So long? Yes. Too long? You decide...

"In his overall 53 years in broadcasting, King amassed 50,000 interviews, 6,120 shows in CNN's archives, 10 Cable ACE Awards, an Emmy, a Peabody and an entry in the Guinness World Records for having the longest-running show with the same host in the same time slot."

-Michael Martinez, edition.cnn.com (December 17, 2010)

This is like a story and a commentary. In 25 years, this 77-year-old man interviewed thousands who - in the words of one of his last guests - 'made us laugh, made us cry and made us think'. He said himself that 'I never thought it would be last this long or come to this'. He announced in June this year that he was going to be stopping his award-winning interview show this month. And true to his words, his last show was aired on December 16, 2010.

I hoped that someone would talk to him about how he got to where he is but I really didn't get it. Looking at his profile, I realised that Larry King is where he is today - with the awards, the niche, and the style - simply because he wouldn't quit!

I'll tell you why.

He was born to a Jewish-American man and a Belarusian immigrant mother. Not with a silver spoon. Neither of his parents wore a blue or white collar. King was young when his father died and his mother had to support him and his brother. Partly due to his father's death, Larry stopped wanting to go to school, and occasioned by the family hardship, he had to start working after high school to help support his brother.

Having been always interested in radio, he saw an opportunity when a CBS announcer told him about openings in Miami. And the rest is history; but it is from that history that the morals of my story lies. Take time to read through.

1. In my experience, many times we know we have big dreams but given our circumstances, we are compelled to start small. Does that sound like you? Please don't quit. Most people do not know that he had to change his surname because his General Manager thought his original name, Zeiger, was too ethnic. What does that mean? Larry was too low on the 'food chain' that he had no choice but comply for him to keep the job! Of course we could also talk about personal interests and all but under the circumstances, it was hard for him to resist. And what was that job that took his name away? He was hired to clean and perform miscellaneous tasks in a Miami radio station for 55 USD a week.

2. If we stay on long enough, a break will come one day. Larry got his first airtime when an announcer resigned. Same station, same pay! That was on May 1, 1957 when he was DJ from 9am-12noon, cast the news twice in the afternoon and later did a sportscast. Little, isn't it? But it was still an opportunity, isn't it?

3. Larry's first interview was done for another radio station in Miami. What he had to do was to take on anyone who walked into a particular restaurant. Guess who was his first guest? A waiter at the restaurant! He did that job conscientiously until one day, a famous singer who had heard Larry's interviews on radio walked in...and that was the first celebrity! If you do that little thing well enough, one day a celebrity will come visiting. It may not be a singer or a public figure. Your celebrity could be the woman you should marry or the job you should do or anything that is to move you forward. For Larry, it was Bobby Darin the singer. It is said that it was that radio show that turned him into a local star.

4. He did many things thereafter but I'd only focus on my morals, the last of which is his consistency. When a man consistently performs high, it is only a matter of time before he rises to the top of his world. I am rolling two things into one here: Consistency means that you do the same thing for a long time and you don't give up (make sure that thing is right because the longer you do a wrong thing, the more confused and unhappy you become); and consistency means that you perform well all the time. That describes Larry, the man that would not quit. At the age of 52, Larry King Live started on CNN. And that is what we celebrate today. Most of what I have written in points 1-3 you probably did not know, but you will most likely know Larry King Live. At 52, most of us would already be dreaming of retirement, believing that it's too late. Today Larry is 77 and he is a name that will stay on the screen and in the air for a really long time.

If I have to say everything in one sentence, it will be: Why would you quit? It may be so long, but do you think it could ever be too long?

Finally, I make an important caveat: Please quit immediately once you realise that what you're doing is not right for you; but be careful how you determine what's right or wrong because THINGS ARE NOT ALWAYS WHAT THEY SEEM.

PS: A new programme anchored by Piers Morgan will take the place of Larry King Live from January but I have a feeling that for many months after now, many will still tune in expecting to see Larry!

Waiting Patiently, Waiting Right

I did not pray or read my Bible before leaving the house today. I knew that was wrong so I promised myself that I would do that first thing in the office, and I did. The single verse I read was from James chapter 5; simple yet with profound meaning for me.

⁷My friends, be patient until the Lord returns. Think of farmers who wait patiently for the spring and summer rains to make their valuable crops grow. (CEV)

That verse admonishes 'friends' to be patient until Jesus comes back again. In that context, a friend would refer to those who are of a common faith that the Lord Jesus walked teh face of this earth, died to save lost man and ascended physically to heaven only for him to be on his way back sometime in the unknown future (all we know is that the future is now nearer than ever). Are you a 'friend'?

The point that struck me most, however, was the parallel drawn from the farmers' expectation. Upon careful thought, I understood the following:

1. No farmer has any reason to expect anything if he has not planted anything. In other words, whether the rains come or not, it makes almost no difference for the lazy farmer who placed no seed in the ground. So, while we await the Lord's return, part of our waiting activities should be that of sowing, that we may have something to look forward to. Are you planting?

2. No farmer would expect to reap something different from what he had sown. That is common sense! It does not matter how much and how long the rain falls, one who has planted corn cannot reap onions. That tells me that the type of seed sown is the type of plant that will grow and the type of harvest to be gained. While James 5:7 does not expressly mention harvest, you and I know that the main reason why farmers want to see their plants grow is so that they might have assurances of a good harvest. What are you planting?

3. I then saw that there is a season of the rains. James 5:7 calls it the 'spring and summer'. Every farmer must have planted before then, otherwise they would not be waiting for the rains to make their valuable crops grow. The message is then simple: Plant now, before the rains come!

MEN THAT WILL SUCCEED 10: They are Diligent

‘The plans of the diligent lead surely to abundance but everyone who is hasty comes only to want’ (King Solomon*).

Diligence refers to steady effort and careful hard work. In other words, it means using your head and hands. Life does not generally respond well to sudden impulses. If you want the best out of life, then you’ve got to put in steady, consistent efforts. Work hard carefully. Careless hard work amounts to foolishness. Work hard to produce results and not for the purpose of being seen. The efforts that yield the greatest results are often the ones that are not conspicuous.

The essence of diligence is found in the old saying, ‘slow and steady wins the race.’ Diligence minimizes errors because the chances of doing things right the first time are higher. Remember, haste is waste. Successful people are careful people. Diligence is the father of great skill. Diligence produces lasting results.

The most celebrated works of the great artist, Michelangelo are his paintings in the Sistine chapel in Rome. Everyone who has beheld this work first-hand or has seen photos of it has saluted the skills of the artist. Very few people, however, know that the work took Michelangelo two years to complete, many times painting with his back down and face up for days. Steady effort, careful hard work.

‘Seest thou a man diligent in his business? He shall stand before kings; he shall not stand before mean men’ (King Solomon§).

* See the Holy Bible; the Proverbs 21:5
§ See the Holy Bible; the Proverbs 22:29

MEN THAT WILL SUCCEED 8: They Work Hard

‘None of the secrets of success will work unless you do … often the simple answer to your problem is: GO TO WORK’ (John Mason).

Someone has said that laziness travels so slowly that poverty soon overtakes it. On the road to success, nothing can replace hard work. An American TV game show host, Monty Hall once said, ‘Actually, I’m an overnight success. But it took me twenty years.’ Nobody makes it legally without working hard. Ask any celebrity that you know. They’ve been at it for a long time but no one notices until they pull it off. Work, work, work and work. Nothing in the world can take the place of hard work.

About 500 times the Bible speaks of work. Jeremiah said it is good for a young man to bear the burden in his youth*; King Solomon said, ‘He whose hand is slack shall be poor.§’ Slack here is used in the sense of sloth and negligence. You’ve got to sweat if you want to succeed.

General Colin Powell, US Secretary of State, started out in life as a floor scrubber. John Major, British PM worked as a cashier in Lagos. Bill Gates walked door-to-door to sell insurance. M.K.O. Abiola sold firewood … and the list can go on.

You can’t get anyone to work for you if you don’t work for yourself. There is honour in hard work.

‘All hard work leads to a profit’ (King Solomon).

---

* See the Holy Bible; the Lamentations of Jeremiah 3:27

§ See the Holy Bible; the Proverbs 10:4

MEN THAT WILL SUCCEED 6: They are Consistent

‘The problem with success is that you have to keep on being a success’ (Anon).

If your goal is to be a one-time success, to do well at one thing and give up in the rest, then you have a thwarted idea of success. Successful people have a strong desire to remain successful. They always believe in improvement. And that is the bedrock of consistency – having that strong faith that you can always do it again and again; and better and better.

According to John Mason, the road to success is always under construction. Men of success keep building but each time on a higher level. When you being to think you’ve had enough, your mind tells you it’s stupid to try more. Then you either reverse or turn around – anyhow, you start going back.

You should know that in this information age, you have to keep moving otherwise, others will move past you at such speeds that you begin to fall back steadily. Keep doing those good things. Keep modifying your ideas. Keep managing your successes and failures. Consistency is the greatest single factor that keeps you on top.

‘Big shots are only little shots who have kept on firing’.

UNIQUE THOUGHTS

It’s so amazing that another year is almost quarter way through now. I mean, only 6 weeks ago we all hailed ‘Happy New Year”, and here we are – almost at the end of the second month of that same year. Maybe more amazing is the fact that many folks are still preparing to get started; and more amazing still is the fact that many who have started don’t even know where they’re going. Even more amazing is the apparent confidence with which these folks are getting on JUST FINE – as if they can’t be more right.

I beg you to pause and think
Ø Have you started – on your goals, your dreams, your aspirations, your desires – this year?
Ø Are you sure you know where what you’re doing now will take you?

Or better still, do you know why you want to do what you want to do?

Each time I’ve thought about these issues since the beginning of this year, no better illustration comes to my mind than Zig Ziglar’s experience as described by Tony Jeary in Success Acceleration (that’s the third book I’ve read this year, apart from my academic stuff).
According to Tony, Zig went to his gym one day and found the place so packed that he hardly found a space to park his car. It was even more serious inside the gym as the whole room was filled with people sweating it out on the machines.

Surprised, Zig approached the manager of the place to make enquiries about the sudden rush. The manager’s response was somewhat like this:
“It’s no problem, most of the people you see here are new, they’d be gone in about a month or two. It’s just the New Year resolution crowd.” (emphasis mine)
Two lessons I learned from this bit of experience. One, most people, in fact every average man/woman/child makes good decisions. Two, most people are gone in about a month or two. If you think it’s a fallacy, compare your church attendance figures on New Year’s Eve, New Year’s Day and last Sunday…

… And then the challenge … how many months will it take you to go?


Last year I raised the issue of the determinants of success and started by showing how, like mathematical equations, the value of one’s life is determined by the operator and the operand and not the constant. We’ll pick up from there and go on to see other dimensions of the matter … welcome.

MY POWER WORKS BEST IN YOUR WEAKNESS 2CORINTHIANS 12:9

At 19 months, Helen Keller contracted the illness that eventually left her without hearing and sight. Back then those labelled deaf and dumb were classified as idiots. But Helen’s parents didn’t agree. They hired teacher Anne Sullivan to work with her and eventually she learned to read and write using Braille. Amazingly, in 1904 she graduated with honours from Radcliff College, and then devoted her life to helping others. Philanthropist Andrew Carnegie paid her an annual income; writers Mark Twain and Robert Louis Stevenson praised her and almost every President of her day invited her to the White House. When asked if there was anything worse than being blind she replied, “Yes, having sight but no vision.”

At 12 Thomas Edison developed such severe hearing loss that his teachers recommended he be taken out of school. Instead, Edison used his handicap to drown out distractions and focus on his work. As a result, the boy who was labelled a slow learner gave the world over 1,000 inventions, including the light bulb, the phonograph and the motion camera.

Who gets to define normal anyway? Is it being short versus tall, or rich versus poor? The truth is God’s given all of us unique abilities that He expects us to explore. And interestingly, the real handicaps don’t belong to those who are born with physical and mental challenges. No, they belong to the so-called normal people who’ve accepted lethargy and limitation as part of life.

God said, “My power works best in your weakness”; so you can let your difficulties impede or inspire you. Which will it be?

courtesy Grace So Amazing Foundation

DESPITE ALL THESE THINGS…ROMANS 8:37

Composer Gian Carlio Menotti said, “Hell begins the day God grants us a vision of the gifts we’ve wasted, of all we might have done but we didn’t do.

Wilma Rudolph, who won three gold medals at the 1960 Olympics, would agree. What she accomplished isn’t as impressive as what she overcame. As a child Willie contracted polio and couldn’t walk without braces. Then at age 13 she regained the use of her legs and went on to become the fastest woman alive. But her challenges weren’t just physical. One of children born to a poor black family, she inspired us by transcending poverty and racial animosity. She said, "I can’t" has never been in my vocabulary.

At age two, Scott Halton, another famous Olympian skater, stopped growing because of a childhood illness that almost killed him. But his parents encouraged his rehabilitation by teaching him to skate; and the rest is history!

In 1976 when Brad Parks was injured in an accident that left him in a wheelchair, he strengthened his arm by whacking tennis balls against his garage door. Three years he formed the National Foundation of Wheelchair Tennis.

Paul said despite all these things victory is ours through Christ.

Rick Warren writes: Why does God use our weaknesses? Because when He does, He gets all the glory.

If God only used your strengths, others would look at you and be jealous or discouraged. But when God uses you in spite of your weaknesses they realise God could use me too! Your weaknesses aren’t an accident. God allowed them for the purpose of demonstrating his power through you.

courtesy Grace So Amazing Foundation

YOU TOO CAN MAKE IT!

Dearly Beloved, I got this message in my e-mail from Pastor Bayo, host of spiritual digest via e-mail. I'm sure you'll be inspired reading it. The message is simple: YOU TOO CAN MAKE IT!

"We want each of you to show this same diligence to the very end, in order to make your hope sure" -Apostle Paul(Hebrews 6:11, NIV).

"But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith and pray in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in God's love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life" -Elder Jude(Jude 20-21, NIV).

I read a story of a popular Yoruba dramatist recently in a national newspaper that touched my heart. It is about a 60-year-old dramatist who, with his second son in the same lecture room, got his first university degree at age 49, but now a doctorate degree holder and lecturer in one of the leading universities in Nigeria. He was able to have primary education because of the compulsory free education in the then Western Region of Nigeria. Apart from a kind of post-primary education then known as "modern education," the man could not go to secondary school because of the poverty of his parents. With determination after acting as dramatist both on stage and in movies for over three decades, he becomes an academic and an authority in his choosing profession - the theater. His life is indeed a challenge to many of us.

Have you lost hope that you can no longer make it in a particular pursuit? Do not lose hope! Continue to persevere with determination that, one day, you will make it. Are people looking down on you because of your humble background or your seeming failure in your endeavors? Do not worry yourself about them. Continue the struggle. Remember that old proverb, "Aluta continua, victoria acerta," meaning "the struggle continues, the victory is sure." Victory is sure if you do not give up. Another popular saying goes thus, "Winners never quit; quitters never win."

Paul the apostle admonished, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" (Galatians 6:9, NIV), and "Therefore, my dear brothers, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain" (1 Corinthians 15:58, NIV).
You also can make it!

In His service,
Bayo Afolaranmi (Pastor).

If you were blessed reading this and would like a consistent supply, contact Pastor Bayo (spiritualdigest@e-mail.com)

TRUE LIFE STORIES part three: W. PAGE PITT

Page Pitt was someone who should have failed. From all indications, it was easier for him to resign to fate and failure but instead he succeeded. After losing 97% of his eyesight at age 5, he refused to go to a school for the blind. He was accepted into public school where he played baseball and football. Remarkably, he went on to complete college and become a top-notch journalism professor with a reputation for demanding excellence.
A student once asked Pitt which he thought would be worse; blindness, deafness or not having arms and legs. He replied, ‘NONE OF THOSE THINGS! LETHARGY, IRRESPONSIBILITY, LACK OF AMBITION OR DESIRE: THEY’RE THE REAL HANDICAPS. IF I DON’T TEACH YOU ANYTHING BUT TO WANT TO DO SOMETHING WITH YOUR LIVES, THIS COURSE WILL BE A MAGNIFICENT SUCCESS.’
Often he told his journalism students, ‘YOU ARE NOT HERE TO LEARN MEDIOCRITY, YOU’RE HERE TO LEARN TO EXCEL. IF I SEND YOU ON A STORY AND YOU DON’T GET IT BECAUSE YOU’VE A BROKEN LEG, CALL ME FROM THE AMBULANCE AND I’LL FORGIVE YOU. BUT DON’T GIVE ME EXCUSES! THEY WOUND ME AND YOUR EXPLANATIONS POUR SALT IN THE WOUND.’
Your biggest enemy is not the challenges you face; its complacency, negativity, self-imposed limitations and self-pity. We’ve got all kinds of excuses for not doing more with our lives. Can we say with Paul, “I can do everything through Him who gives strength.” That means with God’s help you can rise above circumstances that ordinarily spell failure.

Courtesy GRACE SO AMAZING FOUNDATION wordfortodaynig@yahoo.com

JONI'S STORY: conclusion

I should say that it's been some time since I put something up here. At times, I wonder how easy it is to get so disturbed that you forget some meaningful things. Anyway, thank God we're back together. We conclude our story (at least for now) of Joni...story courtesy HISTORY WOMEN

Joni Eareckson Tada (1950- present)

Joni Eareckson Tada is a remarkable woman. Injured in a diving accident at the age of 17, Joni has had to endure more physical suffering than most of us ever will. Though she suffered a deep depression and lost the will to live in the aftermath of her accident, she gradually came back to a deeper relationship with God. Because of her early struggles, she has become strong in her faith and is a testimony to the world of how when we are weak, God is strong. Her story is not one of bitterness and despair, as we might imagine it to be, but one of love and victory.
Joni Eareckson Tada was born in Baltimore, Maryland in 1950 to John and Lindy Eareckson. She was the youngest of four sisters, Linda, Jay, and Kathy. Her name is pronounced "Johnny", being he named after her father. Joni inherited her father’s athletic and creative abilities, giving father and daughter a special bond. Her childhood was an extremely happy one. She grew into a young adult surrounded by love, happiness, and security in her parent’s home. The Eareckson family shared a great love for the outdoors, which promoted family togetherness. They shared in various outdoor activities such as camping trips, horseback riding, hiking, tennis, and swimming.
In 1967, after graduating from high school, Joni had her fateful accident. It was a hot July day and she was to meet her sister Kathy and some friends at the beach on Chesapeake Bay to swim. When she arrived, she dove in quickly, and immediately knew something was wrong. Though she felt no real pain, a tightness seemed to encompass her. Her first thought was that she was caught in a fishing net and she tried to break free and get to the surface. Panic seized her as she realized she couldn’t move and she was lying face down on the bottom of the bay. She realized she was running out of air and resigned herself to the fact that she was going to drown.
Her sister, Kathy, called for her. She ran to Joni and pulled her up. To Kathy’s surprise, Joni could not support herself and tumbled back into the water. Kathy pulled her out and Joni gasped for air. Joni was puzzled as to why her arms were still tied to her chest. Then to her dismay, Joni realized they were not tied, but were draped lifelessly across her sister’s back. Kathy yelled for someone to call an ambulance and Joni was rushed to the hospital.
Joni’s life was changed forever that July day in 1967. She had broken her neck - a fracture between the fourth and fifth cervical levels. She was now a quadriplegic, paralyzed from the shoulders down. While her friends were busy preparing to go to college in the fall, Joni was fighting for her very life and having to accept the fact that she would have to live out the rest of her life in a wheelchair.
Joni’s rehabilitation was not easy. As you might imagine she was angry and she raged against her fate. She struggled with depression and often times she wanted to end her life. She could not understand how God could let this happen to her. Before the accident she had felt that she wasn’t living the life she should be so she had prayed that God would change her life - that he’d turn it around. After months of staring at the ceiling and wallowing in her depression, Joni began to wonder if this was God’s answer to her prayer.
This realization that God was working in her life was the beginning of Joni’s journey to wholeness as a disabled person. She participated in various rehabilitation programs that taught her how to live with her disabilities and she immersed herself in God’s Word to become spiritually strong.
Joni’s life has been a full one. She has learned early on to compensate for her handicaps. Being naturally creative, she learned to draw and paint holding her utensils with her teeth. She began selling her artwork and the endeavor was a great success. There was a real demand for her work. She kept herself very busy with her artwork and gained for herself a degree of independence. She was also able to share Christ’s love in her drawings. She always signed her paintings "PTL" which stood for "Praise the Lord".
Joni has also become a sought after conference speaker, author, and actress, portraying herself in the World Wide Pictures production of "Joni", the life story of Joni Eareckson in 1978. She has written several books including "Holiness in Hidden Places", "Joni", which was her autobiography, and many children’s titles. But her most satisfying and far-reaching work is her advocacy on behalf of the disabled.
In 1979, Joni moved to California to begin a ministry to the disabled community around the globe. She called it Joni and Friends Ministries (JAF Ministries), fulfilling the mandate of Jesus in Luke 14:13,23 to meet the needs of the poor, crippled, and lame. Joni understood first-hand the loneliness and alienation many handicapped people faced and their need for friendship and salvation. The ministry was soon immersed with calls for both physical and spiritual help for the disabled.
JAF Ministries thus uncovered the vast hidden needs of the disabled community and began to train the local church for effective outreach to the disabled, an often overlooked mission field. JAF Ministries today includes local offices in such major cities as Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Phoenix, and SanFrancisco. The goal of the ministry is to have ten such offices in metropolitan areas by the year 2001.
Through JAF Ministries, Joni tapes a five-minute radio program called "Joni and Friends", heard daily all over the world. She has heart for people who, like herself, must live with disabilities. Her role as an advocate for the disabled has led to a presidential appointment to the National Council on Disability for over three years. Joni also serves on the board of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization as a senior associate for evangelism among disabled persons. Joni has also begun Wheels for the World, a ministry which involves restoring wheelchairs and distributing them in developing nations.
Joni has won many awards and commendations throughout her life. In 1993 she was named Churchwoman of the Year by the Religious Heritage Foundation and the National Association of Evangelicals named her "Layperson of the Year", making her the first woman ever to receive that honor. Also among the numerous awards she has received are the American Academy of Achievement’s Golden Plate Award, The Courage Award of the Courage Rehabilitation Center, the Award of Excellence from the Patricia Neal Rehabilitation Center, the Victory Award from the National Rehabilitation Hospital, and the Golden Word Award from the International Bible Society.
In 1982, Joni married Ken Tada. Today, eighteen years later, the marriage is strong and committed and they are still growing together in Christ. Ken and Joni travel together with JAF Ministries speaking at family retreats about the day to day experiences of living with disabilities. At the helm of JAF Ministries, Ken and Joni strive to demonstrate in tangible ways that God has not abandoned those with disabilities. And they speak from experience.

I promise to give you some pictures of her works in subsequent postings before we go on to another character.

If only one could tell

If parents could tell from birth what exactly their little child would do for a living, then they would give it their best shot. If only every child knew what exactly would put food on their table at the end of the day, then they would not waste any time in irrelevant fields of study. But since we do not know, it is important to give in our best in everything we do. Hence, the Biblical injunction, whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might, for there is no thought or counsel in the grave where you will end up (paraphrased)