Category: Motivations & Inspirations

WRITERS JOURNAL

On 19th February 2017, I had the rare privilege of interviewing a visionary, a managing partner of DnS Corporation. Here is the inspiring story of a young man who had a great vision and was not afraid to start small; a story of commitment, integrity, hard work and passion.

Onomewrites: Can we meet you?
Mr. Divine: My name is Nifemi Oluyemi Divine; I am a Managing Partner of DnS corporation, a company that specialises in Web designs/development, branding (cloths and business), graphic designs, animations, cinematography, networking, digital marketing and lots more. The company is located in Ibadan, Oyo state of Nigeria. I am a graduate of Forestry and Wildlife Management from the Federal University of Technology, Akure.
Onomewrites: What exactly is the meaning of DnS?
Mr. Divine: DnS means Divine and Samson Corporation, which is exactly why the ‘D’ and the ‘S’ is always in capital.

Onomewrites: Wow! So who is this Mr. Samson?
Mr. Divine: Let’s say we are two cool guys who share same vision and passion. When I got the vision to start a company, I realized the vision is bigger than just me. So, I spoke with him about it and we just clicked. And there you have it; DnS Corporation.
Onomewrites: So tell us, how did you meet Mr. Samson?
Mr. Divine: (smiles) Our meeting was kinda funny ooo. I was travelling to Port Harcourt to the State’s NYSC Orientation Camp, for the mandatory one-year service to the fatherland as a young graduate, from Akure and fortunately, he happened to be sitting by the window side of the mid-row seat of the bus I was on while I sat near the door. That’s right, we met on a bus. While on our way, I went eavesdropping (smiles) on his phone conversations and from those calls, it was obvious he is an IT guy. As soon as we had a stopover, that was in Onitsha, I decided to chat him up and our connection was almost instantaneous. The IT savvy part of us took over and as they say, the rest is history.

Onomewrites: Interesting. Tell us about your journey from being an employee to an employer?
Mr. Divine: (laughs) Onome! Okay, although I’ve always known there was more to me than working under somebody, I also knew I had to start small. My journey so far; I got my first job at P-hub while still an undergraduate and worked there for a while before getting another job at Play as a Graphics Designer. I was given a two-week probation but after a week, they were pleased with my job and they forgot about the probation. I was with them for a month or two before I stopped going. I was just not comfortable being confined for a whole day and so again, I joined another establishment, which was Ultimate Travels and Tours; I was their project manager for a month before I resigned. I was on my own, trying to secure contracts and gaining ground while still learning and growing; then one day, someone just called me to design an application for the University of Maiduguri. I asked them to pay ₦50,000 but the guy who got the contract for me advised that what I was charging was too little for a University; that they would think I’m not good at my job. I didn’t know how to charge back then, and so I made some calls, spoke to some senior colleagues about how they bill their clients and they made suggestions how I should go about it. I charged the University the sum of ₦600,000 and to my surprise, they didn’t even negotiate. Once I got that pay, I just know within me that it was time to step out and standout; and so that was how we started DnS Corporation.

Onomewrites: What has this company been able to achieve so far?
Mr. Divine: Our major goal is to offer solutions, I came up with the idea of designing an online drug store, I asked around from hospitals and pharmaceuticals where they get their drugs and some told us they get it from the markets. We decided to design an online platform where pharmaceuticals could upload their drugs and they could be delivered to the buyers. However, to proceed with the plan, we needed approval from the Pharmaceuticals Association of Nigeria; they loved the idea and gave us go ahead. The platform was designed and the name of the website is quicken.com.ng. A lot of drug manufacturers are already on the platform while we are still working on new ideas every day.
Onomewrites: When did your love for IT start?
Mr. Divine: Hmmmm… My love for IT started when I was in my third year in the university, there was this 6 months ASUU strike and so I decided to use my spare time for something good. I started learning graphics, I downloaded dozens of videos on YouTube and even after the strike-action, I never stopped learning. Every single time I did a data subscription on my phone, I told myself my money must yield good results; something I called “Return on Investment” and so I maximized every opportunity. In my final year, I started learning web design.
Onomewrites: Where do you think you stand now in the world of Information Technology?
Mr. Divine: I thank God for grace, last year a survey was carried out and just three graphic designers were identified, or more like qualified, in Nigeria; myself and two other guys. The guy designing for Jumia came out as the best while I ranked next.
Onomewrites: Wow! That’s really nice, congratulations sir.
Mr. Divine: (smiles) Thank you.

Onomewrites: How many members of staff do you currently have in your company and what are the criteria for employment?
Mr. Divine: At the moment, we have about 22 employees at DnS. We don’t employ based on qualifications because we deal with intellect. If you are good enough and you are willing to work hard at it, that’s all we need.
Onomewrites: Sir, permit me to digress a little bit; what’s your take on the subject topic that a Visionary needs a Confident Woman?
Mr. Divine: (laughs) Onome this is not a relationship interview now. Hmmm… well, I quite agree that a great man needs a great woman. I’m in a relationship and I can say from experience that my woman has been a real source of inspiration; she’s been a manager and a great partner. So… Yes! A Visionary needs a Confident Woman.
Onomewrites: Where’s the place of God in all this?
Mr. Divine: God… God… God! He’s the one factor that is indispensable. He gave the vision and He has been backing it up; God is the brain behind DnS. So, God is the most important factor.
Onomewrites: So finally sir, what’s your advice to young ones who wants to be a CEO soon?
Mr. Divine: Don’t stop learning, be teachable and be humble; don’t ever forget the place of God. It’s a tough world out there and so you need God to survive.
Onomewrites: Thank you so very much for your time… We really appreciate you Sir.
Mr. Divine: (smiles) It’s an honour and a great privilege. Thank you for having me.

CONCLUSION
“Your visions will become clear only when you can look into your own heart. Who looks outside, dreams; who looks inside, awakes (Carl Jung)”.
Look inwardly and you’ll realize there is more to you. Never give up on your visions and never stop dreaming new dreams, and I can bet you the sky is only your starting point.
You can do better as long as you don’t give up.

Omodara Onome
Relationship and life coach.
Onomewrites@gmail.com Continue reading “An interview with a visionary”

“Everybody likes to be praised, but when praise is specific, it comes across as sincere- not something the other person may be saying just to make one feel good” – Dale Carnegie.

A catalyst is used in chemistry and it can be defined as a substance that increases the rate of a chemical reaction without being consumed in the process. A catalyst is so essential in any chemical reaction and so is a catalyst important in the life of every human being as it brings about a change.

The story was said of a young boy many years ago at the age of ten he was working in a factory. He longed to be a singer but his first teacher discouraged him. ‘You can’t sing’. He said. ‘You haven’t any voice at all. It sounds like the wind in the shutters’. But his mother a poor peasant woman put her arms about him and praised him and she told him she knew he could sing, she could already see an improvement, and she went barefoot in order to save money to pay for his music lessons. That peasant mother’s praise and encouragement changed that boy’s life. His name was Enrico Caruso, and he became the greatest and most famous opera singer of his age. This boy’s mother was a catalyst to him becoming a success story.

A lot of great men and women can trace their success story back to a man or woman who has spoken a word of encouragement to their lives and it has spurred them to work towards the actualization of their dreams. Imagine if Enrico’s mum had also told him he can’t sing he might end up not pursuing his dreams.

A lot of dreams have been shattered today because they were discouraged along the line why not be a catalyst to someone’s dream? Encourage your friends stop tearing them apart. Words have a great impact to those being said it to so why not use your words to lift up someone.

CRITICISM VS ENCOURAGEMENT
“Tell your child, your spouse, or your employee that he or she is stupid or dumb at a certain thing, has no gift for it, and is doing it all wrong, and you have destroyed almost incentive to try to improve” – Dale Carnegie.

A lot of us are so guilty of this when people make a mistake the next thing we do is to shout at them and make them look so stupid while some of us are so good at finding faults we never see the good in others.

I know people need to be corrected I’m not asking you to flatter but you could make their fault easy to correct. Celebrate every little improvement you see in people if you want them to grow then appreciate their efforts. Don’t just find faults in people appreciate the good things about them.

CONCLUSION

Be a part of someone’s success story, encourage them, and invest in people. Encouragement is a food for the soul and it stirs people up to do more. Don’t stop encouraging souls and as you are doing that you are creating a path for your own success.
Be a world changer!

I believe in you!

 

Omodara Onome

Onomewrites@gmail.com

Relationship and life coach.

“You can’t judge a book by its cover. That is one of my favorite sayings because it’s one of the few sayings that are completely and utterly true. Once you start falling for someone you start to see everything differently, you see things others don’t, and it’s as though the imperfect people suddenly become perfect”. (Anonymous)

Leticia had been crushing on John ever since her friend introduced him to her at a birthday party, John had chatted with her and she liked him instantly. He told her a lot about him and she also told him about herself he got her phone number and left after seeing her off to her house. She had a dream about him that night and she was looking forward to him proposing to her.
Her dreams were abolished when her friend told her he was one of the hottest guys on campus and he was dating Sonia who was the finest girl in her department. Leticia thought with that confession she would stop loving him but unfortunately, she never stopped loving him. Every time he called her or she saw him she felt like hearing the word “I love you” from him. She really wished she was Sonia.
Leticia was in her third year and she has refused to enter into any relationship all her friends had advised her to stop dreaming that John would ask her out, none of those advices made sense has she could not get over what she felt for John but this time she was already tired of crushing on a guy for over a year a guy she knew could never be hers.

According to urban dictionary a crush can be defined as “a burning desire to be with someone who you find very attractive and extremely special”

A lot of people like Leticia are secretly crushing on a particular person for a long while and they can’t get over the feeling even when they know the person feels nothing for them. I was in the same shoe in 2014 when I crushed on a particular guy for more than 6 months and it was seriously killing me because I couldn’t concentrate and I ended up visiting a relationship coach. I can tell you I know how it feels so you could trust me on this.

THE FEELING
Nothing could replace the feeling of being in love and the person loves you back so a crush could be so frustrating because most times the person you are crushing on does not even feel anything for you so why waste your time and emotions on someone who feels nothing for you? Why not keep your emotions and feeling for the right person.

CRUSH VS. LOVE
Most times the person you are crushing on has this special thing that makes you love them it could their abilities or their beauty if you are real with yourself you are not crushing on their personalities you are only crushing on what they represent you find that person perfect you find it hard to believe they have their own faults. Most times the feeling is temporary.
Love on the other hand is a real feeling, it is genuine, pure and sincere, you love everything about the person their personalities and what they represent. You realize they are not perfect and it doesn’t matter, you are willing to work it out. You know you have your differences but both of you are willing to make it work and love itself is a decision so you have decided to make it work.

HOW DO YOU HANDLE A CRUSH?
1.Self-examination: The major problem people face in relationships is that when they are in love they don’t tell themselves the truth. Most times the person you have a crush on is not worth your emotions, you know even if the person proposes it might not last so why not save yourself from a terrible heartbreak and decide to get over the feeling. I came to a point when I told myself I deserve more. You know the person you are crushing on is not the best option so why settle for less when you can have the best?

2.Self- Determination: if you will get over the giddy feeling then you need to brace up and be determined to let go and aim for the best. Be determined to end it because if you are not determined no amount of therapy will work on you so be determined to let go.

3.Give it time: if you have a crush on someone most times when the person annoys you, you might start disliking him/her. Most times a crush evolves after a one day encounter with the person but when you start getting to know the real person you might be pissed off at what you’ll see. So before you start daydreaming and fantasizing get to know if you love the differences. Feelings fade over time so give whatever you are feeling time and see if the person is worth fighting for or worth waiting for.

4.Run away: use this step to check if your crush is genuine, try not to talk to the person for a week or two and see if you still feel the same way. Don’t force yourself on anybody, stop the lines of communication and see if the feeling is still genuine. I know this step is a bit difficult but you have to try.

CONCLUSION

If after doing all these things you still have the feeling then your crush might have developed into a real thing, you might be in love. If after 8 months you still feel the same then it’s time to take it a step further and give it a try. If after seeing the differences and running away and you feel it’s worth it then you could give it a try.

 

Love is never selfish so don’t ever force yourself on anybody, don’t ever force anyone to love you its frustrating. Don’t ever settle for less.

If you have not read my book the beau it’s a handbook on how to have your dream relationship then you are missing, download yours at https://selahsomeonetotalkto.com/2016/09/10/the-beau
If you need a friend to talk to I’m just message away just send a mail to me on onomewrites@gmail.com, I’ll definitely reply you and I’m more than willing to listen and help you out.
Don’t give up on love your dream relationship is possible.
I love you and I believe in you.

Omodara Onome
onomewrites@gmail.com
Relationship and Life coach