The Tellrhodes Blog

What's up October!!!! We're 84days away from 2019! Wow! I just did a victory dance. It feels amazing waking up each day to friends and family we began this year with. I'm certain that this last quarter is going to be a major hit for everyone who hasn't experienced a smooth sailing ride. Keep your fingers crossed. Across the globe, humans has succeeded in concealing pain and worry by putting up a superficial glow in a bid to distract and avoid letting in on their problems. As logical as this approach is, it's all the way destructive. Faking a smile to get through each day isn't the best resort. As much as we all go through tough times, it doesn't erase our emphatic nature to share our fellows burden. Some persons find it difficult to keep up and resort to a recluse because sharing information is a big deal for a lot of folks. Having done a dual series on growth, i presume I'm communicating to the right minds on this one. Our initial inclination mos...

Good mornnnnnning!!!!!! Look how fast the ninth month is coming along. Today's #GrowthSeries is inspired by an amazing friend whose principles somewhat tallies with mine....sometimes😁. We'll be focusing on the healthiness of our figurative heart. We ought to be sensitive to the demands our body craves for to maintain it at its utmost functionality. Childhood memories awaken our minds as we do a retrospective analysis of the simplicity of life. Enemies became friends in a split second and everyone was added to our friend's zone automatically, no qualifications, no fences built. Sharing was quite the hitch as we'd make reference to our previous acts of generosity if our peers refused letting us in on what they had. However, when we did give, it was from the genuineness of our hearts. Then we "grew" up and let go of virtues that should keep our environment at bay. We let go of forgiveness at par value. Our ego got in the way of apologizing. Suddenly we ha...

Hellllllo lovelies! Missed me? I sure did. For a couple of weeks we'll be pruning ourselves for a steady stance in the journey ahead. Take a look at today's series. I hope you find your place while at it.  It's a daily struggle. You either tag along or you're crushed. Everyone's wild on the streets. "It's a survival thing", they say. You've gotta brace up to life however possible even if it means losing your grip constantly. I beg to differ. Motor parks, market places, walk ways. Virtually every nook has a hint of vulgarity. For the sane mind, it's hard to keep up. You wish there were others who saw things differently. The more you look catch phrase falls back at you each time. Life is cruel and its inhabitants aren't making it any less cruel. We're constantly at war with our environment. We recover our lost energy by pushing further or we add to the number of miscreants. Either ways, we wrestle. No one has uncovered how to get ...

Kindness, a choice battle! It's a beautiful Tuesday morning in my geographic base. The cloud hasn't rested for a couple of days, releasing showers of rain and making me cling to my duvet all day long. I almost ran out of ideas on what to scribble up for today. Truthfully, I didn't give it much of a thought. I figured I'll just go through my archives, get a catch phrase and viola!. Little did I know I'd be handed a saucy gist on a platter. I'm not your regular kinda being who detests Mondays. On the contrary, I look forward to it cuz it ushers me into streams of magnificence. As I rounded up my run arounds yesterday, I bumped into a fellow heading the same direction as myself but unable to get through. Being that "change" is a scarce commodity in this part of the world and seeing the pregnant clouds, I opted to pay his fare. It was just a farthing after all. Unknown to me we boarded the same vehicle again to our final destination and just as i ...

The authority in thy mouth! "Walls have ears" are words we were made to believe in our growing years. We often spoke in whispers so our conversations would not be at the mercy of the wall's ears. Should our little "chat" sneak to the hearing of others, we assume the walls told on us. Phew! The myths we lived by!! There are no fewer than 50authored books stating the importance, power, potency, anthenticity of our words. Life is essentially spiritual, a pastor friend of mine often says. If we go by this clause, we'd understand how our words play out to reality. I'm particular at what I utter and even more cautious at what anyone says to me. Often times I've wrestled with carefree 'speech lancers'. Playing silent when someone says anything offensive isn't the way to go. An adage says, "he who keeps still, agrees to the allegations". Thus, you agree to terms of what's been said to you if you do not challenge it. When ...

Having lived 85years of age, Kembe had little to tell regarding his father Zulu. So did his siblings. His subordinates and superiors at the organisation he served for 20years could not speak kindly of him too. How about his associates in the professional field or the clergymen. You guessed right. Zulu had attained heights and various expertise across the world. He was a high class narcissist. His children had no moral upbringing from a father figure. They all lived recklessly. You could perceive his pride and arrogance from a distance. There were no emulative legacies to cull from. When we close our eyes, swallowed up by the womb of death, the number of years spent won't count much. We are much interested in hitting the 90's and 100's than we are in living principled lifes. This brings to mind a college colleague who passed on health grounds. He died at his prime. Upon his passing, the magnitude of persons, priests, friends, colleagues who honoured him was worthy of...

Sophie Speaks: Fuel Your Passion. We've probably seen this play out in our respective disciplines, some of us, guilty as charged. It's difficult to uncover the plethora things that go through the minds of such persons when commitment derails. Thirty days (more or less) into paid employment and the zeal once exhibited soon fades away. We chatter unnecessarily, buy into the Nigerian time syndrome, act nonchalantly and make a fuss over managerial issues that we have no influence over. I once worked with a colleague who happened to be a janitor. You would almost mistake him for the manager of a company if you met him outside the confines of his assignment. He dressed smartly from the top of his head to the latter and he approached his duty post with strength and vigour. My involvement in the company was majorly secretive. I worked behind the scenes so I didn't bother much about my appearance. After all no one sees me, I reasoned. That thought soon changed when this young...

Grateful Heart! Hello TellRhodians!! Happy New Month y'all. I presume the first half ended on a bright note. Mine did and I can't wait to share my experience with you but today I'll be narrating a hint I got from a friend over the weekend. Let's call her Sophia! I paid her a visit last weekend having not seen her in a while (work's got the best of her). We caught up on missed gists, laughed over the weird things we did in the course of the month and lamented on the tragic events that ensued in the "Centre of Excellence" and "The Home Of Peace and Tourism". In a bid to relieve us from the drain it had ingested to our countenance, I decided to lighten up the convo and inquired about her job. To my amazement, she responded amidst smiles, that she had been laid off. I was thrown aback and asked how she was holding up. Her exact words were "Nikki, just yesterday lifes were lost to a fire outbreak. These folks had their week all planned out I ...

Sophie Speaks: Legacy Driven Life It's a popular saying, "you don't know what you have until it leaves you". These words undoubtedly has been proven repeatedly. Last week a friend made known his intention of relocating. He was a treasured asset to my organisation so it hit us real hard. The info regarding his transmission unveiled the various assignments he'd been handling, his consistency through thick and thin. It dawned on us that he was the life-wire of our sect. In essence, it goes beyond his promptness and availability. He was an epitome of humility. Amidst the scolds and criticisms, he maintained his joy and carried on his duties cheerfully. Not everyone is humble to the extent of being mute when criticized. I became teary when we had his trumpet blown. In our moments of existence, let's strive to leave a place better than we met it. Life is measured by how well you lived not how long you existed. How would you be remembered? What would you b...

KEEP HOPE ALIVE It's mid year already. How did the months go by so fast? Resolutions not tendered to at this point are swept under the carpet. Many decide to take each day as it comes as prior strategic planning amounted to nothing. Some others begin to eat the sour loaf of regret. The "why me's", "had-i-known's", tell tales of what they "should have" done differently. Everyone has probably gone through similar experiences, watching dreams unmaterialize, not being equipped enough to pursue goals, being stuck at a level for so long with every opportuned door slammed right in the face. Life in itself is cruel. Little wonder Christ assured to be with us in the midst of it all. He acknowledged that we would have troubled days and critical seasons. Nonetheless, our victory is sure. If this describes the current you... at the verge of losing your grip, fed up of life's drama, wondering what the next hour would hold, uncertain about tomorro...

SOPHIE SPEAKS: FREELY BROKEN It showered in the wee hours of the morning and I couldn't help but reminisce on the days I cried in the rain, pouring my heart out till joy overwhelmed my soul. In light of that, I decided to share a hidden memory, one, very few persons know about but probably don't know the extent of its hurt. Four months of unending commitment. 120days of undying love amidst the pain, drama, hullabaloo. Like a dream we fell apart. What seemed like the taste of eternity now disgusted me. My joy was constantly at stake. I deliberately avoided communicating even when i had the means. For the first time in my existence i felt a sting in my heart. As to why it hurts that bad, i haven't uncovered. Could it be the foreknowing that it prolly won't amount to anything and i took the step or the peace that overwhelmed my soul when i consciously made that choice and the fact that the inner witness was a misconstrued feeling afterall. Can't decipher. In my ...

*HOW LONG???* Blessings y'all!!! Last week, we explored a more dignified approach to losing and it gladdens my heart knowing a good fraction of us acquiesced to it. Often times than not, we slow down our growth process by holding on to things/opinions longer than necessary. Our measure of growth is defined by what we are willing to shake off our feet. How long shall we continue to live by those precepts???? How long will you continue to hold a fellow in mind? How long will you give your peace away so cheaply? How long will you give the devil a foothold to keep condemning you when you seek forgiveness from the Father when you haven't extended such to your fellow? How long will you tarnish the image of Christianity? How long will you grieve over a matter that unreconcilable? How will you sow seeds of enmity to your generation yet unborn? How long will you live on the compassion of others? How long will you glory in being a receiver only? How long will you dwell on hands-...

*TAKING THE HIGH ROAD: A BETTER APPROACH* *Seyi's persistence on "selling" her idea to her colleague was becoming overbearing. It was pretty obvious that Yola's mind was rigid towards her adamancy. Not that he didn't "buy" into what she was "selling". He had a different opinion, however did not force it down his colleagues. Seyi on the other hand kept making remarks on how superb her notion was and couldn't deal with her colleagues unpatrotism. When it became obvious it would lead to an outburst as it did three years ago, this time with an intern, Yola strategically accepted her "world-class-idea"* The narration above is an all case scenario. Directly or otherwise, we get involved in such dilemma, voices raised and everyone trying to make a statement as to why their opinion is best suited. Very few persons consider *Yola's* approach. Conceding doesn't indicate you're wrong or have a slim chance at "winnin...