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As long as the earth remain, the sun would always set except in some certain countries where they have the sun all day long; this particular scenario is extremely rare. In the world that most of us live in, the sun rises and sets but we consciously reject this notion in our lives; when what we want don’t happen the way we plan it; when our dreams don’t come as quickly as we want; when we are confused about what to do with our lives; when our desires are not met; when the lady we love doesn’t love us back (the list goes on), we lose our cool and become irrational; our heart gets broken and we move to an illogical mode.

 

This happened to me around February when my containers were stuck in the Nigerian port for 4 months. I could not believe it; it was simply a nightmare; my customers were collecting their checks back; the price of the dollar was rising at an astronomical rate which means import duty would go very high; cost would go up and the price I would set for the goods would not be profitable to meet local demand. I was calculating loses and at the same time, my cash flow was immobilized; I had money without having money. This is not a good position to be in as an importer because you do not have control of your price and wholesalers would be bluffing your goods so that you could be at their mercy.

 

 

This particular situation actually reached the fifth month before my goods were cleared and I was forced to sell some of the goods at a loss to generate cash flow. This was a situation that was beyond me; it was a dark and painful period in my life. I was grateful to my praying wife who does not cease to encourage me with the word of God. This is one of the hazards of business; the uncertainty! This is when the sun comes down; this is when you are no more in control of the situation and the situation totally takes control of you. This period of my life was actually when I discovered what were the most important things to me.

 

The way God created the earth is very instructive; “let there be light”. And light appeared. And God was please with it and divided the light from the darkness. He called the light “daytime”, and the darkness “nighttime”. Together they formed the first day. The days of our lives are a repetition of daytime and nighttime and because we are not conscious of the nighttime, our strength is actually revealed. We get to really know that we are like grass that can easily weather. We get to realize that some things cannot be solved with our strength. No matter the level you are in life, the sun would always come down.

 

The sun coming down is not actually bad though so many people believe it is; the setting of the sun is an indication of so many things like time to sleep, time to stop working, time to gain back energy lost, time to re-strategize, time to be with your family, etc. Whenever, you are in a dark period of your life, these are the activities you are expected to follow but most people struggle and kick against the stone. These dark periods are when God wants to show us a new direction to follow. I have yet to see an effective, famous or wealthy person who did not emerge from the dark periods of his/her life. There would always be a stop from their normal activity forcing them to create a new direction that would make them blossom. Some reject this period, learn nothing from it and remain in the same level of life.

 

I was at the cinema three weeks ago watching the biopic of Christopher Wallace aka Notorious BIG. Although, it was R rated with obscene language and nudity, the messages of the film outshined it all and made it a good watch for guys aspiring to make a difference in the world. There were so many great quotes that were worth remembering; “don’t chase the paper, chase the dream”; “whatever does not break you, makes you”; “in the right hand, I know I would be the greatest”; “no dream is too big to achieve”. These were bunch of high school drop out in the slums of Brooklyn that influenced the world youths in the 90s with rap songs.

 

According to the film, Christopher Wallace was making so much money in illegal drug business until he was busted and thrown to jail. It was this jail period of his life that he developed his rap skill that made him one of the most popular and sought after musician in the United States and undoubtedly the world. You may be earning big at your workplace and the axe falls; the job that has given you your lifestyle and security has been taken from you. You are now in a prison; nobody is willing to hire you because your former employer has over-prized you out of the employment. It’s not time to get frustrated because the world rejects you; it’s time for you to look within and get closer to God; God would give you a kingdom that cannot be touched.

 

Resisting your present situation is powerlessness; acceptance would give you the power to change the situation. You can never move forward in life by hating your present situation. You need to develop the spirit of contentment because this is the spirit that attracts gain. What you would learn from this condition would make you an authentic person and command the needed respect. You would not be too bothered about what men would think of you because you know they are all humans. You would be more compassionate to people’s fault and embrace the uniqueness of individuals. It would make you quite patient with people and give you good judgment. Well, nobody prays for disappointment but disappointment breeds blessings.   

 

Another good thing about the sun setting is that you know what the most important things in life are; is it another new car to show to your colleagues who do not give a hoot about you or to build a safe haven for your family and make your world better than you met it; is it a husband you need who may end up abusing you or to make yourself a virtuous wife. The sun setting also made me realize something; I realized that most of my tight friends were company workers who did not understand the trials and challenges of a self-employed entrepreneur. I realized that I needed to move close to self-employed entrepreneurs like me since it is only iron that can sharpen iron.

 

 

It is in this respect that I am calling on entrepreneurs who would like to meet on a monthly basis either through online or physical meeting. I believe that we can learn a lot from each other and bring our peculiarities to the table. One word from a fellow entrepreneur is all you need to move ahead. These meetings could metamorphose into something strong. You never know when your nighttime may come and you would need the hands of fellow entrepreneurs to lead you through the darkness. If you are interested in joining these meetings where we would discuss businesses, new ideas that work and look for ways to develop our business; you may click HERE.

 

 

Let me use this opportunity to congratulate Emeka Okoli for being the commentator for the 1^st quarter. He was consistent through-out the quarter and his comment on the 1^st Quarter Musing Post was very instructive to me. Congratulation Emeka! You are the winner of a leather strap Giorgio Armani Emporio Armani AR-5819 Wrist Watch. You have truly blessed me with your comments and I believe this present cannot compensate your giving spirit. You can contact me by clicking HERE. Thank you once more…………