By Dr Wale Okediran

Being FOREWORD to THE OPTIMIST ETHOS by Tunde Oseni, Oluwatomi Ajayi and Isaac Oluyi

“Dreams will get you nowhere, a good kick in the pants will take you a long way” – Baltasar Gracian

The above quote by Baltasar Gracián Y Morales, S.J., better known as Baltasar Gracián, a Spanish Jesuit and Baroque prose writer and philosopher, emphasized that well known fact that however large one’s dreams might be, until the dream is turned into action, nothing good will come out of the dream.
In the same vein, many people never reach their potential because they have what is referred to as self-doubt. They can do something, but they do not believe that they can execute a given task. In addition, we have so many people with exciting ideas. They however lack those who can motivate and spur them into action. Many of these underachievers never reach their potential because they are pessimistic, and they doubt their abilities. Luckily, such individuals can get the much-needed fuel by reading motivational books that will spur them into action, with ‘a good kick in the pants’.

One of such tools for motivating and inspiring otherwise ‘doubting Thomases’ is THE OPTIMIST ETHOS authored by the trio of Tunde Oseni, Oluwatomi Ajayi and Isaac Oluyi.

Written in a simple and lucid style, the approximately 250 –page book is divided into Six parts which are each written by the different authors; Chapter 1, The Power Of Big Dreams by Tunde Oseni, Chapter 2, Location is Not Limitation (A Case Study Of Williams Owolabi Siyanbola )by Isaac Oluyi, Chapter 3, Cultivating A Viable Mindset by Oluwatomi A Ajayi, Chapter 4; How To Become A Successful Scholar by Tunde Oseni; Chapter 5, The Power Of Persistence by Isaac Oluyi and Chapter 6; Developing A Loyal Followership by Oluwatomi Ajayi

Isaac Oluyi in one of his contributions (The Mosquito and the Beggar) related his encounters with a mosquito and a beggar in order to emphasize the very important theme of persistence. As Oluyi put it; ‘’When I reached my house later in the day, I took time to reflect on the two incidents. After so much reflection, I concluded that God used the two events to teach me a lesson in persistence. While the mosquito refused to give up even in the face of death, many of us abandon our lofty dreams because of minor disappointment (s) or setbacks. We give thousands of excuses for why we cannot continue to pursue our dreams in life. My concern now is: If a mere insect will not quit even when it is staring death in the face, why do you have to abort your aspiration because of challenges? If a beggar, who ordinarily should not be a chooser, could choose to have his way despite my unfriendly countenance, why should you? I say it again, why should you?’’
Dr Oseni also provided a very powerful insight into the reason why scholars are self-leaders; ‘’ Scholars may have mentors or become mentors themselves, but they nevertheless make most decisions by leading themselves. To be more specific, scholars who are mentors also at times have mentors just as they have mentees, but they first form most direction leading to intellectual outputs at self-level. Self-leading scholars are collaborators and not competitors. Self-leading scholars are contributors and not free riders. From my experience as an academic and public scholar, spanning almost 20 years of postgraduate endeavors, I have discovered that more successful scholars give to their institutions and societies than they expect. It follows that scholars are collaborators and contributors in their fields of knowledge economy. So, as scholars become more knowledgeable, skilled, and positively attitudinal, they continue to hone their self-leadership potential for intellectual, professional, and social impact’’.
Regarding the very important theme of leadership and followership, Mrs Ajayi had this to say; ‘’No doubt, there is a shortage of loyal and committed followership in the country. Citizens believe the followership has suffered continuing inattention or injustice from the government’s anti-people policies. Although the country is experiencing significant challenges with the quality of leadership we have in Nigeria, followership is also perceived to be a hindrance to positive development if it lacks integrity, self-discipline, sincerity and loyalty. Moreover, an individual who neglects his or her obligations is not a good citizen. My conclusion is that it is high time we teach ourselves how to re-think, how to behave and how to resolve problems. We can leverage education and technology to assist us. As followers, we should have a viable mindset. A paradigm shift will equip us to consistently evolve and accept changes as they come. In doing so, we will become productive and fulfilled followers’’.

Another important treasure from the book is the power of the mind especially the fact that it is usually difficult to change a person’s mindset if that person is not ready to have his or her mindset changed. According to Mrs Ajayi; ‘’There is nothing on this earth that cannot be abused. The mindset too can be abused. An error-filled mindset can be negatively impacted by so many factors. These range from our environment, intake of drugs/substances, medical challenges, bad governance, bad personal experience, wrong choice of career, level of education and development including personal preferences. Notably, all these factors will directly or indirectly affect your mindset because you will not have the personal strength or the willpower to process your goals’’.

Motivational books give you an insight into the feelings, emotions, and views of others. They are like a treasure trove that is nurturing and effective relationships form the basis of life. When you read such books, they expose you to a new world of possibilities. You start understanding others and their viewpoint. By consuming essential points from inspirational books, you contribute to your development. It helps you understand life better for leading a stress-free lifestyle.

It is for the above reasons that a publication such as THE OPTIMIST ETHOS, a reader friendly inspirational book is a welcome development. It is obvious that the authors have achieved their aims and even more as the unravelling literature in the book reveals. One of this is that when you read stories of people who had similar circumstances and the way they overcame their challenges, it gives you a sense of confidence. You feel content and happy and regain faith in your potential.

Motivation is critical and has been proven to be the difference between the underachievers and the highly successful individuals. Scientific research has established that there is a connection between motivation and the unseen residual energy levels. This is why, a book such as THE OPTIMIST ETHOS will be accepted by anybody who takes the time to ardently peruse its elegant pages.

Dr Okediran is Secretary General, Pan African Writers Association, Accra, Ghana

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