Somebody Lied....

It's a new year! Welcome to 2012!!! 

Ok so I spent the best part of last year on research, fact finding and searching out solutions. This year is going to be great! Trust me....Welcome, Welcome, Welcome!!!!

I was listening to Ice Prince's track 'Somebody Lied' and I was struck with the bug to put this down. Enjoy!

Somebody lied.

They said all we needed to do was study hard, get a good job, get married, have a family, make tons of money, retire and die.

Somebody lied. They said all you needed to succeed was hard work and a tenacious spirit. No one said anything about sitting down to think of what you are good at and doing it, even if it didn’t fall under Engineering, Medicine or Law.

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Somebody lied. They said that making a 1^st class would open all doors and solve all problems. No one said anything about actually having to be good at the job and remaining relevant, 1^st class or not.

Somebody lied. They said you were more likely to have a successful marriage if you loved to cook, clean and wear an apron all day. No one said anything about making the most of your own gifts; even if they weren’t all and about onions and egusi.

Somebody lied. They said all you needed to become a millionaire was to start up a small business. No one said anything about the Mallam at the gate who has been a CEO for 30 years and still lives in the wooden hut.

Somebody lied. They said graduates from Nigeria were among the best in the world. No one said anything about the fact that what we pat our backs for at 25, our counterparts elsewhere already knew at 16.

Somebody lied. They said advertising was the key to making a killing in business. No one said anything about thinking up an exceptional product that people would want in the first place.

Somebody lied. They said if you pretended to be rich long enough, you eventually would. No one said anything about making sure you were actually doing something to make the money in between. Wearing Brazilian hair and Jimmy Choo heels doesn’t make you rich. It makes you a broke chic in Brazilian hair and designer shoes. That’s even worse.

Somebody lied. They said the only way to show you had made it was to build a humongous mansion and drive the biggest cars. No one said anything about keeping up appearances. That costs twice as much and many never survive it.

Somebody lied. They said the hardest working, most intelligent people made the most out of life. No one said anything about actually having a plan.

Somebody lied. They said all you needed to do was be nice and pretty and scout around for Mr Right. No one said anything about getting about the reason you were put on earth in the first place

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Somebody lied. They said all you needed to do was find a rich husband, cross your legs and enjoy the ride. No one said anything about no one wanting a liability, not even the oil rich sheikhs.

Somebody lied. They said a bird in hand was worth two in the bush. No one said anything about making sure the bird was free of the flu and was worth holding in the first place. If it wasn’t, then you would have lost both the bird in hand and the ones in the bush.

Somebody lied. They said if you fail, try, try, and try again. No one said anything about that being a sign that you are trying hard in the wrong thing. If results aren’t coming by working one way, try another.

Somebody lied. They said half a loaf of bread is better than none. No one said anything about actually working hard to get the other half of the loaf rather than settling for the half you managed to get and be bitter the rest of your life. Its either you get the full loaf, or go hungry; some handouts are better left alone.

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Somebody lied.

They said all you had to do was do what your predecessors did, like what they liked and believe what they believed. No one said anything about finding out the truth for yourself. What do YOU value? What do YOU consider important? That’s a clue to what you are really about. Don’t wake up 20 years from now shaking your head saying....somebody lied.