Turning Points:: Action Today,Change Tomorrow

By Richard Osibanjo

Your problem is not always the problem;

maybe the problem is your response to the problem.

There is no cookbook recipe to a successful relationship; but are there common ingredients present in happy ones?

There is no such thing as a failed experiment; maybe the experiences are part of our roadmap to success.

In this inspiring book that prompts you to action, Richard Osibanjo gives you tips on how to have a winning perspective on real life issues. These easy and practical suggestions will help you take daily steps that will have a large impact in your personal and professional lives. For any rewarding journey, it is important you are equipped. The insights provided will ensure you are successful and have fulfilling relationships. Regardless of your current status, this book will provide you with insight as to how to get back on track in living the life of your dreams.

• Language: English
• Publisher: WestBow Press
• Release date: Dec 18, 2012
• ISBN: 9781449756093

Richard Osibanjo

Richard Osibanjo is passionate about people discovering and living their lives to the fullest. Richard has over 15 years of leadership experience and is now a leadership facilitator at the University of California Davis Center for Leadership Learning and a co-instructor on the Leadership Academic Theme Program. He has been a research chemist in the pharmaceutical industry and is currently a PhD candidate in chemistry at the University of California, Davis. He is happily married to Oyindamola, and they are blessed with one son, David.

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Copyright © 2012 Richard Osibanjo

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ISBN: 978-1-4497-5608-6 (sc)

ISBN: 978-1-4497-5609-3 (e)

WestBow Press rev. date:12/12/2012

Contents

Foreword

Preface

Acknowledgments

Relationships: Family, Friends, and Faith

There Is No Recipe for a Happy Relationship

Nobody Can Make You 100 Percent Happy

True Riches

Relationships Are Dynamic, Never Static

Black Is the Best Friendship Color

Good Friends Are Like the Moon

Always Leave Two Doors Open: the Entrance and the Exit

Allow Metamorphosis in Your Relationships

Are You Needy or Loving?

Be Patient with People

Remember: Love People and Use Things

Changing Seasons of Relationships

Team Player or Lone Ranger?

Some Doors Are Better Left Closed

Family Ties and Times Are Precious

It is a child that opens his arms that can be carried.—Nigerian Proverb

Business Talk versus Relationship Talk

Presents Should Not Replace Presence

Be on the Same Page

A Well-Watered Garden

You Find Whatever You Are Looking For

Relationship Cycles

Give unto Caesar What Belongs to Caesar…Mark 12:17

Abra-ca-hula

Wine Grows Finer with Age under the Right Conditions

Faith versus Fear

Give People Room to Grow

Throw Away the Exit Key

Receiving What You Cannot Give

Be Quick to Hear, Slow to Speak, and Slow to Anger

What Happened to Good Morning, America?

Whatever You Take for Granted Becomes Grounded

Appreciate What You Have Before Its Too Late

When I Meet the Right One …

There Is No Risk-Free Relationship

Are You a Nutrient or a Weed?

Relationships Are Not Ping-Pong

Good Counsel: Shade on a Sunny Day

Love Is a Decision Only You Can Make

Are You a Poison or a Catalyst?

Tired of Being Lonely? Find, Attract, and Keep

Check Your Guest List

Plant Your Seed

Think of God as Your GPS

Failure and Success in Life

Lessons from a Failed Experiment

Better Sorry Than Safe

Put First Things First

Work Friendships Are Important

Risk-Takers Are Dream Makers

Leaders Are Born and Made

What Is Fueling You?

Delete, Install, and Update

Life Is Not Mathematics

Disability Is Not Lack of Ability

If you want to walk fast, walk alone. If you want to walk far, walk together.—African Proverb

No Condition Is Permanent

A Solution-Oriented Personality (SOP) or a Problem-Oriented Personality (POP)?

Only One Key to Unlock a Set Of Doors

Life Exams Are Not Dated

Results Today, Action Tomorrow

What You Know Is Not What Is Important

A Work In Progress

Dynamic Success Combo—Pray, Pay, and Play

Your Gift Will Make a Way for You

Today: The Future You Prepared for Yesterday

Your Background Does Not Put Your Back on the Ground

Fill In the Blanks

Vision Does Not Come from Watching Television

Okay Is Boring

Excuse or Be Excused: Either Way, You Lose

Chase Your Dreams

Whatever You Build Will Last

What You Love to Give Never Runs Out

You Are an Original

If You Are Not Going to Eat It, Don’t Go Near It

The Scars of Yesterday Have No Power Over The Joys of Tomorrow

What Your Wardrobe and Library Says About You

A Loss Can Be a Blessing in Disguise

Great Packaging is Never Enough

A Lizard in Africa Is a Lizard in America

Get In or Get Out

Admit When You Don’t Know Something

Only You Can Solve Your Problem

Self-Made Person … Seriously?

Power Talk

The Best Man Does Not Always Win

Go Further and Achieve Greater

Make Your Setback a Comeback

Every Dream Has a Price Tag

Do Not Envy What You Want to Become

Use Your Two Memories Wisely

An Idea Is Not Good Enough

Geography and Your Success Story

Push Yourself

Limits Do Not Have to Be Permanent

Get a Mentor

Knowledge Is Only Powerful When Applied

Integrity Makes You Valuable

Do Not Fix Your Weaknesses

Having a Dream Is Not Good Enough

America’s Lost Treasure: Gratitude

Major in Your Talents, Minor in Your Interests

Brown or Burned Out?

Playing It Safe Could Cost Your Life

The Power of a Second Opinion

Shortcuts Can Shorten Your Success

Me-Time Moments

Are You a Crossover?

I Will Be Ready in August

Intentionality Determines Functionality

Fever Is a Symptom, Not the Problem

Guard Your Heart

Your Difference Makes You Beautiful

Mistakes Are Good

Moving Forward: The Little Things Matter

Stolen

Crisp or Worn Dollar Bill, Same Purchasing Power

Scars versus Open Wounds

Face Value

Don’t Wait for Permission to Be Yourself

True Colors

Quality Customer Service

There Is a Hero Inside You

When Signs Go Up, People Show Up

Choose, Be Chosen, or Be Left Behind

Dry Fish Is Difficult to Straighten

Only the Strong Say I’m Sorry

Be Excited about You

Being Yourself Is a Battle You Never Lose

Whatever Does Not Add Value, Devalues

Expect a Little, Give a Lot

Genuine or Fake?

Change with Change or Be Exchanged

Before You Dive In, Clarify

Self-Care versus Selfishness

When in Rome …

Don’t Junk the Car Because the Battery Is Dead

Wear the Shirt, Not the Tag

Inferiority Complex

Reach Out to Others

Power Reveals Who You Are

Strong Foundation

What You Don’t Destroy Will Hunt You Down

Tempers and Feelings:

Yours and Theirs

Put Offenses in Two Boxes

Capital No to Comparison

Respect Yourself to Be Respected

Relax, Think, and Respond

Celebrate Those Who Celebrate You

You Cannot Help a Person Who Is Full

Vulnerability Shows You Are Human

It’s Okay to Be Angry

Hang Around People You Want to Be Like

A Car Without Brakes Is a Moving Casket

Don’t Judge a Book By Its Cover, Open It

The Greatest Love of All

Seek to Understand Than Be Understood

The Danger of a Single-Sided Story

The Truth Is Liberating

Your Weather Signal

Before Complaining, Ask

Love, a Leadership Prerequisite

First Impressions

Make Your Personality Work for You

What Are You Wearing?

Apology Accepted on Behavioral Change

You Determine What Gets to You

References

In loving memory of my mother

Titilayo Olayinka Osibanjo

For loving and teaching me by an exemplary life

Foreword

It has been my privilege to pastor and to get to know Richard Osibanjo over the last three years. Richard has an amazing passion for Jesus, a love for the local church, a thirst for knowledge, and a brilliant gift of communication. This book reflects some of his attitudes, meditations, and thoughts that are enabling him to become a world-class leader. Almost all of our decisions and attitudes in life are the result of seed thoughts and mind-sets that have been hibernating and germinating in our minds. Those thoughts and attitudes eventually become conversations that direct our actions and set the course for our destiny. So the seeds I plant in my mind every day, although they may look small and insignificant at the time, end up determining the trajectory of my life. In his book Turning Points, Richard gives us daily devotionals, or seed thoughts, that can shape the way we think and have a powerful impact on our decisions for the future. I highly recommend using this book as a daily devotional, along with your Bible reading and other books, to help shape your mind and give you a fresh perspective. Each chapter contains a key thought that will stick with you and help to transform your mind with practical wisdom you won’t forget.

David Patterson

Lead Pastor

The Father’s House

Vacaville CA

Preface

I was hanging out with Tom, a very good friend of mine, when he revisited a childhood story he had told me. Tom had moved at least seventeen times and lived in dire conditions by the time he was twelve. One of those instances involved him and his family camping around a lake for six months because they had no place to live. Ironically, that was one of his favorite memories growing up because the experience bonded his family together. Tom also recalled seeing drugs in the house when he was eight and had experienced several things that no child his age should have.

But despite his unusual childhood, his mum ensured him that he would never miss school, for which he was grateful. According to Tom, school was the only place he felt normal. He was determined to break the cycle of poverty in his family, and fortunately for him, he excelled in his studies. Tom admitted he was a troubled child and needed help, so his way of getting noticed at school was being the best. His academic excellence endeared him to his teachers, who became an invaluable resource to him through mentoring. Today, Tom is successful and works at a Fortune 500 company. Yet despite his success, Tom is very humble and takes his relationships with his family seriously.

Unfortunately, not every story like Tom’s has a happy ending. Many of Tom’s siblings, due to no fault of their own, became victims of the cycle they were born into. It was difficult for them to aspire to a better world than they had ever experienced. Tom’s story, like many American greats, inspires my writing and proves that our background does not have to determine our foreground. Failure, like success, is a choice, and only you can make that decision. Although Tom had a troubled childhood, he chose to break the cycle through his daily decisions and actions. He had a mental picture of where he wanted to be, and that fueled his passion.

I do not know your story or what you are going through, but one thing I know for certain is there are many Toms out there. You cannot do anything about the past, but you can rewrite your future. I hope this book helps you in your journey to becoming the star you were designed to be. I encourage you to take one step at a time and pick yourself back up when you fall. Your dream future is just a day away, and you will surely reach your destination. As in any performance, it is the exit that is often remembered. There is