IT'S BETTER LATE THAN NEVER

'It's better late than never'- that's a statement that is true in many respects. I would rather achieve a goal in my lifetime rather late than not achieve that goal at all.
You may not have achieved all you wanted to achieve in 2012, but that is why this article has been written. It's been written to remind you that it's better late than never!
 Be encouraged, though the year is going by rather fast, be consoled that you are still in the first month of the year 2013, there is still hope for you and you can make it.
 It will not be late for you this year. Might I encourage you to write out your goals for the year, be determined in your heart to pursue and achieve them, be prayerful in everything you do this year and ask God to open your eyes to the opportunities around you (there are opportunities around you, you probably aren't seeing them) and very importantly, learn to seize opportunities this year.
 As you make the most of opportunities that come your way this year, you can be sure that this year you will find yourself in places of fulfilment.
 My article wasn't written on the first of January which would have been the ideal day to write it but I'm happy I have been able to find the time to write it in the first month of the year.
I have been busy with marital life, my career and numerous other plans and projects.
Since it's better late than never, I believe it's not to late to wish you a happy new year. Wishing you a happy and properous 2013.

FAITH AND IT'S MISSING LINK.

 
The concept of faith is one that's pertinent to all men, for we all have a faith (s spiritual belief) or faith in something.
  We can have faith in people, a business, a job, a nation, an economy or a business. We can put our faith in God or satan, the light or darkness, truth or falseness, logic or evidence beyond that which is seen. I'm a christian, a follower of Jesus Christ, my faith is in God, the creator of heaven and earth. God is interested in the our faith, and His Word, the Holy Bible touches on the topic of faith quiet extensively. I accept the Bible for what it says and I believe it is the Word of God Himself.
  Many claim to have faith but don't even know what faith is. There is a missing link to what many see faith as, it's not possible to have faith without seeing something. You have to see to have faith, for faith has to be founded upon something. It's meant to be based on what you see.
 Faith is not mental assent, it is not blind belief and it is not believing itself. Faith is an action!
 Faith is the action of belief.
 It's not always enough to believe, but its commendable to act on what you believe. Faith is the action of believe!
 For you to have true faith you have to 'see' something and you have to believe something. The question is, what do you see and what do you believe?
 By seeing, I mean you have to have a mental picture, you must be able to imagine and visualize what you want to achieve for "faith is the evidence of things hoped for, the substance of things not seen" What you hope for is not something that you see with your physical eyes, it's  seen with your spiritual eyes, it's seen with you 'heart', it's evidence is known only by you which is your visualization, your mental picture, it's what you hold up as a dominant imagination. Your ability to imagine  was  given  to  you  by  you  creator  for  a  reason. It's  part  of  your  inner  picture  which  your  faith  is based on, faith is not blind by any means.
Where  do we get the right mental picture from  to help our faith, or make our faith clearer?
We  get  it  from God's Word  the Bible. "for faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God"
What we hear matters. What  we  hear  can  become  the  source of our  faith  for  faith  starts  from what  we  hear. When we hear words that are Biblically based our faith grows. As we listen to such words, understanding comes to us, understanding words we hear creates a mental picture in our mind. We read the Bible to get pictures, pictures that should become our dream. Read God's Word until you see what you can have in it, listen to Words from the Bible until understanding comes, which means your mental picture has been ignited. When you see yourself in the light of God's Word, then you can say your faith has started. When you act on making those pictures a reality, then you can say you're in faith.
Imaginations and visualizations are the missing link in what many profess  as having faith.

THE EYE OF THE EAGLE.

I believe we are in times when we need the 'eye of the eagle' and the 'eyes of Elisha' more than ever before.
You might wonder what I mean by the eye of the eagle? 

The eye of the eagle refers to foresight, that unique ability to see ahead of your detractors, critics, competition or enemies.

The eagle is a unique bird with many fine qualities but what stands out among the many qualities of the eagle is its eyes.

 The eagle is the only bird and animal that can look directly into the sun, it has foresight and vision. 

It can see its prey many, many miles away even as it hides in some of the most unusual places. 

The eagle is a survivor. 

To survive in difficult economic times we must see what others are not seeing to makes the most of opportunities around us.

What use are opportunities when you don't see them or recognize them?
The eye of the eagle is similar to the eye of Elisha.
Elisha is that prophet of old who was the protege of Elijah. God gave him the unique ability to see into the spirit realm.

 He had a confidence many didn't have despite being surrounded by enemies round about. It's because he could see the angels of God around him and chariots of fire that were there to protect him and his side kick.

What do you see dear friend?
Do you recognize your opportunities though they come disguised as hard work? 

How do you view difficult situations and the state of the world we are in?

Your view is how you see, how you see determines your perception, and your perception determines your placement in life.
Daily, lets pray to God for the eyes of the eagle and the eyes of Elisha. 

The eyes of the eagle will help us see what is ours or can be ours in the physical while the eyes of Elisha helps us see into the supernatural realm where our blessings are.

WHAT DOES IT TAKE TO WRITE A GOOD NOVEL?

Dear Friends,

 This is a speech I gave recently at a book launch in Wanstead London.

 It's the launch for a book titled 'V' THE OLYMPIC MAN. I have decided to put this speech on here because there are useful tips in it that will help aspiring authors, and those who are writing veterans but want to improve their craft.

 Enjoy it:

                                   'V' THE OLYMPIC MAN

I'll like to start by congratulating the Author of the book we have been  here to launch- Mr 'Dele Akinrin on the successful publishing of 'V' The Olympic man.

As an author of two books, I know and understand the challenge and also the excitement involved in the process of turning what was once an idea into a tangible finished product.

I also thank Mr Akinrin for the opportunity to review his book which is a novel.

  WHAT MAKES A GOOD NOVEL?

Any writer worth her keyboard will tell you there is no single, carved-in-stone Right Way to write a novel. If you want to create a book worthy of being published , you need to study the craft  and the market, then choose the techniques that make the most sense to you.

Discover your own right way.

But here are some tips:

1) START YOUR NOVEL WITH A SURPRISING HOOK

In the book 'V' THE OLYMPIC MAN, the author starts the first five pages with opening lines that surprises, intrigues, startles and makes the reader want to know more.

The protagonist in 'V' THE OLYMPIC MAN is presented as a dark character, who is full of conflict and has an enormous problem to solve. It makes the book compelling.

2) DON'T OVERLOAD THE BEGINNING WITH BACKGROUND

Don't meander around setting up your story. Don't tell us everything about the main characters history at a go.

A reader is only interested in knowing background after he already has sufficient information about the protagonist

In 'V' The Olympic man this mistake is not made.

3) GIVE YOUR CHARACTERS STRONG GOALS

Your characters must have motivation for what they do. Specific, detailed motivation. When writing a novel, 'the personal pot of gold' of the protagonist must be obvious.

Victor, the protagonist in 'V' THE OLYMPIC MAN has clear goals.

4) GIVE YOUR CHARACTERS WEAKNESSES AND FLAWS

A good novel is a story of transformation. You're showing your readers how your characters grow and change, how they overcome (or are overcome by) their problems and flaws. The protagonist in Mr Dele Akinrin's new novel has problems and flaws right from the beginning. He is a diamond in the rough at the beginning. It's later on we see glints of his true heroism. He seems to tumble throughout the book until he truly shines as the book goes on.

5) CREATE POWERFUL CONFLICTS.

Conflict is what keeps a reader turning pages, it's what keeps a reader wondering, "What's going to happen next?

In 'V' THE OLYMPIC MAN, there is conflict, real plot, coincidences and misunderstandings. It makes the book worth reading.

6) GIVE EMOTIONAL IMPACT.

What readers want most is to feel the novel they are reading.

Readers want to laugh, cry, hope and worry when they read a novel. In Mr Dele Akinrin's book 'V' THE OLYMPIC MAN, there are lots of emotional scenes that will cause goose bumps for the reader.

7) STRIVE FOR MORE DIALOGUE THAN NARRATIVE

Novels that show scenes with action and dialogue creates vivid characters and a fast pace. Novels where the characters words are written compared to narrated is preferable. In 'V' THE OLYMPIC MAN' the author has done a good job creating dialogue not just narrating. To read it is to know it.

8) POLISH YOUR WRITING SKILLS

Passive voice, run-on sentences, grammatical errors/spelling mistakes can affect the sales of a book and a writers writing profession.

'V' THE OLYMPIC MAN, is a well edited and written work with a moral lesson in it.

THE MAKING OF A DREAM.

A quote I once came across reads 'A man with a vision is a mad man until His vision comes to pass'.
People who have a vision in their hearts, people who have a dream have a certain restlessness about them to see their visions or dreams come to pass. Your vision and your dream is the same thing. It's a mental picture and strong desire outlined within you of what you want to achieve and manifest.
We are not created to live purposeless lives, we have been built and designed to fulfil and manifest our dreams. We all have dreams, its what propels us to make the decisions we make and take the steps we take.
There are good dreams/visions as their are bad ones. Your dream is not your purpose but your dream must be linked to your life's purpose. Your purpose is what God has in mind concerning you, Gods dream for you. Your dream must reflect part of, or all of God's purposes for you.
Like everything thats alive, dreams have a stage and process to them. They are listed below:

1) CONCEPTION STAGE- This is the stage where the dream has just come into your heart. The idea has just 'dropped' into you when you perhaps least expected it or when you were going about your daily activities. It dropped into you like seeds are dropped into soil, it happens largely by inspiration.

2) DEVELOPMENT STAGE- This stage or season is where you know within you that your dream is growing, you know it because you can feel it within you, it's getting bigger on the inside. It's at this stage that the details of your dream get clearer and the steps to take to the fulfilment of your dream gets clearer. This stage is also a very vulnerable stage, because fear can increase  as  the  dream  gets  clearer  and this  can  be  overwhelming.
This stage of the dreams 'life' is when you find it easier to connect the dots. In this season, your dreams and ideas must be well protected and guarded from negative people, laziness, enemies, and thoughts of doubt and fear. It's not the time yet to broadcast your dream. It's the time to put your imagination to work and visualise that dream happening.

3) CONFESSION STAGE- This is the season in your dreams stage when you should use your mouth to declare and confess what you see within you and what you feel and know deep down inside. It's the confess it and have it stage, the decree it and see it stage. There is a power in our tongue that can be used for good or evil. Use it to manifest your dreams and fulfil worthy purposes.
At this stage start sharing your dream with those you feel and know can help you bring it to pass. People whose expertise, resources or encouragement you need.

4) ACTION STAGE- It's that time when you have to take some proactive steps towards the manifestation of your dream. It's the period the rubber needs to meet the road. It's that time when talk has become cheap, if you don't take committed steps and actions to the achievement of your dream. At this stage, you might have to write a business plan, see that bank manager, take a loan towards that business, go on a course, seek counsel or whatever it is you need to do to achieve your dream.

5) MANIFESTATION STAGE- This is it! You conceived it, it developed within you, you confessed it, you took steps by taking positive action. Now you're manifesting it. It's when you started that hospital, that business, wrote that book or married that longtime sweetheart of yours.
Enjoy it, revel in it, its the future you wanted. You didnt give up.

THE SWORD OF GOLIATH

The  story of  David  and  Goliath  has  always  been  a  captivating  story. It's  symbolic  in  many  ways  and  has  many  intrigues  to  it.
 It's  a  story  that's  symbolic  of  the  victory  of  light  over  darkness, good  over  evil  and  how  God  uses  the  seemingly  foolish  things  of   the  world  to  confound  the  wise,  the  base  things  to confound  the  mighty.
 Personally  I  like  that  story  because  I am  a  writer  and  I draw  inspiration  from  it  and  a  number  of  life  lessons.
 My  third  book  'SWORD OF GOLIATH'  has it's  inspiration  from  it. It  will be  out  by  year  ending  and  it  promises  to  be  a  fictional, historical  and action  adventure  treat! A  must  read  for  all you  lovers  of fiction  and  action. I will be  out  in  about 4 to 5 months  time. My  fourth  book 'KEEPERS  OF  THE  KEYS' will be  out  early  next  year, also  published  by  Author house publishers.
 You will be  able  to  get  copies  through http://www.authorhouse.co.uk/, http://www.amazon.com/, http://www.amazon.co.uk/ and a host of other online retailers.
I look forward to your views about it.
Olutosin Ogunkolade

The Serpent.

The serpent is an animal usually associated with negativity, satanism and evil. The serpent is a reptile that is often associated with fear when thought about.
 Even scripturally the serpent is often synonymous with the devil, after all the devil chose the image of the serpent when he wanted to tempt Eve, the first woman ever created.
 There is a side to the serpent very few people see or understand. The serpent is a wise animal. The Word acknowledges this - " be wise as serpents, harmless as doves". This is something positive we can glean and learn from the serpent.
 The serpent is a symbol of wisdom. That's why Pharaohs used to wear hats (a Pharaoh's crown) that have the image of serpents in front of them. Pharaoh's understood the importance of wisdom and promoted men who have such a quality. They surrounded themselves with psychics, astrologers, counselors and magicians, men they believed could give their reign some sort of superior advantage.
 Jesus is the wisdom of God, and He hung on a cross. He said " as the bronze serpent of Moses was lifted up, so will He be lifted up. I will not be wrong to say the bronze serpent is symbolically a representation of Jesus.
 "Everything the Lord has created is good" There is good in everything the Lord has created. There is good in the serpent if you choose to see it.