Contentment And You
If you are like me, the moment you make a choice, you wonder if it is the right one and quite often allow doubt to rob you of the joys of that choice. So how can we learn to be
Have Another Thought
A few days ago, one of my all time favourite movie, ‘Guess who’s coming to dinner’ came up on TV and I couldn’t resist watching it again. This classic movie highlighted a key issue of interracial marriage. One scene that stands
It’s Party Time
I can’t believe it has been a year since I started this blog. Hooray, ‘Purposeful Me’ Blog is a year old and what a year it has been. There have been moments when I’ve wondered what came over me to get me
Celebrating purpose, ambition and tenacity. Celebrating Christine!
My week has been one of special celebrations, first my son’s graduation followed by a friend’s 50th birthday celebration. This week’s post is inspired by someone who lives and breathes Purpose, Ambition and Tenacity. I have known Bukola Christine Olatunji for almost
Really?…………… It’s not coming home!
The World Cup brought a fair share of drama into our lives for a few weeks. Real life also has its own drama and there are some parallels we can draw from both.
What if ….
I dashed into my local supermarket to pick up a few items. As I juggled my handbag, two shopping bags, car keys and my cup of coffee, I dropped my keys.
An older gentleman bent down to help me get them even as I tried to do so myself. We chatted for a bit and he commented that I was a very happy person and I responded that life was too short not to choose happiness.
He replied, “especially when you get to my age”. He must be in his seventies. Again I smiled and responded that it was the case even at my much younger age.
As the encounter came back to me later in the day, it got me thinking. What if we lived our lives as though life was really short? After all there is no doubt that it is.
What if we didn’t wait until we are retired or in our seventies to choose to be happy? What if we lived each day as though it could be our last? 
What would we do differently if we knew our last day is at hand? Would you be more fearless and go for the life that you really want? Or perhaps you will start that business or philanthropic venture because you can’t bear leaving it undone.
Would you make that call to repair a breach, resolve an ongoing conflict or tell someone you love them? Would you make amends with your neighbours, family, friends or colleagues?
How about dancing like you’ve always wanted to or singing karaoke even though it scares you half to death? You’re going to die anyway so the question is will you do those scary things or would the fear of doing them continue to hold you back? 
If you knew time was short, would you reconsider the choices you’re making right now?
It could be career versus having a work-life balance, or spending quality time with the family instead of being a social media or reality TV junkie. Maybe you need to be more present in all your interactions with others.
Take a moment to consider how short life really is. Even if you live until you’re a hundred years, the years soon disappear.
Children grow up, teenagers pass that awkward phase, students graduate and leave home and it all happens in what appears to be a flash. Youthful strength and exuberance give way to maturity and then old age.
One day the things you postponed may become impossible to do or you could run out of time.
So rather than putting life on hold, do what scares you, do what inspires you to greatness, change a life today, change your own life, make that tough choice or reach out to that person. 
Soon enough the things that scared you will lose their hold, the pride that’s keeping you bound will become pointless and the competition at any cost will become meaningless.
Living life as though it were short is a key to happiness, prosperity and success. It helps you to do away with procrastination.
Don’t wait to be happy, be happy now. Don’t wait to celebrate life, do so now. Don’t wait to tell someone you’ve forgiven them, forgive them now. Don’t wait to say sorry, say it now and say it anyway even if you don’t think it’s fair.
Knock Knock. Who’s there?
My nephew came to visit a while back when he was about two years old. Many times he would knock on the door and I would ask, ‘who is there?’ he would reply, ‘it’s me’. Again I would ask, ‘who is me?’ And he would say, ‘it’s David’. I then get up to open the door to his delight. The truth is that I knew it was him before he even knocked. I recognised the sound of his tiny feet and his knock. He was the only child in the house and the only person who knocked if any door was closed. I enjoyed playing these ‘knock knock’ games with him throughout his visit. I am reminded of that game as I ponder what is knocking as we start a new year.
- What opportunities are knocking on our doors?
- Who is knocking on our doors?
- What will be on the other side of the doors when we open them?
- Will you hear and recognise the knocks when they come?
Discovering ‘My Why’
'Purposeful me' Why that name? I hear you ask. I wish I could simply describe it as one of those 'Ah ha' moments that people refer to. Yes, I had some 'ah ha' moments, more than twice actually but in each case, the name that popped into my spirit was already in use. I eventually had to apply some brain power to the task of finding a name that encapsulates what I believe the next phase of my life is to be about. So after hours of careful review of the dictionary and thesaurus, googling web names and scouring social media, I eventually concluded on the name, 'purposeful me'. Now that you know how the name came about, let's talk about 'the why'. On the 11th of November 2017, I was at a seminar and the presenter asked me what I was passionate about and I immediately replied, 'continuous Improvement'. I was thinking about my day job and what I enjoyed about it. Later that night, I began to ponder the same question again and I realised that, yes, I was passionate about Continuous Improvement but felt I had applied it to Businesses and processes for almost two decades. Suddenly I realised my passion was the same but how I wanted to apply it was different. I was now more interested in the continuous improvement of people. This is something I have always done effortlessly, in passing, without much focus and attention. I knew I had more to offer and felt that I had to take the opportunity that was handed to me to go after my passion with more focus and determination. After all, what is the price of a fulfilled life?