She placed his food on the table and sat down at the other side of the long table. It was the farthest point away from him.

She heard him as he hurried out of the bathroom to dress up. A short while later he sat down to eat.

She watched in silence as he ate. She smiled as some of the stew got entangled on his moustache as he swallowed a mouthful.

He looked up suddenly and caught her watching him. She looked away quickly, glancing down at her food, which she had barely touched.

He stared at her, wanting to go to her, lift her up, hug her and ravish her body. It has been long, too long. He tried to smile at her but it came off as a grimace.

He grabbed a jug of water and poured it down his throat. He belched, stood up and left the room.

She watched him go, hoping in her heart he would turn around and come to her. She needed him close to her. She needed his touch, to feel his lips against her forehead and her bosom squashed against his chest.

The door closed. She sighed. She blew out the candle and sat in the darkness of the emerging dawn.

It was her fault that they were as good as being bankrupt. Any more of what they had been doing and they might be homeless, living on the streets and begging for food to survive.

She counted herself lucky that at least he still came back home every night, even if it was separate rooms.

She didn't blame him, 12 years was long enough to lose hope of ever getting a cure for her condition.

Suddenly, there was a growing noise of people shouting as they walked on the street. It was not a usual occurrence. She stood up and moved to the window to see what the commotion was about.

She watched as people thronged a man, everyone trying to get close to him. Suddenly, one of the rulers of the synagogue forced his way through the crowd to the man and fell at his feet. The man stopped to listen to the ruler and moments later, the man started to follow the ruler.

She stood at the window with a puzzled look on her face. "Who is this man that the ruler bowed to?"

Curiosity got the better of her so she quickly exited the apartment. She rushed downstairs and out of the building.

She moved close to a man walking behind the crowd.

"Pray tell, who are they all following?"

"You don't know Jesus?"

"Jesus? Is it the Jesus that people call the great preacher and healer?"

"Yes, he is the one." Then he gave her a sharp look, "you smell like one who is unclean. You should not be here." And he hurried away from beside her.

Her heart began to pound fast as she continued to walk behind the crowd. Perhaps, if I could touch him, maybe, just maybe...she thought to herself.

Adrenaline set in and she moved swiftly to catch up with the crowd. She then crouched down and deftly moved between the crowd till she came up behind Jesus.

As gently as she could managed, she touched the hem of His garment.

Immediately she felt in her body that she was healed. And Jesus, immediately knowing in Himself that power had gone out of Him, turned around in the crowd and said, "Who touched my clothes?"

Everybody around Him denied it and those with Him said, "Master, the people throng and press You, and You say, 'Who touched Me?' "

But Jesus said, "Somebody touched Me, for I perceived power going out from Me."

Then the woman came trembling before Him and fell down at His feet.

"I have had an irregular flow of blood for 12 years. I spent my life savings on physicians to be healed. But none could heal me. So I used the small faith I have to see if touching You will give me what I desperately desire."

And Jesus said to her, "Daughter, be of good cheer, your faith has made you well. Go in peace."

Signed
Olumide Holloway (King Olulu)
Inspired by Matthew 5: 22-32 and Luke 8: 40-48

Everybody has a need to express themselves. This need is most times expressed wrongly when the person is unable to find the right channel of expression. Most people love music, but not everybody can sing to save their life. Most people love jokes, but not everybody can make other people laugh. Likewise, acting, dancing, sports, Spoken word poetry, etc are all different modes of expression. This means that there is a mode of expression for different people.

Spoken word is a very powerful performance-based poetry that focuses on the aesthetics of word play and story-telling. It's often used in conjunction with other art forms, such as music, theatre & dance, & has been an outlet for people, especially youths, to creatively express their views, emotions or life experiences.

In Nigeria, Spoken word poetry is an emerging art-form, which is gaining strong grounds & attracting an ardent following, especially among the youths. With the growing popularity of this art form,

Spoken word poetry can be used to reduce unemployment rate, increase the level of literacy and possibly eradicate poverty. How is this possible? Well, Spoken word poetry as an art form is naturally a perfect fit as:


· A genre of entertainment: The art form is one with great intellectual content & plenty of entertainment to keep the live audience excited and viewers glued to their seat. This art form is thus content for audio and/ or visual networks.

· A tool to increase the level of literacy: There is no degree requirement for becoming a poet & no degree program can guarantee that graduates will become good Spoken word poets. However, the foundation for any poet is the ability to read & write. With this foundation, a poet will still need to develop & improve on his or her writing skills & increase their knowledge about all writing genres & different aspects of life i.e. politics, love, finance etc.

· A medium of communication among people across the globe: the ability to express one's emotions and thoughts in a clear and concise manner is an act of communication. Thus, most people are able to connect with a poet's performance/ poem because it is something that they have experienced or at least, know about.

· A means of livelihood: This is the vision we have for this art form. And nowadays, we have very few Spoken word poets who get paid to perform at events (sometimes, themed events). However, for this art form to be a full-fledged means of livelihood, there is a major need for investment and support of this art form by individuals, corporate organizations & the Government.

Spoken word poetry captures all genres of people, the young, the old and the high network individuals. Given its intrinsic value, it is an art form with the potential to keep the youths (& the general populace) entertained, educated, literate & employed.

Signed
Olumide Holloway (King Olulu)

INT. DINING ROOM OF A MANSION. OGUN STATE. MORNING.

A old man (Chief Ogungbemi 75, Pajamas), a young man (Olayemi 30 Tee shirt and short) and a young woman (Olamide 32 Tee shirt and jean trouser) are at the dining table having breakfast.

The voice of the party at the dining table is inaudible.

Two armed bodyguards are standing at different ends of the room i.e. at the door leading to the kitchen and at the entrance door to the house.

A maid goes in and out of the kitchen to serve the people at the table, as well as, clear the used plates.

The intercom close to the entrance door rings. The guard picks it up and listens for a moment. He replaces the receiver.

ARMED GUARD A
(Looks at Chief)
The gate called to say your lawyer is here sir.

Chief Ogungbemi looks suprised. Then he nods.

Moments later, the guard at entrance door opens it and a man in black suit (Solomon 41) steps into the house.

SOLOMON
E karo sir.

CHIEF OGUNGBEMI
Bawo ni Solomon.

SOLOMON
Fine sir.
(Pause)
Hi guys.

Olayemi smiles and salutes Solomon, while Olamide gives him a thumbs up. Solomon nods and smiles back at them.

CHIEF OGUNGBEMI
This one that you are here this early morning. Hope all is well.

SOLOMON
Mayegun and his boys have waylaid two of our consignments.

CHIEF OGUNGBEMI
How do you know this?

SOLOMON
Our contact from Customs confirmed this. Our goods have been seized to be auctioned.

CHIEF OGUNGBEMI
Hmm.

SOLOMON
It seems Mayegun wants to cripple our operations to expand his own.

Chief Ogungbemi gets up from the dining table with a walking stick. He slowly walks to Solomon and they both head to the sitting room.

Olayemi and Olamide look at each other. Then they get up and follow their father and Solomon to the sitting room.

INT. SITTING ROOM OF A MANSION. OGUN STATE. MORNING.

There are family portraits on the wall, showing Chief Ogungbemi, his late wife (Omolewa) and his two children, Olamide and Olayemi.

Chief Ogungbemi takes a seat and motions for Solomon to also sit down.

Olayemi and Olamide enter and also take a seat.

CHIEF OGUNGBEMI
For over 10 years, Mayegun's older brother never broke the peace agreement we had.
(Pause)
Now with his elder brother dead and the burial of my wife, Mayegun thinks he can run me out of town.

SOLOMON
What do you want us to do sir? If we don't act, it will embolden him.

CHIEF OGUNGBEMI
Many would-be challengers have come and gone. His own won't be any different.

SOLOMON
Sir, he is a mad man and has the backing of some of the local politicians. And you know they hate your guts.

CHIEF OGUNGBEMI
Hmm. I don't want to start a war. At least, not yet.

OLAMIDE
Papa, let me go pay him a visit.

Chief looks at her, smiles and he shakes his head.

CHIEF OGUNGBEMI
No. Not yet.
(looks at Olayemi)
First the Fox, then the Wolf. Go and see if you can reason with him.

Extract from The Fox and the Wolf by Olumide Holloway (King Olulu)
2022 and beyond

"Loyalty till death," Joseb said, raising his cup of wine.
"Loyalty till death," Eleazar and Shammah echoed, also raising their cup.

They drank and emptied the rest in the fire.
Silently they stood up, each going for the same weapons. No bows, no arrows, no swords, no battle axe, no spears, just short knives.

Their mission was unofficial.

They had only heard their mentor express a desire unconsciously and they made up their minds to fulfil it or die trying.

They waited till the Sun went down and then walked down the hill towards the valley where their sworn enemies were camped. Their enemies outnumbered them - 500 to one. And their target was right in the middle of enemy territory.

As they got closer to the camp of their enemies, they went into stealth mode, all three drew their knives and melted into the darkness.

The three guards at the entrance of the camp died smiling, their throats sliced open as they joked about their latest sexual conquests.

Their aim was not to start a full blown fight, they just wanted to reach the well, draw water and get out alive.

So it was one blow, one down.

In simpler terms, one fatal blow per person, no repeat strike.
So they moved from tent to tent, any of the enemy solider outside his tent, asleep or awake, died, silently. Either their throat was sliced or neck broken. It was a noiseless killing spree.

They got to the well, drew the water into the animal skin water bottle and left the camp. They left the same way they came, killing anyone unfortunate enough to stray into their path.

There was no official body count, but rumors has it that each of them killed more one hundred soldiers.

30 minutes later, they were walking back up the hill towards the Cave of Adullam.

King David saw them coming and drew his sword.

"Friend or foe," he called out to them.
"Sire, it is us, thy loyal servants," responded Joseb.
"Where are you coming from?" King David asked, sheathing his sword.

Shammah knelt on one knee, held the animal skin bottle above his head and said, "sire, here is the water from the well of Bethlehem which is by the gate."
Eleazar added, "sire, we heard when you said, 'oh that someone would give me a drink of the water from the well of Bethlehem, which is by the gate.' So we went to give the drink for you."
"Haa," exclaimed King David, "you guys broke through the camp of the Philistines to draw water from the well of Bethlehem."
"Yes, we did sire," the three of them chorused.

King David took the water bottle and poured it out as an offering to God, saying, "there is no way, God, that I'll drink this! This isn't mere water, it's their life blood - they risked their very lives to bring it."

So David refused to drink it.

Written by King Olulu, not from Zulu
Inspired by King David from the tribe of Judah
Source code: 2 Samuel 23: 1-17

“Rise and Grind” is the first of Daymond John’s books that I have read, and I was pleasantly impressed.

If you are wondering, who is Daymond John? Well, he is the CEO and Founder of FUBU, a respected entrepreneur and one of the stars on the ABC series Shark Tank.

Rise and Grind is a great, gritty and genuine read on how to grind out results. The fact that there were stories of other entrepreneurs (and not all about Daymond) provided a deeper level of perspective on the habits needed to win in life.

I particularly love the following stories:

1. Kristina Guerrero (an ex-military officer): who came up with a PowerBar/ Meal bar (aka Snack) for dogs which the dog owner can carry around with him/ her while on the road.
She was not looking to start a business - she just wanted a convenient way to feed her dog when they were out on the trail (i.e. hiking). And when she did not find any, she decided to scratch her itch.
This led to she and her boyfriend/ soon to be husband (who is a food scientist) experimenting and coming up with a meal bar for dogs. It took almost two years to get the “perfect recipe” which her dogs finally agreed to eat.

2. Al and Brittani Baker (father and daughter entrepreneurs): are the owners of a barbecue joint and co-owner of boneless ribs. Al started the business unknowingly, when his (American football) teammate asked to taste his lunch and Al ended up selling the lunch (pork chop sandwich dripping with coleslaw) to the teammate for USD10. Soon, he was making and selling sandwiches to his teammates and coaches.
Al was once invited to appear before a disciplinary committee, because a coach complained about the ever present smell of the sandwiches anytime the team was traveling on the bus or in a plane. But the trouble died down quietly, because most people in the organization were already customers of his informal catering service. After quitting American Football, Al dabbled into other businesses to learn the ropes about full time entrepreneurship (especially as regards payroll, tax, personnel management etc).
Then he settled to make a business out of what he loved to do (i.e. cooking) and his daughter joined him to help out with sales and marketing.

3. Carlos Santana (the legendary Guitarist): this was basically about his reinvention. It shows the importance of continually learning, growing, adapting and accepting change in order to stay relevant.
The key takeaway here is: “trust your talent - yes, practice makes perfect and all that, but sometimes you get to a place where there is nothing left to practice and you know your gifts will be there waiting for you.”

4. Kyle Maynard: an athlete, speaker and author, who was born with a rare condition called congenital amputation. This means, he came into this world with no arms and legs.
Despite the odds stacked against him, he still made something great out of his life.

5. The minute by minute account of the daily activities of Daymond John further validates the saying, “success is in the routine.”
Daymond also kept it real and interesting when he stated (in his own words) that: “my grind doesn’t always follow the clock, doesn’t always follow the sun, and doesn’t always follow a set schedule. That’s why I still make time to hit the (night) clubs - when I’m home in New York, or when I travel. Whatever it is I’m doing, whatever it is I’m selling, my time in the clubs gives me a leg up, because that’s where my market lives and breathes. If I want my finger on the pulse, that’s where I tend to find it.” In other words, go to where your market is."

My key takeaways from the book are:

Don’t be afraid to chase your dreams, even if they’re a little crazy and out there, and everybody you know is telling you, you’re out of your mind.

If you can’t get your ass to work, get your assets to work.

Get your hands dirty. Meet your customers where they live. Step outside your comfort zone, break from your routines, and take the temperature of the market you hope to serve. Put yourself out there.

Know and understand that strength leads to strength - meaning, if you attack your days with relentless passion, if you attack your goals with relentless precision, you’re bound to get a strong result.

The opportunities come when you least expect them, and you have to be moving in order to benefit from that opportunity. Sometimes, you can rise and grind, and rise and grind, and rise and grind, and just grind, grind, grind and nothing happens. And then you have a breakthrough. But if you don’t grind, I can assure you, nothing’s going to go your way.

So my people: Rise and Grind, so you can Rise and Shine.

Written by Olumide Holloway (King Olulu)

Let's go back to the cat family. I can't get enough of them. So which of the cat family should we talk about?

This cat is the smallest of the four big cats. The other three are Tiger, Lion, and Jaguar.

This cat is the least social and the most elusive of the big African cats (jaguars are usually found in South America while India is the home for tigers).

This cat either ambushes its prey or stalks it as a hunting technique. It tries to get as close as it can to the prey. After which, it runs, pounces and kills the prey with a bite to the neck, all in one move. Sleek, right?

The key tactic of this cat is the element of surprise. Once the hunt turns to a foot race, the cat backs down.

This cat is called the Leopard.

It must compete for food and shelter with other large predators, e.g. Lions and Hyenas, who steal food from it and sometimes kill it.

Thus, Leopards co-exists with these bigger competitors by hunting for different types of prey and avoiding areas frequented by them. It will retreat up a tree in the face of direct aggression to hide and eat its food.

The Leopard's main prey is the Antelope. However, it has an ancient enmity with the Baboon. More on baboons later.

In any and every economy/market, there will be competition, and if you are upcoming and/or smaller than your competitors, you are in for a rough ride. But like leopards, you need to know and work on two things: market niche and market fit.

The Leopard will never hunt a buffalo, much less an elephant. It knows and respects its limitations. And because it lives with bigger competitors, it focuses on what they won't focus on.

Quickie: face your focus. Don't be distracted by what others are hunting. Don't take on more than your skill set can handle.

The Leopard carved out a market niche for itself; antelopes or smaller animals. Although lions hunt antelopes too; the larger the pride, the bigger the prey they need. Your large competitors won't want to waste resources serving 10 or 100 people when they can serve 1,000.

Dear reader, go for the 10, serve the under-served. Own the customers often ignored by others.

Market fit is providing the right product/ service for your market niche. That means that when you identify your niche, you must make sure you are able to provide the service it needs.

If a leopard gets lucky and kills a buffalo or bigger animal, it can never carry it up a tree. The food will go to its competitors. But with the right prey, it will easily go up the tree and eat in peace. Your product/service must...

HOW TO MAKE POETRY PAY PROFIT

A guide on how to make money from spoken word poetry.

Click on any of the links to download

Flutterwave: https://flutterwave.com/pay/poetrypayprofit

Amazon/ Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09MN1H687

How to prepare a simple and viable Business Plan as a Creative
(A guide on how to develop an annual business plan that helps you profit from your creative abilities).

Click on any of the links below to download

Flutterwave: https://flutterwave.com/pay/creativebusinessplan

Amazon/ Kindle: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09MLG44FY

This book was not written to teach you something about poetry writing or performances that you have never seen, read or heard before.

This book was not written to make you become a poet.

This book was not written to make you love a poet.

This book was written from the perspective of poetry as business that is worth investing in.

This book was written to see how business principles can be applied to poetry.

This book was written to ignite thoughts and unsettle minds; thereby leading to the quick development of a vibrant poetry industry.

This book was written because it was meant to be written.

This book was written because you were meant to read it.


Get your copy in the link below:

The Poetpreneur: My thoughts on the business of spoken word poetry - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07467G5S2

Ladies and Gentlemen, Boys and Girls,
I present to you, me first official short movie.

Ok, ok, na just write I write am sha. It was a joint effort to produce it.

A young award-winning blogger and bank worker is confronted and suspended by his superior for stories he posted on his blog. He decides to take the high road and earn an honest living.

Now confronted by mounting expenses and the imminent arrival of his first child...would he withstand the financial pressure, or give in to an offer he can't refuse?

#NoOneRightWaythemovie

Watch the Trailer/ Peview via this YouTube link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=txYALKNmnDY

Watch the Short Film via this YouTube link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xYVuruIPs0I

If you are interested in reading the script, click the link below to download it.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1oVs8jboyiPYtGZE4ku0KN5DXGWTfpb_7/view?usp=sharing

"You can't use yesterday's anointing for today's miracles."

Basically, this means, you can't use old solutions to solve new problems. You have to modify or upgrade the solution to use it for the new situation.

Storms and pain are normal in the human journey. The storm tests your resolve, the pain qualifies and certifies your testimony.

However, how do you make sense of the storms and the pain, especially when you are still in it? What have you documented about it?

I once heard someone say, there should be a system to your madness. It must have a process or a technique to it. Thus, there should be a system to your storms and pain. It should have a documented cycle to it.
So if you ask me, I will tell you that I call my own process the Ten "Ps."
And it goes thus:

Purpose
Passion
Planning
positioning
Platforms
People
Process
Product
Profit
Prayer

Purpose and Passion:
These usually go hand in hand. Most of us start off not knowing our purpose. But we know our passion.
Well, if you start working on your passion, and dig deep, you will gain clarity and understanding, and this enables your purpose to emerge.

Planning:
They say if you fail to plan, then you are planning to fail. So plan.
Daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly etc. Which ever timeline works for you, just plan it.

Positioning:
This is basically talking about market niche and market fit. Find a niche, fill it and then provide a solution that fits the niche. In this case, getting the right solution is usually not at first trial. You learn to fix the "bugs" as they arise. But you still got to position yourself to
"be seen, be known and be trusted."

Platforms and People:
The platforms (online or offline) you use, will attract people to you. Their pain will call for your ministry/ solution/ advice/ knowledge/ wisdom.
The more you put out your vibe, the more it attracts your tribe.

Product:
You are a product. But you also need to have products and services to sell. You can't be everywhere, every time. Your product will emerge as a result of what I call the "four Ss." These are: skill, strategy, structure and system.

Profit:
This is never automatic. It's comes after you overcome the storm and master the pain. Thus, you are seen as a symbol of hope and a pillar of strength to those whose pain need your ministry.

Prayer:
This last P is not the last P.
It's the beginning, the middle and the end. If like me, you believe in God, you will pray everyday in order to make sense of the other Ps and to gain from them. You need prayer because every storm has two sides to it. These are:

The wind and the water aka the unseen and the seen aka the spiritual and the physical.
The storm you face are most times (not all times) proof that you are making progress in life.

Storms happen to all men. So learn to (watch, work and) pray to overcome.

If you pray, don't worry.
But if you would rather worry, then don't pray.

Selah.

Signed
Olumide Holloway
aka
King Olulu not from Zulu.

Instagram @olulutheking
Twitter @olulu4ever
TikTok @OluluDKing