Life Jacket

Dear Friend,

I just visited a place called LIFE – unfortunately, this place was built

on waters, you remember Jesus walked on water? Oh yeah, you sure

know 'cos you've read that part of the bible about 101 times. He did,

and built within us the capacity to do so with His own LIFE jacket

called LOVE.

Anyway, my emphasis on this piece is to enumerate a few lessons, a

few thoughts, a few concepts, a few methodologies, a few precepts

which I strongly feel, reveals the whole essence of man – and for me,

that is living life from 'dimension four' or YOU, just wearing that

cloak called – The LIFE jacket!

First of all, I would like to be explicit on this idea of “The Life jacket”,

defining it in real and connotative terms, this I believe, will help drive

home the message I am about to pass to you. Mind you, the scroll

must be kept very safe for your consumption and further

transformation of self and humanity. I say this because, it took me 28

years and 4 months to realize that all I ever need to succeed in all I

would ever do and live for is to just keep wearing “the LIFE jacket”

but it came at a price – 4380 days minus 3 nights of midnight candles;

669 days of real suffering and torments; 10,369 days of learning and

falling and rising and relearning and most importantly, painstakingly

investing 26,262 hours of practice on how to effectively use my own

“LIFE jacket” – wow, what a LIFE devotion to purpose, that is why I

hold this piece in a very high esteem, if not, the highest esteem sef.

As such padi mi, “Eja ni o gba odo la ye lati fi malu dara” – a Yoruba

adage which I stupidly coined to mean “it is the fish that hinders the

ocean from swallowing the cow”. To make that a bit explainable, I

simply posit that the world won't swallow you in as much as you

keep hitting on your vision and your purpose, instead the world will

allow you excel if it is incapable of swallowing you. YOUR WHOLE

LIFE is an expression of the FISH – it keeps eating the cow despite the

fact that the cow is in the ocean – the first beneficiary. (Think!)

Oh yeah, THE LIFE jacket, the definition in both real and connotative

terms. In real terms – The LIFE jacket is said to be “an inflatable costume

for keeping a person afloat in water”. Hmmm, that means the world is

like water and for you to come through it and be remembered (float), you

have to be wearing a costume called “The LIFE jacket”. May you never be

drowned by the waters of life. I guess you have said a thousand and one

'Amen' (laughs).

Let's move on, yeah, now…, the LIFE jacket, in the connotative and

apparently in my own way of reasoning, maybe, you could say, my own

concepts and interpretation, is said to mean – expressing and living

purpose from four dimensions engrafted in my most dear vision for life.

To explain this immaculate concept to you, I would use the acronym

L.I.F.E., with the four letters meaning;

L - oveI - nnovationF - unE - nterprise

LI

FE

I strongly believe that purpose is better expressed through a constant attitudinal

embracing of LIFE as to have the LIFE jacket on, you must first value LIFE.

Hence, the first which is LOVE posits that you must have an indelible passion for

God and humanity. Love enables you unlock the favour of the Supreme Being

through faith, giving you the freedom and opportunity to exercise your right in the

kingdom treasures of the Almighty. To key into such grandeur, unlimited and

effervescent connection, you need to stimulate a genuine relationship ravished with

true love and fellowship. You become so indomitable by the forces of the earth, un-

drown-able by the waters of life, insurmountable by the spirits of the sky – you

naturally become a heavenly hero by this connection. Like a line in the JCI creed,…

“Faith in God gives meaning and purpose to human life”…that is to say, to first

discover purpose, God is the number one consultant: who designed the reason for

your existence even before you were born. So, it is pertinent to love in order to have

LIFE. You must in this same way, express the same kind of love towards every man

– I mean humanity my friend. Love towards humanity enables you to connect more

with the needs, desires and aspirations of the man. By connecting more through

love, you become an instrument of change, creating solutions that meet mans real

needs in form of products and services. When men know how much you care, they

will in turn care about what you know and can offer, patronizing and rewarding

you based on your deliverables. You must yearn for a better life for people and

yourself, it spurs passion!

The second instrument of LIFE you must have is INNOVATION which

galvanizes you to have an unquenchable desire for change, putting your mind

to a constant thinking process. By asking questions in unconventional ways,

you get the most unusual answers that provide mankind unthinkable solutions.

Innovations enable you “bring ideas to life” and “break conventional patterns

and traditions” and this is mostly an expression of love. People who love God

and humanity are innovative, they possess a quixotic desire to do well, they are

visionary and they deliver change. Just like Martin Luther King Jr. delivered the

change of social culture to African Americans now fully expressed by Barrack

Obama's ascent as world political prime in a one-time thriving land of black

African enthrallment; like Nelson Mandela delivered a never-heard of lesson to

the world, of peaceful political change and stability to an apartheid maimed

South Africa; and like the great and seemingly unending economic struggle has

begun to birth an innovative army sweeping through Nigeria in business,

entertainment, arts and culture forms causing individuals who would rather die

than live on African soil, to return home to claim an emerging price.

One sure thing is, some ordinary people kept thinking of delivering this

change to the people through innovation. Amongst many, one really

triggers my mind, the guy who created the internet did it and delivered

it to the world for free because of his love for humanity, he could have

easily been the world's first trillionaire since the world's billionaires

thrive on the internet's emergence – what a pain in the ass that has

become a gain in its own class, I salute you – Tim Berners-Lee.

I believe the desire for change is one of life's most fulfilling fantasies;

these fantasies usually turn out to become reality as the mind keeps

seeking new ways, new methods, and new answers to breaking the

barriers. Now, that is INNOVATION.

My dear friend, I hope I am not boring you at this point, I can imagine

your lips mumbling a big – No! (Giggle). Soon, you would have your

own “LIFE jacket” on and you would sure live LIFE expressing your true

purpose.

In furthering with this piece, I would consider FUN as the third instrument,

which empowers you to have a craving for recreation and lifestyle. Your life,

your purpose, your dream, your impact, your health, your wife, your

children, your family, your style, your game, your friends, would all make

sense when you spend quality time with them, on them, paying attention to

relaxation. It makes the body always ready to get on the next task; it makes

the mind brood out new solutions. It makes you have the confidence to live

the life with a touch of smile, always bringing out the beauty within you –

maybe the beauty of LIFE. You express love through

recreation, so free your mind, get on the billiard, swerve your racket, nurse

that garden, splash in some water, commit reckless acts of kindness, watch TV,

enjoy the boat ride, fancy a new holiday destination, caress the lovely beach

water, unwind to good music, be lost in a deep massage, tickle a hand, hug the

breeze, climb a mountain, sleep to the blues, rub shoulders on the computer

game, sketch a child, unravel the puzzle and above all, catch the fun and let

the fun catch you. (I am laughing out loud…are you too?)

Friend, the fourth dimension to claiming “The LIFE jacket” is ENTERPRISE,

which positions you to have a sustainable drive for service, profitability and

fulfillment. True success in life is a result of talent and enterprise. Bold

resourcefulness and service to humanity is the best work of life, enabling you

to make quality choices of need and eventually finding fulfillment in the

pursuit of other men's needs. To get hold on life, you must learn to create,

empower people to recreate, this naturally elevates you. Being enterprising

creates for you a network of opportunities which ensures profitability in what

you do. You must become an engine room that meets real needs of humanity

through sustained efforts and creativity.

To start an enterprise, you simply find a need and fill it or like Steve Jobs and

the I-Innovations, look into the future and create the need. Your business plan

will succeed when you address the needs of real people by allowing your

eyeballs capture unmet needs and unseen desires. Look for things that are not

working, seek problems, find opportunities and things that need tweaking,

where a small shift in style, operations or attitude would create a new

opportunity. Take a stroll around your neighbourhood, every block, every

house, shop and stall, tells a story – of people, their needs, their wants, their

dreams. Every hawker in the traffic, every statue at the junction, every half-

restored business, every scream of the 'Agbero', every picture on a window,

tells a story. Apply the three bone strategy to reach a successful conclusion

and eventual fulfillment – the wishbone, the jawbone and the backbone. The

wishbone because, it will keep your goals foremost on your mind, the

jawbone because it is by talking about your campaign, product or service and

asking questions about that of others, that you will convince people to come

on board your ship and the backbone because that will keep you at it until you

reach your goal. The old African witch doctor can do wonderful things with

these bones. You can too, if you use it for the good of your dreams.

To anchor, my friend, I would say you are the most precious gift God brought my

way and I appreciate every bit of you and your aspirations. I know you have

dreams and you have been asking questions on how best to live your LIFE. Most

times, you don't even know you are asking these questions but when you feel

LIFE is unfair and you have no explanations for many happenings – then, that is

exactly why I put this piece together specifically for YOU, so you can take a cue

from me on how I found my own “LIFE jacket”.

I sure know, if I sit you down to tell you this, many of the speech lines

will soon be forgotten, so, I took the pain to scribble my thoughts on this

floatable paper enwrapped in a two stick scroll, so you can live LIFE and

pass it on. LIFE really has to be passed on, that way; YOUR OWN LIFE

goes on.

One of the things you must do to make me happy for life and in

transition is to keep this scroll safe, especially away from fire. This scroll

can float on water because it is a “LIFE jacket” – when it flows, I sure

believe it goes to someone who will be in dire need of it. However, when

it is burnt, it becomes ashes, it is all forgotten. That is the way I want you

to treat yourself, like the LIFE jacket, that way, your essence, your

purpose will rub off on the world and knowledge will be derived from

you by so many people inspiring a foundation for innovation, for change

and an eventual shaping of the world for GOOD.

Remember, this is a small letter for those who value LIFE and want to

live it from four dimensions.

Four dimensions in a quick bite: L.I.F.E.

OVE – You must have an indelible passion for God and for

humanity.

NNOVATION – You must have an unquenchable desire for change.

UN – You must have a craving for recreation and lifestyle.

NTERPRISE – You must have a sustainable drive for service,

profitability and fulfillment.

L

I

F

E

Hey friend, you have been equipped!

Now, Get into your “LIFE jacket” and do good, express purpose while

living LIFE!

I respect your time on this piece, you rock my world on a per second

basis and I am sure you know that. (lol)

See you on TOP!

Yours Purposefully by Innovation,

I AM DLM

David Lanre MessanThe Innovation Strat - Artist

Tel: +2348035776246 |+2348057125280 |+2347043571577

Email: [email protected] | [email protected]

f Lanremessan @ideastrategist in david lanre messan

Infinite Impact Idea Studio:

.

Ground Floor, Mintydale House 45

Berkley Street, LagosWebsite:

Email :

Telephone :

www.wesellideas247.com

[email protected],

[email protected]

08035776246, 07025530933,

07043571577, 01-6625717

I am DLM

David Lanre Messan is a pioneering Innovation Strat – Artist in Africa,

leading corporate, organizational and societal change through his many

innovative concepts and strategies using empowering, educative and

entertaining instruments. He is currently the Innovation Strat-Artist of

Infinite Impact Company, an ideas, business innovation and marketing

company that thinks, creates and execute ideas for individuals,

businesses, institutions and governments. DLM has consulted for

several corporate clients some of which include the Lagos State Public

Service Staff Development Center, Odera School of Business and

Management and Universal Anchor Consulting Limited. DLM has

several ideas, books, songs, poems and mad concepts soon to be

released. Amongst his many award winning ideas is Green Yaggy, a

youth entrepreneurial driven initiative. He also has several awards to

his credit which includes 100 Best World bank Authors of the 2006

International Essay Competition, 101 Young African Leader select and

the LEAP Africa/Nokia Youth Leadership Award and recently invited as

a Global Shaper, an arm of the World Economic Forum. Who even

knows whether he is schooled? I leave you to guess! DLM has a burning

desire to help Five Million Young Africans Bring Their Ideas to Life

before 2025.

THE

L.I.F.EJACKET