OUR EXCELLENT TOMORROW--Daniel Elili

The Collins dictionary defines excellence as being exceptionally good while the Oxford dictionary defines it as being extremely good, being outstanding.

Tomorrow, in this context, meaning in the near future.

So let's examine what the world sees as "An excellent tomorrow"

The world sees an excellent tomorrow as one, characterised with wealth, not necessarily peace or fulfilment. One characterised with riches and all the money in the world.

The world sees an excellent tomorrow as being at the very top of wherever you are at, being the president, a governor, being the most popular or the most recognised.

Excellence - Its True Meaning

It was Henry Ward Beecher who said "We should not judge people by their peak of their worldly success, but by the distance they have travelled from the point where they started"

This simply means that if you are from a family of carpenters, and you end up becoming a better carpenter than your father was, getting more from it and impacting lives with it, you are excellent in your field. Our greatest example is Jesus. You all know His story.

On the other hand, if you are from a family of Kings and you end up being just as good as your father was, or even worse, getting less and impacting fewer or no lives at all, you should not be regarded as excellent, irrespective of the height you are at.

This is the difference between the world's definition of excellence an its real definition.

Yes we all dream of driving luxurious and fast cars , building mansion nd and eating the best of food, is that what excellence really means.

True excellence can only be achieved in God .

How To Achieve Excellence

So how do we achieve an excellent tomorrow? It is important to note that the excellent tomorrow we all crave for our families, for our nation, Nigeria is not just a collective effort but an individual one - a result of every man and woman being excellent in his or her own field. You must first try to live an excellent life , you must strife for perfection , for greatness , you must have a strong desire for excellence.

It was Aristotle that said "Excellence is never an accident, it is always the result of high intention, sincere effort, and intelligent execution; it represents the wise choice of many alternatives - choice, not chance, this is what determines your great destiny"

The first step, therefore, to being excellent is the choice. You must choose to be excellent, determine in your heart that you want nothing but the best - nothing but what is exceptionally good in all you lay your hands on, in all you do. So ask yourself in your seated position, are you being exceptional or doing whatever your friends do? Have you chosen not to follow the same path everyone follows so as not to achieve the same thing everyone achieves? Have you chosen to be different? Have you dared to be different?

Next to the choice phase is the effort phase... Sincere effort.

Martin Luther King Jnr. said "If I can't do great things, I can do small things in a great way". It doesn't matter if you are an office worker or a trader, the question is Are You Doing it Right? Would you carry out your business endeavour and life’s work with sincerity ?.Would you measure your cups of garri without scamming your customers? Would you sew your clothe and deliver to your customers on time? Do you inflate spare part prices to your customers just so you gain more? Would you alter figures in the office to your own benefit?

Stand for sincerity, stand for something, no wonder Bishop David Oyedepo said ‘ If you don’t stand for something you would fall for anything.

We all put in considerable effort but the emphasis should be on the word "Sincere". Check yourself and determine to change so you walk towards excellence. It is not about doing great things, but about doing small things in a great way. Hunter S. Thompson  also said that "Anything worth doing, is worth doing right".

The final step and most important in achieving excellence is the God factor.  As a Christians, this means putting God in everything we do. Give him first place and he'll prosper the works of your hands.

Any tom dick and harry can be successful or rich, but it takes God’s favour to really do exploits.

Keneth Copeland said “ Success is not a surprise to those that prepare, but excellence and exploit is a testimony because God is involved.

So we all carry out these steps, as youths, affecting people around us, impacting lives through what we do, impacting our families, our streets, our states, our nation, and our generation, creating the tomorrow we all envision - A tomorrow where the question "What is the website of NSCDC?" won't throw our leaders into a state of confusion

A tomorrow where we won't have to be ashamed of our political leaders engaging in bloody brawls and political parties splitting but a tomorrow where we enjoy unity as a nation.

A tomorrow where a Nigerian won't kill a fellow brother but we'll all embrace love as a nation.

A tomorrow where only good news will be on the front page of our newspapers not bloodshed and disputes.

A tomorrow we all envision.

A tomorrow we all cherish.

A tomorrow we all want.

A tomorrow that begins with God, which involves me, you, all of us, and ends with excellence.

Our very own pastor Paul, during one of his teaching quoted a scripture “ Isaiah 53 vs 11 He ( JESUS) shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied, some other translations said he would rejoice ,

And in my seated position this scripture hit me like a tonne of bricks, that JESUS wants to see us succeed more than ever, when he looks at us from his throne and he sees us driving fine cars , living in big houses , impacting lives , and oppressing the devil on every side, that his proud of us, am sure he would say to himself i dint die for nothing. So yes our excellent tomorrow is possible in Jesus Christ. 

In conclusion , i prophesia to you today “ WE WILL ALL BECOME CELEBRATIONS OF THIS GREAT NATION, BECAUSE OF OUR GREAT AND MIGHTY VISIONS, AS WE SET OUT ON OUR MISSION IN THE TIRELESS PURSUIT OF EXCELLENCE”.

So i charge you this day, hold fast unto God, carry out your endeavours with all diligence and sincerity , and always desire excellence , and believe me your excellent tomorrow would indeed be a reality.

                                                THANK YOU