Show your hand

SHOW YOUR HAND

The hand is the symbol of strength and during military combat the commander can use a singular hand motion to activate an attack or stop one. During the gladiatorial days, the Emperors  will either thumb up or down to decide the fate of the loser of a fight. It was not unusual in those days to see rulers or emperors bring their sons to the Colosseum to witness their exhibition of authority over human life, in some instances, they would call their son to thumb up or down to ascertain whether  he can rule or whether he can make life and death decisions. If the ruler or emperor has two sons, the one who can show his hand has the most likelihood of succession

Therefore, the ability to show your hand is emblematic of how to take an opporotunity which which might be life changing. Sometimes, the least significant task which receives the best shot, can be the chance of a lifetime. It is the threshold between obscurity to fame.

 

However, from the preface, it is apparent that this blog is not about people who have leadership thrust on them on a platter of gold, but people who showed their hand when it was required. I will use the perfect example of Darren Fletcher of Manchester United and a bit of my personal experiences.

DARREN FLETCHER

Was a player despised by the Manutd faithfuls at some point in his career.  Some fans wondered why Sir Alex Ferguson would bother to leave such a one in his first team. Fans complained that Fletcher’s crosses from the wings weren’t good enough, in fact, Roy Keane who he was supposed to succeed felt he was below par. David Moyes, wanted to relieve Fletcher from his Manutd woes and asked him to join him in Everton Football Club, but Ferguson asked Fletcher to be patient. In that year, 2007 Manutd had lost away to Roma 2:1 in that game Paul Scholes was given a red card and suspended for the next game. Fletcher was called to deputize for Scholes, the fans screamed, lost hope and felt Manutd was finished, but on that day, Fletcher became a phoenix risen from the ashes. He played like his life depended on it. The Manutd faithful saw a Fletcher they'd never imagined. He was the best player on the pitch and he scored 2 goals. Manutd stunned Roma by 7:1. From that day, Darren Fletcher increased the tempo of his game, he still did not break into the team till he got a chance against Arsenal and he gave a star performance, scoring twice in a 4:0 win against Arsenal Football Club that season he was lethal, daring more into the oppositions box, breaking play and allowing Michael Carrick spray more passes. In 2008, Fletcher was deemed to have been given an unjust red card against Arsenal which denied him the opportunity of playing the 2008 Champions League final, many commentators to this day believe that if he had played that game, Manutd would have defeated Barcelona in that finals to carry the UEFA Champions league.

MYSELF

Let me briefly talk about my Youth service experience in a top corporation in Nigeria. 11 Lawyers were sent to the Legal Department and because the department was fully staffed, the Youth Corps Lawyers were used mainly for dispatching mails or receiving mails and sorting it according to the lawyer in charge. In the course of these functions, I started learning the filing process of this big corporation, the loopholes in it and how to make it more efficient. One day, one of the in-house Counsel of the Corporation asked me to summarize a judgment, and of course that was not a hard thing to do. However, I found out that the decision was poorly written and the judge who wrote the judgment was below par, I put “quaere” as a sub-title and noted anomalies in the judgment. The in-house counsel lawyer started assigning more legal work to me and before I knew it I was directly working with the Deputy Manager Litigation.

During, my Chambers attachment before I became a lawyer, we attended one of the lawyer weekly conferences. Most law firms in Nigeria, have these weekly litigation meetings to discuss cases coming up the next week. The firm had a thorny case before them. The Managing Counsel of the Law Firm a Senior Advocate of Nigeria was in that meeting for the first time. He wanted to know the approach his lawyers would take, no one had an answer. He smiled as threw the question to the (us) law students. After a brief pause, I said, “ sir, betting and gaming is generally unenforceable” and he asked so you mean that there might be exceptions. I replied in the affirmative. He asked for my explanation and ran hot temperature and cold sweat overwhelmed me. I was not sure of the point I wanted to make but I just started talking till the sense scantly came to me, I observed that the Defendants in that suit had made profits from a certain lottery, the money raised was for a national project, I was blabbing about public policy. The Chairman trying to bail me out asked me to write a legal opinion and put on his desk on Monday. I used the weekend to do my research and the first thing I did on Monday was to put the opinion on his desk. Subsequently a man came to the office and asked after me and he said he needed a researcher and was told by the lady in charge of law students that I was the best. There are a few more stories of me, receiving assignments that were considered bigger than me and I gave it my all to show that if anyone could do it, why shouldn’t I

So, I always try to show my hand, no matter how small the opportunity is.

On the next installment, we will consider the story of a Russian officer who dared to give an opinion when his superiors were being executed for failure during the Russian 2^nd World War history….. I HOPE YOU ALL SHOW YOUR HAND THIS WEEK AND LET ME KNOW HOW MUCH SUCCESS YOU GOT

Iyken

Preface

Before you read ask yourself this, “Is luck the best thing for your life, or is being unlucky the real luck that you really need?”

It is pertinent to state categorically at this point that this article is not intended to be religious by any circumstances, however, if by any chance a set of religion, sect or non-religious group or whosoever derive inspiration that helps them excel, I would have achieved my purpose.

The title was derived from the passage of a religious literature, however I will confine myself  to the trite nature of the philosophy expressed, rather than to authenticate the theology of the religious literature from which it was derived. The theoretical and philosophical framework would also be universal in this regard and draw examples from different cosmologies, epistemology, religion, history, anthropology, sociology, football, the list is endless. It is intended that this blog will be the middle ground between ideas that a certain class accept, but would rather not discuss based on political correctness or who is asserts it. This is because this blog intends to offer a panacea to those who believe they were born disadvantaged or that they have no part in history. Such people tend to believe that their anatomical composition, or sociological impetus does humans favours.

What then is time and chance? What is the essence of time and chance? Where did the text originate from? And why is this text  interested in the universal affirmation of the text rather than its biblical etymology?

Firstly, time and chance are two separate words of great philosophical importance. Time is of relevance in this discourse because of the relativity or inter-relationship of time and space. If time is relative, then that means that being at the right place at the right time which justifies the theory of luck must not always hold sway. Any thing that is subjective or relative can be manipulated. By saying this, I mean that there are always opportunities everywhere. Some feel that fate is destined by time, space and chance. What is considered disabilities, like a bad eye sight, deformities, autism are conditions that has been considered a misfortune but this blog will x-ray instances where such conditions has actuated success by virtue of the so-called societal infirmities. In fact, there are instances like a United soldier known as the Grim Reaper, who is one of the deadliest United States sniper, yet his eyesight was not good. Would it then be right to consider such a conditions, “the individual’s right place and right time?” Some people believe they got a job because they were lucky to come into the interview when the mean interviewer went for a wee break or they were lucky to get a job after the chosen declined the offer. However, someone who was booted out could also have left the interview, reassessed themselves and decided to even go for something bigger and because of the disappointment of losing that other job would have got a job that would have made them become more prominent. Susan Boyle is a classical example of someone who once went for an audition and did not get a chance, it was her bad luck, but the experience precipitated to who emerged in Britain Got Talent and was even invited by the President of the United States while still a contestant. In fact, it seems that people who get lucky have not always attained the altitude reached by those considered unlucky who later became greats. This is because of the craving to auto-transcend in order to prove they are bigger than their  past failures  suggested.

This blog is not intended to be a magic wand on getting lucky, but how to influence what happens within a certain time and space. Those in search of a magic wands or in search of situations which disfavours others and puts them in pole position can wait a century. Those who want a tough assessor suddenly soften when it is their turn to be interviewed could as well go to spiritual books or sects for guidance. The Christians could fast and pray and sow seeds, Muslims can diligently stick to praying 5 times a day and sticking to the instructions of the Quran, Buddhists, atheist, among other sets of belief can stick to their different good luck charms (if they ever work), but to me, this is like wishing your number will win the lotto or Euro-million. On the converse, my ideas are focused on those who don’t feel lucky, those born into poor homes, or someone who is so talented but there is no one to launch them into the world stage, or that person who has more potential than any super star in the area of his or her specialization. I am interested in those who feel the supernatural has forgotten them even though they have been devoted in their acts of faith.

The worst thing that will happen to any person, an author, agent, footballer, and writer is to be competing with established names in the field. Even in a football team, the manager will field his highest goal scorer and leave those with potential on the field. How does this person on the bench take their chances? Is his being on the bench an advantage or a disadvantage?

Oh!!! This article is for those who are hungry like myself and feel the need to be more than their current estate. There is a rule in ‘The 48 Laws of Power” that says that once you have reached your goal, you should stop, which is a clear opposite to Lord Alfred Tennyson’s “Ulysses”. Ulysses was a successful king who could not stop striving because he noticed that for every attainment he made the horizon kept moving. It was a poem about transcending, auto-transcending, pushing till there is no room to go any further. This shows that some of the inspirational literature you have read in the past will not be replicated here, but there might be slight disagreements. The above law 47 for instance is a law I agree with in certain instances but not in the general sense of it. It should be an exception rather than the main rule. Supposing when you reach your goal, you discover that your goal was less ambitious, would you wish to stop?  Supposing at the point you reached your goal, you had one final opportunity that might never come again to get something better than you had set for yourself and a willingness not to get bigger means going back to oblivion? Therefore, there are rules in this sort of books that will be seriously questioned if it would not advise you on how to utilize a one-off opportunity presented on a platter by time and space.

However, is time and chance all about making it big? Supposing somebody does not care about making it big because they dread the responsibility attached to success, but all the person cares about is keeping a job? Supposing this person has left a wallet at home? If he is late, no excuses will be listened to but a query which would dent his ability to maintain the quiet life he aspires. What about a court case, where an Attorney or Barrister has just raised an issue or objection that an opposite lawyer did not foresee or   questioned your defence in an unexpected manner? Supposing this article is a code, a guide to utilizing any opportunity within time and space including getting your dream girl when the odds are down or you just said or did a silly thing that would have made you totally out of the equation? Or she just fancies someone else that is not you.

Biographies, auto-biographies, historic books, cosmology and different forms of literature will be used. Success stories or stories of what would have been will be resorted to. Personal experiences, friends and family will constitute part of what will be used to make a point that might be your shot to a life changing experience.

Iyken