< but some people are simply irreplaceable >

I’m a huge fan of Queen Bey. Whether on stage for music or on set for movies, there’s just a way Beyonce dazzles you with excellence, there’s just a way she leaves you wondering whether you’re of the same human species. She just blows your mind! Of course, that makes me a natural fan of Jay-Z and the kids, especially Blue Ivy.

Let’s do one of her songs together, “Irreplaceable.” The relevant lines to this piece:

“To the left to the left…
Everything you own in the box to the left…
How I’ll never ever find a man like you
You got me twisted…
You must not know ’bout me
I could have another you in a minute
Matter fact he’ll be here in a minute, baby…
I can have another you by tomorrow
So don’t you ever for a second get
To thinking you’re irreplaceable…”

The song is about sending her man packing for cheating on her. And having bragged that she wouldn’t find another man like him, she makes it abundantly clear to him that she’s able to replace him in a minute, to get another him in by tomorrow.

Easy to write and sing, isn’t it? She always knew certain people ain’t that replaceable, the reason why she didn’t call it quits with Jay-Z when he did get to cheat on her – in real life. She just had to let out steam with the “Lemonade” album and renewal of their wedding vow – and they stayed together, possibly, better and stronger. Terrific Jay-Z replies “Lemonade” with “4:44” – explaining why he screwed up and apologizing for doing so. Power couple, ain’t they?

The truth is that no one is indispensable; life simply goes on, and people keep moving with or without any particular person. But be careful how you think you can easily replace people; be careful how you become so used to them that you forget how much of a key player they’re to the game of your life. True, you can move on, and perhaps succeed better, without them (after all your life is not in their hands). However, be sure you’d be fine with what life gets to become without them.

Ask Jordin Sparks and she’d tell you that living without certain persons is like being in a world without air. And you know exactly what happens when breath is taken away. Matter-of-factly, you just keep mending some things; you don’t throw them away.

Your No.1 fan,
Cornel

…I just needed someone to help me first”

CIA Director Kendrick had his lucky break. Nikita already had her index finger to the trigger of a badass sniper rifle, and was already pulling it, before Fletcher and Birkhoff came through with the truth, one that changed the mission from termination to salvation. Percy and his “Division” had turned Kendrick into their puppet by implanting a kill chip in his heart, for which he gets to do as they order – or die.

Watched the American action thriller drama television series that aired on The CW from September 9, 2010, to December 27, 2013 – “Nikita”? Yea, I’m talking about Season 2, Episode 21.

As usual, the Nikita team (comprising Nikita, Alex, Michael, Birkhoff, Ryan, and Sean) came through for Kendrick. Whisked him underground to get him off the grid, thereby disconnecting Percy’s already activated kill trigger, and long enough for the wizardry Birkhoff to deactivate the chip. And he did.

What follows? Kendrick shares CIA intel with the Nikita team to facilitate their crusade against Percy and “Division.”

By the way, this piece isn’t some movie gist. Was just trying to whet your appetite enough to try some lockdown hours on the series. But there’s something really serious I like to share with you from the scene where Kendrick hands Nikita the flash drive, the intel. I already did, though. Read the title and subtitle of this piece again. That’s what he told them.

Although the context of the quote was that Kendrick first needed someone to get Percy’s kill chip off him before he could offer any form of anti-Percy help, what he said is just the way it is. You want help? Get out there and get helping people. Helping you back is the easy part.

Your No.1 fan,
Cornel

< as my friend goes back to school >

One of the things you’d notice on stepping into my room is that the wardrobe is dotted with sticky notes. Quite a number of them. None of them is about motivational quotes. Some of them are about top priority deliverables. And the ones closest to my heart are those on which are written ambitious statements picked up from books and movies or shared with me by friends.

A new sticky note that simply reads “Why Not?” went up there yesterday. Funnily, it was written out and stuck up there while on a call with a priest-friend in a faraway continent. I’d told him I needed to stick those words to my wardrobe lest I forget to do so afterwards. And for about 24hrs that it’s lasted there, you can’t imagine how much time I’ve spent gazing at it, making it my own.

Where did Father get that, and why am I taking it this personally? The name “Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum” rings a bell? The Vice President and Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates and Ruler of Dubai, and author of the mindblowing “My Vision,” and the brain behind the Dubai reinvention.

So, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum credits all his sterling accomplishments and unusual discoveries, including the Dubai miracle, to having always asked himself one question: “Why not?” A question that has helped him defy odds, blaze trails, and rebuild his country for global relevance. When Father came across the man and his ideals, he copied him for himself and is well on his way to reinventing his priesthood. While we decry 5G, he wants to run his ministry on it. And he’s back to school to learn how to do that himself.

So, I ask you: Why not?

Only those who dare to ask why not get to learn that nothing is impossible.

Your No.1 fan,
Cornel

Like many out there, and you may be on that table, having to be born into poverty turned out my biggest motivation. You really don’t need to be told how evil poverty is; that goddamn thing beats you into sheets, so finely that you struggle to recognize yourself. And there’s no better time to see what poverty can do as now; while the rich can afford to stay home and watch the world burn for as long as it gets to, the poor suffer want and stay hungry as long as it lasts. And sadly ever after.

Once I’d shared that Malcolm Gladwell’s “David and Goliath” saved my life, but didn’t get to say why. Here’s why: In that Bible story, and Gladwell’s powerful commentary on it, even the poorest of the poor would come to realize that everyone stands a chance at finishing strong in life. More on Gladwell some other time.

This piece is about the four (4) lessons I picked from the original story of David and Goliath, as recorded in 1 Samuel 17, lessons that preachers often overlook – and Gladwell didn’t cover in his book. These lessons promise to help us make the most of the changing times:

1. Be clear what’s in it for you: When David arrived the camp and found that everything was at stake, that even the king and his warlords were at their wits’ end, he wasn’t so carried away by his desire (and ability) to save the day that he failed to do the needful: be clear about what he stood to gain from cutting down Goliath. More than once he’d ask, and twice was told the bounty on Goliath’s head: a. the king’s daughter, b. great wealth, c. family exemption from taxes. Always be clear about what you stand to gain. If you ain’t sure, kindly don’t hesitate to ask.

2. Beware of the envy of family (and friends): Sadly, it was his very own brother, blood, that first called him out. Recall that in the chapter immediately preceding this episode, 16, this same Eliab was thought by Samuel to be the Lord’s anointed – and God rejected him. And there he was talking down and abusing his youngest brother, David, trying to dissuade him from such a destiny-altering move. Need I say more? Beware of family and friends; more enemies are known to come from those quarters than elsewhere.

3. Saul wears David his amour: Can you imagine that? After David refuses to be dissuaded from the move, and now realizing that the ‘only’ available option has to be given a try, Saul, the king, takes off his clothes and wears them on David. Wow! Fact, when you bring value to the table, even the high and mighty gets to make space for you; they give you whatever you need in return.

4. Don’t dress in borrowed robes: However regal Saul’s amour was, David just couldn’t fit in; he wasn’t used to that sort of stuff. He takes them off and goes back to normal: shepherd dress, staff, and sling. And filing out against Goliath from his comfort zone saw him winning fair and square. So much talk about leaving your comfort zone; you need wisdom to know when to operate from there.

*******

This is beautiful writing isn’t it? My brand is sophisticated simplicity; the goal is no dictionary. You like me to show you how I do the magic? Then sign up for my upcoming training here: bit.ly/writingexpo2ad

Your No. fan,
Cornel

There is no iota of doubt that religion, as we know it, is a problem to humankind. History is replete with countless inhumanities perpetrated in the name of God. And the tug of war between Islam and Christianity for many centuries now (even among the thousands of Christian denominations) leaves much to be desired. Which, of course, informs why there’s ongoing crusade to relegate religion to the background – and even to eliminate it altogether. China is a case in point.

Why is it that the typical Christian, for instance, no matter how intellectually sophisticated, just looses and loses his or her mind in the face of any claim that includes ‘God’? Why is it that this piece is probably already making you uncomfortable, leaving you wishing that I don’t ride it south, of which you already have a readymade comment, like “Cornel, be careful what you write about God,” or outrightly sentence me to hell? Why is it that when the man or woman of God says “God told me” or “The Bible says” we suddenly become so docile that we score F in Reason 101. After the word Allah, Quran, or the Prophet, the next thing you say or do gets to decide what a Muslim will do to you – and all options are usually on the table.

I am a Christian myself and I take God really seriously. But I’m crazy enough to know that most things that happen in church have little, or even nothing to do with God. Some of the things happening there are simply strategies to grow the church business itself, to cover overhead cost. Some of the things happening there serve the whims and caprices of the man or woman of God, to climb them up Maslow’s pyramid. And you should know when it’s no longer your own business, at what point you should feel free to walk.

Frankly, and I’m not kidding you, some of the things being fired at you from the pulpit, some of which get to be coded as doctrines, are nothing but expressions of the man or woman of God’s limited knowledge on a subject-matter or an outright brandishing of his or her ignorance. Here, “God,” “Allah” “Bible,” “Quran,” “the Prophet” become mere words used to arm the bomb of ignorance being fired at you.

Anyway, let me stop here.

Free advice: You see that thing between your ears, the grey matter we’ve come to call brains… Remember that you didn’t put it there yourself. I think the guy who put it there wants you to use it. I mean, whatever doesn’t make basic sense may not be sensible after all. Canal minds don’t understand the things of the spirit, right? If not your head, then just make sure your spirit bears witness to what is been fed you in the spirit.

One last word: Don’t let anyone use the word “God” to screw you.

Your No.1 fan,
Cornel