a very popular saying goes, but that doesn't necessarily mean you should sit your lazy ass down and always wait on luck to come to the rescue, because you just might run out of it sooner than you think and get knocked out by life. Success will never lower its standards to accommodate you. You have to raise your standards to achieve it. God provides food for every bird but not in their nest. Rise up to the challenges ahead of you and conquer your fears.

The fact you woke up today and your precious life hasn't been taken away from you is yet another great opportunity to become the man and woman you've always dreamed off. However, you must know that you have a lead role to play in this life's greatest adventure of rediscovering self and fulfillment of destiny. Do not ask God to guide your footsteps if you're not willing to move your feet. Success is sought for. You can't just sit down, you have to get up and act. Heaven they say help those who help themselves.

Although I know you may be scared because you're not sure of what awaits you at the other side of the line but may I remind you that courage is the commitment to begin without any guarantee of success. Choose to start a new reign over lack, disappointment, failure, impossibilities and watch God crown your effort with a golden platt. Every path we take leads to another choice and some choices could change everything. Every dame moment for the rest of our life hangs on it but I've got a choice I have to make and I suggest you do the same.

I know things have been pretty difficult and you might be at the point of giving up but just before you do, I want you to realize that the depth of your struggles will determine the height of your success. God allows us to go through the test to create a testimony, that's how it works. It is not over until you win my dear friend. A present inconvenience may be necessary for a long term benefit. Your current position isn't as important as the direction you're headed in. Don't look at where you've been but where you're going to.

When the pain is deep, go deeper in prayer. And though I cannot promise you to have a smooth journey but this I can, God will never abandon us in times of trouble. When storms come your way, just remember you know the master of the wind. And may I conclude by saying, "The world breaks everyone; the good, the bad, the brave and those it doesn't break, it kills. There's no shame in been a broken man, you just have to pick up the pieces and start rebuilding." 

Kay Magnate

I Curse The Day We Met

Follow my blog with Bloglovin: God has created us wonderfully and yet so beautifully but many sadly have decided to recreate themselves to be cruel and heartless all in the name of wanting to acquire material things that are bound to leave just as fast as they came. It is just sad how we chase after riches, selling our soul to the devil in exchange of a mirage that seems to be there but really isn’t. And the truth is, nothing without God grows to stand the test of time and the only thing that grows without hard work are weeds. You can’t grow to become a millionaire overnight and expect to awake the reality of it in the morning without severe future consequences. Trust me, those that actually became true millionaires overnight must have put in countless hours of hard work over the days, weeks, months and even years and the good Lord decided to finally bless and crown their effort, making a testimony out of it.

You know, they didn’t just get their riches duping someone or from a wardrobe that spits out money like a rapper spitting out rhymes. And by the way, you should journey through the pages of our favorite music acts among many others and see how rough they must have had it making a penny from a craft they know so well and are dedicated to and then you’ll realize that making a dine isn’t ‘beans’ and yet some plant the seed, water it, have it harvested and even fry some plantain to go with it all overnight.  What is happening to the youth of our generation? Back in the days, our fathers could count the number of people getting their hands dirty and were so in a haste to make money but these days we can hardly single out a youth living right and not getting his hands dirty, all for the love of money, women and fame just to mention a selected few.

Lamentably, I turn to the pages of the dailies while surfing through my favorite blogs and all I can see are failed parents and I wonder how things got this bad.  Apparently, they’ve worked so hard to breed a bloodsucking generation and you can find on my pages for the first time, a scenario where hard work isn’t awarded for, because they obviously failed us regards. However, all blames shouldn’t be directed to them because I’m sure they put in work over the years and did their own honest bit to raise heavenly children but they refused to yield to their teachings. Moreover, there’s a popular Yoruba adage that says that one should rebirth oneself even after birth and guess what that is simply trying to say is that you should re-enroll yourself back in self-schooling even after graduating from the school of parenting and that I’ll like to call the school of life that totally gets you prepared, guaranteeing you to walk on the right path so you don’t fall off the wrong side.

In other words, there’s no excuse for failure, you’re the only one worth been blamed for your circumstances and I pray it isn’t too late before you start seeing all that you love and chase about so lustfully are just vanity upon vanity that the devils digs your grave with and he sure doesn’t need your permission as you already lost every right and bargaining power the day you crawled to him just like the snake that you are living among men.  And unfortunately and maybe fortunately for me, I seem to have a couple friends or better still, use to have a couple friends walking this lane as I recently just denounced the last one of them and if not for the God in me, it will be right to say I curse the day we met but then of course, who am I to blame?

The truth is that we all make mistakes and I’ve made mine and we can still make amends by deciding to retrace our steps and live right as long as we are still breathing. No doubt, money is good and we all want it but know without a doubt that there’s a problem the moment the hunger is more than a three square meal can quench and I admonish you run to God; the ultimate doctor to cleanse and heal your soul that very minute so you don’t lose it running after earthly pleasure that amounts to nothing but regrets and pain eventually. Deplorably, many have used their children, parent and other loved ones for rituals all to drive the latest wipes in town and many of which have ended up losing their lives changing gears doing a hundred and eighty on the third mainland, cruising in the same automobile that drove them to the devil in the first place but now living the reality of it. Ostensibly, you can’t eat your cake and have it, it’s either you choose life or death and while you’re at it, be sure to know that there’s an extension to that in the afterlife.

And by the way, my pen is in a really good mood and will be leaving you with a third option of living life in death on earth but have in mind also it doesn’t count as that makes you a perfect example of a living dead and you can as well purchase of your casket because you are dead and ignorant to the truth. I love money you know, but love my life even more and wouldn’t trade it for the finest girls in the prettiest bikinis or even a mansion on the Bahamas and a couple billion Naira notes to my name. The bible apprised that we seek first the kingdom of God and every other thing would be added unto us and that’s exactly what I’m doing and you should be doing. Let us not be too impatient, I know how hard it is to struggle through life each day without a penny to your name but I also know how harder it will be to stupidly enjoy life like you think you are now and manage to only get a glimpse at what heaven looks like if at all you’re lucky enough to get a million yard close on your way to the unfortunate end your purchased for yourself out of greed, impatience, foolishness and total disregard for the scripture. A word they say is enough for the wise so think twice before you roll that dice. God bless!

Kay Magnate

The College Dropout

Say Cheese, his sister said, joy evident in her voice as the camera clicked away. Kayode was ecstatic, he still had a problem believing it. He had to be dreaming and if he was, he did not want to be awaken. “I have graduated”, he whispered, savouring the words. It rang true and it felt wonderful. He observed his family and friends rejoicing around him with barely concealed joy. Left to him, an intimate celebration with family and a few friends was enough but of course, his family refuted the idea.

He couldn’t fault them though, they were all just so glad for him, but then, who wouldn’t? The story of his life was in summary, a miracle. Who would have thought that the college dropout would amount to anything? Although, it would seem that he hasn’t achieved anything, he felt like he could capture the world and he could even see himself doing just that. If not for him, then for his mother, who at that moment, was looking at him with so much pride. That look always made his world feel alright.

He would never forget the look she gave him about seven years ago when he told her he had dropped out of school. It was full of disappointment and hurt. He promised himself that expression would never be directed at him again. He wanted to make her happy always, he figured he owes her that much. He didn’t think one could be in love with his mother because that’s how he felt about her. Saying he loves her sounds too superficial to describe the way he appreciates her.

She is his strength and he knows his siblings feel the same way about her. How many women recovered so boldly and remained unmarried for the sake of their kids after losing their husband at their prime? Kayode sometimes felt she did not grieve enough for her lost love because she wanted to stay strong for them. She became both parents to them without so much fuss and whatever each of them became, they attributed to her unwavering believe in them.

 Kayode was in junior secondary school when he lost his father and although he would never admit it to anyone, he lost all motivation to succeed. His father had always been his driving force, he did well in school because he wanted his father’s approval. After his father’s demise however, Kayode lost his morale to succeed at something. He figured, “what’s the point?” Unfortunately for him, by the time he realised he was travelling on a dead end, it was too late.

He was already in college studying a course he had absolutely no passion for, moving with the wrong friends and failing woefully. Now that he thinks about it, his admission into the university was a mystery and the situation was too overwhelming for him to do anything but be bad at it. Frequent visit with his faculty examination officer over his grades overstretched him and eventually he gave up.

The first person Kayode opened up to was his immediate younger sister, Sade and for some reason, she understood. But then, he didn’t know why he was surprise, she always seemed to understand him. It was probably because she was closer to him than his elder brother and youngest sister. Sade was the one with him when he finally told his mother and from her reaction that day, Kayode expected nothing less than a disownment. Surprisingly, after a few days of walking on eggshells around the house, she summoned him.

He cannot say exactly what he was hoping to hear from her but the last thing he expected her to say was that she loved him and she believed he could put the past behind him and work on making a future for himself. Kayode couldn’t possibly find the words to explain how he felt that day, all he knew was that was the day he decided the world will hear of him. His mother probably doesn’t know it but those words pushed him to where he is today.

Kayode smiled at the memories as the noise of jubilation geared him back to reality. He knew he still had a long way to go, this is just a stepping stone but he couldn’t help but feel fulfilled. He no longer felt like a disappointment but a success.

The future is uncertain but why does it look brighter? Why did it seem like the world was waiting for him to come contribute his quota? Why does it seem like the sky was beckoning on him to soar?

He did not have the answers to these questions but one thing was clear, He was going to leave his footprints on the sand of time. The world is waiting for the solution to a problem and the college dropout would supply it.

(Inspired By A True Life Story)

Kay Magnate

The Ladder Of Success

It is not easy climbing the ladder of success from a point of not enough to the point of more than enough, it's a new generation world war entirely and your arsenal has to do better than to equip a couple young lads just running across the battle field without a single shot beyond the enemy line. The truth is, nobody wants you to succeed and every step you take to go an inch higher triggers the anger button of the enemy. To be guaranteed taking any step close to qualifying for that victory lap, you have to be prepared for an attacked filled mission, however, your defense equally has to be stronger than the world's best four.

It is not child's play, everyday is a pay day for you or the enemy and to what direction the points are drifted is yours to make. You have to live each day with a John Terry mindset and stick your head in if that's what it takes to save the day. We all have a story to tell, mine always seem to fail the paternity test. You know, i'm pregnant with a lot more than a book can chapter because the sex was good, let's just say life always has its way of catching me pants down and sticking it in me. I wasn't born with a silver spoon but still yet there are people who wouldn't allow me feed with the plastic one. Everyday is a hustle, at least now I understand why I was born with a bent finger, apparently, to survive in the spirit world, you just have to learn to pull the trigger. It's a world where everything is concluded in the spiritual while in your dream and you're left to awake the reality of it.

Climbing up the ladder may seem like a pretty easy task to complete but trust me, when you have someone on the other end pulling you down, it only takes the grace of God to see you through, and that's how the soldier in you is born. You have to snipe your way through those bushes and make sure your bag pack is well strapped because there's no camp to retreat to, you're alone on this mission. It's a dark world we are living in and the earlier you let go of your mother's breast and start learning to suck on the bone, the better and stronger the outcome of your teeth because you'll be needing it to bite your way through to the Lord's heart and pray that he delights in you and have you prepared in time for the battles ahead.

Some are lucky and were born into families that already had the structures in place but even at that, some ship still sink in the ocean of life and the survivors are taken to the sea sore and made to walk on land. You know, it's acceptable to be poor and eventually find your way to riches but I pray you'll never loose your wealth to become poor, I guess that fully explains my earlier expression of the ship. My life is a testimony to His goodness because I've received more missile from the warring enemy that was enough to wipe out my entire existence from the surface of the earth but I live today by his grace, for he thought my hands to war and never to get weak and weary. Some may wonder why my life is such a testimony when I don't have the fancy cars, the beautiful houses and that very special woman to call my own yet, but then, life itself is vanity when it doesn't glorify it's creator and serve the purpose for which it was created. All that will come so it's not in my place to make that decision, just humble yourself and you're guaranteed to have the last laugh. 

You might be on that ladder too and maybe even frustrated but one thing is assured and it's the fact that it is not over till you win. There's a reason why you're still alive and if I were you, I will protect that life with everything I've got. When there's life, there's hope. Forget the fancy cars and the beautiful women, win the war and purchase your freedom. When the enemy no longer sees you as a threat and acknowledges your arrival, all these and many more will come running after you because they are your birthright. Look, I've stumbled and fallen so many times, many of which were caused by the options I chose. Growing up, I made some really bad decisions and as a result of that, I put myself in the devil's plate to devour. The funniest thing about it all was that I will blame God for the circumstances the results of those actions threw at me and the truth is, we still make the same mistakes today. So I ask, why do we choose to question God when we are the ones that often keep Him in a position where we have his hands tied and left with the only option but to watch.

My brothers and sisters, it is not a movie scene out there, the war is real and it starts with you. You have to get up and pay attention, the battle is yours and yours alone to win. Some have started theirs years ago and maybe you're just about to start yours, but remember, never can you be caught with a murder gun, automatically throwing yourself to the enemy's court to be sentenced to death. Be the author to your own story and let success motivate each scene. The ladder on the road to success takes guts to climb, it might take years to complete a single step but no matter how frustrating and life threatening the journey may be, keep your eyes up and never let go.

Kay Magnate

Stay Motivated.... Be Positive !

No matter what setbacks you may encounter, continually stay motivated to the best of your ability. Don't back away from what's right because it's hard. My father use to say plant your feet and stand firm, the only question's where to put your feet, and l admonish we allow our dreams, our purpose and the ever burning desire in us that can't seem to stay still until its goals are achieved to help find that balance.

Without hard work, nothing grows but weeds, so make yourself some comfort out of your best advice. Real power comes not from hate but from truth and it's time you empty that heart of grief and fill it with courage. Life has no remote, get up and change it yourself. The best I can do is show you the path to the stream but I can't force you to fetch water. And what good is it when I put my hands to work and you disregard everything the pen says?.

My goal is to make you better, that's my reward. Until every man is safe, we are all slaves. And if I may ask, what's your contribution to the emancipation of mental slavery?. History prefers legends to men, it prefers nobility to brutality, soaring speeches to quiet deeds. However, what would you be remembered for when history comes calling?.

Never try to spoil someone's life with a lie when yours can be ruined with the truth. Don't let your demons take you to hell, introduce them to heaven. Wheel the unborn stone and end the reign of darkness before it begins. You can reach out to someone today and help paint a new meaning to the life they live rather than those negative energy you carry around.

The fear of offending is stronger than the fear of pain, but they always come willing. There is nothing noble in being superior to your fellow man, true nobility is being superior to your former self. Kind words can be simple and easy to speak but their echoes are truly endless. Why not associate your life with a little more "Positives", there's more reward in making people smile than making them cry.

Life is beautiful, so live each day appreciating the moment being the best you can. Remember you were created to fulfil God's purpose for humanity and when you choose to abandon your duties, you're only calling for a replacement. And if you feel you're so important, why not stick your finger into a bucket of water, pull it out and see how fast that hole fills up. Everyone is replaceable, including me.

You may have lost the chance to determine how you will start but you still have the chance to determine how the end would be. You may have made a wrong turn once or twice, dug your way out of blood and fire, taken some bad decisions but that's alright, now it's time to take life by the horn and do what's right. Change is the law of life and those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future. Let go of the past and embrace the future, the future is now and it begins with you.

Kay Magnate

Our Scars Remind Us The Past Is Real

You've been circling this theme for some time now, it's time for you to stop playing the victim and start taking an active role in your own happiness. Our scars remind us that the past is real and rather than allowing ourselves to keep dwelling in it, let those scars constantly remind us of the pain, which is okay, but only if we are ready to forgive that past and make it the source from which we generate our strength or else all that we've been through would only be a waste of time.

We all have our stories, there's no one walking through the surface of the earth without a gun to the neck at some point and wished the trigger was pulled. Everyday we are caught up with circumstances that are out of our control and may have given up a couple of times but that's the beauty of life. Whatever we go through in life only prepares us for the next stage. The creator is in the business of building lieutenants and not cadets that often give up at the first sight of a real life situation. So therefore, if you ever want to fulfill your destiny, you better be ready to sting the bee, roar at the lion and bite the dog, heaven celebrates warriors and legends, not quitters.

Our scars I repeat reminds us that the past is real, a past that prepares us for the future. The truth is, without a past, there can never be a future and most people often throw the most essential part of their journey away and loose track by doing so. I mean, how can you know where you're going when you don't know where you're coming from? It breaks my heart when people develop so much anger towards their past and curse the people that hurt them and circumstances that got them crawling with their back against the wall because those people and circumstances you despise so much are actually the hammers, chisels and charcoals banked at the mold ready to receive the true metal that the goldsmith; your creator uses to mold you into the gold you were created to be.

"Rome was not built in a day" and "A journey of a thousand miles started with one", these are regular quotes that your life should be accustomed to. Your creator never rushes his mission, you should take a quick stare into the life of the acting sensation well known to us as "James Bond" and see how critically he looks at things and carefully analyzing and planning them before setting his plans in motion, that should give you a clue of how God operates. You're a script in his hands and until a scene is well interpreted by the character in play, which happens to be you ofcourse and the purpose for which it was created has been fulfilled, the camera will not be rolled for the next scene.

Well now I guess you know why some people often spend more time struggling through a particular stage of their life. No one is holding you captive, you're the one preventing yourself from graduating to the next stage because you've refused to pay attention to what God really expects of you at that present situation of your life. We often complicate issues for ourselves when a single lesson is all that was meant to be taken and would have loved to make references to some of these things but then ofcourse that will be me depriving you of a self criticism which I say are the best critics that should make our headlines, so I choose to leave you to yourself and let your conscience do the trick.

What are those things you've been through that constantly serves as a force pulling you back each time you try to make a move forward? What set of people broke your heart and made you loose your self confidence and respect for others? Well, I have a good news for you today even though at some point they seemed like enemies of your destiny but they were actually helping you to get to your destination in time. So rather than hating and cutting them off your life circuit, embrace the past and set the future in motion. There's never a mistake with God and everything happens for a reason, even your loved ones that died may have given up the ghost so that you may live. Don't regret who you are and what you've been through, treasure those times because at the end they define who we are.

Kay Magnate

Take It...

Not everything you want is given, you'll have to take it if you really want it. Don't be like a spoilt baby crying over his mother's breast forgetting it initially belong to the father. Life is not a bed of roses, you have to fight for what you want. If it came easy, Jesus Christ wouldn't have to take that long walk to the cross and all those bruises so that you and I may live free. We want it all; the extravagant, the pretty women, the good life, we all want to be rich and famous, but then, what are we doing about it?.

If wishes were horses, men would ride. Don't be a dreamer, be the man living that dream. Wake up everyday with a "To do list" and not a "Wish list". Wake up dreaming of how wonderful it was to purchase that automobile and not how you would love to drive it. Be a Go-getter, you can and you will. Just pull out a piece of paper and a writing board and draw out a new plan. It's never too late to start afresh, it's better late than never. The truth is, if you haven't fallen, then you haven't even started. So now that you have, it's time to pick yourself up and get those pretty laced out Nike shoes and hit the track.

Forget about your friends and those ahead of you, you're not in competition with anyone but YOURSELF. And the only one that can truly stop you is YOU. Forget those in the dark ragging war against your destiny, you can retaliate by not giving up. It's not over till you win, success is the only revenge worth celebrating. Stop praying for your enemies to die but ask for an extra fifteen years for them so they can eat the bushes while you're flowering your garden and watching the sunset. If you want to get somewhere, if you want to be somebody, you have to get up and pay attention.

As kids, we all had set goals and aspirations even though at some point we may have lost touch with what we really hoped our future will be due to the circumstances life threw at us but I want you to know those dreams are still achievable. Like my father will say, when there's life, there's hope so don't ever give up on yourself because your creator never will. It's time to dust yourself up and get fired up in time for the ride ahead. Your engine has been off the road for too long and it's time it gets lubricated and serviced back to action. You can no longer make excuses, you just have to reach out and grab that which belongs to you.

A lion never waits for his food to be killed and fed to him, he goes all out to take it. You just have to be in charge and dictate the pace henceforth. It is your life and so your rules, don't let nothing or anyone order you around. What do you see when you look into the mirror? Well, I don't know about you but when I look into the mirror, I see an individual that has been greatly cheated and pushed around for too long and it's time to recover all that which was lost. I was blind but now I see and this time am not waiting for anything to be handed over to me, I'm going all out to take it. Everyday they say is for the thief and one day is for the owner, well I guess today is that day and now is the time, so let's make it worth the while.

Kay Magnate