One of the chapters in my soon coming book "Sitting At The Edge." Originally published on Facebook. Enjoy!

Anybody Can Cook.

There is a theory known as The Conspiracy Theory. The claim of this theory is that there is a select few individuals who decides the direction of the world. Or put in another way, a set of very few and rich individuals that rules over the majority that are poor. The theory further claims that these few individuals even goes further to ensure that the wealth remains in the hands of these few people so that they can continue to rule over the mass majority that are poor. So, we say here in Nigeria that there are a few individuals who just keep rotating power and wealth amongst themselves so the ordinary man on the street remains impoverished.

Now, the truth is, this theory is true, but only to a certain extent. More than 90% of the wealth of this world is controlled by less than 4% of the world’s population. The few elite will definitely rule over the mass majority. The rich have always, are, and will always rule over the poor. And the poor we will always have with us. The Law makes sure of that. If you are of the same temperament as I am then you feel hurt when you see certain images on the TV screen. In truth, I weep. I weep when I see stuff citizens go through every day. A case in mind right now was the day, a couple of weeks ago, when a pensioner was on a TV programme and he was calling on the government to pay his pension so he can afford two meals a day. I wept. It really hurts when you come to terms with the level of material poverty in the land. The truth, however, is that ‘the poor you will have with you always.’ Jesus said that, not me.

Back to The Conspiracy Theory. The elite few determines the direction, the mass majority follows. But that is where The Conspiracy Theory ends. The first question I want to pose to you today is ‘who or what determines who becomes a member of this elite group?’ The answer is no one and nothing. Nobody is standing anywhere and saying ‘Tunde, because your name is Tunde you cannot be a member of the elite.’ Nobody has been given that responsibility. In truth, nobody will saddle herself with that task.

What does it mean to be the elite? Ralph Segun Dada (RSD) says ‘Where there is a lack of accurate definition of terms, there will be deviations from expectation.’ So let’s go back to the dictionary and find out for ourselves the definition of the word Elite. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary, 7th Edition, defines Elite as ‘a group of people in a society, etc. who are powerful and have a lot of influence because they are rich, intelligent, etc.’ I say the etc. is ‘hard work.’ And hard work stands for educated, disciplined, responsible, studious, goal-oriented, people focused, etc. The sum total of all of these is hard work. So, for the sake of this write-up we will define elite as ‘a group of people in a society, etc. who are powerful and have a lot of influence because they are rich, intelligent, and hardworking.’ My second question is ‘what effort are you engaging in consistently and continuously to have these three qualities in you?’

• Are you making any effort to be financially independent?
• Are you making any effort to be intelligent?
• Are you hard-working?

See, when you have these three qualities, the so-called elite group have no choice but to let you in because you have become an elite yourself. Many of us just fizzle through life and end up complaining about life when what we should actually be doing is working on ourselves to becoming a better people. We are cursing the wind when we should be adjusting our sails. Mediocrity is common. I believe that after sex, mediocrity should be the next cheapest commodity on the face of the earth right now. All you have to do to be a mediocre is nothing. And mediocre complain.

These three qualities of wealth, intelligence, and hard-work are not developed in the classroom. There is no educational system in the world that is equipped to equip you with these qualities. Doctorates could not decipher my note Sitting At The Edge so don’t think that by intelligence we are referring to classroom intelligence. We are talking about intelligence in the playing field, street sense.

I am already at the fifth page of my writing pad and I am still at the surface of this subject matter, so please permit me to skip the qualities of wealth and intelligence and go straight to hard-work. That is my focus area.

Anybody can rise to the top of her field of interest if they are willing to pay the price. If you will pay the price you will earn the prize. If you don’t dare the impossible you will never experience the invisible (the unseen). And those who dare the impossible becomes invincible (strong and tough).

Marshawn Evans, author of Skirts In The Boardroom says 'it’s not what you do some of the time that matters, it’s what you do all of the time that counts.' Hard-work is hard work. Nobody strolls to the top. You must engage in consistent and continuous effort to get you to where you are going to. Like I earlier said, hard-work is every other quality besides wealth and intelligence. Personal development, Leadership, Leadership development, Branding, Success Habits, Vision, Project Management, Entrepreneurial Mindset, Thinking Big, etc. All of these and more is hard work. So believe me when I say no one strolls to the top of her field of interest.

One mindset that I have discovered that militates against our attaining and achieving our dreams is the ‘Not enough’ mindset. We keep waiting till we have enough before we start. Economics says expenses will always rise to equate income. Some even manage to spend more than they earn. Believe me, what you have is enough. In truth, it is more than enough because all you need to start is you. I know what it is like to suffer lack. I know what it means to wake up in the middle of the night and cry just because this is not the life I set out to accomplish. Do you know what it feels like when you are 31years old and all you have in the bank is $10:50c and there is no hope of money coming from anywhere? I have been there. But when you know where you are going to, you draw strength from there. The bible says of Jesus, ‘… who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross.’ If you don’t have a destination you will dissipate energy. You tap energy from where you are going to not from where you are. My third and final question is ‘where are you going to?’

Talent is overrated. Many times we see people who do well in their field and we attribute it to talent or gift rather than skill. Leaders are not born. I don’t care what books you’ve read, leaders are made. And you make yourself what you want to become. Yes, we are all born with certain inclinations. I may be musically inclined while you are science inclined but we can both become leaders in our fields. But if we don’t work at it, it will die with us. Michael Jackson did not rise to the height he attained because he was gifted; rather it was because while his mates were riding choppers he was in the studio singing. If you will pay the price you will earn the prize. You can achieve whatever you want to achieve. Just have a destination, chart a course, and find the right people to guide you on your journey.

In conclusion, conspiracy theory or no conspiracy theory, the African proverb still holds true: when a child washes his hands clean enough he will eat with the elders. The next time someone tells you that you cannot make it in life, tell that person that Mute Efe says Anybody Can Cook.

Mute Efe,
+234-803-874-9796

For the original note https://www.facebook.com/note.php?note_id=10150331203794051

Hey,

I am relatively new here. Is there something I am supposed to say or do before people post their response to the note. Is there like a passcode or something? A little help will go a long way.

Thanks.