(Personal Philosophy paper
- originally e-published on 27th March 2003/Revised
on 27th December 2006 by Tayo Solagbade - Founder SDAc)
Yes, there is a motivational dimension
to what I do, but my basic aim is to help people achieve Mental
Emancipation™, by (re-) orienting them about what
they (think they) know; how they see themselves/their society;
and what they believe they can (or cannot) do.
You could in fact call it “Philosophical
Re-Orientation”. The unusual titles of many of my Talks
and Information Products support my claims. I have gained
deep insight into the socio-cultural situation in Nigeria,
and wish to share my ideas with others. My objective is to
influence people to positively change the way they think/act
towards getting what they want in life. That’s why I
also describe my role as that of a Social Change Agent.
We all (should?) take time to reflect
on our experiences, and develop our own philosophies about
life. We should also be unafraid to voice/discuss them with
others, even if they differ from what the majority hold to
be true. This is especially important, if our ideas can help
others.
It is my strong conviction that many
harmful myths, values etc are held in our society today, causing
major damage to the self-perception of the average Nigerian.
I believe that correcting this damage will enable many Nigerians
(re)discover themselves, and achieve more personal successes
to the overall benefit of our country.
You can help an individual become motivated
to achieve success in a chosen area of life, but if the wrong
“education” about himself/his society is not corrected
by helping him re-think or unlearn certain things, his chances
of achieving sustainable successes are limited.
The phrase “know yourself”
becomes relevant here. Many Nigerians – motivated or
not - do not know themselves. For instance, many believe the
only way to get respect is to have a white man as a friend…Or
to be based in “Jand”(i.e. overseas), and visit
Nigeria every once in a while.
I have worked with white people (from
England/South Africa etc), right here in Nigeria. Some expressed
unease with how most Nigerians treated them “special”
for no obvious reasons. A few wondered why we treated ourselves
shabbily/with contempt! Our own Fela once sang “Let
us think say, Oyinbo no good pass me”(translation:
"Let us stop thinking the White man is better than
us"). I guess most of us heard the music, but didn’t
listen to the lyrics!
In certain ways, I see myself as a non-singing
ideological equivalent of Fela Anikulapo Kuti. Through his
lyrics, I discovered myself, and became passionately proud
of being Black, Nigerian and African. (I named my first son
after Fela, for this/his other good sides). My objective is
to help others achieve similar Self-Discovery.
Think about Fela’s
messages and you’ll find that just as he entertained
with good vibes, he also motivated and often educated his
listeners. For example he once sang about the white colonialists:
“…Na we open dem eyes. Na five hundred
years slavery cause am. Dem meet us we dey do plenty things.
I say we teach dem plenty things. No be me talk am, na books
dey talk am. No be the yeye books you dey read, for the yeye
school for your town. Na those colonial books from dat London..”(translation:
"We were the ones who opened their eyes. Five hundred
years of slavery caused it. They found us doing many things.
I say we taught them many things. It is not I who said it.
It's the books that say it. Not the rubbish books you read,
in the rubbish school in your town. It's those colonial history
books in London..").
So “Who” is a Self-Development Educator? And how
does a Self-Development Educator differ from a Motivational
Speaker? Here’s my personal definition of a Self-Development
Educator: A person who provides practical information
about what people can do by themselves for themselves to achieve
their goals in life.
Specifically, he/she will consider 2
major aspects to developing/empowering people: (a)
Motivational - I help people see/believe they can achieve
goals they set for themselves in life. (b)
Educational - I actively challenge, (what I consider)
any limiting sets of values, belief systems etc they hold,
deriving from their environment or elsewhere. I tell them
why it is important to be Self-Educated and Emancipated
Thinkers™, if they wish to empower themselves to
achieve sustainable successes. Lastly, I SHOW them(through
articles, special reports, talks, coaching programs and other
learning events) - often using lessons from my experiences,
and other real-life case studies - HOW TO empower themselves
to go about pursuing their set goals in a way that increases
their chances of success.
In showing people how to empower themselves,
I work hard to make them INDEPENDENT of me, by helping them
develop confidence in their own abilities to come up with
solutions that work for them. For instance in my article titled
"A System
That Can Produce Millionaire African Writers", I
provided an example of how my adopted approach benefits the
larger society:
"It is my strong
conviction that empowerment of individuals to be multi-skilled,
independent minded creatives, who are able to leverage technology
and the Internet in ways that require little or no capital,
for the purpose of offering value adding products and services
for which they will paid, is the most realistic, and viable
solution for Africans living in Africa. Adopting Print-On-Demand
Self-Publishing as proposed in this article is one way individual
Africans can easily adapt foreign ideas to achieve financial
independence – and prosperity for their countries."
- Tayo K. Solagbade
Still think it’s all motivational?
Then why not read more of
my articles or attend one of my learning events, and then
decide afterwards. Even better, you can actually take me up
one-on-one on this issue. I look forward to meeting you!
Related Articles:
1.
Why I Do What I Do, The Way I Do
It
2. When I Quit My Job, They Called Me Mad - And I Felt So,
So Sorry for Them!
3. Avoid Taking Lessons
On Entrepreneuring From The Wrong Person(s)
4. Practical Guiding
Philosophies For Entrepreneurial Success
5. Should
You Quit Your Job or Start Your Business Part-time?
|
