potential genius at birth. After all we have
been told by the experts that the things
that augur well for greatness are boldness,
not worrying about failure, not worrying
about what people think and the ability
to be inquisitive. Every baby has these
qualities from the time they are born.
The qualities that lead to failure such as
fear, failure averseness and worrying about
what people will say are things we learn as
we grow older. No child was born with
these attributes but they are developed
and influenced by the information and
exposure that they get as they grow up.
We can therefore safely say that everybody
is born a genius. Mediocrity is something
we learn as we grow up and get exposed
to the realities of other people’s belief
systems. These belief systems could be
from parents, teachers or the society at
large and once they are imparted into a
person, they become the standard through
which people live their lives.
We are told that information is king.
It is everything. However, it depends
on what kind and where it is coming
from. The information that most people
grow up with is the reason their lives
are so unadventurous. The information
they grew up with was information that
confined them to what already exists.
Don’t ask questions, just go with the flow.
I remember when I was a little boy and
my mother got me my first wrist watch.
Instinctively I was going to put it on my
right wrist but just as I was about to do
this, my mother intervened and told me
that wrist watches are put on the left
wrist. I asked her why this was so and she
snapped at me and told me that I asked
too many questions and that I should just
put the thing on my left wrist because
that is how people have always done it. I
went ahead and put it on my right wrist.
Now the interesting thing is that this was
nearly half a century ago and I am still
alive and well. So in essence there was no
consequence for not putting the watch on
my left wrist. How many times do we live
out the realities of previous generations
or the realities of others without asking
questions?
TDisruption starts the day you begin
to ask the right questions. Do not be
deceived by the information hype that
information is king so just go for it. The
power of information is in its relevance
and the ability of the recipient to process
the information accurately.
Remember that every book that has ever
been written and that will ever be written
is a product of people who successfully
combined the resources of the twenty
six letters of the alphabet. Everyone has
access to these letters. What you are able
to do with them is what counts.
The fact that you are informed is no
guarantee that you will come up with
the best solutions. Your exposure and
information is limited by your thought
process. When you are exposed to a
situation what goes on in your mind? Do
you accept what is or ask questions about
what can be? And, when you ask what can
be, do you see yourself as a provider or
contributor to what can be?
Only those who question the present
and see themselves as contributors to
the future can develop solutions for the
future. You may be intelligent and you
may ask the right questions but as long
as it is not settled in you that you are part
of the solution you will have a passive
attitude and once you arrive at this point
of passivity your irrelevance in the future
is guaranteed.
Dr. Akinyemi is the Chief Transformation
Officer, PowerTalks Corporate &
Personal Development Consultants.
These are excerpts from his new book
titled: Disruptive Intelligence. You can
commune with him via mail at: Wale@
powertalks.biz, or via his twitter handle
at: twitter@waleakinyemi.