Recently, a boss of mine was wrongly locked up in one of the most gruesome detention facilities in the country. The details of his ordeal are best left unsaid. When he was finally released, he looked at me and said “well, nobody can owe me money now; I have their oga’s number”. Two days later, his long-term debtor paid up after receiving a call from an ‘oga’ of the detention facility.

Anyone who goes about seeking hurt usually finds it. But, life’s way more fun when we’re happy. And, true happiness is both blind and deaf. It has absolutely nothing to do with what’s in the news. It’s a mind-set that eventually becomes reality.

 You can negotiate anything.

Are you familiar with the LG slogan? That’s life for some people; just too good. But, even for those, there’s always that one time when it’s served short. We won’t always be able to thread ourselves through life’s terms. It’s almost like being poked in the ribs before a reaction-hungry crowd. They want to see if we’d put up a fight – or just roll over.

 I had to get a friend a jersey some time back. His hopes were so high even I was relieved when the attendant found his rare size. Only problem was, the attendant was the only one working that part of the busy store. Leaving the store unattended to print the jersey was unthinkable. The ‘only’ option was for me to come back the next morning – by what time I would have been miles away.

 I picked up the (printed) jersey less than an hour later. You’re welcome to guess how I did it! Truth is: we have more options than we see; reality is often just too compelling for us to explore.

 Just stare.

Now, this is a freak inclusion – but it might work for you. Sometimes, the problems we face defy all orthodox logic. For those impossible times it may help to JUST STARE. Now, science may not back me on this, but I’ve come to see that even raindrops have a pattern – we only have to look long enough. The answer to such problems is usually in the pattern.

 Some nights ago, I burnt a large pot of stew (and tons of meat). I’m not very proud of that – but, instead of misery, I re-learnt something. I found there was a bug in my FIFA 13. I regularly beat the toughest teams, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t beat this low-cadre team. Even if I led until the final second, the best I could get was a draw. I should just have shut it down, but I decided to ‘stare’ a little longer. Many minutes hours and a burnt pot of soup later, I won 3-1. How? I made that tough team wear a different jersey. Silly – but that was the ONLY thing that worked!

 God sees the heart; man simply CANNOT!

“Nothing is ever what it seems”, “Trust your eyes to deceive you”. We’ve heard all of that, yet we humans are not so wired. We cannot really see one another’s thoughts. So we hold on to what we can – and sometimes, that blinds us.

 You won’t convince an interviewer you’re happy on the inside if there’s a permanent scowl on your face. If you’re sneaking about someone’s compound late into the night, you’re likely to get shot! It won’t matter if you were anonymously watering his garden. Once, I accidentally shut down wireless service to an 11-floor office. The only saving grace was that my boss and his were aware of what I was trying to do. Of course, there was some lashing – but it was lighter.

 Until you have, you didn’t!

I’m convinced life’s final scorecard is in binary – you’re either a dignified ‘1’ or an advertised ‘0’. In the end, unused potential will count as a ‘0’. No one can really know what we’re capable of. Truth is: no one cares what we ‘could have been’. The greatest proof of our potential is doing.

 Imagine that David hit Goliath’s buddy just to prove he could. I’m not sure he would have had a second chance. There’s no point delighting in mere ability; if it’s worth the thought, go right out and do it! You simply cannot wait till you’re “sure”; no achiever ever is. I wasn’t sure I was ready for my final year till mid-way through my convocation ceremony!

 Spend time with those you love.

I think there are four ‘F’s we should never take lightly: Family, Friends and Food. Pardon my arithmetic, but the fourth (Football) tucks nicely under ‘Friends’. Take some time to share laughs, problems and life generally. Let them know it’s not because you have nothing better to do, but because you actually have nothing better to do!

 Funny, but I find I’ve been inspired to great heights by simply ‘wasting’ time with people I love.

 Eagles don’t carry handbags!

People who try to please everybody end up being just that: everybody. And at the last head-count, ‘nobody’ answered for ‘everybody’. If we’re going to amount to anything, the time will always come for hard decisions. No one’s ever risen to the top without them.

 Instead of brooding over the outcome of a tough call, verify the integrity of the process. If the steps check out, the answer can’t be wrong. When it comes to changing ‘clothing’, neither the snake nor the eagle can afford sentiments. It’s never easy – but they’re better for it in the end.

 Sentiments will only fill our lives with junk. Eagles fly fast, strong – but, above all, light!

 Mayans are too damn slow!

I’ve heard that a certain tribe decided to scare the world! How ingenious. 5000 whole years, before we can take stock and acknowledge that times are changing? Took them too long in my opinion! How about we plan tomorrow today?

 How about we live like the one-day Mayans, whose worlds end every night? And then, if, by the master’s bidding, it restarts at dawn, we bear none of yesterday’s pain – only joy, for life, for love, for nothing and everything that makes us who we are!

 If you ever wondered what the difference between a pawn and a king is, here it is: the king has a plan. It’s to stay alive! Interestingly, every chess player must buy into that. Imagine if ‘The Master’ buys into your life-plans. Now, imagine that you have none.

 Delete that last though and insert a decision to plan for tomorrow. #2013 marches ever closer! We can’t afford to be caught napping!

Happy New Year in advance!